Her frozen fingers touched the flame trying to feel alive. She could feel the warmth but it was a cold heat, as if the candle was rejecting her.
Her arms turned red because of the cold, her short sleeved shirt not giving her enough warmth. The winter air grabbed(抓住) at her arms, causing her pain, but she didn’t mind. She knew she should put her jacket on, it was winter in Connecticut, but that would be giving up. Up here, in this tree she felt safe.
She looked at the candle, surrounded by hardening wax(蜡). She placed her fingers gently on the warm green wax. This candle was a reminder of her life inside that house, a life she would have to return to eventually.
As a child, she had gotten this candle. She spent all she had on it. The beautiful crystal box (水晶盒)had caught her eye. Five whole nickels(五分币) had brought her that candle.
She gave it to her mother for Mother’s Day. Her mother had managed a smile and put it on a shelf. “It’s very pretty, honey! I will put it right here.” Since then that candle had never been moved, never been lighted, sitting dusty on a cluttered shelf that no one could see. Later on, her parents got divorced.
By now the candle was colder than the air and the darkness was complete. The snow on the ground made the night lighter and less satisfying than it had been before the first snowfall. She liked the darkness because she felt safe in it. From the glances of her friends who liked the girl she used to be. From the boys who could never figure out who she was. From her guidance counselor(顾问) whose endless worried looks never made her feel any better.
No one was outside at this time of night. She was alone in the world, just how she liked it. Just as she was about to lean back against the branch, she heard a sound.
She heard footsteps breaking the ice in the snow, heading toward her. He was making his way toward the white fence at the edge of the building, right against the road. Normally she would have ignored this person and stayed on her branch faraway from human contact, but this figure had something with him. He trudged(吃力地走) toward the white fence carrying a case. The figure reached the fence, opened the case and took out a shiny object.
She took her eyes off this figure only long enough to climb down the tree to get a better view of him. She reached the bottom and saw that the person had turned to face the street, sitting on the white fence that she and her friends once sat on. She stepped carefully on the ice, making her way toward him.
And then a beautiful sound of music came from the shiny object. She stopped and listened to it. She started walking towards the guy again. Just as she was about to step onto the snow banks, she slipped on the ice crashing to the ground. The figure turned around in surprise and a sudden recognition fell upon them both.The girl was hiding in the tree at deep night to ______.
A.keep herself from the cold |
B.wait for the boy to come |
C.want to be left alone |
D.seek safety from any hurt |
From the story, we can learn that ______.
A.the girl suffered a lot in her life |
B.the girl’s parents divorced because of her |
C.teachers and friends treated the girl badly |
D.the girl used to stay in the tree when feeling sad |
The underlined word “it” in the story refers to ______.
A.leaning back against the branch |
B.being alone in the world |
C.not being disturbed at night |
D.it being dark with snow around |
From the end of the story, it can be known that the girl _______.
A.knew the person |
B.knew what the object was |
C.realized her wishes |
D.would never feel alone any more |
B
The resounding film Avatar has been very popular in the UK and around the world, becoming the fastest film ever to earn $1bn(7bn yuan) in ticket sales.
But as well as being an entertaining feast for the eyes, the sci-fi epic(叙事诗)also introduces the audience to a brand new language invented especially for the film.
The movie is set on an alien planet called Pandora which is inhabited by many strange species. The most humanoid of the planet’s inhabitants are the Na’vi, and it is the struggle between the Na’vi and human invader that forms the main story of the film.
The film has been released in 2D and 3D versions.
In order to add a sense of reality to his vision of an alien race the film’s director James Cameron asked a professor of language form the University of Southern California to invent a language for the Na’vi.
Professor Paul Frommer worked with James Cameron for four years to build upon the original 30 words or so that the director had already come up with for the language.
According to Professor Frommer, the most important aspect of the Na’ vi language was that it could be pronounced.
“This is an alien language but obviously it has to be spoken by human actors,” Professor Frommer told the BBC, “it has to be sounds that human beings are comfortable producing.”
The language currently has around 1,000 words but Professor Frommer hopes to expand it in possible sequels(续集)to the film and in video games.
The professor hopes that one day his creation will have a high level of the Klingon alien language from the Star Trek films.
“There’s a translation of Hamlet into Klingon,” says Professor Frommer.
“If anything happened like this with Na’vi I’d be delight.”
60. The underlined word “resounding” in Paragraph 1 mean_________.
A. later B. scientific C. hit D. surprising
61. Which of the following is Right according to the passage?
A. A kind of new language was invented especially for the film
B. The film Avatar is as good as a film as the Star Trek
C. The creation in Alien Language is different from that in human beings.
D. Avatar is one of an excellent films invented by Pandora.
62. The most challenging part in the creation of the language is_________.
A. that Professor Frommer needs to create 1,000 words for the film Avatar by himself.
B. that the language is based on that of the Alien planet called Pandora
C. that James Cameron introduces a new style of language to the audience
D. that an Alien language is created to be spoken by human beings.
63. We can infer from the passage that_________.
A. the film Avatar has been released in 2D and 3D versions.
B. the most important aspect of the Na’vi language was that it could be pronounced.
C. Professor Paul Frommer believe his language creation in the film Avatar is very successful.
D. Professor Paul Frommer worked with James Cameron for four years for a sense of reality of the film.
第三部分阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
A
As a child growing up, I have very few memories of the times when we gathered as a family to sit down and eat dinner together. I grew up in a home where both of my parents worked. My mother taught in the school, and my father worked during the night at a local chemical plant. There was not much time available for us to sit down to eat dinner together due to my parents’ conflicting(冲突的)work schedules and the afterschool activities in which my sister and I participated.
