第三部分：阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
第一节：选择题（共15小题，每小题２分，共30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳答案，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
It was a quiet village in which there was a military camp(军营).It was far from the towns and cities and there were some high mountains around. Of course it was a good place for training the new soldiers. But it was difficult for the young men to go outside. Mr White, an officer of forty, was strict with them and he hardly let them leave the camp.
Once Mr White was ill in bed. He couldn’t work and a young officer, Mr Hunt, began to train the new soldiers instead of him. He knew the young men well and let nine soldiers go to the nearest town to have a holiday. But night fell and none came back to the camp. He was worried about it and stood at the gate. It was five to twelve when Mr Hunt decided to go to the town and see what was happening to the young men. He started the car quickly and set off. At that moment the nine soldiers came back. It seemed they drank wine. Of course they found the officer was angry.
“I’m sorry, sir,” said the first soldier. “I left the town on time. But something was wrong with my bus on my way here. I had to buy a horse and made it run fast. Bad luck! It died and I had to run back.”
And the other seven soldiers said they were late for the same reasons. It was the last soldier’s turn. He said, “I’m sorry, sir. I got on a bus on time, but....”
Having heard this, the officer became even angrier and stopped him at once. He called out, “If you say something was wrong with your bus, I’ll punish you at once!”
“No, no, sir,” said the young man. “My bus was all right, but the dead horses were in its way!”
56. The military camp was built in the village to ____.
A. stop the soldiers from going to towns
B. stop the soldiers from meeting their friends
C. train the new soldiers
D. make the young men live quietly
57. Mr. Hunt let the nine soldiers have a holiday because ____.
A. he was kind to them B. they felt lonely
C. they had something important to do D. they were the best of all
58. The young officer was worried because ____.
A. a traffic accident had happened
B. he was afraid something happened to the nine soldiers
C. the nine soldiers would come back
D. the nine soldiers drank too much in the town
59. Which of the statements do you think is true?
A. You’ll believe only the last soldier. B. The officer believed the nine soldiers.
C. You’ll believe none of the nine soldiers. D. The officer wouldn’t punish his soldiers.
The new world of today introduced new threats that were not known in the previous generations: Internet predators(掠夺者). Often we do a lot of our researching, shopping, talking; just about everything online nowadays. New advancements in revolution comes along with the unwanted attackers. There are people out there who gain pleasure from, interrupting and taking from our peaceful lives what’s not rightfully theirs. But like with everything, there are indeed counteractive measures that can be set in place to fend off these predators from such damage. I’d like to introduce the Guardian Eye.
Within this program is a complex program which has several functions to create a safe atmosphere for whomever uses the computer, It has the ability to track and log every key stroke, every website that has ever been accessed, takes screenshots of web pages, blocks web pages according to content and even sends you messages via email once conspicuous(可疑的) activity has been reported and logged. Just think, you or child could be browsing and searching through the Internet and inappropriate content pops up with several different windows. You try to click out of the windows but you accidentally click one which releases spyware, infecting your computer. Guardian Eye blocks unwanted content from popping up or appearing to the users, which I thought was extremely convenient. In this way there is not even the slightest temptation.
This product helps prevent damage from being done to your computer and worse, your identity. It’s quite the product and it offers a little version so you may try it out first. If you’d like the full package, it’s a once time fee 39.99 and can be installed on unlimited computers for your convenience. It’s a nice deal and I’m considering getting it again considering I do a lot of writing on various websites myself. In what way is Guardian Eye most useful to kids?
| A．It stops them from opening too many windows. |
| B．It makes them aware of conspicuous activity. |
| C．It keeps them from seeing unwanted contents. |
| D．It stops spyware from entering the computer. |
We can infer from the last paragraph?
| A．you have to pay for Guardian Eye every year. |
| B．the author has never used Guardian Eye. |
| C．you can use Guardian Eye for free. |
| D．Guardian Eye is economical to use |
For what purpose does the author writer the text?
| A．To recommend a software to us. |
| B．To describe how to use a software. |
| C．To ask us to pay attention to online safety. |
| D．To tell us how to fend off online predators. |
Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy---they’re given after all. Choice can be hard.
I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago. I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2300 percent per year. I’d never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast, and the idea of building an online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me, I had just turned 30 years old , and I’d been married for a year, I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn’t work since most start-ups don’t , and I wasn’t sure what to expect, MacKenzie told me I should go for it. As a young boy, I’d been a garage inventor, I’d always wanted to be an inventor, and she wanted me to follow my passion.
I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people, and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired. I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet. He took me on a long walk in Central Park, listened carefully to me, and finally said, “That sounds like a really good idea, but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn’t already have a good job.” That logic made some sense to me, and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision. Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice, but ultimately, I decided I had to give it a shot. I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing. And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all.
After much consideration, I took the less safe path to follow my passion, and I’m proud of that choice, For all of us, in the end, we are our choice. What inspired the author with the idea of building an online bookstore?
| A．His dream if being an inventor. |
| B．The support of his wife. |
| C．The greatly increasing usage of the Internet. |
| D．Millions of exciting titles. |
Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined sentence?
| A．The idea of not trying would keep coming to his mind and disturb him. |
| B．He would be very excited if he tried it out. |
| C．He would be always having a doubt if he didn’t try. |
| D．The decision to not try the online bookstore would terrify him. |
We can know from the passage that ______.
| A．the boss thought the idea was suitable for the author |
| B．the author wanted someone else to try the idea |
| C．the author might not regret if he failed the idea |
| D．the author might go back to his boss if he failed |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Cleverness and Kindness | B．The Starting of Amzon |
| C．Following My Passion | D．We Are What We Choose |
You may not pay much attention to your daily elevator ride. Many of us use a lift several times during the day without really thinking about it .But Lee Gray, PhD, of the University of North Carolina, US, has made it his business to examine this overlooked form of public transport. He is known as the “Elevator Guy”.
