Visiting the Arctic
ZHOU Mingfeng, 17, has only stepped out of his birthplace, Qingdao, once to visit the top of the world, the Arctic!
The Senior 2 student from the High School Attached to Ocean University of China joined a two-week journey to the Arctic at the beginning of this month, after he was recommended for the trip. Including his teacher, Wu Jianying, the adventure group consisted of 12 students and teachers from China, Spain, Canada, Britain and the US.
“The trip brought the whole subject of geography and climate change to life,” Zhou said.
Before they landed by air on Canada’s research icebreaker (破冰船) in the Arctic, Amundsen, the group visited an Inuit (英纽特人的) community. Zhou also got the chance to experience dog-sledding for the first time!
He was surprised to find that Inuit people don’t live in snow igloos (圆顶建筑) any longer. “They live in modern, warm wooden houses and travel mostly by snowmobile,” he said.
During the time on board Amundsen, every day was science orientated (以……为主). Zhou and other teenagers were guided by scientists, who work there, to take part in laboratory and field work. Sometimes they went outside to collect ice and snow samples for experiments despite the windy, freezing climate.
As the only Chinese student, Zhou didn’t feel very confident due to his English inefficiency.
“Those students soon got close to the onboard scientists and became involved (参与) in their research,” he recalled in admiration.
However, it didn’t prevent Zhou from enjoying the unique and remote life there.
When the wind died and the sun shone on the frozen desert, Zhou and his new friends recorded their days with photo shoots out on the ice beside the Amundsen!
“The views were breathtaking! Everything around us seemed lifeless, which is shocking,” he said.
But there proved to be something alive, under the ice caps. A seal popped out of the water below the ship and greeted them on the last day of their stay.
“It was the only animal I saw in the Arctic!” he said. “But it’s a pity that I didn’t see a single polar bear in the ‘capital’ of the creature.
59. According to the passage, the students and teachers visiting Artic are most likely to _______.
A. go sightseeing B. take part in some science research
C. learn English D. learn about Inuit community
60. In the passage, Amundsen is _________.
A. an icebreaker B. an Inuit igloo C. a place in Artic D. a dog-drawn sled
61. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Zhou was surprised to find the Inuit lived in modern, warm wooden houses.
B. Zhou visited an Inuit community first.
C. Zhou’s inefficient English made him unable to enjoy the life in Artic.
D. Zhou took many photos with his new friends.
62. The underlined sentence “The trip brought the whole subject of geography and climate change to life,” in Paragraph 3 probably means _________.
A. The trip made what had been learned in geography lessons more vivid or interesting.
B. The trip suddenly started working.
C. The trip completely changed his life.
D. The trip made animals in Artic live.
B
Expressions about water are mostly as common as water itself.
The expression “to be in hot water” is one of them. It is a very old expression. Hot water was used five hundred years ago to mean being in trouble. One story says it got that meaning from the custom of throwing extremely hot water down on enemies attacking a castle. That no longer happens. But we still get “in hot water”. When we are in hot water, we are in trouble. It can be any kind of trouble, serious or not so serious. A person who breaks a law can be in hot water with the police. A young boy can be in hot water with his mother if he walks in the house with dirty shoes.
“Being in deep water” is somewhat like being in hot water. When you are in deep water, you are in a difficult position. Imagine a person who can not swim being thrown in water over his head. You are in deep water when you are facing a problem that you don’t have the ability to solve. You can be in deep water, for example, if you invest in stocks without knowing anything about the stock market.
“To keep your head above water” is a colorful expression that means staying out of debt. A company seeks to keep its head above water during economic hard times. A man who loses his job tries to keep his head above water until he finds a new job.
“Water over the dam” is another expression about past events. It is something that is finished, and cannot be changed. The expression comes from the idea that water has floated over a dam and cannot be brought back again. When a friend is troubled by a mistake he or she has made, you might tell him or her to forget about it. You say it is water over the dam.
Another common expression “to hold water” is about the strength or weakness of an idea or opinion that you may be arguing about . It probably comes from a way of testing the condition of a container. If it can hold water, it is strong and does not have any holes; if it does not hold water, then, it is weak and not worth debating.
