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The British last an average of eight minutes and twenty-two seconds before they lose temper, according to new research.
The Internet has increased people’s service demands and it is destroying the classic British characteristic of patience. More than half of the British have admitted they lose their temper quicker than ever before. People have become so used to the speed and convenience of the Internet that more than seven in ten get angry if forced to wait longer than one minute for a web page to download.
Being kept on hold made the British see red more than anything else, with the average person reaching their impatience limit after five minutes and four seconds.
In today’s fast food culture, restaurant rage starts after only eight minutes and thirty-eight seconds, when the average diner will start to wonder whether the meal they have ordered will ever arrive.
People running late to meet a friend should not leave it any longer than ten minutes and one second if they do not want to face their anger.
Finally, when receiving a text or voicemail, be warned that the clock is ticking as the average Englishman expects a response within thirteen minutes and sixteen seconds.
Mark Schmid, of telecom giant TalkTalk, which conducted the research among 2,050 people, said that the speed of the online world is making us less prepared to wait for things to happen in the offline world. “This is causing people to reach the point of impatience earlier than ever before.”
1. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. More than half of the British get angry more easily than before.
B. Waiting for an Internet page to download will make half of the British angry.
C. Any Englishman may last 8 minutes and 22 seconds before they lose temper.
D. Waiting for friends to show up within 10 minutes and 1 second will not be acceptable.
2. The underlined word “rage” in the passage can be replaced by ___________.
A. disappointment B. sadness C. annoyance D. worry
3. According to the passage, the following things may make people impatient EXCEPT ___________.
A. the response to a text massage B. the food service in a restaurant
C. the speed of the Internet D. the business trade
4. The passage is mainly about ___________.
A. how long the British can keep their temper
B. when people lose temper easily
C. what makes the British lose temper quicker
D. why the Internet influences people’s life

第二部分阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
The dog that gave us the most trouble was a beagle (猎兔犬) named Murphy. As far as I’m concerned, the first thing he did wrong was to turn into a beagle. I had seen him bounding around on the other side of a pet-shop window, and I went in and asked the man, “How much is that adorable fox terrier (小猎狗) in the window?” Did he say “That adorable fox terrier is a beagle”? No, he said, “Ten dollars, lady.” Now, I don’t mean to say one word against beagles. They have rights just like other people. But it is a bit of a shock when you bring home a small ball of fluff (绒毛) in a shoebox, and three weeks later it’s as long as the sofa.
Murphy was the first dog I ever trained personally, and I was delighted at the enthusiasm with which he took to the newspaper. It was some time later that we discovered, to our horror, that—like so many dogs—he had grasped the letter but not the spirit of the thing. Until the very end of his days he felt a real sense of duty whenever he saw a newspaper—any newspaper—and it didn’t matter where it was. I can’t bring myself to go into the details, except to mention that we were finally forced to keep all the papers in the bottom of the icebox.
He had another habit that used to leave us open to a certain amount of criticism from our friends. He never climbed up on beds or chairs or sofas. But he always sat on top of the piano. In the beginning we used to try to pull him off. But after a few noisy fights in which he knocked a picture off the wall, scratched the piano, and smashed a lamp, we just gave in—only to discover that he hopped up and down as skillfully as a ballet dancer.
Nowadays if I go anywhere, I just ask if they have a dog. If they do, I say, “Maybe I’d better keep away from it—I have bad allergy.” This sometimes annoys the host. But it works. It really works.
1. The writer uses a hyperbole (夸张) in Paragraph 1 to suggest that the dog grew _____________.
A. surprisingly lovable B. comfortable in the house
C. too fierce to tolerate D. larger than expected
2. Which sentence shows the author’s inability to train Murphy?
A. I had seen him bounding around on the other side of a pet-shop window.
B. We were finally forced to keep all the papers in the bottom of the icebox.
C. He never climbed up on beds or chairs.
D. Nowadays if I go anywhere, I just ask if they have a dog.
3. What can you infer from the second paragraph?
A. The writer tried to train Murphy to fetch newspapers but in vain.
B. Like other dogs, Murphy hated newspapers.
C. Murphy learned to help the writer clean the papers.
D. Murphy liked fetching letters rather than newspapers.
4. Which can be the best title of the passage?
A. Murphy—My Favorite Dog B. Murphy—An Adorable Dog
C. Murphy Gave Me Trouble D. Murphy Turned Into A Beagle

