We all enjoy the colors of autumn leaves. Did you ever wonder how and why a fall leaf changes color? Where do the yellows and oranges come from? To answer those questions, we first have to understand what leaves are and what they do.
Leaves are nature's food factories. Plants take water from the ground through their roots. They take a gas called carbon dioxide from the air. Plants use sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide into glucose, which is a kind of sugar. Plants use glucose as food for energy and as a building block for growing. The way plants turn water and carbon dioxide into sugar is called photosynthesis, which means " putting together with light. " A chemical called chlorophyll helps make photosynthesis happen. Chlorophyll is what gives plants their green color.
As summer ends and autumn comes, the days get shorter and shorter. This is how the trees "know" to begin getting ready for winter.
During winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis. The trees will rest, and live off the food they stored during summer. They begin to shut down their food-making factories. The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves. As the bright green fades away, we begin to see yellow and orange colors. Small a-mounts of these colors have been in the leaves all along. Covered up by the green chlorophyll, we just can't see them in summer.
The bright reds and purples we see in leaves are made mostly in the fall. In some trees, like maples, glucose is trapped in the leaves after photosynthesis stops. Sunlight and the cool nights of autumn cause the leaves turn this glucose into a red color. The brown color of trees like oaks is made from wastes left in the leaves.
It is the combination of all these things that make the beautiful colors we enjoy in the fall. The writer asked two questions in the beginning in order to .
| A．persuade readers to believe something |
| B．introduce the topic of the passage |
| C．get the readers excited |
| D．offer something to think over |
Which of the following is True according to the passage?
| A．Trees don't change colours with seasons. |
| B．Trees can still perform photosynthesis well in winter. |
| C．Trees have colours like yellow and orange even in summer. |
| D．Trees don't need food in winter. |
Photosynthesis is a way that ___________________________.
| A．plants change water and carbon dioxide into sugar |
| B．plants turn water and carbon dioxide into sugar with the help of sunlight |
| C．plants use glucose as food for energy and growing |
| D．chlorophyll is a great help |
Which is the best title for this passage?
| A．Colorful trees in autumn | B．Mysteries of tree colors |
| C．Do you enjoy tree colors? | D．Wonderful colors in autumn |
第三部分阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
从A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
A group of graduates，highly established in their careers，got together to visit their old university professor．
The conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and in life．offering his guests coffee，the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and a variety of cups——plastic，glass，crystal(水晶)，some plain—looking，some expensive，some fine——telling them to help themselves to the coffee．
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand，the professor said：“If you noticed，all the nice—looking，expensive cups were taken up，leaving behind the plain and cheap ones．While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves，that is the source of your problems and stress．”
“What all of you really wanted was coffee，not the cup，but you consciously went for the best cups and were eyeing each other’s cups．”
“Now consider this：Life is the coffee and the jabs，money and position in society are the cups.They are just tools to hold and contain life，and do not change the quality of life．Sometimes，by concentrating only on the cup，we fail to enjoy the coffee．So，don’t let the cups drive you．．．enjoy the coffee instead．”
56．Why did the conversation soon turn into complaints?
A．Because there was no coffee to drink．
B．Because there was nothing to talk about except complaints
C．Because life was not easy for everyone．
D．Because there was nothing better than to complain．
57．The professor brought in a variety of cups because．
A．he was richer than his students
B．he was fond of collecting cups
C．there were too many people to drink coffee
D．the cups would play an important part in his talk
58．In the author’s opinion．
A．it is necessary to have a variety of cups to meet the needs of different guests
B．one should concentrate on main things in life
C．the students liked drinking coffee mole than anything else
D．cups are more important than coffee
59．We can infer that．
A．in our daily life most people want only the best for themselves
B．coffee was as important as a cup
C． a teacher should have a11 kinds of cups at home
D．whether coffee is nice to drink depends on the cup
The beat generation mainly referred to the youth who were born and brought up around the Second World War. They showed their ignorance of almost everything traditional, such as government authority ,respect for parents, one’s duty, moral standards, and traditional customs. They developed a kind of absolute individualism and liberty. They preferred long hair, mini dresses or close fitting clothes to show off the figure. They advocated （倡导）freedom of sex and cohabitation (同居).Their influence could be seen from the fact that about one third of the American couples living together were not married by law. And the divorce rate was very high. The endless U.S wars abroad and sharp class struggle at home caused many American youths to develop a kind of cynicism. They doubted the existing social system, possibility of harmonious human relations, and the long honored standard for correct behavior. They felt society overlooked their needs. Therefore, they refused to do any duty that was required of them by society. They declared “Don’t believe anyone over thirty.” All this came from the sick society. It’s wrong to imagine they all fought against capitalism in support of revolutionary things. Some of their ideas were even more decadent (颓废的)and impractical. It was an abnormal phenomenon in an abnormal society.
