In the past ten years, America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) has grown increasingly dependent on the rest of the world to supply players.
When Michael Jordan and Larry Bird won gold in Barcelona in 1992, the Americans were praised for teaching the world how to play basketball. This season, however, 20 percent of NBA rosters（花名册） will be filled by non-Americans. NBA commissioner David Stem happily embraces the trend. On a visit to Paris in October, Stern outlined his vision for the future, which is likely to see Europe hosting NBA games by 2010.
The NBA is now planning to take China by storm.
“Our experience in China has been that it is going to be explosive in its growth,” said Stern. The strategy（战略，策略） in China is television. “We’ve made 14 deals in China with local and national networks on cable and satellite.” The success of Chinese centre Yao Ming has paved the way for the NBA marketing blitz in China. The NBA, which is broadcasted in more than 200 countries in 42 languages, will put that to the test in October 2004 when the Houston Rockets play two pre-season games against the Sacramento Kings in Beijing and Shanghai. The NBA knows that it needs a global market to compensate for tough times on home soil.
“It doesn’t matter where the players come from, all the NBA teams now know that they have to scout（寻找，觅得） internationally,” said Terry Lyons, the NBA’s vice-president of international public relations. “It has increased the level of competition here.” As Frenchman Tony Parker and Argentine Emanuel Ginobili showed in winning championship rings with the San Antonio Spurs last season, many people can earn the respect of their American peers. Others, such as the Houston Rockets’ Chinese centre Yao Ming — number one draft pick in 2002 — and the Detroit Pistons’ 18-year-old Serb Darko Milicic — number two overall in this year’s draft — are icons（偶像）in-waiting. It is the ultimate（最后的，根本的） revolution — the rest of the world teaching the US how to play basketball. According to the report, .
| A．Michael Jordan is still playing a very important role in NBA |
| B．the part played by the foreign players in NBA will be great |
| C．Yao Ming is to play two pre-season games in NBA |
| D．European countries will host the 2004 NBA games |
The underlined phrase “take China by storm” has the meaning of _______ ___.
| A．NBA intends to make China its “marketing center” |
| B．NBA is planning to set up some training centers in China |
| C．there’ll be a big storm when NBA comes to China to play against the Sacramento Kings |
| D．the NBA’s live basket games will be broadcasted on all the TVs in China |
What seems to be the biggest change that is happening to NBA?
A. NBA is expecting more foreign players to join the league.
B. China’s rapid development in sports affects NBA.
C. Yao Ming has taken the place of Michael Jordan.
D. The NBA will stop teaching the world how to play basketball.When the writer talked of “home soil”, he was referring to _ _.
| A．farms in the States |
| B．native Americans |
| C．the NBA training center |
| D．the USA |
Which of the following can be used as the best title for the passage?
| A．The Non-American Basketball Players |
| B．NBA Is Coming to China |
| C．The Foreign Ties That Bind the NBA |
| D．NBA Is Making Big Progress |
In order to protect valuable energy, snails(蜗牛) basically play a game of follow-the-leader, a new study finds. Snails create trails of mucus(黏液) to help them move smoothly across the ground, mainly in search of food or a partner, but making all that mucus uses up a lot of energy.
“Snails use a lot of energy, probably a third, creating mucus,” said Mark Davies of the University of Sunderland, lead author of the study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society. “This process is very tiring indeed— much more so than walking, swimming or flying.”
Davies and his workmates studied marine snails off the coast of Britain and discovered that to save some of this important energy, the snails sometimes follow the existing mucus trails laid down by other snails to get around and so only have to create a small part of the mucus needed to make a new trail.
“The fact that they can make savings has an effect on as much as they have to save more energy to do other things like reproducing,” Davies said.
The energy saving may also help snails which live in environments where food is not enough, making the energy harder to replace.
Biologists had long guessed that snails behaved this way, but this is the first study to directly observe it. Davies said that it is likely that all snails use this means of cutting energy as they work hard through life.
45. What’s the function of mucus that snails create?
A. To find their food B. To find their way back
C. To save their energy D. To help them move smoothly
46. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. The snail’s life is very hard.
