Sir,
Just over six months ago, I saw an advertisement in the Morning Mail for a set of the complete works of William Shakespeare. Your company, Cosmo books Ltd., offered this set (eight books of plays and two books of poetry) at what was claimed to be a ‘remarkable’ price: fifteen pounds and fifty pence, including postage and packing. I had wanted a set of Shakespeare’s plays and poems for some time, and these books, in red imitation leather, looked particularly attractive; so I sent for them.
Two weeks later, the books arrived, together with a set of the complete works of Charles Dickens which I had not ordered. So I returned the Dickens books to you, with a cheque for fifteen pounds and fifty pence for the works of Shakespeare. Two more weeks passed. Then there arrived on my door step a second set of the works of Shakespeare, the same set of novels by Dickens and a six book set of the plays of Moliere, in French. Since I do not read French, these were of no use to me at all. However, I could not afford to post all these books back to you, so I wrote to you at the end of August of last year, instructing you to come and collect all the books that I did not want, and asking you not to send any other books until further notice.
You did not reply to that letter. Instead you sent me a bill for forty two pounds, and a set of the plays of Schiller, in German. Since then, a new set of books has arrived every two weeks, the works of Goethe, the poems of Milton, the plays of Strindberg; I hardly know what I have. The books are still all in their boxes, in the garage, and my car has to stand in the rain outside.
I have no room for any more books, and even if I read from now until the Last Judgment, I should not finish reading all the books that you have sent me.
Please send no more books, send no more bills, send no more angry letters demanding payment. Just send one large lorry and take all the books away, leaving me only with the one set of the complete works of Shakespeare for which I have paid.
Yours faithfully,
SIMON WALKERSimon Walker wrote the letter to ________
| A．show his anger to Cosmo Books Ltd.. |
| B．complain about getting books he didn’t want. |
| C．advise readers not to order books from Cosmo Books Ltd.. |
| D．urge for the final solution to the problem with the unwanted books. |
The advertisement that Mr. Walker saw in the Morning Mail was for ________
| A．unlimited number of Cosmo Books. |
| B．a set of 10 books of the works of Shakespeare. |
| C．fifteen pounds and fifty pence. |
| D．a book containing all the plays and poems of Shakespeare. |
Mr. Walker answered the advertisement because ________
| A．he wanted a set of Shakespeare’s works which was a good bargain |
| B．he claimed that the books were being offered at a remarkable price. |
| C．he had ordered the set and had been waiting for them to come for some time. |
| D．the set he already had was not particularly attractive. |
E
I came to live here where I am now between Wounded Knee Greek and Grass Greek. Others came too, and we made these little grey houses of logs that you see, and they are square. It is a bad way to live, for there can be no power in a square.
You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. In the old days when we were a strong and happy people, all our power came to us from the respectful circle of the nation, and so long as the circle was unbroken, the people were getting rich. The flowering tree was the living center of the circle, and the circle of the four quarters nursed it. The east gave peace and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain, and the north with its cold and strong wind gave strength and continuous power. This knowledge came to us from the outer world with our brief. Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. They sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. Birds make their nests in circle, for theirs are the same as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same, and both are round. Even the seasons from a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. Our places were like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation’s a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to nurse our children.
But the Wasichus (Indian word for “white people”) have put us in these square boxes. Our power is gone and we are dying, for the power is not in us any more. You can look at our boys and see how it is with us. Where we were living by the power of the circle in the way we should boys were men at twelve or thirteen years of age. But now it takes them very much longer to be bull-grown.
57. According to the passage, the Indians ____.
A. don’t have modern instruments in their homes
B. refused to move from round places
C. lived in round places, but were forced to live in square houses
D. lived in round places, but then decided to move into square houses
58. Two things being compared in the passage are ____.
A. the Indians’ past and present living conditions B. the Indians’ past and modern beliefs
C. the Indians’ old and new powerD. people and nature
59. In the second paragraph “ the four quarters” refers to ____.
A. the four rooms of the Indian’s house B. the four kinds of natural power
C. the four seasons D. the four directions
60. According to the author, once the Indians moved into square houses, ____.
A. they had to move to other houses B. boys took more time to grow into men
C. they forgot the old way of life D. everyone was not happy
D
Many of the snacks are high in sugar, fat and salt. Vending machines(自动售货机) filled with unhealthy snacks in leisure centres run the risk of fuelling childhood obesity.
