Linda Evans was my best friend—like the sister I never had. We did everything together: piano lessons, movies, swimming, horseback riding.
When I was 13, my family moved away. Linda and I kept in touch through letters, and we saw each other on special time—like my wedding (婚礼) and Linda’s. Soon we were busy with children and moving to new homes, and we wrote less often. One day a card that I sent came back, stamped “Address (地址) Unknown. ” I had no idea how to find Linda.
Over the years, I missed Linda very much. I wanted to share (分享) happiness of my children and then grandchildren. And I needed to share my sadness when my brother and then mother died. There was an empty place in my heart that only a friend like Linda could fill.
One day I was reading a newspaper when I noticed a photo of a young woman who looked very much like Linda and whose last name was Wagman — Linda’s married name. “There must be thousands of Wagmans,” I thought, but I still wrote to her.
She called as soon as she got my letter. “Mrs Tobin!” she said excitedly, “Linda Evans Wagman is my mother. ”
Minutes later I heard a voice that I knew very much, even after 40 years, laughed and cried and caught up on each other’s lives. Now the empty place in my heart is filled. And there’s one thing that Linda and I know for sure: We won’t lose each other again!The writer went to piano lessons with Linda Evans _______.
| A．at the age of 13 | B．before she got married |
| C．after they moved to new homes | D．before the writer’s family moved away |
They didn’t often write to each other because they _______.
| A．got married | B．had little time to do so |
| C．didn’t like writing letters | D．could see each other on special time |
There was an empty place in the writer’s heart because she _______.
| A．was in trouble |
| B．didn’t know Linda’s address |
| C．received the card that she sent |
| D．didn’t have a friend like Linda to share her happiness or sadness |
They haven’t kept in touch _______.
| A．for about 40 years | B．for about 27 years |
| C．since they got married | D．since the writer’s family moved away |
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2题，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。
Who says Americans worship the almighty dollar? It’s not true．Having enough free time is more important to most Americans than being rich, according to a new poll．
Only 13 percent of more than 2,400 people questioned in the telephone poll ranked being wealthy as most important to them, while 67 percent ranked free time as their top priority, higher than having a successful career, getting married, and having children．"Everyone wants free time to do the things they want to do, young, middle-aged or old," said Richard Morin, of the Pew Social & Demographic Trends Project, which conducted the survey．"So our desire to play unites us．"
The poll also showed that people who were university educated valued career success over wealth, as middle-aged people did．Not surprisingly, those who didn't have money, ranked wealth very highly．This included minorities, first generation Americans and less educated people．The survey also revealed that a disproportionate （不成比例的） number of people under the age of 30 and retirees in the group made $ 20,000 or less a year．But the emphasis on wealth lessens with age, with younger people putting value on it but hardly any seniors．"It just diminishes with time as the reality sets in that you would never be rich," Morin said．"But also, the reality sets in that you don't have to be rich to lead a very comfortable and fulfilling life．"
While wealth was not at the top of people' s list of priorities, 43 percent still said it was somewhat important．
56．The poll showed that the majority of American people ranked ____ as the most important．
A．wealth B．a successful career
C．marriage D．free time
57．Who cares least for wealth, according to the passage?