B. The snails don’t need much to reproduce.
C. This is the first time to do the guess.
D. The snails will replace more energy in places lacking food.
47. From the passage we know that ______.
A. snails’ trails are sometimes reused
B. snails’ food is difficult to find
C. snails can live a long life
D. only marine snails have the ability
48. What does the passage mainly talk about?
A. How snails move and work.
B. Snails save energy by reusing mucus trails.
C. A new study finds the mysteries of snails.
D. Snails make full use of their energy.
第二部分 阅读理解（共25小题；第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题1分；满分45分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将
该项涂黑。
It was the old lady’s eightieth birthday. She was sureMyra wouldn’tforget her mother’sbirthday,even if she was busy.After all,eightywas a special birthday. Perhaps Myra mightcome. Evenif Myra did notcome,shewouldsenda present.The old lady was sure of that. Two spots of colourbrightenedher cheeks. She was excited like a child.
Mrs. Morrisonhad brought a card and a bunch of flowers when she came to do the breakfast. Mrs.Grantdownstairs hadmade a cake. Johnnie, the little boy next door, was now up with her with a packet of sweets.
“I guess you’llget lots andlots of presents,” he said. “I did last week when I was six.”
What would shelike?A pair of slippersperhaps.Ablue new cardigan. Or a table lamp. Or a little clock, with clear black numbers. So many lovely things.
She stood bythe window,watching. The postmanturnedroundthe corner on his bicycle. Her heart beat fast. Johnnie had seen him too and ran to the gate.
“Granny, granny,” Johnniereturned. “I’ve got your post!”
Hegaveherfourenvelopes.Threewerefromold friends. The fourth was in Myra’s writing.
“No parcel, Johnnie?”
“No, granny.”
Almost reluctantly,she tore the fourth envelope open.Folded in the card was a check. Written on the card was a message: Happy Birthday—Buyyourselfsomethingnicewith thecheck,Myraand Harold.
The six-figure checkfell tothefloor like a birdwith a broken wing. Slowly the old lady bent to pick it up.Her present,her lovely present. With trembling fingers she tore it into little bits.
41. As can be inferred from the passage, ______.
A. the neighbours cared little about the old lady in daily life
B. the friends sent the old lady many lovely presents by post
C. Myra was stopped by her husband from seeing her mother
D. the old lady lived alone in a flat away from her daughter
42. The old lady felt ______ when she saw the fourth envelope in her daughter’s writing.
A. excitedB. disappointed C. happy D. impatient
43. The reason the old lady tore the check into small pieces was that______.
A. she was sure her daughter would come, not the check
B. she didn’t notice there were six figures on the check
C. she would prefer a present with love from her daughter
D. she didn’t think the check was large enough for a present
44. Which of the following might serve as the best title for the passage?
A. The Present. B. The Check. C. The Birthday. D. The Daughter.
We are not born doubting ourselves. We learn to do it. In fact, we are usually taught to doubt ourselves. We can learn some ways that allow us to become more accepting of ourselves. Following are two behaviors that might explain the reasons why you can’t move towards greater self-acceptance.
One thing that might cause you not to accept yourself is over-generalizing about something you've done that you don’t like．For example, if you fail a test you might generalize and say, “I’m really a stupid person.” When you do this you are making a statement about all of you all of the time and not just about this one situation at this time. Instead, you might decide that your grade on this test in this subject at this time was indeed poor, and then go on to decide what you want to do about your poor grade, if anything. Getting stuck in over-generalizing discourages you from taking steps that might allow you to do better on the next exam and to build an expectation of future failure.
Having standards that are impossibly high is a second way you can not accept yourself. It may not come as a surprise to you that most of us are more demanding of ourselves than we are of others. Somehow we can tolerate the fact that other people fail, that they aren’t always kind, that they’ve done things they aren’t proud of, but we have difficulty accepting those very human aspects of ourselves. The need to be perfect is another way to set yourself up for failure and enhance the feeling that you are not acceptable. We all make mistakes. Accepting less than perfection simply means recognizing the limitations natural in being born a human being. Learn to value who you are rather than who you could become. Wouldn’t it be overpowering if we always had to do what we imagine we could do? Nobody has the time and energy to do all of that. We must make choices about what we will pursue and do them the best we can under the circumstances, which aren’t always ideal, by the way.
60．Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. We can feel that we are perfect when we set ourselves up for success.
B. We can tolerate the fact that we’ve done things we aren’t proud of.
C. Over-generalizing might encourage you to expect the future.
D. Over-generalizing might cause you not to accept yourself.
61．What is the author’s attitude according to the passage?
A. It’s necessary for people to be perfect.
B. It’s acceptable for people to be imperfect.
C. It’s strange for people to be born with limitation.
D. It’s possible for people to do what they imagine.
62．What has caused the lack of self-acceptance?
