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A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
“It’s my own fault．” Carl Fenter pulled his jacket closer against the cold morning wind．“The rest of the family is home, where it’s warm．”
Just another one of his brilliant ideas—a big tamale （玉米粉蒸肉） feast after tonight’s Christmas Eve service at church—and look where it landed him: waiting in a line of 50 people．
As Carl knew, every tamale shop in the city had sold out their 
tamales the day before Christmas, though he’d been driving all over El Paso that morning．Determined to bring home the tamales, Carl tried one last shop out in Canutillo．
When he arrived, a fresh batch （一批） would be ready off the steamer in 45 minutes．Taking his place at the end of the snaking line, he watched t
he woman in front of him remove her jacket to cover her shaking youngster．It wasn’t long before she, too, trembled in the 
chilly wind．Without hesitation, Carl took off his own jacket and offered it to the grateful mother．
They cheered when the line crept forward at last．Finally, Carl got inside the door and inched his way closer to the counter, the woman now first in line．“Sorry folks,” the clerk announced, “that’s the last of the tamales．” “No way!” Carl cried out．“But,” stressed the man, “we’ll have a final batch ready in, oh, about two hours．”
Defeated, Carl backed away, but the young mother grabbed his arm．“You’re leaving?” “I have to,” Carl glanced at his watch．“I promised to put up decorations at my church．” “I’ll get your order of tamales and bring them to your house．” Carl frowned．“I couldn’t ask you to do that．” “But it’s the least I can do．You lent me your coat．Just give me your address．” She and her little girl settled in for the long wait．
And at exactly noon on Christmas Eve, they
delivered four dozen fragrant tamales—along with Carl’s brown jacket—to his home．
56．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A．When Carl arrived at the shop, no fresh tamale was for sale．
B．Carl had to offer his jacket to the mother in front of him．
C．Carl was unable to buy tamale by himself finally．
D．Carl couldn’t wait because he had to go back to the church．
57．The mother offered to help Carl buy tamale mainly because ________．
A．she felt sorry for her buying the last tamale
B．she was very thankful to Carl for his kindness
C．Carl asked her to buy tamale for him
D．Carl promised his family to take tamale back home
58．Which is the correct order of the following events?
a．Carl went back to the church．
b．The mother delivered tamales to Carl’s home．
c．Carl waited in line for the tamales．
d．Carl offered his jacket to the mother．
e．The clerk told Carl there was no tamale left then．
A．c, d, e, a, b B．c, d, a, e, b C．a, d, e, c, b D．c, d, e, b, a
59．What is the best title for the passage?
A．No Pains, No Gains B．A Man of Good Will
C．Virtue Is Its Own Reward D．A Mother of Her Word
There is an English saying that “Laughter is the best medicine.” Until recently, few people took the saying seriously. Now however, doctors have begun to look into laughter and the effects it has on the human body. They have found that laughter can really improve people’s health.
Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films while doctors checked their hearts, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, makes the heart beat quicker and makes people breathe deeper; it also works on several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach, and even the feet. If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial.
Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effects of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group that tolerated（忍耐）the pain for the longest time was the group which listened to a funny program. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce a kind of chemical in the brain which diminishes both stress and pain.
As a result of these discoveries, some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they help to improve their patients’ condition by encouraging them to laugh. They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter.
66．According to the passage, which of the following statements is WRONG?
A．Laughter is good for health
B．Laughter can make you become old quickly
C．Laughter helps to reduce pain.
D．Laughter, just like physical exercise, is good for our body.
67．The underlined word “diminishes” in the third paragraph means “________”.
A．delays B．prevents C．increases D．reduces
68．Why do some doctors hold laughter clinics?
A．Because they want to earn more money.
B．Because they think they will heilp the patients recover from illnesses.
C．Because they want to improve their patients’ condition.
D．Because they want their patients to practice how to laugh
69．According to the author, we should ________.
A．laugh as much as possible
B．watch more funny films
C．smile all the time
D．spend more time in laughter clinics
70．What would be the best title for this passage?
A．Both laughter and physical exercise are good for health
B．Laughter clinics help patients improve their condition
C．Laughter can reduce the effects of pain
D．Laughter is the best medicine.’
There are some kinds of detectives who do not wear a uniform, like Hausman, solve endless mysteries every year. There is, for example, the dust detective. Tiny bits of dust stick to your clothes, your fingernails, your hair, or your shoes. They catch in your nose and in your ears. They tell where you have been and what you have done lately. The dust detective often helps catch a criminal by proving that he has been on the scene of the crime（罪案）.
Then there is the wood detective. By studying a piece of wood he can tell what kind of tree the piece of wood came from. He can tell where it was grown, and how old it is. He can even tell you what the weather was like at a certain place the year Columbus landed in America. The growth rings on a tree tell him.
64．According to the selection, by studying a piece of wood, a wood detective can tell you________.
A．what the weather was like the year Columbus landed in America.
B．what the weather was like last year in the mountain
C．what the weather was like last month in your hometown
D．what kind of tree the piece of wood came from
65．What does the underlined word “they”(para. 1) mean?
A．Your clothes B．Your finger-nail
C．Tiny bits of dust D．Your shoes
“Some day, there will be no Americans left in the NBA.” Said 12-year-old Xing Tao, who joined his school’s team two years ago, after watching Yao in a televised NBA game. “The players will all be Chinese, like Yao!”
