Emilio and Michi spread the colorful tablecloth on the table. They made room for Drew, who was carrying a dish. “Watch out,” Drew warned. “This is pretty hot.”
A moment later, Kent and Alyssa added another hot dish to the table. “That smells so good!” said Michi. “Are most of the parents here yet? I’m hungry.”
Kent looked through the doors that led into the hallway. “I think Ms. Milano and Mr.Hasselbach just finished giving them the garden touring. They should be heading into the cafeteria next.”
The students of Jefferson Middle School in Saint Louis, US had spent all afternoon preparing for the evening meal. They did their best to transform the lunchroom into a beautiful dining area for their families.
As the families found their seats, Ms. Milano asked Drew, Emilio, and Michi to join her at the front of the room. She said, “I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate Drew, Emilio and Michi for their wonderful idea. A year ago, they first came to me with the plan for starting a garden at Jefferson. I wondered whether it would work, but they had thought through everything. Any time I had a question about how we would make this work, they had an answer prepared. As you can see, they were absolutely correct. About three-quarters of the food you will be enjoying came from the school garden. The students prepared the entire meal themselves.”
Ms. Milano handed Drew, Michi and Emilio a box each. They opened their box as Ms. Milano continued. “As a thank-you to these students for their creative idea and hard work, they have each received a stepping stone(垫脚石)for the garden. Their names and date appear on the stones.”
She turned to them. “Students for years to come will be enjoying the garden that you helped create,” she said. “We thought it would be appropriate for them to have a reminder of our garden’s founders.”
They held up their stepping stones and smiled as the crowd clapped. “And now,” said Ms Milano, “please help yourself to some of the mouthwatering food our young chefs have prepared. Dinner is served!”What does the underlined word “them” in paragraph 3 refer to?
| A．The students’ parents. | B．New students. | C．Teachers. | D．The school chefs. |
According to the text, the food served on the table
| A．was served as a lunch |
| B．was cooked by the students |
| C．was prepared to thank the kids |
| D．was entirely from the school garden |
What was Ms. Milano’s original attitude toward starting a garden at school?
| A．She was doubtful about it |
| B．She felt it was worth a try |
| C．she was strongly against it |
| D．She thought it a wonderful idea. |
Why did Ms. Milano give stepping stones to Drew, Michi , and Emilio?
| A．They have good cooking skills. |
| B．They are the best students of the school. |
| C．They have made the school more beautiful. |
| D．They are the founders of the school garden. |
What would be the best title of the text?
| A．A school garden | B．Garden chefs | C．Creative students | D．A delicious meal |
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The first MP4 player was born years ago. Soon many music fans were wondering how fantastic it is! If you have been into technology enough, perhaps you may have a knowledge of the MP4. If not, you do need to know something before buying one, even if you are familiar with MP3. MP3 is the CD-like disc with greater capacity. How about MP4? This small digital product will really enrich the joy from listening to music. You can even feel the “touch” of music to your soul!
Now, some similar digital products advertised as “MP4 players” are simply MP3 players, which do not play video and MPEG format (格式) and also lack other particular functions. These products confuse some buyers, as they may think the “MP4” players simply mean they can do more than MP3.
What is MP4?!
It is a multimedia container. It is not only used to store digital audio (音频) and digital video streams, especially those of MPEG, but can also be used to store other data such as subtitles (字幕) and pictures. As a most modern container format, it allows streaming over the Internet.
With the help of a piece of MP4 video equipment, you can change various programs such as MPEG to MP4, ASX to MP4, AVI to MP4 and so on, which can be done very quickly and easily without any effect on the sound quality. By installing (安装) DVD-MP4 software, you can transfer particular music from a DVD to an MP4 video file. It really excites your listening music experience.
Then, there is MP4 advanced and you can set your own collection of all the programs — TV shows, games, and music. You can even see movies which are still running in cinemas. What else digital product could you possibly ask for?
57. It is suggested here that you should ________ before buying an MP4 player
A. first be a music fan B. have a knowledge of MP4
C. get familiar with MP3 D. buy a CD-like disc
58. From the passage, we can see that MP4 is ________ MP3.
A. much bigger than B. just as advanced as
C. not so particular as D. more functional than
59. Which function of MP4 is NOT directly mentioned in this passage?
A. Storing digital audio and video streams. B. Recording some movies in cinemas.
C. Playing TV shows, games and movies. D. Transferring particular music from a DVD.
60. From the last sentence, it’s clear that the writer tries to tell us it is _______.
A. reasonable to buy other digital products B. impossible to buy something else
C. a very wise choice to buy an MP4 D. an exciting experience to buy an MP3
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Sadness is unpleasant, and in a society where personal happiness is prized above all else, there is little tolerance for falling in despair. Especially now we’ve got drugs for getting rid of sad feelings — whether it’s after losing a job, the break-up of a relationship or the death of a loved one. So it’s no surprise that more and more people are taking them.