72.Based on the passage, how many of one hundred and twenty American couples of the beat
generation practiced cohabitation?
A. about 20 couples. B. about 30 couples.
C. about 60 couples. D. about 40 couples.
73.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The beat generation’s refused to do any duty.
B. The beat generation was in support of almost everything traditional.
C. The beat generation believes no one except that he is over thirty.
D. The beat generation’s ideas were not impractical.
74.“Cynicism” in this passage most probably means____.
A. a state of mind against realism
B. a state of mind doubting everything in existence
C. a theory advocating mutual help
D. a theory advocating individualism
75..This passage is mainly about ____.
A. the young Americans
B. the generation gap
C. the education of the young
D. an American social phenomenon
Audrey Hepburn was born on May 4,1929 in Brussels, Belgium. Her father was a wealthy English banker. After her parents divorced, Audrey went to London with her mother where she went to a private girls school. While vacationing with her mother in Holland, Hitler’s army suddenly took over the town. It was here that she fell on hard times during the Nazi occupation. After the liberation, Audrey went to a ballet school in London on a scholarship and later began a modeling career. As a model, she was graceful and , it seemed ,she had found her niche in life-----until the film producers came calling. After being spotted modeling by a producers, she was signed up for a bit part in the European film Nederlands in 7 lessons in 1948. Later, she headed to America to try her luck there.
Audrey gained immediate prominence(杰出) in the U.S with her role in Roman Holiday in 1953. This film turned out to be a big success as she won an Oscar as Best Actress. This gained her enormous popularity and more plum (令人垂涎的) roles. Roman Holiday was followed by another similarly wonderful performance in the 1957 classic Funny Face (1957). In 1959, she received yet another nomination (提名) for her role in Nun’s Story. Audrey reached the top of her career when she played Holly Golightly in the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s in 1961. For this she received another nomination. One of Audrey’s most radian impressive roles was in the fine production of My Fair Lady in 1964. Her co-star Rex Harrison once was asked to identify his favorite leading lady. Without hesitation, he replied, “ Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady”.
By the end of the sixty, after her divorce from actor Mel Ferrer, Audrey decided to retire while she was on top. Later she married Dr. Andrea Dotti. In 1988, Audrey became a special ambassador to the United Nations UNICEF fund helping children in Latin American and Africa, a position she stayed until 1993. She was named to People’s magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. Audrey Hepburn died on January 20,1993 in Switzerland. She had made a total of 31 high quality movies.
68.Where did Audrey Hepburn become famous?
A. England B. America C. Switzerland D. Belgium
69.We can infer that Audrey Hepburn was _______.
A. a learned woman B. satisfied with her marriage
C. a woman with sympathy D. very popular as a model
70.Choose the right order about the life of Audrey Hepburn.
a. Audrey began a modeling career.
b. Audrey went to London with her mother
c. Audrey became popular in the film Roman Holiday
d. Audrey became a special ambassador to the United Nations UNICEF fund
e. Hitler’s army suddenly took over the town
f. Audrey married Dr. Audrey Dotti.
A. a, b, c, d, e, f B. b, e, a, c, f, d C. c, a, b, f, e, d D. b, e, f, c, a, d
71.The underlined word “ niche” in Paragraph 1 is the closest in the meaning of_____?
A. position B. companion C. talent D. enjoyment
Elective courses
International Studies (BS)
Key features
● Recognizes the “global community”
● Has close connections with practical research
● Much of the teaching is done in small discussion groups
About the course
The course gives you chances to know great power politics between nation states. It will provide more space to study particular issues such as relationship among countries in the European Union, third world debt, local and international disagreement, and the work of such international bodies as the United Nations, the European Union, NATO, and the World Bank.
