Ⅲ. 阅读(共两节,满分40分)
第一节 阅渎理解(共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中,选出最佳选项并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
It all began with a stop at a red light.
Philanthropy Kevin Salwen, a writer and entrepreneur in Atlanta, was driving his 14-year-old daughter, Hannah, back from a sleepover in 2006. While waiting at a traffic light, they saw a black Mercedes coupe on one side and a homeless man begging for food on the other.
“Dad, if that man had a less nice car, that man there could have a meal,” Hannah protested. The light changed and they drove on, but Hannah was too young to be reasonable. She pestered (纠缠) her parents about inequity, insisting that she wanted to do something.
“What do you want to do?” her mom responded. “Sell our house?”
Warning! Never suggest a grand gesture to an idealistic teenager. Hannah seized upon the idea of selling the luxurious family home and donating half the money to charity, while using the other half to buy a more modest replacement home.
Eventually, that’s what the family did. The project — crazy, impetuous (鲁莽) and utterly inspiring — is written down in detail in a book by father and daughter scheduled to be published next month: “The Power of Half.” It’s a book that, frankly, I’d be nervous about leaving around where my own teenage kids might find it. An impressionable child reads this, and the next thing you know your whole family is out on the street.
At a time of enormous needs in Haiti and elsewhere, when so many Americans are trying to help Haitians by sending everything from text messages to shoes, the Salwens offer an example of a family that came together to make a difference — for themselves as much as the people they were trying to help. In a column a week ago, I described neurological(神经学的) evidence from brain scans that unselfishness lights up parts of the brain normally associated with more primary satisfaction such as food and sex. The Salwens’ experience confirms the selfish pleasures of selflessness.
Mr. Salwen and his wife, Joan, had always assumed that their kids would be better off in a bigger house. But after they downsized, there was much less space to retreat to, so the family members spent more time around each other. A smaller house unexpectedly turned out to be a more family-friendly house.
41. The best title of the passage should be__________.
A. The less , the better. B. An unexpected satisfaction
C. Something we can live without D. Somewhat crazy but inspiring
42. What does the word “inequity” most probably mean in the sentence?
A. unfairness B. satisfaction C. personal attitude D. reasonable statement
43.The sentence “An impressionable child reads this, and the next thing you know your whole family is out on the street.” means _____.
A. When an unreasonable child reads the book, their house will disappear.
B. When an unreasonable child reads the book, he will ask his parents to sell their house.
C. When an unreasonable child reads this, the whole family will enjoy themselves in the street.
D. The child who likes to express himself will ask the whole family to enjoy the book outside.
44.Which of the following statements is true?
A. Mercedes coupe is only an ordinary car which is quite cheap.
B. Hannah asked her parents to do something charitable and they sold their house.
C. Unselfishness has nothing to do with people’s primary satisfaction.
D. Hannah’s parents felt regretted having sold the big house.
45.“Never suggest a grand gesture to an idealistic teenager.” means__________.
A. Never give a quick answer to an idealistic teenager.
B. Don’t respond to a child’s demands firmly without consideration.
C. Give an answer if the child is reasonable.
D. Unless the child is realistic otherwise never give an answer immediately
In 2003, Bethany Hamilton,13, lost her left arm to a shark attack while surfing off Kauai, Hawaii. A new film ,Soul Surfer, is based on the story of how she overcame that to achieve her dream of becoming a professional athlete.
Growing up on the “garden isle” of Kauai, Hamilton spent every minute she could riding the waves. She was on the verge of (即将) becoming a top competitor in professional surfing. But while she was practicing at an isolated cove (小湾),a four-meter-long tiger shark ripped off her left arm. Though her life was saved, nobody could imagine she would ever get back on a surfboard again.
In a true test of her faith and by tremendous will power, Bethany did get back up on a surfboard only a month after the attack. Six months later, she was competing again. Bethany Hamilton won her first amateur surfing championship just two years after she lost her arm. She also established the “Friends of Bethany,” a non---profit foundation dedicated to supporting sharks attack victims.
It’s a story told in her autobiography, which is the basis for the film that stars teenager Anna Sophia Robb. “I knew Bethany’s story, of course, but I thought ‘What an incredible role’ ,”explains Robb. “I was so fascinated by all of the challenges. What would it be like to have your arm taken and what would go through your head and how would your faith be challenged?”
