Mr. Hungerton, her father, really was absolutely centered upon his own silly self. If anything could have driven me from Gladys, it would have been the thought of such a father-in-law. I am convinced that he really believed in his heart that I came round to the Chestnuts three days a week for the pleasure of his company, and very especially to hear his views upon bimetallism (金银双币制).
For an hour or more that evening I listened to his tiring talk about bad money driving out good, and the true standards of exchange.
“Suppose,” he cried, “that all the debts in the world were called up at once, and immediate payment insisted upon, what under our present conditions would happen then?”
I gave the self-evident answer that I should be a ruined man, upon which he jumped from his chair, scolding me for my thoughtless quickness, which made it impossible for him to discuss any reasonable subject in my presence.
At last I was alone with Gladys, and the moment of Fate had come! She sat with that proud, slim figure of hers outlined against the red curtain. How beautiful she was! Gladys was full of every womanly quality.
I was about to break the long and uneasy silence, when two critical, dark eyes looked round at me, and the proud head was shaken disapprovingly. “I have a feeling that you are going to propose(求婚), Ned. I do wish you wouldn’t; for things are so much nicer as they are.”
I drew my chair a little nearer. “Now, how did you know that I was going to propose?” I asked in wonder.
“Don’t women always know? Do you suppose any woman in the world was ever taken unawares? But．．．oh, Ned, our friendship has been so good and so pleasant! What a pity to spoil it! Don’t you feel how splendid it is that a young man and a young woman should be able to talk face to face as we have talked?”
She had sprung from her chair, as she saw signs that I proposed to announce some of my wants. “You’ve spoiled everything, Ned,” she said. “It’s all so beautiful and natural until this kind of thing comes in! It is such a pity! Why can't you control yourself?”
“But why can’t you love me, Gladys? Is it my appearance, or what?”
“No, it isn’t that.”
“My character?”
She nodded severely.
“What can I do to mend it?”
She looked at me with a wondering distrust which was much more to my mind than her whole-hearted confidence.
“Now tell me what’s wrong with me?”
“I’m in love with somebody else,” said she.
It was my turn to jump out of my chair.
“It’s nobody in particular,” she explained, laughing at the expression of my face: “only an ideal. I’ve never met the kind of man I mean.”
“Tell me about him. What does he look like?”
“Oh, he might look very much like you.”
“How dear of you to say that! Well, what is it that he does that I don’t do? I’ll have a try at it, Gladys, if you will only give me an idea what would please you.”
“Well, it is never a man that I should love, but always the glories he had won; for they would be reflected upon me. Think of Richard Burton! When I read his wife’s life with him I could so understand her love! And Lady Stanley! Did you ever read the wonderful last chapter of that book about her husband? These are the sort of men that a woman could adore with all her soul, and yet be the greater, not the less, on account of her love, honored by all the world as the inspirer of noble deeds.”
“And if I do——”
Her dear hand rested upon my lips. “Not another word, Sir! You should have been at the office for evening duty half an hour ago; only I hadn’t the heart to remind you. Some day, perhaps, when you have won your place in the world, we shall talk it over again.”Why did the writer often come round to the Chestnuts?
| A．To hear Mr. Hungerton’s views upon bimetallism. |
| B．To find the opportunity of staying with Gladys. |
| C．To learn Mr. Hungertong’s standards of exchange. |
| D．To discuss the present economy with Gladys |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．It took great patience and courage for the writer to propose to Gladys. |
| B．Mr. Hungerton tried to stop the writer from proposing to his daughter. |
| C．It was difficult for Gladys to choose an ideal husband from her friends. |
| D．It was impossible for the writer to have any chance to marry Gladys. |
Which of the following words can best describe Gladys?
| A．Careful, choosy and stubborn. |
| B．Unfriendly, cold and self-centered. |
| C．Lovely, confident, and idealistic. |
| D．Simple-minded, active and attractive |
After achieving a 9 percent GDP growth, hosting a successful Olympic Games and carrying out its first space walk, you'd think China would be happy．Yet China is not pleased．That at least is the opinion of a new book written by a group of Chinese authors．
China Is Not Happy was released in March．It is a follow-up to the 1996 work China Can Say No, a bestseller that complained about the influence of the West, and the US in particular, on China．Thirteen years later, the authors of China Is Not Happy list their dissatisfaction with how China is being treated in the world today．They argue that China needs to use its growing power and economic resources to build its own position of outstanding performances．"From looking at the history of human civilization, we are most qualified to lead this world．Westerners should be second," the book says．
The authors, single out the US for special scorn (轻蔑), and say their book's message has been helped by the economic crisis．"This economic problem has shown the Chinese people that America does have problems, and that what we've been saying is right," said Wang Xiaodong, one of the authors in an interview with The Wall Street Journal．Since being released on March 13, the book has become a bestseller in many Chinese b
ookstores．The publisher has printed 270,000 copies, and says sales are far better than expected．
Yet much of the response to the book has been negative．Several reviews in the Chinese media have criticized the book's radical opinions．The book is a way to "fish money from the pockets of the angry youth and angry elderly," wrote one critic in the China Youth Daily．Meanwhile, a well-known sociologist, Li Yinhe, has said that China needs patriotism (爱国精神), but there is a limit．In her blog she wrote, "If we are to bully other countries, take the world's resources and try to lead it, we're going over the top." Wang Xiaodong admitted in an interview with the US' Time magazine that the book's title is a bit of a trick．"Those words in the title are just for the purpose of promoting the book in the marketplace," he says．"We didn't choose them．It was the people selling the book who chose the title, because it would sell well."
