We live in a very competitive world. Everybody seems to be competing with someone at some level. Each week we spend hours playing or watching others compete in sporting activities all over the world. We cannot help being impressed by the level of excellence that these people achieve.
In sport and business, competition encourages excellence in performance. Where there is no competition, improvement in performance is less likely. Some level of competition is a have-to in all aspects of life.
The following story makes this point.
As two friends are hiking in the forest they come across a huge, ferocious and obviously hungry bear. Its next meal has just come into sight, and they are it! The first friend calculates that the bear will catch them in 27.3 seconds. At that point, she panics, realizing there is no escape. She faces her friend, with the fear of death in her eyes. To her amazement, she observes that her friend is not scared at all. On the contrary, her friend is quickly but calmly taking off her hiking boots and putting on running shoes. “What do you think you’re doing?” the first hiker says to her companion. “You’ll never be able to run faster than that bear”. “That’s true,” says the companion, “but all I have to do is escape, faster than you.”
We all compete when the motivation is strong enough. However, competition is not the real purpose of life. Fulfilling the measure of our creation can only be achieved individually.
Most of time, we are not in competition with any other person, so we do not have to compare ourselves with others. There is only one person that can fulfill our role and that is us. This means that others cannot beat us to the finish line because there is no race. This is not to say that others do not have a similar role to us, but it is never the same. This is important to understand if we are going to enjoy life. Every human being is unique and cannot be cloned. In this, I am not referring to the body, only to the spirit, soul, or the essence of a person.The first four paragraphs tell us that competition .
| A．is necessary though harmful | B．only exists in sports and business |
| C．is a fight against oneself | D．is unavoidable and beneficial |
Why is the story of two friends told in the passage?
| A．To advise friends to be loyal even in competition. |
| B．To expose the weak side of friendship when tested. |
| C．To support the author’s own argument on competition. |
| D．To persuade people to beat others, even friends. |
From the last two paragraphs we learn that .
| A．there is more to life than just competition |
| B．we don’t have to compete since we are all different |
| C．we have to beat others in order to survive |
| D．competition plays an important role in social development |
As a whole the passage advises the readers to .
| A．realize we are living in a world of competition |
| B．face competition in a balanced state of mind |
| C．have a strong sense of being a possible winner |
| D．value friendship however fierce competition may be |
Plants are very important living things. Life could not go on if there were no plants. This is because plants can make food from air， water and sunlight. Animals and man cannot make food from air， water and sunlight. Animals get their food by eating plants and other animals. Therefore animals and man need plants in order to live. This is why we find that there are so many plants around us. If you look carefully at the plants around you， you will find that there are two kinds of plants： flowering plants and non-flowering plants. Flowering plants can make seeds. The seeds are protected by the fruits. Some fruits have one seed， some have two， three or four， and some have many seeds. But a few fruits have no seeds at all. An example of a fruit without seeds is the banana fruit. Most non-flowering plants do not grow from seeds. They grow from spores（胚芽）。 Spores are very small. Some spores are so small and light that they can float in the air. We may say that spores are quite the same as seeds. When these spores are all on wet and shady places， they usually grow into new plants.
55. The main idea of the first paragraph is that ______.
A. plants are important for life B. plants cannot grow without air
C. there are many plants in the world D. we can not live without water
56. Plants can make food from______.
A. flower， water and air B. water， sunlight and air
C. air， water and soil D. air， sun and light
57. What can we infer（推断） from the passage ？
A. Of all living things animals are most important B. Spores are seeds
C. All fruits of flowering plants have seeds D. Without plants， man will die out
58. This passage may be taken from______.
A. a medicine book B. a novel
C. a science magazine D. an experiment report
59. The underlined word “protected” in the third paragraph can be replaced by ______.
A. damaged B. polluted C. prevented D. guarded
第三部分阅读理解（共10题，满分20分）
It was a winter morning， just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their cars， Trevor， my husband， had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival， he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor， he returned to find his bike gone.
The bike， a black Kona 18 speed， was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work， putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries （食品杂货）， saving us from having to walk along long distances from where we live.
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that， several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike， then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another， but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity （人性） as a whole. And it has influenced us to be more mindful of ways we， too， can share with others. No matter how big or how small， an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.
50. Why was the bike so important to the couple？
A. They used it for work and daily life. B. It was their only possession （财产）。
C. It was a nice Kona 18 speed. D. The man’s job was bike racing.
51. We can infer from the passage that __________.
A. the couple worked 60 hours a week. B. people were busy before Christmas
C. the stranger brought over the bike D. life was hard for the young family
52. How did people get to know the couple’s problem？
A. From a stranger. B. From a newspaper.
C. From TV news D. From radio broadcasts.
53. What do the couple learn from their experience？
A. Strangers are usually of little help. B. One should take care of their bike.
C. News reports make people famous. D. An act of kindness can mean a lot.
54. From this story， we can see humanity is __________.
selfish. B. commercial C. kind D. cold-hearted
When I was seven my father gave me a Timex, my first watch. I loved it, wore it for years, and haven’t had another one since it stopped ticking a decade ago. Why? Because I don’t need one. I have a mobile phone and I’m always near someone with an iPod or something like that. All these devices (装置) tell the time ―which is why, if you look around, you’ll see lots off empty wrists; sales of watches to young adults have been going down since 2007.
But while the wise have realized that they don’t need them, others ―apparently including some distinguished men of our time ―are spending total fortunes on them. Brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and Breitling command shocking prices, up to ￡250,000 for a piece.
This is ridiculous. Expensive cars go faster than cheap cars. Expensive clothes hang better than cheap clothes. But these days all watches tell the time as well as all other watches. Expensive watches come with extra functions ―but who needs them? How often do you dive to 300 metres into the sea or need to find your direction in the area around the South Pole? So why pay that much of five years’ school fees for watches that allow you to do these things?
