I used to believe in the American dream that meant a job, credit, success．I wanted it and worked toward it like everyone else, all of us separately chasing the same thing．
One year, through a series of unhappy events, it all fell apart．I found myself homeless and alone．I had my truck and $56．I searched the countryside for some place I could rent for the cheapest possible amount．I came upon a deserted cottage in a small remote valley．I hadn't been alone for 25 years．I was scared, but I hoped the hard work would distract and heal me．
I found the owner and rented the place for $50 a month．The locals knew nothing about me．But slowly they started teaching me the art of being a neighbor．They dropped off blankets, tools and canned deer meat and began sticking around to chat．They would ask if I wanted to meet cousin Albie or go fishing．They started to teach me a belief in a different American dream, not the one of individual achievement but of neighborliness．Men would stop by with wild berries, ice cream, truck parts to see if I was up for courting．I wasn't, but they were civil anyway．The women on that mountain worked harder than any I'd ever met．They taught me how to store food in the stream and keep it cold and safe．I learned to keep enough for an extra plate for company．
What I had believed in, all those things I thought were necessary for a civilized life, were non-existent in this place．Up on the mountain, my most valuable possessions were my relationships with my neighbors．
After four years in that valley, I moved back into town．I saw a lot of people were having a really hard time, losing their jobs and homes．With the help of a real estate broker （房地产经纪人） I chatted up at the grocery store, I managed to rent a big enough house to take in a handful of people．It's four of us now, but over time I've had nine come in and move on to other places from here．We'd all be in shelters if we hadn't banded together．
The American dream I believe in now is a shared one．It's not so much about what I can get for myself; it's about how we can all get by together．Before a series of unhappy events happened, the writer ____．
| A．had a well-paid job |
| B．worked hard for his American dream |
| C．worked hard and liked to share |
| D．felt hopeless about his American dream |
What does the underlined sentence "I learned to．．．" in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?
| A．The writer learned to run a company． |
| B．The writer learned to share with others． |
| C．The writer learned to keep enough plates． |
| D．The writer learned to save money for his company． |
Why did the writer rent a big house?
| A．To make some money． | B．To show off his wealth． |
| C．To share with those people in need． | D．To make friends with his neighbors． |
The writer mainly tells us about ____．
| A．his unhappy experiences | B．the friendly people in the valley |
| C．the change of his living conditions | D．his new idea of the American dream |
第三部分：阅读理解（共 20小题；每小题 2分，满分 40分）
阅读下列短文，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C 和 D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
All over my garden I’ve planted nothing but roses, sweet and — if looked at far away — bright with color like sunset clouds, I’d be very happy if anyone of my visiting friends should desire to pick and take some for their homes. I trust that any friend of mine carrying the rose would disappear into the distance feeling that his emotions had been rekindled (重燃).
A close friend came for a visit the other day. I know her to be a lover of flowers and plants. And for that reason I told her at her departure that she should pick a bunch of roses to grace her bedroom. I promised that the smell of the roses would be wafted far, far away.
That girl friend of mine, tiptoeing into the garden in high spirits, smelt here and there, but in the end she didn’t pick a single rose. I said there were so many of them that she would pick as many as she’d like to; I told her that I was not a flower farmer and didn’t make a living out of them. Saying so I raised the scissors for the sacrifice of the flowers, but she stopped me, crying no, no, no!
To cut such beautiful roses would hurt one, she said. With her hands seizing at my sleeves, she told me that by no means should they be cut. Roses are the smiling face of the earth, and who could be so iron-hearted as to destroy a smile so charming?
My mind was thoroughly shocked: the ugly earth, the rough earth, the plain earth—it is for the reason of that smile that it wins the care and pity of people.
56. The underlined word “wafted” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to “__________”.
A. moved B. lost C. destroyed D. felt
The writer plants nothing but roses in her garden probably because ____.
A. she can make money out of them B. her friends like them
C. she enjoys the roses very much
D.the roses can rekindle her friends’ emotions
58. Why did the writer’s close friend refuse to pick a single rose?
A. Because the roses were not beautiful.
B. Because she did not like this kind of roses.
C. Because the writer did not want to give her any.
D. Because she loved the roses very much.
59. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. A lovely rose garden. B. The smiling face of the earth.
