TV Shows and Long Bus Trips
Long bus rides are like television shows. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end— with ads thrown in every three or four minutes. The ads are unavoidable. They happen whether you want them or not. Every couple of minutes a billboard appears outside the bus window.“Buy Super Clean Toothpaste.”“Drink Good’n Wet Root Beer.”“Fill up with Pacific Gas.” Only if you sleep, which is equal to turning the television set off, are you spared the unending cry of “You Need It! Buy It Now!”
The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat exciting, even if you’ve traveled that way before. Usually some things have changed—new houses, new buildings, sometimes even a new road. The bus driver has a style of driving and it’s fun to try to figure it out the first hour or so. If the driver is particularly daring, the ride can be as exciting as a suspense(悬念) story. Will the driver pass the truck in time? Will the driver move into the right or the left-hand lane?After a while, of course, the excitement dies down. Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride. Food always makes bus rides more interesting. But you’ve got to be careful of what kind of food you eat. Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between stops.
The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning. You know it will soon be over and there’s a kind of expectation and excitement in that. The seat, of course, has become harder as the hours have passed. By now you’ve sat with your legs crossed, with your hands in your lap, with your hands on the arm rests—even with your hands crossed behind your head. The end comes just at the right time. There are just no more ways to sit.According to the passage, what do the passengers usually see when they are on a long bus trip?
A.Buses on the road. |
B.Films on television. |
C.Advertisements on billboards. |
D.Gas stations. |
What is the purpose of this passage?
A.To talk about the similarities between long bus trips and TV shows. |
B.To persuade you to take a long bus trip. |
C.To display the differences between long bus trips and TV shows. |
D.To describe the billboards along the road. |
The writer of this passage would probably favor
A.bus drivers who weren’t caring. |
B.driving alone. |
C.a television set on the bus. |
D.no billboards along the road. |
The writer feels long bus rides are like TV shows because
A.the ads both on TV shows and on the billboards along the road are fun. |
B.they both have a beginning, a middle, and an end, with commercials in between. |
C.the drivers are always daring on TV shows just as they are on buses. |
D.both traveling and watching TV are not exciting. |
The writer thinks that the end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning because both are
A.exciting. |
B.comfortable. |
C.tiring. |
D.boring. |
Most likely, you aren’t the family breadwinner. But doing a small job or getting a weekly allowance(零花钱) would put some money in your pocket. For kids and grown-ups alike, money is easy to spend. If you aren’t careful, it can be going in no time.
Being responsible with your money is an important skill to learn — and the sooner you start the better. Whether you are tracking your spending or saving for something special, creating a budget(预算) can help you deal with your expenses and plan for the future. All you need are paper and a pencil — and some self-control.
First, take a look at our sample monthly budget. Then, use a separate sheet of paper to plan your own. In the first two columns(栏), list your sources(来源) of income and how much you expect to earn from them. In the third and fourth columns, list what you expect to spend your money on and the amount.
The left-hand total should be more than or equal to the right-hand total. If it is, you have an effective budget.
Budgets are not complex, but sticking to them can be tough. When planning your budget, be realistic about your expenses. If you know that you drop $18 at a movie, don’t write $12 in that space simply because you wish you were spending less.
If you are eyeing a big purchase, such as a $150 skateboard, spend less and save more until you have the total amount. No matter how attractive it may be, avoid spending your savings. One day, you will thank yourself!
Monthly Income |
Amount |
Monthly Expense |
Amount |
Allowance (零花钱) |
$20.00. |
Snacks |
$20.00 |
Money earned selling drinks |
$25.00 |
Music downloads |
$12.00 |
Money earned babysitting |
$12.50. |
Movies |
$18.00 |
Money earned delivering newspapers |
$30.00 |
Video rental |
$10.00 |
Total |
$87.50 |
Total |
$66.00 |
46. Who is the passage written for?
A. Children. B. Parents. C. Breadwinners. D. Bank managers.
47. The purpose of making a budget is to help people _________.
A. learn to be realistic B. increase their saving
C. manage their money well D. test their power-control
48. What should people do when planning a budget?
A. Fill in the expenses as they really are.
B. Avoid spending money on expensive things.
C. Set aside a fixed amount of money as savings.
D. List income and expenses on two pieces of paper.
49. Which of the following budgets is effective?
A.
Monthly Income |
Amount |
Monthly Expenses |
Amount |
Allowance(零花钱) |
$20.00 |
Money earned walking dogs |
$20.00 |
Bus fares |
$40.00 |
Movies |
$28.00 |
Total |
$60.00 |
Total |
$48.00 |
B.
