As prices and building costs keep rising, the“do-it-yourself”(DIY)trend(趋势)in the U.S. continues to grow.
“We needed furniture(家具)for our living room,” says John Ross,“and we just didn’t have enough money to buy it. So we decided to try making a few tables and chairs.” John got married six months ago, and like many young people these days, they are struggling to make a home at a time when the cost of living is very high. The Rosses took a 2-week course for $280 at a night school. Now they build all their furniture and make repairs around the house.
Jim Hatfield has three boys and his wife died. He has a full time job at home as well as in a shoe making factory. Last month, he received a car repair bill for $420.“I was deeply upset about it. Now I’ve finished a car repair course, I should be able to fix the car by myself.”
John and Jim are not unusual people. Most families in the country are doing everything they can to save money so they can fight the high cost of living. If you
want to become a “do-it-yourselfer”, you can go to DIY classes. And for those who don’t have time to take a course, there are books that tell you how you can do things yourself.We can learn from the text that many married people_________.
| A．find it hard to pay for what they need |
| B．have to learn to make their own furniture |
| C．take DIY courses run by the government |
| D．seldom go to a department store to buy things |
When the writer says that Jim has a full-time job at home, he means Jim_________.
| A．makes shoes in his home |
| B．does extra work at night |
| C．does his own car and home repairs |
| D．keeps house and looks after his children |
Jim Hatfield decided to become a do-it-yourself when__________.
| A．his car repairs cost too much |
| B．the car repair class was not helpful |
| C．he could not possibly do two jobs |
| D．he had to raise the children all by himself |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．The Joy of DIY | B．You Can Do It Too! |
| C．Welcome to Our DIY Course | D．Ross and Hatfield Believers in DIY |
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
In 2007, the first solar electric boat crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Now a Swiss group wants to cover that distance and keep going, circling the globe on nothing but the sun’s power for the first time.
The team of engineers and scientists has started the building of its 98-foot long boat, named Planet Solar, in Kiel Germany. The boat’s power will come from the 5,000 square feet of solar panels（电池板）, about the size of two tennis courts, covering its broad deck. When the sun is shining bright above, they will turn 23 percent of the sun’s rays to energy — six percent more than average solar panels.
Even though batteries aboard Planet Solar can store enough energy to power it through up to three days of cloudy weather, the sailors will try to avoid clouds: constant communication with the French meteorological institute, Meteo France, will help the sailors stay with the sunny course.
The $11.5 million project, which is led by Raphael Domjan, should be ready for its first voyage next summer. The solar electric boat will warm up in European waters, and attempt to deal with traveling around the globe in spring 2011. At a maximum speed of 16 mph, Planet Solar will be the fastest solar electric boat. The team expects to finish the first leg of its journey across the Atlantic in about two weeks, compared to the six months the solar boat took back in 2007.
If sailing by sun becomes practical, it would be a return to the green boating methods of the days of Christopher Columbus. Those long-ago voyages relied only on a different type of renewable energy: wind. And, if wind-powered sails could be combined with solar panels, we might really pick up the boating speed.
57. Which of the following is NOT true about Planet Solar?
A. Its deck is covered by solar panels.
B. It will be the fastest solar electric boat.
C. It is 98-foot long and is to be made in Germany.
D. It can turn 17 percent of the sun’s rays into energy.
58. Planet Solar will be likely to __________ in continuous rainy weather.
A. continue traveling forward
B. ask the local weather station for help
C. stop to wait for the weather to clear up
D. turn to Meteo France for help to choose the sunny course
59. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. Sailing by solar energy has not been widely used in today’s green boating.
B. Planet Solar will be the first boat to circle the globe using solar energy in 2011.
C. The solar panels in Planet Solar can turn more sunlight to energy than average ones.
D. Batteries aboard Planet Solar can be consumed for at most three days of cloudy weather.
60. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Planet Solar uses solar energy all over the world.
B. Planet Solar aims to be the first to circle the globe.
C. Planet Solar collects a different kind of renewable energy.
D. Planet Solar combines traditional methods with modern technology.
Consult the page adapted from an English dictionary and do Questions 53-56.
