As the old saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But Venezuela, whose beauty queens have won Miss Universe and Miss World over six times, doesn’t leave it to chance. In Venezuela, girls as young as four can be found attending beauty schools, where they can learn a range of skills from how to walk to the correct way to hold a wine glass.
“Hair must always be completely clean, make-up should look natural, and you should always, always wear high-heels,” advises Andrea Reyes, a teacher in a school of Caracas with 160 students.
Beauty contests are treated in Venezuela much as sporting competitions are elsewhere. Many Venezuelan parents believe that if their daughters can succeed and get the beauty crown, their future as famous and public persons is sure to come. As a result, the girls are trained to compete at a young age.
Among former beauty queens are Irene Saez, who went on to compete for the country’s president, and Eva Ekvall, whose battle with cancer helped to make more people know about the illness in Venezuela.
However, voices against the trend can be heard all over the country. At one time, a feminist (男女平等主义者) group tried to stop the Miss Venezuela broadcast. President Hugo Chavez has spoken out against the culture of plastic surgery(整形手术)in Venezuela, calling it a “frightening thing”.
The BBC reporter Sarah Grainger says that acceptance of the contests is partly a result of the country’s “machista” (大男子主义的) view of the different roles that men and women should play, “Men are supposed to be strong and brave and women to be gentle and beautiful”.
Miss Universe 1996, Alicia Machado, knows the price to be paid when you’re no longer seen as attractive. After winning the beauty contest, she said all she wanted to do was “eat, eat and eat”. Her weight gain later and warning by the organizers of the contest to replace her as queen with the runner-up was among the hottest topics in the country, especially in Latin America.What’s the advice given by a teacher in Caracas to her students?
| A．Attending beauty schools as early as possible. |
| B．Wearing high-heels at times. |
| C．Washing your hair quite often. |
| D．Fighting against cancer bravely. |
Girls try to win in the beauty contest to__________.
| A．try plastic surgery |
| B．practice the country’s “machista” view |
| C．earn a good future |
| D．eat as much as one pleases |
We can learn from the passage that__________.
| A．Venezuela girls have won Miss Universe and Miss World over six times by chance |
| B．In Venezuela, people judge men and women in quite different ways |
| C．Eva Ekvall once competed for the country’s president |
| D．Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has spoken out against beauty contests |
What does the underlined word “runner-up” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．the news reporter covering the beauty contest |
| B．the organizer of the beauty contest |
| C．the girl who is slim |
| D．the person who comes in the second place |
第二节阅读下面71-75题中几个人的相关信息，再根据A-F中对6种自行车的描述，为每个人选出符合他们要求的自行车。选项中有一项是多余选项。(共5分)
71. ______ Ruth will enter a key high school which is a few miles away from her home and she needs a bike. Since it’s not long before she has learned to ride a bike, she expects the bike to offer enough safety and to be easy to control. And being a pretty girl, she hopes the color of the bike is pleasant.
72. ______Gary has just got a job but he lives a bit far from his office. So he needs to get a portable bike to meet his situation. The bike must be easy to fold and carry.
73. ______ Felix is a young gentleman who is falling in love with a pretty girl recently. They plan to buy a fashionable bike which is fit for 2 persons to ride. On the bike both of them can enjoy wonderful feelings along the West Lake.
74. ______ Teddy’s growing up day by day. The grandparents want to give the young kid a special birthday gift—a child’s bike which is safe enough and light to carry.
75. ______Hugh lives in a mountain village but attends school in town. It’s necessary for him to buy a bike which is strong enough. Because his parents are not very well-off, what he really cares about is the price, not the look of the bike.
| A．This bike is convenient to fold in different sizes. It’s fun and comfortable while you are riding. You can go to a park on a sunny weekend and rush to work on the bike. |
| B．You’ll burn up the streets on this boys’ bike. With a low price $69.99, it is a yellowy and fashionable bike with strong system. Even if you are a greenhand, it can ensure your safety. |
| C．The Angel（天使）is 12 inches. Many girls will love the colorful fairy girls(仙女). It has added safety and a specially-made seat. This bike is strong and safe for beginners because it offers extra training wheels to keep balance. |
| D．Being fit for lovers to ride at the same time, this kind of twin bike is |
enjoying great popularity. It’s a new way to relax and a fashion to follow. Not only lovers, father and son, mother and daughter, brothers, sisters, classmates all can have a new experience.
