Consumer electronics once again topped the list of the most wanted gifts this holiday season. “Seventy-six percent of consumers who plan to buy holiday gifts say that they will spend money buying at least one technology product; definitely a solid vote of confidence for technology.” Steve Koenig is with the Consumer Electronics Association. He says the group’s latest research also shows that Americans this year are spending more on technology products.
“Here in 2012, $252 on average–the technology spend for consumers this year.” From tablet computers to smart phones, American shoppers have been lining up to get the newest and coolest electronic devices on the market. There are more choices today than ever before. “It’s kind of hard to make a decision.”
Tablet computers are one of the best-selling products this year. Brian Tong is Senior Editor of CNET.com. The website reports on tech news and examines the latest electronic products. He says the Apple iPad Mini is one of the most popular tablets. Its starting price is $329. One of Apple’s biggest competitors is the Google Nexus 7. It starts at $199.
“The hardware inside is more powerful than what’s in the iPad Mini, but also it offers you a lot of things like maps that work better than Apple’s maps.” Brian Tong says there is one reason why people may like the iPad Mini more than the Nexus 7. “If you just want to read books and surf the Internet, you don’t really need to get an iPad Mini, but if you want the largest group of apps that’s where the iPad and Apple’s ecosystem shines the most.”
Elman Chacon is with the electronics store Best Buy. He says another hot product this season is smart cameras. They connect to the Internet through Wi-Fi. This makes it easy for users to email or upload photographs directly from the camera. “You can literally take a picture, upload it into your Facebook in a matter of seconds. These things are pretty cool because they do a lot of things.”
Streaming media boxes also connect to the Internet. People are able to watch web content such as movies and YouTube videos on their televisions. Another popular item is wireless speaker systems. The newest ones work with any device that has Bluetooth technology, including smart phones, laptops and tablets.
With the growing popularity of Internet shopping, many consumers will visit a store first to look at a product, and then go online to find it at a lower price. Stores like Best Buy understand that and they want to stay competitive.
“We have something called the perfect match promise which means if you buy a certain device and you find it cheaper within 30 days we’ll go ahead and price match that for you.” Elman Chacon said.According to Brain Tong, ________.
| A．the Apple’s iPad Mini is more suitable for enthusiastic readers |
| B．the hardware in iPad Mini is more advanced than that in Nexus 7 |
| C．iPad Mini is more eco-friendly |
| D．Nexus 7 has fewer apps than iPad Mini |
If you’ve discovered that a certain device you bought at Best Buy is more expensive than one at another store, ________.
| A．you are sure to get double the amount you paid |
| B．the store will return the price differences |
| C．you can return the device and get your money back |
| D．the store will lower the price within 30 days |
Which of the following would be the best gift for a cab driver?
| A．Smart cameras. | B．Streaming media boxes. |
| C．Tablet computers. | D．Wireless speaker systems. |
What is true about the smart cameras ?
| A．To show the varieties of products |
| B．The smart cameras are more powerful. |
| C．It can make the users upload their photographs easily . |
| D．The smart cameras makes it more convenient to go on Internet . |
From the passage , we can infer _______ .
| A．Electronics have become one of the biggest consumer industries in the US. |
| B．There are many electronics in the United States . |
| C．The US becomes the Number One electronics consumers . |
| D．We can buy much cheaper products in US . |
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题材所给的四个选项A、B、C、D、中，选出最佳选项
A few weeks after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf coast, the Texas school where I teach collected furniture and other household items for a family from Louisiana that had lost everything. I thought of how sad it would be to lose all of the things that held so many priceless memories. Nothing could ever really replace a memory. I prayed I would be able to help the family in some ways , and at least give them practical things they could use.
