Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush. He stopped by the fence in front of the house where he lived with his aunt Polly. He looked at it, and all joy left him. The fence was long and high. He put the brush into the whitewash and moved it along the top of the fence. He repeated the operation. He felt he could not continue and sat down.
He knew that his friends would arrive soon with all kinds of interesting plans for the day. They would walk past him and laugh. They would make jokes about his having to work on a beautiful summer Saturday. The thought burned him like fire.
He put his hand into his pockets and took out all that he owned. Perhaps he could find something to pay someone to do the whitewashing for him. But there was nothing of value in his pockets. So he put the bits of toys back into his pockets and gave up the idea.
At this dark and hopeless moment, a wonderful idea came to him. It filled his mind with a great, bright light. Calmly he picked up the brush and started again to whitewash.
While Tom was working, Ben Rogers appeared. Ben was eating an apple as he walked along the street. When he came close to Tom, he stopped.
Tom went on whitewashing. He did not look at Ben. Ben stared a moment and then said: “Hello! I’m going swimming, but you can’t go, can you?”
No answer. Tom moved his brush carefully along the fence and looked at the result with the eye of an artist. Ben came nearer. Tom’s mouth watered for the apple, but he kept on working.
Ben said, “Hello, old fellow, you’ve got to work, hey?”
Tom turned suddenly and said, “Why, it’s you, Ben! I wasn’t noticing.”
“I’m going swimming. Don’t you wish you could? But of course you’d rather work. You seem to like it very much.”
“Like it? Well, I don’t see why I shouldn’t like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?”
Ben stopped eating his apple. Tom moved his brush back and forth, stepped back to look at the result, added a touch here and there, and stepped back again. Ben watched every move and got more and more interested. Soon he said,
“Tom, let me whitewash a little.”
Tom thought for a moment, was about to agree; but he changed his mind.
“No, no, it won’t do, Ben. You see, Aunt Polly wants this fence to be perfect. It has got to be done very carefully. I don’t think there is one boy in a thousand, maybe two thousand, that can do it well enough.”
“No — is that so? Oh come, let me just try. Only just a little.”
“Ben, I’d like to, but if it isn’t done right, I’m afraid Aunt Polly ...”
“Oh, I’ll be careful. Now let me try. I’ll give you half of my apple.”
“Well, here — No, Ben, now don’t. I’m afraid ...”
“I’ll give you all of it.”
Tom gave up the brush with unwillingness on his face, but joy in his heart. And while Ben worked at the fence in the hot sun, Tom sat under a tree, eating the apple, and planning how to get more help. There were enough boys. Each one came to laugh, but remained to whitewash. And when the middle of the afternoon came, Tom had won many treasures. The fence had been whitewashed three times. If he hadn’t run out of whitewash, Tom would have owned everything belonging to his friends.
He had discovered a great law of human action that in order to make a man or a boy want a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to get.Why did Tom take all his bits of toys out of his pockets?
| A．Because he was tired and wanted to play with his toys. |
| B．Because he wanted to exchange his toys with his friends. |
| C．Because he wanted to give his toys to his friends. |
| D．Because he wanted to know if he could buy help with his toys. |
Tom was about to agree to let Ben whitewash when he changed his mind because ______.
| A．Tom wanted to do the whitewashing himself |
| B．Tom planned to make Ben give up his apple first |
| C．Tom was unwilling to let Ben do the whitewashing |
| D．Tom was afraid Ben couldn’t do the whitewashing well. |
We can learn from the passage that ______.
| A．Tom was fond of whitewashing the fence |
| B．Tom had a lot of friends who were ready to help him |
| C．Tom managed to let other boys do the whitewashing for him |
| D．Tom was better at whitewashing the fence than others |
Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?
| A．The Happy Whitewasher |
| B．Tom And His Fellows |
| C．Whitewashing A Fence |
| D．How To Make Things Difficult To Get |
第二部分阅读理解(共25小题。第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题1分；满分45分)
第一节阅读下列短文，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 handsome middle-aged man walked quietly into the café and sat down. Before he ordered, he couldn’t help but noticed a group of younger men at the table next to him. It was obvious they were making fun of something about him and it wasn’t until he remembered he was wearing a small pink ribbon(丝带) — on the lapel of his suit that he became aware of what the joke was all about.
The man pretended not to notice it, but the whisper and laughter began to get to him. He looked one of the rude young men straight into the eye, placed his hand beneath the ribbon and asked, “This?”
With that the young men all began to laugh out loud. The man he spoke to said, “Hey, sorry, man, but we were just commenting on how pretty your little pink ribbon looks against your blue jacket!”
The middle-aged man calmly invited the joker to come over to his table, and politely seated him. Uncomfortable as he was, the young guy had to, not really sure why. In a soft voice, the middle-aged man said, “I wear this ribbon to bring awareness about breast cancer. I wear it in my mother’s honor.”
“Oh, sorry. She died of breast cancer?”
“No, she didn’t.” “She’s alive and well. But her breasts nourished me as a baby, and were a soft resting place for my head when I was scared or lonely as a little boy. I’ m very grateful for my mother’s breasts, and her health.”
