第三部分 阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
第一节(共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Jordan Makes Basketball Hall of Fame
Last Monday, the former Chicago Bulls great was elected to the 2009 Basketball Hall of Fame class, adding another honor to his long list of accomplishments. With incredible acrobatic (特技的) moves and slam dunks(灌篮), Jordan was a 14-time NBA All-Star, a five-time NBA finals Most Valuable Player and the key figure on the 1992 US Olympic gold medal “Dream” Team.
Jordan retired twice during his 15-year career, and finished with 32,392 points, the third-highest total in NBA history behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone. His career average of 30.12 points per game is the best in the league’s history.
Although his career boasts(拥有)many glories, Jordan said entering the hall was what he never imagined. “I don’t like being up here for the Hall of Fame, because at that time, your basketball career is completely over.” Jordan said during a news conference. “I was hoping this day was coming in 20 more years, or that I’d actually go in when I’m dead and done.”
According to the Chicago Tribune, as Jordan accepted a Hall of Fame Jersey(运动衣), he turned to his former competitors David Robinson and John Stockton, who were also among the class of 2009, and threatened another comeback.
“Every time I see these guys, I want to put my shorts on,” said Jordan, 46, whose age has decreased everything but his desire.
His father once said that passion was what made his son special. From the moment he started playing games, Michael had to win. Once, Jordan traveled everywhere and anywhere to feed that competitive urge.
“He doesn’t have a gambling problem.” His father said, “What he does have is a competition problem. He was born with that. The person he tries to outdo(超过)most of the time is himself.”
56.This passage is mainly about__________.
A.everything Jordan has achieved in his life
B.the contribution Jordan has made to basketball
C.how Jordan grew to be a popular basketball player
D.why Jordan deserves to be in the Hall of Fame and his reaction
57.From what Jordan said during the news conference, we know that he_______.
A.dislikes the honor because it makes him feel old
B.hates the new honor because it’s not worth much
C.thinks the honor has been given to him too early
D.is planning a comeback to show his basketball career is not over
58.Paragraphs 1 and 2 are written to__________.
A.analyze what basketball skills Jordan is famous for
B.show how popular Jordan used to be in America
C.introduce what contributions Jordan made to Chicago Bulls
D.explain why Jordan is considered a great basketball player
59.What can we conclude from the passage?
A.Michael Jordan’s continuous efforts to outdo himself made him great.
B.Michael Jordan thinks playing basketball is like gambling.
C.Michael Jordan has gradually lost his desire to play, as he has grown older.
D.However great a player is, there is an end to his best time.
No one would much like the idea of eating 61 pounds of tomatoes a day. But if their goodness was put into an easy-to-swallow pill that you were told might prevent strokes(中风) and heart attacks you would probably be putting in an order tomorrow.
Researchers believe they may have come up with just that after trials. The daily pill contains a chemical called lycopene which makes tomatoes red and is known to break down fat in the vessels(血管). A Cambridge University study found taking the pills improved blood flow and the lining of vessels in patients with pre-existing heart conditions. It also increased the flexibility(灵活性) of their vessels by 50 percent. The scientists believe it could limit the damage caused by heart disease-responsible for 180,000 deaths a year-and help cut the 49,000 deaths a year from strokes. They also hope it could benefit those with arthritis(关节炎), diabetes(糖尿病) and even slow the progress of cancer.
Each pill is equal to eating around 61 pounds of ripe tomatoes. Studies have shown eating a Mediterranean-style diet rich in tomatoes fish, vegetables, nuts and olive oil can significantly reduce cholesterol(胆固醇) and help prevent cardiovascular disease.
Preliminary results from a two-month trial, in which the pill was given to 36 heart disease patients and 36 healthy volunteers with an average age of 67, were presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association. It was shown to improve the function of the endothelium- the layer of cells lining blood vessels. It also improved their sensitivity to nitric oxide, the gas which causes the enlargement of the vessels in response to exercise.
Ian Wilkinson, head of Cambridge University’s clinical trials unit, said “These results are potentially very significant and it meets the goal, but we need more trials to see if they translate into fewer heart attacks and strokes.”
Further studies are planned, with researchers hoping it could offer a choice for heart disease sufferers who can not take the cholesterol-lowing drugs.
