Duringthesummerholidaystherewi-优题课

B
It was 1961 and I was in the fifth grade. My marks in school were miserable and, the thing was, I didn’t know enough to really care. My older bother and I lived with Mom in a dingy multi-family house in Detroit. We watched TV every night. The background noise of our lives was gunfire and horses’ hoofs from “Wagon Train” or “Cheyenne”, and laughter from “I Love Lucy”, or “Mister Ed”. After supper, we’d sprawl on Mon’s bed and stare for hours at the tube.
But one day Mom changed our world forever. She turned off the TV. Our mother had only been able to get through third grade. But, she was much brighter and smarter than we boys know at the time. She had noticed something in the suburban houses she cleaned books. So she came home one day, snapped off the TV, sat us down and explained that her sons were going to make something of themselves. “You boys are going to read two books every week,” she said. “And you’re going to write a report on what you read.”
We moaned and complained about how unfair it was. Besides, we didn’t have any books in the house other than Mom’s Bible. But she explained that we would go where the books were: “I’ll drive you to the library.”
So pretty soon there were these two peevish boys sitting in her white 1959 Oldsmobile on their way to Detroit Public Library. I wandered reluctantly among the children’s books. I loved animals, so when I saw some books that seemed to be about animals, I started leafing through them.
The first book I read clear through was Chip the Dam Builder. It was about beavers. For the first time in my life I was lost in another world. No television program had ever taken me so far away from my surroundings as did this verbal visit to a cold stream in a forest and these animals building a home.
It didn’t dawn on me at the time, but the experience was quite different from watching TV. There were images forming in my mind instead of before my eyes. And I could return to them again and again with the flip of a page.
Soon I began to look forward to visiting this hushed sanctuary form my other world. I moved from animals to plants, and then to rocks. Between the covers of all those books were whole worlds, and I was free to go anywhere in them. Along the way a funny thing happened: I started to know things. Teachers started to notice it too. I got to the point where I couldn’t wait to get home to my books.
Now my older brother is an engineer and I am chief of pediatric neurosurgery at John Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore. Sometimes I still can’t believe my life’s journey, from a failing and indifferent student in a Detroit public school to this position, which takes me all over the world to teach and perform critical surgery.
But I know when the journey began the day Mom snapped off the TV set and put us in her Oldsmobile for that drive to the library.
46. We can learn form the beginning of the passage that ___________.
A. the author and his brother had done well in school
B. the author had been very concerned about his school work
C. the author had spent much time watching TV after school
D. the author had realized how important schooling was
47. Which of the following is not true about the author’s family?
A. He came from a middle-class family.
B. He came from a single-parent family.
C. His mother worked as a cleaner.
D. His mother had received little education.
48. The mother was ____________ to make her two sons switch to reading books.
A. hesitant B. unprepared C. reluctant D. determined
49. How did the two boys feel about going to the library at first?
A. They were afraid B. They were reluctant.
C. They were impatient. D. They were eager to go.
50. The author began to love books for the following reasons EXCEPT that ___________.
A. he began to see something in his mind
B. he could visualize what he read in his mind
C. he could go back to read the books again
D. he realized that books offered him new experience

III. 阅读 (共两节，满分40分)
第一节：阅读理解（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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
As goods and services improved, people were persuaded to spend their money on changing from old to new, and found the change worth the expense. When an airline equipped itself with jets, for example, its costs (and therefore air fare) would go up, but the new planes meant such an improvement that the higher cost was justified. A new car (or wireless, washing machine, electric kettle) made life so much more comfortable than the old one that the high cost of replacement was fully repaid. Manufacturers still cry their goods as persuasively as ever, but are the improvements really worth paying for? In many fields, things have now reached such a high standard of performance that further progress is very limited and very, very expensive. Airlines, for example, go to enormous expense in buying the latest prestige jets, in which vast research costs have been spent on relatively small improvements. If we abandon these vast costs we might lose the chance of cutting minutes away from flying times; but wouldn’t it be better to see airfares drop dramatically, as capital costs become relatively insignificant? Again, in the context of a 70 m. p. h. Limit, with lines of cars traveling so close as to control each other’s speeds, improvements in performance are actually irrelevant; improvements in handling are unnecessary, as most production cars grip（抓牢） the road perfectly, and comfort has now reached a very high level. Small improvements here are unlikely to be worth the thousands that anybody replacing an ordinary family car every two years may have spent on them. Let us instead have cars — or wireless, electric kettles, washing machines, television sets — which are made to last, and not to be replaced. Significant progress is obviously a good thing, but the insignificant progression from model-change to model-change is not.
1. The author is obviously challenging the social norm (社会规范) that ________________.
A. it is important to improve goods and services
B. development of technology makes our life more comfortable
C. it is reasonable that prices are going up all the time
D. slightly improved new products are worth buying
2. According to this passage, airfares may rise because ______________.
A. the airplane has been improved
B. people tend to travel by new airplanes
C. the change is found to be reasonable
D. the service on the airplane is better than before
3. According to the author, passengers would be happier if they ____________.
A. could fly in the latest model of good planes
B. could get tickets at much lower prices
C. see the airlines make vital changes in their services
D. could spend less time flying in the air
4. When manufactures have improved the performance of their products to a certain level, then it would be _______________.
A. justified for them to cut the price
B. unnecessary for them to make any new changes
C. difficult and costly to further better them
D. insignificant for them to cut down the research costs
5. In the case of cars, the author advises that we _____________.
A. cancel the speed limit B. further improve their performance
C. change models every two years D. improve their durability (耐久性)

