第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分；满分40
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中选出最佳选项。
Everyone has their friends, but I knew one girl who didn't. I guess you could call her a geek, because all she did was reading, studying, and doing homework. I don't think she even played a sport. She was one of those quiet people who no one really paid attention to, and those who did only made fun of her. I had heard all kinds of rumors (谣言) that she had problems, but I didn't really believe them. I felt bad for her.
My friends and I were nice to her. We let her sit at our lunch table and we often said "Hi" to her, but she wasn't our best friend. Throughout the year, she started talking to us more and more. We continued being kind to her. She was normal as far as I was concerned (就我而言). She was just really quiet.
That summer I got a letter. When I opened it, I realized it was from her. “I just wanted to thank you so much for being so extremely kind and friendly to me this year. Before you became my friend, I had no one to talk to or sit with at lunch. I even wanted to kill myself. But you and your friends changed that. You made me feel wanted and included. It meant so much to me. I am going to be moving and switching to another school next year. I'll never forget you and what you did."
By the time I finished the letter, I was in shock. I could not believe what I had just read. I learned that the simplest things and the smallest acts of kindness can mean the world to someone else.
1. What kind of person does the underlined word "geek" in Para1 probably refer to?
A. A confident and hardworking student.
B. A dishonest and badly behaved person.
C. Someone is not popular and does strange things
D. Someone is naughty and always makes fun of others.
2. How did the girl feel before the author became her friend？
A. Happy and comfortable.
B. Pleased and confident.
C. Worried and surprised.
D. Sad and lonely.
3. From the passage, we learn that the author and her friends ______.
A. helped get the girl out of trouble
B. got the girl to go to another school
C. changed the girl’s the habit of working hard
D. didn't want to help the girl at all
4. What's the best title for the passage？
A. A Strange Girl
B. A Quiet Heart
C. A Girl without Any Problems
D. Just the littlest Things
Plastic is one of the most important technological discoveries of the 20th century.However，it may soon be replaced.The new development—liquid wood—can replace plastics in all branches of modern industries.
Plastic as a material enjoys the biggest demand in the modern world，but it does have a number of drawbacks.First and foremost，plastic isn’t recyclable.Secondly，it contains toxins (毒物) helping develop cancerous diseases.Finally，it’s made of oil and oil reserves aren’t endless.
The liquid wood technology is likely to replace plastic and provide mankind with new materials for many years ahead.Norbert Eisenfreich，a senior researcher at the Faunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT) in Germany，said that arboform，the new material，is made of lignin (木质素)，which can be obtained from soft tissues of wood.Once mixed with several other materials，it turns into solid and nontoxic alternative for plastics.
ICT team leader Emilia Regina InoneKauffmann said the woodworking industry separates wood into three basic components，including lignin.Lignin isn’t used for the production of paper.Specialists of ICT mixed lignin with several natural materials and thus invented the material which could be melted and molded (铸型)．
When solid，arboform looks like plastic and possesses the qualities of polished wood.It can be used for the production of any items.Arboform is already used for the production of car parts which require extra strength.In addition，liquid wood can be recycled repeatedly.The material preserved all of its qualities even if it’s reprocessed ten times.
However，the new invention doesn’t enjoy an extensive use due to the high content of sulphur (硫) in it.German researchers are sure to reduce the amount of sulphur by 90 percent very soon to make arboform usable for home needs.According to the passage，plastic________.
| A．plays a big role in the modern world |
| B．helps to protect our environment in some way |
| C．has been replaced by the newly discovered material |
| D．helps us to reduce the use of petrol |
What’s the advantage of arboform over plastics?
| A．It is easily made from natural oil. |
| B．It is more widely used in household. |
| C．It is recyclable and friendly to the environment. |
| D．It contains no poisonous materials. |
It can be concluded that German researchers will focus their future work firstly on________.
| A．the material’s extensive use |
| B．the content of sulphur in arboform |
| C．the production cost of arboform |
| D．the qualities of liquid wood |
The main purpose of the passage is to________.
| A．advertise the new material—arboform |
| B．introduce liquid wood which will replace plastic |
| C．advertise new products made of arboform |
| D．show readers how to produce arboform |
His name is James，but people call him Rocky.The name fits.He’s big，over six feet tall，and he’s tough when he needs to be.James “Rocky” Robinson lives and works in New York City’s BedfordStuyvesant district，one of the poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods in the United States.Yet it is here in BedStuy that he is saving lives and reviving a community.