The British Heart Foundation found that despite being banned from schools and children’s TV, crisps and chocolate are on sale where children exercise. And children’s meals on offer at the 35 venues spot-checked were mostly chips, chicken nuggets(鸡肉块), sausages and burgers.
The charity (慈善机构) wants stricter regulation over the food choices available.
The report was prepared by the Food Commission, which looked at leisure centres, bowling clubs, ice skating centres and park cafes.
The average calorie content of vending machine snacks was 203 calories, which would take a seven-year-old 88 minutes of swimming to use up.
Fresh fruit was displayed at less than half of the places visited, and nutritional information was displayed at just two of the places visited. The BHF said this severely limits children’s and parents’ ability to assess the nutritional values of the products they are buying.
BHF’s chief executive Peter Hollins said: “It’s fantastic that these kids are getting fit and having fun at the same time but this is being undermined by junk food sold to them.
“Councils and leisure providers need to reconsider the food choices they are providing and make it easier for parents and children to make healthier choices.”
The charity is now calling for public and private sector providers to lead the way in ensuring healthy food choices available and easily identifiable(可辩认的). It says it should be made a requirement that vending machines in publicly owned facilities be stocked with healthier products.
A spokeswoman of the Department of Health said: “We fully encourage the adoption of healthy vending machines across the country and expect local authorities to make sure there are healthy food options available in their leisure centres.”
53. Children’s meals offered at leisure centres mostly consist of ____.
A. snacks, vegetables, chips and burgers
B. chips, chicken nuggets, sausages and burgers
C. fresh fruit, vegetables, sausages and burgers
D. fresh fruit, vegetable, crisps and snacks
54. Which of the following can make the children and their parents aware of the nutritional values of the products they are purchasing?
A. Displaying the nutritional information. B. Displaying fresh fruit.
C. Selling junk food to them. D. Reconsidering food options.
55. It is implied in the passage that ____.
A. vending machines sell a lot of unhealthy food that causes obesity.
B. leisure centres provide children with food that is not healthy.
C. there isn’t a requirement yet that vending machines sell healthier products.
D. it’s fantastic that kids are getting fit and having fun in leisure centres.
56. The underlined word “fuelling” in the first paragraph most probably means_____.
A. preventing B. filling with gas C. increasing D. Planning
C
We can achieve knowledge either actively or passively（被动地）．We achieve it actively by direct experience, by testing and proving an idea, or by reasoning.
We achieve knowledge passively by being told by someone else．Most of the learning that takes place in the classroom and the kind that happens when we watch TV or read newspapers or magazines is passive．Conditioned as we are to passive learning, it’s not surprising that we depend on it in our everyday communication with friends and co-workers.
Unfortunately, passive learning has a serious problem．It makes us tend to accept what we are told even when it is little more than hearsay and rumor（谣言）.
Did you ever play the game Rumor? It begins when one person writes down a message but doesn’t show it to anyone．Then the person whispers it, word for word, to another person．That person, in turn, whispers it to still another, and so on, through all the people playing the game．The last person writes down the message word for word as he or she hears it．Then the two written statements are compared．Typically, the original message has changed.
That’s what happens in daily life．The simple fact that people repeat a story in their own words changes the story．Then, too, most people listen imperfectly．And many enjoy adding their own creative touch to a story, trying to improve on it, stamping（打上标记）it with their own personal style．Yet those who hear it think they know.
This process is also found among scholars and authors: A statement of opinion by one writer may be re-stated as fact by another, who may in turn be quoted by yet another; and this process may continue, unless it occurs to someone to question the facts on which the original writer based his opinion or to challenge the interpretation he placed upon those facts.
49．According to the passage, passive learning may occur in _______.
A．doing a medical experiment B．solving a math problem
C．visiting an exhibitionD．doing scientific reasoning
50．The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refers to _____.
A．active learning B．knowledge C．communication D．passive learning
51．The author mentions the game Rumor to show that _____.
A．a message may be changed when being passed on
B．a message should be delivered in different ways
C．people may have problems with their sense of hearing
D．people tend not to believe in what they know as rumor
52．What can we infer from the passage?
A．Active learning is less important.
