Some people view a bad situation as a disaster. It’s not. It’s an opportunity. Once your old world collapses(倒塌), you can recover and rebuild. Now you have the chance to start fresh and do things more intelligently. I built my business on an unstable structure. I kept it going for years, but the business collapsed last year. I had to leave my office, selling off all the furniture and equipment. I got kicked out of my apartment because I couldn’t pay the rent. I couldn’t pay my bills or debt. I declared bankruptcy.(破产)
For years there was the worry that this might happen if I didn’t keep straining（尽力） to keep the business going. And my worries were right. What I worried about would happen did happen .But you know what? Going through that experience wasn’t really so bad. It was interesting. Some of it was actually pretty easy. Throughout most of it, I felt increasing relief and a renewed sense of freedom and possibility. All the old baggage was gone. No more office. Fewer possessions. Fewer obligations. No more debt. Most of all , no more straining. Life became a lot easier.
I got a cheaper and smaller apartment. I became debt-free. I learned to live within my means. Those were actually good things. The others were just feelings. The reality wasn’t actually painful. After that, I kept going with the same business but completely changed the business model. I avoided the earlier mistakes, and that business recovered just fine and worked great. It was profitable every year from then on. But I had to go through the collapse first to reach that point.
If you’ve been feeling out of control with your current work or lifestyle, and you’re currently straining to keep it going ,consider letting it go. Try allowing the old world to collapse, many or all of your fears and worries might actually come to pass, but that’s ok. You don’t have to keep the old world alive. If it keeps falling apart on you ,let it collapse. Experiencing the collapse isn’t as bad as fearing the collapseThe author regards the collapse of the old world as an opportunity to_____
| A．get a new world started in better ways |
| B．turn to others for help to save ourselves |
| C．sum up the failure and make up for the mistakes |
| D．bury ourselves in the disasters and then recover ourselves |
In the author’s opinion, the old baggage in Paragraph 2 included______
| A．the freedom and possibility of refreshing himself |
| B．the experience he learned from his former failure |
| C．the old possessions and the invisible pressure |
| D．the business knowledge and skills he got from various media |
What did the author do after his business failed last year?
| A．He cleverly transformed his business model. |
| B．He started another completely different business. |
| C．He received further training about doing business at college |
| D．He borrowed some money from his friends and relatives to pay off his debts. |
According to the author, when our work or life is out of our control we can_____.
| A．prevent it from falling apart on us. |
| B．set it free or just let it completely break down |
| C．keep straining and go on with determination |
| D．keep it alive with the courage to change it again |
第三部分：阅读理解(共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中(A、B、C和 D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Many Chinese students who have learnt English for more than ten years are still unable to speak English very well when they meet a foreigner. They seem to have mastered the basic language structure (结构), but a conversation in English will make them feel uneasy. They are afraid that other people might find out their mistakes.
It’s uncommon that many students who are bad speakers of English can write English perfectly. This proves that they are unable to organize their idea in English. The center of the problem is that they lack practice and confidence.
Why should you be afraid? Do you fear those foreigners with whom you are speaking? Don’t be shy. They will not laugh at you just for a little mistake you make. The best way to get rid of trouble is to learn to speak by speaking more. I am sure that constant practice will help you succeed.
56. What’s the best topic for the passage?
A. How to Speak to Foreigners
B. How to Study English Well
C. How to Organize the Idea in English
D. Practise Speaking English All the Time
57. Many Chinese students can write English very well, but they cannot speak English fluently because ______.
A. they seldom meet foreigners
B. they seldom practise speaking English
C. they had no chance to speak English
D. they think it’s enough to master the basic language structure only
58. So many Chinese students are afraid to speak to foreigners because______.
A. they are afraid they can’t understand foreigners
B. they don’t think their English is poor
C. they worry about making mistakes in their speaking
D. they didn’t like speaking to foreigners
59. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. We can speak English fluently by doing more speaking.