I had a couple of old chairs in the house, and went into the spare bedroom to dig them out. Then I saw the wooden rocking chair(摇椅) in the corner. Deep brown , with a unique pattern of fruits and leaves edged in gold on the back. I’d never seen another like it. I used to rock my son to sleep in it when he was a baby. Talking about memories, I could never bear to part with that rocker. http://wx.jtyjy.com/
But a feeling suddenly swept over me. Give it away. “Do you really want to do this?” my husband asked. I said firmly, “Yes!” He helped me load the rocking chair into my car. “Doesn’t it hold sentimental(情感的)value for you?” I couldn’t explain it. I took the rocker to the school the next day. The woman in charge of the donations(捐赠品)for the Louisiana family loaded it into the back of her truck.
The very next day at school, the woman in charge came rushing into my classroom. “Angie, I have to tell you a story about that rocking chair!” she said.
The family was grateful for every single item we’d donated, they told her. Then they saw the rocker. Everyone stopped and stared. Then the granddaughter cried out, “Grandma, look! It’s your rocking chair!” http://wx.jtyjy.com/
My rocking chair was exactly like the one they had lost in the hurricane, the one that held their sweetest memories.
56. Why did the author feel sympathy for the family that had lost everything?
A. They met Hurricane Katrina.
B. They had no furniture and other items to use.
C. They lost the things holding memories.
D. They had to rebuild their house.
57. When thinking of having used the rocking chair the author.
A. decided to give it away B. asked her husband for advice
C. liked it more than before D. hated to part with it
58. We can infer from the passage that the author’s husband.
A. didn’t support the author’s social work B. didn’t agree to donate the chair
C. thought the rocking chair valuable D. could understand what she thought then
59. What’s the best title for this passage?
A. A good deed for a homeless family B. Comfort a family with a gift of memories
C. A piece of furniture donated to a family D. We all need the rocking chair
During my visit to China, I stayed in several hot
els. I would like to say something about fire regulations(条例) in these hotels.
When I was in Beijing in a hotel, I checked the nearest fire escape to my room, as I usually do, I found that the exit(出口) out of the buildings was on the ground floor, chained and locked! If there was a fire, people wouldn’t be able to escape. In some other places, I did not find any notice about the procedures.
In most hotels in my country, there is a notice on the back of the door of every guestroom. In Japan the porter（门卫）actually points out the escape route when bringing your bag to your room. I hope Chinese hotels will improve their safety procedures.
57. The foreigner suggests that ____________.
A. all the exits should
not be always chained and locked
B. all the exits should be always chained and locked
C. fire regulations（规程，规章）should be paid enough attention to in some hotels in China
D. the fire regulations should not be strict
58. Nobody would get away if there were a fire in the building ____________.
A. if the porter doesn’t tell people the escape route
B. with the exit chained and locked
C. before people found the notice about safety procedures
D. when too many people try to escape at the same time
59. The nearest escape to the writer’s room in a hotel in Beijing was _____________.
A. nowhere to be found B. not far from his room
C. next to his room D. on the ground floor
60. In Japan a guest is told how to get away in time of fire when he ____________.
A. arrives at a hotel B. is traveling in the country
C. reaches the country D. says hello a porter
The climate of any place is the kind of weather. It usually has over a long period of time. The houses we live in, the clothes we wear, the foods we eat depend on the climate of the place where we live.
Climate is a pattern that is not nearly as simple as we think, and it is affected by many factors. The distance to the North or South Pole（极，极点，） or the equator (赤道) really matters a lot. If you liv
e near either of the poles, you live in a cold climate, for the place where you live does not get as much or as direct sunshine as a place farther away from the poles. In places close to the equator, the climate is very hot, for they are the parts where the sunshines almost straight down.
Whether rain or snow falls makes a great difference to the climate. In hot, dry deserts, little rain falls, but 
in a hot rainforest, the amount of rainfalls is far larger than that in a desert, for there is a heavy rain almost every day, even several times per day. Though a rainforest and a desert may be the same distance from the equato
r, their climates are rather different from each other.
