Are you interested in country music? I like it very much! It will take me away for a while after I am tired .The guitars and songs will take me to mountains and fields.
Country music usually talks of everyday life and feelings. It’s the spirit of America, easy to understand, slow and simple.
Country music developed in the Southern United States. It was the folk music of American countryside. Many of songs tell about the lives of farmers .They talk about love, crops or death.
The life of the countryside can be hard, so the words in country music are often sad. At first, people played the music only at family parties. But it became more popular later. In the 1920s, people played country songs on the radio, and they made them into records.
When people in the countryside moved to towns and cities to look for work, they took their music with them. Country music continued to change and became popular across America.
John Denver was one of America’s most famous country singers in the 1970s.His song “Take Me home, Country Roads” is well-known and people still play it today.Country music is usually about _______.
A.everyday life and feelings |
B.farmers’ feelings |
C.the lives of workers |
D.the lives of farmers |
People began to make country song records _______.
A.in the 1920s | B.in 1920 |
C.in the 1970s | D.in 1970 |
Why did Country music become popular in America?
A.Because city people liked the music. |
B.Because farmers moved to cities with their music and it continued to change. |
C.Because country music talked about city people’s lives. |
D.Because country music developed in the Southern Africa |
Who is famous for the song “Take Me Home, Country Roads”?
A.A farmer in the countryside |
B.A person who moved to towns |
C.John Denver |
D.John Denver’s brother |
E
Some recent reports on the death penalty have brought some interesting responses from
readers all over the country. Although I really don’t like to make fun of people who oppose the
death penalty because they are so sincere, I wish they would come up with some new arguments to
replace the worn-out ones.
For example, many said something like this : “Wouldn’t it be better to keep the killers alive so
psychiatrists(精神科医生)can study them in order to find out what makes them the way they are?”
It takes the average psychiatrist about five years to figure why a guy wants to stop for two drinks after work and won’t quit smoking. So how long do you think it will take him to determine why somebody with an IQ of 92 decided to murder the little old lady who lives next door? Besides, we have a huge number of killers in our prisons—more than enough to keep all the nation’s psychiatrists busy for the next 20 years.
Another standard is: “The purpose of the law should be to protect society, not to give cruel punishment, such as the death penalty.”
In that case ,we should tear down all the prisons and let all the criminals go because most people would consider a long period in prison to be cruel punishment--especially those who are locked up. Even 30 days in the Cook County Prison is no picnic.
And: “What gives society the right to take a life if an individual can’t?” The individuals who make up society give it that right. Societies perform many functions that individuals can’t. We can’t carry guns and shoot people, but we give that right to police.
Words can not explain the suffering the families of murder victim are left to live with. The families suffer a terrible loss, and they live with terrible memories. The knowledge that the killers are alive and will probably remain alive and cared for you by society is extremely painful. Probably, people who oppose the death penalty should try explaining to these people how cruel it is to kill someone.
72.What’s the writer’s attitude towards death penalty?
A.Death penalty is a must.
B.Death penalty doesn’t solve all the problems.
C.Death penalty should be practiced more carefully.
D.Death penalty should only be used on murderers.
73.How many arguments against death penalty are discussed in the passage?
A.Two B.Three C.Four D.Five
74.What does the last sentence of the text suggest?
A.It’s cruel to use death penalty to kill someone.
B.Murder victims need more comfort from the society.
C.Opponents of death penalty should offer explanations.
D.Murderers should be put to death as the punishment.
75.The author develops the passage by .
A.providing typical examples of death penalty
B.following the natural time order
C.presenting and analyzing ideas
D.comparing opinions from different fields
D
“How did you do it, Dad? How have you managed not to take a drink for almost 20 years?” It
took a man almost 20 years to have the courage to ask my father this very personal question. When Dad first quit drinking, the whole family was on pins and needles every time he got into a situation that, in the past, would have started him drinking again. For a few years we were afraid to bring it up for fear the drinking would begin again.
“I had this little poem that I would recite to myself at least four to five times a day,” was Dad’s reply to my 18-year-old unasked question. “The words were an instant relief and constant reminder to me that things were never so tough that I could not handle them,” Dad said. And then he shared the poem with me. The poem’s simple, yet the words are meaningful.
About a month after this talk with my father, I received a gift in the mail from a friend of mine. It was a book of daily words of wisdom listed for each day of the year. It has been my experience that when you get something with days of the year on it, you naturally turn to the page that lists your own birthday.
I hurriedly opened the book to November 10 to see what words of wisdom this book had in store for me. Tears of disbelief and appreciation rolled down my face. There, on my birthday, was the exact same poem that had helped my father for all these years! It went like this: God, give me the Serenity(平静) to accept the things I cannot change; the Courage to change the things I can; and the Wisdom to know the difference.
68.The underlined expression “on pins and needles” in the first paragraph means .
A.upset B.pleased C.nervous D.surprised
69.Dad would review the poem several times a day .
A.to share the poem with the families B.to practice reciting the poem
C.to prevent himself from drinking again D.to remind himself that poems are useful
70.When the author saw the same poem in the book, he felt .
A.regretful B.thankful C.hopeful D.painful
71.The author bust into tears because .
A.his friends gave him a special gift B.the poem was full of wisdom
C.his father had read the same book D.his father quit drinking for his son
C
After watching my mother deal with our family of five, I can’t understand why answer to the
question, “What do you do?” is always, “Oh, I’m just a housewife.” JUST a housewife?” Anyone who spends most of her time in meal preparation and cleanup, keeping the house clean, attending PTA meetings, leading a scout troop, playing taxi driver to us kids when it’s time for school, musical lessons or the dentist, doing volunteer work for her community is not just a housewife. She’s the real Wonder Woman.
