For Canadians, backpacking Europe is a special ceremony signifying a new life stage. Unlike package tours, backpacking is a struggle, full of discovery and chance connections. It is about focusing on something different from our own lives and losing ourselves in a new world, if only for a moment.
Well, that's what backpacking Europe is supposed to do. That’s what it used to do before modern communications, social media, and commercial hostelling (旅社). Older Canadians would not recognize the Europe that they backpacked in the 1960s, 1970s and even the 1980s. Far from a rough adventure into foreign cultures, the European experience has been shattered in part by today's technology.
A few years ago, I took my then 60-year-old father on a backpacking trip across part of Europe and Turkey. As he is an experienced traveler and someone who possesses a strong sense of adventure, I decided that we'd travel on a budget, staying in hostel dorms. For him, backpacking through Europe in 1969 was about independence and struggle. But two things surprised him at the end of our journey. First was how technology-based backpacking had become: Young people were so directly connected to home that they were hardly away in any meaningful sense. Second, the lack of connections we made with locals. Instead of making us feel closer to a place, he found commercial hostelling actually made us more alienated (疏远的).
But there was some room for hope. While technology takes our attention away from the beauty and history before us, there were also ways in which it helped us to connect with our surroundings. Websites like Airbnb have made it easier to stay with enthusiastic locals. Couch Surfing helps organize meet-ups between locals and travelers. The online marketplace Dopios offers a chance to meet locals through enjoyable experiences like a personalized city tour.
Backpacking can never be the way it was for our parents’ generation. But doing a little study of history and culture before leaving, and bravely getting rid of any electronic devices while traveling, will help give young travelers a taste of the glory days.The underlined word “shattered” in Paragraph 2 most probably means ________.
| A．broadened | B．relived |
| C．ruined | D．acquired |
Which of the following can be used to describe the author’s father?
| A．Sensitive. | B．Adventurous. |
| C．Strict. | D．Generous. |
After the recent backpacking trip in Europe, the author’s father finds ________.
| A．backpackers connect less with locals than before |
| B．young people dislike getting in touch with their family |
| C．a hostel is a nice place for travelers to meet each other |
| D．backpacking in Europe becomes more difficult than before |
What’s the author’s attitude towards technology?
| A．Negative. |
| B．Objective. |
| C．Uncertain. |
| D．Uninterested. |
The text mainly discusses the relationship between ________.
| A．technology and traveling |
| B．adventures and cultures |
| C．young people and their family |
| D．Canadian travelers and Europeans |
The United States will hold local, state and national elections this Tuesday. It seems that the Democrats (民主党) may be in a position to end Republican control of one or both houses of Congress.
Seventy percent of the fifty states will elect governors (地方长官). If the Democrats win four more of these than they have now, the Republicans would also lose their majority at the state level.
So both parties are fighting hard. Elections in America bring a flood of political advertising, especially on television. These messages are often negative (消极的) or attack ads.
Americans traditionally say they dislike negative ads, but political experts say these ads often work. In many cases, the candidates likely to gain from negative ads say that their own campaigns (活动) were not involved. Outside groups or national party committees often pay for these ads. Some are about issues, like a candidate’s position on the war in Iraq or immigration. But political ads increasingly seem to be attacking candidates personally.
Some political watchers say this year’s election has brought more negative ads than ever before. Whether this is true remains to be proven.
But some ads have made news, like a Republican National Committee ad against Harold Ford. The ad was based on the fact that last year he attended a Super Bowl party held by the men’s magazine Playboy. The ad showed an actress with bare shoulders saying she met him at the Play boy party. "Harold, call me," she says.
The ad might have seemed humorous, except that the woman is white and Mr. Ford is black.
63. The underlined word "some" in the fourth paragraph refers to ______.
A. campaigns B. Ads C. groups or party committees D. candidates
64. About political ads, the author ______.
A. doesn’t show his own opinion
B. thinks they are negative
C. considers them fair
D. disagrees with them
65. The author mainly discusses ______.
A. American elections
B. the ads campaign behind American elections
C. negative ads in the US
D. political advertising on TV
A new World Calendar is published every year, and provides the latest information about many places and things. For example, you can find the names of past academy-award winners, the names of award-winning athletes, and information about American cities and states.
The book also provides information about other nations. It includes world history, geography, business, science and technology and languages.
It presents the most important and most unusual news stories of the past year. And it gives interesting facts, such as the nation with the most refugees (难民) (Pakistan), the nation with the most vacation days each year (Italy), and the most popular breed (品种) of dog in the United States.
The New York World newspaper published the first World Calendar in 1868. The World Calendar website says the publication has even played a part in American politics. For example, in 1923, Calvin Coolidge was sworn (宣誓) in as president after the sudden death of President Warren Harding. Mr. Coolidge’s father, a judge, read the oath of office from a copy of the World Calendar. The website also says that several recent American presidents have used the book. It says there are photographs of presidents John Kennedy and Bill Clinton that show copies of the World Calendar on or near their desks.
The website also claims that the World Calendar is the best-selling American reference book of all time. It says that more than 80 million copies have been sold.