(C)
YOUR mom might cook a bowl of noodles for you on your birthday. But in the US, a mom makes a cupcake for her children on their birthday.
Cupcakes are small, round cakes topped with frosting (糖霜). It has been an American tradition that moms bring cupcakes to the classroom to celebrate their child’s birthday.
But recently some doctors have called for this to be banned. They believe cupcakes contribute to child obesity.
Despite their good intentions, however, some people believe that experts are interfering (妨碍) with American culture. The cupcake is seen as American as apple pie — only prettier.
According to Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, the cupcake is the most democratic (民主的) of desserts. As they are small enough for one person, you don’t have to share your cupcake with anyone — it’s all yours. They are also all the same size, so there can’t be any cries of “she got the bigger piece!”
Each bite can taste different depending on how much icing you have. It is a lesson in self-determination. Some people eat only a little of the frosting every time, others have it all in just one bite.
In recent years, eating a cupcake has become as trendy as having a cup of Starbucks coffee.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton jokingly promised on a talk show that if she was elected president, she would give everyone a cupcake on her birthday.
Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine, explains that the rise of the cupcake is very much about going back to American national identity in food, which is all about comfort. “People want to think about when they and their country were innocent,” she said.
51. According to the passage, it has been an American tradition that ___________.

A. a party for children on their birthday

B. A mom cooks a bowl of noodles for her children on their birthday

C. A mom makes a cupcake for her children on their birthday and brings it to the classroom

D. parents go travelling with their children on their birthday

52. Why do doctors ask people to ban cupcakes on children’s birthday?

A. Because they themselves don’t like cupcakes.

B. Because they think cupcakes are not so delicious.

C. Because they believe cupcakes will cause cries of “She got the bigger piece”.

D. Because they believe cupcakes are one of the causes to make children become fat.

53. Which of the following is Not true according to Marion Nestle?

A. The cupcake is more democratic than any other deserts in the US.

B. The cupcake is too small to share with others.

C. The sizes of cupcakes are the same so it’s equal to everyone.

D. Cupcakes will lead to child obesity so they should be banned.

54. The underlined word “trendy” in paragraph 7 probably means ________.

A. popular

B. gentle

C. delicious

D. different

55. Why did the writer mention Hillary Clinton and Ruth Reichl?

A. To arouse the readers’ attention.

B. To show that cupcakes are becoming a popular to show kindness and comfort.

C. To make a comparison between them.

D. To give readers a general idea of cupcakes.

(B)
British author JK Rowling was at the release of her latest Harry Potter book called “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” at the Natural History Museum in London, Friday July 20, 2007.
J.K.RowlinghasbeenspottedatcafesinScotlandworkingonadetectivenovel,aBritishnewspaperreportedSaturday.
TheSundayTimesnewspaperquotedIanRankin,afellowauthorandneighborofRowling's,assayingthecreatorofthe"HarryPotter"booksisturningtocrimefiction.
"MywifespottedherwritingherEdinburghcriminaldetectivenovel,"thenewspaperquotedRankinastellingareporteratanEdinburghliteraryfestival.
"ItisgreatthatshehasnotabandonedwritingorEdinburghcafes,"saidRankin,whois knownforhisownpolicenovelssetinthehistoricScottishcity.
RowlingfamouslywroteinitialdraftsofthePotterstoryintheScottishcity'scafes.Backthen,shewasastrugglingsinglemotherwhowroteincafestosaveontheheatingbillathome.
Nowshe'sBritain'srichestwoman-worth$1billion,accordingtoForbesmagazine-andhersevenPotterbookshavesoldmorethan335millioncopiesworldwide.
InaninterviewwithTheAssociatedPresslastmonth,RowlingsaidshebelievedshewasunlikelytorepeatthesuccessofthePotterseries,butconfirmedshehadplanstoworkonnewbooks.
"I'lldoexactlywhatIdidwithHarry-I'llwritewhatIreallywanttowrite,"Rowlingsaid.
46 What is JK Rowling famous for?

