My mother was a household servant. Through her work, she observed that successful people spent a lot more time reading than they did watching television. She announced that my brother and I could only watch two to three pre-selected TV programs during the week. With our free time, we had to read two books each from the Detroit Public Library and write book reports. She would mark them up with check marks. Years later we realized her marks were a ruse. My mother had only received a third-grade education. Although we had no money, between the covers of those books, I could go anywhere, do anything and be anybody.
When I entered high school, I was an A-student, but not for long. I wanted the fancy clothes. I wanted to hang out with the guys. I went form being an A- student to a B- student to a C-student, but I didn’t care.
One night my mother came home and I complained about not having enough shirts. She said, “Okay, I’ll give you all the money I make this week cleaning floors and bathrooms, and you can buy the family food and pay the bills. With everything left over, you can have all the shirts you want.”
I was very pleased with that arrangement but once I got through allocating(分配) money, there was nothing left. I realized my mother was a financial genius to be able to keep a roof over our heads and any kind of food on the table, much less buy clothes.
I also realized that immediate satisfaction wasn’t going to get me anywhere. Success required intellectual(理智的) preparation. I went back to my studies and became an A-student again. I dreamed of becoming a doctor when I was just a kid. And now I have achieved my dream.
Over the years my mother’s changeless faith in God has inspired me, particularly when I found myself faced with my own medical illness. A few years ago I discovered I had a very serious cancer; I was told it might have spread to my spine(脊柱). My mother believed in God very much. She never worried. She said that God would never throw me away forever; there was no way that this was going to be a major problem. The abnormality in spine turned out to be not bad; I was able to have surgery and am cured.
My story is really my mother’s story －a woman little formal education or worldly goods who used her position as a parent to change the lives of her children. The underlined word “ruse” in the first paragraph probably means .
| A．discovery | B．success | C．trick | D．pleasure |
When the author asked his mother to buy him shirts, she .
| A．advised him to earn money by himself |
| B．asked him to try to manage their money |
| C．persuaded him not to buy them patiently |
| D．agreed to buy them for him immediately |
What do we learn about the author?
| A．He now works as a doctor. |
| B．He disliked watching TV as a kid. |
| C．He received little formal education. |
| D．He often did housework when young. |
The underlined word “this” in the last but one paragraph refers to .
| A．God’s throwing me away |
| B．my own medical illness |
| C．the operation on my spine |
| D．my mother’s changeless faith in God |
In writing the passage, the author mainly shows us .
| A．the happy relationships in his family |
| B．the benefits of reading for young children |
| C．the importance of formal education for adults |
| D．his mother’s great influence on his development |
We all know what it is like to be unable to turn your head because of a cold in the muscles (肌肉) of your neck, or because an unexpected twist（扭曲）has made your neck ache. The slightest move makes you jump with pain. Nothing could be worse than a pain in the neck.
That is why we use the phrase to describe some people who give you the same feeling. We have all met such people.
One is the man who always seems to be clapping his hands—often at the wrong time—during a performance in the theater. He keeps you from hearing the actors.
Even worse are those who can never arrive before the curtain goes up and the play begins. They come hurrying down to your row of seats. You are comfortably settled down, with your hat and heavy coat in your lap. You must stand up to let them pass. You are proud of yourself-control after they have settled into their seats…Well, what now…God, one of them is up again. He forgot to go to the men’s room, and once more you have to stand up, hanging on to your hat and coat to let him pass. Now, that is “a pain in the neck”.
Another, well—known to us all, is the person sitting behind you in the movies. His mouth is full of popcorn (爆米花); he is chewing（嚼）loudly, or talking between bites to friends next to him. None of them remain still. Up and down, back and forth, they go—for another bag of popcorn, or something to drink.
Then, there is the man sitting next to you at lunch, smoking. He wants you to enjoy it too, and blows smoke across your food into your mouth.
We must not forget the man who comes into a bus or subway and sits down next to you, just as close as you will let him. You are reading the newspaper and he gets closer so that he can read the paper with you. He may even turn the paper to the next page before you are ready for it.
We also call such a person a “rubber neck”, always getting close to where it does not belong, like neighbors who watch all your visitors. They enjoy learning about your personal business. People have a strong dislike for “rubber necks”. They hate being watched secretly.