A．Young people． B．Middle-aged people．
C．Old people． D．Well-educated people．
58．The underlined word "diminishes" in the third paragraph probably means "____"．
A．to increase B．to decrease C．to change D．to stay
Prince Charles yesterday promised to reduce the royal impact on the environment through sweeping changes to his personal lifestyle and official schedule．The prince will replace carbon-heavy private jets and helicopters with scheduled flights and train services．
The move came as Prince Charles urged business leaders to publish the environmental pact of their activities．
He said, “Few accountants and business decision-makers ask, ‘How much of our critical natural resource is left? How many miles of polar ice cap has our business helped melt this year? By how many inches have we raised sea levels? How many species have we put at risk? How many homes will be flooded, how many people will die of thirst or starvation because of our activities? ’ These are not comfortable questions, but, by God, they need to be asked．”
He added, “At the moment these costs do not appear in anyone’s books… Yet they are real, they are incurred now and in a relatively short time, the damage being caused may be beyond remedy．” He said the world was “running up the biggest global credit card debt in history, but with little or no thought for how the bill will ever be paid”．
Flanked by the prime minister and business and community leaders at St James’ Palace, the prince said his new “accounting for sustainability” project would give consumers the power to choose products that caused less damage to the planet．
Duchy Originals, the prince’s food company, is taking steps to work out how much carbon dioxide and other green-house gas are emitted in growing, processing and distributing its products．The changes to the prince’s travel arrangements announced yesterday are part of a wider review of the carbon footprint associated with activities at all three of his residences．Clarence House in London, Highgrove and Birkhall on the Balmorals estate（庄园）, as well as the activities of his 21 personal and 105 full-time staff．Measures include a review of electricity use, commuter and other staff travel and are intended to identify further reductions in carbon dioxide emissions．The review will report in June , when Clarence House will announce annual targets to reduce carbon emission．
71．One of the moves Prince Charles will take to reduce the royal impact on the environment is ______．
A．taking private jets that are not carbon-heavy
B．taking helicopters instead of private jets
C．taking trains instead of scheduled flights
D．taking scheduled flights instead of helicopters
72．How does Prince Charles feel about business leaders in terms of environmental protection?
A．Dissatisfied． B．Disappointed． C．Doubtful． D．Impatient．
73．In response to Prince Charles’ calls, Duchy Originals will ______．
A．make as much green food as possible
B．cut down its cost
C．figure out its greenhouse gas emission
D．continue its greenhouse gas emission
74．The underlined phrase in paragraph 4 probably refers to ______．
A．the great amount of waste produced by industry
B．the great damage caused to the environment
C．the great amount of debts of the royal family
D．the high cost of industry in their producing process
75．What would be the best title for the passage?
A．Prince Charles promised Greener Royal Lifestyle
B．Better Late than Never
C．Prince Charles and His Concern for Environment
D．The Royal Family Has a Role to Play in Environment Protection
The meaning of the word “volunteer” may be a little different in different countries, but it usually means “one who offers his or her services．” There are many different ways in which people can volunteer, such as taking care of sick people, working in homes for homeless children, and picking up garbage from beaches and parks．Volunteers may work within their own countries or in other countries．They are often people with a strong wish to help those who are less fortunate than themselves．Volunteers don’t expect any kind of pay．
At the root of volunteering is the idea that one person may have the ability to offer services that can help other people．Tracy, a good friend of mine, however, recently came back from India with a new idea of what being a volunteer means．She worked for two and a half weeks in one of Mother Teresa’s homes in Calcutta．The following is her story．
“I first heard about Mother Teresa in my high school．We watched a video about her work in India and all over the world．I was so moved by her spirit to help others and her endless love for every human being that after I graduated from high school, I too wanted to try her kind of work．So with two friends I flew to Calcutta for a few weeks．”
“I was asked to work in a home for sick people．I helped wash clothes and sheets, and pass out lunch．I also fed the people who were too weak to feed themselves and tried to cheer them up．I felt it was better to share with them than to think that I have helped them．To be honest, I don’t think I was helping very much．It was then that I realized that I had not really come to help, but to learn about and experience another culture that helped improve my own understanding of life and the world．”
66．According to the text, a volunteer refers to a person who ______．
A．is willing to help those in need without pay
B．can afford to travel to different places
C．has a strong wish to be successful
D．has made a big fortune in life
67．Tracy started her work as a volunteer _______．
A．after she met Mother Teresa
B．after she finished high school
C．when she was touring Calcutta
D．when she was working in a hospital
68．Why did Tracy choose to be a volunteer?
A．She liked to work with Mother Teresa．
B．She had already had some experience．
C．She was asked by Mother Teresa’s example．
D．She wanted to follow Mother Teresa’s example．
69．What is Tracy’s “new idea” （Paragraph 2） of being a volunteer?
A．Going abroad to help the sick．
B．Working in Mother Teresa’s home．
C．Doing simple things to help the poor．
D．Improving oneself through helping others．
70．What is the best title for the passage?