A. detective novels

B. crime fiction

C. Harry Potter books

D. love stories

47 Which of the following is Not rue about Ian Rankin?

A. He is a writer famous for police novels.

B. Most of the stories in his novels happened in the historic Scottish city.

C. It was Rankin himself who witnessed JK Rowing writing her Edinburgh criminal detective novels.

D. He told the British newspaper The Sunday Times about JK Rowling’s novels.

48 Why did Rowling like to write the “Harry Potter stories” in the cafes?

A. Because she was a romantic woman and the atmosphere in the cafes gave her lots of inspiration.

B. Because she was a single mother at that time and she wanted to find a husband there.

C. Because her children were so naughty at home and she had to go to a quiet place for her writing.

D. Because she thought that writing in a cafes could help her save some money.

49 What can we learn from the passage?

A. The seven Harry Potter series made JK Rowling a success.

B. JK Rowling had made enough money so she decided to stop writing.

C. Rowling planned to write new books because Harry Potter was not exactly what she wanted.

D. Ian Rankin and his wife earned money by telling reporters news about JK Rowling.

50 What is the best title for the passage?

A. Harry Potter and JK Rowing	B. Ian Rankin, A Neighbour of JK Rowling
C. A Successful Woman JK Rowling	D. JK Rowling writing Detective Novels

Ⅲ. 阅读（共两节，满分40分）
第一节：阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从41—55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
(A)
We're all connected. You can send an e-mail message to a friend, and your friend can pass it on to one of his or her friends, and that friend can do the same, continuing the chain. Eventually, your message could reach just about anyone in the world, and it might take only five to seven e-mails for the message to get there.
Scientists recently tested that idea in a study involving 24,000 people. Participants had to try to get a message forwarded to one of 18 randomly chosen people. Each participant started by sending one e-mail to someone they knew. Recipients could then forward the e-mail once to someone they knew, and so on.
Targets, who were randomly assigned by researchers from Columbia University in New York, lived in 13 countries. They included an Australian police officer, a Norwegian veterinarian, and a college professor.
Out of 24,000 chains, only 384 reached their goal. The rest petered out, usually because one of the recipients was either too busy to forward the message or thought it was junk mail.
The links that reached their goal made it in an average of 4.05 e-mails. Based on the lengths of the failed chains, the researchers estimated that two strangers could generally make contact in five to seven e-mails.
The most successful chains relied on casual acquaintances rather than close friends. That's because your close friends know each other whereas your acquaintances tend to know people you don't know. The phenomenon, known as the strength of weak ties, explains why people tend to get jobs through people they know casually but aren't that close to.
So, start networking and instant messaging now. As they say in show business: It's all about who you know.
41. If you want to get into touch with a stranger in the world, how many e-mails might it take for the message to reach him/her?

A. 5 to 7

B. 18

C. 13

D. 384

42. Which of the following is Not true about the test?

A. 24,000 people took part in the study and sent e-mails to people they knew.

B. The 18 targets were chosen by chance.

C. About 98.4% of the mails didn’t reach their goal because some people were too busy or they mistook the message for junk mail.

D. The targets come from 13 countries, such as Australia, Norway and New York.

43. What does the word “estimate” mean in the passage?

A. make sure

B. suppose

C. think over

D. imagine

44. Why do people tend to get jobs more easily through casual acquaintances than close friends?

A. Because close friends don’t talk with each other so much.

B. Because casual acquaintances can help you know more people and make more friends.

C. Because close friends don’t spend so much time gathering together.

D. Because casual acquaintances are kinder and more willing to help others.

45. In which part of a newspaper will readers read this passage?

A. Culture

B. Entertainment

C. Information and Technology

D. Health

A．8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 11:00	B．8:30, 9:30, 10:30, 11:30
C．8:30, 9:00, 9:30, 10:00	D．8:00, 9:30, 11:00, 12:30

A．they are not to be announced	B．the full list is not ready
C．they are hard to arrange	D．the full list is too long