Poverty is not first thing that comes to mind when you think of Japan. After all, there are no children begging on the streets in major cities here. You do not often see Japanese citizens publicly letting out their complaints over the country’s economic decline. But senior government researcher Aya Abe says Japan has the fourth highest rate of child poverty among developed countries.
She says she sees that poverty in schools where students admit to only bathing once a week. Some cannot afford to buy pencils for class.
“They may not be on the streets begging or they may not be turning into criminals, but it’s there. It’s just that we have to open our eyes and see,” Abe said.
Abe owes the increase in child poverty to the country’s changing demographics(人口统计), struggling economy and high social security premiums(保险费). She says fewer people live in three-generation households, where the parents and grandparents work. The number of single mothers has increased. The salary for young fathers has declined with the economic downturn. Social security premiums have increased in the last 20 years, putting families on the edge of poverty.
Abe says studies conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD ) point to rising poverty in Japan before the global economic crises in 2008. But the Japanese government and the public refused to acknowledge it until then partly because of the shame associated with poverty.
“It was very unpopular for Japanese media to say anything about Japanese poverty,” said Abe. “Even though OECD Japan announced it in Japanese, Japanese media didn’t make it into the articles.”
Abe says new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has taken one important step to help alleviate (缓解) the problem. Next year, his Democratic Party of Japan plans to double monthly child care allowances given to families.
But Abe wants the government to expand its financial help even more. She wants it to simplify the process to apply for public assistance and provide educational grants for students struggling to pay for tuition at high schools and colleges. The country now only offers loans.
Abe also says the government must act quickly because she says the problem will only get worse in the next few years.
1. The passage is intended to _________.
A. report the result of the studies conducted by OECD
B. tell us about the increase in Japanese child poverty
C. prove that Japan is no longer a developed country
D. introduce Aya Abe, a senior government researcher
2. It seems to be hard to associate Japan with poverty because _______.
A. no children are seen begging in the streets of main cities in Japan
B. its citizens never complain about the country’s economic decline
C. it is one of the few wealthiest countries in the world
D. its government and public refused to acknowledge it
3. According to Abe, several things contribute to the rising child poverty except________.
A. high social security premiums
B. the increase of the number of single mothers
C. the decrease of the salary for young fathers
D. the expansion of three-generation households
4. Why was it unpopular for Japanese media to say anything about Japanese poverty?
A. The Japanese public didn’t think it true.
B. It was forbidden by the Japanese government.
C. The Japanese public regarded it shameful to be poor.
D. OECD Japan had already announced it in Japanese.
5. Which of the following is NOT the author’s suggestion for alleviating this problem?
A. Doubling monthly child care allowances given to families.
B. Expanding government’s financial help even more.
C. Providing educational grants for poor students.
D. Simplifying the process to apply for public assistance.

My newly-rented small apartment was far away from the centre of London and it was becoming essential for me to find a job, so finally I spent a whole morning getting to town and putting my name down to be considered by London Transport for a job on the underground. They were looking for guards, not drivers. This suited me. I couldn’t drive a car but thought that I could probably guard a train, and perhaps continue to write my poems between stations. The writers Keats and Chekhov had been doctors. T.S. Eliot had worked in a bank and Wallace Stevens for an insurance company. I’d be a subway guard. I could see myself as being cheerful, useful, a good man in a crisis. Therefore, obviously I’d be more than qualified for it. But I was willing to forget about that in return for a steady income and travel privileges—those being particularly welcome to someone living a long way from the city centre.
The next day I sat down with almost a hundred other candidates, for the intelligence test. I must have done all right because after about half an hour’s wait I was sent into another room for a psychological test. This time there were only about fifty candidates. The interviewer sat at a desk. Candidates were signaled forward to occupy the seat opposite him when the previous occupant had been dismissed, after a longer or shorter time. It was obvious that the long interviews were the more successful ones. Some of the interviews were as short as five minutes. Mine was the only one that lasted a minute and a half.
I can remember the questions now: “Why did you leave your last job?” “Why did you leave your job before that?” “And the one before that?” I can’t recall my answers, except that they were short at first and grew progressively shorter. His closing statement, I thought, revealed (揭示) a lack of sensitivity which might explain why as a psychologist, he had risen no higher than the underground railway. “You’ve failed the psychological test and we are unable to offer you a position.”
Failing to get that job was my low point. I thought that the work was easy. Actually, such jobs — being a postman is another one I still desire — demand exactly the sort of elementary yet responsible awareness that a poet is least qualified to have. But I was still far short of full self-understanding and I was also short of cash.
1. The writer applied for the job chiefly because _________.
A．he wanted to work in the centre of London
B．he could no longer afford to live without a job
C．he was not interested in any other available job
D．he had received some suitable training
2. The writer thought he was overqualified for the job because _________.
A．he often traveled underground B．he had written many poems
C．he could deal with difficult situations D．he had worked in a company once
3．The length of his interview meant that _________.
A．he was not going to be offered the job
B．he had not done well in the intelligence test
C．he did not like the interviewer at all
D．he had little work experience to talk about
4．What’s the writer’s opinion of the psychologist according to the underlined sentence?
A. He was very unsympathetic.. B. He was unhappy with his job.
C. He was quite inefficient. D. He was rather aggressive
5．What did the writer realize after the interview according to the last paragraph?
A．How unpleasant ordinary jobs could be. B．How difficult it was to be a poet.
C．How unsuitable he was for the job. D．How badly he did in the interview.