Mike Knapton, head of the British Heart Foundation, said, “Although this showed lycopene improved blood flow in people with heart disease, that’s a long way from demonstrating that taking it could improve outcomes for people with heart disease. The best way to get the benefits of a good diet is to eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.” What can we infer from Paragraph 1?
| A.We can eat too much tomato food. |
| B.Tomatoes are helpful to strokes and heart attacks. |
| C.Tomatoes will lose healthy elements were put into pills. |
| D.We had better not eat tomatoes. |
We can learn from the passage that the pills ____.
| A.are at the experiment stage |
| B.can cure all the disease |
| C.are widely used among patients |
| D.cost patients so little money |
Who were the volunteers by taking part in the trial?
| A.Children. | B.Youth. |
| C.Working people. | D.old healthy people. |
What Was Ian Wilkinson’s opinion on the trial?
| A.Disappointing. | B.Surprising. |
| C.Satisfactory. | D.Terrible. |
The new world of today introduced new threats that were not known in the previous generations: Internet predators(掠夺者). Often we do a lot of our researching, shopping, talking; just about everything online nowadays. New advancements in revolution comes along with the unwanted attackers. There are people out there who gain pleasure from, interrupting and taking from our peaceful lives what’s not rightfully theirs. But like with everything, there are indeed counteractive measures that can be set in place to fend off these predators from such damage. I’d like to introduce the Guardian Eye.
Within this program is a complex program which has several functions to create a safe atmosphere for whomever uses the computer, It has the ability to track and log every key stroke, every website that has ever been accessed, takes screenshots of web pages, blocks web pages according to content and even sends you messages via email once conspicuous(可疑的) activity has been reported and logged. Just think, you or child could be browsing and searching through the Internet and inappropriate content pops up with several different windows. You try to click out of the windows but you accidentally click one which releases spyware, infecting your computer. Guardian Eye blocks unwanted content from popping up or appearing to the users, which I thought was extremely convenient. In this way there is not even the slightest temptation.
This product helps prevent damage from being done to your computer and worse, your identity. It’s quite the product and it offers a little version so you may try it out first. If you’d like the full package, it’s a once time fee 39.99 and can be installed on unlimited computers for your convenience. It’s a nice deal and I’m considering getting it again considering I do a lot of writing on various websites myself. In what way is Guardian Eye most useful to kids?
| A.It stops them from opening too many windows. |
| B.It makes them aware of conspicuous activity. |
| C.It keeps them from seeing unwanted contents. |
| D.It stops spyware from entering the computer. |
We can infer from the last paragraph?
| A.you have to pay for Guardian Eye every year. |
| B.the author has never used Guardian Eye. |
| C.you can use Guardian Eye for free. |
| D.Guardian Eye is economical to use |
For what purpose does the author writer the text?
| A.To recommend a software to us. |
| B.To describe how to use a software. |
| C.To ask us to pay attention to online safety. |
| D.To tell us how to fend off online predators. |
Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy---they’re given after all. Choice can be hard.
I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago. I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2300 percent per year. I’d never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast, and the idea of building an online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me, I had just turned 30 years old , and I’d been married for a year, I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn’t work since most start-ups don’t , and I wasn’t sure what to expect, MacKenzie told me I should go for it. As a young boy, I’d been a garage inventor, I’d always wanted to be an inventor, and she wanted me to follow my passion.
I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people, and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired. I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet. He took me on a long walk in Central Park, listened carefully to me, and finally said, “That sounds like a really good idea, but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn’t already have a good job.” That logic made some sense to me, and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision. Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice, but ultimately, I decided I had to give it a shot. I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing. And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all.
After much consideration, I took the less safe path to follow my passion, and I’m proud of that choice, For all of us, in the end, we are our choice. What inspired the author with the idea of building an online bookstore?
| A.His dream if being an inventor. |
| B.The support of his wife. |
| C.The greatly increasing usage of the Internet. |
| D.Millions of exciting titles. |
Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined sentence?
| A.The idea of not trying would keep coming to his mind and disturb him. |
| B.He would be very excited if he tried it out. |
| C.He would be always having a doubt if he didn’t try. |
| D.The decision to not try the online bookstore would terrify him. |
We can know from the passage that ______.
| A.the boss thought the idea was suitable for the author |
| B.the author wanted someone else to try the idea |
| C.the author might not regret if he failed the idea |
| D.the author might go back to his boss if he failed |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A.Cleverness and Kindness | B.The Starting of Amzon |
| C.Following My Passion | D.We Are What We Choose |
You may not pay much attention to your daily elevator ride. Many of us use a lift several times during the day without really thinking about it .But Lee Gray, PhD, of the University of North Carolina, US, has made it his business to examine this overlooked form of public transport. He is known as the “Elevator Guy”.
