Thanksgiving is an important festival in North America. We interviewed several students from the US and Canada. Here is what they have told us about their Thanksgiving experiences.
Josie from New York, USA
“In America, Thanksgiving is celebrated every year at the end of November. It is to remember the first group of people from Europe to live in America. When they first arrived, they found the environment strange. But they learned to survive after some native American friends showed them how to grow and find food. Thanksgiving is meant to be a traditional celebration.”
Todd from California, USA
“Thanksgiving is the first day of Christmas shopping. That means we have four weeks to buy Christmas presents for our families and friends. For me and my friends, the most important part of the festival is the big football game on TV. The match is watched by millions of people all over America. Thanksgiving is seen as an exciting day for football!”
Ian from Saskatoon, Canada
In Canada, Thanksgiving is held on the 2nd Monday in October. On the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day, many people go to church. Thanks is given for all the good things that happened to them during the year. I always give thanks for the nice big turkey I’m going to have at the family dinner! Like all festivals, Thanksgiving is about food!
Katie from Maritimes, Canada
On Thanksgiving Day, we have dinner with all our cousins, aunts and uncles. It is always very busy. Sometimes we have two Thanksgiving dinners because we go to both our grandparents’ houses. The dinner is usually attended by more than twenty people at each house! My mother and my aunts do all the cooking but the washing-up is done by me and my cousins. And that’s not an easy job! But I don’t mind because Thanksgiving is meant to be a time to give thanks.People in the USA and Canada ____________.
| A．all have the same opinion of Thanksgiving |
| B．have different opinions of Thanksgiving |
| C．feel that Thanksgiving is about food |
| D．have no interest in Thanksgiving |
Which of the people interviewed feels that Thanksgiving is all about football?
| A．Ian | B．Josie | C．Todd | D．Katie |
Where does the person who thinks that Thanksgiving is a traditional celebration come from?
| A．New York | B．California | C．Saskatoon | D．Maritimes |
For what reasons do people give thanks at Thanksgiving?
| A．All the good things that have happened |
| B．Presents, a big turkey |
| C．Grandparents, food |
| D．Football, traditions |
President Barack Obama had a big pat on the back for his young daughters on Tuesday, saying they have got used to life in the White House.
After more than a year at the US presidential mansion, Malia Obama, 11, and Sasha Obama, 8, have made their dad proud with their ability to balance their private life with life in the public eye, he told NBC television.
"The happiest thing about the past year and a half has been the girls' adjustment (适应). They have just been great. They're doing well in school," Obama said.
"They're not as constrained. They can wander around. Their Secret Service protection is a lot more low key (低调)," he explained. "So they've got soccer, they've got basketball, they go sleep over at their friend's houses.
"Sometimes I've got 12 little girls screaming on the third floor of the White House. And they made a great adjustment."
The president also admitted he was concerned about how his daughters would deal with his public life as they get a bit older.
"Now I get a little worried about them when they're teenagers because I think that's the time when you're already feeling uncomfortable about your parents, and then imagine if your dad's in the newspaper every day and people are calling him a fool. I feel a little worried about that."
"But on the other hand, Malia and Sasha have just turned out to be unbelievably well adjusted kids," Obama said.
"The thing that's most important to me is that they are so respectful of everybody and haven't gotten on any airs (摆架子). It’s all because of Michelle as she wouldn't put up with (容忍) any of that stuff."
61. Why is President Obama so happy according to the passage?
A. His daughters have been great in the public eye.
B. His daughters can balance their life with their study.
C. His daughters have got used to life in the White House.
D. His daughters have been in the White House for over a year.
62. The underlined word “constrained” in Paragraph 4 most probably means__________.
A. devoted B. forced C. puzzled D. concerned
63. President Obama is a little worried about ___________.
A. what his daughters’ life will be like in the future
B. how his daughters will get on with him when they’re a little older
C. how his daughters will make friends with people around in the future
D. how his daughters will deal with his public life when they’re teenagers
64. What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A. Michelle is proud of being Obama’s wife.
B. Michelle allows her daughters to get on airs.
C. President Obama appreciates what Michelle has done.
D. Obama’s daughters are respected by everyone in the USA.
It’s Friday morning in the year 2030, and you’re running late. You got carried away watching the music video that was playing in the corner of your bathroom mirror while you were brushing your teeth. How will you get to your office at Mega Giga Industries on time?
A quick check of your Internet–connected refrigerator tells you your train is a bit behind schedule, too. So you decide to drive your environmentally–friendly fuel cell car instead—or rather, let your car drive you. It’s programmed to know the way and it will get you there without speeding, getting lost, or crashing.
Settling into your office chair, which changes color to match what you’re wearing, you pick up yesterday morning’s newspaper. Printed on reusable electronic paper, it immediately rewrites itself with today’s headlines. Now it’s time for your big meeting. Uh-oh! You’ve left your handwritten notes at home. No problem. The digital ink pen you used has stored an electronic copy of what you wrote.
Your wristwatch videophone (可视电话) suddenly rings. Your best friend’s face pops up on the screen (屏幕) asking what you’re doing this weekend. Will you play virtual soccer with the U.S. Olympic team? No, no. Your friend says, so you have to take the new elevator (made of microscopic fibers many times stronger than steel) 60000 miles into space.
Could this scene really take place in just twenty years? The researchers who are now developing all this stuff think so. These gadgets (小器械) may be as common in 20 years as cell phones and DVD players are today.