“Umm.” The young replied, “Yeah.”
“And I wear this ribbon to honor my wife,” the man continued.
“And she’s okay, too?” the young guy asked.
“Oh, yes. She’s fine. Her breasts have been a great source of loving pleasure for both of us, and with them she nurtured and nourished our daughter 23 years ago. I’ m grateful for my wife’s breasts, and her health.”
“Uh, huh, and I guess you wear it to honor your daughter, also?”
“No. it’s too late to honor my daughter by wearing it now...”
Shaken and ashamed, the young guy said, “Oh, I’m so sorry.”
“So, in my daughter’s memory, too, I proudly wear this little ribbon, which allows me the opportunity to enlighten others. And here…”With this, he reached in his pocket and handed the young man a little pink ribbon. The young guy looked at it, slowly raised his head and asked, “…?”
41. The young man joked about the middle-aged man’s ___.
A. looks B. ribbon C. attitude D. clothes
42. What may have happened to the man’s daughter?
A. She died of breast cancer. B. She was ill with cancer
C. She had gone abroad. D. She got married.
43. What will the young man probably ask at the end of the story?
A. May I give it to my mother? B. Can you help me put it on?
C. Will you please forgive me? D. Shall we have some drink together?
44. What is the best title for the passage?
A. An unusual meeting B. An impressive lesson
B. Be careful to your beloved D. A little pink ribbon
Over the past ten years, we have made some big steps forward in our common struggle for development, security and human rights. Aid and debt relief have increased, making the world economy somewhat fairer. At last, the world is taking action against HIV/AIDS. There are fewer wars between countries than there used to be; and many civil wars have ended. More Governments are elected by, and responsible for, the people whom they govern. And all States protect people from war crimes, racial cleansing and crimes against humanity.
But there is so much that still needs doing. The gap between rich and poor continues to grow. Many people still face serious crime, discrimination, and racial conflict. Nuclear weapons require urgent attention. Terrorism, and the reaction to it, is spreading fear and suspicion. It seems that we don't even agree which threats are most important. Those who live on small islands may see global warming as the biggest danger. Those who live in a city that has suffered terrorist attacks, like New York, or Mumbai, or Istanbul, may feel that fighting against terrorism is more urgent. Others again may cite poverty, disease, or genocide. The truth is, these are all global threats. All of us should be concerned about all of them. Otherwise, we may" not succeed in dealing with any of them.
At this time of all times, we cannot afford to be divided. I know that you, the peoples of the world, understand this. Thank you for all the support and encouragement you have given me throughout these ten difficult but exciting years.
Please urge your leaders to work with my successor, and make the United Nations ever stronger and more effective.
Long live our planet and its peoples. Long live the United Nations!
72. The first paragraph mainly describes______________.
A. the fact that the United Nations has become stronger
B. the achievements that the United Nations has made
C. the threats that the United Nations has come across
D. the steps that have been taken to help developing countries
73. From the second paragraph we learn___________________.
A. which problems are the most important
B. the task to improve our world is not so difficult
C. we still have a long way to go to achieve world peace
D. the future of the world is not certain
74. According to the text, which of the following is not true?
A. Islanders care more about terrorism than global warming.
B. More leaders are voted for by the people for. whom they are responsible, whom they govern.
C, The speaker has spent almost all his professional life working for the United Nations
D. People around the world don't agree which threats are most important,
75. The speech must have been made by the_________________.
A. Secretary-General of the UN B. president of the US
C. prime minister of the UK D. president of the PRC
The day will come when my body will lie upon a white sheet neatly folded in under the four corners of a mattress located in a hospital busily occupied with the living and the dying. At a certain moment, a doctor will determine that my brain has ceased to function and that, to all intents and purposes, my life has stopped.
When that happens, do not attempt to instill artificial life into my body by the use of a machine. And don't call this my deathbed. Let it be called the Bed of Life, and let my body be taken from it to help others lead fuller lives.
Give my sight to the man who has never seen a sunrise, a baby's face or love in the eye of a woman. Give my heart to a person whose own heart has caused nothing but endless days of pain. Give my blood to the teenager who was pulled from the wreckage of his car, so that he might live to see his grandchildren play. Give my kidneys to one who depends on a machine to exist. Take my bones, every muscle, every fiber and nerve in my body, and find a way to make a crippled child walk.
Explore every corner of my brain. Take my cells, if necessary, and let them grow so that, someday, a speechless boy will shout at the crack of a bat, and a deaf girl will hear the sound of rain against her window.
Burn what is left of me and scatter the ashes to the winds to help the flowers grow. If you must bury something, let it be my faults, my weaknesses and all prejudice against my fellow man.
If, by chance, you wish to remember me, do it with a kind deed or word to someone who needs you. If you do all I have asked, I will live forever.