B．Passive learning may not be reliable.
C．Active learning occurs more frequently.
D．Passive learning is not found among scholars.
B
I love charity（慈善） shops and so do lots of other people in Britain because you find quite a few of them on every high street．The charity shop is a British institution, selling everything from clothes to electric goods, all at very good prices．You can get things you won’t find in the shops anymore．The thing I like best about them is that your money is going to a good cause and not into the pockets of profit-driven companies, and you are not damaging the planet, but finding a new home for unwanted goods.
The first charity shop was opened in 1947 by Oxfam．The famous charity’s appeal to aid postwar Greece had been so successful it had been flooded with donations（捐赠物）．They decided to set up a shop to sell some of these donations to raise money for that appeal．Now there are over 7,000 charity shops in the UK．My favourite charity shop in my hometown is the Red Cross shop, where I always find children’s books, all 10 or 20 pence each.
Most of the people working in the charity shops are volunteers, although there is often a manager who gets paid．Over 90% of the goods in the charity shops are donated by the public. Every morning you see bags of unwanted items outside the front of shops, although they don’t encourage this, rather ask people to bring things in when the shop is open.
The shops have very low running costs: all profits go to charity work．Charity shops raise more than ￡110 million a year, funding（资助）medical research, overseas aid, supporting sick and poor children, homeless and disabled people, and much more．What better place to spend your money? You get something special for a very good price and a good moral sense．You provide funds to a good cause and tread lightly on the environment.
45．The author loves the charity shop mainly because of _______.
A．its convenient location B．its great variety of goods
C．its spirit of goodwillD．its nice shopping environment
46．The first charity shop in the UK was set up to ____.
A．sell cheap productsB．deal with unwanted things
C．raise money for patients D．help a foreign country
47．Which of the following is TRUE about charity shops?
A．The operating costs are very low. B．The staff are usually well paid.
C．90% of the donations are second-hand. D．They are open twenty-four hours a day.
48．Which of the following may be the best title for the passage?
A．What to Buy a Charity Shops.
B．Charity Shop: Its Origin & Development.
C．Charity Shop: Where You Buy to Donate.
D．The Public’s Concern about Charity Shops.
第二部分阅读理解（共两节，满分45分）
第一节：阅读下列短文，然后从A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
A
My husband, Tom, is a born shopper. He loves to look at things and to touch them. He likes to compare prices between the same things in different stores. He would never think of buying anything without looking around in several stores. I, on the other hand, am not a shopper. I regard shopping as boring and unpleasant. If I like something and can afford it, I buy it immediately. I never take a time to look around for a good sale or a better deal (交易). Of course my husband and I never go shopping together. Doing shopping together would be too painful for both of us . When it comes to shopping, we go our separate ways.
Sometimes I ask my son Jimmy to buy some food in the shop not far from our home. But he is always absentminded. This was his story.
One day I said to him , “ I hope you won’t forget what I have told you to buy.” “No,” said Jimmy. “ I won’t forget . You want three oranges, six eggs and a pound of meet.”
He went running down the street to the shop. As he ran , he said to himself over and over again , “ Three oranges , six eggs and a pound of meat.”
In the beginning he remembered everything but he stopped several times. Once he saw two men fighting outside a clothes shop until a policeman stopped them. One of them was badly hurt. Then he stopped to give ten cents to a beggar. Then he met some of his friends and he played with them for a while. When he reached the shop, he had forgotten everything except six eggs.
As he walked home, his face became sadder and sadder. When he saw me he said, “ I’m sorry , mum . I have forgotten to buy oranges and the meat . I only remembered to buy six eggs , but I’ve dropped three of them.”
41. The husband loves shopping because _______.
A. he has much money
B. he likes the shops
C. he likes to compare the prices between the same items
D. he has nothing to do but do shopping
42. The wife doesn’t like shopping because _______.
A. she has no money B. she has no tome
C. she doesn’t love her husband D. she feels it boring to go shopping
43. They never go shopping together because _________.
A. their ways of shopping are quite different B. they hate each other
C. they needn’t buy anything for the family D. they don’t have time for it
44. Jimmy didn’t buy what his mother wanted because _________.
A. the shop was closed that day B. the policeman stopped him
C. he forgot some of them D. he gave all the money to the beggar