For a 400-year-old art form, operas had a bad fame: overweight actresses singing the words which are hard to understand in one of those romance languages you were supposed to learn in high school. And with tickets costing as much as $ 145 a performance, opera goers also have a certain appearance in people’s mind: rich, well-dressed and old.
But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to bring the opera to the audience. It needs to keep it alive, the young and not-so-rich.
Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to make the opera closer to common people. That means no formal suits, old-styled theatre or band-breaking ticket prices. And because young people don’t or won’t come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such unusual places as parks, libraries and public schools.
The Houston Grand Opera’s choice is the public library, where it performs “mobile operas”, shortened versions (剧本) of child-friendly operas. This summer’s production is Hansel & Gretel. By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level. The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists’ Training Program. Which of the following is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Opera is famous for is history. |
| B．Opera is only for rich people. |
| C．Opera companies are trying to keep opera alive. |
| D．Young people are not interested in opera. |
The underlined part in Paragraph 2
most probably means .
| A．breaking up the old rules | B．changing the dresses |
| C．making the audience at ease | D．advertising themselves |
Opera companies prefer to perform smaller versions because .
| A．they can be performed in public libraries |
| B．short versions are easy to perform |
| C．it is hard to find long versions |
| D．they can make people interested |
The San Francisco Opera employs young students in order to .
| A．attract young people | B．reduce the cost |
| C．celebrate its 75th anniversary | D．make Cinderella popular |
What can you infer from the passage?
| A．The tickets for opera are very expensive at present. |
| B．Opera is performed in a language difficult to understand. |
| C．Opera is not so popular an art form today. |
| D．Students enjoy performing operas very much. |
When I opened my e-mail the other day, a pretty woman named Rachel appeared on my computer screen. She greeted me by name and started talking with great enthusiasm. Every now and then she stopped to smile at me or blow a kiss. She was reading to me an e-mail from my brother, and a lot of it was about his getting the phone company to give him a high-speed Internet connection. It was pretty cool.
Rachel was there thanks to a new technology called Facemail. Facemail lets you send e-mail that gets ready to the receiver by an attractive male or female form or by a clown(小丑). The software, which is free, can be downloaded at www. Facemail.com.
Facemail faces are lifelike, and they simulate(模拟) emotions based on emotions that you put in your text. For example, type in-X, and Rachel blows a kiss.
LifeFX, the company that develops the Facemail, is sure there are broad business uses. The reason e-business is not popular, the company says, is that buying over the Internet lacks the human touch. But what if you went to the Nike website and Michael Jordan greeted you by name, waited on you and personally closed the sale? And it is talking with Whirl(惠而浦公司) about using the technology in a computer screen on a fridge. Then if Morn can't be home when the kids get back from school, she can leave a note with voice and image telling them what there is to eat.
Facemail could get hot fast. Personally, I'm a fan. But Facemail should be used with care. The clown looks lively and funny at first. But if you select the clown, put a few rude words in an e-mail and add some angry emotions, you've got a Psycho-mail(疯人型电子邮件).
64. The pretty woman that appears on the writer's computer screen was ______.
A. a woman working on the Internet B. his brother's girlfriend
C not a real person D. the picture of his pen-friend
65. The main advantage of Facemail is that ______.
A. you can hire a beautiful woman to read the e-mail to you
B. you can see the person who sends you the e-mail
C. yon can send an e-mail free of charge
D. e-mail can be attractive in a more lovely way
66. The writer mentioned Nike website and Michael Jordan to show that _______.
A. Famous people like Michael Jordan also like to use Facemail
B. Facemail can make shopping on the Internet more interesting
C. Nike website will increase its sales by Jordan
D. Michael Jordan will serve you himself on Nike website
67. What is the writer's attitude towards Facemail?
A. He thinks it needs further improvement.
B. He thinks it cool and funny.
C. He thinks it a danger to the Internet.
D. He thinks people should be careful with Facemail.
Alzheimer's disease is a major national health problem. Nearly 2 million Americans over the age of 65 have Alzheimer's disease. It is a leading cause of death among the elderly. But Alzheimer's disease is not confined(限于) to the aged. There may be a million or more people under the age of 65 suffering from the disease.
