第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每题2分，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。
I used to believe in the American dream that meant a job, credit, success．I wanted it and worked toward it like everyone else, all of us separately chasing the same thing．
One year, through a series of unhappy events, it all fell apart．I found myself homeless and alone．I had my truck and $56．I searched the countryside for some place I could rent for the cheapest possible amount．I came upon a deserted cottage in a small remote valley．I hadn't been alone for 25 years．I was scared, but I hoped the hard work would distract and heal me．
I found the owner and rented the place for $50 a month．The locals knew nothing about me．But slowly they started teaching me the art of being a neighbor．They dropped off blankets, tools and canned deer meat and began sticking around to chat．They would ask if I wanted to meet cousin Albie or go fishing．They started to teach me a belief in a different American dream, not the one of individual achievement but of neighborliness．Men would stop by with wild berries, ice cream, truck parts to see if I was up for courting．I wasn't, but they were civil anyway．The women on that mountain worked harder than any I'd ever met．They taught me how to store food in the stream and keep it cold and safe．I learned to keep enough for an extra plate for company．
What I had believed in, all those things I thought were necessary for a civilized life, were non-existent in this place．Up on the mountain, my most valuable possessions were my relationships with my neighbors．
After four years in that valley, I moved back into town．I saw a lot of people were having a really hard time, losing their jobs and homes．With the help of a real estate broker （房地产经纪人） I chatted up at the grocery store, I managed to rent a big enough house to take in a handful of people．It's four of us now, but over time I've had nine come in and move on to other places from here．We'd all be in shelters if we hadn't banded together．
The American dream I believe in now is a shared one．It's not so much about what I can get for myself; it's about how we can all get by together．
56．Before a series of unhappy events happened, the writer ____．
A．had a well-paid job
B．worked hard for his American dream
C．worked hard and liked to share
D．felt hopeless about his American dream
57．What does the underlined word "it" in the second paragraph refer to?
A．The house． B．The job．
C．The company． D．The American dream．
58．What does the underlined sentence "I learned to．．．" in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?
A．The writer learned to run a company．
B．The writer learned to share with others．
C．The writer learned to keep enough plates．
D．The writer learned to save money for his company．
59．Why did the writer rent a big house?
A．To make some money． B．To show off his wealth．
C．To share with those people in need． D．To make friends with his neighbors．
60．The writer mainly tells us about ____．
A．his unhappy experiences B．the friendly people in the valley
C．the change of his living conditions D．his new idea of the American dream
Seventeenth-century houses in colonial North American were simple structures that were primarily functional, carrying over traditional designs that went back to the Middle Ages. During the first half of the eighteen century, however, houses began to show a new elegance. As wealth increased, more and more colonist built fine houses.
Since architecture was not yet a specialized profession in the colonies, the design of buildings was left either to amateur (业余) designers or to carpenters who were engaged in translating architectural handbooks imported from England. Inventories of libraries shows an astonishing number of these handbooks for builders, and the houses built during the eighteenth century show their influence. Nevertheless, most household architecture of the first-quarters of the eighteenth century displays a wide divergence of taste and freedom of application of the rules laid down in these books.
Increasing wealth and growing sophistication (文化修养) throughout the colonies resulted in houses of improved design, whether the material was wood, stone, or brick. New England still favored wood, though brick houses became common in Boston and other towns, where the danger of fire gave an impetus (推动) to the use of more durable material. A few houses in New England were built of stone, but only in Pennsylvania and areas nearby was stone widely used in buildings. An increased use of brick in houses and outbuildings is noticeable in Virginia and Maryland, but wood remained the most popular material even in houses built by wealthy landowners. In the Carolinas, even in closely packed Charleston, wooden houses were much common than brick houses.
Eighteenth-century houses showed great interior improvements over the former ones. Windows were made larger and shutters removed. Large, clear panes replaced the small leaded glass of the seventeenth century. Doorways were larger and more decorative.
Fireplaces became decorative features of rooms. Walls were made of plaster or wood. White paint began to take the place of blues, yellows, greens, and lead colors, which had been popular for walls in the earlier years. After about 1730, advertisements for wallpaper styles in scenic patterns began to appear in colonial newspapers.What’s the passage mainly about?
| A．The improved design of eighteenth-century colonial houses. |
| B．A comparison of eighteenth-century houses and modern houses. |
| C．The decorations used in eighteenth-century houses. |
| D．The role of carpenters in building eighteenth-century houses. |
What was one of the main reasons for the change in architectural style in eighteenth-century
North America?
| A．More architects arrived in the colonies. |
| B．The colonists developed an interest in classical architecture. |
| C．Bricks were more readily available |
| D．The colonists had more money to spend on housing. |
According to the passage, who was responsible for designing houses in eighteenth-century
North America?
| A．professional architects | B．customers | C．interior decorators | D．carpenters |
The passage implies that the rules described in architectural handbooks were ____________.
| A．generally ignored | B．broken by professional architects |
| C．not strictly stuck to | D．only followed by older builders |
The underlined word “divergence”欧 is closest in meaning to ________.
| A．description | B．developing | C．difference | D．interest |
It’s high time someone spoke up for today’s college students. They’re probably the most hardworking, ambitious people in America and their problems are not properly appreciated.
