第三部分阅读技能 (共三节，满分35分)
阅读理解（共12小题；每小题2分，满分24分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
For most people, the word “fashion” means “clothes”. But people may ask the question, “What clothes are in fashion?” And they use the adjective (形容词) “fashionable” in the same way: “She was wearing a fashionable color.”
But of course there are fashions in many things, not only in clothes. There are fashions in holidays, in restaurants, in films and books. There are even fashions in school subjects, jobs…and in languages.
Fashions change as time goes. If you look at pictures of people or things from the past, you will see that fashions have always changed. An English house of 1750 was different from his grandson in 1860.
Today fashions change very quickly. Some of this is natural. We hear about things much more quickly than in the past. Newspapers, radios, telephones and television send information from one country to another in a few hours.
New fashions mean that people will buy new things, so you see there is money in fashion.
41 From this passage we know that “fashion” means _________.
A clothes B many things C most of the popular things D everything
42 Which of the following things is fashionable today?
A Surfing on the Internet
B Having a family dinner on New Year’s Day
C Learning to sing songs on the radio
D Doing morning exercises at school.
43 Today fashions change very quickly because _______.
A People read newspapers every day
B radios send information from one country to another
C new things that people like are often shown on TV
D people quickly learn what is happening in the world
44 “There is money in fashion.” means ________.
A clothes are expensive B money comes from fashion
C people like new things D there are no fashions without money
Bissel is a small village of the West Sahara. It lies next to a l.5-square-kilometer oasis（绿洲）, from where three days and nights are generally required to go out of the desert. However, before Ken Levin discovered it in 1926, none of the Bissel villagers had ever walked out of the desert. Reportedly, they were not unwilling to leave this barren land. Many had previously tried but failed, always somehow finding themselves back at the oasis after several days of trying to walk out.
When interviewed by Ken Levin, an expert at the British Royal College of Sciences, the villagers explained that no matter which direction they walked it always brought them back to the village.Why couldn’t the Bissel villagers walk out of the desert? Levin was very puzzled. He had, by himself, managed to walk north from the village and reach the nearest town in three and a half days. He decided to carry out an experiment to solve the mystery. He and a Bissel villager called Argutel, would walk out of the desert together. They prepared enough water for a half-a-month journey and two camels. But this time Ken Levin didn't bring his compass. Levin would follow Argutel.
Ten days later, they had walked for about 500 miles but were still in the desert. On the 11th morning, an oasis came into their view. They were back at Bissel. Levin now understood why the Bissel people couldn’t escape the desert. They had no knowledge of the North Star, which had for centuries provided sailors and other travelers with a point of direction. In the desert, if a person goes forward relying only on their senses, they will not be able to travel in a straight line. Rather they will travel in a very large circle and eventually track back to where they began. Levin explained to Argutel the function of the North Star and said, “As long as you rest in the daytime and walk towards the brightest star at night, you would be able to walk out of the desert.” Argutel did as he was told. Three days later, he came to the edge of the desert.
Now in the West Sahara, Bissel has become a bright pearl, where tens of thousands of tourists come every year. Argutel’s bronze statue stands in the center of the town. On its base are the words:
__________________________________.
| A．prove that people could walk out of the desert see |
| B．how far away Bissel was to the edge of the desert |
| C．tell people not to walk in circles |
| D．show Argutel was a great person |
| A．knew Argutel before he came to the village |
| B．came to Bissel to do experiments on behalf of his college |
| C．became the first man to walk out of the desert from Bissel Village |
| D．taught Bissel villagers knowledge of the North Star when he first arrived |
| A．Ken Levin didn’t walk south because it would take more days |
| B．the use of a compass was necessary to walk out of the desert |
| C．tourism in Bissel has been greatly developed and improved |
| D．Argutel became the leader of Bissel after his return |
| A．A new life starts from the fixed direction. |
| B．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| C．A long journey starts with the first step. |
| D．Two heads are better than one. |
We considered a list of the best American books. Here are five that may help accurately show the national character. Most from a century or so ago, they still entertain, teach, and inspire:
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
First published in 1851, the adventure stories of Captain Ahab and his monomaniacal(偏执的) pursuit of the white whale draw us into a universe full of fascinating characters and stories.