1．What is the best title of the article?
A．Happy China makes wonders B．China—happy or unhappy?
C．China is not happy D．China challenges the world
2．Which of the following statements doesn’t agree with the opinions of the new book?
A．China has made great historical breakthroughs in the past several years.
B．China’s civilization has advantages over the westerners’.
C．China needs to use its growing power and economic resources to build its own world
Position
D．China should be the number one leader in the world
3．The book is named China Is Not Happy because___________ .
A．China wants to put pressure on the western countries.
B．it reflects the national feelings of Chinese people.
C．it is a good selling point.
D．the authors of the book want to make a hit in the market.
4．The writer presents the article with the purpose of ___________.
A．introducing a new bookB．promoting a new book
C．raising discussions about a new book D．honoring the authors of a new book
第二部分阅读理解（共两节，满分50分）
第一节阅读下列短文，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。（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
In the dining room of my grandfather's house stood a giant grandfather clock．Meals in that dining room were a time for four generations to become one．The table was always spread with food containing love as the main ingredient．And that grandfather clock stood like an old family friend, watching over the laughter that was a part of our lives.
As a child, the old clock fascinated me．I watched and listened to it during meals．Even more wonderful to me was my grandfather's routine．He wound (上发条) that clock with a special key carefully each day．That key was magic to me．It kept our family's magnificent clock ticking and chiming．I remember watching as my grandfather took the key from his pocket and opened the hidden door in the clock．He inserted the key and wound — not too much, nor too little．He never let that clock wind down and stop．He showed us grandchildren how to open the door and let us each take turns winding the key．I remember the first time I did it I was so excited to be part of this family routine．
After my grandfather died, it was days after the funeral before I remembered the clock!
"Mama! The clock! We've let it wind down."
The tears flowed freely when I entered the dining room．The clock stood there quiet．It even seemed smaller without my grandfather's special touch.
Some time later, my grandmother gave me the clock and the key．The old house was quiet．No laughter over the dinner table, no ticking or chiming of the clock — all was still．I took the key in my shaking hand and opened the clock door．All of a sudden, I was a child again, watching my grandfather with his silver-white hair and blue eyes．He was there, winking at me, at the secret of the clock's magic, at the key that held so much power.
I stood, lost in the moment for a long time．Then slowly and carefully I inserted the key and wound the clock．It came back to life．Tick-tock, tick-tock, life and chimes were breathed into the dining room, into the house and into my heart．In the movement of the hands of the clock, my grandfather lived again.
1．Why does the writer say the table was always spreading with food containing love as the main ingredient?
A．The food was delicious and tasty.
B．The meal was made by his dear grandparents
C．The whole family talked about the love of each other over meals.
D．Four generations lived joyfully and harmoniously to become one.
2．By describing Grandfather’s routine in detail in the 2nd paragraph, the writer expresses___________.
A．It’s troublesome to make the clock work.
B．It’s a fantastic thing to play with the clock.
C．He greatly misses his late grandfather
D．His grandfather had a preference for the clock.
3．What kinds of mood are shown in the essay?
A．Sad and hopeful B．desperate and hopeful
C．Heart-broken and hopeless D．cheerful and hopeful
Divorce is bad for environment
US researchers raised a new theory on Monday: divorce is bad for the environment.
The global trend toward higher divorce rates has created more households with fewer People，
scientists at Michigan State University reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences．
More households means more houses，fuel and water are Heeded for them，the researchers wrote．“Globally，the number of households is increasing much faster than the number ofpeople，”said co-author “Jack” Liu in a telephone interview. “Even in regions with declining populationn, we see substantial increase in the number of households. Divorce is the main reason for reducingthe number of people in a household,” he said.
The average divorced person’s household is about 40 to 50 percent smaller than the average married person’s household, Liu said. But whether there are three or six people in a house ,the amount of fuel needed to heat them is about the same. In the United States, divorced households used 74 billion kilowatt—hours of electricity and 2.850 trillion liters of water in 2005, half of which could have been saved if households had stayed the same size as when they were married.
