My destination is the River Walk, one of the most popular places in all of Texas. In the first half of 20th century, to control flooding, the city fathers began redirecting the San Antonio River. They built a network of canals that pass through the downtown area. At nearly every street corner, stairs lead down to walkways on both sides of the canals.
The River Walk is linked with cafes, bars, shops --- and, of course, plenty of bridges. You can easily cross over to the other side without having to return to the street. It’s a constant party along the River Walk, with music and festivals throughout the year. The Mud Festival, for example, takes place each January, when the city empties this section of the river to clean it out. That’s when the Mud King and Mud Queen are crowned.
No visit to Texas would be complete without seeing a rodeo --- another aspect of this part of the country that is completely foreign to someone from New England. The announcer walks on stage and gets the crowd excited with talk about the courageous cowboys who’ll be performing. While he’s talking, a band plays sad songs about love gone wrong.
Suddenly the announcer calls for silence. He takes off his tall hat and asks us to join him in prayer. We pray for the cowboys who are, we are told, risking their lives to entertain us, as well as for the bulls and other animals taking part in the shows. We pray for the tourists who are visiting. The rodeo gets going and the fun begins.
Our prayers for the cowboys and animals are answered, and nobody gets hurt. But as we walk over to the cowboy dance hall after the show to enjoy a Texas-size barbecue, it’s clear that not enough prayers were said for the bulls’ less athletic relatives --- the ones not chosen for rodeo work. They’ll be our meal. It seems that moving too slowly has its disadvantages, too.What do you know about the River Walk from the article?
| A．People hold parties to celebrate festivals here every day. |
| B．It refers to the sidewalks on either side of this section of the San Antonio River. |
| C．There are many bridges that connect the River Walk and the Main Street. |
| D．Stairs link the River Walk to cafes, bars and shops in the street. |
Which of the following statements about Mud festival is NOT true?
| A．Mud Festival dates back to the first half of 20th century. |
| B．Mud Festival is held in January every year. |
| C．Mud King and Mud Queen are chosen in the festival |
| D．Mud Festival is celebrated to clear the mud of the San Antonio River. |
What does the underlined word “rodeo” refer to?
| A．One aspect of the American country life. | B．The concert given by a band. |
| C．The cowboys’ performance. | D．The grand Texas-size barbecue. |
Why do some bulls become the visitors’ meal?
| A．Because they do not run as fast as those taking part in the shows. |
| B．Because the visitors do not pray enough for them before the shows. |
| C．Because they lose the competition to their relatives in the shows. |
| D．Because they are only beef cattle intended as people’s food. |
Which of the following words can NOT be used to describe the writer’s mood?
| A．light-hearted | B．excited | C．anxious | D．humorous |
第三部分：阅读理解（满分40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。
Who doesn’t love sitting beside a cozy fire on a cold winter’s night? Who doesn’t love to watch flames（火苗）curling up a chimney? Fire is one of man’s greatest friends, but also one of his greatest enemies. Many big fires are caused by carelessness. A lighted cigarette was thrown out of a car or train window or a broken bottle lying on dry grass can start a fire. Sometimes a fire can start on its own. Wet hay（草）can begin burning by itself. This is how it happens: the hay starts to rot（腐烂）and begins to give off heat which is trapped inside it. Finally, it bursts into flames. That’s why farmers cut and store（贮存）their hay when it’s dry.
Fires have destroyed whole cities. In the 17th century, a small fire which began in a baker’s shop burnt down nearly every building in London. Moscow was set on fire during the war against Napoleon. This fire continued burning for seven days. And, of course, in 64 A. D. a fire burnt Rome. Even today, in spite of modern fire - fighting methods, fire causes millions of pounds’ worthy of damage each year both in our cities and in the countryside.
It has been wisely said that fire is a good servant but a bad master.
56. The writer considers it ____ to sit beside a fire on a cold winter night.
A. nice B. dangerous C. unhappy D. painful
57. Which of the following describes the way how hay begins burning on its own?
A. wet hay becomes dry gives off heat burns
B. dry hay gets too much heat from the sun gives out heat starts to burn
C. wet hay begins to rot gives out heat starts to burn
D. dry hay gives off heat starts to rot starts to burn
58. Many big fires are caused __________.
A. by cigarette B. by their own
C. by dry grass D. by people’s carelessness
59. how many examples did the writer give to show fires can destroy the whole city ?
A. One B. Two C. Three D. Four
60. Which of the following statement is not true ?
A. Fires still cause much damage now although there are modern fire-fighting methods.
B. Fires cause less damage in the country than in the city.
C. Fire can be man’s good friend and also great enemy.
D. One should be careful not to throw a lighted cigarette everywhere.
I try to be a good father. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.
Eighty-five times he’s pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he’s not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed (拉着) him 2.4 miles in a dinghy (小游艇) while swimming and pedaled (蹬车) him 112 miles — all in the same day. And what has Rick done for his father? Not much — except save his life.
