We considered a list of the best American books. Here are five that may help accurately show the national character. Most from a century or so ago, they still entertain, teach, and inspire:
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
First published in 1851, the adventure stories of Captain Ahab and his monomaniacal(偏执的) pursuit of the white whale draw us into a universe full of fascinating characters and stories.
The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams
Published in 1918, the book was an autobiography. Born in one of America’s most famous political families, Adams provides insight into his family, including his experience as private secretary to his father, minister to England during the American Civil war.
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
When Whitman published Leaves of Grass in 1855, he wanted to accurately describe the American experience and reflect the great changes in the American literary world that had taken place during his lifetime.
Poems by Emily Dickinson
An enthusiastic poet whose works have had considerable influence on modern poetry, Dickson’s frequent use of dashes, occasional capitalization(大写) of nouns, and unconventional metaphors(隐喻) have contributed to her reputation as one of the most inventive poets of the 19th century American literature. However, most of her poems were not published during her lifetime.
The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
First published in 1855, this is Longfellow’s most popular and most recognized poem, the heroic life and death of a magic American Indian, sent by the Great Spirit to guide the nations in the ways of peace.Walt Whitman wrote Leaves of Grass in order to _______.
| A．show his talent and heroic life to us |
| B．draw us into a fascinating universe |
| C．provide insight into his family |
| D．reflect the great changes in the American literary world |
If you want to read a story about a magic American Indian, you can read _______.
| A．Moby-Dick | B．The Song of Hiawatha |
| C．Poems | D．Leaves of Grass |
Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Because the five books are from a century or so ago, they can’t teach and inspire us. |
| B．Herman Melville was considered as one of the most inventive poets of the 19th century American literature. |
| C．The Education of Henry Adams is a non-fiction book. |
| D．Of the five books, Moby-Dick was published last. |
Why did the author write the passage?
| A．To introduce several best American books to readers. |
| B．To make an advertisement for a book store. |
| C．To tell stories of several famous writers. |
| D．To talk about some knowledge about literature. |
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An old man walked slowly into the restaurant. With heard tilted , and shoulder bent forward he learned on his trusty stick with esch unhurried step. His torn cloth jacket, patched trousers, worn out shoes, and warm personality made him stand out form the usual Saturday morning breafast crowd. He stopped, turned with his whole boby , and winked(眨眼) at a little girl seated by the door. She flashed a big smile right back at him.
A young waitess named Mary watched him toward a table by the window. She ran over to him, and said, “Here, sir.Let me give you a hand with that chair .” she pulled the chair away from the table. Steadying him with one arm, she helped him in front of the chair ,and get comfortably seated. Then she moved the table up close to him ,and learned his stick against the table where he could reach it .
In a soft ,clear voice he said ,”Thank you. Miss.And bless you for your kind gestures.”
“You’re welcome ,sir.” She replied. “And my name is Mary. I’ll be back in a moment, and if you need anything at all in the mean time,just wave at me!”
After he had finished a big meal, Mary brought him the change. He left it on the table. She helped him and walked with him to the future door. Holding the door open for him,she said,”Come back and see us.Sir!” He turned and nodded a thank---you. “You are kind.”He said softly,smiling.
When Mary went to clean his table. She almost fainted. Under his plate she found a business card, and a note scribbled on a napkin.Under a napkin was a one ----hundred----dollar bill,
The note on the napkin read,” Dear Mary, I respect you very much ,and you respect yourself too. It shows by the way you treat others. You have found the secret of happiness. Your kind gestures will shine through those who meet you.”
The man she had waited on was the owner of t he restaurant where she worked. This was the first time that she, or any of his employees had ever seen him in person.
64.The old man left $100 under the napkin because he_______.
A. wanted to help Mary out
B. Wanted to encourage Mary to do more good deeds
C. thought highly of the tasty meal in the restaurant
D. appreciated Mary’s kindness and work attitude
65. It can be inferred that the old man went to the restauran to________.
A.have a good meal B. enjoy good service
C have an on—site visit D. show his generosity
66. The passage is developed mainly by_________.
A. following the order of space B. following the order of events
C. making comparisons D. providing examples
67. The best title of the passage would be_________.
A. The Secret of Happinese B. Employer and Employee
C Gift from a Businessman D. Good Service in the Restaurant
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Dear Sir ,
I recently found your website of Chinese a very Culture a very good source .I am a professor teaching at Soochow University in Taipei Taiwan , and I would plan to quite often use some articles on your website for my coures of Introduction to Chinese Culture. Therefore, I’d like to inform you of educational purposes and hopefully to have your permission. Meanwhile, I do wish I could have more materials from your service. Much grateful to you.
