A painting by Chinese artist Qi Baishi set a record for modern art and calligraphy (书法) on the mainland when it sold for 425.5 million yuan at an auction (拍卖) on May 22. The sale was a milestone (里程碑) in the auction of modern and contemporary artworks.
The price meant its value had risen more than 2,000 per cent in six years. The work , Eagle standing on pine tree with four-character coupleti（对联）, measures about 2.6 metres by 1 metre . It was the second highest price paid for an artwork on the mainland . A Song dynasty work by Huang Tingjian was sold for 436.8 million yuan in 2010. Qi’s painting was finished in 1946 when Qi was 86, and was his largest work . With a starting price of 88 million yuan, it attracted nearly 50 bids（出价）in half an hour. Shanghai businessman Liu Yiqian said that the work had belonged to him and had cost less than 20 million yuan in 2005. The auction company said the work was brought back to the mainland after being bought from a private owner in San Francisco six years ago.
China ranked first in global art sales last year, ahead of the United States and Britain . Four Chinese artists were among the top 10 in worldwide sales: Qi Baishi , Zhang Daqian, Xu Beihong and Fu Baoshi. Qi’s works ranked second in sales to Pablo Picasso’s last year . Qi was born into a peasant family in Hunan in 1864. He taught himself to paint and focused on nature including plants, insects, birds and fish. He is mostly well-known for his paintings of shrimps. In 1953, he was elected president of the Association of Chinese Artists. He died in Beijing in 1957.What’s the best title of the text ?
| A．Qi Baishi’s Painting Was Discovered . |
| B．Qi Baishi’ s Painting Was Brought Back . |
| C．Qi Baishi’s Painting Sets an Auction Record . |
| D．The Value of Qi Baishi’s Paintings Is on the Increase . |
Whose artwork sold for the highest price on the mainland ?
| A．Qi Baishi’s . | B．Huang Tingjian’s |
| C．Xu Beihong’s . | D．Zhang Daqian’s . |
The auction price of Qi’s painting was _____ million yuan higher than the starting price in the auction .
| A．337.5 . | B．348.8 . | C．50 . | D．11.3 . |
Which of the following is TRUE ?
| A．Qi finished the painting when he was young . |
| B．The painting was once stolen by an American . |
| C．The owner of this painting Liu Yiqian gained a lot of money . |
| D．Pablo Picasso’s works ranked second in sales to Qi’s last year . |
The text is most probably taken from a _____.
| A．computer book | B．library guide |
| C．technology magazine | D．newspaper report |
C
Let These Plants Swat the Bugs for You
Some plants get so hungry they eat flies, spiders, and even small frogs. What’s more amazing is that these plants occur naturally (in special environments) in every state. In fact, they’re found on every continent except Antarctica.
You’ve probably seen a Venus’ flytrap. It’s often sold in museum gift stores, department stores, and even supermarkets. A small plant, it grows 6 to 8 inches tall in a container. At the end of its stalks（茎）are specially modified leaves that act like traps. Inside each trap is a lining of tiny trigger（触发）hairs. When an insect lands on them, the trap suddenly shut. Over the course of a week or so, the plant feeds on its catch.
The Venus’ flytrap is just one of more than 500 species of meat-eating plants, says Barry Meyers-Rice, the editor of the International Carnivorous Plant Society’s Newsletter. Note: Despite any science-fiction stories（科幻小说）you might have read, no meat-eating plant does any danger to humans.
Dr. Meyers-Rice says a plant is meat-eating, only if it does all four of the following: “attract, kill, digest, and absorb” some form of insects , including flies, butterflies, and moths. Meat-eating plants look and act like other green plants—well, most of the time.
All green plants make sugar through a process called photosynthesis（光合作用）. Plants use the sugar to make food. What makes “meat-eating” plants different is their bug-catching leaves. They need insects for one reason: nitrogen（氮）. Nitrogen is a nutrient that they can’t obtain any other way. Why?
Almost all green plants on our planet get nitrogen from the soil. “Meat-eating” plants can’t. They live in places where nutrients are hard or almost impossible to get from the soil because of its acidity（酸度）. So they’ve come to rely on getting nitrogen from insects and small animals. In fact, nutrient-rich soil is poisonous to “meat-eating” plants. Never fertilize（施肥）them! But don’t worry, either, if they never seem to catch any insects. They can survive, but they’ll grow very slowly.
64. Venus flytrap
A. is a small plant which grows in a container.
B. is a kind of plant which gets hungry easily.
C. can attract, kill, digest and absorb some form of insects.
D. grows 6-8 inches tall
65. From the passage, we know .
A. “meat-eating” plants are found on every continent.
B. all green plants get nitrogen from the soil.
C. bug-catching leaves make “meat-eating” different from other plants.
D. some “meat-eating” plants in the rainforest do danger to humans.
66. “Meat-eating” plants grow very slowly, .
