For eighty four days old Santiago had not caught a single fish. At first a young boy, Manolin, had shared his bad fortune, but after the fortieth luckless day the boy’s father told his son to go in another boat. From that time on, Santiago worked alone. The boy loved the old fisherman and always helped him with money and food. Usually, they would talk about the fish they had taken in luckier times or about American baseball after supper, while at night, alone in his cottage, Santiago dreamed of lions on the beaches of Africa, where he had gone years before. He no longer dreamed of his dead wife.
On the eighty-fifth day, Santiago set off to fish before dawn. Two of his baits(饵) were fresh tunas(金枪鱼) the boy had given him, as well as sardines(沙丁鱼) to cover his hooks. Then he set his lines which went straight down into deep dark water.
As the sun rose he saw other boats in toward shore. A bird showed him where dolphin were chasing some flying fish. This time Santiago saw tuna jumping in the sunlight. A small one took the hook on his line. Pulling the fish aboard, the old man thought it a good fortune.
Toward noon a marlin, a common fish in the sea, started eating the bait which was one hundred meters down. Gently the old man played the fish, a big one, as he knew from the weight on the line. At last he struck to settle the hook. The fish did not come out of the surface. Instead, it began to pull the boat to the northwest. The old man followed it. Although he was alone and no longer strong, he had his skill and knew many tricks. He waited patiently for the fish to be tired .
It was cold after the sunset. When something took one of his remaining baits, he cut the line with his knife. Once the marlin leaned suddenly, pulling Santiago forward on his face and cutting his cheek. By dawn his left hand was cramped(抽筋的). The fish had headed northward; there was no land in sight. Hungry, he cut pieces from the tuna and chewed them slowly.
That morning the fish jumped. Seeing it, Santiago knew he had hooked the biggest marlin he had ever seen. Then the fish went down and turned toward the east. Santiago drank a little water from the bottle during the hot afternoon.
Close to nightfall a dolphin took the small hook he had rebaited. He lifted it aboard, careful. After he had rested, he cut meat from the dolphin and kept also the two flying fish he found in its stomach. That night he slept. He awoke to feel the line running through his fingers as the fish jumped. Feeding line slowly, he tried to tire the marlin. After the fish slowed its run, he washed his cut hands in sea water and ate one of the flying fish. At sunrise the marlin began to circle. Faint, he worked to bring the big fish nearer with each turn. Almost exhausted, he finally drew his big fish alongside and drove in the harpoon(鱼叉). The fish was two feet longer than the boat. No fish like it had ever been seen in Havana harbor.
An hour later, he sighted the first shark, a fierce Mako, and it came in fast to chase after the dead marlin. The old man struck the shark with his harpoon. The Mako rolled and sank, carrying the harpoon with it and leaving the marlin bloody. He knew the smell would spread. Watching, he saw two sharks closing in. He struck at one with his knife and watched it sliding down into deep water. The other he killed while it tore at the flesh of the marlin. When the third appeared, he thrust(刺) it with the knife. The other sharks came at sunset. At first he tried to beat them with the tiller(舵柄) from the boat, but his hands were bleeding and there were too many in the sea. In the darkness, as he steered toward the harbor of Havana, he heard them hitting the boat again and again. But the old man thought only of his steering and his great tiredness. He had gone out too far and the sharks had beaten him. He knew they would leave him nothing but the stripped skeleton of the big marlin.
All lights were out when he sailed into the little harbor and beached his boat. He could just make out the white backbone and the upstanding tail of the fish. Once he fell under their weight and lay patiently until he could gather his strength to go on. In his cottage he fell on his bed and went to sleep. The above story is adapted from __________.
A.Treasure Island | B.The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer |
C.The Old Man And The Sea | D.The Son Of The Sea |
Why did the man feel that he could be lucky this time?
A.Because a small tuna took the hook on his line. |
B.Because he dreamed about the American lions. |
C.Because he saw many flying fish were chased by the dolphins. |
D.Because a lot of sharks followed his boat. |
According to the text, which statement is NOT true about Manolin?
A.The boy had mercy on Santiago. |
B.The boy often shared his stories with Santiago. |
C.The boy showed his great concerns to Santiago. |
D.The boy was Santiago’s adopted son. |
Why does Santiago let the marlin lead his boat instead of pulling the big fish up?
A.He wanted to kill the marlin first before he pulled it up to the boat. |
B.He was too tired and hungry to pull the big fish up. |
C.His experience told him not to do so before the fish was tired out. |
D.He wanted to use the marlin as a bait to catch the sharks. |
Which sentence below can be used to best describe Santiago’s character?
A.“He no longer dreamed of his dead wife.”(Para 1) |
B.“Although he was alone and no longer strong, he had his skill and knew many tricks.”(Para4) |
C.“Almost exhausted, he finally drew his big fish alongside and drove in the harpoon.”(Para7) |
D.“Once he fell under their weight and lay patiently until he could gather his strength to go on .”(Para 9) |
According to the text, what will be talked about in the next paragraph?
