TheWritersStrike：MakingtheBest-优题课

第二部分阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
A
Theodore，the manager of the Paradise Hotel，told a middle-aged couple that that would have to leave the hotel after just one night．The couple，visiting from Texas，had booked a room for eight nights．
“They wanted a sterile (消毒了的) environment，”Theodore said，“They should have rented a room in a hospital，maybe an operating room．This hotel is clean，hut it isn't that clean．”
Theodore said that，on the very first day，the couple brought all the sheets，pilloweases，and bedspreads down to the main hall and just dropped them next to the front desk．They stood there next to this pile of bedding while other guests looked，pointed，and murmured．The hotel got three cancellations within the hour from people who witnessed this strange，event．
When Theodore asked the couple what the problem was，they said that their bedding was filthy and they wanted it replaced．The couple could not identify any specific“filth”on the bedding．The wife just said，“We’re paying good money to stay here．How dare you doubt us？We know the filth is there．That's all the proof you need，”Theodore called room service，and the bedding was replaced immediately．
Early the next evening，however，the couple marched to the front desk again and demanded seven cans of sterilizer，“We need a can for each night．We have to spray the phone，the TV，all the door handles，the toilet handle，the shower stall，the faucet，the sink，and any hotel staff entering our room．”
Worried，Theodore politely suggested that a hotel more suitable for them was just around the corner．He then called ahead to reserve a“very clean”room，and gave them free transportation in the hotel Rolls-Royce．Also，he told the couple that they wouldn’t he charged for the second day．
The couple were surprised but they really liked the idea of free room for a night and that expensive car service．
56．The underlined word “filthy” means in this article．
A．clean B．dirty C．smelly D．old
57．Why was Theodore worried?
A．The couple might have more demands the following days．B．The hotel was not clean enough．
C．The hotel would run out of cleaning stuff．D．More guests would make the same requests．
58．What word could best describe the couple?
A．Narrow-minded. B．Expensive C．Particular D．Easy-going

D
It is a hot summer day，and you feel thirsty A friend gives you a glass of cold lemonade．How do you feel when you see the glass? Will you describe your feeling as happiness or as pleasure? I believe you will say it is a feeling of pleasure．There is a connection between these two kinds of feelings，and sometimes one causes the other，but they are not the same．Pleasure is more dependent on the five senses while happiness is independent of them．
When you are happy，little unpleasant events usually do not disturb you．When you are unhappy，you feel as if everything is against you．You may compensate for it by eating chocolate and sweets because this gives you pleasure；yet you stay unhappy．A person may smoke cigarettes
because it gives him pleasure，yet，this does not make him happier，especially if he knows the fact that it is not good for his health
The physical world is always in a changing state．At each moment a new thing is being created，changed，transformed and then destroyed. This is the normal state of things and no one call change it．If we stay still in a certain state，we are sure to experience unhappiness sooner or later．On the other hand，if we adjust to the environment，nothing can influence our moods．Then outer events have nothing to do with our inner joy of mind.
The room of the mind was filled with worry or fear．If you are free of thinking about them, the room has been emptied，and then you will see what is happening and experience it When your
mind stays quiet，you will see that happiness comes from the inside．
67．What does the underlined phrase“compensate for”in Paragraph 2 most probably mean?
A．to make a suitable payment for B．to let out your anger for
C．to provide with a balancing effect for D．to solve the problems for
68．According to the passage, in which of the following situations can you feel happy?
A．A friend gives you a glass of cold lemonade when you feel thirsty．
B．You eat chocolate and sweets when you feel as if everything is against you．
C．Smoke cigarettes even though you know the fact that it is not good for your health．
D．You are free from worry or fear when your mind stays quiet．
69．We can learn from the passage___________．
A．happiness is more dependent on the five sepses
B．pleasure sometimes arouses happiness
C．you feel happy when nothing around you changes in a certain state
D．you feel unhappy because you have to adjust to the environment
70．Which can be the best title for the passage?
A．Pleasure Leads To Happiness B．Happiness Changes Us
C．Happiness Is Within Us D．Stay A Quiet Mind

C
An oasis (绿洲) is an island of life in an ocean of temperature extremes．Any oasis always contains one or more springs Oases make it possible to survive through the desert．In large deserts such as the Sahara．towns are located around sources of water such as oases and rivers．
What causes an oasis? An oasis is actually a spot in the desert where the altitude is low enough that the water table is fight below the surface，resulting in the presence of springs．Even in a desert, it rains occasionally，and this produces a water table just above the bedrock，usually several hundred feet below the surface．Sand is very porous (可渗透的)，so most water runs right
through it and down to the bedrock．
Deserts consist of many millions of tons of sand．There is only one natural force capable of moving it in noticeable amounts：the wind．Although，in an average dust storm，ten cubic feet of air only holds about an ounce of sand，a cubic mile of air can move about 4,600 tons of it，leading to erosion (侵蚀)．A severe storm is capable of moving as much as 100 million tons of sand and dust．
In certain areas where large quantities of sand are moved by storms，erosion digs all the way down to the water table，putting it just beneath the surface Seeds planted in the ground there are capable of extending roots into the moist land，producing an oasis．
Sometimes．the oasis produced by the wind can be very large when vast tracts of desert are wiped clean by storms．The great Kharga oasis in the Sahara，for example，is over 100 miles long and 12 to 50 miles in width. The oasis was produced when erosion caused the edges of the hollow places to sink down to the water table.
63．What does “it” in Paragraph 4 refer to_______．
A．erosion B．water table C．sand D．storm
64．How many conditions of the oasis formation are mentioned in the passage without considering
The wind and seeds?
A．3 B．4 C．5 D．6
65．We can infer from the passage ________．
A．there is at least one spring on an oasis
B．the bedrock is usually just right below the surface
C．the great Kharga oasis is the biggest oasis in the world
D．the great Kharga oasis is at a low altitude
66．In the last paragraph，the author mentions the great Kharga oasis as an example to_______．
A．introduce the great oasis to the readers
B．tell how the oasis was produced by rain
C．show the oasis produced by the wind can be very large
D．tell it’s easy to form oases in the desert after storms

