Ridgewood is a small, quiet town 20 miles from Manhattan. It is a typical suburban town, perfect for raising children away from the fast pace of the city. However, some Ridgewood kids feel as upset as if they were on the city’s busy streets. In addition to hours of homework, Ridgewood’s children are occupied with afterschool activities — from swimming to piano to religious classes.
Out of desperation one day, the town decided to schedule another activity. This one was called “Ridgewood Family Night — Ready, Set, Relax!” Instead of schedules filled with sports, music, or overtime at the office, some of the town’s 25,000 residents decided to take the night off and stay home. For a few months before Family Night, a committee of volunteers worked hard to spread the word. Younger students took “Save the Date for Me” leaflets home to their parents. The mayor issued a statement, and schools and clubs agreed to cancel homework and meetings so families could relax and be together.
The tension between a hope for a more relaxed lifestyle and the knowledge that the benchmark for success has been raised in recent years weighs heavily on the minds of the townspeople. Some parents like to recall a different kind of childhood, one without so many scheduled afterschool activities. However, these same parents feel obliged to make sure their children are prepared to survive in today’s high-pressure work environment. They are afraid that any gap in their children’s physical or intellectual development might mean they won’t be admitted to the “right” universities and won’t succeed in a more and more competitive world.
Nevertheless, it seems that Family Night worked, at least to a point. Cars moved easily around Ridgewood’s normally busy downtown streets, and stores and restaurants saw a drop in business. Some families ate supper together for the first time in months.
Initially, there was great hope of taking back their lives. But sadly, few families believe that one night will change their lives. Many are sure that they will fall back into the habit of over-scheduling their children to be overachieving adults.The writer describes Ridgewood as a town where ________.
| A．residents take little notice of education |
| B．children are stressful and over expected |
| C．parents are concerned about children’s safety |
| D．children lead a life of relaxed, ordinary rhythms |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true about the Family Night?
| A．Schools assigned no homework. |
| B．Fewer people ate in the restaurants. |
| C．The streets were less crowded. |
| D．People enjoyed meeting each other. |
According to the passage, the parents in Ridgewood ________.
| A．have conflicting desires about what experiences to offer their children |
| B．are happy with the lifestyle they have chosen for themselves and the children |
| C．believe that it is their duty to make a change for the stressful life style |
| D．are worried about their children’s lacking of big ambition |
We may get the conclusion from the passage that ________.
| A．the concept of Family Night will become a regular part of life in Ridgewood |
| B．Ridgewood people believe the Family Night will change their way of living |
| C．Family Night is not as popular as people have originally thought |
| D．schools are worried about students being given too much free time |
C
Jenny Bowen, an American living in Beijing, has been selected as the only American to carry the 2008 Beijing Olympic torch on Chinese soil. She and seven other non- Chinese winners were from a pool of 262 applicants from 47 countries.
When Bowen runs with the Olympic torch, she will not only be representing the United States. She will also be representing thousands of Chinese orphans, ABC news said.
Bowen, a mother of two adopted (领养的) Chinese daughters, is executive director of Half the Sky Foundation, an organization which was set up in 1998 and aims to enrich the lives and improve the future for orphaned children in China.
Nearly 10 years later, Bowen and Half the Sky Foundation have touched the lives of over 13,000 children. Half the Sky Foundation is now present in 36 welfare institutions in 28 Chinese cities. About 4,000 children are active in the program, which provides trained staff, educational tools, medical support and love for orphans.
Bowen hopes that running with the Olympic torch will help draw attention to the children in China. She will be among the 19,400 runners who will carry the flame along an 85,000-mile,130-day route across five continents. Beijing organizers say it will be the longest torch relay in the Olympic history.
Like Bowen, the seven other non-Chinese winners, including a German engineer and a Venezuelan designer, live in China. The other countries represented will be the Philippines, Colombia, India, Japan and Russia.
According to Olympic organizers, candidates (候选人) were selected based on their “love of Chinese culture and history” and devotion to “ communicating information about a real China to their native countries.”
Each runner will carry the torch for 200 meters on Chinese soil.