A.the man’s action to realize his dream about the lions. |
B.people’s reflection when they saw the giant marlin outside. |
C.people’s discussion about how they ate the giant marlin. |
D.a funeral held by the boy and the local people after his death. |
.
第二部分阅读理解(共两节,满分40分)
第一节(共15小题:每小题2分,满分30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。
Heather Mills McCartney lives an admirable life, attending celebrity parties, meeting regularly with the rich and famous and doing meaningful work for charity. All who work with her admire and respect her. But Heather’s life hasn’t always been so easy. When Heather was only 9 years old, her mother abandoned her and her two brothers. At the age of 13, she ran away from home and ended up living on the streets in London. Eventually, however, her exceptional beauty led to a career in modeling. At that time, Heather also began helping with the war relief efforts in former Yugoslavia. Through her modeling and relief work, she soon became famous.
But in August 1993, at age 25 her life changed once again. She was crossing the street in London when a motorcycle crashed into her. She was so badly injured that the doctors had to cut off her left leg. After that, she discovered she frequently needed to change her artificial limbs (假肢). It was expensive and she felt it was a waste to just throw away the old one. It occurred to her to set up an organization that could deliver used artificial limbs to Yugoslavia and other war-torn countries. It was through her charity work that she met her husband Paul McCartney.
Throughout her life, Heather has risen above problems and focused on helping others. Her work with artificial limbs even earned her a nomination (提名) for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996. Heather’s persistence and determination are what impresses anyone who knows her. Heather believes anyone can make a positive difference in the world.
36.This passage is mainly about _________.
A. Heather’s miserable life
B. Heather’s contribution to the world
C. Heather’s success in her work
D. Heather’s belief in life
37. Heather began her modeling career _________.
A. due to her mother’s encouragement
B. after her brothers abandoned her
C. because of her excellent intelligence and performances
D. because she was especially beautiful
38. Which of the following is Not true according to the passage?
A. Heather won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996.
B. Heather began her charity work while working as a model.
C. Her artificial limbs had to be replaced continuously.
D. Heather has never been defeated by her problems.
39. From the passage we can infer that people admire and respect Heather because
_________.
A. she had a lot of misfortunes during her childhood
B. she was a world-famous model
C. she is determined and never gives in
D. she made a great difference in the world
.
Without plants, people could not live. We eat plants. We take in oxygen that plants make. And we need plants for another reason: We need them because they are beautiful.
Imagine a world with no plants. Imagine no flowers with their sweet smells, their beautiful colours and their lovely shapes. Imagine, when the wind blows, we are not able to hear the leaves of the trees or watch the branches swing from side to side.
Everywhere people need beautiful plants. That is why we have parks full of trees and flowers. That is why people always like houses with room for some grass and a garden.
Do you talk to your plants? Do you give them love and take good care of them? Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird, writers of a book called The Secret of Plants , tell of an experiment in which two seeds were planted in different places. While the plants were growing, one plant was given love and hopeful ideas. After six months, the beloved plant was bigger. Under the earth it had more and longer roots; above the earth, it had a thicker stem and more leaves.
68.In the experiment, the two plants were _____.
A.treated in two different ways
B. of different kinds
C. both given love and taken good care of
D. grown in the same place
69 At the end of six months________.
A. the plants were of the same size
B. one plant had longer roots than the other
C. one plant had longer roots; the other plant had a thicker stem
D. one plant had a thicker stem; the other plant had more leaves
70.Tompkings and Bird believe that plants________
A. can talk to each other
B. can take care of each other
C. should be grown in different places
D. need love and care
.
Your friends might be in Australia or maybe just down the road , but they are all just a few clicks away. Life has changed for millions of teenagers across the world who now make friends online. Whether you use chat rooms, QQ, MSN or ICQ, you are part of a virtual community.
“I rarely talk with my parents or grandparents,but I talk a lot with my old friends on QQ,” said Fox’s Shadow, the online nickname used by a Senior 2 girl in China. “Eighty per cent of my classmates use QQ after school.”
QQ is the biggest messaging service in China. A record 4 million people used it one Saturday night in October, according to Tencent, the company which developed QQ.
And Fox’s Shadow might well have been one of them. “I log in on Friday nights, and Saturdays or Sundays when I feel bored. I usually spend about 10 hours chatting online every week,”she said. “But I rarely talk with strangers, especially boys or men.”
Even though she likes chatting, she is careful about making friends with strangers online. “You don’t know who you’re talking to. You should always be careful about who you trust online.”
64. According to Tencent, one Saturday night in October about four million people ________.
A. enjoyed themselves on QQ B. developed QQ
C. talked about QQ D. made friends on QQ
65. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Perhaps the person you are chatting with lives just next door to you.