71. Where can you find this passage?
A. In a medicine dictionary. B. In a social science book.
C. In a kids’ story book.D. In a science textbook.
72. According to the passage, how do you feel when late comers walk back and forth in front of you in a cinema?
A. Ignored. B. Bored. C. Disturbed. D. Relaxed.
73. A “rubber neck” often __________________ .
A. says bad words behind people. B. quarrels face to face with neighbours.
C．bargains with salespeople over the price D. asks about other people’s business
74. Which of the following persons CANNOT be described as a “pain in the neck”?
A. Someone who often claps at the wrong time during a performance.
B. Someone who sits next to you smoking, which you never enjoy.
C. Someone who feels ache in his neck due to a cold in the muscles.
D. Someone who keeps eating or talking all through the movies.
75. What is the main purpose of the author?
A. To show anger to those who are described as a “pain in the neck”.
B. To criticize (批评) the people who might be a “pain in the neck”
C. To tell people what might be bad manners in public.
D. To tell people how to stop the pain in the neck.
第三部分阅读理解（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。
Dear Mr. Barton,
I am writing for the residents’ association (业主协会) to inform you of our feelings about your act. We’ve really had enough of you. Although we have tried to speak to you politely on several occasions, you have always answered with a stream of verbal abuse(辱骂).
Ever since you moved in three months ago, you have shown very little consideration for the other residents of this building, though many residents expressed their unhappiness with you. For the past six weekends, you have held very noisy parties, which have not finished until early the next morning. As you know, most of the people here are elderly or have very young children, and the noise keeps them awake all night. You don’t have to be so noisy, do you? Last weekend the situation deteriorated when two of your friends fought with each other on the first floor. The fighting was so bad that the police had to be called. What’s more, your friends left the stairs in a terrible state --- they even broke two windows on their way out! We feel that we can’t bear this type of act.
We strongly demand that you pay for this damage to the window soon. If you don’t and you carry on being a nuisance(令人讨厌的人或物). We will kick you out! Legal steps will be taken if necessary.
Yours sincerely
61. What does the writer feel?
A. Excited B. surprised C. Angry D. Happy
62. What does the word “deteriorated” mean?
A. Changed B. Improved C. Moved D. Worsened
63. What is the main purpose of the letter?
A. To ask Mr. Barton to leave the building for the peace.
B. To inform Mr. Barton of the noise he made.
C. To talk about what Mr. Barton did.
D. To give a warning to Mr. Barton.
64. Why were the police called?
A. Because Mr. Barton broke two windows.
B. Because Mr. Barton made too much noise.
C. Because Mr. Barton’s friends fought.
D. Because Mr. Barton beat a child and an old man.
65. What is true according to the letter?
A. Mr. Barton paid no attention to the others’ unhappiness.
B. Mr. Barton never replied to the others’ unhappiness
C. Mr. Barton always said sorry to those unhappy with him.
D. Mr. Barton never apologized to the other residents.
第三部分：阅读理解：（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
第一节：阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
On a visit to my home state, I had a chance to drive through Cazenovia, a village on the shores of Lake Cazenovia. It seemed to me as if in a dream. I saw again the lakeshore meadow(草地)that has always remained an unforgettable part of my childhood memory. It was the place of family picnics（野炊）.
It was Grandma who had made it a rule to have the annual（每年的) outing. She had made known her wish that the family should meet each summer when travel was easier and eat together in the open air. It was her pleasure to have all her children, and their children, gather in the meadow, and spend the day eating, singing, playing, chatting, making jokes.
After so many years, I can still see her in my mind, a large figure, dressed in black although it was summer, seated under the shade of a large tree. The others spread around her, sitting on blankets on the grass. Despite(尽管) the joy, the family picnic was also a time of puzzlement(迷惑) for me. Who was this stranger in black with whom I could not speak?
What I knew of my grandmother, I heard from my mother: she believed in good food on the table. She knew you are what you eat and she loved America for all kinds of foods it provided to people like her, who, back in her home country, had been used to a simple life, with so little food.
We were about fifty kin (家族成员)gathered in that meadow, living proof of the family progress. Grandma’s sons and daughters all offered her services, goods and children. And yet, despite the good times and good food and the happy chatting people, I still felt a sense of strangeness. When I asked my mother why Grandma looked so strange and never spoke to us, I was told that Grandma’s home country was in Europe and she didn’t speak our language. In my eyes, she might as well have been from Mars(火星). I never remember hearing our own mother speak to her mother, although she must have. I only remember my shock at mother’s sadness when Grandma died. Was she crying for the silence that had existed like a wall between them?......
36. Whom does the underlined words “their children” refer to?
A. The writer’s children B. Grandma’s children
C. Grandma’s grandchildren D. All the children in the family
37. Which of the following was a cause that made Grandma a “stranger” to the writer?
A. Grandma loved all kinds of good foods in America.
B. Grandma started the tradition of the annual gathering.
C. Grandma spoke a language different from the writer’s.
D. Grandma enjoyed the family gathering every summer.
38. What does the writer mean by “living proof of the family progress?
A. The writer’s family were having a good time.
B. The writer’s family were having a modern life.
C. Life had improved a lot for the writer’s family.
D. The size of the writer’s family had grown greatly.
39.Why might Grandma have been from mars in the writer’s eyes?