C. The pity of people to the roses. D. A lover of flowers.
Most of us are used to seasons. Each year, spring follows winter, which follows autumn, which follows summer, which follows spring. And winter is colder than summer. But the earth goes through temperature cycles over much longer periods than those that we experience. Between 65,000 and 35,000 years, the planet was much colder than it is now .During that time the temperature also changed a lot, with periods of warming and cooling. Ice melted during the warm periods, which made sea levels rise. Water froze again during the cold periods.
A new study from Switzerland throws light on where ice sheets（冰川）inched during the ice age. It now seems that the ice melted at both ends of the earth, rather than just in either northern or southern regions.
This surprised the researchers from the University of Bern. Scientists have long assumed（假设）that most of the ice that melted was in the Northern hemisphere（半球）during the 30,000-year long ice age. That belief was held because the North Pole is surrounded by land, while the South Pole is surrounded by the Antarctic Ocean. It is easier for ice sheets to grow on land .If surrendered by sea the ice can easily just slip into the ocean instead of building up.
The researchers used a computer model to look at ways the ice could melt and how it might affect sea levels. They compared these results to evidence of how temperatures and currents actually changed during that time. The model showed that if it was only in the Northern hemisphere that ice melted, there would have been a bigger impact（影响）on ocean currents （洋流）and sea temperatures than what actually happened. Studies suggest that melting just in the Southern hemisphere would have been impossible, too. The only reasonable conclusion, the scientists could make, was that ice melted equally in the North and the South.
It is still a mystery as to what caused the temperature changes that caused the ice to melt.
57.The North Pole is surrounded by land ,while the South Pole is surrounded by the Antarctic Ocean. So scientists thought that_________.
A．most of the ice melted in the Northern hemisphere
B．most of the ice melted in the Southern hemisphere
C．The North Pole is colder than South Pole
D．The South Pole is colder than North Pole
58.We can learn from the passage_________.
A．the ice can easily just slip into the ocean
B．volcanoes caused the ice to melt
C．melting just in the Northern hemisphere would have been impossible
D．researchers often use the computer models to help their research work
59.The scientists are not sure_________.
A．how long the ice age lasted
B．where ice sheets melted during the ice age .
C．what caused the temperature changes
D．what the earth is made up of
60.Which of the following is NOT right ?
A．The researchers want to know how the melting of ice might affect sea levels by the
computer model.
B．Studies show ice melted equally in the North and the South during the ice age.
C．Most of the ice melted in the Northern hemisphere（半球）during the 30,000-year long
Ice age.
D．The temperature changes caused the ice to melt.
May : Happenings from the Past
May 5 , 1884
Isaac Murphy , son of a slave and perhaps the greatest horse rider in American history, rides Buchanan to win his first Kentucky Derby. He becomes the first rider ever to win the race three times.
May 9 , 1754
Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette produces perhaps the first American political cartoon , showing a snake cut in pieces , with the words “Join or Die” printed under the picture.
May 11 , 1934
The first great dust storm of the Great Plains Dust Bowl, the result of years of drought (干旱) , blows topsoil all the way to New York City and Washington , D. C.
May 19, 1994
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, former first lady and one of the most famous people of the 1960s, died of cancer in New York City at the age of 64.
May 24, 1844
Samuel F. B. Morse taps (轻敲) out the first message, “What hath God wrought,” over the experimental long-distance telegraph line which runs from Washington, D. C, to Baltimore, Md.
