On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted that 42% of Americans could be overweight by 2030. Our expanding bodies not only lead to a medical problem, but also endanger personal safety in some situations—in an airplane crash, for example, according to a recent article in The New York Times.
The New York Times’ Christine Negroni reports that engineers and scientists are questioning whether airplane seats are designed to protect overweight travelers. Government standards（标准） for airplane seat strength—first set more than 60 years ago---require that the seats be made for a passenger weighing 170 pounds. Today, the average American man weighs nearly 194 pounds and the average woman 165 pounds. Negroni reports:
“If a heavier person completely fills a seat ,the seat is not likely to behave as designed during a crash,”Robert Salzar,the leading scientist at the Center for Applied Biomechanics at the University of Virginia. “The energy that is built into the aircraft seat is likely to be overpowered and the passengers will not be protected properly”.
“Nor would the injury be limited to that passenger only,” Dr. Salzar said. “If a seat or a seat belt fails,”he said, “those people who are seated nearby could not be safe from the uncontrolled movements of the passenger.”
Most complaints（投诉） about airplane seats focus on their lack of comfort and high ticket price, and whether overweight passengers should be made to buy two seats. But The New York Times’ article bring up another reason to feel anxious about flying. Investigators（调查者） got in touch with the airplane seat and seat belt makers, but they refused to talk about the problem. Experts agreed that crash testing should be done .Both airplane seats and seat belts should be tested, they said.
Fortunately, however, according to Nora Marshall, a senior adviser at the National Transportation Safety Board, the board’s investigators have never seen an accident involving a commercial plane in which the weight of a passenger was a problem.What is the article in The New York Times mainly about?
| A．The size of airplane seats and seat belts |
| B．Safety of overweight airplane passengers |
| C．Airplane crashes |
| D．A medical problem caused by being overweight |
Robert Salzar would probably agree that_________.
| A．overweight passengers should buy two seats |
| B．the government should help produce safer planes |
| C．standards for airplane seat strength should be raised |
| D．passengers should know how to protect themselves |
What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
| A．Experts | B．Passengers |
| C．Investigators | D．The airplane seat makers |
We can learn from the text that_________
| A．airplane seat makers have taken action now |
| B．there are few complaints about airplane seats |
| C．those seated near the overweight may suffer too |
| D．only a small number of airplane accidents result from the overweight |
what is the best title for the text?
| A．Why do passengers Feel Anxious about Flying? |
| B．Will 42% of Americans Be Overweight by 2030? |
| C．When Will the Overweight Enjoy Their Flight? |
| D．Are Airplane Seats Safe Enough for the Overweight? |
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Hoorah！I have escaped the Czech (捷克) Republic! I am now wearing light clothing and sunglasses, although the latter are superfluous today, as it is cool and overcast with cloud and it has rained slightly.
The city of Qatar (卡塔尔) is flat and sandy with few trees — mostly palms. You can see construction everywhere, new streets with hotels and apartment blocks in Venice theme. It’s a mix of super modern and traditional building styles. Everything looks new including the vehicles. There are many huge roundabouts; no traffic rules or at least no one obeys any. The huge 4-storey shopping mall in fantastic style has an ice rink (溜冰场) on the ground floor. Thousands of people walk round the waterfront after dark.
Qataris are very religious and there are calls to prayers regularly. Qatari men are dressed in all sorts of traditional clothing plus western dresses. You can easily find imported labour from South Asian countries, poorly paid and discriminated against. I am told that Qataris don’t hide their racist attitudes.
Women are always wonderful sights. Some are in all sorts of black clothing with face uncovered; some totally enveloped; lots wearing western dresses. Best sight so far: a woman in a mall completely wrapped in black including gloves, not even an eye shown — wearing glasses on the outside of her veil (面纱), using a cell phone while fingering a dress.
I am living with my employers — a New Zealand couple, and another teacher named Wayne, all about my age. We share one apartment. I have a large room with a bathroom attached: it is a little run-down but very comfortable. The only rather annoying thing is that I have to use the laptop on my bed as there is no desk and chair in here. As soon as it is clear that I will be staying I will make a change to all this. I haven’t lived with other people for many years and have been used to living alone so it will be interesting to see how this works.
49. The best title for this passage is ________.
A. The New Life with My EmployersB. General Observation of Qataris
C. My Adventure in the Czech RepublicD. My First Impressions of Qatar
50. The underlined part in paragraph one can be explained as ________.
A. it will be a fine day laterB. light clothing is helpless with cold
C. sunglasses appear fantasticD. sunglasses become unnecessary
51. In the author’s eyes, Qatar is a ________.
A. rich western industrialized country B. backward agricultural country
C. modern society with religious tradition D. nation closed to the outside world
52. It is true that the author is ________.
A. pleased with her present living condition B. missing her days in the Czech Republic
C. not certain how long she will be staying D. worried about her relation with her boss
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When we think of leadership, we often think of strength and power. But what are these really, and how do they operate?
