On Nov．18，1995，Itzhak Perlman，the violinist，came on stage to give a concert at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City．
If you have ever been to a Perlman concert，you know that getting on stage is no small achievement for him．He was stricken with polio(小儿麻痹症)as a child，and so he has braces(支架)on both legs and walks with the aid of two crutches(双拐)．
He walks painfully, yet majestically, until he reaches his chair．Then he sits down，slowly, puts his crutches on the floor, undoes the clasps on his legs，tucks one foot back and extends the other foot forward．Then he bends down and picks up the violin, puts it under his chin，nods to the conductor and proceeds to play．
But this time，something went wrong．Just as he fmished the first few bars(小节)，one of the strings on his violin broke．You could hear it snap(嘣断)---it went off like gunfire across the room．There was no mistaking what that meant．There was no mistaking what he had to do．
We figured that he would have to get up，put on the clasps again，pick up the crutches and limp his way off stage-to either find another violin or else find another string for this one．But he didn’t．Instead．he waited a moment，closed his eyes and then signaled the conductor to begin again．
The orchestra began，and he played from where he had left off．And he played with such passion and such power and such purity as they had never heard before．
When he finished, there was an awesome silence in the room．And then people rose and cheered．He smiled，wiped the sweat from this brow, raised his bow to quit us，and then he said in a quiet tone．“You know, sometimes it is the artist’s task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left．’’By saying “getting on stage is no small achievement for him”, the author really means .
| A．it’s very difficult for Itzhak Perlman to play the violin with three strings |
| B．it’s not easy for Itzhak Perlman to get on the stage because he is disabled |
| C．it’s not easy for ltzhak Perlman to face such a large audience |
| D．it’s really great achievements for ltzhak Perlman to play the violin with three strings |
When one of the strings broke，people thought Itzhak Perlman would .
| A．go on playing with the remaining three strings |
| B．give up playing |
| C．change or repair his violin |
| D．get off the stage with shame |
Itzhak Perlman when one of the strings of the violin broke．
| A．gave up playing |
| B．didn’t know what to do |
| C．went on playing the same piece of music |
| D．went on playing a different piece of music |
What did the audience feel when Itzhak Perlman finished playing?
| A．Surprised． | B．Disappointed． | C．Moved． | D．Satistied． |
Itzhak Perlman can be best described as a man who is ．
| A．clever | B．strong willed | C．humourous | D．quite skilled |
D
Dear Mr. Barton,
I am writing for the residents’ association (业主协会) to inform you of our feelings about your act. We’ve really had enough of you. Although we have tried to speak to you politely on several occasions, you have always answered with a stream of verbal abuse(辱骂).
Ever since you moved in three months ago, you have shown very little consideration for the other residents of this building, though many residents expressed their unhappiness with you. For the past six weekends, you have held very noisy parties, which have not finished until early the next morning. As you know, most of the people here are elderly or have very young children, and the noise keeps them awake all night. You don’t have to be so noisy, do you? Last weekend the situation deteriorated when two of your friends fought with each other on the first floor. The fighting was so bad that the police had to be called. What’s more, your friends left the stairs in a terrible state --- they even broke two windows on their way out! We feel that we can’t bear this type of act.
We strongly demand that you pay for this damage to the window soon. If you don’t and you carry on being a nuisance(令人讨厌的人或物). We will kick you out! Legal steps will be taken if necessary.
Yours sincerely,
Resident
57. What does the writer feel?
A. Excited B. surprised C. Angry D. Happy
58. What does the word “deteriorated” mean?
A. Changed B. Improved C. Moved D. Worsened
59. What is the main purpose of the letter?
A. To ask Mr. Barton to leave the building for the peace.
B. To inform Mr. Barton of the noise he made.
C. To talk about what Mr. Barton did.
D. To give a warning to Mr. Barton.
60. What is true according to the letter?
A. Mr. Barton paid no attention to the others’ unhappiness.
B. Mr. Barton never replied to the others’ unhappiness
C. Mr. Barton always said sorry to those unhappy with him.
D. Mr. Barton never apologized to the other residents.
C
BUKHANNON, West Virginia—Two rescue teams slowly moved along a two-mile path on Monday night to the site of a coal mine explosion that trapped 13 miners, who had not been heard from since the early morning accident.
Meanwhile, at a nearby church, more than 250 family members and friends gathered, waiting for updates（最新报道）on the rescuers’ progress.
The miners were trapped at about 6:30 and many families weren’t informed of the accident until about 10 a.m-more than three hours after it happened. “It’s very upsetting, but you’ve got to be patient, I guess,” said John Helms, whose brother, Terry, was trapped in the mine.
The trapped miners were about 260 feet underground and about 10,000 feet from the Sago Mine’s entrance, said Roger Nicholson, general counsel from International Coal Group.
At a late night news conference, Nicholson said one team had advanced about 4,800 feet in the four hours since entering the mine just before 6 p.m. Another team entered the mine about 30 minutes later.
He said the crew was very experienced, with some members having worked underground for 30 to 35 years. The miners were equipped with about one hour of breathable oxygen each. The company has not released the names of the miners.
The teams test the air about every 500 feet, and have to disconnect (remove) the power to the phones they use to communicate with the surface before doing that. “We don’t want to be energizing anything if it’s in an atmosphere with burnable gases,” Kips said. The cause of the explosion was not immediately known. High levels of carbon monoxide were detected shortly after the explosion, which delayed rescue efforts, but those levels have since subsided（减退）, authorities said.