69. Jenny Bowen will represent thousands of Chinese orphans mainly because _______.
A. she is an American orphan who lives in China.
B. she likes Chinese orphans very much.
C. she is director of the Half the Sky Foundation.
D. she has done a lot to the welfare of Chinese orphans.
70. Which of the following statements is false about Jenny Bowen?
A. She has been communicating information about the real China to the USA.
B. She is executive director of Half the Sky Foundation.
C. She loves Chinese culture and history very much.
D. She will carry the flame along an 85,000-mile route.
71. How many factors for selecting a candidate are mentioned in the passage?
A. One B. Two C. Three D. Four
72. What is the passage mainly about ?
A. Jenny Bowen, executive director of Half the Sky Foundation
B. The longest torch relay in the Olympic history.
C. Eight non-Chinese persons to carry the Olympic torch in China.
D. A US woman to carry the Olympic torch in China.
E
Sometime in the next century, the familiar early-newspaper on the front porch(门廊) will disappear. And instead of reading your newspaper, it will read to you. You’ll get up and turn on the computer newspaper just like switching on the TV. An electronic voice will read stories about the latest events, guided by a program that selects the type of news you want. You’ll even get to choose the kind of voice you want to hear. Want more information on this brief story? A simple touch makes the entire text appear. Save it in your own personal computer if you like. These are among the predictions from communication experts working on the newspapers of the future. Pictured as part of broader home-based media and entertainment systems, computer newspapers will unite print and broadcast reporting, and offer news and analysis with video images of news events.
Most of the technology is possible now, but making more people believe that they don’t need to read a newspaper is the next step. But refusing computers may be stronger from within journalism. Since it is such a cultural change, it may be that the present generation of journalists and publishers will have to die off before the next generation realizes that the newspaper industry is no longer a newspaper industry. Technology is making the end of traditional newspapers unavoidable.
Despite technological advances, it could take tens of years to replace newsprint with computer screens. It might take 30 to 40 years to complete the changeover because people need to buy computers and because newspapers have established financial interests in the paper industry.
77. Which of the following is NOT an advantage of computer newspapers?
A. They are cheaper than traditional newspapers.
B. They are more convenient to read.
C. You can choose the kind of voice you want to hear.
D. You can easily save information for future use.
78. Which of the following is a reason why it will take a long time to complete the changeover?
A. The technology is impossible now.
B. Computer newspapers are too expensive.
C. The popularization of computers needs a long time.
D. Traditional newspapers are easier to read.
79. It can be inferred that journalists are against computer newspapers because _________.
A. they don’t know how to use computer
B. they think computer newspapers take too much time to read
C. they think the new technology is bad
D. they have been trained to write for traditional newspapers
80. What is the best title of the passage?
A. Newspapers are out of fashion.
B. Newspapers of the future will be on the computer.
C. New communications technology.
D. Computer newspapers are well liked
B
Football, to me, is more than just a game. I have probably learned more than valuable lessons from it than from school.
When I joined the team freshman year, I didn’t realize what I was getting into. Even though I had been playing since fourth grade and knew it was hard work, nothing would prepare me for the effort I would put into football that year. We worked all summer in the weight room and ran on the track to get in physical and mental shape before the season.
See, football is more of a mental sport than anything else, so running on the track wasn’t only about getting in shape . We would push our minds by running as hard as we could even if we felt like we were going to pass out. At the beginning, I was immature (幼稚的) and only thought of myself, sometimes even giving up when I was tired or hurting. Then after the third game I had a season-ending injury. Imagine working all summer and then only being able to play three games! I needed surgery on my arm and at least five months to recover.
After freshman year I decided that I would always give my best effort. Playing varsity (大学代表队) football has taught me so much more than just what my tasks are on a particular play or how to block. I have learned to think about others first, and realized how important working hard is. Being with all my friends, even sweating and bleeding with them, really made us unite as a group of hard-working young men, who will succeed in life.