The course puts theories into the working of the international system with close attention to particular countries. You will also have a better knowledge of methods of solving the international problems.
Related courses
BA (Hons) Community Management
BA (Hons) Public Policy and Management
Employment possibilities
International organizations
International business
Earth Science (BSc)
Key features
● Based on key courses and the latest research findings
● Pays much attention to practical shills
● Offers chances for fieldwork (实地考察)
About the course
The demand for natural resources is becoming an increasingly serious problem for the future of mankind. Graduates(毕业生) in Earth Science will play an important role in meeting this demand, and in knowing the meaning of using the natural resources.
The course covers geography and geology. You will carry out fieldwork in the UK and possibly overseas, and a research in and areas of interest to you in the final year.
Related courses
BSc (Hons ) Geography
BSc (Hons ) Geology
Employment possibilities
Mineral, oil, water or other related engineering industries
64.International Studies is a course in ______.
A. international politics B. international business
C. international systems D. international bodies
65 After taking the course of International Studies, the students will ______.
A. become practical and open-minded
B. have a greater ability to discuss theories
C. know how to settle international problems
D. have good jobs in any international organizations
66.Earth Science, as described in the second text, _______.
A. is attractive because of the chances for fieldwork
B. pays more attention to practical skills than theories
C. is built on important courses and the results of recent studies
D. encourages students to play a role in using natural resources
67.It can be inferred that the above two texts are written for the students who ______
A. enjoy research work B. plan to choose courses
C. study in the UK D. are interested in overseas fieldwork
The magnitude 7.9 quake struck Sichuan province on May 12 at around noontime, which may have increased the human death toll because many people were at school, and the school buildings turned out to be not firm enough to collapse because of poor construction. More than 69,000 people have been confirmed dead so far, and more than 374,000 injured, with fears of further disasters because several lakes created by rockfall dams may give way and cause sudden flooding.
Clark Burchfiel, Schlumberger Professor of Geology, and Leigh Royden, professor of geology and geophysics in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at MIT, have been doing extensive research in that region of China and the Tibetan plateau(高原) for more than two decades, but had found no signs that suggested such a large earthquake might strike the area.
The team operated 25 broadband seismograph (地震仪) stations in this region of western Sichuan for more than a year. "Nobody was thinking there would be a major earthquake in that area," Royden says. "This earthquake was quite unusual, and may have involved a simultaneously（同时发生的） severe break of two separate but neighboring faults," she continued.
The region is extremely unusual geologically, Royden says, because of the very steep slopes at the boundary between the Sichuan Basin to the east and the Tibetan plateau to the west. The altitude rises sharply by about 3,500 meters (more than two miles) over a span of only about 50 kilometers (about 30 miles).
The area where the quake occurred is part of the boundary between two of the Earth's structural plates, where the Indian and Asian plates meet in an ongoing collision that has created the Himalayan mountains and the Tibetan plateau. But in central and eastern Tibet, unlike most other areas of continental collision, much of the movement of crust（地壳） is hidden from view. Instead of thickening the entire crust by folding and faulting, the surface of the eastern Tibetan plateau is not deformed（变形的） and is being lifted upward by thickening of a weak crustal layer more than 15 km below the surface.
60. Why did the school buildings collapse in the earthquake, according to the passage?
A. They had too long a history.
B. They were poorly built.
C. They were crowded with students and teachers.
D. They were damaged by the earthquake.
61. Based on Para. 1, why does the writer think that more people will be killed or injured after
the earthquake?
A. Because there will be more aftershocks after the major quake.
B. Because more school buildings will collapse after the quake.
C. Because destructive flooding caused by rockfall dams is likely to occur..
D. Because there was not enough medical care for the injured in the area.
62. What can we infer from this passage?
A. There was no prediction that such a large-scale quake might occur there.
B. Researchers had done little research in that area before the earthquake struck it.
C. The 5.12 earthquake was the most destructive in the world.
D. If more research had been done, the destruction could have been avoided.
63. Which one can be used as the best title for this passage?
A. The Great Disasters.
B. The Earthquake was very frightening.
C. The Causes of the earthquake.
D. An Extremely Unusual Earthquake.