“Throwing cold water” also is an expression that deals with ideas or proposals. For example, you want to buy a new car because the old one has some problems, but your wife throws cold water on the idea because she says a new car costs too much.
60. Don’t cheat in this exam! Or you’ll if you are caught cheating by the teacher.
A. be in hot wate B. have to hold water
C . be in deep water D. keep your head above water
61.The expression using water in Paragraph has almost the same meaning as “Things done cannot be undone.”
A. 3 B. 4 C . 5 D. 6
62. We can see from this passage that many of the expressions using water have meanings.
A. double B. unpleasant C . close D. moral
63.The best title for this passage should be .
A. The history of water B. Cold water or hot water
C . Water and it culture D. Expressions concerning water
四、阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下面短文，从每小题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
A businessman walks into a bank in San Francisco and asks for the loan officer. He says he is going to Europe on business for two weeks and needs to borrow ＄5000 . The bank officer says the bank will need some kind of security for such a loan. So the businessman hands over the keys to a Rolls Royce parked on the street in front of the bank. Everything checks out, and the bank agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan. An employee drives the Rolls Royce into the bank’s underground garage and parks it there.
Two weeks later, the businessman returns, and repays the ＄5000 and the interest, which comes to ＄15.41.
The loan officer says, “ We are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multimillionaire. What puzzles us is that why would you bother to borrow＄5000?”
Laughing, the businessman replies, “ Where else in San Francisco can I park my car for two weeks for ＄15?”
56. The businessman walks into the bank with the true purpose of .
A. borrowing＄5000B. meeting the loan officer
C . finding a place to park his car D. showing how rich he is
57. The loan officer is puzzled because .
A. he never thought he could meet a multimillionaire in his bank
B. he thinks the businessman is crazy to leave his car in the bank
C . he never thought the businessman could drive a Rolls Royce
D. he thinks＄5000 is so small a sum of money to the businessman
58. The underlined word “collateral” in Paragraph 1 most probably means“ ”.
A. security B. payment C . reward D. deal
59. Which of the following words can best describe the businessman according to the story?
A. Honest B. Clever C . Rich D. Kind
E
I am a writer. I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language—the way it can evoke（唤起） an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all—all the Englishes I grew up with.
Born into a Chinese family that had recently arrived in California, I’ve been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. Like others, I have described it to people as “broken” English. But feel embarrassed to say that. It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than “broken”, as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness. I’ve heard other terms used, “limited English,” for example. But they seem just as bad, as if everything is limited, including people’s perceptions（认识）of the limited English speaker.
I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mother’s “limited” English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say. That is ,because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect. And I had plenty of evidence to support me: the fact that people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.
I started writing fiction in 1985. And for reasons I won’t get into today, I began to write stories using all the Englishes I grew up with: the English she used with me, which for lack of a better term might be described as “broken”, and what I imagine to be her translation of her Chinese, her internal（内在的） language, and for that I sought to preserve the essence（本质）, but neither an English nor a Chinese structure: I wanted to catch what language ability tests can never show; her intention, her feelings, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts.
57. By saying “Language is the tool of my trade”, the author means that ______.
A. she uses English in foreign trade B. she is fascinated by languages
C. she works as a translator D. she is a writer by profession
58. The author used to think of her mother’s English as ______.
A. impolite B. amusing C. imperfect D. practical
59. Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 3?
A. Americans do not understand broken English.
B. The author’s mother was not respected sometimes.
C. The author’ mother had positive influence on her.
D. Broken English always reflects imperfect thoughts.
60. What is the passage mainly about?
A. The changes of the author’s attitude to her mother’s English.
B. The limitation of the author’s perception of her mother.
C. The author’s misunderstanding of “limited” English.
D. The author’s experiences of using broken English.
D
I know what you’re thinking : pizza （比萨饼）? For breakfast? But the truth is that you can have last night’s leftovers in the a. m. if you want to... .