65. What is the text mainly about?
A. How the author dislikes the game of football.
B. When the author began to play football.
C. How the author has changed his attitude to football.
D. What sport the author likes best.
66. The author thinks football is ________.
A. just a game B. of a mental sport C. hard to pass out D. not worth his effort
67. From the text we can infer ________.
A. the author joined the football team with a clear aim.
B. football only brought the author certain tasks
C. the author worked all summer to get ready for the season.
D. the author never lost heart when he met with difficulties.
68. In the third paragraph, the phrase “getting in shape” probably means ________.
A. becoming physically fit B. designing the playground
C. losing weight D. measuring the track
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每篇短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
OUR PROMISE
Making your stay a complete success is our goal. Just let our manager on duty of front-desk staff know if any part of your stay isn’t satisfactory. We promise to make it right or you won’t pay for that part of your stay.
FORGET SOMETHING?
If you forget to pack any standard toiletry item(tooth brush, toothpaste, shaving cream, razor or comb), just call the front-desk and we’ll get you a free replacement right away.
PLEASE REUSE THE TOWELS
We invite you to join with us to save water by using your towels more than once.
In addition to decreasing water and energy waste, you can help us reduce the amount of waste water that must be recycled within our community.
Please hang the towels up if you wish to join in the program----if not, simply leave them on the floor.
We appreciate your help!
PLEASE CHANGE THE SHEETS TODAY
The Project Planet Program is an effort of this hotel to protect the environment by saving water and decreasing waste water. If you are staying with us more than one night, as part of the Project Planet Program, we will wash your sheets every three days.
If you would prefer not to join in this program, simply hang this card on the outside of your door and sheets will be changed right away. As always sheets are automatically changed after every guest checks out .
We appreciate your help!
61. We can find this passage in a ________ in a hotel.
A. café bar B. front-desk C. fitness center D. guest room
62.If you forget your comb, you can .
A. buy one in the hotel shop B. replace one with a tooth brush
C. phone the front-desk to get one D. go in person and get one at the front desk
63. Leaving the towels on the floor means that .
A. you want to join in the program B. you want the room-maid to hang it up
C. you need them collected and washed D. you want to use them more than once
64. What is the Project Planes Program trying to do?
A. Make your bed sheets cleaner. B. Work for a better environment.
C. Help guests checking out faster. D. Persuade guests to stay longer.
C
Nate suffered a hard blow when he lost his job. His boss had spoken rudely, “Your services are no longer needed.” Nate left the building filled with despair. By the time he reached home, he was in a deep depression. When he entered his house, he blurted out to his wife Sophia, “I lost my job. I am a complete, absolutely failure.” A tense silence followed. Then a smile crept across Sophia's face. “What great news!” she responded, “Now you can write the book you have always wanted to write.”
“But I have no job and no prospect of a job,” he objected, completely without hope. “If I struggle to be an author, then what will we live on? Where will the money come from?” Sophia took her husband by the hand and led him to the kitchen. Opening a drawer, she took out a box that was full of cash. “Where on earth did you get this?” Nate gasped. “To whom does it belong?”
“It's ours!” Sophia replied. "I always know that one day you would become a great writer only if you were given the chance. From the money you gave me for housekeeping every week, I have saved as much as I could so you would have your chance. Now there is enough to last us a whole year.”
What a surprise! What encouragement! What a wife! The unemployed husband did concentrate on writing that year, and the novel he wrote became a literary masterpiece（杰作）. The book is The Scarlet Letter. Sophia had an even greater achievement, and she turned Nathaniel Hawthorne from a poor clerk into a world famous master.
64. Which of the following can be inferred from the first paragraph?
A. Sophia was very disappointed to hear the news.
B. Nate was too sad to speak any more.
C. Sophia was thinking of how to encourage Nate.
D. Neither husband nor wife had any idea of what to do.
65. Sophia saved money because ____________.
A. she knew her husband would lose his job one day
B. she knew their life would be in difficulty
C. she was very careful with money
D. she was trying to help her husband in every possible way
66. From the passage we can know that Sophia was ___________.
A. kind and brave
B. careful and encouraging
C. friendly and warm-hearted
D. honest and determined
67. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Sophia's Achievement
B. A Great Writer's Struggle to Success
C. Great Encouragement in Hard Times
D. Failure is the Mother of Success