57. What is the BEST TITLE for the passage?
A. Life in the Future B. Future Transportation
C. Life Today and Tomorrow D. Development of the Internet
58. Your future car has all of the following features (特点) EXCEPT．
A. being programmed to know the way B. using environmentally-friendly fuel
C. driving you to different places safely D. having an Internet-connected refrigerator
59. How many high-tech products are mentioned in Paragraph 3?
A. Two. B. Three. C. Four. D. Five.
60. We can learn from the passage that in twenty years．
A. going to space may be common
B. DVD players will be much more popular
C. playing virtual soccer with Olympic teams won’t be attractive
D. wristwatch videophones will completely take the place of cell phones
The professor stood before his class of 30 senior biology students, about to pass out the final exam. “I have been honored to be your instructor this term, and I know how hard you have all worked to prepare for this test. I also know most of you are off to medical school or graduate school next fall,” he said to them.
“I can well understand how much pressure you are under to keep your grades up, and because I know you are able to understand this material, I am prepared to offer an automatic(自动的) “B” to anyone who would prefer not to take the final.”
In relief a number of students jumped up to thank the professor and left the class. The professor looked at the students who remained, and offered again, “Any other takers? This is your last chance.” One more student decided to go.
There were seven students left. The professor closed the door. Then he handed out the final exam. There were only two sentences typed on the paper: “Congratulations, you have just received an “A” in this class. Keep believing in yourself.”
I never had a professor who gave a test like that. It may seem like the easy way out of grading (评分) a lot of exams, but it’s a test that any teacher in any subject could and should give. Students who don’t have confidence in what they’ve learned are “B” students at best.
The same is true for students of real life. The “A” students are those who believe in what they’re doing because they’ve learned from both successes and failures. They have learned life’s lessons, whether from formal education or the school of hard knocks, and become better people.
Take your cue(榜样) from Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to reach the top of Mount Qomolangma: “It’s not the mountain we conquer (征服), but ourselves.” Don’t let the biggest limit be yourself.
53. The professor offered an automatic “B” to those who would prefer not to take the final exam because _________.
A. he liked the students who wanted to get a “B”
B. he believed they were able to pass the exam
C. he thought any teacher should give them a “B”
D. he thought it was the easy way of grading exams
54. According to the text, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. 22 students got a “B” in the final test without doing the paper.
B. Most of the students would go to medical school shortly after the exam.
C. There were actually no problems on the test papers for the students to work out.
D. The way the professor tested his students would not be suitable for other subjects.
55. According to the writer, the test given by the professor was ________.
A. funny B. meaningful C. difficult D. harmful
56. The point of the story is to advise readers _________.
A. to pay attention to what they can do
B. not to miss any final exam at school
C. not to let themselves limit their growth
D. to surround themselves with confident people
四、阅读理解(共20小题; 每小题1.5分，满分30分)
第一节：阅读下面短文，从每题给出的A、B、C、D四个答案中，选出最佳选项，并标在试卷的相应位置。
Timetable
49. If one wants to attend a business lunch in London at l2:00, the latest train that he should take at Oxford leaves at_____________.
A. 11：45 B. 11：15 C. 10：35 D. 10：05
50. Which of the following is TRUE of the membership card?
A. Its number is l0865 305305.
B. It belongs to Mr. E. M. Driscoll.
C. It is valid (有效的) through the year of 2010.
D. It gets the owner a discount when used.
51. If one would like to have something fried, he may choose ________.
A. Chicken-Fried Steak & The Super Bird®
B. French Slam & The Classic Hamburger
C. Chicken-Fried Steak & Chinese Chicken Salad
D. The Super Bird® & Sandwich with Salad or Soup
52. The chart shows that from 2005 to 2008，______________.
A. the percentage of the Spanish families with a computer rose 35 points
B. the number of the Black families with a computer was on the decrease
C. the percentage of the White families with a computer remained unchanged
D. the number of the Asian families with a computer showed the sharpest increase
A frightening example of the sea’s power saw 125,000 people die in 12 different countries last week. The terrible disaster was caused when a great earthquake sent tsunamis breaking into Indian Ocean coastlines. Various areas in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Malaysia and East Africa have been destroyed by the huge waves. Whole towns were simply swept aside by the power of the water. Cars, trains and buildings could not remain steady, not to say the people who stood in the way.
The earthquake measured 9.0 on the Richter scale and occurred off the coast of Indonesia. It was recorded as the fifth strongest since 1900. Scientists said the quake was as powerful as a million of the atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan during the World War II. “This may be the worst natural disaster in recent history because it is affecting so many heavily populated coastal areas.” said Jan Ege-land, a UN official.
Because such waves hardly happen in the Indian Ocean, there is no system in place to warn coastal people who are about to be hit. Tsunami is a Japanese word. They are usually caused by a sudden rise or fall of part of the Earth’s crust under the ocean. Tsunamis often happen in oceans and they are most common in the Pacific.
Tsunamis can be very long, as much as 100 kilometers. They are able to cross entire oceans without losing much energy. One of the most striking facts about tsunamis is that an earthquake on one side of the Pacific Ocean can cause huge waves on the other side.
When the ocean is deep, tsunamis can travel unnoticed at speeds of up to 800 kilometers per hour. They can cross the entire ocean in a day or less. The wave may only be a few meters high in the ocean, but when it is near the shore and reaches shallow water, the wave builds up very quickly in height.
61. How many countries were stricken by the terrible disaster?
A. 6. B. 12. C. 18. D. Not sure.
62. All of the following statements are true EXCEPT __________.
Tsunami is a word taken in from Japanese
Tsunamis are quite common in the Indian Ocean
The earthquake measured 9.0 on the Richter scale
No warning system has been set up to watch tsunamis there
63. We can know from this passage that __________.
the earthquake has been the strongest in the last century
the wave soon becomes higher when it reaches the shore
the atomic bombs were more powerful than the earthquake
tsunamis can cross entire oceans with almost the same energy
64. You’ll see the passage in __________ section of a newspaper most probably.
A. Sports B. Health C. News D. Culture