I teach geography at UNLV three times per week. Last Monday, at the beginning of class, I cheerfully asked my students how their weekend had been. One young man said that his weekend had not been so good. He had his wisdom teeth removed. The young man then asked me why I always seemed to be so cheerful. “I choose to be cheerful.” I said. Then I told them a story.
In addition to teaching here at UNLV, I also teach out at the community college in Henderson, 17 miles down the freeway from where I live. One day I drove those 17 miles to Henderson. I exited the freeway and turned onto College Drive. I only had to drive another quarter mile down the road to the college. But just then my car died and wouldn’t start again. So I left my car there and marched down the road to the college.
As soon as I got there I called AAA (美国汽车协会)and arranged for a tow truck (拖车) to meet me at my car after class. The secretary in the office asked me what had happened. “This is my lucky day.” I replied, smiling.
“Your car breaks down and today is your lucky day?” She was puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“My car could have broken down anywhere along the freeway but it didn’t.” I replied, “Instead, it broke down in the perfect place: off the freeway, within walking distance from here. I’m still able to teach my class, and I’ve been able to arrange for the tow truck to meet me after class.” The secretary’s eyes opened wide, and then she smiled. I smiled back and headed for class. So ended my story.
I scanned the sixty faces in my class at UNLV. Despite the early hour, no one seemed to be asleep. Somehow, my story had touched them. Or maybe it wasn’t the story at all. In fact, it had all started with a student’s observation that I was cheerful. An Indian wise man once said, “Who you are speaks louder to me than anything you can say.” I suppose it must be so.Why did the author tell his students the story?
| A．To share his lucky experience. |
| B．To make his class more lively. |
| C．To draw all students’ attention. |
| D．To encourage his students to be positive. |
What happened to the author on his way to the community college?
| A．He parked his car in a perfect place. |
| B．He called AAA for a tow truck to meet him. |
| C．He covered the last quarter mile on foot. |
| D．He drove off the freeway at a wrong exit. |
By saying “it wasn’t the story at all”, the author means that_______.
| A．His story is not convincing |
| B．He shouldn’t have told the story |
| C．His attitude to life has inspired the students |
| D．His story is not as interesting as expected |
What can be concluded from the passage?
| A．Easier said than done. |
| B．You are what you choose. |
| C．Behind bad luck comes good luck. |
| D．A good beginning makes a good ending. |
Every year when the Italian artist Michelangelo’s (1475－1564) birthday comes around, computer users all over the world are filled with fear and use their computers with care. Some may even choose not to turn on their computers on March 3rd. All this fear and care are just because a deadly computer virus(病毒) is ready to cause damages on that day.
What’s a computer virus then? Why do people get so afraid of it?
A computer virus is, in fact, a little program that is put into other programs and that does something bad. It is called a virus because, like any real-life viruses such as AIDS virus, it reproduces(繁殖) itself. And when these programs are run, the virus is brought to life. It hides itself in your computer system waiting for the right moment to make damages. And at the same time it keeps producing itself by copying itself onto other programs.
The Michelangelo virus waits until the artist’s birthday comes around, and then it will wake up to do very bad things like destroying you files. So next time when you turn on your computer, look out for computer viruses!
1. The Italian artist Michelangelo_______.
A. was born six centuries ago B. was born on March 3rd, 1475
C. died six centuries agoD. died on March 3rd, 1564
2. Why are computer users full of fear on March 3rd? Because_________.
A. it is the birthday of a famous Italian artist
B. a kind of computer virus will come on that day
C. a deadly computer virus called “ the Michelangelo virus” will wake up and then cause damages to computers on that day
D. something will easily go wrong with computers
3. In fact, a computer virus is_______.
A. a program which can help the computer avoid something dangerous.
B. a kind of real-life virus
C. a kind of virus like AIDS virus
D. also a kind of program which is placed into other programs and which makes damages
4. In fact, a computer virus is ready to cause damages_________.
A. any day B. only on March 3rd
C. on Fridays D. only on some famous artists’ holidays
The best way to improve your reading ability is, of course, to read. The student must make a real effort to improve his speed, and if necessary his comprehension, with each exercise. Too many students read passages passively（被动的） and without judgment: they simply start at the first word and read through to the end. You should read a passage actively, selectively（选择地） and purposely. You must believe that you indeed have the ability to read faster and understand, and that you will.