To China Yao is a home-grown superstar who helped make the world’s first basketball league closer to Chinese players. To the NBA, the 2.23-metre centre offers an opening of a different sort into the world’s largest new market.
Yao’s NBA first appearance against the Indiana Pacers in October reached 287 million households in China. By contrast （对照）, there are only about 105 million households in the US. That game might have been a bit of a let down to Yao’s fans. He played just 11 of the 48 minutes, had two rebounds and got no points.
Compare that with his performance on December 19, and also against Indiana, Yao won 29 points and 10 rebounds. “This was one of the most exciting games I’ve had,” Yao said after Houston’s 95-83 victory.
“Yao Ming has brought the NBA closer to the Chinese,” said NBA spokeswoman Cheong Sau Ching, who is based in Hong Kong. “That makes the dream seem achievable for other people in China.”
The 22-year-old Yao is not the country’s first player in the NBA; Wang Zhizhi broke down that wall as a player with the Dallas Mavericks（小牛队）in April 2001. But Yao’s combination of modesty and his skills make him a favourite back home.
60．What’s the direct reason for Xing Tao to join the school’s basketball team?
A．He watched an NBA game
B．He liked basketball
C．He hoped to play for Houston Rockets
D．He had a dream that he would become a basketball star.
61．What’s the main idea of this passage?
A．Middle school students want to play basketball
B．Yao Ming makes NBA closer to China
C．There’ll be no Americans left in the NBA
D．There are many new stars from China in the NBA
62．What does “letdown” in paragraph six mean?
A．failure B．surprise C．disappointment D．sadness
63．Why does Yao Ming win more popularity than Wang Zhizhi at home?
A．He has performed excellently B．He is modest
C．His height D．A ＆ B
第三部分：阅读理解（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项。
Thirty years ago I worked in a company. My job was to sell the cars. I was young and strong and I had been to most parts of the world and I spent one fifth of my time in the trains or planes. I liked such a life and sometimes I called myself “traveler”.
But one day I got into trouble. It was a cold morning. It blew heavily and the ground was covered with thick snow outside. I was still in bed though it was nine. I finished a long journey the day before and decided to have a good rest. Suddenly the telephone rang and my manager told me to fly to New York to take part in an important meeting. I had to get up and after a quick breakfast I hurried to the airport. The taxi went slowly and I missed the first flight. I had to take the next one. It meant I would wait for nearly five hours in the waiting-room. But five hours later a passenger said the information showed there was a bomb in our plane and the policemen were looking for it. And another five hours passed and most passengers lost their patience before we were allowed to get on the plane. At the entrance each passenger and their baggage had to be examined. A young man who seemed a soldier shouted at the policemen at the entrance, “If I had a gun in my baggage, I would shoot you two hours ago!”
56．The writer called himself “traveler” because he________
A．sold cars for his company B．often took trains and cars
C．traveled all over the world D．liked traveling in many places
57．He didn’t get up until the phone rang because he________
A．felt very cold outside B．wanted to have a rest that day
C．was going to have a meeting D．was waiting for the manager’s call
58．The taxi went slowly because________
A．there was much snow on the road
B．it was very cold that morning
C．the driver didn’t know he would fly to New York
D．the manager told him not to hurry
59．The young man became angry because he________.
A．wouldn’t be examined
B．had a gun in his baggage
C．waited for a long time at the airport
D．hated the policemen at the entrance
“Image is everything.” An entire industry has been built upon the precondition that image is everything, but when it comes down to it, an appealing image is not enough. If there is no substance(物质) behind the image, the product, service or person will fail at length.
First of all, one should consider how important image is in the selling of products and services. Advertising agencies have raised the art of creating an image to a state of near perfection. Public concept of that product or service is certainly managed by the images created by the advertising agencies. But if the product or service does not live up to the image that was created, the customer will be very dissatisfied and possibly ask for their money back. For example, the Arthur Andersen accounting firm had spent decades building up an image of trustworthiness. But the recent scandal (丑闻) showed that behind that image, it had dishonest business practices. Despite the previous positive image, the firm is being accused of criminal actions and it will probably not survive as a business unit. Although the image had been nearly perfect, the reality behind the image has led to the downfall of the world famous accounting firm.
Similarly, personal consultants can build up a public image for politicians and movie stars. Putting out positive news releases, making sure that only the best photographs are published, and ensuring that the person is seen in all the right places can build up a very positive image in the view of the general commons. But once again, history is filled with examples of both politicians and movie stars that fell from grace(体面) like the story of the Hollywood actor giving in to the pressures of fame and fortune. With people, just as with products and services, image is certainly important, but without positive substance behind the image, failure is close.
To summarize, it is clear that an appealing image is extremely important to success, whether that image is related to selling a product or service or to the “selling” of a person. But image is only half of the equation. What lies behind that image is every bit as important as the image itself —— the person or product must deliver on that image or there is little chance for long-term success.
72.The downfall of the Arthour Andersen accounting firm is due to ________.
A. its dishonesty in business B. its previous images
C. its bad management D. its poor service
73.Why did some famous people fall from grace?
A. Their images were not well built up
B. They failed to live up to their images.
C. They felt much pressure from the public
D. They paid little attention to fame and fortune.
74.The structure of the passage is ________.
A: Argument B: Point C: Conclusion
75.The author tries to argue that _________.
A. image creates everything
B. image is the key to success
C. truth is unlikely ever to be equalled
D. truth and image are equally important