I had an experience some years ago, which taught me something about the ways in which people make a bad situation worse by blaming themselves. One January, I had to hold two funerals on successive days for two elderly women in my community. Both had died “full of years”, as the Bible would say. Their homes happened to be near each other, so I paid condolence(吊唁) calls on the two families on the same afternoon.
At the first home, the son of the deceased（亡故的）woman said to me, “If only I sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold and snow, she would be alive today. It’s my fault that she died. ”At the second home, the son of the other deceased woman said, “If only I hadn’t insisted on my mother’s going to Florida, she would be alive today. That long airplane ride, the sudden change of climate, was more than she could take. It’s my fault that she’s dead.”
You see that any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty. Because the course of action they took turned out bad, they believe that the opposite course keeping Mother at home, putting off the operation would have turned out better. After all, how could it have turned out any worse?
There seem to be two elements involved in our willingness to feel guilty. The first is our pressing need to believe that the world makes sense, that there is a cause for every effect and a reason for everything that happens. That leads us to find patterns and connections both where they really exist and where they exist only in our minds.
The second element is the view that we are the cause of what happens, especially the bad things that happen. It seems to be a short step from believing that every event has a cause to believing that every disaster is our fault. The roots of this feeling may lie in our childhood.
A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needs, and that he makes everything happen in it. He wakes up in the morning and summons the rest of the world to his tasks. He cries, and someone comes to attend to him. When he is hungry, people feed him, and when he is wet, people change him. Very often, we do not completely outgrow that childish view that our wishes cause things to happen.The author had to conduct the two women’s funerals probably because____.
| A．he was minister of the local church | B．he wanted to comfort the two families |
| C．he was an official from the community | D．he had great pity for the deceased |
People feel guilty for the death of their loved ones because ____.
| A．they couldn’t find a better way to express their sorrow. |
| B．they had neglected the natural course of events |
| C．they believed that they were responsible |
| D．they didn’t know things often turn in the opposite direction |
According to the passage, the underlined part in paragraph 4 probably means that _____
| A．everything in the world is predetermined |
| B．there’s an explanation for everything in the world |
| C．the world can be interpreted in different ways |
| D．we have to be sensible in order to understand the world |
What’s the idea of the message?
| A．Life and death is an unsolved mystery |
| B．Never feel guilty all the time because not every disaster is our fault |
| C．Every story should have a happy ending |
| D．In general, the survivors will feel guilty about the people who passed away |
D
After giving a talk at a high school, I was asked to pay a visit to a special student. An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me, and it would mean a great deal to him. I agreed.
During the nine-mile drive to his home, I found out something about Matthew. He had muscular dystrophy（肌肉萎缩症）. When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to see five, and then they were told he would not make it to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal power lifter(举重运动员), and I knew about overcoming obstacles (障碍) and going for my dreams.
I spent over an hour talking to Matthew. Never once did he complain or ask, “Why me?” He spoke about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams. Obviously, he knew what he was talking about. He didn’t mention that his classmates had made fun of him because he was different. He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weight with me.
When we finished talking, I went to my briefcase(衣箱) and pulled out the first gold medal I won and put it around his neck. I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles than I ever would. He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me. He said, “You are a champion(冠军). You earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you.”
Last summer I received a letter from Matthew’s parents telling me that Matthew had passed away. They wanted me to have a letter he had written to me a few days before:
Dear Rick,
My mom said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me. I also want to let you know that the doctors tell me that I don’t have long to live anymore. But I still smile as much as I can.
I told you someday I was going to the Olympics and win a gold medal. But I know now I will never get to do that. But I know I’m a champion, and God knows that too. When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you. Thank you for loving me.
Your friend,
Mathew
72. The boy wanted to meet the author because ______.
A. he was interested in what the author was doing
B. he wanted to get a gold medal himself
C. he admired the author very much
D. he wanted the author to know him too
73. The underlined part in the third paragraph probably means “______”.
A. Why do you come to see me? B. Why do I have to stay at home?
C. Why does the disease fall on me? D. Why not give a gold medal to me?
74. We can infer from the passage that ______.
A. Matthew was a determined boy and considered himself as normal
B. Rick used to have the same disease and later became a power lifter
C. Matthew was to become a champion before he died
D. After meeting Matthew, Rick regarded him as normal.
75. The author wrote the passage with the purpose of ______.
A. describing his unusual friendship with a disabled child
B. showing his admiration towards the disabled child
C. telling an experience of meeting a disabled child
D. expressing his pity to all the disabled children
( C )
Steve is always in a good mood. One day I went up to Steve and asked him, “ How do you do it?” Steve replied, “Each morning I wake up and say to myself, ‘You have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.’ So I choose to be in a good mood. It’s your choice how you live your life.”
I reflected on what Steve said. Soon thereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. Several years later, I heard that Steve was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communication tower. I saw Steve about six months after the accident. I asked him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place. “The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my daughter,” Steve replied. “Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live.”
“Weren’t you scared? Did you lose consciousness (意识)?” I asked.
Steve continued, “The paramedics (护理人员) were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read ‘he is a dead man’. I knew I needed to take action.”
“What did you do?” I asked.
“A nurse asked if I was allergic (过敏的) to anything,” Steve answered, “ ‘Yes,’ I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working. I yelled,’ Gravity (重力).’Over their laughter, I said, ‘I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.’”
Steve lived, thanks to the skills of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude.
I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Every single day has enough trouble of its own.