The filmmakers used special effects to digitally remove Robb’ s arm .However ,no tricks were necessary for the surfing scenes because Hamilton herself did the breathtaking wave riding.
Now 21, Hamilton says she hopes audiences find inspiration in the description of the sport she loves.
“Not a lot of people know that much about surfing, so I hope they’re educated about it,” Hamilton says. “And most of all if people are going through a hard time, they could be encouraged and find inspiration to push through those hard times and see that, in my case ,so much good has come out of it.”According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?.
A.Hamilton was severely injured when surfing. |
B.Nobody thought Hamilton could overcome the troubles. |
C.Rob did the breathtaking wave riding in the film Soul Surfer. |
D.Hamilton established the “Friends of Bethany” to help shark attack victims. |
Which of the following can best take the place of the underlined word “tremendous” in the third paragraph?
A.Free. | B.Easy | C.Smart. | D.Strong. |
What can we learn from Anna Sophia Robb’s words?
A.She was absorbed in the story. |
B.she wasn’t sure she could play the role well. |
C.She wants to challenge her faith. |
D.She doesn’t believe Bethany’s story. |
How does Hamilton hope people will be affected by her story?
A.she hopes more people will take up surfing. |
B.she hopes people will be inspired and encouraged |
C.She hopes more people will keep off the sharks. |
D.She hopes people will donate something to her charity. |
What can we learn from the passage?
A.A lot of people are fond of surfing. |
B.Good things will happen to the disabled in the end. |
C.Faith and will power will help people go through hard times. |
D.People can always overcome every difficulty in life. |
The Olympic Games
The ancient Olympic Games was in the year 776BC. They were held at Olympia in Greece every four years, for almost 12 centuries, until AD394.
The contemporary Olympics were first held in 1896, in Athens. It was a Frenchman, Pierre de Coubertin, who brought the Olympics back to life. He dreamt that the Olympics would make it possible for 56. 各国人民和平相处. Now people all over the world are helping to realize this dream. Among them are many well-known athletes.
57. 中国运动员为奥运会做出了重要贡献。At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, the People’s Republic of China returned to the Olympics after 32 years’ absence. I am sure the whole of China must have felt proud when Xu Haifeng won the first gold medal for his country. 58. Deng Yaping is perhaps the greatest female table tennis player in the world. At the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Liu Xiang excited people all over Asia when he became the first Asian to win the gold medal in the men’s 110-metre hurdles.
59. The Chinese led the way at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, winning 51 gold medals. For the first time in history, the Chinese women’s gymnastics team won the gold medal.
These are some of the Olympic athletes who have brought joy to people across the world with their attempts to push the boundaries of human achievement. We are looking forward to seeing more of them in future Olympic Games. 60. Join us in wishing the Olympic Movement a successful future.
“If you talk to the plants, they will grow faster and the effect is even better if you’re a woman.” Researchers at Royal Horticultural Society carried out an experiment to find that the voice of a woman gardener makes plants grow faster.
The experiment lasted a month and by the end of the study scientists managed to discover that tomato plants grew up two inches taller when women gardeners talked to them instead of male.
Sarah Darwin was the one making the plants the best growth. Her voice was the most “inspiring” for plants than those of nine other gardeners when reading a passage from The Origin of Species. The great-great-granddaughter of the famous botanist (植物学家)Charles Darwin found that her plant grew about two inches taller than the plant of the best male gardener.
Colin Crosbie, Garden Superintendent at RHS, said that the finding cannot yet be explained.He says that women have a greater range of pitch and tone(音高和音色)which might have a certain effect on the sound waves that reach the plant. “Sound waves are an environmental effect just like rain or light ,”said Mr Grosbie.
The study began in April at RHS Garden Wisley in Survey. Scientists started with open auditions(听力) for the people who were asked to record passages from John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids, Shakespeare’s A Midsummer's Night Dream and Darwin's The Origin of Species.
Afterwards researchers selected a number of different voices and played them to 10 tomato plants during a period of a month. Each plant had headphones connected to it. Through the headphones the sound waves could hit the plants. It was discovered that plants that “listened” to female voices grew taller by an inch in comparison to plants that heard male voices.What does the passage talk about?
