(2013·安徽，D)Peoplearerudertoday-优题课

Runners in a relay race pass a stick in one direction. However, merchants passed silk, gold, fruit, and glass along the Silk Road in more than one direction. They earned their living by travelling the famous Silk Road.
The Silk Road was not a simple trading network. It passed through thousands of cities and towns. It started from eastern China, across Central Asia and the Middle East, and ended in the Mediterranean Sea. It was used from about 200B.C to about A.D. 1300, when sea travel offered new routes. It was sometimes called the world’s longest highway. However, Silk Road was made up of many routes, not one smooth path. They passed through what are now 18 countries. The routes crossed mountains and deserts and had many dangers of hot sun, deep snow and even battles. Only experienced traders could return safe.
The Silk Road got its name from its most prized product. Silk could be used as money to pay taxes or buy goods. But the traders carried more than just silk. Gold, silver, and glass from Europe were much found in the Middle East and Asia. Horses traded from other areas changed farming practices in China. Indian merchants traded salt and other valuable goods. Chinese merchants traded paper, which produced an immediate effect on the West. Apples traveled from central Asia to Rome. The Chinese had learned to graft (嫁接) different trees together to make new kinds of fruit. They passed this science on to others, including the Romans. The Romans used grafting to grow the apple. Trading along the Silk Road led to world-wide business 2,000 years before the World Wide Web.
The people along the Silk Road did not share just goods. They also share their beliefs. The Silk Road provided pathway for learning, diplomacy (外交), and religion.
53. It’s probable that traders along the Silk Road needed____
A. to remember the entire trade route B. to know the making of products
C. to receive certain special training D. to deal with a lot of difficulties
54. The Silk Road became less important because____.
A. it was made up of different routes B. silk trading became less popular
C. sea travel provided easier routes D. people needed fewer foreign goods
55. New technologies could travel along the Silk Road because people____.
A. learned from each other B. shared each other’s beliefs
C. traded goods along the route D. earned their living by traveling
56. What is the best title for the passage?
A. The Silk Road: Past and Present B. The Silk Road: East Meets West
C. The Silk Road: Routes Full of Dangers D. The Silk Road: Pathways for Learning

Far from the land of Antarctica, a huge shelf of ice meets the ocean. At the underside of the shelf there lives a small fish, the Antarctic cod.
For forty years scientists have been curious about that fish. How does it live where most fish would freeze to death? It must have some secret. The Antarctic is not a comfortable place to work and research has been slow. Now it seems we have an answer.
Research was begun by cutting holes in the ice and catching the fish. Scientists studied the fish’s blood and measured its freezing point.
The fish were taken from seawater that had a temperature of -1.88℃ and many tiny pieces of ice floating in it. The blood of the fish did not begin to freeze until its temperature was lowered to -2.05℃. That small difference is enough for the fish to live at the freezing temperature of the ice-salt mixture.
The scientists’ next research job was clear: Find out what in the fish’s blood kept it from freezing. Their search led to some really strange thing made up of a protein(蛋白质) never before seen in the blood of a fish. When it was removed, the blood froze at seawater temperature. When it was put back, the blood again had its antifreeze quality and a lowered freezing point.
Study showed that it is an unusual kind of protein. It has many small sugar molecules(分子) held in special positions within each big protein molecules. Because of its sugar content, it is called a glycoprotein. So it has come to be called the antifreeze fish glycoprotein, or AFGP.
49. What is the text mainly about?
A. The terrible conditions in the Antarctic. B. A special fish living in freezing waters.
C. The ice shelf around Antarctic. D. Protection of the Antarctic cod.
50. Why can the Antarctic cod live at the freezing temperature?
A. The seawater has a temperature of -1.88℃.
B. It loves to live in the ice-salt mixture.
C. A special protein keeps it from freezing.
D. Its blood has a temperature lower than -2.05℃.
51. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
A. A type of ice-salt mixture. B. A newly found protein.
C. Fish blood. D. Sugar molecule.
52. What does “glycol” in the underlined word “glycoprotein” in the last paragraph mean?
A. sugar B. ice C. blood D. molecule