53. According to the passage, we can infer that ______.
A. all the miners who were trapped underground were still alive
B. communication with the trapped miners was cut off
C. the two rescue teams entered the mine at the same time
D. the rescue started as soon as the accident happened
54. If the first team advanced at an average speed, they could dig about ______ per hour.
A. 1,000 feetB. 2,400 feet C. 1,200 feet D. 4,800 feet
55. Where can the passage be seen?
A. In a magazine. B. In a newspaper.
C. In a science book.. D. On an advertisement.
56. Which of the following shows the position where the miners were trapped?
B
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A．be able to buy it at a low price B．be the luckiest one online
C．try it free of charge D．change your diet
51．Liptor®，Zocor®，Crestor® are_______．
A．diseases B．side effects C．medicines D．cholesterol
52．Where can you most probably read this passage?
A．In a travel guide book． B．On a university bulletin board．
C．In a health magazine. D．In a doctor's prescription.
III.阅读理解（共20小题，每小题1.5分，满分30分）
A
When Paul was a boy growing up in Utah, he happened to live near a copper smelter(炼铜厂), and the chemicals that poured out had made a wasteland out of what used to be a beautiful forest. One day a young visitor looked at this wasteland and called it an awful area. Paul knocked him down. From then on, something happened inside him.
Years later Paul was back in the area, and he went to the smelter office. He asked if they had any plans or if they would let him try to bring the trees back. The answer from that big industry was “No.”
Paul then went to college to study the science of plants. Unfortunately, his teachers said there weren't any birds or squirrels to spread the seeds. It would be a waste of his life to try to do it. Everyone knew that, he was told. Even if he was knowledgeable as he had expected, he wouldn’t get his idea accepted.
Paul later got married and had some kids. But his dream would not die. And then one night he did what he could with what he had. As Samuel Johnson wrote, “It is common to overlook what is near by keeping the eye fixed on something remote. Attainable good is often ignored by minds busied in wide ranges.” Under the cover of darkness, he went secretly into the wasteland and started planting.
And every week, he made his secret journey into the wasteland and planted trees and grass. For fifteen years he did this against the plain common sense. Slowly rabbits appeared. Later, as there was legal pressure to clean up the environment, the company actually hired Paul to do what he was already doing. Now the place is fourteen thousand acres of trees and grass and bushes, and Paul has received almost every environmental award Utah has. It took him until his hair turned white, but he managed to keep that impossible vow he made to himself as a child.
46.When Paul was a boy, _____.
A. he had decided never to leave his hometown
B.the economy of Utah depended wholly on the copper smelter
C. no laws were made to protect the environment against pollution
D. he had determined to stop the copper smelter polluting the area
47.Why did Paul go to college to study the science of plants?
A. He wanted to find out the best way to save the area himself.
B. He was interested in planting trees since he was young.
C.He wanted to get more knowledgeable people to help him.
D.He thought his knowledge would make his advice more persuasive.
48. What does the underlined phrase “the plain common sense” probably refer to?
A. That it was impossible for trees to grow on the wasteland.
B.That his normal work and life would be greatly affected.
C.That no one would like to join him in the efforts.
D.That he had to keep everything he did secret.
49.The message of the passage is that _____.
A.action speaks louder than words
B.perseverance(持之以恒) will work wonders
C.God helps those who help themselves
D.many hands make light work
E
Water and its importance to human life are the center of the world’s attention. March 22 is World Water Day, which has the theme “Water and culture ”this year. Ther are more than one billion people in the world who live without safe drinking water. The United Nations hopes to cut this number in half by 2015.
Solving such a big problem seems like an unreal challenge. But everyone, even teenagers, can do something to help. A teenage girl in the U.S. has set an example to others of her age around the world. Rene Haggerty, 13, was awarded the 2004 Gloria Barron Prize for her work of collecting deserted batteries which pollute water.
In 2003, Haggerty went on a field trip to the Great Lakes Science Centre in Ohio. There, she saw an exhibit about how chemicals in old batteries harm the water of Lake Erie. Haggerty learnt that recycling the batteries was an easy solution. “I think everybody can do it, because everyone uses batteries, and it can make a big difference.”With these words, she began to increase awareness in her area.
She talked to her county government and school board. She got permission to start a recycling programme in schools as well as the public libraries, hospitals, and churches. With the help from her family, friends and local waste-management officials, she gathered containers, arranged transportation, and made an educational video.
Over the past two years, she collected four tons of batteries and drew the attention of officials, who were in charge of a battery recycling programme but had made little progress. When asked if she feels like a hero, Haggerty is quite modest. “Not really. Well, maybe for the fish I saved!”
Every year the Gloria Barron Prize honors young Americans aged 8 to 18 who have shown leadership and courage in serving the public and the planet. Each year ten winners receive ＄2,000 each, to help with their education costs or their public service work.
68.According to the passage, how many people probably can’t drink safe drinking water in 2015?
A.About I billion. B.About 2 billion.
C.About 500 million. D.About 5 million.
69.In order to collect used batteries, Rene Haggerty did the following things EXCEPT_______.
A.gather some containers B.arrange the transportation
C.make an educational video D.go on a field trip
70.The best title for this passage should be_______ .
A.A girl awarded the 2004 Gloria Barron Prize
B.A girl acts to clean the world’s water
C.We should protect our environment
D.A girl collecting batteries