The World Calendar now also publishes a digital version (版本), as well as a separate calendar for children. The Kids Calendar provides information children might need for school reports. It also has games, puzzles and other activities children enjoy.
60. According to the passage, all the following are available in the new World Calendar EXCEPT ______.
A. information about famous awards in America
B. some interesting news stories
C. introductions to some American cities
D. Calvin Coolidge’s oath of office
61. Who is the owner of the World Calendar, according to the passage?
A. The New York World newspaper.
B. The World Calendar website.
C. John Kennedy.
D. The Kids Calendar.
62. According to the passage, the World Calendar has a history of about ______ years.
A. 140 B. 85 C. 55 D. 105
第三部分阅读理解(共10小题；每小题2分,满分20分)
How many times have you laughed today? Have you ever wondered what makes you laugh? In the whole animal kingdom, only we humans are capable (有能力的) of laughter. On average, we laugh about 17 times a day.
Laughter is a spontaneous reaction of the body to some-thing funny or pleasant. Have you noticed that when you laugh, many parts of your body respond (反应)? Your face changes expression, your breathing changes, and muscles throughout your body are affected.
An interesting story dates back to 1962. In a school in Tanganyika, in Africa, a group of schoolgirls started laughing uncontrollably over a joke. This laughter became epidemic (传染的), jumping from one person to the next, spreading across communities, and lasting for six months! So strong was the "laughter epidemic" that schools had to shut down till it ended.
How we laugh remains a mystery. Whatever the reasons, laughter, as the saying goes, "is the best medicine." In fact, science has proven that being happy and laughing can not only keep us healthy and fit but help deal with serious illnesses.
Laughing exercises all the important muscles, and keeps you fit. People have started forming laughter clubs that use laughter to treat illnesses. They meet at specific places at fixed times and laugh together. Laughter spreads, so this exercise works best in groups; once one person starts laughing, others automatically (自动地) join in.
56. The underlined word "spontaneous" in the second paragraph probably means "______".
A. perfect B. strange C. naturalD. terrible
57. People have formed laughter clubs to ______.
A. kill time B. relax C. meet others D. keep healthy
58. The best title for the passage would be ______.
A. A Laughter Epidemic
B. Laughter, What It Is, and What It Can Do
C. The Relationship Between Laughter and Health
D. How Laughter Helps Cure Disease
59. The passage is probably taken from a(n) ______.
A. ad B. novel C. magazine D. medical book
Robots are smart。 With their computer brains, they help people work in dangerous places or do difficult jobs。 Some robots do regular jobs。Bobby, the mail carrier, brings mail to a large office building in Washington, D。C。 He is one of 250 mail carriers in the United States。
Mr。 Leachim, who weighs two hundred pounds and is six feet tall, has some advantages as a teacher。 One is that he does not forget details。 He knows each child’s name, the parents’ names and what each child knows and needs to know。 In addition, he knows each child’s pets and hobbies。 Mr。 Leachim does not make mistakes。 Each child goes and tells him his or her name, then dials an identification (身份证明) number。 His computer brain puts the child’s voice and number together。 He identifies the child with no mistakes。 Then he starts the lesson。
Another advantage is that Mr。 Leachim is flexible。 If the children need more time to do their lessons they can move switches。 In this way they can repeat Mr。 Leachim’s lesson over and over again。 When the children do a good job he tells them something interesting about their hobbies。 At the end of the lesson the children switch Mr。 Leachim off。
58。 The first paragraph of the passage tells us _______。
A。 human beings are not as smart as robots
B。 robots will take the place of man to rule the earth
C。 we can only use robots to do some regular jobs
D。 robots can help people in many different ways
59。 Mr。 Leachim’s ______ makes him a good teacher。
A。 knowledge B。 appearance C。 advantage D。 energy
60。 The word “flexible” in the last paragraph means _______。
A。 not strict B。 not hard C。 suitable D。 changeable
Growing numbers of people are becoming addicted to text messaging（手机信息）, a German doctor warned recently。
Psychotherapist(采用精神疗法的医生) Andreas Herter estimated that there were some 380,000 sufferers in Germany。 Herter based his prediction（预测）on the growing number of manic mobile phone users among patients arriving at his Hanover clinic （诊所）for addiction treatment。
“Text message addiction is a real and serious illness because it causes mental and financial damage,” said Herter。 “The problem leads to depression and personality disorders, not to mention skyrocketing （飞涨的）phone bills。”
For example, a teenage boy spent 8,900 euros (US$11,000) texting people he didn’t even know and a married couple could only communicate by text message, even when they were sitting side by side。
55。 The passage is mainly to tell us ______。
A。 why people like text messaging B。 text messaging has many advantages
C。 overusing text message does great harm D。 text messaging does no good
56。 Herter thinks text message addiction is ______。
A。 acceptable B。 easy to deal with C。 unreasonable D。 worrying
57。 The examples given in the last paragraph are used to show ______。
A。 text message addiction is a serious diseas
B。they care about nothing else but text message
C。 sending text message is their only hobby
D。 they are very rich