From good reading we can derive pleasure, companionship, experience, and instruction. A good book may absorb our attention so completely that for the time being we forget our surroundings and even our identity. Reading good books is one of the greatest pleasures in life. It increases our contentment when we are cheerful, and lessens our troubles when we are sad. Whatever may be our main purpose in reading, our contact with good books should never fail to give us enjoyment and satisfaction.
With a good book in our hands we need never be lonely. Whether the characters portrayed are taken from real life or are purely imaginary, they may become our companions and friends. In the pages of books we can walk with the wise and the good of all lands and all times. The people we meet in books may delight us either because they resemble human friends whom we hold dear or because they present unfamiliar types whom we are glad to welcome as new acquaintances. Our human friends sometimes may bore us, but the friends we make in books need never weary us with their company. By turning the page we can dismiss them without any fear of hurting their feelings. When human friends desert us, good books are always ready to give us friendship, sympathy, and encouragement. One of the most valuable gifts bestowed by books is experience. Few of us can travel far from home or have a wide range of experiences, but all of us can lead varied lives through the pages of books. Whether we wish to escape from the seemingly dull realities of everyday life or whether we long to visit some far-off place, a book will help us when nothing else can. To travel by book we need no bank account to pay our way; no airship or ocean liner or stream-lined train to transport us; no passport to enter the land of our heart's desire. Through books we may get the thrill of hazardous adventure without danger. We can climb lofty mountains, brave the perils of an Antarctic winter, or cross the scorching sands of the desert, all without hardship. In books we may visit the studios of Hollywood; we may mingle with the gay throngs of the Paris boulevards; we may join the picturesque peasants in an Alpine village or the kindly natives on a South Sea island. Indeed, through books the whole world is ours for the asking. The possibilities of our literary experiences are almost unlimited. The beauties of nature, the enjoyment of music, the treasures of art, the triumphs of architecture, the marvels of engineering, are all open to the wonder and enjoyment of those who read.
51. Why is it that we sometimes forget our surroundings and even our identity while reading?
A. No one has come to disturb you.
B. Everything is so quiet and calm around you.
C. The book you are reading is so interesting and attractive.
D. Your book is overdue; you are finishing it at a very fast speed.
52. How would you account for the fact that people like their acquaintances in books even more?
A. They resemble human friends exactly. B. They are unfamiliar types we like.
C. They never desert us. D. They never hurt our feelings.
53. Which of the following is true?
A. Your wish to visit some far-off place can be realized through the pages of the books.
B. To escape from the dull realities of everyday life you should take up reading.
C. Books can always help you to live a colourful life.
D. You may obtain valuable experience from reading good books.
54. The word “weary” means ______.
A. “to attract someone’s attention” B. “to distract someone’s attention”
C. “to make someone very tired” D. “to make someone interested”
55. “... the whole world is ours for the asking” implies that ____________.
A. in books the world is more accessible to us
B. we can ask to go anywhere in the world
C. we can make a claim to everything in this world
D. we can make a round-the-world trip free of charge
E
Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance (pocket money).The purpose is to let children learn from experiences at an age when financial mistakes are not very costly.
The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family Timing is another consideration .Some children get a weekly allowance Others get a monthly allowance
In any case,parents should make clear what,if anything,the child is expected to pay for with the money.At first, young children may spend all of their allowance soon after they receive it If they do this they will learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget.Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until the next allowance.
The object is to show young people that a budget demands a choice between spending and saving Older children may be responsible enough to save money for larger costs,like clothing or electronics.Many people who have written on the subject of allowances say it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home .These jobs are a normal part of family life.
Paying children to do extra work around the house,however,can be useful.It can even provide an understanding of how a business works.
Allowances give children a chance to experience the three things they can do with money.They can share it in the form of gifts or giving to a good cause.They can spend it by buying things they want.Or they can save it.
Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice.You have to cut costs and plan for the future. Requiting children to save part of their allowances can also open the door to future saving and investing. Many banks offer services to help children and teenagers learn about personal finance.
A savings account is an excellent way to learn about the power of compound interest.
Compounding works by paying interest on interest.So,for example,one dollar invested at two percent interest for two years will earn two cents in the first year.The second year,the money will earn two percent of one dollar and two cents,and so on. That may not seem like a lot.But over time it adds up.
