When we asked Oprah to pick the 10 books she’s read in the past decade that have mattered to her most, she was momentarily stumped. For someone who describes herself as ―inspired, challenged, and sustained by books, it was almost impossible for Oprah to stay within our limit of 10. Still, she offered up the following, but she emphasized that it was only a sampler of delightful titles that have also managed to teach her — and all of us — a few things．
1. Discover the Power Within You
By Eric Butterworth
256 pages; Harper One
Advice from the internationally known spiritual teacher．
2. A New Earth
By Eckhart Tolle
316 pages; Plume
There’s a reason Oprah picked this for her Book Club in 2008 — and that she gave audience members Post-it pens along with their copies．So much wisdom, so little time! A real-life guide to living your best life．
3. The Poisonwood Bible
By Barbara Kingsolver
576 pages; Harper Perennial
This novel is about a family involved in the political trouble of postcolonial Africa. It established Kingsolver as one of our wisest observers of history, politics, and human nature．
4. Night
By Elie Wiesel
120 pages; Hill and Wang
A memoir（回忆录） of a childhood suffered in concentration camps during the Holocaust. It’s horrific butuplifting. ―I gain courage from his courage,‖ Oprah says．
5. A Fine Balance
By Rohinton Mistry
624 pages; Vintage
A Dickensian novel about India during the Emergency. Like the aftermath of September 11, it teaches us about cultures we haven’t understood. “It takes us out of our own little shell and exposes us to a whole other world out there.” Oprah say．
6. East of Eden
By John Steinbeck
608 pages; Penguin
This classic is about good and evil as played out in a late-19th-century California ranch family. If you didn’t read it in high school, read it now. If you did, reread it!
7. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
By David Wroblewski
576 pages; Harper Collins
A kind of Hamlet on the prairie, this is the wrenching（令人痛苦的） story of a mute boy and his dog． Oprah compares it to East of Eden and To Kill a Mickingbird．
8. The Pillars of the Earth
By Ken Follett
973 pages; Penguin
About the challenges of building cathedrals in 12th-century England. This novel couldn‘t be more different in setting, time, and plot from the author‘s breakthrough success, Eye of the Needle. Oprah declares it simply “great”．
9. The Bluest Eye
By Toni Morrison
224 pages; Penguin
How to choose among the great Morrison‘s novel? Start with this one about a girl who thinks she has to have blue eyes to be beautiful. Oprah considered it one of the best in a crowded Morrison field．
10. The Known World
By Edward P. Jones
400 pages, Harper Collins
When this book was published in 2003, it shocked everybody with its description of slave-owning blacks before the Civil War. A daring, unusual examination of race．The passage is mainly about _______．
| A．ten books that have made greatest difference to Oprah |
| B．an inspiring , challenging and sustainable woman |
| C．Oprah’s picks from what has taught her a few things |
| D．the unwillingness of Oprah to share books within a limit of 10 |
Why did Oprah add A Fine Balance to her list?
| A．She gained courage from it． |
| B．It tells about wisdom of human nature． |
| C．It’s a guide to living a best life． |
| D．Culture of a different world is exposed． |
What makes Oprah declare The Pillars of the Earth great?
| A．The advice on discovering the power． |
| B．The story of a mute boy and his dog． |
| C．The challenges of building cathedrals． |
| D．The good and evil in a California family． |
In which book the story was set before the Civil War?
| A．In The Bluest Eye. | B．In East of Eden. |
| C．In A New Earth. | D．In The Known World. |
第三部分：阅读理解（共15小题，每题2分，满分30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。
For years I wanted a flower garden. I’d spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together.
But then we had Matthew. And Marvin. And the twins, Alisa and Alan. And then Helen. Five children. I was too busy raising them to grow a garden.
Money was tight, as well as time. Often when my children were little, one of them would want something that cost too much, and I'd have to say, "Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know."
Finally, all five got through high school and college and were off on their own. I started thinking again about having a garden.
I wasn't sure, though. I mean, gardens do cost money, and after all these years I was used to living on a pretty lean, no-frills budget.
Then, one spring morning, on Mother's Day, I was working in my kitchen. Suddenly, I realized that cars were tooting their horns as they drove by. I looked out the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard. I thought it must be a weeping willow, because I saw things blowing around on all its branches. Then I put my glasses on - and I couldn't believe what I saw. There was a money tree in my yard!
I went outside to look. It was true! There were dollar bills, one hundred of them, taped all over that tree. Think of all the garden flowers I could buy with one hundred dollars! There was also a note attached: "IOU eight hours of digging time. Love, Marvin."
Marvin kept his promise, too. He dug up a nice ten-by-fifteen foot bed for me. And my other children bought me tools, ornaments, a trellis (棚架), a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books.
That was three years ago. My garden's now very pretty, just like I wanted. When I go out and weed or tend my flowers, I don't seem to miss my children as much as I once did. It feels like they're right there with me.
I live up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where winters are long and cold, and summers are too short. But every year now, when winter sets in, I look out my window and think of the flowers I'll see next spring in my little garden. I think about what my children did for me, and I get tears in my eyes - every time.