People like the Secretary of Education simply don’t know what they’re talking about when they knock students. Nor do those who complain about falling academic standards.
The vast majority of the nation’s 12 million students are struggling to pay for their educations. They are part of the invisible workforce. Many hold down full-time jobs. They’re frying hamburgers, photographing weddings, working in construction, and waiting on tables. The fact that they even show up for classes is a wonderful event.
The financial situation of most students explains a lot about what is happening in schools. Why are the traditional courses so unpopular? Why are students flocking to accounting and computer science and any professional programs that seem to lead to careers?
Answer: Today’s working student has been forced into a kind of premature matter-of-fact way of viewing things. Romance is gone. The notion of transforming one’s self through study alone has disappeared. Today’s students seek freedom from manual labor, and the status conferred by a good job.
There are other consequences. Today’s students don’t have much time or energy to be devoted, and carry out independent research or even do serious homework. That’s the secret behind falling academic standards. Students have become consumers. They want grades and certifications. Their professors can’t be expected to give a grade of failure to students who are clearly tired from the effort to pay their bills.
There’s a lot wrong with this situation. It’s twisting the definition of education out of shape. Worse, it’s creating a generation that is totally unpleasant. The brightest students turn out to be yuppies (雅皮士). The vast majority are, at least, good-natured semi-literates.
The time has run out for philosophical debates about fixed courses of study. What this country needs is someone to stand up and say that being a full-time student during one’s formative years is an honorable calling worthy of support. If families can’t or won’t give it to their children, then the government should.The author’s purpose in writing this article is to __________.
| A．awaken the whole society to the problems today’s college students face |
| B．warn Americans that academic standards are falling |
| C．advise college students to study hard |
| D．provide a suggestion that only full-time students be enrolled |
The most suitable word to describe the author’s feelings about today’s college students is _________.
| A．criticize | B．sympathize | C．complain | D．urge |
Which of the following cannot be learned from the passage?
| A．Many students are often absent from classes. |
| B．Traditional courses are not popular. |
| C．Students commit crimes with computers. |
| D．Students don’t devote much time and energy to their homework. |
By saying “Romance is gone” in paragraph 5, the author means ____________.
| A．today’s students do not believe in love stories any more |
| B．today’s students become more practical in dealing with things |
| C．students think there is no affection any more and break up with their lovers |
| D．today’s students hold matter-of-fact opinions on love |
Which of the following suggestions will the author not agree with?
| A．We should encourage students to give up full-time jobs. |
| B．Families should offer their children more help financially. |
| C．We should stand up and say something for today’s college students. |
| D．We should make more strict regulations to force students to study hard. |
The teacher was leaving the village, and everybody seemed sorry. The miller at Cresscombe lent him the small cart and horse to carry his goods to Christminster, the city of his destination, such a vehicle proving of quite enough size for the teacher’s belongings. For his only article, in addition to the packing-case of books, was a piano that he had bought when he thought of learning instrumental music. But the eagerness having faded, he had never acquired any skill in playing, and the purchased article had been a permanent trouble to him.
The headmaster had gone away for the day, being a man who disliked the sight of changes. He did not mean to return till the evening, when the new teacher would have arrived, and everything would be smooth again.
The blacksmith, the farm bailiff and the teacher were standing in confused attitudes in the sitting room before the instrument. The teacher had remarked that even if he got it into the cart he should not know what to do with it on his arrival at Christminster, since he was only going into a temporary place just at first.
A little boy of eleven, who had been assisting in the packing, joined the group of men, and said, “Aunt has got a fuel-house, and it could be put there, perhaps, till you’ve found a place to settle in, sir.”
“Good idea,” said the blacksmith.
The smith and the bailiff started to see about the possibility of the suggested shelter, and the boy and the teacher were left standing alone.
“Sorry I am going, Jude.” said the latter gently.
Tears rose into the boy’s eyes. He admitted that he was sorry.
“So am I,” said Mr. Phillotson.
“Why do you go, sir?” asked the boy.
“Well ----- don’t speak of this everywhere. You know what a university is, and a university degree? It is the necessary hallmark of a man who wants to do anything in teaching. My scheme, or dream, is to be a university graduate. By going to live at Christminster, I shall be at headquarters, so to speak, and if my scheme is practicable at all, I consider that being on the spot will afford me a better chance.”
The smith and his companion returned. Old Miss Fawley’s fuel-house was practicable; and she seemed willing to give the instrument standing-room there. So it was left in the school till the evening, when more hands would be available for removing it; and the teacher gave a final glance round.