Leadership today is not about forcing others to do things. Even if this is possible, it is short-term, and tends to produce unexpected and unwanted result. If you order someone to do something against their will, they may do it because they feel they have to, but the anger they feel will do more harm in the long-term. They will also experience fear.
Fear causes the thinking brain to shut down, making the person unable to function at his or her best. If they connect you with this emotion of fear, they will become less functional around you, and you will have succeeded in not only shooting yourself in the foot, but possibly making a very good employee or partner unable to perform effectively. Fear does no good to leadership.
The way we influence people in a lasting way is by our own character, and our understanding and use of emotion. We can order someone to do something, which may be part of the work day; or we can employ them at the emotional level, so they become fully devoted to the projects and provide some of their own motivation (动机). Today’s work place is all about relationships.
Anyone works harder in a positive environment in which they’re recognized and valued as a human being as well as a worker. Everyone produces just a bit more for someone they like. Leaders understand the way things work. They know the pay check is not the single most important factor in the work life of most people.
The true strength of leadership is an inner strength that comes from the confidence of emotional intelligence — knowing your own emotions, and how to handle them, and those of others. Developing your emotional intelligence is the single best thing you can do if you want to develop your relationship with people around you, which is the key to the leadership skills.
45. The writer thinks that it is not ________ for us to connect leadership with strength and power.
A. possible B. necessary C. easy D. effective
46. One may NOT be working hard when ________.
A. they’re regarded as human beings B. others like to do more for leaders
C. money is taken as the most important D. leaders understand the way things work
47. From the passage, we can conclude that ______ is the key to making a good leader.
A. developing one’s emotional intelligence B. influencing others in one’s own way
C. producing some unexpected results D. having confidence in one’s ability
48. This passage is most helpful to those who ________.
A. have strength and power B. are going to make a speech
C. would like to be leaders D. are to be excellent employees
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第二部分阅读理解:（共两节, 满分50分）
Ⅲ. 第一节（共20小题; 每小题2分, 满分40分））阅读下列短文, 从每题所给的选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卷上将该选项标号涂黑。
“Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and let him know that you trust him.” These words are from the black American educator, Booker Washington. He was saying that, “If you want people to grow up, you have to stop treating them like children.”
In America, families are close but children are encouraged to be independent, to make their own decisions, even at a very early age. It’s not unusual for a child of seven to be given an allowance (津贴) every week. The child is encouraged to save some of the money but he or she can spend it on whatever they choose, for example, buying clothes, school supplies or CDs. Some teenagers even have their own credit cards! That’s a big responsibility since even adults are tempted to overspend when they have credit.
From an early age, American children are asked for their opinions and they are included in family decision-making. At the dinner table, teenagers will be listened to on any topic, from politics to buying a new family car or where the family will go on vacation. In this way, teenagers are getting practice in becoming individuals: they are learning how to stand on their own two feet.
Many Chinese young people are becoming almost as interested as American teens in searching for independence. They want to express those qualities that make them unique human beings. You can see this in the way they dress, the music they listen to and the friends they choose. “Super Girl” Li Yuchun caught the imagination of Chinese teenagers on the “Super Girl” television contest. She was not the traditional “nice, young Chinese girl”. With her short, spiky hair and boy-like clothes, she was telling everyone that she was different. She had the courage to be her own person and to stand on her own two feet ... and she won!
There is an old saying, “Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him and then choose that way with all his strength.” If you do this, step by step, over a period of time, you may find that you have become the person you always wanted to be.