A. so you’d better fertilize them
B. probably because the source of nitrogen is cut off.
C. simply because they can’t absorb nitrogen from the soil
D. and then they will die slowly.
67. Which of the following is true?
A. “Meat-eating” plants look and act like other green plants.
B. No insects, no “meat-eating” plants.
C. The reason why Venus flytrap needs flies is that it needs to get nutrient from them.
D. Green plants make sugar at night.
68. What does the underlined word nutrient in paragraph 5 probably mean?
A. 化学物 B.营养物 C. 肥料 D. 氮氢化合物
B
Increasing Noise Annoys
People want action on noise, a recent public meeting in Brisbane showed. Some want technical improvements such as quieter air conditioners or better sound barriers around major roads. Others want tougher laws to restrict noise from building sites or to require owners to take responsibility for barking dogs. But the highest priority (优先) was a noise complaints system that works.
Brisbane City Council receives more complaints about noise than all other problems put together. So it conducted survey and found that about half its citizens are upset by noise in one form or another—traffic, mowers, pool pumps, air conditioners or loud parties. This inspired the Council to bring together more than 100 citizens one evening to talk through solutions to the problem.
The meeting found the present noise complaints system bizarre. Depending on the problem, responsibility for noise can lie with the Council, the Environment Protection Authority, one of three government departments or even the police. So complaints often feel they are getting the run-round. When the people at the meeting were asked to vote for changes, the strongest response was for a 24-hour noise hotline to be the first port of call for all complaints.
The meeting also favored regulatory measures, such as tougher minimum standards for noise in appliances like air conditioners. This even makes economic sense, as noise is a waste of energy—and money. Other measures the meeting supported were wider buffer zones around noisy activities and controls to keep heavy traffic away from residential areas（居民区）.
59. According to the passage, what do people want most?
A. Tougher laws. B. Technical improvements.
C. An effective noise complaints system D. Tougher minimum standards for noise
60. What does the underlined word bizarre in the second paragraph mean?
A. reasonable B. wonderful C. strange D. responsible
61. How many regulatory measures against noise are mentioned in the last paragraph?
A. 3. B. 4. C. 2. D. 5.
62. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Tougher minimum standards for noise in appliances are necessary.
B. Traffic, mowers, pool pumps, and air conditioners are all the sources of noise.
C. 90% of the residents are annoyed by noise.
D. Heavy traffic should be kept away from residential areas according to the meeting.
63. Brisbane City Council brought together citizens to talk through solutions to the noise problem mainly due to .
A. the result of the survey carried out by itself
B. a noise complaints system that works
C. people asking for tougher laws on noise
D. requirements of an effective noise complaints system
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，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Sometimes people call each other “scared-cat”, but have you ever thought about this expression? When a cat is frightened, its heart starts beating faster, its muscles get tense, and there are changes in the chemicals in its bloodstream. Although the cat doesn’t realize this, its body is getting ready for action. If the danger continues, the animal will do one of two things. It will defend itself, or it will run away as fast as it can.
Something like this also happens to people. When we are excited, angry, scared, or aroused by other emotions, our bodies go through many physical changes. Our hearts beat faster, and our muscles get tense. All of these changes make us more alert and ready to react. We, too, get ready to defend ourselves or run.
Human beings, however, have a problem that animals never face. If we give way to our feelings and let them take over, we can get into trouble. Have you ever said something in anger—or hit somebody—and regretted it later? Have you ever shouted at a teacher, told somebody you were lonely, or said you were in love, and then wished later you had kept your mouth shut? It isn’t always wise to express your feelings freely.
Does this mean that it’s smarter always to hide our feelings? No! If you keep feelings of anger, sadness, and bitterness hidden away or bottled up inside, your body stays tense. Physical illness can develop, and you can feel churned up inside. It can actually be bad for your health. (It isn’t good to keep pleasant feelings inside either; all feelings need to be expressed.)
Feeling that you keep all bottles up inside, don’t just go away. It’s as if bought some bananas and stuck them in a cupboard. You might not be able to see them, but before long you’d smell them, if you opened the cupboard, chances are you’d see little fruit flies hovering all over them. They’d be rotten.
You can try to treat emotions as if they were bananas in the cupboard. You can
hide them and you can pretend they don’t exist, but they’ll still be around. And at last you’ll have to deal with them, just like those bananas.