B. If you can write English perfectly, you are able to organize your idea in English.
C. If you can write good English composition, you can speak English very well.
D. Many Chinese students can’t speak English fluently because they are afraid of making mistakes.
60. In the last paragraph, the expression “get rid of” means _______.
A. throw away B. free oneself from
C. give up D. do with
IV. 阅读理解：
Bill Robinson is on trial for murder（因谋杀而受审）．He grew up in a small town in Ohio and then went to Kent State University for one year．When he was nineteen years old，he was asked to join the army and was soon sent to fight in Vietnam．He was very unhappy there as he hated the war and he hated killing people．Two years later he returned home and tried to pick up where he had left off，but things were never quite the same again for the young black man．For one thing，he always had terrible dreams about the war．He could not concentrate on his studies and soon he had to leave school．Then he was fired from one job after another．He wanted to meet someone nice and get married，but he just couldn't seem to get close to anyone．He became angry easily and people avoided him．He was always lonely．Finally one day，while eating at a restaurant，Bill lost control of himself and shot someone for no reason at all．Bill's lawyer hopes that he will not be held responsible for the shooting．He hopes that the judge and the jury（陪审团）will understand that Bill was“temporarily insane（一时精神错乱）”and did not really choose to kill anyone．
1．What did Bill Robinson do after he returned from abroad？
A．He gave up the chance to go back to college． B．He tried to go back to his normal life．
C．He picked up his things and left again． D．He found what he had dreamed of．
2．He failed to complete his college education because he ____ ．
A．hated school B．joined the army
C．didn't study hardD．found it difficult to keep his mind on his studies
3．He never married because ____ ．
A．there were no nice girls around B．he didn't care to meet any girls
C．he hadn't met girls that he liked D．he found it hard to make friends with girls
4．The best title for this article is ____ ．
A．Robinson on Trial B．Murder at a Restaurant
C．A Young Black Man D．A Victim(受害者) of the Vietnam War
When prices are low，people will buy more，and when prices are high，they will buy less．Every shopper knows this．But at the same time，producers want higher prices for their goods when they make more goods．According to the economic（经济的）point of view，changes in the prices of goods cause changes in supply and demand． As is shown in the graph（图表），people buy fewer shoes as the price of shoes goes up．On the contrary，a decrease in the price causes an increase in demand．
Business firms look for the perfect price at which the largest profits（利润）can be made．If the price of the shoes goes up to 50，the consumers（消费者）will not buy all of 3，000 shoes．The producers will have a surplus（剩余）of 2，000 shoes and they can only get 50，000．If the price of the shoes is lowered to10，as many as 5，000 shoes can be sold．Still，only 50，000 is made．
1．According to this article，the main idea of the first paragraph is that ____ ．
A．the lower the price is，the less people will buy
B．producers want to make more money by making fewer goods
C．every shopkeeper knows the price for goods
D．how changes in prices of shoes affect the number of shoes sold
2．From the passage，we can conclude that ____ is the best price for the producers to sell the shoes which are worth the highest price．
A.30 B.20 C.10 D.50
Equipped only with a pair of binoculars (双筒望远镜) and ready to spend long hours waiting in all weathers for a precious glance of a rare bullfinch(红腹灰雀). Britain’s birdwatchers had long been supposed to be lovers of a minority sport. But new figures show birdwatching is fast becoming a popular pastime, with almost three million of us absorbed in our fluttering feathered friends.
Devoted birdwatchers, those prepared to travel thousands of miles for a sighting of a rare Siberian bird, are fast being joined by a new breed of follower whose interest is satiated by watching a few finches (雀科鸣鸟) on a Sunday walk or putting up a bird-box in the back garden.
“Almost three million UK birdwatchers is certainly possible if you include everyone with only a casual interest,” Stephen Moss said in his newly published book—A Bird in the Bush: a Social History of Birdwatching—which records the pursuit from the rich Victorian Englishman’s love of shooting rare birds to the less offensive observational tendencies of birdwatchers today.
Television wildlife programs have helped to fuel the new trend. Last summer, BBC 2’s Britain Goes Wild was a surprise success. It pulled in three million viewers and led to bird-houses selling out across the UK as 45,000 people promised to put up a box.