In 1966，when Rocky was twentysix years old，his sevenyearold niece was struck by a car on the street of BedStuy.Had someone at the scene known first aid or CPR，she might have lived.But by the time she reached a hospital，she was dead.
His niece’s unnecessary death was one reason why Rocky became a paramedic (护理人员)．Working for the Emergency Medical Service of New York City，he realized that more than half the city’s emergency calls came from highcrime areas.According to Rocky，residents of crimeplagued minority neighborhoods like BedStuy sometimes had to wait as long as 26 minutes after calling 911 for an ambulance while calls in richer white communities were answered in_a_fraction_of_the_time.
Rocky decided to find out more about the problem.His research showed that the richer communities had organized their own ambulance corps (特殊部队) to improve city services because the city was overwhelmed with calls.“If that’s the key to success，”he told his friend and EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) colleague，Joe Perez，“we’ll start our own corps in BedStuy！”
In 1988，Rocky had no idea that he and Joe would be attempting to establish the first minorityrun ambulance service in the country，or just how creative he would have to be to overcome the difficulty.The pair’s first challenge was to find a location for the headquarters.They took over an abandoned building that was commonly used by drug dealers.Because there was no electricity or running water (except for the leaks in the roof)，the two men worked during daylight hours.They used a twoway radio to receive emergency calls.
Although they could make do with their new headquarters，Rocky and Joe still lacked the most important component of an ambulance service：an ambulance.An old Chevrolet (雪佛兰) got them to the scenes of accidents，fires，shootings，and stabbings.But the car didn’t always start.At times，they were forced to strap (用带捆绑) their trauma kits and oxygen tanks to their backs and run on foot to the emergencies.Everyone laughed，except the victims who were still alive when Rocky and Joe arrived.The author believes the name “Rocky” fits James because________.
| A．he is a tall and tough man |
| B．he is tall and does something big |
| C．he is living in a tough community |
| D．he leads a tough community |
James’ sevenyearold niece would have been saved if________.
| A．she had been sent to a better hospital |
| B．she had got first aid and arrived in hospital earlier |
| C．James had been at the spot |
| D．emergency calls had been available in the area |
The underlined phrase in Paragraph 3 means________.
| A．in a short time |
| B．over a long time |
| C．in the near future |
| D．from time to time |
We can infer from Paragraph 4 that________.
| A．ambulance corps were only allowed in rich white communities |
| B．James found white communities made more emergency calls |
| C．city services were not enough to meet people’s need |
| D．it was easy to establish the minorityrun ambulance service |
Scientists discovered 163 new species in Southeast Asia’s Greater Mekong region last year，but all are at risk of extinction due to climate change，the WWF said in a report released Friday.
The newly discovered creatures include a birdeating frog with fangs (毒牙)，a bird that would rather walk than fly and a gecko (壁虎) whose alien appearance inspired the report’s title of “Close Encounters”，the conservation group said.
The report was released ahead of major UN talks on climate change in Bangkok next week，which are being held before a makeorbreak summit in Copenhagen this December.
“Some species will be able to adapt to climate change，and many will not，potentially resulting in massive extinction，” Stuart Chapman，director of the WWF Greater Mekong program，said in the report.“Rare and endangered species like those newly discovered are especially vulnerable (易受伤害的) because climate change will further shrink their already restricted habitats，” he said.
“The new discoveries in 2010 include 100 plants,28 fish,18 reptiles,14 amphibians,2 mammals and a bird，”the WWF report said.The area spans Cambodia，Laos，Myanmar，Thailand，Vietnam and China’s Yunnan Province.
“Among the new species is the birdeating fanged frog，which remains hidden in a protected area of Thailand despite the fact that scientists are studying there for 40 years，” the report said.
The tigerstriped pit viper was discovered accidentally on an island off the coast of Vietnam when a scientist was looking for a lizard and his son pointed out that his hand was on a rock right next to the snake’s fangs.“We caught the snake and the gecko and they both proved to be new species，” researcher Lee Grismer of La Sierra University in California was quoted as saying in the report.The leopard gecko，found on another Vietnamese island，has the coloring of a leopard and bizarre orange，catlike eyes and thin legs.