I'm still not sure that money grows on trees. But I know love does!(430 words)
1. By saying “Do you see a money tree outside .….,” the mother actually means “________”
A．Observation is the best teacher.B．Seeing is believing.
C．The outsider sees the most of the game. D．It is not easy to gain money
2. The best title for the passage would probably be_______.
A．My flower garden B．Marvin helps to realize my dream
C．Love in Michigan D．Money grows on trees
3. The underlined word “no - frills” in the fifth paragraphs is similar in meaning to_______.
A．wasteful B．tight C．absurd D．helpful
4. From the last but the third paragraph we can infer that the mother is_______
A．divorced when she was young B．not caring for her kids any longer
C．alone but not at all lonely D．prouder with her garden than with her kids.
A new study warns that about thirty percent of the world’S people may not have enough water by the year 2025．
A private American organization called Population Action International did the new study．It says more than 335 million people lack enough water now．The people live in 28 countries．Most of the countries are in Africa or the Middle East．
P—A—I researcher Robert Engelman says by the year 2025，about 3，000 million people may lack water．At least 18 more countries are expected to have severe water problems．The
demand for water keeps increasing．Yet the amount of water on Earth stays the same．
Mr．Engelman says the population in countries that lack water is growing faster than ini other parts of the world．He says population growth in these countries will continue to increase．
The report says lack of water in the future may result in several problems．It may increase health problems．Lack of water often means drinking waters not safe．Mr．Engelman says there are problems all over the world because of diseases，such as cholera。
which are carried in water．Lack of water may also result in more international conflict．Countries may have to compete for water in the future．Some countries now get sixty percent of their fresh water from other countries．This is true of Egypt，the Netherlands，Cambodia，Syria，Sudan，and Iraq．And the report says lack of water would affect the ability of developing to improve their economies．This is because new industries often need a large amount of water when they are beginning．
The Population Action International study gives several solutions to the water problem．One way，it says，is to find ways to use water for more than one purpose．Another way is to teach people to be careful not to waste water．A third way is to use less water of agriculture．
The report also says long--term solutions to the water problem must include controls on population growth．It says countries cannot provide clean water unless they slow population growth by limiting the number of children people have．
1．The first four paragraphs mainly tell us__________
A．the fact of the global lack of water
B．the importance of water resources
C．the seriousness of water shortage
D．the study of the global water condition
2．Which of the following problems is NOT true according to the passage?
A．It may bring about a lot of health problems．
B．It may result in more international conflict．
C．It may lead to the improvement of new industries．
D．It may influence the development of the economies．
3．Which of the following is the way to solve water problem in the long run?
A．To use water in a variety of ways
B．To become aware of the water problem
C．To reduce the use of agricultural water。
D．To limit the r
ising birthrate of the earth
4．Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
A．①②③→④⑤→⑥⑦
B．①②③④→⑤→⑥⑦
C．①②③④→⑤⑥→⑦
D．①②③→④→⑤→⑥⑦
This is the VOA Special English News Report．
Single--handed(独自的)
Zhou Yang，18，China
Against three strong Republic of Korea competitors，Zhou single—handed took the l，500一meter short speed skating gold to become China’s youngest winter Olympics gold medalisi．According to Coach Li Yan，Zhou，who is usually a gentle girl，took some risks and skated fiercely to take the gold．This is the third gold the Chinese have won at the Vancouver Olympics．
Unobtrusive(不显眼的)
Liu Xiang，26，China
The Olympic gold medalist said on Friday that he’s not the same old him，after setting his worst record in years——8．08 seconds for 60一meter hurdles．Liu said he still had some way to go before he’s back to his best．Many fans have been expecting his taking--off in the 2010 Doh
a，but Liu said uno
btrusively“Robles is still the best in the 60一meter and 1l0—meter hurdles．
I’m no match now”．He added the performances of Terrence Trammell(US)and Robles would be the highlight of the Doha meet．
Coveted(令人垂涎的)
Michael Jackson，1958—2009，US
Thanks to a whopping(庞大的) $350，000 bid，Michael Jackson’s rhinestone—encrusted(镶满人造钻石的) glove has gone to a Macao company．Jackson wore the sparking glove when he did his first“moonwalk” dance in 1983，so it was a really coveted piece of equipment．The pre—auction estimate put its value at $40，000～60，000，but that wasn’t even close . The glove and nine other items from the auction will be on display in a Macao hotel.
1．From the first news we can learn that Zhou Yang __________
A. likes taking chances in the competitions
B．won three gold medaIs at the olympics．
C．is not a gentle but a fierce girl
D．is a hard--working and strong--minded girl
2．From the above news，we can infer Liu Xiang__________
A．is not popular with his fans any longer
B．is still out of condition at present
C．is feeling discouraged and depressed
D. is sure of the highlight of the Doha meet
3．The underlined part“but that wash’t even close”probably means __________
A．the pre--auction estimate may be totally wrong
B．the actual price may be far higher than the estimate
C．the glove is not worth the pre--auction estimate
D．the pre—auction estimate is probably correct
4．Where can we probably learn the passage?