PART THREE: READING COMPREHENSION
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.
A
“San Francisco, open your Golden Gate, ”sang the girl in the theatre. She never finished her song. The date was 18th, 1906.
The earth shook and the roof suddenly divided, buildings crashed to the ground and people rushed out into the streets. The dreadful earthquake destroyed the city that had grown up when men discovered gold in the deserts of California. But today the streets of San-Francisco stretch over more than 40 steep hills, rising like huge cliffs above the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean.
The best way to see this splendid city, where Spanish were the first to make their homes, is to take one of the old cable cars which run along the nine main avenues. Fares are cheap; they have not risen for almost a hundred years.
You leave the palm trees in Union Square------the heart of San-Francisco and from the shop signs and the faces around you, you will notice that in the city live people from many nations—Austrians, Italians, Chinese, and others, giving every part of the city a special character. More Chinese live in China Town than in any other part of the world outside China. Here, with Chinese restaurants, Chinese post-boxes, and even odd telephone-boxes that look like pagoda(宝塔), it is easy to feel you are in China itself.
Fisherman’s Wharf, a place all foreigners want to see, is the end of the ride. You get out, and then set out to find a table in one of gay little restaurants beside the harbor. As you enjoy the fresh Pacific sea food, you can admire the bright red paint of the Golden Gate Bridge in the harbor and watch the traffic crossing beneath the tall towers on its way to the pretty village of Tiberon. When you finish your meal, you may decide to take a boat-trip around the bay to look at the sights. You can stare at the famous , now empty, prison of Alcatraz. Then why not go to the fishing village of Sansalito—a little like London’s Chelsea or New York’s Greenwich Village—to see people painting and to look at their pictures. You will be able to enjoy a view of the city from the sea and take pleasure in the soft red and blue Spanish-type houses shining in the bright Pacific light. If you have time you might like to go by bus to Carmel, a hundred miles south of San-Francisco, where you will discover a wild and wonderful coast with high cliffs.
1. The first two paragraphs tell the readers that________.
A. everybody will be attracted by the beauty of San-Francisco.
B. this fantastic modern travel city was built by many hard-working people.
C. San-Francisco has experienced so much before it became a modern international city.
D. There are so many entertainments in attractive San-Francisco
2. How many means of transportation are suggested in the passage?
A. OneB. Two C. Three D. Four
3.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. The origin city of San-Francisco is created by Spanish people.
B. More Chinese live in San-Francisco than in any other part of the world outside China.
C. Alcatraz used to be a prison but now is deserted.
D. San-Francisco lies near the blue waters of the Pacific.
4.Which is the right order of the travel route given in the passage?
A. Union Square—Fisherman’s Wharf—the Golden Gate Bridge—Tiberon—prison of Alcatraz—Sanalito.
B. Union Square—the Golden Gate Bridge—Tiberon--prison of Alcatraz—Sanalito--Fisherman’s Wharf.
C. Union Square—Fisherman’s Wharf—the Golden Gate Bridge—Tiberon--Chelsea—Greenwich Village.
D.Union Square—the Golden Gate Bridge—Tiberon—Chelsea—Greenwich Village—Fisherman’s Wharf.
5.Which of the following can be the best title?
A. San-Francisco—a prosperous city after the earthquake.
B. San-Francisco—a charming travel city of America.
C. San-Francisco—a city to open her Golden Gate.
D. San-Francisco—a harbor stretching over steep hills.

A．educate the public	B．change people’s status
C．discuss a problem	D．sell products or services

A．By summing up.	B．By giving examples.
C．By comparison.	D．By asking questions.