69. What is Steve’s attitude towards life?
A. Worrying about life all day long. B. Choosing to see the positive aspects of life.
C. Being cold to people in life. D. Being angry at everything in life.
70. What did the writer do after he left the Tower Industry?
A. He furthered his studies in college. B. He went on a vacation in foreign countries.
C. He stayed at home to enjoy his life. D. He started his own business.
71. What went through Steve’s mind when the accident happened?
A. How badly he was injured. B. The reason for the accident.
C. The well-being of his daughter. D. Whether he was going to die or not
(B)
A learning style is a way of learning. The styles which are often talked about are the Auditory（听觉的）, Visual, and Tactile （触觉的） learning styles. Read about each of following learning styles to decide what your learning style is.
Are you an Auditory Learner?
Auditory learners learn best when information appears as sounds. Do you seem to learn best in classes where teachers speak more? Does listening to tapes help you learn better? Do you find yourself reading out loud or talking things out to gain a better understanding? If so, you are probably an auditory learner.
Are you a Visual Learner?
Visual learners learn best when information is presented as something such as a picture or a drawing. Do you do best in classes in which teachers do a lot of writing on the blackboard and make full use of the TV? Do you take written notes from your textbooks and in class? If so, you are probably a visual learner.
Are you a Tactile Learner?
Tactile learners learn best in hands-on learning settings in which they can use something or play with it in order to learn about it. Do you learn better when you touch or handle things? Do you do well in lab classes? If so, you are probably a tactile learner.
Your learning style is your strength. Go with it whenever you can. When you can choose a class, try to choose one that works best with your learning style. When you can choose a teacher, try to choose one whose teaching methods are the best match for your learning style.
65. How many learning styles are mentioned in the passage?
A. 2. B. 3. C. 4. D. 5.
66. The underlined word “visual” in the first paragraph probably means “______”.
A. connected with one’s actions B. connected with the sense of sight
C. knowing by touching something D. having good eyesight
67. If you do well in lab classes, you are probably ______.
A. a Visual Learner B. an Auditory Learner
C. a Tactile Learner D. an Active Learner
68. The last paragraph mainly tells readers ______.
A. how to choose good teachers and good classes
B. that learning styles are people’s strengths
C. how to choose good classes and good schools
D. that learning styles should go with classes and teachers
第三部分阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，共30分）
(A)
It is easier to start to learn a new language than to become good at it. I’ve started to learn many new languages, such as French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Afrikaans (南非荷兰语), and so on. I can’t speak them yet, but I’ve started picking up a few words and phrases that help me when I’m visiting. Most importantly, I’ve had fun doing this.
I’ve started to learn Italian, but I haven’t learned any Italian grammar, and when I visit Italy I’m not able to speak Italian correctly. My aim is just to communicate at a very basic level when I visit a country, to make an effort, and to show appreciation of the language and culture. I’m not trying to talk about politics or explain my views on life. I pick key or useful words and phrases that I want to learn. For example, as a visitor to another country, the key words in a foreign language are the words which will be of the most use to you and which you will use most often. These key words and phrases will vary from visitor to visitor, depending on the purpose of their trip.
It is worth remembering that it is easier to start a task than to finish it, and the same goes for learning a new language. The better you are at it, the slower your rate of progress will be, as you have to learn grammar, words and so on. If you are only trying to learn a few foreign words and phrases, you will make faster progress, have more fun, and won’t have to spend too much time on any given language.
61. From the second paragraph, we can infer that ______.
A. the writer is good at Italian, although it is rather difficult
B. the writer doesn’t like learning Italian because it is no fun
C. discussing politics or explaining one’s view requires an advanced language level
D. it is great fun to communicate with the local people in another country
62. Which of the following does the writer prefer to learn?
A. Sentence structure.B. Important words and phrases.
C. Complicated sentences. D. Grammar.
63. You can make faster progress ______.
A. if your language level is advanced B. if you only try to learn some basic words
C. once you speak the language well
D. once you have mastered several other languages
64. Which of the following would be the best title of this passage?
A. Starting Learning a New Language Is Easier than Becoming Good at It
B. How to Visit a Foreign Country
C. The Importance of Learning a Foreign Language
D. Why You Should Learn Several Foreign Languages
A vegetarian（素食者）diet may help to protect people against cancer, a UK study suggests. Analysis of data from 52,700 man and women shows that those who did not eat meat had significantly fewer cancers than those who did.
Published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the findings were worth looking into .Although it is widely recommended that people eat some fruits and vegetables every day to reduce their risk of cancer and other diseases, there is very little evidence showing that a vegetarian diet can surely reduce cancers .
But surprisingly, the researchers also found a higher rate of colorectal（直肠的）cancer – a disease connected with eating red meat – among the vegetarians.
Study leader Professor Tim Key, a researcher at the University of Oxford, said no previous study had looked at the diet in this way and that there had been a lot of confusion about the issue.
“It’s interesting – it suggests there might be some reduction in cancers in vegetarians, but we need to look carefully at that”, said the professor.
More work is needed to show the connections between diet and cancer but such studies are very hard to do. Dr Joanne Lunn, a senior nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation, said the findings highlighted the fact that cancer is a complex disease and many different lifestyle factors play a part in determining a person’s risk.
73. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Reasons for getting cancers.
B. Vegetarians get fewer cancers.
C. Tips on avoiding cancers.
D. A surprising discovery on colorectal cancer.
74. Why are the findings worth looking into?
A. They can encourage healthy eating.
B. They show that cancer is a complex disease.
C. they show a brand new discovery.
D. They have been published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
75. We can learn from the passage that _________.
A. people eating red meat are unlikely to get colorectal cancer
B. the diet is one of the many factors that determine a person’s health
C. the connections between a vegetarian diet and cancer are clear through the research
D. scientists will soon figure out the relationship between the diet and cancer