But is this really such a good idea? A growing number of voices from the world of mental health research are saying it isn’t. They fear that the increasing tendency to treat normal sadness as a disease is playing fast and loose (行为轻率). Sadness, they argue, serves a useful purpose—and if we lose it, we lose out. Yet many psychiatrists (精神病医生) insist not. Sadness has a nasty habit of turning into depression(抑郁), they warn. Even when people are sad for good reason, they should take drugs to make themselves feel better.
So who is right? Is sadness something we cannot live without or something horrible never to touch?
There are lots of ideas about why feeling sad should become part of human life. It may be a self-protection strategy, as other primates (灵长类) also show signs of sadness. A losing monkey that doesn’t show sadness after it loses a fight may be seen as continuing to challenge the winning monkey — and that could result in death.
In humans sadness has a further function: we may display sadness as a form of communication. By acting sad, we tell other community members that we need support.
Then there is the idea that creativity is connected to dark moods. There are plenty of great artists, writers and musicians who have suffered from depression or disorder. Scientists found that people with signs of depression performed better at a creative task, and negative moods make people think deeply over the unhappy experience, which allows creative processes to come to the front. There is also evidence that too much happiness can be bad for your career. A doctor found that people who scored 8 out of 10 on a happiness test were more successful in income and education than 9s or 10s. The happiest people lose their willingness to make changes to their lives that may benefit them.
53. The underlined word “this ” refers to ________.
A. taking medicine B. falling in despair C. losing a job D. feeling sad
54. The author believes sadness is ________.
A. a good thing for people’s health B. something horrible never to touch
C. a necessary function of humans’ D. always to be treated as depression
55. Some animals show their sadness in order to ________.
A. cheat their enemy B. protect themselves
C. comfort the loser D. challenge the winner
56. We can infer from the last paragraph that ________.
A. people with great creativity tend to be happier
B. unhappy experiences contribute to a greater career
C. too much happiness can be bad for your career
D. the happiest people are the most successful ones
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Hoorah！I have escaped the Czech (捷克) Republic! I am now wearing light clothing and sunglasses, although the latter are superfluous today, as it is cool and overcast with cloud and it has rained slightly.
The city of Qatar (卡塔尔) is flat and sandy with few trees — mostly palms. You can see construction everywhere, new streets with hotels and apartment blocks in Venice theme. It’s a mix of super modern and traditional building styles. Everything looks new including the vehicles. There are many huge roundabouts; no traffic rules or at least no one obeys any. The huge 4-storey shopping mall in fantastic style has an ice rink (溜冰场) on the ground floor. Thousands of people walk round the waterfront after dark.
Qataris are very religious and there are calls to prayers regularly. Qatari men are dressed in all sorts of traditional clothing plus western dresses. You can easily find imported labour from South Asian countries, poorly paid and discriminated against. I am told that Qataris don’t hide their racist attitudes.
Women are always wonderful sights. Some are in all sorts of black clothing with face uncovered; some totally enveloped; lots wearing western dresses. Best sight so far: a woman in a mall completely wrapped in black including gloves, not even an eye shown — wearing glasses on the outside of her veil (面纱), using a cell phone while fingering a dress.
I am living with my employers — a New Zealand couple, and another teacher named Wayne, all about my age. We share one apartment. I have a large room with a bathroom attached: it is a little run-down but very comfortable. The only rather annoying thing is that I have to use the laptop on my bed as there is no desk and chair in here. As soon as it is clear that I will be staying I will make a change to all this. I haven’t lived with other people for many years and have been used to living alone so it will be interesting to see how this works.
49. The best title for this passage is ________.
A. The New Life with My EmployersB. General Observation of Qataris
C. My Adventure in the Czech RepublicD. My First Impressions of Qatar
50. The underlined part in paragraph one can be explained as ________.
A. it will be a fine day laterB. light clothing is helpless with cold
C. sunglasses appear fantasticD. sunglasses become unnecessary
51. In the author’s eyes, Qatar is a ________.
A. rich western industrialized country B. backward agricultural country
C. modern society with religious tradition D. nation closed to the outside world
52. It is true that the author is ________.
A. pleased with her present living condition B. missing her days in the Czech Republic
C. not certain how long she will be staying D. worried about her relation with her boss
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When we think of leadership, we often think of strength and power. But what are these really, and how do they operate?
