The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated(愤怒的) when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy."
The man was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found out the box was empty. He yelled at her, stating, "Don’t you know, when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside? The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried, "Oh, Daddy, it’s not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They’re all for you, Daddy."
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.
Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child. It is also told that her father kept that gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.
In a very real sense, each one of us, as humans beings, have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family members, friends, and God. There is simply no other possession, anyone could hold, more precious than this. The 3-year-old girl was punished by her father for ________.
| A．wasting gold | B．wasting wrapping paper |
| C．putting the box under the Christmas tree | |
| D．bringing the gift to her father |
What’s inside the box according to the little girl?
| A．nothing | B．air | C．kisses | D．gold wrapping paper |
Choose the best title for the passage.
| A．The kisses in the box. | B．A girl and his father |
| C．A love story | D．The box under the Christmas tree. |
Most people agree that the direct, assertive(过分自信的) American personality is a virtue, but it sometimes surprises foreigners．In many cultures, respect for older people or those in positions of authority keeps others from expressing their true feelings．But in the U．S, children often argue with their parents, students may disagree with their teachers, and citizens may express opposition to the actions of the government．If the soup has a fly in it or the meat is too tough to chew, the diner can complain to the waiter, if the boss makes a mistake, an employee will politely point it out．
Some straight talk about the American character must include the admission that Americans have their faults．The extremely competitive nature of Americans is probably their worst fault．Of course, competition isn’t always bad．As a matter of fact, it promotes excellence by encouraging individuals and businesses to try to do their best．But the desire to get ahead of others sometimes causes people to do things that are unkind and even dishonest．Also, Americans admire what is practical, fast, efficient, and fresh．Sometimes they fail to understand and appreciate practices that have greater respect for more traditional, leisurely ways of doing things．On the other hand, people from other cultures may dislike the practical, challenging American lifestyle．
Despite culture differences, most foreigners give Americans credit for their virtues．Americans are generally viewed as friendly, adaptable, energetic, and kindhearted．Most newcomers to the U．S．like Americans, and the feeling is usually mutual．Perhaps the greatest American virtue is a deep interest in new ideas and new people．In a nation of immigrants, the foreigner does not remain an outsider for long．
1In order to show the respect for older people,．
A．people from some other cultures will always express their true feeling
B．people from some other cultures may sometimes hide their true feeling
C．Americans always show their true feelings
D．Americans usually argue with them
2Why is the extremely competitive nature considered as one of American faults?
A．Because people from other cultures fear competition．
B．Because only American people own it．
C．Because it will make people forget leisure．
D．Because it may sometimes urge people to do something bad．
3It can be inferred from the passage that ．．
A．American people are more critical of everything than people from other cultures
B．the author believes that American character has more faults than virtues
C．the author admires American virtues as they are viewed as competitive and anti
traditional
D．it is difficult for newcomers to get on with Americans
4The passage mainly talks about．．
A．American virtues B．American characters
C．American faults D．American lifestyles
A typical Chinese Internet user is a young male who prefers instant messaging to e-mail, seldom makes online purchases and favors news, music and games sites．According to a study, about two-thirds of survey participants use the Internet for news — often entertainment-related — or for online games．About half download music and movies.
They also tend to prefer instant messaging to e-mail, and they are depending on the Internet more frequently than before to communicate with others who have the same professions, hobbies and political interests．Online purchases still remain unpopular in China．Three-quarters of users surveyed have never bought anything over the Internet, and only 10 percent make purchases even once a month．Among those who do buy online, most pay for entertainment while others buy phone cards, or computer hardware or software.
“Many people don’t trust the quality of goods bought online,” Guo said Wednesday．“If they buy it in a store and don’t like it, they can easily bring it back.”
The survey was done in five major cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Changsha．Results do not necessarily project countrywide because Internet use in rural areas is lower than in cities．Guo describes the typical netizen in the five cities surveyed as young, male, richer and more highly educated．Males make up two-thirds of the Internet community, and more than 80 percent of users are under 24．Among people ages 25 to 29, 60 percent to 80 percent go online.
China has more than 100 million people online, second in the world to the United States.
1 A typical Chinese Internet user will be the one who ______.
A．likes to send e-mails B．likes to buy goods online
C．likes to pay for entertainment D．likes the games sites
2 Online purchases still remain unpopular in China mainly because ______.
A．it is more difficult for sales returns B．people haven’t computers
C．people can’t have a look at the goods D．goods bought online are of low quality
3 Which of the following words fails to describe the typical netizens in the five cities?
A．well educated B．richer C．female D．young
4 According to the text, which of the following shows the right relation between online people
and their ages?
A.
B.
C.
D．
第二部分:阅读理解（共 25小题;第一节每小题 2分,第二节每小题 1分;满分 45分）
第一节：阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C 和D）中选出最佳选项．
When I met him, I had a lot of anger inside of me．I’ve lived my whole life in Spanish Harlem, but in my neighborhood, there are shoot-ups all the time．I know kids who have been shot or beaten up．I have friends who ended up in prison．I could have ended up that way, too, but Mr．Clark wouldn’t let that happen．
Mr．Clark worked long hours, making sure I did my work．My grades rose．In fact, the scores of our whole class rose．One day, he took our class to see The Phantom of the Opera, and it was the first time some kids had ever been out of Harlem．Before the show, he treated us to dinner at a restaurant and taught us not to talk with our mouths full．We did not want to let him down．
Mr．Clark was selected as Disney’s 2000 Teacher of the Year．He said he would draw three names out of a hat; those students would go with him to Los Angeles to get the award．But when the time came to draw names, Mr．Clark said, “You’re all going．”
On graduation day, there were a lot of tears．We didn’t want his class to end．In 2001, he moved to Atlanta, but he always kept in touch．He started giving lectures about education, and wrote a bestselling book based on his classroom rules, The Essential 55．In 2003, Mr．Clark took some of us on a trip to South Africa to deliver school supplies and visit the orphanages（孤儿院）．It was the most amazing experience of my life．It’s now my dream to one day start a group of women’s clubs, helping people from all backgrounds．
1．Without Mr．Clark, the writer．
A．might have been put into prison B．might not have won the prize
C．might have joined a women’s club D．might not have moved to Atlanta
2．The Essential 55 is．
A．a show B．a speech
C．a classroom rule D．a book
3．What can we learn in the short reading?