The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams
Published in 1918, the book was an autobiography. Born in one of America’s most famous political families, Adams provides insight into his family, including his experience as private secretary to his father, minister to England during the American Civil war.
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
When Whitman published Leaves of Grass in 1855, he wanted to accurately describe the American experience and reflect the great changes in the American literary world that had taken place during his lifetime.
Poems by Emily Dickinson
An enthusiastic poet whose works have had considerable influence on modern poetry, Dickson’s frequent use of dashes, occasional capitalization(大写) of nouns, and unconventional metaphors(隐喻) have contributed to her reputation as one of the most inventive poets of the 19th century American literature. However, most of her poems were not published during her lifetime.
The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
First published in 1855, this is Longfellow’s most popular and most recognized poem, the heroic life and death of a magic American Indian, sent by the Great Spirit to guide the nations in the ways of peace.
| A．show his talent and heroic life to us |
| B．draw us into a fascinating universe |
| C．provide insight into his family |
| D．reflect the great changes in the American literary world |
| A．Moby-Dick | B．The Song of Hiawatha |
| C．Poems | D．Leaves of Grass |
| A．Because the five books are from a century or so ago, they can’t teach and inspire us. |
| B．Herman Melville was considered as one of the most inventive poets of the 19th century American literature. |
| C．The Education of Henry Adams is a non-fiction book. |
| D．Of the five books, Moby-Dick was published last. |
| A．To introduce several best American books to readers. |
| B．To make an advertisement for a book store. |
| C．To tell stories of several famous writers. |
| D．To talk about some knowledge about literature. |
If you haven’t heard or seen anything about Road Rage in the last few months, you’ve probably been avoiding the media. There have been countless stories about this new and scary phenomenon, considered a type of aggressive driving. You have most likely encountered aggressive driving or Road Rage recently if you drive at all.
While drunk driving remains a critical problem, the facts about aggressive driving are surely as disturbing. For instance, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Association, 41,907 people died on the highway last year. Of those deaths, the agency estimates that about two-thirds were caused at least in part by aggressive driving behavior.
Why is this phenomenon occurring more than ever now, and why is it something that seemed almost nonexistent a few short years ago? Experts have several theories, and all are probably partially correct. One suggestion is extreme overcrowding. In the last decade, the number of cars on the roads has increased by more than 11 percent, and the number of miles driven has increased by 35 percent. However, the number of new road miles has only increased by 1 percent. That means more cars in the same amount of space; and the problem is severe in urban areas. Also, people have less time and more things to do. With people working and trying to fit extra chores and activities into the day, stress levels have never been higher. Stress creates anxiety, which leads to short tempers. These factors, when combined in certain situations, can spell Road Rage.
You may think you are the last person who would drive aggressively, but you might be surprised. For instance, have you ever yelled out loud at a slower driver, sounded the horn long and hard an another car, or sped up to keep another driver from passing? If you recognize yourself in any of these situations, watch out!
Whether you are getting angry at other drivers, or another driver is visibly upset with you, there are things you can do to avoid any major conflict. If you are easily influenced by Road Rage, the key is to release your emotion in a healthy way. If you are the target of another driver’s rage, do everything possible to get away from the other driver safely, including avoiding eye contact and getting out of their way.ThefirstsentenceinPara.1impliesthat______.
| A．RoadRagehasreceivedmuchmediacoverageinthelastfewmonths |
| B．themediacreatedtheterm“RoadRage”onlyafewmonthsago |
| C．onemaybeangeredbymediareportsandwantstoavoidthem |
| D．peoplenotinterestedinthemediaknowlittleaboutrecenthappenings |
Theunderlined word“spell”inPara.3means ________.
| A．relieve | B．cause | C．spread | D．prevent |
Which of the following characterizes aggressive driving?
| A．Talking while driving. | B．Driving at high speed. |
| C．Shouting at another driver. | D．Sounding the horn when passing |
Thelastparagraphisintendedto_________.
| A．tellpeoplehowtodealwithRoadRage |
| B．informpeoplehowaggressivedriverscouldbe |
| C．showpeoplehowtocontrolthemselveswhenangry |
| D．warnpeopleagainsteyecontactwithanotherdriver |
When it comes to making a good career in the business world, being honest and getting along well with colleagues gives a person a solid competitive advantage, claims a new research.