A.Plants enjoy men’s voices than women’s. |
B.A science experiment in a museum. |
C.Voice’s influence on plant growing. |
D.Strange findings at Royal Horticultural Society. |
What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 4 mean?
A.Plants need sound as well as rain and light. |
B.Sound is basic for the plant to grow. |
C.Sound has a good effect as rain or light does. |
D.Plants can’t live without sound, rain or light. |
What can we learn from the passage?
A.The experiment ended in May. |
B.Scientist can explain the findings clearly. |
C.Plants enjoy listening to the passages from famous works. |
D.The findings are of great importance to human beings. |
Facial expressions carry meaning that is determined by situations and relationships. For example, in American culture the smile is in general an expression of pleasure. Yet it also has other uses. A woman’s smile at a police officer does not carry the same meaning as the smile she gives to a young child. A smile may show love or politeness. It can also hide true feelings. For example, many people in Russia consider smiling at strangers in public to be unusual and even improper. Yet many Americans smile freely at strangers in public places (although this is less common in big cities). Some Russians believe that Americans smile in the wrong places; some Americans believe that Russians don’t smile enough. In Southeast Asian culture, a smile is frequently used to cover painful feelings. Vietnamese people may tell a sad story but end the story with a smile.
Our faces show emotions (情感), but we should not attempt(尝试)to “read” people from another culture as we would “read” someone from our own culture. The fact that members of one culture do not express their emotions as openly as do members of another does not mean that they do not experience emotions. Rather, there are cultural differences in the amount of facial expressions permitted. For example, in public and in formal situations many Japanese do not show their emotions as freely as Americans do. When with friends, Japanese and Americans seem to show their emotions similarly.
It is difficult to conclude about Americans and facial expressiveness because of personal and cultural differences in the United States. People from certain cultural backgrounds in the United States seem to be more facially expressive than others. The key is to try not to judge people whose ways of showing emotion are different. If we judge according to our own cultural habits, we may make the mistake of “reading” the other person incorrectly.What does the smile usually mean in the U.S.?
A.Love. | B.Politeness. | C.Joy. | D.Thankfulness. |
The author mentions the smile of the Vietnamese to prove that smile can ___ .
A.show friendliness to strangers | B.be used to hide true feelings |
C.be used in the wrong places | D.show personal habits |
What should we do before attempting to “read” people?
A.Learn about their relations with others. |
B.Understand their cultural backgrounds. |
C.Find out about their past experience. |
D.Figure out what they will do next. |
What would be the best title for the test?
A.Cultural Differences | B.Smiles and Relationship |
C.Facial Expressiveness | D.Habits and Emotions |
Are you looking for some new and exciting places to take your kids (孩子) to? Try some of these places.
·Visit art museums. They offer a variety of activities to excite your kids’interest. Many offer workshops(作坊)for making land-made pieces, traveling exhibits, book signings by children's favorite writer, and even musical performances and other arts.
·Head to a natural history museum. This is where kids can discover the past from dinosaur(恐龙) models to rock collections and pictures of stars in the sky. Also, ask what kind of workshops and educational programs are prepared for kids and any special events that are coming up.
·Go to a Youtheater. Look for one in your area offering plays for child and family visitors. Pre-show play shops are conducted by area artists and educators where kids can discover the secret about performing arts. Puppet(木偶)making and stage make-up are just a couple of the special offerings you might find.
·Try hands-on science. Visit one of the many hands-on science museums around the country. These science play-lands are great fun for kids and grown-ups alike. They’ll keep your child mentally and physically active the whole day through while pushing buttons, experimenting, and building. When everyone is tired, enjoy a fun family science show, commonly found in these museums.If a child is interested in the universe, he probably will visit .
A.a Youtheater | B.an art museum |
C.a natural history museum | D.a hands-on science museum |
What can kids do at a Youtheater?
A.Look at rock collections. | B.See dinosaur models. |
C.Watch puppet making. | D.Give performances. |
What does “hands-on science” mean in the last paragraph?
A.Science games designed by kids. | B.Learning science by doing things. |
C.A show of kids’ science work. | D.Reading science books. |
Where does this text probably come from?
A.A science textbook. | B.A tourist map. |
C.A museum guide. | D.A news report. |