Why is it that so many mothers like mine think of themselves as second.class or something similar? Where has this notion come from? Have we males made them feel this way? Has our society made“going to work” outside the home seem more important than what a housewife must face each day? I would be every curious to see what would happen if a housewife went on strike.Dishes would pie up.Food in the house would run out.There would be no learn clothes when needed.Walking and bus riding would increase.
I doubt if the man of the house would be able to take over.Oh,he would probably start out with the attitude that he can do just as good a job,but how long would that last? Not 1ong, once he had to come home each night after work to more housework. There would be no coming home to a prepared meal; The kids would all be screaming for something to eat, clean clothes and more bus fare money. Once he quieted the kids, he’d have to clean the house, go shopping, make sure that kids got a bath, after clearing out all the dog hairs from the bathtub. Once the kids were down for the night, he might be able to craw(爬)into an unmade bed and try to read the morning newspaper.
64.What does the writer’s mother NOT do according to the first paragraph?
A.Cooking. B.Tidying the house.
C.Driving a taxi. D.Some unpaid work.
65.The underlined word “notion” in the second paragraph can be replaced by the word .
A.mother B.citizen C.similarity D.thought
66.We can learn from the second paragraph .
A.mothers are actually great women B.our society looks down upon housewives
C.housewives should go on a strike D.doing housework is not important at all
67.The possible main idea of the third paragraph is .
A.men should share housework with their wives
B.attitude is not the only thing needed to do a job well
C.kids are the most challenging part of the housework
D.men are unlikely to handle the work of a housewife
B
Wolves are in the news these days, especially with the controversial(有争议的)Alaskan Wolf Hunting Festival being a focus of public attention. Since these animals are getting more attention in the outer world, they may be more likely to show up in your inner world and may take on many forms and have many meanings.
Wolves live in a pack(狼群)and they have a leader, a guide who is responsible for directing the pack and keeping it safe. If a wolf appears in your dream and you have a positive relationship with the wolf, it may suggest your own leadership abilities. Wolves in dreams may also mean the need for trusting your own internal leader-the soft howl from the bottom of your own heart.
While wolves certainly do howl, it is till unknown why they howl at the moon. The wolf’s how is actually a form of communication. Wolves may howl as a form of making friends, or as a warning, or to indicate that they are last and need help. Is your dream wolf howling? If so, what emotions exist in the dream? Do you feel lost and in need of guidance, do you feel like you’ve lost your “pack”? Do you feel the need to let others know they are crossing your land? Or are you simply filled whit a sense of joy that can only be expressed in a howl?
Wolves can be experienced hunters, and often appear in folk stories as something harmless when in fact it is there to do great harm. Are there any wolves in sheep’s clothing in your life? Often we have intuition(直觉)about people or situations, feelings that these people or situations should be avoided, but we ignore them based on their harmless outer appearance. Wolves in dreams could be signs that there are hidden dangers in your life. Never ignore your intuition because it doesn’t make any sense. Your intuition exists to guide and protect you and it can discover a wolf long before it removes its woolen suit.
60.Why does the author mention “Alaskan Wolf Hunting Festival” in the first paragraph?
A.to support the main idea of the text B.to introduce the topic of the passage
C.to show his pity for the wolves D.to prove wolves are getting more attention
61.What does “your inner world” refer to in the first paragraph?
A.hearts B.feelings C.thoughts D.dreams
62.According to the text, wolves howl for the following reasons EXCETP .
A.to communicate with other wolves B.to ask for help
C.to share how they feelD.to admire the moon
63.The passage is mainly about .
A.wolves and their behaviours B.explanations of people’s dreams
C.different types of wolf D.hidden dangers in our dreams
第三部分:阅读理解(共20小题,每题2分,满分40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。
A
Part one: First Major Novels
If Dickens had remained the author of Pickwick, Oliver Twist, and The Old Curiosity Shop, he might have gained lasting fame only as an author of cheerful comedy. But Dombey and Son, published in 1846 and continued till 1848, is a realistic novel of human life in a society which had taken more or less its modern form. The novel is a study of the influence of the values of a business society n the members of the Dombey family.
Part two:
In 1851 Dickens was struck by the death of his father and one of his daughters within 2 weeks.
Partly in response to these losses, he created a series of works which have come to be called his
“dark” novels and which rank among the greatest success of the art of fiction.
Par three: Later Works
In 1859 Dickens published A Tale of Two Cities, a historical novel of the French Revolution, which is read today most often as a school text. It is fine picture of the historical period and a moving tale of a surprisingly modern hero. Besides publishing this novel in the lately founded All the Year Round, Dickens also published 17 articles, which appeared as a book later.
Dickens’s next novel, Great Expectations(1860~1861), tells the story of a young man’s moral(道德的)development in the course of his life-from childhood in the provinces to gentleman’s role in London. Not based on his own life like David Copperfield, Great Expectations belongs to type of fiction called, in German, Bildungsroman (the novel of a man’s education or formation by experience.)
56.Which of the following Dickens’ novel shows a clear change of style?
A.David Copperfield B.Pickwick
C.Dombey and Son D.Oliver Twist
57.The best title for Part two might be .
A.Unexpected deaths B.Dark novels
C.Great losses D.The art of fiction
58.According to the passage, A Tale of Two Cities .
A.is about the Industry Revolution B.can be found in most of the textbooks
C.is better than his “dark” novels D.is probably published in a new magazine
59.In Great Expectation, Dickens writes about.
A.the growth of a man B.how to become a gentleman
C.his own life experience D.a man’s school education