This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled (使窒息) by the umbilical cord (脐带) during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.
When Rick was 11 the Hoyts took him to hospital and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. “No way,’’ Dick was told. “There’s nothing going on in his brain.’’
“Tell him a joke,’’ Dick countered (反驳). They did. Rick laughed. It turns out that a lot was going on in his brain. Equipped with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor (光标) by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate.
And after a high school classmate was paralyzed (瘫痪) in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out (啄出), “Dad, I want to do that.’’
How was Dick, who had never run more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried.
That day changed Rick’s life. “Dad,’’ he typed, “when we were running, it felt like I wasn’t disabled any more!’’ 
And that sentence changed Dick’s life. He became obsessed(迷恋) with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon. In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year.
Then somebody said, “Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon (三项全能运动)?’’
Now they’ve done 212 triathlons, including four 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii.
This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992 — only 35 minutes off the world record.
“No question about it,’’ Rick types. “My dad is the Father of the Century.’’
And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries (动脉) was 95% blocked. “If you hadn’t been in such great shape,’’ one doctor told him, “you probably would have died 15 years ago.’’ So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other’s life. What is the meaning of the underlined word ‘limbs’ in Paragraph 3?
| A．fingers and toes | B．hands and feet | C．arms and legs | D．wrists and knees |
At the 24th Boston Marathon, Dick and Rick ________.
| A．reached the finish line within 160 minutes | B．nearly broke the world record |
| C．did better than 5082 athletes | D．completed the journey 35 minutes ahead of time |
What changed Rick’s life?
| A．Rick’s love for his father. | B．Rick’s joining in the charity run with his father. |
| C．A computer enabling Rick to communicate. | D．Rick’s strong will and perseverance. |
What do we learn from the last two paragraphs?
| A．Dick was considered as the Father of the Century by the public. |
| B．Rick made his father so well-known that the doctors treated him well. |
| C．Dick got into great shape by assisting his son in marathons and triathlons. |
| D．Rick saved his father when he had a heart attack in a race two years ago. |
Chinese New Year for Kids
‘Chinese New Year for Kids’ is a full color paperback book with beautiful Chinese illustrations (插图). This is a hands-on workbook for parents and teachers, written for children from ages 3 to 12 years old, for use in the classroom or at home. Music, physical movement, art, and food all add to the atmosphere of taking an imaginary trip to China during the Chinese New Year.
| Author:Cindy Roberts |
| Date: 2002-10-01 |
| List Price: $ 9.95 |
| Price: $ 8.95 Buy it On Amazon.com |
The Polar Express
One couldn’t select a more delightful and exciting premise (前提) for a children’s book than the tale of a young boy lying awake on Christmas Eve only to have Santa Claus sweep by and take him on a trip with other children to the North Pole. And one couldn’t ask for a more talented artist and writer to tell the story than Chris Van Allsburg.
| Author:Chris Van Allsburg |
| Date: 1985-10-28 |
| List Price: $18.95 |
| Price: $ 12.89 Buy it On Amazon.com |
The Secret of Saying Thanks
Perhaps you’d like to know a secret, one of the happiest ones of all. You’ll discover it all on your own, maybe when you least expect. If you’ve not yet discovered the secret of saying thanks, it’s waiting for you. The secret can be found in the sunrise that offers promises for the day ahead, or in the gentle shade of a tree sheltering you from the hot rays of the sun.
| Author:Douglas Wood |
| Date: 2005-9-27 |
| List Price: $ 16.95 |
| Price: $ 11.53 Buy it On Amazon.com |
The Runaway Pumpkin
When Buck, Billy and their little sister Lily spy the biggest pumpkin they’ve ever seen, they can’t resist (抵制). Buck and Billy try to roll the pumpkin down the hill to show everyone, but it’s too big! Before they know it, it’s rolling out of control down the hillside. It knocks over Grandpa Baxter and makes him think of pumpkin soup. And when Poppa Baxter finally stops, all he can think of is pumpkin bread.
| Author:Kevin Lewis |
| Date: 2003-09-01 |
| List Price: $ 15.95 |
| Price: $ 6.38 Buy it On Amazon.com |
We can infer from the passage that Chinese New Year for Kids ________.
| A．is very popular with readers all over the world |
| B．is helpful to foreigners to travel to China. |
| C．helps readers to learn about Chinese culture |
| D．introduces a lot of outdoor activities. |
If you buy a copy of The Runaway Pumpkin on Amazon. Com, you can save ________.
| A．30% | B．60% | C．40% | D．70% |
The author wrote the passage mainly to ________.
| A．offer us some advice on shopping | B．tell us some interesting stories |
| C．introduce some children’s books | D．compare some books’ information |
A turkey named Courage gave thanks to President Obama for saving his life on the day before Thanksgiving. Honouring a 62-year-old tradition, the President pardoned the bird on Thanksgiving eve.