Monthly Income |
Amount |
Monthly Expenses |
Amount |
Allowance(零花钱) |
$20.00 |
Movies |
$30.00 |
Money earned washing cars |
$10.00 |
Bus fares |
$10.00 |
Total |
$30.00 |
Total |
$40.00 |
C.
Monthly Income |
Amount |
Monthly Expenses |
Amount |
Allowance(零花钱) |
$27.50 |
Money earned selling drinks |
$22.00 |
Money earned |
$22.50 |
Birthday gifts |
$28.00 |
Total |
$50.00 |
Total |
$50.00 |
D.
Monthly Income |
Amount |
Monthly Expenses |
Amount |
Allowance(零花钱) |
$26.00 |
Radio rentals |
$22.00 |
Money earned doing yard work |
$24.00 |
Birthday gifts |
$28.00 |
Total |
$50.00 |
Total |
$50.00 |
50. The passage mainly tells us ________.
A. the importance of making a budget B. how to make a budget
C. how to form good habits D. how to spend money
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。
Although April did not bring us the rains we all hoped for, and although the Central Valley doesn’t generally experience the sound and lightning that can go with those rains, it’s still important for parents to be able to answer the youthful questions about thunder and lightning.
The reason these two wonders of nature are so difficult for many adults to explain to children is that they are not very well understood by adults themselves. For example, do you know that the lightning we see flashing down to the earth from a cloud is actually flashing up to a cloud from the earth? Our eyes trick us into thinking we see a downward motion when it’s actually the other way round. But then, if we believed only what we think and we see, we’d still insist that the sun rises in the morning and sets at night.
Most lightning flashes take place inside a cloud, and only a relative few can be seen jumping between two clouds or between earth and a cloud. But, with about 2,000 thunderstorms taking place above the earth every minute of the day and night, there’s enough activity to produce about 100 lightning strikes on earth every second.
Parents can use thunder and lightning to help their children learn more about the world around them. When children understand that the light of lightning flashing reaches their eyes almost at the same moment, but the sound of the thunder takes about 5 seconds to travel just one mile, they can begin to time the interval(间隔) between the flash and the crash to learn how close they are to the actual spark(闪光).
1. According to the author, in the area of the Central Valley, ___________.
A. rains usually come without thunder and lightning
B. it is usually dry in April
C. children pay no attention to the two natural wonders
D. parents are not interested in thunder and lightning
2. We believe that lightning is a downward motion because ___________.
A. we were taught so by our parents from our childhood
B. we are taken in by our sense of vision
C. it is a common natural sight
D. it is a truth proved by science
3. What is TRUE about lightning according to the passage?
A. Only a small number of lightning flashes occur on earth.
B. Lightning travels 5 times faster than thunder.
C. Lightning flashes usually jump from one cloud to another.
D. There are far more lightning strikes occurring on earth than we can imagine.
4. The underlined word “activity” is most closely related to the word(s)___________.
A. “cloud” B. “lightning strikes”
C. “lightning flashes” D. “thunderstorms”
5. It can be concluded from the passage that____________.
A. we should not believe what we see or hear
B. things moving downward are more noticeable
C. people often have wrong ideas about ordinary phenomena (现象)
D. adults are not as good as children in observing certain natural phenomena
第二节:信息匹配:(共5小题,每题2分,满分10分)
阅读下列应用文及相关信息,并按照要求匹配信息。请在答题卡上将对应题号的相应选项字母涂黑。
首先,请阅读下列部门介绍。
Student Service Centre
The staff members are available to consult on career choice and applications for higher education.
Room Number:113
Tel: 8072 9771
Accommodation office
Mrs. J Marble is available each afternoon from 1:30 to 4:30 pm to assist students with problems relating to housing.
Room Number: 114
Tel: 8072 9772
Medical Room
Mrs. J Wright, the college nurse, is available each morning from 9:30 to 12:00 am. The college doctor is in attendance on Wednesday morning.
Room Number: 115
Tel: 8072 9773
Sports Office
Mrs. B Marie can provide information about sporting and keep-fit activities from 5:00 to 6:00 pm in the afternoon.
Room Number: 207
Tel: 8072 9774
Food Service
Mr. G Nunn is the manager and will do his best to help if you require a special diet on condition that you have already paid the tuition.
Room Number: 222
Tel: 8072 9775
Self Access Language Learning Centre
Students can attend a drop-in basis from 9:00 to 4:15 pm to improve your ability of listening and speaking.
Room Number: 203
Tel: 8072 9776
请阅读以下相关学生的信息,然后匹配他/她拟联系的部门:
56. Tom is a freshman. He is too busy to take exercise and becomes too fat. He needs to take some action not to be so fat.