71.Giving an allowance,parents should consider all the following EXCEPT________.
A.how much the child should get each time
B.whether the child has made a budget
C.where the money really goes
D.how often a child can get it
72.According to the passage,how can a child learn to have a budget?
A.Through their own experiences.
B.Through parents' instruction.
C.By spending allowance.
D.By receiving allowance.
73.The author of the passage holds the opinion that_________.
A.what children learn by handling allowances may be beneficial in the future
B.children can learn to set up their own business with their allowances.
C.keeping allowances in the bank is the best choice for children
D.it is not a good idea to pay children to do housework at home
74.The underlined words “compound interest” in the passage probably means__________.
A.increasing curiosity to learn how to make more money
B.stronger power to hold one's attention to saving money
C.money paid by the bank on your original money and the gain from it
D.the sum of money that you earn from keeping your money in the bank
75.What is the best title for the passage?
A.Be Generous To Pay Your Children
B.Be Wise To Avoid Financial Mistakes
C.Saving Allowances Does Good To Children
D.Allowances Help Children Learn About Money
D
11-year-old Courtney Thompson was so passionate about gymnastics that she would practice five hours a day until her arms were sore and her elbows swollen.She rarely complained about her tough schedule,and for good reason.Courtney was ranked the best gymnast in the State for her age,and she dreamed of going to the Olympics.But on January 12th,2005,while practicing a routine exercise,she felt an unbearable pain in the left elbow.The medical examination then revealed a severe injury,resulting in an immediate surgery and a slow,painful recovery.
What happened to Courtney Thompson is a red flag in America's growing epidemic of youth sports injuries.Across the country,younger and younger athletes are injuring themselves in the pursuit of sports achievement.The U.S.Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that 2.8 million Americans aged 5 through 24 received medical treatment for a sports-related or recreation-related injury in 2003.Severe injuries that used to be limited to professionals are now showing up in high school and even junior high athletes.
There are many reasons behind the outbreak in sports injuries,hut most experts agree on one:the extreme culture of organized youth sports.Gone are the days when children played a variety of games on playgrounds.Child kidnapping and street crime have ended casual neighborhood athletics in many places,leading parents to enroll their children in organized sports under the watchful, though demanding,eyes of adult volunteers and coaches.And movies like Friday Night Lights glorify the thrill of victory for young athletes with single-minded dedication to athletic achievement.
From high school gyms to county hall fields,41 million children younger than 19 participated in organized youth sports in 2005,according to the latest research by the National Council of Youth Sports. The figure represents a 25 percent increase since 1997.
Parental involvement 1”youth sports has also made childhood games less about having fun and more about training and competing for the top spot.1anding a college scholarship or launching a promising career Hoping to nurture the next Michelle Kwan or Apolo Ohno,some parents guide their children into specializing in one sport But the repetitive training required to master a sport places enormous stresses on hones and muscles that are still developing.
67.The passage is mainly about_________
A.children’s participation in organized sports
B.the main causes of the youth sports injuries
C.the way to train children in organized sports
D.the common occurrence of youth sports injuries
68.The underlined part “Fed flag” in the second paragraph most probably means“_______”.
A.warning B.problem C. symbol D.mark
69.Why is the number of sports injuries among children in America growing?
A.Because of their increasing fondness for sports.
B.Because children are not professional enough fur sports
C.Because more children are seeking for sports achievements.
D.Because of the involvement of the parents and more organized sports
70. We can learn from the passage that __________
A.about 10.25 million youngsters participated in organized sports in 1997
B.parents give limited chances for children to choose their sports
C.serious injuries often happened to young students in the past
D.courtney Thompson will never become a famous gymnast
C
Can you imagine a catfish bigger than a boy? There are more than 1,000 kinds of catfish;28 species are found in the United States' lakes and rivers. This huge family has some mighty strange members. Let's meet a few.
Walking catfish.Nature's feisty little catfish,found in southern Florida,has an extra lung for breathing on dry land. When its swimming hole dries up,the walking catfish waddles on stiff forward fins in search of another lake or stream.If an enemy attacks,the fish flares(展开)its top and front fins and leaps at the attacker to scare it off.
