It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.
The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries（食品杂货），saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity（人性）as a whole. And it has influenced us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others. No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.Why was the bike so important to the couple?
| A．They used it for work and daily life. |
| B．It was their only possession. |
| C．It was a nice Kona 18 speed. |
| D．The man’s job was bike racing. |
We can infer from the text that ____________.
| A．the couple worked 60 hours a week. |
| B．people were busy before Christmas |
| C．the stranger brought over the bike |
| D．life was hard for the young family. |
What do the couple learn from their experience?
| A．Strangers are usually of little help. |
| B．One should take care of their bike. |
| C．News reports make people famous. |
| D．An act of kindness can mean a lot. |
Forget Miami, Los Angeles and New York. – The next big Latin music explosion is on its way in secondary markets across the United States, and the numbers are there to back it up. Among all categories, Latin music was the only one registering growth in 2005. From tiny Vero Beach in northern Florida to Des Moines, Iowa, in the heart of the Midwest, from Charlotte, N.C．to Salt Lake City, Latin music sales are skyrocketing.
Wilson says there are two major reasons for the increase. One is simply the Hispanic(来自说西班牙语国家的) population’s increase in specific areas, which encourages stores to carry Latin product for the first time. Second, and perhaps more important, is the fact that major companies－whether dealing in music or not－are addressing the Latin consumer at a corporate level, creating Latin departments and hiring Latin ad agencies. One of Handleman’s suburban Detroit stores, for example, has expanded its Latin section four times in the last two years. Cities like Milwaukee and Des Moines are now stocking Latin product.
Besides, it also results from economic development. It goes something like this: more often than not, a city or country with a seemingly important Hispanic population will suddenly expand its construction or offer affordable housing to those working in larger, neighboring cities. This attracts lower-income workers, many of whom are Latin. Small shops and groceries begin to stock a small selection of music. When the Latin population numbers reach a critical mass, the local mass merchant, if there is one, begins stocking the product. Sooner or later, a local radio station follows; first AM, then FM. Sometimes it’s a cable TV show or a small TV station.
Of course, there are other driving forces that should not be forgotten, for example, regional Mexican music.
68．The passage mainly tells readers _____.
A．that more and more Americans like Latin music
B．what makes Latin music develop fast in American market
C．why Latin music becomes Americans’ favorite music
D．that Latin music is bringing in more benefits for Americans
69．The underlined word “skyrocketing” in the first paragraph means “_____”.
A．changing very quickly B．disappearing slowly
C．recovering slowly D．increasing very quickly
70．According to the third paragraph, which shows the right relations among the following things?
①economic development ②more Latin workers
③shops’ stock of Latin music ④local radio station
⑤small TV station ⑥the development of Latin music
A．① B． ① C． ① D． ①
↓ ↘ ↙ ↓
② ⑤ ② ② ②
↙↓↘ ↑ ↓ ↙↘
③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ③ ③ ④ ⑤ ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥
↘↓↙ ↖ ↙ ↖ ↑ ↗
⑥ ④ ⑥
71．Suppose that the passage doesn’t finish, which of the following may be discussed next?
A．The variety of Latin music in America.
B．The economic development in Hispanic area.
C．The historic development of regional Mexican music.
D．The driving forces of regional Mexican music.
As I was reading a recent story in Slate on 20-somethings complaining about how the economy was ruining their life plans, I couldn’t help but think the 20-somethings sounded like a bunch of spoiled (宠坏) children who grew up expecting everything to be easy for them. As a 20-something myself, I certainly share their disappointment: my husband and I probably won’t be able to buy a house until we’re in our 40s, and we too are burdened by student loans(贷款). But why should it be any different? Being young persons in America, shouldn’t they take up all of the challenges and opportunities that this country offers?
Consider some of these views shared in the Slate story: Jennifer, 29, owner of a two-bedroom apartment with her husband, worries that she won’t be able to have children for at least a decade because they can’t afford to buy a house yet.
I read that, and I thought, what planet is she living on where you need to own a house in order to have kids? Has she ever visited a developing country, or even downtown areas in this one? Home ownership is a luxury(奢华), not a fertility requirement.
A 26-year-old in the story despairs(绝望) that he can’t afford to get a Ph.D. in literature. Well, that sounds a bit like expressing disappointment that no one will pay you to write poetry on the beach in Thailand for five years.