Michelle Obama is the first lady of American fashion, appearing on the cover of the March issue of Vogue.
Every first lady since Lou Hoover—except Bess Truman—has been appeared in the high-fashion magazine, but Mrs. Obama is only the second to appear on the cover. She appears wearing a silk dress by Jason Wu.
Vogue’s editor Andre Leon Tally recalled his interviews with Mrs. Obama ahead of US president Barack Obama’s swearing-in ceremony（就职典礼）. “One of the best experiences of my life .” “She is so easily reached, natural and normal.” he said.
Mrs. Obama described her role as “Mom in chief” to 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha. “I’m going to try to take them to school every morning, as much as I can,” she said. “But there’s also a measure of freedom. And clearly there will be time I won’t be able to drop them off at all. I like to appear in my kids’ school. I want to know the teachers; I want to know the other parents.”
Being in Vogue, though, the chat finally turns to clothes. “I’m not going to pretend that I don’t care about it,” she said. “But I also have to be very practical. Someone will always not like what you wear---people just have different tastes. ”
Most cover models have their clothes chosen for them by Vogue, or at least editors work as advisers. Not this time. “She doesn’t need any help. She loves fashion and knows what works for her,” Talley said. “She has never had a talk with me about, ‘What do you think?’ or ‘How does this like?’ And I’m glad for that.”
45. From the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 we know____.
A. every first lady has appeared on the cover of Vogue
B. only Bess Truman has appeared on the cover of Vogue
C. only two first ladies have appeared on the cover of Vogue
D. only Mrs. Obama has appeared on the cover of Vogue
46. From the forth paragraph we know Mrs. Obama ____.
A. loves their daughters very much
B. likes to do housework very much
C. likes to do all for her husband
D. has nothing to do after daughters go to school
47. From the last paragraph we know Mrs. Obama ____.
A. is a woman of kindness
B. has her own sense of beauty and idea
C. herself is a clothes designer and model
D. doesn’t like to be watched changing clothes
48. Which of the following is the best title?
A. First ladies of Vogue Cover Model
B. First Lady Michelle Obama Read Vogue Too
C. First Ladies Like to be Vogue Cover Model
D. First Lady Michelle Obama Is Vogue Cover Model

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2分；满分45分）
第一节阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
One night when my wife was preparing dinner, our little son took a piece of paper to her which read:
For washing the car ………………………………………………………………$5.00
For making my own bed this week ……………………………………………… $1.00
Going to the provision shop ………………………………………………………$0.50
Playing with little sister……………………………………………………………$0.25
Taking out the rubbish…………………………………………………………… $1.00
Getting a good report card……………………………………………………… ..$5.00
And for sweeping the common corridor…………………………………………..$2.00
Total……………………………………………………………………………… $14.75
His mother looked at him standing there expecting payment. I could see a thousand memories flashed through her mind. So she picked up the pen and turning the paper over, this is what she wrote :
For nine months I carried you, growing inside me …………………………… No Charge
For the nights I sat up with you, doctored and prayed for you…………………No Charge
For the toys, food and clothes and wiping your nose ………………………….No Charge
When you add it all up, the full cost of my love………………………………..No Charge
Well, when he finished reading, he had big tears in his eyes. He looked at his mother and said, “Mummy, I love you.” Then he took the pen and in great big letters wrote on the “bill” “All paid.”
41. What’s the best title for this passage?
A. Part-time Job B. Mother’s Love, No Charge
C. Payment for House Work D. Greedy Mother
42. The write wrote the passage in order to ___.
A. show that children should be paid for their housework
B. show that children should not be paid for their housework
C. show a clever way of teaching children
D. tell children how to spend their spare time
43. How do you think of the mother in the passage?
A. Clever B. Greedy C. Cold – hearted D. Selfish
44. From the last passage we know that____
A. the boy got all the money he wanted
B. the mother was unwilling to give the money to the boy
C. the boy realized that it was not right to ask for money for the housework
D. the mother was angry with what the boy said

第三部分：阅读理解（共两节，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。
If you have a chance to go to Finland, you will probably be surprised to find how “foolish” the Finnish people are．
Take the taxi drivers for example．Taxis in Finland are mostly high-class Benz with a fare of two US dollars a kilometer．You can go anywhere in one, tell the driver to drop you at any place, say that you have some business to attend to, and then walk off without paying your fare．The driver would not show the least sign of anxiety．
The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also serve outside diners．Hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining rooms to have their meals．The most they would do to show their good faith is to wave their registration card to the waiter．With such a loose check, you can easily use any old registration card to take a couple of friends to dine free of charge．
The Finnish workers are paid by the hour．They are very much on their own as soon as they have agreed with the boss on the rate．From then on they just say how many hours they have worked and they will be paid accordingly．
With so many loopholes（漏洞） in everyday life, surely Finland must be a heaven to those who love to take “petty advantages”．But the strange thing is, all the taxi passengers would always come back to pay their fare after they have attended to their business; not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms．And workers always give an honest account of the exact hours they put in．As the Finns always act on good faith in everything they do, living in such a society has turned everyone into a real “gentleman”．
In a society of such high moral practice, what need is there for people to be on guard against others?
56．While taking a taxi in Finland, a passenger __________．
A．can go anywhere without having to pay the driver
B．only pays two US dollars for a taxi ride
C．can never be turned down by the taxi driver wherever he wants to go
D．needs to provide good faith demonstration before leaving without paying
57．We can know from the passage that in Finland __________．
A．both hotel guests and outside diners are served food free of charge
B．big hotels provide meals for all kinds of diners
C．guests can enjoy free food once they stayed in the hotel
D．big hotels are mostly poorly managed
58．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A．Generally speaking, in Finland, workers can get more pay by working long hours．
B．The workers and their bosses will make an agreement in advance about the pay．
C．The workers are always honest with their working hours．
D．The bosses are too busy to check the working hours of their employees．
59．It can be concluded that _________．
A．Finnish people are really foolish in daily life
B．Finland has been a good place for cheats
C．the Finnish society is of very high moral level
D．all the Finns are rich and therefore honest

A．ridiculous	B．disgusting
C．acceptable	D．reasonable