At nine o’clock Mr. Phillotson mounted beside his box of books, and waved his friends good-bye.It can be inferred that the teacher _______.
| A．was not getting on well with the headmaster |
| B．had lived a rather simple life in the village |
| C．was likely to continue to practice playing the piano |
| D．would get a rise in the city on arriving there |
The motivation of the teacher’s moving lay in his _________.
| A．ambition | B．devotion | C．admiration | D．inspiration |
The boy named Jude may be described as _________.
| A．polite, generous and cheerful | B．active, modest and friendly |
| C．kind, bright and helpful | D．calm, confident and humorous |
From the passage, we could get a general idea of the teacher’s ______.
| A．love for music and his dislike for musical instruments |
| B．hard work in the village and his strong interest in city life |
| C．friendship with some villagers and also conflicts with others |
| D．eagerness to go to the city and his love for the village |
Which person does the underlined “his companion” refer to?
| A．Mr. Phillotson | B．Miss Fawley | C．The bailiff | D．The headmaster |
Susan Sontag (1933 ------ 2004) was one of the most noticeable figures in the world of literature. For more than 40 years she made it morally necessary to know everything----- to read every book worth reading, to see every movie worth seeing. When she was still in her early 30s, publishing essays in such important magazines as Partisan Review, she appeared as the symbol of American culture life, trying hard to follow every new development in literature, film and art. With great effort and serious judgment, Sontag walked at the latest edges of world culture.
Seriousness was one of Sontag’s lifelong watchwords (格言), but at a time when the barriers between the well-educated and the poorly-educated were obvious, she argued for a true openness to the pleasure of pop culture. In Notes Camp, the 1964 essay that first made her name, she explained what was then a little-known set of difficult understandings, through which she could not have been more famous. Notes on Camp, she wrote, represents “a victory of ‘form’ over ‘content’, ‘beauty’ over ‘morals’”.
By conviction she was a sensualist (感觉论者), but by nature she was a moralist, and in the works she published in the 1970s and 1980s, it was the latter side of her that came forward. In Illness as Metaphor ------published in 1978, after she suffered cancer ------ she argued against the idea that cancer was somehow a special problem of repressed (被压抑的) personalities, a concept that effectively blamed the victim for the disease. In fact, re-examining old positions was her lifelong habit.
In America, her story of a 19th century Polish actress who set up a perfect society in California, won the National Book Award in 2000. But it was as a tireless, all-purpose cultural view that she made her lasting fame.
“Sometimes,” she once said, “I feel that, in the end, all I am really defending… is the idea of seriousness, of true seriousness.” And in the end, she made us take it seriously too.It is implied but not stated in the first paragraph that Sontag _________.
| A．was a symbol of American cultural life |
| B．developed world literature, film and art |
| C．published many essays about world culture |
| D．kept pace with the newest development of world culture |
She first won her name through _________.
| A．publishing essays in magazines like Partisan Review |
| B．her story of a Polish actress |
| C．her explanation of a set of difficult understandings |
| D．her book Illness as Metaphor |
From the works Susan published in the 1970s and 1980s, we can learn that ________.
| A．she was more of a moralist than a sensualist |
| B．she was more of a sensualist than a moralist |
| C．she believed repressed personalities mainly led to illness |
| D．she would like to re-examine old positions |
According to the passage, Susan Sontag would agree to the ideas except _________.
| A．We should try hard to follow every new development in literature, film and art. |
| B．Cancer can be defeated because it is a special problem of repressed personalities. |
| C．‘Form’ should be over ‘content’, ‘beauty’ should be over ‘morals. |
| D．We should defend the idea of seriousness, of true seriousness. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．A lifelong watchword: seriousness |
| B．Susan Sontag is the symbol of American culture |
| C．How Susan Sontag became famous |
| D．An introduction to Susan Sontag and her watchword |
At a meeting, a well-known speaker lifted up a bill of 20 dollars before starting his speech.
Facing 200 people, he asked, “Who wants this 20-dollar bill?” A great many hands were put up. Then he continued to say, “I intended to give it to any one of you, but allow me to do a thing before giving it to you.” Suddenly he crumpled （揉）it into a round mass. Then he asked, “Who wants it? ” Still some hands were lifted up.
He asked again, “Well, how could it be if I do it like this?” he threw the bill onto the ground, stepped on it and twisted it. As he picked it up, the bill had become not only dirty but wrinkled.
“Who still wants it?” Still a few people put up their hands.
“My dear friends, you have had a meaningful class. No matter how I treated this bill, you still want it, because it is worth 20 dollars. On your life road, you may be knocked down（击垮） or even broken into pieces by your determination(决心) or unfavorable（不利的） situations. We may feel ourselves worth nothing, but, my darling, remember that whatever happens in the future, you should never lose your value（价值） in the God’s heart. You’re particular ---- never forget it.”The underlined word “wrinkled” in the third paragraph probably means ________.
| A．broken | B．having small lines or folds in it |
| C．flat | D．having holes on it |
The speaker did this test in order to _____________.
| A．tell the audience that one should never lose one’s own value |
| B．tell the audience that God values money most |
| C．test if some of the audience were extremely interested in money |
| D．play a trick on the audience |
What would the speaker probably talk about next?
| A．How money can make people crazy. |
| B．How to avoid being knocked down in one’s life. |
| C．How to keep one’s value of life. |
| D．How to give a meaningful class |