Leadership today is not about forcing others to do things. Even if this is possible, it is short-term, and tends to produce unexpected and unwanted result. If you order someone to do something against their will, they may do it because they feel they have to, but the anger they feel will do more harm in the long-term. They will also experience fear.
Fear causes the thinking brain to shut down, making the person unable to function at his or her best. If they connect you with this emotion of fear, they will become less functional around you, and you will have succeeded in not only shooting yourself in the foot, but possibly making a very good employee or partner unable to perform effectively. Fear does no good to leadership.
The way we influence people in a lasting way is by our own character, and our understanding and use of emotion. We can order someone to do something, which may be part of the work day; or we can employ them at the emotional level, so they become fully devoted to the projects and provide some of their own motivation (动机). Today’s work place is all about relationships.
Anyone works harder in a positive environment in which they’re recognized and valued as a human being as well as a worker. Everyone produces just a bit more for someone they like. Leaders understand the way things work. They know the pay check is not the single most important factor in the work life of most people.
The true strength of leadership is an inner strength that comes from the confidence of emotional intelligence — knowing your own emotions, and how to handle them, and those of others. Developing your emotional intelligence is the single best thing you can do if you want to develop your relationship with people around you, which is the key to the leadership skills.
45. The writer thinks that it is not ________ for us to connect leadership with strength and power.
A. possible B. necessary C. easy D. effective
46. One may NOT be working hard when ________.
A. they’re regarded as human beings B. others like to do more for leaders
C. money is taken as the most important D. leaders understand the way things work
47. From the passage, we can conclude that ______ is the key to making a good leader.
A. developing one’s emotional intelligence B. influencing others in one’s own way
C. producing some unexpected results D. having confidence in one’s ability
48. This passage is most helpful to those who ________.
A. have strength and power B. are going to make a speech
C. would like to be leaders D. are to be excellent employees
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第二部分阅读理解:（共两节, 满分50分）
Ⅲ. 第一节（共20小题; 每小题2分, 满分40分））阅读下列短文, 从每题所给的选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卷上将该选项标号涂黑。
“Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and let him know that you trust him.” These words are from the black American educator, Booker Washington. He was saying that, “If you want people to grow up, you have to stop treating them like children.”
In America, families are close but children are encouraged to be independent, to make their own decisions, even at a very early age. It’s not unusual for a child of seven to be given an allowance (津贴) every week. The child is encouraged to save some of the money but he or she can spend it on whatever they choose, for example, buying clothes, school supplies or CDs. Some teenagers even have their own credit cards! That’s a big responsibility since even adults are tempted to overspend when they have credit.
From an early age, American children are asked for their opinions and they are included in family decision-making. At the dinner table, teenagers will be listened to on any topic, from politics to buying a new family car or where the family will go on vacation. In this way, teenagers are getting practice in becoming individuals: they are learning how to stand on their own two feet.
Many Chinese young people are becoming almost as interested as American teens in searching for independence. They want to express those qualities that make them unique human beings. You can see this in the way they dress, the music they listen to and the friends they choose. “Super Girl” Li Yuchun caught the imagination of Chinese teenagers on the “Super Girl” television contest. She was not the traditional “nice, young Chinese girl”. With her short, spiky hair and boy-like clothes, she was telling everyone that she was different. She had the courage to be her own person and to stand on her own two feet ... and she won!
There is an old saying, “Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him and then choose that way with all his strength.” If you do this, step by step, over a period of time, you may find that you have become the person you always wanted to be.
41. The passage is intended to encourage the youth to ________.
A. save money for useful things B. become independent
C. express their great ambitions D. make important decisions
42. A child of seven is given allowance so that he can ________.
A. be accepted as a popular guy B. learn to decide how to use money
C. overspend money without care D. have school supplies of his own
43. The author implies that many Chinese children ________.
A. are more independent than Americans B. should become interested in America
C. are happy with their present situation D. are not satisfied to be nice, quiet ones
44. The main idea of the last paragraph is ________.
A. that we should do things step by step B. why we should understand our desires
C. what we should plan for our own life D. how we can manage to realize our dream