I sometimes wonder if old Finchley has the right personality to be a research scientist. He keeps asking when he’ll be coming back. After all, it was his own fault. Nobody tries out what has just been invented on themselves any more but Finchley. Well, he must have pumped about a thousand c. c. s into himself before I noticed he was clearly becoming smaller.
It was funny watching him, because his clothes remained the same in size. They simply piled up around him so that he looked like a small boy in his father’s clothes. But he kept getting smaller and smaller. As my colleague Dawson and I watched him, he disappeared! All we could see was Finchley’s clothes on the floor. They looked so strange, because the lab coat was on top, shirt and trousers inside and, I suppose, underclothes inside again. It gave me a strange feeling, and I think Dawson was a bit shaken, too.
Dawson was sitting on his chair in front of a microscope he’d been using to examine a family of mites(螨虫). He looked through the scope kind of absently again, and was nearly scared to lose awareness when he found old Finchley waving back from the other end.
It seems as if Finchley had taken a free ride on a dust mite and landed on the land of the mite family. Of course, we didn’t know till Finchley told us later. But anyhow, as I said, Dawson nearly passed out. He jumped off his chair and pointed at the microscope, to shocked to speak.Finchley disappeared because ________.
| A．he took something poisonous |
| B．he was changed into a dust mite |
| C．his father’s clothes totally covered him up |
| D．what he and his colleagues invented resulted in his disappearace |
It frightened Dawson to see Finchley _______.
| A．got into his scope by accident | B．was waving through his telescope |
| C．suddenly got lost in his clothes | D．gradually disappeared in the lab |
It can be inferred that Finchley, Dawson and the writer have possibly invented _____.
| A．some kind of medicine | B．a new powerful microscope |
| C．a machine to make people small | D．a new way to make a culture of mite |
It can probably be concluded that Finchley ________.
| A．passed out there and then | B．is not fit to be a scientist |
| C．is a devoted scientist | D．will remain tiny all the time |
Barack Obama
In the past hundred years, the U.S. presidency has turned more and more to the left – not in policy, but in handedness. Barrack Obama is the latest to join a long list of left – handed presidents from the 20th century: James Garfield, Herbert Hoover, Henry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton were all southpaws.
What makes lefties so electable? Some experts think left-handed people have a greater aptitude for language skills, which may help them craft the rhetoric necessary for political office. And as for the bout of recent left-handed presidents, some think it’s because teachers only recently stopped working to convert lefties to rightist at an early age.
Bill Gates
Claiming the nation’s richest man among their number is a source of considerable pride for America’s society of southpaws. In fact, the Microsoft titan and philanthropist(巨头兼慈善家) is one of a surprising number of U.S. business moguls to be left-handed, including Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller and former IBM head Lou Gerstner. But the club seems to be a guys-only fraternity — research suggests that while left-handed men tend to earn more than their right-handed colleagues, there is no similar advantage for women. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research floated the idea that left-handed men favor "divergent" thinking, a form of creativity in which the brain moves "from conventional knowledge into unexplored association." Maybe that’s what it takes to develop a net worth estimated at $ 57 billion.
Oprah Winfrey
The talk-show queen doesn’t need much more to set her apart from the rest — what with her estimated $ 2.7 billion fortune and a magic ability to sell books just by glancing at them — but she also has the distinction of being a member of the left-handed club. Since men are more likely to be left-handed than women, that makes Oprah doubly impressive. She’s in good company: Other show-business ladies of the left – handed persuasion include Whoopi Goldberg, Julia Roberts and Angelina Jolie
Marie Curie
Not only was atomic scientist Marie Curie left-handed, but she was the matriarch of a whole family of accomplished, southpaw scientists. Curie, who discovered the principles of radioactivity and won two Nobel Prizes, was married to fellow lefty Pierre Curie, who was instrumental in helping Marie’s atomic research and shared one of her Nobel awards. Historians believe their daughter, Irene, was also left-handed. Irene went on to win a Nobel Prize of her own with her husband — who, you guessed it, was also left-handed.
1．The underlined word “southpaws” in the last sentence of Paragraph 1 means_________.
A．people coming from the south B．powerful presidents
C．people who use their left hand D．forceful speakers
2．What makes it so easy for lefties to be elected as presidents according to the passage?
A．Their great gift for foreign language.
B．Their great language skills to make speeches.
C．The need of left – hinders in the political office.
D．Teachers stopping to force them to use their right hand.
3．It can be implied that Bill Gates, Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller and Lou Gerstner_________.
A．have creative thinking B．have formed a special club.
C．earn more money than their wives D．are wealthy philanthropists
4．The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 “She is in good company” means “_________”.