68. What does the underlined part "to all intents and purposes" in tire first paragraph mean?
A, actually B. occasionally C. meaningfully D. interestedly
69. How many things does the author mention should be contributed to others in the passage?
A. less than five B. six C. seven D. more than eight
70. The author is not the kind of person who____________.
A. is selfish but great B. is brave and kind C. has a spirit of sacrifice D. is noble-minded
71. What the author realty wants to stress in the last two paragraphs is
A. the need to persuade to do everything more gently
B. kindness to others even in death
C. living forever makes us remembered
D. we should make the world more attractive
Ten Chinese PhD students are demanding that Beijing Normal University Professor Yu Dan be away from her television show on CCTV 10. They argue that her on-air explanations of Confucius's Analects (《论语》) are "incorrect and misleading".
Yu is known for explaining Confucius's Analects to a TV audience, But some complain that her explanations are unfaithful to Chinese tradition.
But Yu doesn't seem to worry too much about her critics, saying, "It's a matter of personal choice. Some like KFC, while others like McDonalds."
STEALING some online gamer's password might seem less harmful than credit card theft. It does keep the victim from wearing himself out all night playing. But it is not all that nice, says 19-year-old Zhang Qiwen, in Shanghai.
Last August, Zhang accidentally downloaded a Trojan while playing Warcraft. The Trojan is a type of virus used by hackers to steal people's passwords. Overnight the Trojan transferred all the "gold" (game credits) from Zhang's private account to an unknown account. Zhaug hopes the police will find and punish the thief, who can also pocket some cash since the stolen "gold" can go on sale online.
New England's largest indoor public garden has opened here in a historic park, and officials expect it to become a center for learning about plants as well as a top attraction for visitors.
The glass-walled Roger Williams Park Botanical Center, which opened March 2. offers a tropical garden, an orchid garden, and a Mediterranean room with a collection of citrus trees, The center also has two classrooms and will offer gardening classes provided by the University of Rhode Island.
Roger Williams Park, named for the city's 17th-century founder, also has a zoo. The park already attracts more than 2 million visitors a year, and Providence Mayor David Cicilline said that he expects the new center will attract more and more visitors to Providence.
64. Which of the following statements is true?
A. Confucius's Analects is like KFC or McDonalds in China now.
B. 19-year-old Zhang was angry because a hacker stole his "gold"
C. The Trojan is a new online game.
D. The garden is run by a university.
65. We can learn from the passages that _________
A. there are four gardens in Roger Williams Park Botanical Center.
B. No one likes Yu Dan's explanation of Confucius' Analects.
C. Yu Dan won't show up on CCTV any more for explanations of Confucius's Analects
D. now some people make money by stealing online gamers' game credits and selling them
66. Where is Roger Williams Park?
A. It's in England. B. It's in Providence. C. It's in a botanical center. D. It's in a famous zoo.
67. You are very likely to read the passages in _________.
A. a biology textbook B. a fashion magazine C. a newspaper D. a book review
There is a group of people whose numbers the British Government desperately wants to see dropping. They're mostly in their early 20s, without jobs and not at university. They often wander the streets and are seen as a threat.
The Office for National Statistics reported on Dec, 11, 2006 that the number of young people who are not in school and not working or in training in Britain has risen sharply since 1997.
Britain now has 1.24 million people aged 15 to 24 who have nothing to do. That's a 15 percent increase over 1997. One in six people in this age group is idle.
These people are most likely to be from lower-income families and be supported by their families or the government. Those aver 18 can get a weekly job seeker's allowance of ￡46,69(690 yuan) from the government. This is only enough to cover the basic cost of living.
Housing benefits are also available. But for single people under 25, these only cover rent for very cheap accommodation, such as a shared room. So most unemployed young people choose to live with their parents, where they can have a room of their own
Some charities or local governments offer free housing for homeless young people as well. Nightstop UK, for example, offers help to young people aged 16--25. However, the housing is often only short-term.
British politician Iain Duncan-Smith blames the breakdown of traditional families on the increasing number of unemployed or untrained young people.
In Britain today, about one in 10 families are headed by a cohabiting couple, Cohabiting parents are twice as likely to break up as married parents, according to a Conservative Party report. Family breakdown is likely to lead to ignoring a child's education.
Poor post-school vocational training programmes are also being criticized. Independent research suggests that some training programmes are a waste of time.
The New Deal, a major programme to help the unemployed young, is one example. In 1998, 61 per cent of those leaving the programme could find jobs. That number is now down to 35 per cent.
" It, shows a failure of government policy. Even if you put in a large amount of money, if you haven't got the basic policies right, you won't get me results." said politician David Willetts .
60. What does the underlined word "idle" probably mean in the third paragraph?
A. engaged B. unemployed C. diligent D. busy
61. How many factors are mentioned in this passage that lead to the increase of unemployment?
A. 2 B.3C. 4 D. 5
62. We can learn from the passage that_______________
A. the allowance from, the government can help those young people to live a comfortable life
B. the New Deal is always successful in helping job hunters
C. homeless young people depend on local governments for permanent accommodation
D. most unemployed young people choose to live with their parents because they can have their own room
63. The best title for this news report might be________________.
A. Success of Government Policy B. Vocational Training in Britain
C. Jobless Youth Concerns D. Job Hunting Problems