Yours sincerely,
Byron Gong
Dear Mr. Byron Gong,
It is pleasue to know that our websit has been of help for you to introduce Chinese culture in your class. Sharing the same mission in promoting culture ,we are glad to grant you the permission in using the sourses of our website for your educational purposes, under the condition that all the sources are credited .However ,if the pictures or articles are to be used for publication, you can mail us and further discuss on that.
We are happy to provide you with some furthetr material, but we would like to know what kind of information would be of interest to you.
Thank you again for attention to our website .Any suggestion is welcome ,and we would appreciate your help if you could tell us what contents in our website are of most interest and significate to you and what parts shoud be given more attention.
Sincerely yours
Chinaculture .org
60. What is Mr. Byron Gong doing?
A. He is working for Soochow University in Taipei Taiwan as a cleaner.
B. He is nothing to do with Soochow University.
C. He is a professor teaching at Soochow University.
D. He is searching for some scholars.
61. Why does Mr. Byron Gong write the letter ?
A. He intends to introduce to his students if Chinese Culture is worth learing .
B. He asks for the permission from the website to use the material in his teaching.
C. He expects to be allowed to work in the group in the website.
D,He would like to inforn the website that he hopes to help then introduce Chinese culture.
62.What was the response of the website after they received the letter ?
A The wehsite responed to his letter coldly.
B. The wehsite responed to his letter in a polite and anxious way.
C. The website answered him enthusiasticaly,reasonably and suggestibly.
D. The website answered him eagerly.
63. What can we learn from the response of the website ?
A. They would be grateful to informed what contents are interesting and significant.
B. They wish to learn more about Mr. Byon Gong’s hobbies.
C. They expect to know more about their mistakes in the material.
D. They hope for his appreciation in return for the use of their material.
.
第三部分：阅读理解（共20分，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 D）中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I strongly believe it’s happy to have a day in the year , when we can toghter talk about the progress women have made over the years , although we still have to deal with many more lifestyle pressures compared to men.
For all the fellow sisters who’ve still not figured out the power of being a woman,it’s high time to realize how easy it is for us to brust into tears in public to get the pressure out ,or cry for emotional reasons, or for no specific reason at all. Our tears are at least regared as an outlet for emotional stress ,and not as a sign of weakness . Please allow me to say jokingly here——the tears can best be used as a winning tool in an argumentative——your point will have to be heard and agreed upon!
We are socially acoepted as proud “homemakers”if we choose to live that way . What a relief from the social burden of “earning enough for the family “.
We have the amazing option of wearing make-up. Of course , we are “natural beauties “, but who minds improving those pretty looks ! How easy it is for us to look taller whenever we want to. We can wander in those fashionable dresses and don’t lack choices when it comes to dressing up for parties and weddings .
What an advantage : You can wear his shirts or T-shirts if you want, but poor he can’t even think of feel getting into any of your designer dresses !
You can’t ignore the benefits that may come in your way from men in the name of gentleman’s behavior ! You can feel important every time he opens the car door for you before sitting into the driver/s seat hinself.
If you’re a daddy’s girl , you can comfortably feel most protective . But as to a mamma’s boy , he isn’t easy .
Cheers to the “advantages of womanhood”.
56. The passage is mainly about
A , the difference between being a woman and being a man
B, the disadvantages of being a man
C. the advantages of being a woman .
D. the pressure coming from being a woman.
57. Which of the following is NOT true according to the text ?
A. Like the husband, the wife should also be a breadwinner in a family.
B. Generally speaking, it is acceptable for a woman to make up.
C. It is good manners for a man to open the car door for a lady.
D. People can be dasily touched by women’s tears.
58. The writer implies that women can look taller easily by_____.
A. talking exerciseB.talking some kind of medicine
C. putting on high ---heeled shoes D. going on a diet
59. What tone (口气，语气) does the author use in the passage ?
A. Unpleasant B. Serious. C. Regreful. D, Relaxing .
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Saving the Planet with Earth-Friendly Bamboo Products
Jackie Heinricher’s love with bamboo started in her backyard. “As a child, I remember playing among the golden bamboo my dad had planted, and when there was a slight wind, the bamboos sounded really musical.”