How much rain or snow falls are considered by some to be determined by the winds, the surrounding mountains and the currents(水流)in nearby seas and so on . In short, it is a very complex natural phenomenon（现象）.
54.This passage mainly talks about .
A. weather B. different climates
C. climate and its determining factors D. the difference between weather and climate
55.The difference of the climates between a tropical (热带的)desert and a tropical rainforest affected by .
A. the amount of rainfalls
B. the winds and the surrounding mountains
C. the currents in near seas
D. how much sunshine the two different plac
es can get
56. From the context, we can guess that the word “complex” is and it .
A. a noun; means a simple thing
B. an adjective; means being easy to understand
C. an adverb; has almost the same meaning of “rather”
D. an adjective; means being difficult to understand
When I was young, I wished for a good car and a big house. That was my idea of success. I took all the advanced classes and tried to do well in the exams with my mind set on going to a key school. I just knew that I would somehow become famous
and be able to afford the car and the dream house. All the way through junior years, my mind was planning this beautiful future.
Then in the eleventh grade, many losses changed my mind. First, one of my friends died at 16. Soon after, my great-grandmother passed away, followed by my beloved fourth-grade teacher. These events left me not knowing what to do or where to go . Death had never touched me so closely.
After a long period of emptiness, it finally struck me: Life is not pr
omised and neither is future success. Though I was attempting to achieve material success, I was not enjoying my daily life. I realized that finding inner peace, purpose and happiness will stick with me forever and that is real success.
Enjoying life's precious quirks ( 偶发事件) makes an ordinary person more successful than a wealthy person who isn't content and takes everything for granted. The summer before senior years, my attitude changed greatly. Instead of memorizing facts, I began learning skills. Instead of focusing on the future, I focused on today and the many blessings and successes that came with it.
I still get excellent grades, but now I devote weeks to studying instead of struggling for exams, and I think about the future with a deeper sense of meaning. For me, being successful means truly living life each day.
50. The reason why the author changed his idea of success is that ________ . .
A. he can't afford his house
B. his beloved teacher was dead
C. he didn't know what to do or where to go
D
. he lost a few beloved persons in a short time
51. According to the author which of the following is the real success for a person?
A. Being famous. B. Truly living life each day.
C. Good car and big house. D. Material achievements.
52. What does the author want to tell the readers?
A. The true meaning of the life. B. The true meaning of studying.
C. How to achieve success. D. His opinion about success.
53. According to the passage, which of the following is true?
A. The writer thinks that success is not promised.
B. His teacher died before the death of his grandpa.
C. The writer didn't do well in all the exams.
D. He didn't want to take all the exams.
第二部分：阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
In learning a foreign language, one should first pay attention to speaking. It is the groundwork of reading and writing. You’d better try your best to speak. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. But be careful not to let them keep you from improving the language. While you are doing this, a good exercise is to write – keep a diary, write notes, letters or
articles, then if you can, ask someone to go through what you have written and tell you where is wrong . Many mistakes in your speaking will be easily found when you write. Through correcting the mistakes, you can do better in learning a language.
If you are slow in speaking, don’t worry. One of the helpful ways is by reading, either aloud or to yourself. The important thing is to choose something interesting to read. It can’t be too difficult for you. When you are reading in this way, don’t stop to look up the words if you can guess their meanings or if they have nothing important to do with the sentence. You can do that some other time.
46. From the passage we know the groundwork is ___ while you are learning a foreign language.
A. reading B. writing C. speaking D. listening
47. To improve the language, one has to .
A. pay attention to speaking only
B. try not to make mistakes
C. correct mistakes only
D. keep a diary and write notes, letters or articles
48. When you find some new words in reading, you shouldn’t ___
A. guess their meaningB. go 
on reading
C. stop to look them up in the dictionary D. keep on reading the important sentence
49. The best title of this passage might be .
A. How to Learn a Foreign Language B. How to Improve Reading
C. How to learn Writing D. More reading, .Less speaking