B
13th CLIC／LISO annual conference set for California
Event
13th annual CLIC／LISO Conference
Dates
May l7 to 19, 2007
Venue
Santa Barbra, California，US
Theme
Conference on Language，Interaction (相互作用) and Culture
Organizer
*The Australia Research Council (ARC)；
*Language，Interaction and Social Organization (LISO) group；
*The Center for language，Interaction and Culture (CLIC).
Keynote and featured speakers
*Barbara Fox，professor of 1inguistics (语言学)，University of Colorado，Boulder，US；
*Celia Kitzinger, professor of sociology，University of York，UK：
*Norma Mendoza-Denton，professor of anthropology (人类学)，University of Arizona，US；
*Jason Raley，assistant professor of education，University of California，Santa Barbara, US
Topic areas
*Anthropological linguistics；
*Pragmatics；
*Conversation analysis；
*Discourse analysis
Participants
Language and culture researchers from institutions across US，Australia and many other countries．
Background information
The Language，Interaction. and Social Organization (LISO) group is composed of professors and researchers in the areas of linguistics，sociology，and education，etc．The Center for Language，Interaction，and Culture (CLIC) is made up of experts from anthropology，applied linguistics，education，psychology，and sociology. Their common purpose is to promote cross-disciplinary discussion of issues regarding language as a complex resource for thinking and acting in the world．
The Australian Research Council (ARC) plays a key role in the Australian government’s investment in the future prosperity and well-being of the Australian community．
For further information，please visit http://www.hcsnet.edu.au/.
60．Who are likely to attend the conference?
A．Language researchers B．Language learners
C．Business men D．Social volunteers
61．What topic will not probably be discussed in the conference?
A．Pragmatics study B．Discourse analysis
C．Economic development D．Language and culture
62．It is inferred from the passage that______．
A．1anguage is so difficult that learners should study sociology first
B．LISO aims to promote the prosperity and well-being of the world
C．the conference will be held in California of Australia
D．language has a close connection with sociology

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和D)中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将其涂黑．
A
It was close to dusk．We came to a large，bowl-shaped nest in which we saw the gray head of a very small sea turtle popping out about half an inch out of the sand．Then we heard a rustling in the bushes behind us．A flesh-eating bird came near．
Our young guide wanted us to be quiet and watch the bird moving towards the young turtle’s
head．
The bird got closer and closer to the opening and began pecking at the young turtle’s head, trying to pull it out of the sands．
The young life was in danger．We were worried about it．One of us asked the guide，“Aren’t
you going to do something?”
He put his finger to his lips and said，“This is the way nature works．”
But we didn’t agree with him and spoke with one voice asking him to do something．So he had to go and pull the young turtle out of his hole and put it on its way towards the sea．
What happened next，however，caught everyone by surprise Soon after the young turtle was set free，lots of baby turtles—having received a wrong signal that it was safe—went out of the nest and began moving towards the sea．
Our foolishness became clear．Not only had the baby turtles come out under the mistaken impression that it was safe to do so，but their mad dash was taking place too early．The still-clear
light of dusk allowed no hiding from meat—eating birds．Within a short period of time，dozens of
baby turtles had been eaten by those birds．Our young guide quickly took a baseball cap and filled it with baby turtles．Walking into the water．he set them free．Then he wildly waved his hat to frighten off those birds．
When it was over，the joyful cries of dozens of well—fed birds rifled the air．Two of the birds stood silently on the beach hoping to catch a final，struggling baby turtle．All that could be heard was the sound of the waves beating against the sands．
Heads down，we walked slowly along the beach in the dusk．
56．At first, the guide would not help the young turtle out of the nest because____．
A．he wouldn’t mind others’business
B．he thought the young turtle liked to dash into the sea
C．he wanted the young turtles to take their own course
D．he thought the young turtle should have come out earlier
57．In fact，the first baby turtle worked as_______．
A．a clever spy to attract the birds outside B．one to get information outside the nest
C．a leader to come out first D．a brave guard to fight against the birds
58．From the last sentence of the passage, we know that _______．
A．they were sad because the young turtles were foolish
B．they felt very tired with the still—clear light shining
C．they came to know that their rush to help did more harm than good
D．they regretted not killing the meat—eating birds
59．According to the passage，which of the following statements may be true?
A．The young turtles were doomed (注定) to be eaten by those birds．
B．All the young turtles are eaten by dozens of birds．
C．The young turtles shouldn’t come out of their nest before it was dark．
D．The young turtles gathered to frighten off the birds．

A．Friday Night Lights	B．30 Rock
C．the Amazing Race	D．Saturday Night Live