A. Because Grandma acted very strangely.
B. Because the writer never heard Grandma speak to Mother.
C. Because Grandma was deaf.
D. Because Grandma liked to keep silent.
40. What would be the best title for the text?
A. My Memories of Grandma. B. The life of a Strange Woman.
C. A Visit to My Native Village. D. An Unforgettable Family Picnic.
I’ve been selling since I was twenty. I went to college for a year, but I was bored. I just wasn’t the kind of person who could sit in a room with books and study. I wanted to get out and work. My friends thought I was silly. They were all studying to be engineers, lawyers, and doctors. I was the odd one. That caused me a lot of anxiety later on. I always felt that I had to prove myself. I had to prove that I was just as good as they were.
I tried for a sales position in a company that sold office furniture. My interview went pretty well, and I got the job. It was a good learning experience for me. I learned how to sell. I found out what to say and how to say it, I also found out that selling wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to do.
There’s a lot of pressure and anxiety in this kind of work. Everything depends on the sale – your job, money and happiness. You can’t do anything that might make you lose the sale. There are times when you want to call the client, and you know you can’t. you have to wait for the client to call you.
Sometimes I feel like an actor. Whenever I call a client from home, my wife goes into another room. She says that I sound like a different person. In a way she’s right. Selling is like performing . If you’ve performed well, you’ve sold yourself to the audience. In my work, if you’ve performed well, you’ve sold the product. That’s what selling is all about.
51.The author was bored after he studied in college for one year, because __________.
A.he was anxious
B.his friends thought he was silly
C.he has been selling ever since he was twenty
D.he wasn’t interested in studying in a usual way
52.By saying that” I was the odd one”, the author probably means that _____________.
A.he was the lonely one
B.he was a more creative one
C.he was older than the others
D.he wasn’t the same as the others and therefore strange
53.There is a lot of pressure and anxiety in this kind of work because ______________.
A.it’s very easy to lose a sale
B.your whole life depends on the sale
C.it’s hard to decide when to call a client
D.you always have to wait for the client to call
54.Why does the author’s wife go into another room when he calls a client from home?
A.Maybe she feels uneasy because he suddenly changes
B.Maybe she wants to have some rest herself.
C.Maybe she doesn’t want to disturb him.
D.Maybe she is respecting his privacy.
55.Which of the following best explains the author’s understanding of selling?
A.Selling and performing share something in common.
B.Selling is selling yourself to the audience.
C.Selling makes people feel like an actor
D.Selling has much to do with audience.
A little old couple walked slowly into McDonald’s one cold winter evening. They were so old that they looked out of place amid the young families and young couples eating there that night.
Some of the customers looked admiringly at them. You could tell what the admirers were thinking. “Look, there is a couple who has been through a lot together, probably for 60 years or more!”
The little old man walked right up to the cash register, placed his order with no hesitation and then paid for their meal. The couple took a table near the back wall and started taking food off the tray. There was one hamburger, one order of French fries and one drink. The little old man unwrapped the plain hamburger and carefully cut it in half. He placed one half in front of his wife. Then he carefully counted out the French fries, divided them in two piles and neatly placed one pile in front of his wife. He took a sip of the drink, his wife took a sip and then set the cup down between them.
As the man began to eat his few bites of hamburger the crowd began to get restless. Again you could tell what they were thinking, “That poor old couple. All they can afford is one meal for the two of them.”
As the man began to eat his French fries one young man stood and came over to the old couple’s table. He politely offered to buy another meal for the old couple to eat. The old man replied that they were just fine. They were used to sharing everything.
Then the crowd noticed that the little old lady hadn’t eaten a bite. She just sat there watching her husband eat and occasionally taking turns sipping the drink.
Again the young man came over and begged them to let him buy them something to eat. This time the lady explained that, no, they were used to sharing everything together.
As the little old man finished eating and was wiping his face neatly with a napkin the young man could stand it no longer. Again he came over to their table and offered to buy some food.
After being politely refused again, he finally asked a question of the little old lady. “Ma’am, why aren’t you eating? You said that you share everything. What is it that you are waiting for?”
She answered, “ The teeth”.
46.The underlined phrase in the first paragraph most probably means ______________.
A. looked helpless B. looked romantic
C. looked unsuitable D. looked cheerful
47.Why did some of the customers admire them?
A.Because they walked in hand in hand.
B.Because they come to McDonald’s together.
C.Because they have been together for many years
D.Because they come in such a cold winter evening
48.How much food did the man get?
A.One hamburger, one French fries and one cup of tea
B.One hamburger, two French fries and two cups of tea
C.One hamburger, one French fries and two cups of tea
D.One hamburger, two French fries and one cup of tea
49.How did the young man feel about what he saw in the old couple?
A. Admiring B. Bad C. Good D. Guilty
50.Why didn’t the old lady eat her portion of meal?
A.Her artificial teeth didn’t fit her well.
B.She forgot to bring her teeth with her.
C.Her husband had not finished using the teeth.
D.She was waiting for someone to get her teeth for her.