Important words to learn: E Essential I Improver A Advanced
shoot [ʃu:t]
▲verb (shot, shot) WEAPON→1 E to fire a bullet or an arrow, or to hit, injure or kill a person or animal by firing a bullet or arrow at them: If he’s not armed, don’t shoot. ⊙The kids were shooting arrows at a target.⊙She was shot three times in the head.⊙He has a license to shoot pheasants on the farmer’s land. ⊙A policeman was shot dead in the city centre last night. ⊙ The troops were told to shoot to kill. SPORT→2 A to try to score points for yourself or your team, in sports involving a ball, by kicking, hitting or throwing the ball towards the goal: He shot from the middle of the field and still managed to score. MOVE QUICKLY→3 A to move in a particular direction very quickly and directly: She shot past me several meters before the finishing line. ⊙ He shot out of the office a minute ago ─ I think he was late for a meeting.⊙They were just shooting off to town so we didn’t stop to speak.
shooter ['ʃu:tə] noun[C]He’s thought to be the best shooter in the league.
▲idioms have shot your bolt UK INFORMAL to have already achieved all that you have the power, ability or strength to do and to be unable to do more: He started off the game well but seemed to have shot his bolt by half-time.
• shoot yourself in the foot to do something without intending to which spoils a situation for yourself
• shoot your mouth off INFORMAL to talk too much in a loud and uncontrolled way: It’s just like Richard to go shooting his mouth off about other people’s affairs.
• shoot for the moon US to ask for the best or the most you could hope for: You might as well shoot for the moon and ask for a promotion as well as a raise.
• shoot questions at sb to ask someone a lot of questions very quickly, one after the other: He shot questions at me so quickly that I didn’t even have time to answer.
• shoot the breeze US INFORMAL to talk with someone or a group of people about things which are not important: We sat out on the porch, just shooting the breeze.
▲ phrasal verbs shoot sth down to destroy an aircraft or make an aircraft, bird, etc. fall to the ground by shooting at it: He was killed during the war when his plane was shot down.
shoot sb down to shoot and usually kill someone, showing no sympathy: I saw Tom shoot him down like a dog in the street.
shoot for/at sth US to try to do something: It’s worth taking chances when you’re shooting at a chance of fame and wealth.
shoot out If opposing groups or people armed with guns shoot it out, they shoot at each other until one of the groups or people is dead or defeated.
shoot through AUSTRALIAN INFORMAL to leave a place very quickly, especially in order to avoid having to do something
shoot up INCREASE→INFORMAL to grow in size, or increase in number or level, very quickly: David has really shot up since I saw him last. ⊙Prices shot up by 25%.
▲ noun PLANT→1[C]the first part of a plant to appear above the ground as it develops from a seed, or any new growth on an already existing plant: Two weeks after we’d planted the seeds, little green shoots started to appear. ⊙FIGURATIVE The first green shoots (="hopeful" signs) of economic recovery have started to appear.
FILM→2[C USUALLY SINGULAR] when photographer take a series of photographs, usually of the same person or people in the same place: We did a fashion shoot on the beach, with the girls modeling swimwear. WEAPON→3[C]an occasion on which a group of people go to an area of the countryside to shoot animals
shooting ['ʃu:tiŋ] noun 1 A [U]when bullets are shot from guns or other weapons: We heard some shooting in the night. 2 A [C]when someone is injured or killed by a bullet shot from a gun: There have been a number of shootings in the capital this week. 3[U]the sport of shooting animals or birds: pleasant/grouse shooting ⊙ He goes shooting most weekends.What does the phrase “green shoots” mean in “You will be bound to see that the green shoots of your English level start to grow.”?
| A．Great efforts. | B．Signs of improving. |
| C．Learning ability. | D．Change in method. |
Fill in the blank in the sentence “When it is achieved, there will be other plans to _________.”
| A．shoot at | B．shoot up | C．shoot down | D．shoot through |
If you are suffering from the consequence of the plan without full consideration, we say you are __________.
| A．shooting the breeze | B．shooting your mouth off |
| C．shooting yourself in the foot | D．shooting questions at somebody |
Choose a word to complete the sentence “__________ is one of the oldest sport events, which is popular with people both at home and abroad.”
| A．Shooter | B．Shoot | C．Shot | D．Shooting |