Birdwatchers’ networking system first came to the attention of the nation in 1989, when a birdwatcher caught sight of the first Vermivora chrysoptera — a golden-winged songbird from North America—to be seen in Britain. He put a message out on the network service Birdline, and next day 3,000 birdwatchers proved the full pull of a truly rare bird as they visited the Tesco car park in Kent, where it had settled. Today, birdwatchers can log on to www.birdline.co.uk or have news of the latest sightings texted to their phones.
“Multimillion-pound spending on binoculars, bird food and boxes point to the increasing numbers of birdwatchers,” said David Cromack, the editor of Bird Watching magazine, “The number of people involved is so big that they have great potential to influence government decisions affecting the environment.”
5、The word “satiated” in paragraph 2 can best be replaced by “_______”.
A. affected B. shared C. satisfied D. narrowed
6、What happened after the message of seeing a Vermivora chrysoptera was put on the network?
A. Birdwatchers helped the rare bird settle in Kent.
B. Large numbers of birdwatchers went to view the bird.
C. Many birdwatchers logged on to the website for details.
D. Birdwatchers showed their determination to protect the rare bird.
7、Which of the following CANNOT be true according to the passage?
A. Television wildlife programs started the popular pastime of birdwatching.
B. The network service has contributed to the rapid development of birdwatching.
C. Birdwatching in Britain was long considered a sport with a small group of followers.
D. The current situation of birdwatching may promote the protection of the environment.
8、The passage mainly tells us about ________ in UK.
A. the history of birdwatchingB. a growing passion for birdwatching
C. the impact of media on birdwatching D. birdwatching as a popular expensive sport
IV. 阅读理解
Across the world, 1.1 billion people have no access to clean drinking water. More than 2.5 billion people lack basic sanitation.(卫生设备)
The combination proves deadly. Each year, diseases related to inadequate water and sanitation kill between 2 and 5 million people and cause an estimated 80 percent of all sicknesses in the developing world. Safe drinking water is a precondition for health and the fight against child death rate, inequality between men and women, and poverty.
Consider these facts:
●The average distance that women in Africa and Asia walk to collect water is 6 kilometers.
●Only 58 percent of children in sub-Saharan Africa are drinking safe water., and only 37 percent
of children in South Asia have access to even a basic toilet.
●Each year in India alone, 73 million working days are lost to water-borne diseases.
Here are three ways you can help:
1)Write Congress
Current U.S. foreign aid for drinking water and sanitation budgets only one dollar per year per American citizen. Few members of Congress have ever received a letter from voters about clean drinking water abroad.
2)Sponsor a project with a faith-based organization
Many U.S. religious groups already sponsor water and sanitation projects, working with partner organizations abroad. Simply put a single project by a U.S. organization can make safe water a reality for thousands of people.
3)Support nonprofit water organizations
Numerous U.S.-based nonprofits work skillfully abroad in community-led projects related to drinking water and sanitation. Like the sample of non-profits noted as follows: some organizations are large, other small-scale, some operate worldwide, others are devoted to certain areas in Africa, Asia, or Latin America. Support them generously.
1、The three facts presented in the passage are used to illustrate that________.
A. poverty can result in water-borne diseases
B. people have no access to clean drinking water
C. women’s rights are denied in some developing countries
D. safe drinking water should be a primary concern
2、The intended readers of the passage are________.
A. Americans B. overseas sponsors
C. Congressmen D. U.S.-based water organizations
3、The main purpose of the passage is to call on people to _________.
A. get rid of water-related diseases in developing countries
B. donate money to people short of water through religious groups
C. fight against the worldwide water shortage and sanitation problem
D. take joint action in support of some nonprofit water organizations
4、What information will probably be provided following the last paragraph?
A. A variety of companies and their worldwide operation.
B. A list of nonprofit water organizations to make contact with.
C. Some ways to get financial aids from U.S. Congress.
D. A few water resources exploited by some world-famous organizations.