Yes, it’s sad that these young people feel so lost. But I think the problem is their extremely high expectations, not economic reality. Beth Kobliner, author of Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties, says that she thinks people’s expectations are slowly adjusting, but today’s 20-somethings grew up at a time when everyone’s wealth appeared to be expanding. Their parents probably saw their home values rise along with their investments.(投资) “So you have people who have grown up in an environment where people had great expectations of what living well means,” says Kobliner.
This recession(衰退) will certainly play a role in forcing those expectations into more realistic group. In the meantime, it seems a lot better for our mental health to focus on being grateful－for our one-bedroom apartments, for living in modern cities, or perhaps just for being able to eat three meals a day－than on longing for some kind of luxury life.
64．What makes the author think the 20-somethings sound like a bunch of spoiled children?
A．They expect everything to be easy for them.
B．They complain that the economy is spoiling their life plans.
C．They are reluctant (不愿) to face all of the challenges.
D．They are burdened by student loans.
65．The underlined word “fertility” in Paragraph 3 probably means .
A．baby production B．pleasant
C．baby comfort D．essential
66．What’s the author’s attitude towards the 20-somthings with high expectation in Paragraph 5?
A．Intolerant. B．Negative. C．Unbelieving. D．Understanding.
67．What is the best title for this passage?
A．How Young People Afford to Continue Their Study
B．Why Young People Can’t Afford to Buy a House
C．When Young People’s High Hopes Create Despair
D．What the 20-somethings’ High Expectations Are
TOKYO – The number of domestic (国内) infections cases of influenza A/H1N1 in Japan hits 42 on Sunday after a total of 34 people in Osaks and Hyogo counties were confirmed to have been infected, local media reported.
The total number of the infection in the country now stands at 46, including the first four cases contracted abroad.
The country is now facing the risk of grass-root outbreak which could lead the WHO to raise its new flu pandemic alert（传染病预警）to the highest level of 6 from the current 5, experts has warned.
The 34 newly confirmed domestic cases, 11 in Osaka and 23 in Hyogo, included high school students, college students and teachers, the health ministry and local governments said Sunday.
Japan on Saturday confirmed the first eight cases of domestic infection on students of a Kobe high school. The later confirmed cases in Osaka are said to have contacted(感染) the Kobe students in a volleyball match. Osaka and Hyogo are neighboring in the Kansai region.
All of the 42 people had no record of overseas travel. Meanwhile, a total of 143 students at the Kansai Okura Senior High School where many infections in Osaka were found, have shown symptoms of influenza since around Monday, according to local media reports. The privately run school said it will be closed from Monday through Saturday. More than 1,000 educational facilities -- kindergartens, and elementary, junior and senior high schools -- in Osaka and Hyogo counties have decided to suspend (暂停) classes for certain periods following the confirmation of new flu infections in the counties, Kyodo News reported.
The two counties have requested private schools to follow suit. Osaka Governor Toru Hashimoto held a meeting of a new flu task force on Sunday and decided to ask facilities such as movie theaters to suspend operations to prevent the spread of the flu. TV clips showed people in Kansai region started to wear masks in public spaces and rushed to drug stores for buying medicines.
The Japanese government on Saturday shifted the stage of its new-flu action program from “a period of overseas outbreak” to “a period of domestic outbreak” and called for companies and schools in the areas concerned to allow individuals to avoid commuting（出行）during rush hours.
The Kyodo News quoted Masato Tashiro, a member of the World Health Organization's emergency committee, as saying that several hundred people in Japan already may have been infected with the new flu.
60．According to the passage, the total number of the A/H1N1 infection in Japan now is _______.
A．42 B．34 C．46 D．143
61．The reasons for the happening of the later confirmed cases in Osaka are the following except
__ _.
A．143 students at the Kansai Okura Senior High School have shown symptoms of influenza.
B．Some students in a Kobe High school got infected.
C．Osaka and Hyogo are next to each other in the Kansai region.
D．The later infected people contacted the Kobe students in a volleyball match.
62．What is the implied meaning of what Masato Tashiro said in the last paragraph?
A．The real situation about the new flu in Japan may be worse than it has been reported.
B．Several hundred people have been infected but they don’t know it.
C．The WHO has to raise its new flu pandemic alert to the highest level.
D．The WHO’s emergency committee are trying to confirm the number of infection in Japan.
63．The purpose of the passage is ______.
A．to introduce the domestic infection cases in Japan.
B．to draw people’s attention to the worsening situation of influenza A / H1N1
C．to give some advice on preventing the spread of the flu.
D．to call for educational facilities in Japan to suspend classes for some time.