The tradition of a turkey pardon at Thanksgiving began with President Truman in 1947. Courage comes from Ellsworth, Iowa. The name Courage was chosen by voters (投票人)who took part in a survey posted on the White House website. The lucky turkey walked on the lawn of the Rose Garden and posed for the cameras at the presidential podium(讲台).
The dinner that has become known as the First Thanksgiving was actually a harvest festival celebrated in December of 1621. That’s when English settlers in Plymouth, Massachusetts, gave thanks for the progress they had made after a hard winter in their new country. As America grew, Thanksgiving customs also spread and got bigger. George Washington declared that the first national Thanksgiving would be on November 26, 1789. In the decades to follow, however, people celebrated Thanksgiving locally, with no official date. President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November 1863 a national day of Thanksgiving. It stayed that way until 1939, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved it one week earlier. He wanted to lengthen the shopping period before Christmas to encourage gift-buyers and to help businesses. So Congress（议会） ruled that, after 1941, Thanksgiving would be an official federal holiday falling on the fourth Thursday of November.
This year we celebrated Thanksgiving on Thursday, November. Millions of Americans got together to give thanks with friends and family. The lucky turkey, Courage, was one of them. After his pardon, Courage would be sent to Disneyland Resort in California, where he would be the grand assemble of Disney’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.That the turkey Courage was pardoned was decided by ________.
| A．George Bush | B．Congress | C．President Truman | D．the public |
The first Thanksgiving Day was held to ________.
| A．celebrate the harvest of British settlers |
| B．celebrate the progress of Americans |
| C．encourage the struggle with British settlers |
| D．celebrate the joy of all Americans after a hard winter |
In 1939, President Roosevelt put forward the national day of Thanksgiving to ________.
| A．encourage the economy | B．help the poor |
| C．please Congress | D．lengthen the summer holidays |
We can infer from the passage that ________.
| A．President Obama pardoned a turkey before Thanksgiving because of the economic crisis |
| B．the turkey named Courage was pardoned by President Roosevelt before Thanksgiving |
| C．the pardoned turkey walked on the lawn of the Rose Garden on Thanksgiving eve |
| D．the pardoned turkey will appear in a celebrating parade of Thanksgiving Day |
My grandparents were married for over half a century, and played their own special game from the time they met each other. The goal of their game was to write the word “shmily” in a surprise place for the other to find. 
“Shmily” was written in the steam left on the mirror after a hot shower, where it would reappear bath after bath. At one point, my grandmother even opened an entire roll of toilet paper to leave “shmily” on the very last sheet. Little notes with “shmily” scribbled (潦草地写) hurriedly were found on dashboards (仪表板) and car seats, or taped to steering wheels.
It took me a long time before I was able to fully appreciate my grandparents’ game. Skepticism (怀疑态度) had kept me from believing in true love — one that is pure and lasting. However, I never doubted my grandparents’ relationship. They had love down pat. It was more than their flirtatious (爱调戏的) little games; it was a way of life. Their relationship was based on devotion and passionate love.
Grandma and Grandpa held hands every chance they could. They stole kisses as they bumped into each other in their tiny kitchen. They finished each other’s sentences and shared the daily crossword puzzle and word jumble. My grandma whispered to me about how cute my grandpa was, how handsome and old he had grown to be. She claimed that she really knew “how to pick ‘em.”
But there came a dark cloud into my grandparents’ life: when my grandmother got breast cancer. Gradually it took over the whole of her body. One day, what we all dreaded finally happened. Grandma was gone.
“Shmily.” It was scrawled in yellow on the pink ribbons of my grandmother’s funeral bouquet (花束). The family came forward and gathered around Grandma one last time. Grandpa stepped up to my grandmother’s casket (棺) and, taking a shaky breath, he began to sing to her. Through his tears and sadness, the song came, a deep and throaty lullaby (催眠曲,). Shaking with my own sorrow, I would never forget that moment.
S-h-m-i-l-y: See How Much I Love You.The point of the article is to ________.
| A．give advice on how to keep love fresh |
| B．explain to readers the meaning of “shmily” |
| C．show the true love between the writer’s grandparents |
| D．express how much the writer loved her grandparents |
What is the function of the second paragraph?
| A．To support the first paragraph. | B．To introduce the next paragraph. |
| C．To give the main idea of the article. | D．To make the article more interesting. |
The author’s grandmother ________.
| A．used to kiss her grandfather in secret |
| B．died from breast cancer, which spread all over |
| C．played crossword puzzle daily with her grandfather |
| D．considered her grandfather old and careless |
What is the author’s attitude toward her grandparents’ love?
| A．She doubts whether it was true love. |
| B．She finds their way of expressing love strange. |
| C．She admires their romantic and passionate love. |
| D．She thinks she will never be able to love like that. |