At one time, people suffering from the disease were said to be "getting old". The disease was thought to be a natural part of growing old, but it is now known that Alzheimer's disease strikes young and old alike. It is an organic(器官的) disease that destroys brain cells.
Alzheimer's disease affects the patient's memory, speech, and movement. In the beginning stages of the disease, the patient may seem slightly confused. He may have trouble speaking. Then the patient's memory begins to fail. He may forget dates, telephone numbers, names and plans.
As the disease progresses, the patient may not recognize family and friends. These symptoms(症状) often cause terrible anxiety in the patient. He may feel lost and frightened. Sometimes the patient reacts with wild and bad behavior.
In the last stages of the disease, the patient may not be able to take care of himself. He may have lost the ability to speak and walk.
Scientists don't know exactly what causes Alzheimer's disease. It may be caused by a virus(病毒). It may be caused by a poisonous substance(物质) in the environment. At present, there is no cure for the disease. But there are ways to slow its progress. Exercise and physical treatment can help the patients of this disease.
60. The main idea of the passage is that Alzheimer's disease _______.
A. is a terrible part of the aging process B. is an organic disease that affects young and old
C. can be cured by physical treatment D. causes forgetfulness
61. All of the following are symptoms of Alzheimer's disease EXCEPT _______.
A. forgetfulness B. difficulty in speaking C. loss of sight D. loss of the ability to walk
62. According to the passage, which of the following may be a cause of Alzheimer's disease?
A. Poisons produced by the brain. B. Getting old. C. A virus. D. Lack of exercise.
63. The progress of Alzheimer's disease can be slowed by ______.
A. operation B. a change in environment C. medicines D. physical treatment and exercise
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，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A device that stops drives from falling asleep at the wheel is about to undergo testing at Department of Transport laboratories and could go on sale within 12 months.
The system, called Driver Alert, aims to reduce deadly road accidents by 20%—40% that are caused by tiredness. Airline pilots can also use it to reduce the 30% of all pilot-error accidents that are related to fatigue.
Driver Alert is based on a computerized wristband. The device, worn by drives or pilots, gives out a sound about every four minutes during a car journey. After each sound the driver must respond by squeezing the steering wheel(
方向盘). A sensor in the wristband detects this pressing action and measures the time between the sound and the driver's response.
Tiredness is directly re
lated to a driver's response time. Usually, a watchful driver would take about 400 milliseconds to respond, but once that falls to more than 500 milliseconds, it suggests that the driver is getting sleepy.
In such cases the device gives out more regular and louder sounds, showing that the driver should open a window or stop for a rest. If the driver's response continues to slow down, the sounds become more frequent until a nonstop alarm warns that the driver must stop as soon as possible.
The device has been delivered to the department's laboratories for testing. If these tests, scheduled for six months' time, are successful, the makers will bring the product to market within about a year.
56. According to the text, Driver Alert ______.
A. aims to reduce tiredness-related accidents B. aims to prevent drivers from sleeping
C. has gone through testing at laboratories D. has been on sale for 12 months
57. How should a driver respond to the sounds from Driver Alert?
A. By sounding a warning. B. By checking the driving time.
C. By touching the wrist hand. D. By pressing the steering wheel.
58. We can learn from the text that the driver needs to stop for a break when his response time is _____.
A. about 400 milliseconds B. over 500 milliseconds
C. below 500 milliseconds D. about 4 minutes
59. When the driver gets sleepy while driving, Driver Alert ______.
A. moves more regularlyB. opens the window for the driver
C. stops working properly D. sounds more frequently and loudly
All young people dream of travelling the world. They are restless and very eager to see new sights. However, they have little idea how they would really do it if given the chance. Because their knowledge of geography is quite limited, they seldom know much about the places they wish to visit or how they would get there.