“The lift becomes this interesting social space where etiquette is sort of odd,” Gray told the BBC, “They [elevators] are socially very interesting but often very awkward places”.
We walk in and usually turn around to face the door. If someone else comes in, we may have to move. And here, according to Gray, lift users unthinkingly go through a set pattern of movements. He told the BBC what he had observed.
He explained that when you are the only one inside a lift, you can do whatever you want – it’s your own little box.
If there are two of you, you go into different corners, standing diagonally(对角地) across from each other to create distance.
When a third person enters, you will unconsciously form a triangle. And when there is a fourth person it becomes a square, with someone in every corner. A fifth person is probably going to have to stand in the middle.
New entrants to the lift will need to size up the situation when the doors slide open and then act decisively. Once in, for most people the rule is simple – look down, or look at your phone.
Why are we so awkward in lifts?
“You don’t have enough space,” Professor Babette Renneberg, a clinical psychologist at the Free University of Berlin, told the BBC. “Usually when we meet other people we have about an arm’s length of distance between us. And that’s not possible in most elevators.”
In such a small, enclosed space it becomes very important to act in a way that cannot be construed as threatening or odd. “The easiest way to do this is to avoid eye contact,” she said.According to Gray, when people enter an elevator, they usually _____.
| A．turn around and greet one another |
| B．look around or examine their phone |
| C．make eye contact with those in the elevator |
| D．try to keep a distance from other people |
Which of the following describes how people usually stand when there are at least two people in an elevator?
The underlined phrase “size up” in Paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to _____.
| A．judge | B．ignore |
| C．put up with | D．make the best of |
According to the article, people feel awkward in lifts because of _____.
| A．someone’s odd behaviors |
| B．the lack of space |
| C．their unfamiliarity with one another |
| D．their eye contact with one another |
The English test will be removed from China’s college entrance exam by 2020, according to the Ministry of Education. The national college entrance exam, known as the “Gaokao” has been used to evaluate Chinese students for three decades. The Ministry of Education has worked out a plan for reforming exams and enrollment. Tests will be held several times a year to allow students to choose when and how often they sit the exam so as to reduce study pressure and change China’s once-in-a-lifetime exam system.
The decision has aroused a heated discussion among Shanghai educators and parents who doubted the reform would reduce the burden of learning English or if the substitute test could reflect a student’s English skills and help students learn English better. Cai Jigang, a professor from Fudan University said, “The reform shows China is to give students more test-taking chances. But more chances might become more of a burden since Chinese students are likely to repeat the test until they get the highest score.”
“In my opinion, the reform doesn’t mean English is no longer important for Chinese students after it will be excluded from the unified college entrance exam,” said Yu Lizhong, chancellor of New York University Shanghai, “In a way, English is even more important than before since the test would only serve as reference, while every college and university, even every major, canhave different requirements of a student’s English skills under a diverse evaluation system.”
Yu said some students will have their study pressure reduced if the major they choose doesn’t need excellent English while others still need to study hard if they want to be among the best students.
The education ministry said the reform would not affect students attending the college entrance exam over the next three years. But parents with younger children are concerned. Zhang Hui, the mother of a fourth-grade girl at Pudong Zhuyuan Primary School, said English was her daughter’s strength, so canceling the English test would not favor her child.What can we learn from the first paragraph?
| A．English will become less and less important in the stage of compulsory education. |
| B．It has been 30 years since English became one subject of Chinese “Gaokao”. |
| C．China’s once-in-a-lifetime exam system is unacceptable at all. |
| D．The system that tests are held several times does more good than once-in-a-lifetime |
According to the passage, some Shanghai educators and parents argue that _____.
| A．the new exam and admission system will make no difference |
| B．English shouldn’t be removed from China’s college entrance exam |
| C．the reform may accomplish the very opposite |
| D．Western educational system does not apply to China |
According to Yu Lizhong, _______________.
| A．Students needn’t lay a good foundation during the period of high school. |
| B．Whether students should study English hard may depend on their major. |
| C．Students can constantly strive for perfection only in their major. |
| D．English must be close to full mark. |
What’s the purpose of writing the passage?
| A．To advise students not to devote themselves to learning English. |
| B．To call on Education Department to remove English from “Gaokao”. |
| C．To support Education Department’s act of removing English from “Gaokao” |
| D．To report people’s opinions on English being removed from “Gaokao” |
It was a cold morning at a metro station in Washington DC, a man started to play the violin. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the tin without stopping, and continued to walk.
A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3-year-old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most beautiful pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment.
The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we enjoy beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected situation?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?”Few people stopped to listen to Joshua Bell playing because____________.
| A．it was too cold in the subway |
| B．they were not interested in music |
| C．people were in a hurry |
| D．the performance was not good enough |
Which of the following is true about Joshua Bell’s performance?
| A．Nobody gave him money |
| B．Nobody recognized him. |
| C．Nobody appreciated it |
| D．Nobody organized it |
Joshua Bell played in the metro station in order to ____________.
| A．make more money on the street |
| B．practice his skills in playing music |
| C．made an advertisement for his concert |
| D．find out people’s reaction under such a circumstance |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?.
| A．The Importance of Music | B．A Talented Violinist |
| C．A Subway Violin Performance | D．The Things We Miss |