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每题2分，满分40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。
Do you know who invented the slide – fastener, or rather, the zipper (拉链)? No one thought of anything like the zipper until Whitcomb Judson came along. Judson’s slide-fastener was an out-of-blue invention. No one knows what gave him the idea．No one even knows much about him, except that he was a mechanical engineer living in Chicago and that he patented other inventions to do with a street railway system and motorcars.
Judson invented the first zipper in 1891. This ingenious little device looks very simple, and the principle behind it is simple, too; yet it took a lot of years, together with another inventor to make the zipper really practical.
The zipper had to be produced cheaply, because no one would pay a lot of money for it．Judson invented a machine to mass-produce his slide-fastener．But the machine was terribly complicated and kept on breaking down. So in 1905 Judson invented a new fastener, the C-curity, which was easier to manufacture. Clothing manufacturers, however, were not the least bit interested in trying out the fasteners, so the only way Judson could get them on to the market was by letting pedlars（小贩）sell them from door to door．Moreover, the C-curity fastener was clumsy and had a bad habit of bursting open at inconvenient times.
Then a young Swedish engineer called Sundback came to work for Judson’s struggling company. He thought hard and decided that the interlocking parts needed to be much smaller to give the fastener greater flexibility and to stop it bursting open．After several attempts, Sundback invented a really practical fastener in 1913. It is in all important ways the same as the one we use today.
Clothing manufacturers still refused to use the fastener. But in 1918 an inventor showed the American army a flying suit he had invented．It happened to use the slide-fastener．The army put the suit through such tough tests that it disintegrated(分裂)---all except the fastener! A Navy officer happened to see the tests, and Judson’s unknown little company got an order for ten thousand fasteners．Later, Judson’s invention was used in the manufacture of rubber galoshes（橡胶套鞋） by a big company. They called the galoshes `Zippers´. This is how the slide-fastener got it s popular name.
56．What does the sentence “Whitcomb Judson’s slide-fastener was an out-of-blue invention” in the first paragraph mean?
A．That it was blue in color. B．That it was totally unexpected.
C．That it was excellent in quality. D．That it was not practical.
57．How many years did it take for a really practical zipper to be invented?
A．22 B．18 C．19 D．13
58．What do we know about Whitcomb Judson according to the passage?
A．It took Judson a lot of years to invent the first zippers.
B．Judson, together with Sundback invented a really practical fastener in 1913.
C．Judson invented a lot of things, not only including zippers but also a street railway system and motorcars.
D．People know little about Whitcomb Judson except a few facts.
59．What is the writer’s purpose of writing the passage?
A．To tell us how the zipper works.
B．To give a brief introduction about the inventors of the zipper.
C．To give us information about the invention of the zipper.
D．To argue who the real inventor of the zipper was.
All plant cells are capable of taking up water. Even dead ones do to a certain degree. Absorption（吸收）of water by dead cell walls makes wood become larger. In common land plants, the living cells of roots take up most of the water. Land plants without roots do exist, however. Those greenish-yellow lichens（苔藓）you see on rocks in the high mountains have no roots. Half a billion years ago, when water plants started to enter the land, the first land plants did not have roots.
Even among the flowering plants, one finds rootless forms. These flowering plants are “the higher plants” because they evolved（进化）recently and are thus considered higher on the evolutionary scale（进化度）. In the Peruvian desert, there grows one of these rootless higher plants, a bromeliad. It is a relative of the pineapple. Even if this plant had roots, they would be of no use, because where the plant grows, it never rains. The plant gets its water only from the dew（露水）it collects at night, when its leaves cool off. Such rootless plants, of course, can be moved with ease, but they will only grow when they are placed out in the open. If they are placed too near a house, the radiation from the heat of the house prevents the leaves from cooling and so prevents dew from forming, and the plant dies. In the southern United States and in Puerto Rico, one sees bromeliads growing high above the streets on the insulation（绝缘物）of electric wires. These plants get their water from rain, and the only soil they ever come in contact with is the dust that may blow on their leaves.
72．Wood becomes larger because of .
A．dead cell walls B．water entering dead cells
C．the growth of cells D．the death of cells
73．From the passage we know that the evolutionary scale is graded according to .
A．evolutionary cycles B．heights and depths C．time D．kinds
74．The “bromeliad” is a plant that .
A．has useless roots B．is a pineapple
C．can grow anywhere D．takes up water through its leaves
75．The most suitable title for this passage is “ ”.
A．Absorption of water by plants B．Rootless plants
C．Plants in the desert D．Higher plants