In the United States and 11 other countries between 1998 and 2002, if divorced households had combined to have the same average household size as married households, there could have been 7.4 million fewer households.
The number of divorced households in those countries ranged from 40,000 in Costa Rica to
almost 16 million in the United States around 2000. The number of rooms per person in divorced households was 33 percent to 95 percent greater than in married households.
“If you really want to get divorced, maybe you can remarry with somebody else, or live together with somebody else you like”, Liu said.
1. In America when the number of households is_________, the number of people in a house is__________.
A. increasing, decreasing B. decreasing, increasing
C. increasing, increasing D. decreasing, decreasing
2. What does the word “substantial” in the third paragraph mean?
A. Great B. Little C. Sudden D. Timely
3. How much electricity would have been saved without so many people getting divorced in America in 2005?
A. 7.4 million kilowatt-hours B. 16 million kilowatt-hours
C. 37 billion kilowatt-hours D. about 30 billion kilowatt-hours
4. The last paragraph is the writer’s_________for people.
A. advice B. encouragement C. demand D. order
“Old wives tales” are beliefs passed down from one generation to another, For example, most of us remember our parents’ telling us to eat more of certain foods or not to do certain things. Is there any truth in these teachings? Some of them agree with present medical thinking, but others have not passed the test of time.
Did your mother ever tell you to eat your carrots because they are good for your eyes? Scientists now report that eating carrots can help prevent a serious eye disease called macular degeneration. Eating just one carrot a day can reduce the possibility of getting this disease by 40%. Garlic is good for you, too. It can kill the type of virus that causes colds.
Unfortunately, not all of Mom’ s advice passed the test of medical studies, For example, generations of children have been told not to go swimming within an hour after eating. But research suggests that there is no danger in doing so. Do sweets cause tooth problems? Well, yes and no. Sticky sweets made with grains tend to cause more problems than sweets made with simple sugars.
Even though science can tell us that some of our traditional beliefs don’t hold water, there is still a lot of truth in the old wives’ tales. After all, much of this knowledge has been accumulated from thousands of years of experience in family health care. We should respect this body of knowledge even as we search for clear scientific support to prove it true or false.
1. Which of the following is TRUE according to the test?
A. Eating garlic is good for our eyes. B. Sticky sweets are damaging to our teeth.
C. Swimming after a meal is dangerous. D. Carrots prevent people from catching colds.
2. The author develops the third paragraph mainly .
A. by cause and effect B. by order in space
C. by order in time D. by examples
3. The phrase “hold water” in the last paragraph most probably means”_____”.
A. to be believable B. to be valuable C. to be admirable D. to be suitable
4.What is the author’s attitude toward “old wives tales” in the text?
A. Subjective B. Objective C. DissatisfiedD. Curious
Sports can help you keep fit and get in touch with nature. However, whether you are on the mountains, in the waves, or on the grassland, you should be aware that your sport of choice might have great influence on the environment.
Some sports are resource-hungry. Golf, as you may know, eats up not only large areas of countryside, but also tons of water. Besides, all sorts of chemicals and huge amounts of energy are used to keep its courses in good condition. This causes major environmental effects. For example, in the dry regions of Portugal and Spain, golf is often held responsible for serious water shortage in some local areas.
There are many environment-friendly sports. Power walking is one of them that you could take up today. You don’t need any special equipment except a good pair of shoes; and you don’t have to worry about resources and your purse. Simple and free, power walking can also keep you fit. If you walk regularly, it will be good for your heart and bones. Experts say that 20 minutes of power walking daily can make you feel less anxious, sleep well and have better weight control.
Whatever sport you take up, you can make it greener by using environment-friendly equipment and buying products made from recycled materials. But the final goal should be “green gyms”. They are better replacements for traditional health clubs and modern sports centers. Members of green gyms play sports outdoors, in the countryside or other open spaces. There is no special requirement for you to start your membership. And best of all, it’s free.
1. Which of the following is the author most probably in favor of?
A. Cycling around a lake. B. Motor racing in the desert.
C. Playing basketball in a gym. D. Swimming in a sports center.
2. What do we know about golf from the passage?
A. It is popular in Portugal and Spain.
B. It causes water shortages around the world.
C. It pollutes the earth with chemicals and wastes.
D. It needs water and electricity to keep its courses green.
3. The author uses power walking as an example mainly because _________.
A. it is an outdoor sport B. it improves our health
C. it uses fewer resources D. it is recommended by experts
4. The author writes the passage to _________.
A. show us the function of major sports
B. encourage us to go in for green sports
C. discuss the major influence of popular sports
D. introduce different types of environment-friendly sports