第三部分阅读理解（共两节，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。
Erik Weihemnayer was born with an eye problem. As a child his eyesight became worse and then, at the age of 13, he lost his sight completely. However, he did not lose his determination to lead a full and active life.
Erik became an adventurer. He took up parachuting, wrestling and scuba diving. He competed in long-distance hiking, marathons and skiing. His favorite sport, though, is mountain climbing.
As a young man, Erik started to climb mountains. He reached the summit of Mount McKinley in 1995 and then climbed the dangerous 1000-metre rock wall of El Capitan. Two years later, while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya with his girlfriend, they stopped for a time at13,000 feet above sea level in order to get married．In 1999, he climbed Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in South America．And then, on May 25, 2001, at the age of 33, Erik successfully completed the greatest climbing challenge of all. He climbed Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world．
Erik invented his own method for climbing mountains. He carries two long poles: one to lean on and the other to test the way ahead of him. The climber in front of him wears a bell to guide him. Erik is a good team member. He does his share of the job, such as setting up tents and building snow walls.
Although he could not enjoy the view, Erik felt the excitement of being on the summit of Everest. He hopes that his success will change how people think about the blind．“When people think about a blind person or blindness, now they will think about a person standing on top of the world.”
56．When did Erik become blind totally?
A．In 1968. B．In 1995. C. In 1981. D．In 1970.
57．Erik got married ________.
A．on the summit of Mount McKinley B．when climbing Mount Everest
C. on the top of Aconcagua D．when climbing Mount Kilimanjaro
58．What is Erik’s special way for climbing a mountain?
A．Using two long poles. B．Doing his share of work.
C. Taking his girlfriend． D．Keeping a good team around him.
59．Which of the following shows the right order of what happened?
a．He topped Mount McKinley.
b．He became blind．
C. He challenged Mount Everest.
d．He reached the peak of Kilimanjaro.
e．He climbed the rock wall of EI Capitan.
A．b, e, d, c, a B．b, a, e, d, c C. a, b, e, d, c D．b, d, a, c, d
April 11, 2003 12:44 a. m. PST, Associated Press The respiratory(呼吸系统) virus known as SARS has appeared to spread in the United States only to family members of health workers with close contact to a sick person.
On Thursday, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there might be a case of severe acute respiratory syndrome（综合症） spreading through the workplace.
Dr. Julie Gerberding said a suspected SARS virus patient who became ill after traveling to Asia might have infected a co-worker in Florida, which made her “very worried”.
So far, a dozen people—nine family members and three health workers—were infected after coming into close contact with the person with SARS. The rest of the 166 suspected American cases have something to do with people who were infected while traveling in Asia.
In the Gainesville, Fla. area, a 47-year-old woman was believed to have been infected at work by a 60-year-old woman who was the nation’s first suspected SARS case, said Tom Belcuore, director of the Alachua County health department.
Since the World Health Organization announced a worldwide warning last month about SARS, the United States has started infection control in hospitals and among families of suspected cases.
Florida officials said a school in Okaloosa County went through a cleaning after a 6-year-old boy suspected of having SARS appeared at school with slight symptoms. “Health officials are watching the boys’ contacts at school to make sure no one else is infected,” said Rob Hayes, health department spokesman, “The boy may have been infected from a family member,” Hayes said, “We immediately became aware of it and had the child sent home. He’s staying at home with his family until 10 days after symptoms disappear.”
The researchers guessed that the virus might have come from animals. However, the scientists have not ruled out the possibility that some other microbe might also help make SARS more serious or easier to catch.The best title for this text is _______.
| A．A Worldwide Warning |
| B．Suspected SARS Cases |
| C．What Is SARS |
| D．Possible Spread of SARS in the USA |
The writer wrote this text mainly to _______.
| A．discuss the danger of SARS |
| B．report research result about SARS |
| C．inform people of the spread of SARS |
| D．explain to the readers what SARS is |
How many cases of suspected SARS are there in the U.S.A. according to the text?
A. 166. B.178. C. 12. D. 181.
Ottawais the capital of Canada. It is the second largest city in Ontario and the fourth largest city in the country.
The Centre Blockis the main building on Parliament Hill (国会山). It is also the location of several ceremonial spaces, such as the Hall of Honor and the Memorial Chamber. The present Centre Block is the seconditerationof the building，after the first was destroyed by fire in
1916，and it is one of the most recognizable buildings in Canada.