A．she works in a very good company B．she has many good friends
C．she has got on well with others D．she is among many female lefties
Vampires (吸血鬼), creatures of myth, have been around in one form or another for centuries. Terrifying but also attractive, they are as popular in the early 21 st century as ever, as the current popularity of Twilight series, and its hero Edward Cullen, show.
Vampires first appeared in fiction in the 1700s. in 1895 Irish novelist Bram Stoker published Dracula, introducing the world’s most famous vampire.
But just what is it about these drinkers of human blood that continues to fascinate us? Speaking to Eric Lewis of the Times and Transcript website, academic Deborah Wells said that vampires are “culturally adaptive”. “We create very different vampires to fit different times. Edward Cullen is not the same as Count Dracula,” she said.
Different as they are, Wells believes vampires are “the perfect containers into which we can pour our current cultural anxieties”, Bram Stoker’s Dracula is powerful, yet old and physically ugly. Stoker’s book dealt with fear of the fall of the British Empire, real fears in the day in which it was written.
According to the website Bookrags, today’s vampires have all our cultural desires, money, power and sexual attraction. Represented by Cullen, they are noble, handsome young men whom women find irresistible. What’s more, vampires challenge traditional ideas about death, science and parental authority. This may be why teenagers are drawn to vampire tales.
“In many ways, the vampire story shows up teenage concerns,” said wells. “The emotional intensity (强度) of the relationship with the vampire matches the intensity of how it feels to have your first real love affairs. Your first real love, it really feels like life and death.”
1．The best title for this passage should be_________.
A．Vampires may continue to drink our blood
B．Vampires have been around us for long
C．Why Twilight is so popular nowadays
D．We still like the story about vampires
2．What is the image of the vampire in Bram Stoker’s book?
A．Anxious but perfect.
B．Powerful, old and ugly.
C．Terrifying but also attractive.
D．Afraid of the fall of the British Empire.
3．According to the website Bookrages, today’s vampires_________.
A．desire money, power and sexual attraction
B．may not think highly of parental authority
C．dare to give up traditional ideas
D．are likely to be resisted by women
4．Which of the following statements is true according to Wells?
A．People need different vampires in different times.
B．Our current cultural anxieties are hidden in vampires.
C．The vampire story reflects the conches of the teenagers.
D．The relationship with the vampire equals your first real love.
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每题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和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
French people pride themselves on their delicious foods, such as cheese, baguettes and croissants (two kinds of food). In fact, food is an important part of French culture. Families and friends spend hours over the dinner table each night. It is the opposite of the fast – food habit common in other parts of the West.
It’s the reason why the French are very angry that a McDonald’s is opening beneath Paris’s most famous museum: the Louvre (卢浮宫). The mew restaurant will be the 1,142 nd McDonald’s in France, and will open in the underground approach to the museum. But many French people can’t understand why this American chain is opening in the heart of French culture.
However, McDonald’s is paying no notice to the complaint. McDonald’s now has 31,000 chains worldwide. Tourists are hungry, and opening chains in tourist spots pays well.
There is another chain threatening France’s heritage. This time it is coffee rather than burgers. As more and more Starbucks open in Paris, traditional French cafes are forced to close.
The trouble with American companies opening chains throughout the world is the destructive effect they can have on a country’s culture. How can a small, independent coffee shop compete with the multi – billion dollar chain? You can go to a Starbucks in any city in the world, but you can only go to a Parisian café in France.
Responsibility is with the tourists. A McDonald’s wouldn’t open so near the Louvre if it weren’t not going to make money. Similarly, a Pizza Hut wouldn’t overlook (俯瞰) Egypt’s Great Pyramid if no one wants to sit in it. Maybe next time you visit the Great Wall, you should think twice before ordering a Cappuccino in the Starbucks.
1．Why are the French very angry when a McDonald’s is opening beneath the Louvre?
A．Because they will spend many hours in McDonald’s.
B．Because French food culture is very impressive.
C．Because they also have the fast – food habit.
D．Because they are proud of their own food.
2．The McDonald’s will be located in the underground approach to the museum because_________.
A．the complaints of the French are useless
B．opening a chain in tourist spot is rewarding
C．McDonald’s tends to be in the heart of culture
D．it will help to attract more tourists for the museum
3．What is the trouble with American companies opening chains all over the world?
A．The traditional stores of a country are forced to fight back.
B．The traditional stores of a country become dependant.
C．They have negative effect on a country’s culture.
D．The multi – billion dollar chain can’t be matched.
4．The author suggests that the tourists can_________.
A．decide whether the multiple stores of America are successful or not
B．order a Cappuccino in the Starbucks when they visit the Great Wall
C．sit in a Pizza Hut when they visit Egypt’s Great Pyramid
D．enter the McDonald’s when they visit the Louvre
For a girl who's interested in fashion, what would be the dream job? Being a model? Probably no — that's for a pencil thin who doesn't eat. One answer is, fashion stylist.