E. This first-class kid bike has colorful cartoon pictures on it. Parents will like the bike’s low center of gravity. Three wheels can prevent the bike from tipping(翻到).
Security deposit (保证金): $3,000
Call (650) 892-9823 for an appointment.
F. The second-hand 26-inch, 21-speed bike is specially made to ride on the bad roads in the mountains, across the desert, and through the urban jungles (丛林). Though the bike is a little old and ugly, the quality is good enough.
Perhaps everyone has heard warnings about the “freshman 15”, but is it true that many college students weigh 15 pounds more during their first year at school?
Recent studies find that some first-year students are indeed likely to gain weight, but it might not be the full freshman 15, and it may not all happen during the freshman year. That might sound like good news, but it’s not. Doctors are concerned that students who gradually put on pounds could have healthy problems.
Studies show that students on average gain 3-10 pounds during their first 2 years of college. Most of this weight gain occurs during the first year. A college offers many temptations (诱惑). You’re on your own and free to eat what you want. In addition, you may not get as much exercise as you did in high school. A college is also a time of change, and people sometimes eat in response to (对……做出反应) homesickness, sadness, or stress, and all of these can be part of starting a new life in college.
Some weight gain is normal as a young body grows, but rapid weight gain may become a problem. Weight gain that pushes you above the body’s normal range carries health risks. People who are overweight are more likely to have high blood pressure, heart disease and develop certain cancers.
The best way to beat “freshman 15” is to prevent it altogether. Good habits like a balanced diet, regular exercise, and getting enough sleep can do more than keeping the pounds off. They can also help you stay healthy.
1. The “freshman 15” refers to the fact that the first-year college students ________.
A. are likely to gain much weight B. can’t get used to living in college
C. may have 15 health problems D. gradually put on weight in 15 weeks
2. According to the writer, the causes of “freshman 15” don’t include ________.
A. getting less exercise B. being free to eat food
C. feeling homesick D. having more subjects.
3. What is the best way to beat “freshman 15”?
A. To ask doctors for advice. B. To pay attention to your lessons.
C. To stop it from happening. D. To do a lot exercise every day.
4. What can we learn from the text?
A. Getting less sleep can help people lose weight gradually.
B. Overweight people usually have more health risks.
C. Weight gain is becoming serious among college students.
D. Students gain more weight in the second year than in the first.
I always felt sorry for the people in wheelchairs. Some people, old and weak, can not get around by themselves. Others seem perfectly healthy, dressed in business suits. But whenever I saw someone in a wheelchair, I only saw a disability, not a person.
Then I fainted (晕倒) at Euro Disney due to low blood pressure. This was the first time I had ever fainted, and my parents said that I must rest for a while after First Aid, I agreed to take it easy but, as I stepped towards the door, I saw my dad pushing a wheelchair in my direction. Feeling color burn my cheeks, I asked him to wheel that thing right back to where he found it.
I could not believe this was happening to me. Wheelchairs were fine for other people but not for me, as my father wheeled me out into the main street, people immediately began to treat me differently.
Little kids ran in front of me, forcing my father to stop the wheelchair suddenly. Bitterness set in as I was thrown back and forth. "Stupid kids… they have perfectly good legs. Why can't they watch where they are going?" I thought. People stared down at me, with pity in their eyes. Then they would look away, maybe because they thought the sooner they forgot me the better.
"I'm just like you!" I wanted to scream. "The only difference is you've got legs. and I have wheels. "
People in wheelchairs are not stupid. They see every look and hear each word. Looking out at the faces, I finally understood; I was once just like them. I treated people in wheelchairs exactly the way they did not want to be treated. I realized it is some of us with two healthy legs who are truly disabled.