If justice were done, the Swiss watch industry should have closed down when the Japanese discovered how to make accurate watches for a five –pound note. Instead the Swiss reinvented the watch, with the aid of millions of pounds’ worth of advertising, as a message about the man wearing it. Rolexes are for those who spend their weekends climbing icy mountains; a Patek Philippe is for one from a rich or noble family; a Breitling suggests you like to pilot planes across the world.
Watches are now classified as “investments” (投资). A1994 Patek Philipe recently sold for nearly ￡350,000 while 1960s Rolexes have gone from￡15,000 to ￡30,000 plus in a year. But a watch is not an investment. It’s a toy for self-satisfaction, a matter of fashion. Prices may keep going up ―they’ve been rising for 15 years. But when fashion moves on, the owner of that ￡350,000 beauty will suddenly find his pride and joy is no more a good investment than my childhood Timex.
43.The sales of watches to young people have fallen because they ______
A. have other devices to tell the time B. think watches too expensive
C. prefer to wear an iPod D. have no sense of time
44. It seems ridiculous to the writer that ______.
A. people dive 300 metres into the sea
B. expensive clothes sell better than cheap ones
C. cheap cars don’t run as fast as expensive ones
D. expensive watches with unnecessary functions still sell
45. What can be learnt about Swiss watch industry from the passage?
A. It targets rich people as its potential customers.
B. It’s hard for the industry to beat its competitors.
C. It wastes a huge amount of money in advertising.
D. It’s easy for the industry to reinvent cheap watches.
46. which would be the best title for the passage?
A. Timex or Rolex? B. My Childhood Timex
C. Watches? Not for Me! D. Watches ―a Valuable Collection
Though your parents probably meant to have your name last a lifetime, remember that when they picked it they’d hardly met you, and the hopes and dreams they cared for when they chose it may not match yours. If your name no longer seems to fit you, don’t lose heart. Film stars change their names, and with some determination, you can, too.
If you wish to pick up a new name, you don’t need to make the change official. Under common law, all that is necessary is to start using the name of your choice. Remember, though, that you must use it everywhere—even with your mother—for it to become your legal name.
Getting friends and fellow workers to call you Leach instead of Lola may be harder than any paperwork involved, but you’ll probably meet official resistance, too. Be sure that no law prevents you from using the name you have chosen, unless you use it for the purpose of cheating. If the gas company tells you that you cannot get your bill under a new name, they are wrong. You don’t have to show them any sort of court document. You have a right to be called by whatever name you choose.
By this time, you’ve probably realized that changing your name is more difficult than replacing your furniture or changing your hair color, though the effect can be unusually encouraging. Don’t care too much if you have to keep reminding others of your change of a new name—keep on, and your friends and lover will accept your new name. Good luck!
51. You may wish to change your name because _____.
you are required to do so
you don’t mean to have your name last a lifetime
you like to follow what film stars often do
you may not like your parents’ choice
52. If you wish to start using the name of your own choice, you _____.
must get friends to call your new name
don’t have to get permission from anybody
must use it with your mother first
need to be approved by the court
53. No law keeps you from using whatever name you have chosen, if only ____.
you pick up a new name not for the purpose of wrong-doing
you can get your fellow workers to call you the new name
the gas company agrees to get your bill under your new name
some sort of court document is given to you
54. You may realize that changing your name ____.
usually has good effect
is actually asking for trouble
is not as easy as rearranging your room
means you have to go through some trouble
55. The purpose of the writer in writing this passage is to _____.
show you the need of changing your name
encourage you if you want to change your name
tell you how easy it is to change one’s name
list all the difficulties in changing one’s name
Do you forget to turn off the lights and heaters when you go out of a room? In 2040 it will not matter. They will turn themselves off—and on again when you return. You will choose the temperature for each room, the lighting and the humidity. A sensor will find the presence of a human (and, with luck, ignore the dog!) and turn the systems on, and when the humans leave it will turn them off again.
The sensors will work through the central home computer, and they will do much more than just turn the fires and lights on and off for you. They will find faulty electrical appliances, plugs or switches, separate them so that they cannot harm anyone, and then warn you that they need repair. They will detect(发现) fire and if you are out of the house, the computer will call the fire brigade. It will not be too difficult because the locks on the outside doors will be electronic. You will open them using your personal card—the one you use for shopping—maybe using a number known only to you.
It will be impossible to lose the key, and a housebreaker will have to tamper(拨弄) with the lock or with a window. It is not very difficult to make such tampering send a signal to the computer.
The computer will be more than a fireman-policeman-servant. It will be an entertainer, and most of your entertainment will come right into your home. It does now, of course, but by 2040 “entertainment” will mean much more. For one thing, you will be able to take part actively, rather than just watching.
46. The author intends to tell us that _____.
A. in 2040 we will live without lights and heaters
B. in 2040 we will use much more lights and heaters
C. in 2040 there will be no switches of lights and heaters
D. in 2040 lights and heaters will be on and off automatically
47. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
The sensor is multi-functional.
Without a computer, the sensor cannot do much.
The sensor will detect fire and make an emergency call.
You can be taken for a housebreaker if you tamper with the lock or with a window.
48. According to the author, in 2040, new technology _____.
A. will free us from the keys we use today
B. will turn everything into sensors
C. will make the locks out of date
D. will get rid of all crimes
49. Thanks to computers, in 2040 people _____.
A. will have no entertainment outside
B. will replace TV with computers
C. will be controlled by computers
D. will have more fun at home
50. The best title for the passage might be _____.
A. Sensors and Computers
B. Life at Home in the Year 2040
C. The Development of Science and Technology
D. Lights and Heaters in the Year 2040