The Greater Mekong region has proved a rich area for scientists.The WWF said in December 2010 that it had found 1,068 new species there between 1997 and 2009.What is special about the newly discovered bird?
| A．It usually walks. |
| B．It likes walking and flying. |
| C．It can eat other birds. |
| D．It can eat frogs. |
Stuart Chapman believes that________.
| A．most of the newly discovered species can adapt to climate change |
| B．climate change can cause massive extinction of the newly discovered species |
| C．the newly discovered species are not so vulnerable to climate change |
| D．many species have already died out because of climate change |
When Lee Grismer discovered the tigerstriped pit viper，he probably felt________.
| A．frightened | B．disappointed |
| C．excited | D．puzzled |
What does the passage mainly tell us?
| A．The Greater Mekong region is a rich area for scientists. |
| B．Many rare species remain to be discovered in the Mekong region. |
| C．Scientists have discovered many new species in the Mekong region. |
| D．Climate change threatens Mekong new species. |
People use their mouths for many things.They eat，talk，shout and sing.They smile and they kiss.In the English language，there are many expressions using the word “mouth”．
For example，if you say bad things about a person，the person might protest(抗议) and say “Do not bad mouth me.” Sometimes，people say something to a friend or family member that they later regret because it hurts that person.Or they tell the person something they were not supposed to tell.The speaker might say，“I really put my foot in my mouth this time.” If this should happen，the speaker might feel down in the mouth.In other words，he might feel sad for saying the wrong thing.
Another situation is when someone falsely claims another person said something.The other person might protest，“I did not say that.Do not put words in my mouth.”
Some people have lots of money because they were born into a very rich family.There is an expression for this，too.You might say such a person，“was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.” This rich person is the opposite of a person who lives from hand to mouth.This person is very poor and only has enough money for the most important things in life，like food.
Parents might sometimes keep a child off sweet food as a form of punishment for saying bad things.For example，if a child says things she should not say to her parents，she might be described as a mouthy child.The parents might even tell the child to stop mouthing off.
But enough of all this talk.I have been running my mouth long enough.What will the person say if he feels sorry for what he has said?
| A．Do not bad mouth me. |
| B．Stop mouthing off. |
| C．Do not put words in my mouth. |
| D．I really put my foot in my mouth this time. |
If a person lives from hand to mouth，it implies that________.
| A．he is badlyoff | B．he is hardworking |
| C．he has lots of money | D．he has enough to eat |
By saying“I have been running my mouth long enough”，the speaker means “________”．
| A．I have run a long way |
| B．I have talked too much |
| C．I have learned a lot |
| D．I have been a mouthy person |
What is mainly talked about in the text?
| A．Expressions about the word “mouth”． |
| B．Functions of the organ “mouth”． |
| C．Opinions about “mouthy people”． |
| D．Meanings of the word “mouth”． |
How far would you be willing to go to satisfy your need to know？Far enough to find out your possibility of dying from a terrible disease？These days that’s more than an academic question，as Tracy Smith reports in our Cover Story.
There are now more than a thousand genetic(基因的) tests，for everything from baldness to breast cancer，and the list is growing.Question is，do you really want to know what might eventually kill you？For instance，Nobel Prizewinning scientist James Watson，one of the first people to map their entire genetic makeup，is said to have asked not to be told if he were at a higher risk for Alzheimer’s(老年痴呆症)．
“If I tell you that you have an increased risk of getting a terrible disease，that could weigh on your mind and make you anxious，through which you see the rest of your life as you wait for that disease to hit you.It could really mess you up.” said Dr.Robert Green，a Harvard geneticist.
“Every ache and pain，” Smith suggested，could be understood as “the beginning of the end.”“That’s right.If you ever worried you were at risk for Alzheimer’s disease，then every time you can’t find your car in the parking lot，you think the disease has started.”
Dr.Green has been thinking about this issue for years.He led a study of people who wanted to know if they were at a higher genetic risk for Alzheimer’s.It was thought that people who got bad news would，for lack of a better medical term，freak_out.But Green and his team found that there was “no significant difference” between how people handled good news and possibly the worst news of their lives.In fact，most people think they can handle it.People who ask for the information usually can handle the information，good or bad，said Green.The first paragraph is meant to________.
| A．ask some questions |
| B．introduce the topic |
| C．satisfy readers’ curiosity |
| D．describe an academic fact |
Which of the following is TRUE of James Watson?
| A．He is strongly in favor of the present genetic tests. |
| B．He is more likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. |
| C．He believes genetic mapping can help cure any disease. |
| D．He doesn’t want to know his chance of getting a disease. |
According to Paragraphs 3 and 4，if a person is at a higher genetic risk，it is________.
| A．advisable not to let him know |
| B．impossible to hide his disease |
| C．better to inform him immediately |
| D．necessary to remove his anxiety |
The underlined part “freak out” in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to “________”．
| A．break down | B．drop out |
| C．leave off | D．turn away |