Pop stars today enjoy what once only belonged to the royalty(皇室)．Wherever they go，people turn out in their thousands to greet them.The crowds go wild trying to catch a brief glimpse of their smiling，colorfully dressed idols.The stars are transported in their chauffeur driven Rolls Royces，private helicopters or executive aeroplanes.They are surrounded by a permanent entourage(随从)of managers，press agents and bodyguards.Photographs of them appear regularly in the press and all their comings and goings are reported，for，like royalty，pop stars are news.If they enjoy many of the privileges of royalty，they certainly share many of the inconveniences as well.It is dangerous for them to make unscheduled appearances in public.They must be constantly shielded from the adoring crowds who idolize them.They are no longer private individuals，but public property.The financial rewards they receive for this sacrifice cannot be calculated，for their rates of pay are great.
And why not？Society has always rewarded its top entertainers lavishly.The great days of Hollywood have become legendary：famous stars enjoyed fame，wealth and adulation(奉承)on an all time scale.By today's standards，the excesses of Hollywood do not seem quite so spectacular.A single gramopphone record nowadays may earn much more in royalties than the films of the past ever did.The competition for the title“Top of the Pops”is fierce，but the rewards are truly huge.
It is only right that the stars should be paid in this way.Don't the top men in industry earn enormous salaries for the service they perform to their companies and their countries？Pop stars earn vast sums in foreign currency—often more than large industrial companies—and the taxman can only be grateful for their massive annual contributions to the exchequer(国库)．So who would begrudge them their rewards?
It's all very well for people in boring jobs to complain about the successes and rewards of others.People who make envious remarks should remember that the most famous stars represent only the tip of the iceberg.For every famous star，there are hundreds of others struggling to earn a living.A man working in a steady job and looking forward to a pension at the end of it has no right to expect very high rewards.He has chosen security and peace of mind，so there will always be a limit to what he can earn.But a map who attempts to become a star is taking enormous risks.He knows at the outset that only a handful of competitors ever get to the very top.He knows that years of concentrated effort may be rewarded with complete failure.But he knows，too，that the rewards for success are very high indeed：they are the payback for the huge risks involved and once he makes it，he will certainly earn them.That's the essence of private enterprise.The author develops the passage mainly by ________.
| A．comparing different ideas |
| B．giving explanations |
| C．inferring |
| D．listing typical examples |
The underlined word “begrudge” in the third pararaph is closest in meaning to ________.
| A．be jealous of | B．be satisfied with |
| C．be anxious about | D．be crazy about |
According to the passage，which of the following can match the view of the author?
| A．He who laughs last laughs best. |
| B．If you venture nothing，you will gain nothing. |
| C．He who makes no mistakes makes nothing. |
| D．Success belongs to the persevering. |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．People are blind in idolizing stars. |
| B．There is fierce competition in becoming pop stars. |
| C．The government taxes pop stars very little. |
| D．Pop stars' life is more luxurious than that of royalty. |
Music died here last spring, or rather, it was killed by members of the school committee who ignored the importance of music and drama as part of the high-school curriculum.
The committee decided that teaching students how to take a standardized test is more important than a curriculum in which students can explore their interests in the arts as well as academics. Because the school system is running out of funding, it needs to make sure that students pass the mastery test or even more money will be lost. If students fail the state standardized test, it is not the fault of drama and music classes – they are failing because the academic classes are not sufficient (足够).
It is painful to think of how many students will be discouraged from singing, acting, and playing instruments because school programs are no longer offered. Many families cannot afford private music lessons, and many potential musicians and artists may not find their calling if they are not exposed to it in school. The fact that the school committee thinks the arts are not worth the investment will certainly make some students believe the arts are not worth their time or support and the cycle will continue.
Teaching for a test does not shape students into complete, well- rounded people. It blocks the natural sense to create and express feelings through art – there is more to life than the analytical thinking that math and English provide. What happens after a test? Sure, a student might graduate, but they will have limited knowledge – certainly not a good preparation for the real world.
1. Music and drama are ignored by ________.
A. students B. the school committee C. teachers D. parents
2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Students can get high marks in the standardized test only by attending classes
B. The school committee completely influences students’ attitude towards the arts
C. Students can be musicians and artists only if they can afford private music lessons
D. Quite a few students are discouraged from music and art in today’ s school system
3. We can learn that music and art can ______.
A. provide students with analytical thinking
B. make students round-shaped people in future
C. motivate students in creativity and expression
D. prevent students graduating from high school
4. The best title of the passage can be ______.
A. Who Killed Music and Drama? B. Can Curriculum Go Without Arts?
C. Why is Music So Important? D. How to Prepare For the Real World?
第三部分：阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
请认真阅读下列短文，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。
Beverage Service We serve a variety of soft drinks, coffee, tea and free of charge. However, as flying has a dehydrating effect, water and nonalcoholic beverages are recommended.