56. What does the word “emotions” in the second paragraph mean?
A. acts B. feelings C. measurements D. thinking
57. The best title for this article is __________.
A. Emotions Affect Our Bodies
B. What Happens to A Frightened Cat
C. What Happens to An Excited Person
D. Feelings That People Have
58. The author wrote this article in order to __________.
A. tell us that it isn’t good to keep feelings inside
B. give us some advice on how to express our feelings
C. compare man with a scared cat and suggest mankind learn from it.
D. make us know that it isn’t always wise to express our feelings freely
E
“Life is speeding up. Everyone is getting unwell.”
This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown citizen who lived in Rome in AD 52 wrote it.
We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives.
But have all these developments really improve the quality of our lives?
Picture this: You’re rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings, a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen, the noise from the television is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all night to get it done. How calm and happy do you feel?
Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave us feeling stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have not telephones, no cars, not even any electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they lead simpler lives.
One family in the UK went “back in time” to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10, and Tomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house. They had no washing machine, microwave, computer or mobile phones.
The grandmother, Lyn, said, “It was hard physically, but not mentally.” She believed life was less materialistic. “The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes,” She said. The boys said they fought less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a “trendy（时髦的）, beer-drinking granny, to one who cooked things.”
Here are some simple ways to beat the stress often caused by our inventions!
Don’t be available all the time. Turn off your mobile phone at certain times of the day. Don’t check your e-mail every day.
Don’t reply to somebody as soon as they leave a text message just because you can. It may be fun at first, but it soon gets annoying.
72．The passage is mainly about .
A．problem with technology
B．improvements of our life with technology
C．the important roles technology plays in our everyday life
D．major changes which will be likely to happen to technology
73．The writer quoted（引用） what a citizen in ancient Rome said at the beginning of the story in order to .
A．share a truth about life
B．tell us what life was like long time ago
C．make us wonder what causes such a thing to happen
D．point out that you experience some big problems and they may be the same
74．Why did the family choose to spend some time in a 1940’s house? Because .
A．they liked to live simple lives
B．they were curious about how people lived without modern inventions
C．they were troubled by modern inventions
D．living in a different time would be a lot of fun for them
75．What do you think the underlined word “available” in the first suggestion offered by the writer mean?
A．Busy on line. B．Free.. C．Be able to. D．Be found by others.
D
After the September 11 terrorist attacks, some high schools in America wanted the students to pledge allegiance（宣誓效忠） to the flag. Is it necessary or not? Let’s see how the kids think of this requirement.
Lea Mouallem, Marymount High School
I believe that saying the Pledge of Allegiance is a way of reminding our country that no matter what happens, we are united. I don’t think our president wants us to go and join the army now, but he wants to tell us that we will be able to overcome the disaster as a whole nation that is working together.
Harry Chin, 15, Culver City High School
I am not for the Pledge of Allegiance and I am not against the Pledge of Allegiance because I just say it so many times that it loses meaning. I say it every day at school in the second period. It doesn’t mean anything any more.
David Tran, 15, Warren High School.
The Pledge of Allegiance is another sign of country. We should have some respect to it. In many schools, we don’t say the Pledge every morning-we just stand up and let the National anthem ring through the silence. We said the Pledge of Allegiance on Sept. 12.
Danny Maryanor, 16, Santa Monica High School
I wonder why we were suddenly asked to recite the Pledge when many of us stopped after elementary school; and the Pledge was recited before the play of “Ode to Joy” （欢乐颂）with recorders. This was not to express patriotism（爱国主义）, or even to remember those who lost their lives on Sept. 11.
I feel I cannot support a nation that in this time of crisis looks outward for revenge（报复）instead of inward for peace. Perhaps we should think more about our problems.
68.Saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag first appeared in American schools______
A．after Sept. 11, 2000 B．before Sept. 11, 2001
C．on Sept. 11, 2001 D．after Sept. 11, 2001
69．Who were for the Pledge of Allegiance?
A．Lea Mouallem; David Tran B．Harry Chin; Danny Maryanor
C．Lea Mouallem; Danny Maryanor D．Harry Chin; David Tran
70．Which of the following is TRUE?
A．Harry Chin thought the government required them to join the army.
B．Lea Mouallem thought the Pledge of Allegiance of no meaning.
C．Danny Maryanor felt the terrorist attacks happened partly because of America’s own problem.
D．The Pledge of Allegiance is of another country.
71．According to the passage, it can be imagined that________.
A．all high school students say yes to the Pledge of Allegiance.
B．all high school students say no to the Pledge of Allegiance.
C．all kids don’t agree to the requirement of saying the Pledge of Allegiance.
D．all high schools will require their students to pledge allegiance to the flag.