As more brands open stores in China to expand their reach, the increase in outdoor advertising might light a stylist spark in a girl's heart. Fashion magazine offices are crowded with interns (实习生), and fashionable brand HR managers get thousands of resumes of people looking for a stylist position.
"It looked too high before, but now I find it more approachable," said Xue Rui, 22, a Fudan University Chinese literature graduate who works as an assistant stylist at Hermès in Shanghai. "There is no certain principle in dressing up models, and you can try every way with your own distinct taste to make them pretty and attractive."
The attractiveness of this line of work is not only in the fabulous clothes. And it's not like it used to be: an insider's job with little recognition and even less money. Now it's a career with a profile, prospects and pay packet.
Girls can find it hard to ignore this tempt and the field is opening up to normal girls, not only style or fashion design majors. "A fashion designer knows how to make a dress pretty, but a stylist knows how to make a person beautiful, from head to toe," explained He Qing, 21, a junior in fashion design at the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology.
"You have to be 'all-round': from hair and make up to clothes, shoes, and accessories(配饰) to the event," said He. "You have to know everything, and handle several things at the same time. It's challenging. That's why I love it."
It's not, however, without its downside, no matter how great you may think it is, "It's incredibly hard work," said Chen Qianzhu, a stylist at the Chinese version of Elle magazine. "You need to build good relations with various people — stars, photographers, PR managers, other media, even airlines."
You need to take care of clothes in the workplace and pay for even a tiny spot you get on them, Chen said. "The worst thing is that you might work extremely hard for a week on some serious photos, but if the chief's not satisfied, you do them all over again."
1. A fashion stylist has to do the following EXCEPT _______.
A. make every effort to dress up models
B. make a model attractive, from hair to feet
C. pay for a tiny stain happening to the clothes
D. not to eat and keep a thin figure like a pencil
2. Xue Rui, He Qing and Chen Qianzhu are mentioned in the passage in order to ______.
A. show the strengths and weaknesses of the new type of career
B. compare the different changes about the occupation
C. make the article interesting and convincing
D. support an idea by giving enough evidence
3. The underlined world 'all-round' in Paragraph 6 can be replaced by ______.
A. all-star B. all-out C. all-powerful D. all-purpose
4. Where can the passage be found?
A. In a newspaper. B. In a magazine.
C. In an advertisement.D. In an essay written by a graduate.
For the past year, the World Food Program has operated a project to prevent hunger in twenty-one countries in Africa. In the project, the United Nations agency works with small farmers to grow more and better produce.
The World Food Program buys the produce through local cooperative associations. Then it distributes the products within the country or area. The project works mainly with women. Sheila Sisulu from the World Food Program says the project aims to break a cycle that keeps people hungry. The situation is that farmers have to sell their produce at low prices after harvest, when supplies are greatest. Then they have to pay high prices to buy food for themselves during the "lean season," when supplies are limited.
But when farmers produce more food, they can sell more. And when they produce high-quality food, they can get higher prices. They can also store food for themselves, and have enough money to buy food if they need to during the lean season. Sheila Sisulu says the farmers are now starting to earn profits through the project.
The Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development help the farmers choose the best seeds and fertilizers. They also advise the farmers on the quality levels that the World Food Program requires to buy their produce.
Two other groups recently launched a separate effort to increase food security in Africa. The groups are the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa and the New Partnership for Africa's Development. They say African governments have to increase their investment in agriculture in order to fight problems related to climate change. The groups want the governments to develop programs in seeds, soil health, policy and markets.
Former United Nations chief Kofi Annan is the chairman of AGRA. The group's president, Namanga Ngongi, says many African governments are not meeting a target of spending ten percent of their national budgets on agriculture. But he says investment has risen from four percent of national budgets to probably five and a half percent today.
1. The underlined word “lean” in Paragraph 2 probably has the same meaning with ______.
A. He is a tall, lean and handsome boy, liked by many girls.
B. The changes made the company leaner and more competitive.
C. The company recovered well after going through several lean years.
D. The doctor told him that lean meat was healthier for his mother than fatty meat.
2. According to Sheila Sisulu, the project _____.
A. distributes the products within the whole world
B. has benefited few African farmers during the past year
C. enables the African farmers to sell their produce at low prices after harvest
D. can help the farmers to get away from the situation that keeps them hungry
3. The problem of hunger in Africa can possibly be relieved by ______.
A. United Nations chief
B. the World Food Program
C. African governments and farmers
D. the Food and Agriculture Organization
4. Which can be the best title?
A. Hunger, the most serious problem in Africa
B. Two efforts seek to increase food security in Africa
C. A project to grow more and better produce in Africa
D. More investments in agriculture by African governments