A. Tolerance and high-level.
B. Limitation and expectation.
C. Over-generalization and high-standard.
D. Extreme difficulty and complete failure.
Claude and Louris are “giraffes”. So are police officers Hankins and Pearson. These men and women don’t look like giraffes; they look like you and me. Then, why do people call them “giraffes”?
A giraffe, they say, is an animal that sticks its neck out, can see places far away and has a large heart. It lives a quiet life and moves about in an easy and beautiful way. In the same way, a “giraffe” can be a person who likes to “stick his or her neck out” for other people, always watches for future happenings, has a warm heart for people around, and at the same time lives a quiet and beautiful life himself or herself.
“The Giraffe Project” is a 10-year-old group which finds and honors “giraffes” in the US and in the world. The group wants to teach people to do something to build a better world. The group members believe that a person shouldn’t draw his or her head back; instead, they tell people to “stick their neck out” and help others. Claude and Louris, Hankins and Pearson are only a few of the nearly 1,000 “giraffes” that the group found and honored.
Claude and Louris were getting old and they left their work with some money that they saved for future use. One day, however, they saw a homeless man looking for a place to keep warm and they decided that they should “stick their neck out” and give him some help. Today, they lived in Friends’ House, where they invite twelve homeless people to stay every night.
Police officers Hankins and Pearson work in a large city. They see crimes every day and their work is sometimes dangerous. They work hard for their money. However, these two men put their savings together and even borrowed money to start an educational center to teach young people in a poor part of the city. Hankins and Pearson are certainly “giraffes”.
56. Which of the following is true?
A. Some of the people around us look like giraffes.
B. Giraffes are the most beautiful animal in the world.
C. “Giraffes” is a beautiful name for those who are ready to help other people.
D. A “giraffe” is someone who can stick his neck out and see the future.
57. “The Giraffe Project” is a group _____.
A. of police officers B. which appeared ten years ago
C. of ten-year-old children D. which takes care of children
58. People call Claude and Hankins “giraffes” because they _____.
A. do what is needed for a good world B. are not afraid of dangerous work
C. found a home for some homeless people D. made money only for other people
59. The passage mainly tries to tell us _____.
A. what giraffes are like
B. what the Giraffe Project is
C. why Claude, Louris, Hankins and Pearson are called “giraffes”
D. what we should do for a better world
第三部分 阅读理解（共两节。满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
第一节：（共11小题；每小题2分，满分22分）
My Best Enemy
Once again, I was in a new school. So was a girl in my class named Lisa. That’s where the similarities ended.
I was tall and she was small. My thick black hair had been recently cut short into an untidy style. Her natural blonde hair flowed to her waist and looked great. I was 12 and one of the oldest in the class while she was 11 and the youngest. I was awkward and shy. She wasn’t. I couldn’t stand her, considering her my enemy. But she liked me and wanted to be friends.
One day, she invited me over and I said yes—I was too shocked to answer any other way. My family had moved six times in six years, and I had never managed to develop any friendships. But this girl who wore the latest fashions wanted me to go home with her after school.
She lived in a fun part of town that had two pizza places, an all-night bookstore, a movie theater and a park. As we walked from the school bus stop through her neighborhood, I tried to guess which house might be hers. Was it the white one with the perfect lawn or the three –story house with a front porch? I got very surprised when she led me into an old apartment building. She lived on the fourth floor in a two-room place with her mother, her stepfather, her two brothers and her sister.
When we got into the room she shared with her sister, she took out a big case of Barbies, which was my next surprise. I had never played with them. We sat on the floor, laughing as we made up crazy stories about the Barbies. We found out that we both wanted to be writers when we were older and both had wild imaginations. We had a great day that afternoon.
Lisa was loved by the whole neighborhood. The bookstore owners lent her fashion magazines; the movie theater gave her free tickets…. Soon I was included in her magic world. We slept over at each other’s houses and spent every free moment together.
Lisa, my first real friend since childhood, helped me get through the rough years of early adolescence（青春期）and taught me an amazing and very surprising thing about making friends: you worst enemy can turn out to be your best friend.
52．The writer and Lisa were similar in the way that_________.
A．they were both new students B．they had the same hair styles
C．they were both tall D．they were of the same age
53．One day Lisa invited the writer_________.
A．to go to the movie B．to go to her home
C．to go to walk in a park D．to go to a pizza place
54．In the passage the writer described Lisa as a girl who was_________
A．awkward and shy B．rich and happy
C．quiet and lonely D．friendly and lovely
55．Which of the following did the writer learn form Lisa?
A．How to make up stories. B．How to deal with enemies.
C．How to make friends. D．How to live a better life.