Armored catfish.This catfish has heavy,bony plates protecting its body. The shell makes the fish difficult to bone. To cook it,throw the fish whole into a fire. When it is done,break it open for eating.Some armored catfish are found in Florida,but the 100-pounders live in South America.
Rounding out the family of strange catfish are talking catfish,which make growing sound when you pull them from the water;climbing catfish,which move quickly up shore brush in search of food;electric catfish,which can deliver a mild shock;and blind catfish,which settle in the inky blackness of underwater caves.Blind catfish find food through taste buds in their eight whiskers(须).
Most catfish have four whiskers on the upper jaw and four on the lower jaw. Sensory holes on these whiskers help the fish smell and taste food even in the muddiest of water.The United States does not have catfish anywhere near the size of those in South America.But in some large U.S,rivers,blue and flathead catties do top 100 pounds.
Most of the catfish you are likely to catch will be much smaller,about frying pan size.When you catch one,remember that the top fins and the forward fins have poison glands(腺)at their bases. They can give you painful wounds (…)
63.The purpose of the passage is to___________.
A.encourage readers to go fishing for catfish
B.inform readers of the world's largest catfish
C.describe the unusual characteristics of catfish
D.explain different ways to catch a variety of catfish
64.The author talks about the way of cooking an armored catfish to show that
A.it has heavy and bony plates B.it's hard to cook and eat
C.it has too many bonesD.it's poisonous inside
65.Which is NOT mentioned about catfish in the passage?
A.Its eating habits. B.Its living conditions.
C.Its whiskers. D.Its size
66.What may be continued in the last paragraph?
A.The author's love for catfish.B.Where else to catch a catfish.
C.The origin of the name “catfish” D.The safest way to handle catfish
B
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60.What information CAN'T we get from the advertisement about Ouickeats?
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61.Which of the following can be cooled in a refrigerator before eating according to the ads?
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62.What can we learn from the advertisement?
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第三部分:阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,共40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。
A
There were two things in the world that Ghagra Geeta Bali hated. The first was the way,Rani,the domestic help.combed her hair.The second was,you guessed it,her name. She hated her name so much that she prayed to god every night:Dear god,let me be born again. So I can have a name like Rita or Preeti.A short,smart one-word name.
On Tuesday,Ghagra Geeta Bali and her mother went for their usual shopping. There was a long queue of children just outside the record store.They went loser to look. It was yet another scheme to sell a few audio cassettes.Everyone who bought a cassette qualified for the scheme.
In this case,the artist whose songs were featured on the cassette was a young sensation called Malik Fafidabadi,a great favorite with teenagers. Ghagra Geeta Bali was no exception.
A friendly young man was writing down the names of the people who wanted to participate in the scheme.Out of this long list Malik would pick one name,and the chosen one would get to meet him.plus of course,win many freebies(赠品).
But when her mother asked her to participate,Ghagra Geeta Bali said no. She didn't want to speak out her name in front of so many people and make herself the butt(笑料)of amusement. But mothers being mothers,she just went up to the man and told him in firm tones:“Please enter my daughter's name. It is Ghagra Geeta Bali.”
“It is what?” the man asked,naturally a little taken aback.
“G-h-a-g-r-a G-e-e-t-a B-a-l-i. There she is,”she replied while pointing to her daughter. The crowd standing around also turned to stare. All Ghagra Geeta Bali wanted then was for the earth to open up and swallow her.
That did not happen.But the following week she received a call.It was from the recording company that had announced the scheme. And they told her that she was the chosen one
“It is all because of your name,” said the public relations man who had called.“Mr Faridabadi took one look at it in the list and said that he couldn't wait to meet the brave girl bearing it.”
56.Ghagra Geeta Bali didn't like her name because__________
A.it would bring her a lot of trouble B.it was too long and not beautiful
C.it would make her angryD.it was too ugly and dull
57.When the girl saw the crowd turn to stare at her,she felt_________
A.scaredB.shockedC.embarrassedD.disappointed
58. What is the message of the story?
A.Mother's love makes all the difference
B.Children should always trust their parents.
C.One should be brave to meet anything strange
D.Something that one thinks is bad may turn out good