Reading, like everything else in life, is best done when you’re relaxed. The key to improve it is concentration. You must be willing to break some old habits and form new ones. Extra body movement, such as turning the head from side to side, pointing at the line with a finger or pencil, or moving the lips, should be stopped immediately. Reading is mostly a mental process(大脑活动过程) and body movement helps neither speed nor comprehension. Then you should see words as part of a whole sentence or paragraph, not just in isolation(孤立), This is why a slow, word-by-word student often understands far less, or misses much of the joy and excitement of reading.
The student must learn to improve reading skills on their own, and not just when a teacher is looking over his shoulder. Reading improvement takes discipline（纪律） and effort. Don’t give up.
1. According to the author, how should we not read a passage?
A. actively B passively. C. purposely D. selectively
2. You may conclude that whether you can improve your reading depends on________.
A. your attitude B. your good habits of reading
C. discipline D. all of the above
3. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. When reading, you’d better point at the line with a pencil.
B. When reading, you should turn your head from side to side.
C. When reading, you should pay attention to basic unit of meaning, that is a phrase or sentence that contains an idea.
D. Body movement will help you to improve reading.
4. The best title for this passage is___________.
A. Reading FasterB. Understanding Better
C. How to Improve Your ReadingD. Don’t Give Up
IV.阅读理解（共16小题；每小题2分，满分32分）
阅读下列短文，然后从所给四个选项中选出最佳选项，并标在试卷的相应位置。
A holiday is any day when people lay aside their ordinary duties and cares. The word comes from Old English. At first, holidays honored some holy(神的) events or persons. People in Great Britain and other countries speak of holidays as Americans speak of vacations.
Every nation has its special holidays. China observes New Year’s Day(January 1), May Day and National Day as legal(法定的) holidays, as it was on Oct. 1, 1949 that People’s Republic of China was founded. The Chinese have long celebrated the Chinese lunar year. In the United States, congress（国会） has declared(宣告) several as legal days such as New Year's Day (January1), Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday, Washington's Birthday, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day and so on. Some holidays celebrate special events in the development of a country, such as Greece’s Independence Day, Italy’s Liberation Day and India’s Independence Day.
In the United States, banks and schools usually close on a legal holiday. When such a holiday falls on Sunday, the following Monday is often observed. Schools and organizations often observe days known as traditional holidays, although schools and businesses do not close then. Those holidays include Valentine's Day and Halloween.
1. Which of the following holidays has nothing to do with a country’s development?
A. China’s National Day B. Valentine’s Day
C. Italy’s Liberation Day D. America’s Independence Day
2. From the passage we can infer that _________.
A. Chinese will no longer observe the Spring Festival
B. students don’t have to go to school on any holiday
C. Chinese and Americans share at least one holiday
D. Americans can easily draw money from banks on legal days
3. In the sentence “China observes New Year’s Day(January 1)”, “observes” means_____.
A. praises B. spends C. celebrates D. cares
4. If a legal holiday falls on Sunday, people usually celebrate on_________.
A. Sunday B. the following Sunday
C. the following Monday D. the following Tuesday
四、阅读理解
Each morning a rich man found a poor man sitting on a park bench (长凳). The poor man always sat there, looking at the big hotel in which the rich man lived. One day the rich man got out of his car and said to the poor man, “Excuse me, but I just want to know why you sit here and look at my hotel every morning.” “Sir,” said the poor man, “I am a failure. I have no money, no family, no home. I sleep on this bench, and every night I dream that one day I’ll sleep in that hotel.” The rich man said, “That is not so hard. Tonight your dream will come true. I’ll pay for the best room in that hotel for you for a whole month.”
A few days later, the rich man went by the poor man’s room to ask him how he was enjoying himself. To his surprise, he found that the man had moved out of the hotel, back to his park bench. When the rich man asked why, the poor man said, “you see, when I am down here sleeping on my bench, I dream I’m up there, in that big hotel. It’s a wonderful dream. But when I was up there, I dreamed I was back to this cold bench. It was a terrible dream, and I couldn’t get any sleep at all.”
1. The poor man lived in_____ before he met the rich man.
A. the hotel B. his home C. the park D. the car
2. Every morning, the poor man sat on the bench and _____
A. waited for the rich man B. looked at the rich man’s hotel
C. looked at the rich man’s car D. enjoyed the clean air
3. The poor man moved out of the hotel because_______
A. he didn’t want to live in such a fine room
B. he didn’t like the rich man
C. he couldn’t pay for the room
D. he couldn’t get any sleep at all there
4. In the end, the poor man found it _____to sleep in the hotel.
A. sorry B. nice C. sad D.terrible