Already hundreds of thousands of Chinese student tourists are visiting these places-Wuyi, Lhasa, Lijiang, Dali, Vientiane and Phnom Penh. Indeed, these students will soon be the most travelled generation in China’s long history. The World Tourist Organization predicts that a quarter of a century from now the number of Chinese tourists going abroad will be twenty times what it is today. The largest percentage of these tourists will visit Southeast Asia. Not all Chinese who travel abroad will be tourists, however. More and more youths are deciding to volunteer their skills in this region; much like their peers in th-e Peace Corps and VSO.
Critical thinking skills required include planning for a trip and solving problems after the trip has begun. The focus is on how to read an atlas (地图集) to make travel plans and how to find ways of travelling. An atlas offers a wealth of information about geography and is one way to increa
se students’ awareness of their global environment. Use of an atlas especially addresses the needs of students with different visual and spatial (空间的) learning styles.
71.The main idea. of the first paragraph is ________.
A. all young people wish to travel around the world
B. all young people like to learn the knowledge of geography
C. all young people like travelling but their knowledge of geography is quite limited
D. all young people are aware of the places they are going
72. These places, Wuyi, Lhasa, Lijiang, Dali, Vientiane and Phnom Penh, lie in ________.
A. China B. Europe C. Vietnam D. Asia
73.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. The number of Chinese tourists going abroad will be twenty times what it is today in about 25 years.
B. The number of Chinese tourists going abroad will be twenty times what it is today in .about 10 years.
C. Southeast Asia will become the most popular visiting place in the world.
D. Young people will be addicted to Internet travelling.
74.One way to increase students’ awareness of their global environment is for them to ________.
A. watch TV B. listen to radio news C. read an atlas D. plan a trip
75.The underlined phrase “a wealth of” can be replaced by “_________”.
A. a number of B. a great many C. a great many of D. a great deal of
How hard we have all prayed(祈祷) to grow up quickly, and looked forward to the happy days of being a grown-up and enjoying the many interests that a youth should have.
At last, you have grown up. At least you are no longer a child. They call you “young lady”. You then enjoy the pleasure of being a young lady. You are proud of being a grown-up teenager. People welcome you-this young lady-heartily. You are glad that your prayer has been answered.
But there is always something that troubles you a lot. You say; “Papa and Mama, give me some money please. My pocket money is all gone already.”
“No”, they say, “your age is a dangerous age. If you have too much money to spend, it won’t do you any good.” Then you have to stay at home because you dare not go out with an empty pocket.
Another time you tell your grandma, “Grandma, see, I am a grown-up now.”
“Good, now, you can sit here and knit (编织) this for me while I go and have a rest.” To show that you are no more a child, you have to sit there the whole afternoon doing the work, which only a grown-up can do. After an hour, you find it hard to do, and give the knitting basket back to your grandma. Your grandma criticizes your work. You hear what she says, “Such a big girl can’t do such easy work.” You wish then you were a child again.
But the fact is, you are growing up, and you can’t help it. That’s the way it goes!
66.The passage is told about _______ problems.
A. a growing-up boy’s B. a teenage girl’s C. an old woman’s D. a grown-up’s
67.It is clear that the writer, as a teenager, ________.
A. is pleased with the present life B. is unhappy about growing up
C. doesn’t think her, present life happy enough D. knows happy life will come to her soon
68.How does she know her prayer has been answered?
A. People treat her as a young lady. B. She is no longer a kid.
C. People begin to call her teenager. D. She can join women in all kinds of activities.
69.From what her parents say, we know _________.
A. they don’t believe she is already a teenager B. it’s dangerous for a girl to spend money
C. they love her more than beforeD. they still regard her as a child
70.Having heard her grandma’s criticism, _________.
A. she has to lie in bed, doing nothingB. she knows she has already worked the whole afternoon
C. she wishes she were not growing up D. she finds it isn’t her turn to do knitting