1. The author once ________ when she was healthy.
A. showed respect to disabled people
B. looked down upon disabled people
C. imagined herself sitting in a wheelchair
D. saw some healthy people moving around in wheelchair
2. Facing the wheelchair for the first time, the author_________ .
A. felt curious about it
B. got ready to move around in it right away
C. refused to accept it right away
D. thought it was ready for her father
3.The experience of the author tells us that "_________".
A. life is the best teacher
B. people often eat their bitter fruit
C. life is so changeable that nobody can foretell
D. one never does to others what he would not like others do to him
4.Which is the best title for this passage?
A. How to Get Used to Wheelchairs
B. Wheelchairs Are as Good as Two Legs
C. People with Two Legs Are Truly Health
D. The Difference between Healthy People and the Disabled
5.How did the author feel when the little kids forced her father to stop the wheelchair suddenly?
A. Stupid. B. Calm. C. Excited. D. Bitter.
Forests have always been useful and important to man who make use of them in many ways. Every day trees are serving man everywhere. Trees supply man with fruits and building materials in the form of wood, without trees it would be impossible to build houses, boats, bridges and so on. Furniture such as desks, chairs and beds is made of wood, trees can stop man from terrible heat. They're also useful in preventing good and rich top soil from being washed away during heavy rains.
If there were no trees, heavy rains would wash away the rich surface soil that is so important to plants. The result is that the land will become a desert. There are plenty of desert areas in the world. A long time ago these desert areas used to be very rich areas, but man in the past had no enough knowledge about science of nature, they cut down too many trees in the area where they lived and never planted new ones. By and by the rich surface soil was blown and washed away by strong winds and heavy rains. In the end the rich land changed into useless deserts where nothing could grow.
1 . According to the passage,__________.
A. a long time ago, man didn't know how to make use of wood
B. trees are not as useful as they were in the past
C. trees were more found in the past than they are today
D. people have always found trees useful
2. Some deserts were once___________.
A. very good lands B. covered by ice
C. very cold D. dry and useless
3. From the passage, we know that man must ________.
A. do nothing to keep the balance of nature
B. do something to stop the balance of nature
C. try his best to keep the balance of nature
D. do his best to stop the balance of nature
第三部分阅读理解（共20小题, 56-70题，每小题2分；71-75题，每小题1分，满分35分）
第一节阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项。
If you’re looking for the place that has everything, there’s only one place to visit, and that’s New York. It’s a whole world in a city.
The World of Theatre: All of New York is a stage. And it begins with Broadway. Where else can you find so many hit shows in one place? Only in New York!
The World of Music: Spend an evening with Beethoven at Lincoln Center. Swing to the great jazz of Greenwich Village. Or rock yourself silly at the hottest dance sports found anywhere.
The World of Art: From Rembrandt to Picasso. From Egyptian tombs to Indian teepees. Whatever kind of art you like, you’ll find it in New York.
The World of Fine Dining: Whether it’s a roast Beijing duck in Chinatown, lasagna in Little Italy, or the finest French coq au vin found anywhere, there’s a world of great taste waiting for you in New York.
The World of Sights: What other city has a Statue of Liberty（自由女神像）? A Rockefeller Center? Or a Bronx Zoo? Where else can you take a horse-drawn carriage through Central Park? Only in New York!
1. Which of the following programmes can a visitor have only in New York?
A. To enjoy roast Beijing duck. B. To taste the finest French coq au vin.
C. To spend an evening with Beethoven. D. To see the Statue of Liberty.
2. From the text we know that “Rembrandt” is most likely the name of a famous ________.
A. singer B. painting C. play D. painter
3. What the writer really wanted to do is to ________.
A. try to persuade readers to pay a visit to New York
B. give readers some information about New York
C. supply readers with some wonderful programmes in New York
D. help readers to get a better understanding of New York