Electronic Equipment Cellular phones, FM/AM radios, portable television sets and electronic toys with remote controls must not be used in the cabin, as their signals may interfere with the aircrafts navigational instruments. Laptop computers and CD (MD, MP3) players may be used during cruising portions of the flight but not during the takeoff and landing.Inflight Entertainment A wide selection of international publications are available for your reading pleasure. You may keep this free copy of Morning Calm magazine, but kindly return all other reading materials after you have finished with them for the benefit of fellow passengers. A selection of music is available on eight channels, from channel 3 to 10. The channel changer is on your armrest. We also offer a selection of popular films; you may listen in English on channel 2. Paduk (go) and chess are available on request, and we have free postcards and stationery.
Medical Needs We keep a selection of nonprescription medicine for any passenger suffering from mild sicknesses. An emergency medical kit is also available for more serious illnesses.Travelling with Infants and Children Baby bassinets are provided on a first come first serve basis and should be requested at the time of booking. Special meals for children and infants can be served if the request is made 24 hours before departure. Selected giveaways for children aged 2 to 12 are available on all international flights.
1. The services above are probably offered by ___________.
A. a traveling agent B. a medical center C. an airline D. a five-star hotel
2. If you turn on channel 5 on your armrest, what will you enjoy?
A. International news. B. Free-of-charge drinks.
C. Fashion magazines. D. Popular music.
3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. You should return all the reading materials for other passengers to read.
B. Babies can have special food if it is ordered a day earlier before departure.
C. Alcoholic beverages are not served because passengers may get drunk.
D. All the children can get some gifts when they take an international airline.
Botany, the study of plants, occupies a special position in the history of human knowledge. For many thousands of years it was the one field of awareness about which humans had anything more than the vaguest (含糊的) of insight. It is impossible to know today just what our Stone Age ancestors knew about plants, but from what we can observe of pre-industrial societies that still exist, a detailed learning of plants and their properties must extremely ancient. This is logical. Plants are the basis of the food pyramid for all living things, even for other plants. They have always been enormously important to the welfare of peoples, not only for food, but also for clothing, weapons, tools, eyes, medicines, shelter, and a great many other purposes. Tribes living today in the jungles of the Amazon recognized accurately hundreds of plants and know many properties of each. To them, botany, as such, has no name and is probably not even recognized as a special branch of knowledge at all.
Unfortunately, the more industrialized we become the farther away we move from direct contact with plants, and the less distinct our knowledge of botany grows. Yet everyone comes unconsciously on an amazing amount of botanical knowledge, and few people will fail to recognize a rose, an apple, or an orchid. When our Neolithic ancestors, living in the Middle East about 10,000 years ago, discovered that certain grasses could be harvested and their seeds planted for richer productions the next season, the first great step in a new association of plants and humans was taken. Grains were discovered and from them flowed the wonder of agriculture; cultivated crops. From then on, humans would increasingly take their living from the controlled production of a few plants, rather than getting a little here and a little there from many varieties that grew wild and the built up knowledge of tens of thousands of years of experience and close relationship with plants in the wild would begin fade away.
1. Which of the following statements about early humans is expressed in the passage?
A. They probably had extensive knowledge of plants.
B. They thought there was no need to cultivate crops.
C. They did not enjoy the study of botany.
D. They placed great importance on the ownership of property.
2. What does the comment “This is logical.” In the first paragraph mean?
A. There is no clear way to determine the extent of our ancestor’s knowledge of plants.
B. It is not surprising that early humans had a detailed knowledge of plants.
C. It is reasonable to assume that our ancestors behaved very much like people in pre-industrial societies.
D. Human knowledge of plants is well organized and very detailed.
3. According to the passage, why has general knowledge of botany begun to fade?
A. People no longer value plants as a useful resource.
B. Botany is not recognized as a special branch of science.
C. Research is unable to keep up with the increasing numbers of plants.
D. Direct contact with a variety of plants has decreased.
4. In the second paragraph, what is the author’s purpose in mentioning “ a rose, an apple, or an orchid”?
A. To make the passage more poetic.
B. To give an example of plant that are attractive.
C. To give botanical examples that all readers will recognize.
D. To explain the variety of botanical life.
5. According to the passage, what was the first great step toward the practice of agriculture?
A. The invention of agricultural tools and machinery.
B. The development of a system of names for plants.
C. The discovery of grasses that could be harvested and replanted.
D. The changing diets of early humans.
All her life, my mother wanted busy children. It was very important that her house should remain at all times clean and tidy. You could turn your back for a moment in my mother’s house, leave a half-written letter on the dining room table, a magazine open on the chair, and turn around to find that my mother had “put it back where it belonged,” as she explained.