57. Jim is to finish his study in college. He is considering whether to go to work or go on further study. He needs some help about it.
58. Lily is going to finish her study in college and has an interview for a job in an
export company of which the manager told him to improve his expression in English.
59. Li Lei can eat as much as he can, but he feels exhausted all the time. He doesn’t know why. He needs some help.
60. Lucy has been in the college for two months when she suddenly falls ill. The doctor asks her only to have some liquid food. She needs some help from a particular department.
In the United States, friendships can be close, constant, intense, generous, and real, yet fade away in a short time if circumstances change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may change Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship where it left off and are delighted.
In the States, you can feel free to visit people’s homes, share their holidays, enjoy their children and their lives without fear that you are taking on a lasting obligation. Do not hesitate to accept hospitality because you cannot give it in return, No one will expect you to do so for they know you are far from home. Americans will enjoy welcoming you and be pleased if you accept their hospitality easily.
Once you arrive there, the welcome will be full and warm and real. Most visitors find themselves readily invited into many homes there. In some countries it is considered inhospitable to entertain at home, offering what is felt as “merely” home cooked food, not ”doing something” for your guest. It is felt that restaurant entertaining shows more respect and welcome. Or for various other reasons, such as crowded space, language difficulties, or family customs, outsiders are not invited into homes.
In the United States, both methods are used, but it is often considered more friendly to invite a person to one’s home than to a public place, expect in purely business relationships. So, if your host or hostess brings you home, do not feel that you are being shown inferior treatment.
Don’t feel neglected if you do not find flowers awing you in your hotel room either. Flowers are very expensive there, and hotel delivery is uncertain that the arrival times are delayed, changed, or canceled — so flowers are not customarily sent as a welcoming touch. Please do not feel unwanted! Outward signs vary in different lands; the inward welcome is what matters, and this will be real.
1. In the United States, you will find friendships _____ if circumstances change.
A. die suddenly B. pass away
C. disappear gradually D. last forever
2. Americans ______ their foreign friends to make a return for their hospitality.
A. ask B. wish C. never allow D. don’t expect
3. In some other countries, giving a dinner party at home is considered ____ than in a restaurant.
A. less friendly B. less hospitable
C. more natural D. more popular
4. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. Flowers are available at all time
B. Flowers are expensive.
C. Flowers are signs of outward welcome.
D. Flowers are not necessarily sent to guests.
5. Which of the following is the best title for this passage?
A. American Hospitality B. American Friendship
C. American Invitation D. American Welcome
In William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, there is major difference between two of the characters, Brutus and Mark Antony, Brutus was very honorable and Antony was very persuasive. When Brutus spoke at Caesar’s funeral, he appealed to the people’s logic and Antony spoke to the emotions of the people. Antony was very smart and used his brain frequently during the play and Brutus was very naive(天真的,率直的) about many of things.
Brutus was very honorable in the way that he always told people the truth. Antony was persuasive in the way that he used people to get whatever he wanted. For example, Antony used Lepidus to seek revenge on all of the conspirators (同谋者,阴谋者) to take the blame for their deaths. Brutus’ speech at Caesar’s funeral was very short and to the point and spoke to the logic of the people in the crowd. For example, Brutus spoke in a detached way about Caesar’s death while Antony spoke to the emotions of the crowd by crying and talking about all the good things that Caesar did for Rome. Antony’s intelligence was very apparent throughout the play and Brutus appeared to be naive about many things. Antony as smart in the way that he controlled people to his own advantage. Brutus appeared to be naive throughout the whole play because he believed everyone was as honorable as he. Brutus did not question what he was told, assuming it was always true.
In conclusion, in William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, there is a major difference between the two characters, Brutus and Mark Antony. The strongest contrast between the two characters appears to be their ability and inability to be both honorable and persuasive.
46. The author wrote this passage by _____
A. number B. contrast C. question D. narration
47. A lot of difference is mentioned in the passage between _____
A. Shakespeare and Antony B. Julius and Antony
C. Brutus and Antony D. Julius and Brutus
48. Which of the following adjectives can be used to describe Antony’s character?
A. Honorable and naïve
B. Persuasive and smart
C. Honorable and smart
D. Simple and frank
49. What’s the Chinese meaning of the underlined “to the point”?
A. 离题的 B. 中肯的 C. 优美的 D.动听的
50. From the passage, we can conclude that ______
A. Shakespeare was a great scientist
B. Shakespeare was a well-known musician
C. Shakespeare was a famous artist
D. Shakespeare was a famed playwright