“The lift becomes this interesting social space where etiquette is sort of odd,” Gray told the BBC, “They [elevators] are socially very interesting but often very awkward places”.
We walk in and usually turn around to face the door. If someone else comes in, we may have to move. And here, according to Gray, lift users unthinkingly go through a set pattern of movements. He told the BBC what he had observed.
He explained that when you are the only one inside a lift, you can do whatever you want – it’s your own little box.
If there are two of you, you go into different corners, standing diagonally(对角地) across from each other to create distance.
When a third person enters, you will unconsciously form a triangle. And when there is a fourth person it becomes a square, with someone in every corner. A fifth person is probably going to have to stand in the middle.
New entrants to the lift will need to size up the situation when the doors slide open and then act decisively. Once in, for most people the rule is simple – look down, or look at your phone.
Why are we so awkward in lifts?
“You don’t have enough space,” Professor Babette Renneberg, a clinical psychologist at the Free University of Berlin, told the BBC. “Usually when we meet other people we have about an arm’s length of distance between us. And that’s not possible in most elevators.”
In such a small, enclosed space it becomes very important to act in a way that cannot be construed as threatening or odd. “The easiest way to do this is to avoid eye contact,” she said.According to Gray, when people enter an elevator, they usually _____.
| A.turn around and greet one another |
| B.look around or examine their phone |
| C.make eye contact with those in the elevator |
| D.try to keep a distance from other people |
Which of the following describes how people usually stand when there are at least two people in an elevator?

The underlined phrase “size up” in Paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to _____.
| A.judge | B.ignore |
| C.put up with | D.make the best of |
According to the article, people feel awkward in lifts because of _____.
| A.someone’s odd behaviors |
| B.the lack of space |
| C.their unfamiliarity with one another |
| D.their eye contact with one another |
The English test will be removed from China’s college entrance exam by 2020, according to the Ministry of Education. The national college entrance exam, known as the “Gaokao” has been used to evaluate Chinese students for three decades. The Ministry of Education has worked out a plan for reforming exams and enrollment. Tests will be held several times a year to allow students to choose when and how often they sit the exam so as to reduce study pressure and change China’s once-in-a-lifetime exam system.
The decision has aroused a heated discussion among Shanghai educators and parents who doubted the reform would reduce the burden of learning English or if the substitute test could reflect a student’s English skills and help students learn English better. Cai Jigang, a professor from Fudan University said, “The reform shows China is to give students more test-taking chances. But more chances might become more of a burden since Chinese students are likely to repeat the test until they get the highest score.”
“In my opinion, the reform doesn’t mean English is no longer important for Chinese students after it will be excluded from the unified college entrance exam,” said Yu Lizhong, chancellor of New York University Shanghai, “In a way, English is even more important than before since the test would only serve as reference, while every college and university, even every major, canhave different requirements of a student’s English skills under a diverse evaluation system.”
Yu said some students will have their study pressure reduced if the major they choose doesn’t need excellent English while others still need to study hard if they want to be among the best students.
The education ministry said the reform would not affect students attending the college entrance exam over the next three years. But parents with younger children are concerned. Zhang Hui, the mother of a fourth-grade girl at Pudong Zhuyuan Primary School, said English was her daughter’s strength, so canceling the English test would not favor her child.What can we learn from the first paragraph?
| A.English will become less and less important in the stage of compulsory education. |
| B.It has been 30 years since English became one subject of Chinese “Gaokao”. |
| C.China’s once-in-a-lifetime exam system is unacceptable at all. |
| D.The system that tests are held several times does more good than once-in-a-lifetime |
According to the passage, some Shanghai educators and parents argue that _____.
| A.the new exam and admission system will make no difference |
| B.English shouldn’t be removed from China’s college entrance exam |
| C.the reform may accomplish the very opposite |
| D.Western educational system does not apply to China |
According to Yu Lizhong, _______________.
| A.Students needn’t lay a good foundation during the period of high school. |
| B.Whether students should study English hard may depend on their major. |
| C.Students can constantly strive for perfection only in their major. |
| D.English must be close to full mark. |
What’s the purpose of writing the passage?
| A.To advise students not to devote themselves to learning English. |
| B.To call on Education Department to remove English from “Gaokao”. |
| C.To support Education Department’s act of removing English from “Gaokao” |
| D.To report people’s opinions on English being removed from “Gaokao” |