B. maybe the person you are talking with online is an overseas one.
C. No people online know the opposite’s real name or real address.
D. Four fifths of Fox’s Shadow’s classmates use QQ in their spare time.
66. Fox’s Shadow, according to the passage, is a online nickname of ____.
A. a boy B. a girl C. a QQ worker D. a mid-aged person
67. When you are chatting online, _____.
A. never believe everyone who is talking to you
B. never trust anyone who is talking to you
C. don’t make friends with the one who is talking to you
D. don’t talk too long with the one who is talking to you
.
School failure appears to trouble teenage girls more deeply than boys, US researchers said on Tuesday.
They said adolescent(青春期的)girls who are dismissed or drop out of high school before they graduate are more likely to have a serious depression by age 21 than boys with similar experiences.
“For girls it is more serious to be school failure,” said Carolyn McCarty, a University of Washington researcher whose study appears in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
“We already know that it leads to more poverty, higher rates of being on public assistance and lower rates of job stability. And now this study shows it is having mental health implications for girls,” McCarty said in a statement.
The study was drawn from data on more than 800 people in Seattle, Washington, and included people from 18 schools in high-crime neighborhoods.
The group was separated evenly by gender(性别)and nearly half were white, 24 percent were black, 21 percent were Asian-American and the rest were from other groups.
Overall, 45 percent of the girls and 68 percent of the boys in the study experienced a major school failure, but 22 percent of the girls later became depressed compared with 17percent for the boys.
“This gender shows that while school failure is more typical for girls, it appears to have more severe consequences when it does occur,” McCarty said.
60. What is the purpose of writing this article?
A Taking good care of the school boys.
B Asking the US researchers to search more evidences.
C Giving help to the graduated students.
D Paying more attention to the girls experiencing school failure.
61. Carolyn McCarty is ______________
A a scientist B a researcher C a professor D a student
62. The underlined word”it” in para.4 means__________
A school failure B a adolescent girl C a school boy D a university
63.Which of the following could be the best title of this passage?
A School failure appears to trouble teen-age girls more deeply than boys
B Girls are more possible to experience school failure
C Gender has decided how much success you will win
D Adolescent girls are more easily depressed than boys
.
IV. 阅读理解
Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas, on July 24,1897. In those days, airplanes were not nearly as common as they are today. Earhart was 12 years old before she ever saw an airplane, and she did not take her first flight until 1920. America Earhart was so thrilled by her first airplane ride that she quickly began to take flying lessons.
Her first instructor was Neta Snook, one of the first women to graduate from the Curtiss School of Aviation(飞行).Earhart borrowed mone from her mother to buy a two-seat plane. She got her US flying licence in December 1921, and in 1923, Earhart received her international pilot’s license—only the 16th woman to do so.
Amelia Earhart wasn’t afraid to break down barriers. After flying across the Atlantic as a passenger in 1928, Amelia Earhart’s next goal was to complete a transatlantic crossing(横跨大西洋)alone. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh became the first person to make a solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic. In 1932, exactly five years after Lindbergh’s flight, Earhart became the first woman to repeat the feat(壮举).
She decided that her next trip would be to fly around the world. In March 1937, she flew to Hawaii with fellow pilot Paul Mantz to begin this flight. Earhart lost control of the plane on takeoff, however, and the plane had to be sent to the factory for repairs.
In June, she went to Miami to again begin a flight around the world, this time with Fred Noonan as her navigator(领航员).The pair made it to New Guinea in 21 days, even though Earhart was tired and ill. During the next leg of the trip, they departed New Guinea for Howland Island, a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. July 2, 1937, was the last time Earhart and Noonan communicated with a nearby Coast Guard ship. They were never heard from again.
56.What would be the best title for the passage?
A Amelia Earhart’s Last Flight
B Amelia Earhart—the First woman to Fly Around the World
C Amelia Earhart’s Life Story
D Amelia Earhart—a Woman pilot of Great Courage
57. What can we infer from the second paragraph?
A Amelia Earhart first took her flying cource before 1920
B Amelia Earhart’s mother supported her taking flight career
C Neta Snook was Amelia Earhart’s only instructor
D Amelia Earhart also graduated from the Curtiss School of Aviation.
58. The underlined sentence in the third paragraph suggests that________
A women were not allowed to fly a plane alone at that time
B a transatlantic crossing was not a great challenge for pilots at that time
C Amelia Earhart wanted to achieve as much as men pilots do
D Amelia Earhart wasn’t afraid to fly together with men pilots
59. What happened to Amelia Earhart in the end?
A She probably got lost and died
B She successfully complete her flight around the world
C She lost control of the plane and was saved by a Coast Guard ship
D She became ill during the trip and gave it up on Howland Island.