Dr.Jon Bohlmann has found that project managers can expect better performance by far from the members of their team if treating them with honesty, kindness, and respect. According to another study , the Gross-functional product development teams, can achieve a great quality and better cost benefits from socializing and interacting with individuals who work for their suppliers.
The first, Dr. Bohlmann’s study analyzed cross-functional product development teams, which combine together engineers, researchers and business personnel. The point to involve people with various backgrounds was to show that there was a focus on finance, marketing, and also on a design and functionality, right from the start of the product-development process. In addition to all this, this diversity also helped to make communication more effective in order to ensure that all members of the team were socializing and cooperating, and not just working at cross-purposes.
As a result, it indicated that "interactional fairness awareness" indeed had an effect on a "cross-functional communication." In other words, all the team members who thought that they had been treated well and respected, showed a great increase in their commitment to the success of the project they had been working on in cooperation with other team members, and, in particular, when they realized their project manager or supervisor to be a kind, nice and honest guy.
According to Dr. Bohlmann, the increase in such commitment is very essential and important because it could improve performance that would result in the achievement of team goals. And if Bohlmann's study comes to the conclusion that nice and honest guys are the first to finish, the second research by Dr. Rob Handfleld shows us that cooperating and socializing well with others can give a team, and even a company an edge, when it comes to product development.What does the underlined word "they" refer to in Paragraph 4?
| A．managers | B．team members | C．colleagues | D．researchers |
What effect can the commitment mentioned by Dr. Bohlmann have on our work?
| A．Ensuring great quality of product. |
| B．Giving a team, and even a company an edge. |
| C．Making communication effective. |
| D．Helping us perform better. |
The best title for the passage might be _____.
| A．Team work is essential and important |
| B．How to develop a successful business career |
| C．Honest and kind people make better business career |
| D．Socializing and cooperating |
Engineering students are supposed to be examples of practicality and rationality (理性)，but when it comes to my college education I am an idealist and a fool. In high school I wanted to be an electrical engineer and, of course, any reasonable student with my aims would have chosen a college with a large engineering department, many famous professors and lots of good labs and research equipment. But that's not what I did.
I chose to study engineering in a small liberal-arts (文科）university that doesn't even offer a major in electrical engineering. Obviously, this was not a practical choice; I came here for more noble reasons. I wanted a broad education that would provide me with flexibility and a value system to guide me in my job. I wanted to open my eyes and expand my vision by communicating with people who weren't studying science or engineering. My parents, teachers and other adults praised me for such a wise choice. They told me I was wise and grown-up beyond my 18 years, and I believed them.
I headed off to the college and sure I was going to have an advantage over those students who went to big engineering "factories" where they didn't care if you had values or were flexible. I was going to be a complete engineer: technical expert and excellent humanist all in one.
Now I'm not so sure. Somewhere along the way my noble ideas crashed into reality, as all noble ideas finally do. After three years of struggling to balance math, physics and engineering courses with liberal-arts courses, I have learned there are reasons why few engineering students try to reconcile engineering with liberal-arts courses in college.
The reality that has blocked my path to become the typical successful student is that engineering and the liberal arts simply don't mix as easily as I supposed in high school. Individually they shape a person in very different ways. The struggle to reconcile the two fields of study is difficult. At present, the writer is studying _____.
| A．Engineering at a college with a large engineering department. |
| B．Engineering in a small liberal-arts university. |
| C．Literature in a liberal-arts university. |
| D．Communicating and technology. |
What can be inferred from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4?
| A．No noble idea can be out of touch with reality eventually. |
| B．The writer's noble ideas are practical. |
| C．Noble ideas have nothing to do with reality. |
| D．The writer considered his noble ideas as valuable as others. |
What problem has the writer found in his study at college?
| A．He can't get used to the engineer factory. |
| B．Math, physics and engineering courses are too difficult to learn. |
| C．It's hard to combine engineering with the literal arts. |
| D．He has made no progress in the literal arts. |
How has the writer felt about his choice?
| A．He felt proud at the beginning but a bit doubtful at present. |
| B．He has been feeling positive all the time. |
| C．He has decided to give up. |
| D．He shares the same opinion with his parents and teachers. |