41. The passage is intended to encourage the youth to ________.
A. save money for useful things B. become independent
C. express their great ambitions D. make important decisions
42. A child of seven is given allowance so that he can ________.
A. be accepted as a popular guy B. learn to decide how to use money
C. overspend money without care D. have school supplies of his own
43. The author implies that many Chinese children ________.
A. are more independent than Americans B. should become interested in America
C. are happy with their present situation D. are not satisfied to be nice, quiet ones
44. The main idea of the last paragraph is ________.
A. that we should do things step by step B. why we should understand our desires
C. what we should plan for our own life D. how we can manage to realize our dream
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Researchers Look Behind the Tears to Study Crying
Many people found themselves unusually moved by the historic presidential inauguration(就职演说)last week in Washington Watching the huge crowds，we saw laughter，cheers，hugs-but also many tears
It made us wonder,why dopeople cry?Surely tears must be good for us—away to calm the mind and cleanse the body．Yet studies show that crying sometimes makes people feel worse．
Three researchers in Florida and the Netherlands recently looked more deeply into the subject． They examined detailed descriptions ofcrying experiences．Psychologist Jonathan Rottenberg at the University of South Florida says they wanted to study crying as it happens in everyday life，not in a laboratory．
The team analyzed information from the Intemational Study on Adult Crying．As part of that study，three thousand people in different countries，mostly college students，wrote about recent crying experiences．They noted causes，surroundings and any people involved in the event．They also reported how they felt after they cried．
Professor Roaenberg says the research showed that all crying experiences are not created equal. Crying does not always make a person feel better，he says．About ten percent of people reported feeling worse after they cried．
But a third felt better after crying．And a majority reported the experience as helpful．
The research showed that people who cry alone may not do as well as those with others around． People who reached out for emotional support at the time-and received it-reported better results from the crying experience．
But Professor Rottenberg says those who felt shame or embarrassment while crying were less likely to report that crying had been helpful．
Research has shown that women cry more of ten and more intensely than men．But it may not be to better effect，says the psychologist．The new findings，he says，did not show that a person’s sex was an advantage of beneficial crying．In other words，just because women cry more does not mean they are more likely to have a“good”cry．
The paper entitled”Is Crying Beneficial?”appeared in December in Current Directions in Psychological Scieflce And there is more to learn．Jonathan Rottenberg says the science ofcrying is still in its infancy．
57·Why did the author mention the presidential inauguration in Washington in the first paragraph?
A．Because he was impressed by the laughter,cheers，hugs and tears．
B．Because he wanted to introduce the topic about crying．
C．Because he wanted to show people’s dissatisfaction with the result．
D．Because it was the historic moment that many people cried
58．How did the researchers carry out the research?
A．They studied crying experiences not only in everyday life but also in labs．
B．They collected the crying experiences of the students at the colleges．
C They studied the crying experiences of grown-ups from various countries．
D．They noted their own crying experiencesand compared with others．
59．We can learn from the passage that_______．
A．it may be better to cry alone than with others around
B．some support from others may make crying helpful
C．women who cry more of ten may have better effects than men
D．the effects will be better if you feel shy while crying
60．The underlined phrase in the last paragraph probably means_______．
A．in the early stage B．in a secret state C．in the first place D in good condition
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Birds in cities are damaging their health by trying to sing above the noise of urban life．
New research shows that male birds are trying to compete against traffic and city sounds．They are now singing louder and at higher frequencies，which could harm their vocal cords．Some birds are choosing to sing at night instead of dudng the day．This makes them more open to attack and also creates stress and exhanstion．
“The difference between urban and rural birdsong is becoming so big that the two groups could now be unable to communicate．This could lead to inbreeding and a weak gene pool．”said Dr Sue Anne Zollinger of the University of St Andrews．
According to Zollingar,a bird group with a small geae pool might adapt less quickly to new diseases and could be wiped out．
A study of the dawn chorus found that birds in Berlin sang up to 14 decibels(分贝)louder than those in the forest．The birds sang loudest on weekday momings．
“By trying to sing over the sound of the city,birds are rising vocal injury,”said Zollinger．“All this puts the sarne strain on a bird’s vocal cords as when ahuman need to shout to be heard—except the birds are doing it all day,every day,”she said．
“Singing under such pressure means birds have less control over the sound they produce． Their songs may lose quality and become more rough—sounding．”said Zollinger．This could make them appear less attractive to female birds．
Mark Constantine，author of The Sound Approach to Birding，said：“Birdsong is important for our quality of life and has been proved to reduce our blood pressure．When we live in the centre of large，urban areas，we get stressed and it's extremely good to have birdsong around us．The impact on humans of birdsong is massive．It harms us，as well as the birds，if their songs become louder and simpler
53．Some birds in cities now choose to sing at night time because_______．
A．they want to attract more birds of opposite sex
B．they are more likely to be discovered by their family
C．they can’t adapt to the loud noises during the daytime
D．they have to frighten their enemy away
54．According to the passage，urban and rural birds might not be able to_______．
A．recognize each other
B communicate with each other
C live with each other
D．compete against each other
55．It requires greatest efforts for birds in cities to sing o_______．
A．Monday nights B．Wednesday afternoons
C．Saturday Evenings D．Friday momings
56．According to Dr Sue Anne Zollinger,birds singing louder might eventually lead to_______．
A．the harm done to man’s health
B the dying out of a species
C．the serious damage to the bird’s vocal cords
D．the decrease ofthe birth rate ofa bird group