A．Broadcast B. Announcement C．Advertisement D．Newspaper
One of the most unknown youth culture in the United States is that of high school and college runners．Not everyone who has ever been on their school’s track team is part of this culture．To be a part of this culture you need to do a lot Of running，knowing how it feels to race to exhaustion(筋疲力尽)，see no reason why any weather should keep you from running，and be a little crazy．
I，myseIf，am part of this culture．I ran cross-country，which is running outside over uneven ground，for my high schoo1．I joined this culture when 1 was in ninth grade. As soon as 1 was on the team it didn’t take very long for me to become very involved and have fun running. As a freshman 1 wasn’t that fast but 1 was giving the effort．It was the effort that makes me part of the running culture．
There are a few things that set the youth culture of runners apart from the overall running culture．One of the many differences is that teen runners usually run in large groups，with a lot of conversation and fooling around．Young runners play games and talk to their friends when they run．While adults may run with a friend and have a conversation，you will rarely see twenty of them running through the woods yelling back and forth at each other．Young runners also make up a lot of games．My friends and 1 would throw balls while running and invented a game we called Shockey，which was pretty much soccer on lce.
Most of youth runners run for competition and not for fitness．Young runners want to run in races not to just lose weight like many adults．This means they run a lot faster and tougher generally．To lose weight you can just jog easily but to race you hav
e to really push yourself and run to exhaustion．It’s a completely different style of running and that is what builds this culture .
1．The passage is mainly about __________.
A．the differerices between youth culture and adult culture
B．the youth running culture in American schools
C．youth culture which is mysterious to school students
D．how to become part of the culture of school runners
2．Which of the following are the differences between young runners and adult runners?
(1)Adults don’t run long distance．
(2)Adults don’t play games while running．
(3)Adults don’t push themselves to the 1imit
(4)Adults don’t run in 1arge groups．
A．(1)(2)(3) B．(1)(2)(4) C．(2)(3)(4) D. (1) (3)
(4)
3．We can infer from the passage that__________．
A．the writer is strong--willed
B．running is exhausting and boring
C．adult running is not as good as youth running
D．adults are not as competitive as youths
4．The writer wrote the passage to __________．
A．criticize adult running
B．advertise his school track team
C．introduce something unknown to his readers
D．tell his readers to get involved in running
第三部分阅读理解(共15小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
第一节{共15小题；每小题2分．满分30分)
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出可以填人空白处的最佳
项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Benjamin Banneker was a
farmer，inventor，astronomer writer and antislavery supporter．He created the first American—built striking clock．
That fall，as usual，Benjamin rode to the nearby town for supplies．He couldn’t wait to get to the end of the road and buy the things his mother wanted．Then he could have a good talk with the folks in town．The truth was，as much as Benjamin loved his mother and father and three sisters，what he really enjoyed was talking about books or math problems or what was happening in other parts of the colonies(殖民地)．
It was about l0 o’clock by the sun when Benjamin arrived at a store．He ordered a bo
lt(一卷)of white cloth for his mother and looked around for someone to taik to．Benjamin’s heart jumped like a rabbit when he saw a friend holding a gold watch．Benjamin had always wanted to figure out how clocks and watches worked．The friend saw Benjamin and let him sit down for a good talk．
Late that afternoon，Benjamin rode home，slowly．He didn’t want to harm the watch that his friend had let him borrow．That nigh after supper，Benjamin carefully laid the watch on the table and pulled the candle closer．“This is a watch，”he said．“A man in fown lent it to me，and now I’m going to take it apart and draw the pieces．Then 1’11 put it back together again．Benjamin held his breath and gently took the back off the watch．
Every evening for a week，Benjamin sat at the table with the watch．He copied eaeh tiny
wheel and pin．When the week was up，he put the pieces back togelher and returned the watch to its owner．Then Benjamin got a good night’s sleep．
The next day when the farm work was done，Benjamin went into the woods to 1ook for just the right pieces of wood．Not too old，not too dry，not too green，not too soft．
Fo
r two years，Benjamin farmed all day and worked on his wood pieces at night．In1753，two years after he had borrowed the watch，Benjamin put all the pieces together．Benjamin had made his own clock．
1．The most likely reason the author wrote the passage was to__________．
A．show the influence Benjamin Banneker’s family had on him
B．present reasons for Benjamin Banneker’s fascination with clocks
C．explain Benjamin Banneker’s reason for becoming an inventor
D．give an example of Benjamin Banneker’s strong will and intelligence
2.Benjamin especially looked forward to going to the store to __________.
A．avoid work on the farm B．purchase white cloth
C．meet interesring people D．show his new clock to others
3．Why did Benjamin most likely hold his breath when he took the back off the watch?
A．He feared his friend might want to get the watch back．
B．He was very nervous about taking apart a precious object.
C．He wanted to time how long it would take to finish the job．
D．He was afraid that broken watch parts would fly into his face．