53. We know from the text that Buchanan is _______________.
A. Isaac’s fatherB. a winning horse
C. a slave taking care of horsesD. the first racing horse in Kentucky
54. What is the title of the first American political cartoon?
A. Join or DieB. Pennsylvania Gazette
C. What Hath God WroughtD. Kentucky Derby
55. In which year did the former first lady Jacqueline die?
A. 1934 B. 1960 C. 1964 D. 1994
56. Which of the following places has to do with (与...有关)the first telegram in history?
A. Washington, D. C.B. New York City
C. KentuckyD. Pennsylvania
When Denis Hennequin took over as the European boss of McDonald's in January 2004, the world's biggest restaurant chain was showing signs of recovery in America and Australia, but sales in Europe were sluggish or declining．One exception was France, where Mr．Hennequin had done a reliable job as head on the group's French subsidiary（子公式） to sell more Big Macs to his relatives, His task was to copy this success in all 41 of the European countries where anti-globalisers’ favourite enemy operates．
So far Mr．Henncquin is doing well．Last year European sales increased by 5．8% and the number of customers by 3．4%, the best annual results in nearly 15 years．Europe accounted for 36% of the group's profits and for 28 of its sales．December was an especially good month as customers took to seasonal menu offerings in France and Britain, and to a promotion in Germany based on the game of Monopoly（垄断）．
Mr．Hennequin's recipe for revival（复兴） is to be more open about his company's operations, to be "locally relevant", and to improve the experience of visiting his 6.400 restaurants． McDonaId's is blamed for making people fat, exploiting workers, treating animals cruelly, polluting the environment and simply for being American．Mr．Hennequin says he wants to engage in a dialogue with the public to address these concerns．
He introduced "open door" visitor days in each country which became hugely popular．In Poland alone some 50,000 visitors came to McDonaId's through the visitors' program last year．The Nutrition Information Initiative（倡议）launched last year, put detailed Sables on McDonaId's packaging with data on calories, protein, fat, carbohy drates and salt content, "the details are also printed on tray-liners．
49．Which of the following statement is RIGHT?
A．Denis Hennequin has been boss of McDonald since 2004．
B．The sales of McDonald is increasing in France．
C．Denis Hennequin tries his best to increase the sales of McDonald in the world．
D．The nutrition information is always launched on McDonald products．
50．McDonaId's is blamed in Europe for the following reasons EXCEPT _________
A．making people fat B．exploiting workers
C．treating animals cruelly D．earning too much
51．Which of the following is not included in the McDonaId's packaging?
A．attentions B．fat C．protein D．salt content
52．What did Denis Hennequin do to increase the sales of McDonald in Europe?
A．He visited all the McDonaId's branches in Europe．
B．He introduced "open door" visitor's days in each country．
C．He had done a reliable job as head of the group's French subsidiary．
D．He engaged in a dialogue with the public．
Dealing with School Pressure
College can be a very demanding time for students．These tips can help keep college stress at a minimum before it becomes too hard to handle．
Get organized．By becoming more organized, you can reduce your stress level drastically（彻底地）Make a daily schedule of all your activities．Another way to become more organized is by getting your supplies and desk in order．Label folders（文件夹） for each class and arrange your notes and assignment by topic or date so you can easily find information．
Don't procrastinate．Putting off doing your schoolwork will only make you more stressed．If you get an assignment that is due in a month, and you don't have any other assignment to finish, go ahead and begin working on it．
Exercise．Performing some sort of physical activity for thirty minutes three times a week will considerably lower your stress level．Taking the time to exercise will help get your mind off the chaos and stress in your life．
Get plenty of sleep and eat healthily．You need between seven to eight hours of sleep per night in order to rest your mind and body so they can perform well during the day．Eating well-balanced meals will provide your with enough energy to accomplish your daily activities．
Adopt a positive attitude．If you are always negative, then stress will overwhelm you．By looking at things in a positive light, you will not only reduce your stress, but you will also feel better about yourself．
Realize that it's okay to say "no"．If you already have a full schedule, don't attempt to add anything else to it．If your friends want you to go out at the last minute but doing so would conflict with your schedule, don't feel bad about turning them down．They will understand．They have been stressed before too．
45．According to the tips, your life will be_________if you study without a proper schedule．
A．organized B．in disorder C．free D．busy
46．Which is NOT TRUE according to the tips?
A．The more you sleep, the less stressed you will feel．
B．A balanced diet will make you energetic．
C．Regular exercise will help you feel relaxed．
D．Everything in a mess will increase one's stress．
47．What does the underlined word " procrastinate" mean?
A．ahead of time． B．delay． C．give up． D．make up．
48．If your good friend invites you to do something while you are busy．what should you do so as not to increase stress?
A．You should accept the invitation． B．You had better say "no"．
C．You should keep silent． D．You should feel bad．