Downtown Ottawais the commercial and economic centre of the city. Most of the buildings are office towers. While most of Ottawa’s high tech industry is based elsewhere, it has a significant presence in the downtown core. The downtown also contains a number of apartments, hotels, and the older single family homes and townhouses along its edges.
The National Gallery of Canadais one of Canada’s premier art galleries. The Gallery has a large and varied collection of paintings, drawings, sculpture and photographs. Although its focus is on Canadian art, it also holds works by some noted American and European artists.
The Rideau Canalis the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America. At the very beginning，the purpose of the Rideau Canal was military, as it was intended to provide a secure supply and communication route between Montreal and the British naval base in Kingston. It remains in use today primarily for pleasure boating, with most of its original structures undamaged. The locks on the system open for navigation in mid-May and close in mid-October. What does "iteration" probably mean in the 2nd paragraph? _____.
| A．repair | B．copy | C．design | D．landmark |
In the core of Downtown Ottawa, we could see _____.
| A．a large number of tall towers |
| B．a number of apartments and hotels |
| C．head offices of Ottawa’s high tech industry |
| D．the older single family homes and townhouses |
Collections in the National Gallery of Canada are mainly _____.
| A．paintings and drawings | B．sculpture and photographs |
| C．artwork by Americans and European | D．works by Canadian artists |
Which of the following is true about the Rideau Canal? _____.
| A．It was originally for the military purpose |
| B．It is the oldest canal system in North America |
| C．The original structures remain never changed |
| D．People can only go boating from May to October |
An Israeli law banning too skinny models went into effect with the start of 2013. The law, approved last March in Israel, requires models to prove they have maintained a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 18.5 for three months before a fashion show. That means a woman who is 5'8'' tall can weigh no less than 119 pounds.
“This law is another step in the war against eating disorders,” said physician Adatto. “Underweight models,” he explained, “can no longer serve as role models for innocent young people who copy their false image of being skinny.”
But some critics in this country say it is misguided, focusing on weight instead of health. They also say the Israeli ban is bound to fail because of the strong power of the fashion industry. “I think it’s an approach that isn’t going to work.” Said eating disorder expert Susan Ice, who worked with an organization which creates a healthy working environment for models.
But Adatto told the reporter that he began to concern the issue after meeting an ambitious model who looked like she needed to be hospitalized. He said. “I realized that only legislation can change the situation. There was no time to waste, so many girls were dieting to death.”
However, the efforts to regulate models’ weight in Spain and Italy have not resulted in significant changes in part because of difficulties in determining reliable methods of measuring weight and health.
Still, folks including Ice say there’s no denying that images from Hollywood and the fashion industry can be difficult for young women to deal with. “Certainly I don't believe the modeling industry has caused the rise in eating disorders, but it makes it harder,” she says. “It’s a difficult recovery environment, worshiping thinness as the beauty ideal.”What does BMI in the first paragraph refer to?
| A．A new show held by those skinny models. |
| B．A worldwide prize for the healthiest model. |
| C．A measure of body health based on height and weight. |
| D．A kind of medicine to cure eating disorders. |
One benefit the new Israeli law may bring is ________.
| A．to change the working conditions of models |
| B．to prevent models from suffering from eating disorders |
| C．to lower the chance of skinny models’ death |
| D．to provide guidance for women worshiping thinness |
In the opinion of the critics, the law won’t succeed because.
| A．the fashion industry is much too influential |
| B．it misleads young women to form a bad eating habit |
| C．it doesn’t provide a proper approach that can work well |
| D．it doesn’t create a healthy working environment for models |
According to the passage, the new Israeli law banning skinny models is.
| A．practical | B．acceptable | C．reasonable | D．controversial |
Our bedroom has no full-length mirror. There is one at the canteen entrance. I always cherish a secret desire to take a glance before it at myself in a beautiful new dress. However, each time when it comes to the fulfillment, I get seized with such an uneasiness that I literally stagger(踉跄) away—backing out at the critical moment.
At the root of it is my lack of confidence by which I have been enslaved since childhood. It embarrasses me at the mildest praise, crushes my utmost efforts to say “No”, and prevents me from asking my parents for one cent more than necessary. Among other things, lack of confidence has wormed its way into my love of piano.
At the age of 14, one Sunday morning, I was woken up by a resounding hymn(洪亮的圣歌). Tracing that call of God into a neighboring church, I found myself deeply attracted by the melody of a piano—something beyond the means of my parents. To make it worse, people say a pianist is supposed to have music in the blood, but I believe I had none from my engineer father and technician mother. For days on end, I kept thinking of nothing else. I had a dream.