My wife, one of her first visits to my mother’s house, placed a packet of biscuits on an end table and went to the kitchen to fetch a drink. When she returned, she found the packet had been removed. Confused, she set down her drink and went back to the kitchen for more biscuits, only to return to find that her drink had disappeared. Up to then she had guessed that everyone in my family held onto their drinks, so as not to make water rings on the end tables. Now she knows better.
These disappearance had a confusing effect on our family. We were all inclined to (有……的倾向) forgetfulness, and it was common for one of us, upon returning from the bathroom, to find that every sign of his work in progress had disappeared suddenly. “ Do you remember what I was doing?” was a question frequently asked, but rarely answered.
Now my sister has developed a second-hand love of cleaning windows, and my brother does the cleaning in his house, perhaps to avoid having to be the one to lift his feet. I try not to think about it too much, but I have at this later time started to dust the furniture once a week.
We have all become busy persons.
1. Which of the following is TRUE about my mother?
A. she enjoyed removing others’ drinks. B. She became more and more forgetful.
C. She preferred to do everything by herself. D. She wanted to keep her house in good order.
2. My wife could not find her biscuits and drink in my mother’s house because _______.
A. she had already finished them B. my mother had taken them away
C. she forgot where she had left them D. someone in my family was holding them
3. The underlined part suggests that my sister ______.
A. is happy to clean windows B. loves to clean used windows
C. is fond of cleaning used windows D. likes cleaning windows as my mother did
4. How many persons are mentioned in the passage?
A. Six. B. Seven. C. Five. D. Four.
5. This passage mainly tells us that ______.
A. my mother often made us confused
B. my family members had a poor memory
C. my mother helped us to form a good habit
D. my wife was surprised when she visited my mother
第三部分阅读（共两节，满分40分）
第一节阅读理解（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列三篇短文，从每题所给的四个选现（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
American like to visit the national parks. In 1996, over 250,000,000 people visited areas run by the National Park Service. Experts predict that by 2010, 500,000,000 people per year will visit the parks. As a result, people are trying to think of ways to protect the parks from the crowds.
The crowding of the parks has caused several problems. One is that there is not enough space for all of the people who want to use the parks. To cope with this problem, national parks may require reservations months in advance for some spots. The Park Service may also raise entrance fees at these places.
Another problem caused by increased park use is pollution. Some garbage and waste can be cleaned up, and the cleanup can be paid for by increased entrance fees. To cut down on noise pollution and air pollution, officials may decrease the number of cars allowed in parks. If this happens, people may use buses to travel around the parks. Officials may also limit the use of jet-skis, snowmobiles (摩托雪橇), motorboats, and sightseeing helicopters and planes.
The parks are also threatened by development that is going on around them. For example, around Yellow Stone Park, many motels (汽车旅馆), golf courses, resorts, and other tourist attractions have been built. Some of these developments affect areas that are used by animals. People will have to learn to agree about ways to protect the parks. If they do not, there will soon be no reason to visit these national treasures.
1. By 2010, the number of visitors will rise by ______ per year.
A. 250 million B. 500 million C. 2.5 billion D. 5 billion
2. If you want to visit the national parks, you may have to _____ in the future.
A. pay less than before B. stay there for months
C. book the ticket before months D. fill in a form to apply for the ticket
3. Entrance fees may be increased _______.
A. just for the benefit of the National Park Service
B. either to limit the number of visitors or to pay for the cleaner
C. not only to protect the animals but to reduce the noise pollution
D. merely for the development of the national parks
4. What does the underlined sentence in the passage mean?
A. People are not supposed to visit the national parks for fear that they will harm the animals.
B. Only if more man-made tourist attractions are built will more people visit the parks.
C. It is reasonable to keep the balance between the development of the parks and the reserve.
D. People will not visit the national parks since there are no golf courses and resorts.
5. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. High fees may probably keep some people out of parks.
B. Helicopters and planes will not be used in parks any longer.
C. The bus will become the only toot in parks with the purpose of pollution reduction.
D. The National Park Service welcomes as many visitors as possible.