It wasn’t until I got married and had two children of my own that I began to realize the important of eating dinner together. In my family there are elements that take us away from each other, day in and day out, but as a mother I feel it is my duty to bring us all back together again at the end of the day. In my house, dinner time is a time of thanks. I give thanks for us to share our day, but I am more thankful for the family I share it with. Dinner time is a time for us to share our day, and reflect on our thoughts. Above all it is a time when my family are able to connect with the ones they love.
As I look at the bread basket which sits on my kitchen table, I am reminded of how the basket’s tight weave resembles the tightly woven strands(股)of my family. I believe that through our family dinners, we will not only pass around the meat and potatoes, but we will also pass along virtues that will shape us so that we can forever embrace one another just as the basket embraces the bread.
56. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. It is pleasant to spend time with your family.
B. It is necessary to participate in family activities.
C. It is vital to balance work and family time.
D. It is important to have family dinner together.
57. According to the author, during dinner time .
A. we should remember the one who prepares the dinner
B. we can learn all sorts of knowledge from other people
C. communication among family members will be improved
D. it is healthy for people to express their opinions
58. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A. The family B. The food C. Dinner time D. My house
59. The author concludes the passage by .
A. making comparisons B. telling her own story
C. summarizing the main idea D. presenting facts
E
Michael Jackson,the “King of Pop”,died on June 25,2009.People all over the world were shocked at the news. He was considered as one of the most popular recording artists of all time. He had sold more than 750 million records worldwide and had received 13 Grammy Awards.
Jackson was born in America on August 29,1958. He displayed a talent for music and dance from an extremely young age. When he was 6, he and his four elder brothers—Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon—first performed together at a talent show. They got the first prize and went on to become a best-selling band , The Jackson Five.
Jackson made his first solo album(独唱唱片) in 1972. In 1982, he released(发行) his best-selling album Thriller, which had seven top-10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100,including Billie Jean, Beat it and Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'. The next year, he performed his signature dance move-the moonwalk while singing Billie Jean during an NBC special.
Thriller remains the world's best-selling album of all time and four of his other solo studio albums are among the world's best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979) Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and History (1995).
Michael Jackson was an artist who influenced many hip hop, pop music and R&B artists across several generations.
58.What was Jackson famous for when he was young?
A.Music and dance. B.Pop song. C.Handsome. D.Solo album.
59.When Jackson was he began to perform on the stage.
A.4 B.6 C.13 D.14
60.The names of solo albums which belong to Jackson are.
A.Thriller;Beat It;The Jackson Five;Off the Wall ’
B.Thriller;Off the Wall;Bad;Dangerous
C.Thriller;Hip Hop;History;Dangerous
D.Thriller;Marion;Billie Jean;Off the Wall
D
Once there lived an old man.He liked gold better than anything else in the world.He often said,“If I have enough gold,I will be the happiest man in the world.”
One day when he was traveling in the desert(沙漠),the old man lost his way.He was very hungry and thirsty,but there were only rocks and sand around him.Just then,he found a bag lying on the sand.He hoped he would find water and food in it.He took up the bag and opened it.He saw that the bag was full of gold.He was so sad that he threw away the bag and began crying.
Now the old man knew that there was something better than gold in the world.
53.The old man liked best before he traveled in the desert.
A.food B.bags C.books D.gold
54.When he lost his way,he wanted to get.
A.some food and water B.some rocks and sand
C.bags full of gold D.a map
55.What did he do with the bag?.
A.He didn't take it up B.He brought it home
C.He threw it away D.He cried
56.The old man didn't become the happiest man when he got the bag of gold because.
A.the bag was too small B.the gold wasn't his
C.he was very coldD.he had nothing to eat.
57.In the end,the old man knew that gold was in the world.
A.the best thing B.not the best thing
C.the best important D.better than anything
C
Stepping into a pool of water is common enough ,but who could ever imagine stopping into a pool of fish ?In February of 1974, Bill Tapp ,an Australian farmer ,saw a rain of fish that covered his farm . How surprised he must have been when he heard many fish hitting against his roof!
What caused this strange occurrence ?This is a question that had long puzzled people who study fish .The answer turned out to be a combination of wind and storm.
When it is spring in the northern part of the world ,it is fall in Australia, Throughout the autumn season ,terrible storms arise and rains flood the land .The strong winds sweep over Australia like huge vacuum(真空) cleaners, collecting seaweed ,pieces of wood , and even schools of fish .
The second thing,a dictionary will tell you the pronunciation.Most dictionaries give phonetic(语音的),or sound alphabet(音标).The phonetic alphabet shows pronunciation.The third thing,a dictionary will tell you the meaning of words.You can look up a word and find out what it means.Many words have more than one meaning,and a good dictionary will tell you au of the word's meanings.For example,in English the common word“get”has over 20 different meanings.
49.Many words have_____________ .
A.several meanings B.one meaning C.few meanings D.no meaning
50.A good dictionary will tell you____________.
A.more of word's pronunciationB.more of the word's meanings
C.more of grammar D.more of the word's spelling.
51.Phonetic alphabets are used to show.
A.handwritings B.spelling C.meanings D.pronunciation
52.How many important things will most dictionaries tell you?
A.Four B.Five C.Three D.Two