I know lots of women who skip breakfast （不吃早餐） , and they have a ton of different excuses for doing it . Some say they don’t have time. others think they’re “saving” calories （卡路里）, still others just don’t like breakfast food . .
But the bottom line is that eating in the morning is very important when you’re trying to lose weight. “Eating just about anything from 300 to 400 calories would be better than nothing at all,” says Katherine Brooking , R , D , who developed the super-easy eating plan for this year’s “SELF CHALLENGE”. And even pizza can be healthy if it’s loaded with vegetables, and you stick to one small piece. . .
Breakfast is one meal I never miss, and the same goes for most weight loss success stories. Research shows that eating breakfast keeps you from overeating later in the day. Researchers at the University of Southem California found that breakfast skippers have a bigger chance of gaining weight than those who regularly have a morning meal. . .
So eat something in the morning, anything. I know plenty of friends who end up having no breakfast altogether, and have just coffee or orange juice. I say, try heating up last night’s leftovers-it may sound crazy, but if it works for you, do it! I find if I tell myself, “You can always eat it tomorrow,” I put away the leftovers instead of eating more that night. Try it…you may save yourself some pre-bedtime calories. And watch your body gain the fat-burning effects. . .
53. The word “leftovers” in Paragraph 1 probably means__________
food remaining after a meal B. things left undone
C. meals made of vegetables D. pizza topped with fruit . .
54. What can we infer from the text? . .
A. Working women usually have breakfast in a hurry
B. Many people have wrong ideas about breakfast. . .
C. There are some easy ways of cooking a meal. . .
D. Eating vegetables helps save energy. . .
55. According to the last paragraph, it is important to____________. . .
A. eat something for breakfast B. be careful about what you eat . .
C. heat up food before eating it D. eat calorie-controlled food . .
56. The text is written mainly for those_____________. . .
A. who go to work early B. who want to lose weight . .
C. who stay up late D. who eat before sleep . .
C
Sunday, October 5
Clear, 69°F
My wife, Eleanor , and I took the train from Paris to Strasbourg, where we were met by our driver and guide. And the minibus which goes along with the boat. We stopped off in Barn for an hour on the way. Then we were taken to Nancy where the boat was kept.
After the other passengers arrived, we had our first dinner on the boat. After dinner we walked into downtown Nancy, a village with a large square and wooden houses.
Monday, October 6
Rained last night, cloudy in the morning, 69°F
We spent about two hours in Nancy, then sailed on the Canal de la Marne au Rhine. Kind of a lazy day. Eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, after dinner we watched a tape on Baccarat, where we will visit tomorrow.
It was pleasant to sit out on deck （甲板）and watch the scenery go by at about 3 mph.
Tuesday, October 7
Light rain, 64°F
This morning we drove over to Baccarat and toured its museum and the church , which has this unbelievable lamp that is going on a world tour the next day. We did lost of shopping , then walked across the bridge to see a very , very modern Catholic church with special Baccarat windows.
We drove to the top of the Voges Mountains and started down the eastern side. Later we drove to Sorrenbourg to see the 13th century church at the Cordeliers. It contains the largest window by Marc Chagall — 24 feet wide by 40 feet high.
Wednesday, October 8
Cloudy, 65 °F
Today we sailed from Schneckenbush to Saverne. We went through two caves, an extremely unusual part of the journey. This river scenery is very different. We were in a mountain valley with grassland on one side and a forest beginning to show some color on the other.
Thursday, October 9
Cloudy, 66°F
Our dependable minibus was waiting to load the luggage and take us to the hotel where everyone went their separate ways. Our boating days are over until next time.
49. Where did the author get off the train?
A. Paris B. Strasbourg C. Nancy D. Barn
50. On which days did the tourists spend most of their time on the boat?
A. Monday and Tuesday B. Tuesday and Wednesday
C. Wednesday and Wednesday D. Monday and Wednesday
51. From the text, we learn that Baccarat and Sorrenbourg are the names of_________.
A. towns B. churches C. museums D. mountains
52. What does the author think of the tour?
A. Tiring B. Expensive C. Enjoyable D. Quick