A．It was in Harlem that we saw The Phantom of the Opera for the first time．
B．Mr．Clark taught us not to talk with our mouths full, and we did．
C．Mr．Clark was selected as Disney’s 2000 Teacher of the Year in Los Angeles．
D．In 2003, Mr．Clark moved to Atlanta, and he always kept in touch with us．
4．In the passage, the writer intends to tell us that．
A．Mr．Clark went to South Africa because he liked travelling
B．Mr．Clark helped to set up a group of women’s clubs
C．a good teacher can help raise his or her students’ scores
D．a good teacher has a good influence on his or her students
Electric cars will not be really much cleaner than autos powered by mineral fuels until they rely less on electricity produced from usual coal-fired power plants.
“For electric vehicles to become a major green alternative, the power fuel has to move away from
coal, or cleaner coal technologies have to be developed,” said Jared Cohon, the chairman of a National
Research Council report released on Monday. About half of US power is produced by
burning coal, which gives off many times more of traditional pollutants than natural gas, and about
twice as much of the main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Nuclear and renewable power have to
generate a larger portion of US power for electric cars to become much greener compared to
gasoline-powered cars, Cohan, who is president of Carnegie Mellon University, said in an interview.
Advances in coal burning, like capturing carbon at power plants for permanent burial underground,
could also help electric cars become a cleaner alternative to vehicles powered by fossil fuels, he said.
Pollution from energy sources did $120 billion worth of damage to human health, agriculture and
recreation in 2008, and electricity was responsible for more than half of the damage, said the NRC
report.
Electric cars have their benefits such as reducing imports of foreign oil. But they also have hidden
costs. Materials in electric car batteries are hard to produce, which adds to the energy it takes to make
them. In fact, the health and environmental costs of making electric cars can be 20 percent greater
than usual cars, the report said.
The report estimated that electric cars could still co
st more than gas-powered cars to operate and
manufacture in 2030 unless US power production becomes cleaner.
1. Why are electric cars not clean enough?
A. Because they run too slowly B. Because they are too expensive
C. Because they rely on coal-fired power. D. Because they give off more carbon dioxide.
2. We can infer from the passage that ______.
A. electric cars will soon take the place of gas-powered cars
B. no one holds hope for electric cars at present
C. electric cars waste more energy than before
D. some people believe that electric cars are cleaner
3. The underlined word “them” refers to “______”.
A. electric cars B. batteries C. producers D. materials
4. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a way to make electric cars cleaner?
A. Developing cleaner coal technologies. B. Making electric cars run faster.
C. Generating more unclear power. D. Making advances in coal burning.
Matches made over the Internet often do not last long because people end up choosing unsuitable
partners and forming emotional bonds before meeting face-to-face, an Australian university researcher
has found.
Women may especially find Mr. Wrong, as they tend to be attracted by fine comments or clever
emails, said psychologist Matthew Bambling from the Queensland University of Technology.
“You can never assume things are the way they seem online,” Bambling said. “The fact that they
can write a clever comment or a witty email doesn’t mean they will be Mr. Right, that’s for sure,” he
said, adding some men use the concept of “netting”, sending emails to dozens of women and hoping
one might respond. Bambling said you can find a partner online, but warned those using the Web to
find love to be aware of the traps. “There’s definitely an uncontrolled effect online,” he said, with
people more likely to exaggerate their good points while hiding anything negative. “Few guys for
example would say ‘look, I’m a middle aged alcoholic who’s been married five times, pick me’.
They’re going to present themselves as a good catch.” He said it was easy for people to quickly invest
too much emotionally in an online relationship because they don’t see the full picture of the person
they are emailing.
Bambling said people can avoid many of the problems by meeting early in the actual relationship,
rather than by getting to know each other only by email. He suggests couples arrange to meet over
coffee after a few emails, which will help people from building up a fantasy image of their match.
“The main thing to remember is to make real life contact as soon as possible if you are interested in
someone, because then you will know contact as soon as possible if you are interested in someone,
because then you will know if a relationship is a possibility.” He said.
1. Why were women quite likely to find Mr. Wrong over the Internet?
A. Because they often judge a person by his appearance.
B. Because single women usually felt more lonely.
C.
Because the emotional bonds were hard to break.
D. Because they were easily attracted by fine comments.
2. About the online relationship Bambling suggests we should be ______.
A. rejective B. favorable C. cautious D. hopeful
3. The underlined word “exaggerate” in Paragraph 3 probably means “______”.
A. enlarge B. invent C. remove D. cover
4. What is suggested by Bambling for a better online relationship?
A. Writing clever comments or emails to girls frequently.
B. Finding a partner online through one night respond.
C. Making real life contact before further development.
D. Investing much emotion in your partner.