It wasn’t a dream after gold, which made some of my close friends to engage in business as self-employed traders or street peddlers. I was sometimes dazzled by their gold rings or elegant necklaces behind which, however, I seemed to catch sight of skeletons in their cupboards and was frightened away from the craze for fortunate. Out of despair, I kept it to myself, lack of confidence weighing heavy on me. I could do nothing but turn to my dream for comfort, for courage to aim high and wish for the impossible. I was convinced that before I could afford anything expensive (to me, it was a piano), I should climb up the academic ladder as high as possible.
For the next nine years, I carefully held back my desire for music to keep my search for learning, especially in English studies. My efforts were so rewarding that I went successfully through high school and college in my hometown. When I received the admission notice for a second degree course at a famous university in Beijing, the national capital, tears welled up in my eyes. I knew my command of English was my wealth, for I might make a deal with a pianist who would give me access to his piano in exchange for English lessons. And that has come true!
To this day, whenever I lay my fingers on the snow-white keyboard, ready for a melody, I still feel shy. I am quite aware of my limited music talent, but as a shy dreamer, I have found my way to success.According to the first two paragraphs, we can learn that the writer is __________.
| A．helpless | B．shy | C．honest | D．considerate |
Why did the writer say her desire for the piano was a dream in the third paragraph?
a. Her parents couldn’t afford a piano.
b. Her parents didn’t want her to engage in music.
c. She thought she had no gift for music.
d. She could do nothing but accept the reality.
| A．a, b | B．c, d | C．a, c | D．b, d |
How did the writer make her dream of playing the piano come true?
| A．She turned to her friends for financial aid. |
| B．She taught English in exchange for piano lessons. |
| C．She was admitted to a university for a second degree course in music. |
| D．She earned money by doing a part-time job to pay for her piano lessons. |
What can we learn from the writer’s example?
| A．Wealth always comes after a great effort. |
| B．Confidence is a key factor in success. |
| C．We should be academically successful before other achievements. |
| D．We should make every effort to turn a dream into reality. |
Mr. Peter Johnson, aged twenty-three, battled for half an hour to escape from his trapped car yesterday when it landed upside down in three feet of water. He took the only escape route—through the boot.
Mr. Johnson’s car had ended up in a ditch at Romney Marsin, Kent after he lost proper control on ice and hit a bank. “Fortunately, the water began to come in only slowly,” Mr. Johnson said. “I couldn’t force the doors open because they were jammed against the walls of the ditch and dared not open the windows because I knew water would come flooding in.”
Mr. Johnson, a sweet salesman of Sitting Home, Kent, first tried to attract the attention of other motorists by sounding the horn and hammering on the roof and boot. Then he began his struggle to escape.
Later he said, “It was really a half penny that saved my life. It was the only coin I had in my pocket and I used it to unscrew the back seat to get into the boot. I hammered desperately with a hammer trying to make someone hear, but no help came.”
It took ten minutes to unscrew the seat, and a further five minutes to clear the sweet samples from the boot. Then Mr. Johnson found a wrench (扳手) and began to work on the boot lock. Fifteen minutes passed by. “It was the only chance I had. Finally it gave, but as soon as I moved the boot lid, the water and mud poured in. I forced the lid down into the mud and climbed up clear as the car filled up.”
His hands and arms cut and bruised, Mr. Johnson got to Beckett Farm nearby. Huddled in a blanket, he said, “That thirty minutes seemed like hours.” Only the tips of the car wheels were visible, police said last night. The vehicle had sunk into two feet of mud at the bottom of the ditch. Which of the following objects is the most important to Mr. Johnson?
| A．The hammer. | B．The coin. | C．The seat. | D．The horn. |
We know from the passage that ______.
| A．Mr. Johnson’s car stood on its boot as it fell down |
| B．Mr. Johnson’s car accident was partly due to the slippery road |
| C．Mr. Johnson struggled in the pouring mud as he unscrewed the back seat |
| D．Mr. Johnson could not escape from the door because it was full of sweet jam |
“Finally it gave” in Paragraph 5 means that ______.
| A．at last the wrench went broken |
| B．the chance was lost at the last minute |
| C．the lock came open after all his efforts |
| D．luckily the door was torn away in the end |
What is the best title for this newspaper article?
| A．Driver Escapes through Car Boot |
| B．The Story of Mr. Johnson, a Sweet Salesman |
| C．The Driver Survived a Terrible Car Accident |
| D．Car Boot Can Serve as the Best Escape Route |