A．How To Be A Volunteer． B．Voluntary Life In India．
C．A Different Meaning Of Volunteer． D．Inspiration From Mother Teresa．
Runners in a relay（接力） race pass a stick in one direction．However, merchants passed silk, gold, fruit, and glass along the Silk Road in more than one direction．They earned their living by traveling the famous Silk Road．
The Silk Road was not a simple trading network．It passed through thousands of cities and towns．It started from eastern China, across Central Asia and the Middle East, and ended in the Mediterranean Sea．It was used from about 200 B．C．to about 1300 A．D．, when sea travel offered new routes（路线）．It was sometimes called the world’s longest highway．However, the Silk Road was made up of many routes, not one smooth path．They passed through what are now 18 countries．The routes crossed mountains and deserts and had many dangers of hot sun, deep snow and even battles．Only experienced traders could return safe．
The Silk Road got its name from its most prized product．Silk could be used like money to pay taxes or buy goods．But the traders carried more than just silk．Gold, silver, and glass from Europe were much found in the Middle East and Asia．Horses traded from other areas changed farming practices in China．Indian merchants traded salt and other valuable goods．Chinese merchants traded paper, which produced an immediate effect on the West．Apples traveled from central Asia to Rome．The Chinese had learned to graft（嫁接） different trees together to make new kinds of fruit．They passed this science on to others, including the Romans．The Romans used grafting to grow the apple．Trading along the Silk Road led to world-wide business 2,000 years before the World Wide Web．
The people along the Silk Road did not share just goods．They also shared their beliefs．The Silk Road provided pathways for learning, diplomacy（外交）, and religion （宗教）．
61．It’s probable that traders along the Silk Road needed．
A．to remember the entire trade route B．to know the making of products
C．to receive certain special training D．to deal with a lot of difficulties
62．The Silk Road became less important because．
A．it was made up of different routes B．silk trading became less popular
C．sea travel provided easier routes D．people needed fewer foreign goods
63．What does the underlined part in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A．Silk． B．A trading network．
C．The world’s longest highway． D．Goods．
64．New technologies could travel along the Silk Road because people．
A．learned from one another B．shared each other’s beliefs
C．traded goods along the route D．earned their living by traveling
65．What is the best title for the passage?
A．The Silk Road: Past and Present B．The Silk Road: East Meets West
C．The Silk Road: Routes Full of Dangers D．The Silk Road: Pathways for Learning
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，共40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Did you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? The average women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s．Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent（聪明的） than women．Right? Wrong．Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size．Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain．The brain consists of “grey matter” and “white matter”．While men have more of the latter, the amount of “thinking” brain is almost exactly the same in both sexes．
It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women．This means that little girls tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources at the same time．When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time．
There are other important differences between two sexes．As white matter is the key to spatial（空间的） tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things．“A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher．That may explain one of life’s great mysteries: why men refuse to ask for directions…and women often need to!
The differences begin when fetuses（胎儿） are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children as young as one．A boy would try to climb a barrier （障碍物） before him or push it down while a girl would attract help from others．These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills．It may all go back to our ancestors（祖先）, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research．
If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t．“The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it．” says a biologist．
56．The passage mainly tells us ________．
A．the difference between men’s and women’s brains
B．the changes in brain throughout our lives
C．that men are better at spatial tasks
D．that brain differences are related to our ancestors
57．Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph?
A．Women’s brain is 10% less than men’s
B．Grey matter plays the same role as white matter．
C．Grey matter controls thinking in the brain．
D．Both sexes have the same amount of white matter．
58．What can we infer from the second and third paragraphs?
A．Women prefer doing many things at a time．
B．Men do better dealing with one job at a time．
C．Women do not need to tell directions．
D．Men have weaker spatial abilities．
59．Which of the following do you agree with according to the fourth paragraph?
A．Young boys may be stronger than young girls．
B．More women take up jobs requiring speech skills
C．Women may have stronger feelings than men．
D．Our ancestors needed more spatial skills．
60．What is the writer’s attitude in writing this passage?
A．Defensive． B．Persuasive． C．Supportive． D．Objective．