A fishing biologist, Heinricher, 47, planned to work in the industry in Seattle, where she lived with her husband, Guy Thornburgh, but she found it too competitive. Then her garden gave her the idea for a business: She’d planted 20 bamboo forests on their seven-acre farm.
Heinricher started Boo-Shoot Gardens in 1998. She realized early on what is just now beginning to be known to the rest of the world. It can be used to make fishing poles, skateboards, buildings, furniture, floors, and even clothing. An added bonus: Bamboo absorbs four times as much carbon dioxide as a group of hardwood trees and releases 35 percent more oxygen.
First she had to find a way to mass-produce the plants—a tough task, since bamboo flowers create seed only once every 50 to 100 years. And dividing a bamboo plant frequently kills it.
Heinricher appealed to Randy Burr, a tissue culture expert, to help her. “People kept telling us we’d never figure it out,” says Heinricher. “Others had worked on it for 27 years! I believed in what we were doing, though, so I just kept going.”
She was right to feel a sense of urgency. Bamboo forests are being rapidly used up, and a United Nations report showed that even though bamboo is highly renewable, as many as half of the world’s species are threatened with dying out. Heinricher knew that bamboo could make a significant impact on carbon emissions (排放) and world economies, but only if huge numbers could be produced. And that’s just what she and Burr figured out after nine years of experiments—a way to grow millions of plants. By placing cuttings in test tubes with salts, vitamins, plant hormones, and seaweed gel, they got the plants to grow and then raised them in soil in greenhouses.
Not long after it, Burr’s lab hit financial difficulties. Heinricher had no experience running a tissue culture operation, but she wasn’t prepared to quit. So she bought the lab.
Today Heinricher heads up a profitable multimillion-dollar company, working on species from all over the world and selling them to wholesalers. “If you want to farm bamboo, it’s hard to do without the young plants, and that’s what we have,” she says proudly.
72. What was the main problem with planting bamboo widely?
A. They didn’t have enough young bamboo.
B. They were short of money and experience.
C. They didn’t have a big enough farm to do it.
D. They were not understood by other people.
73. What does Heinricher think of bamboo?
A. Renewable and acceptable B. Productive and flexible.
C. Useful and earth-friendly. D. Strong and profitable.
74. The underlined word “renewable” in Paragraph 6 probably means “________”.
A. able to be replaced naturally B. able to be raised difficultly
C. able to be shaped easily D. able to be recycled conveniently
75. What do you learn from the passage?
A. Heinricher’s love for bamboo led to her experiments in the lab.
B. Heinricher’s determination helped her to succeed in her work.
C. Heinricher struggled to prevent bamboo from disappearing.
D. Heinricher finally succeeded in realizing her childhood dream.
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A device that stops drivers from falling asleep at the wheel is about to undergo(接受) testing at Department of Transport laboratories and could go on sale within 12 months.
The system, called driver Alert, aims to reduce deadly road accidents by 20%--40% that are caused by tiredness. Airline pilots can also use it to reduce the 30% of all pilot-error accidents that are related to tiredness.
Driver Alert is based on a computerized wristband. The device, worn by drivers or pilots gives out a sound about every four minutes during a car journey. After each sound the driver must respond by pressing the steering wheel. A sensor in the wristband detects this pressing action and measures the time between the sound and the driver’s response.
Tiredness is directly related to a driver’s response time. Usually, a watchful driver would take about 400 milliseconds to respond, but once that falls to more than 500 milliseconds, it suggests that the driver is getting sleepy.
In such cases the device gives out more regular and louder sounds, showing that the driver should open a window or stop for a rest. If the driver’s response continues to slow down, the sounds become more frequent until a nonstop alarm warns that the driver must stop as soon as possible.
The device has been delivered to the department’s laboratories for testing. If these tests, scheduled for six months’ time, are successful, the makers will bring the product to market within about a year.
68. How should a driver respond to the sounds from Driver Alert?
A. By sounding a warning. B. By touching the wristband.
C. By checking the driving time. D. By pressing the steering wheel.
69. We can learn from the text that the driver needs to stop for a break when his response time is ________
A. about 400 milliseconds B. below 500 milliseconds
C. over 500 milliseconds D. about 4 minutes
70. When the driver gets sleepy while driving, Driver Alert ______.
A. moves more regularly B. stops working properly
C. opens the window for the driver D. sounds more frequently and loudly
71. According to the text, Driver Alert ______.
A. aims to reduce tiredness-related accidents
B. has gone through testing at laboratories
C. aims to prevent drivers from sleeping
D. has been on sale for 12 months