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 but
uplifting． ―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 |
What should you think about in trying to find your career? You are probably better at some school subjects than others. These may show strengths that you can use in your work. A boy who is good at mathematics can use that in an engineering career. A girl who spells well and likes English may be good at office work. So it is important to do well at school. On the other hand, you may not have any specially strong or weak subjects but your records show a general satisfactory standard. Although not all subjects can be used directly in a job, they may have indirect value. Knowledge of history is not required for most jobs but if history is one of your good subjects you will have learned to remember facts and details. This is an ability that can be useful in many jobs.
Your school may have taught you skills, such as typing or technical drawing, which you can use in your work. You may be good at metal work or cookery and look for a job where you can improve these skills.
If you have had a part-time job on Saturdays or in the summer, think what you gained from it. If nothing else, you may have learned how to get to work on time, to follow instructions and to get on with older workers. You may have learned to give correct change in a shop, for example. Just as important, you may become interested in a particular industry or career you see from the inside in a part-time job.
Facing your weak points is also part of knowing yourself. You may be all thumbs when you handle tools. Perhaps you are a poor speller or cannot add up a column of figures. It is bitter to face any weaknesses than to pretend they do not exist. Your school record, for instance, may not be too good, yet it is an important part of your background. You should not be apologetic about it but instead recognize that you will have a chance of a fresh start at work.
1. We can infer from the first paragraph that_______.
A. learning better at school shows power in your job
B. the better you are at school subjects, the more helpful they are in your career
C. learning each subject well is an ability in many jobs
D. we should think about how to find our career
2. According to the passage, if a student’s school record is not good, he will _________.
A. have no hope in his future work
B. be hopeful to find a suitable job
C. regret not having worked harder at school
D. have an opportunity of a new beginning in his future work
3. All the subjects may have direct value for job hunting except___________.
A. mathematics B. English C. history D. technical drawing
4. The underlined words "all thumbs" in Paragraph 4 most probably mean_________.
A. heavy-handed B. the best C. important D. skilled
5. The passage mainly discusses ___________.
A. the relationship between school performance and career
B. how to get a job
C. how to show strengths in your work
D. working experience and knowledge at school
I entered high school having read hundreds of books. But I was not a good reader. Merely bookish, I lacked a point of view when I read. Rather, I read in order to get a point of view. I searched books for good expressions and sayings, pieces of information, ideas, themes-anything to enrich my thought and make me feel educated. When one of my teachers suggested to his sleepy tenth-grade English class that a person could not have a "complicated idea" until he had read at least two thousand books, I heard the words without recognizing either its irony (嘲讽) or its very complicated truth. I merely determined to make a list of all the books I had ever
read. Strict with myself, I included only once a title I might have read several times. (How, after all, could one read a book more than once?) And I included only those books over a hundred pages in length. (Could anything shorter be a book?)
There was yet another high school list I made. One day I came across a newspaper article about an English professor at a nearby state college. The article had a list of the "hundred most important books of Western Civilization." "More than anything else in my life," the professor told the reporter with finality, "these books have made me all that I am." That was the kind of words I couldn't ignore. I kept the list for the several months it took me to read all of the titles. Most books, of course, I hardly understood. While reading Plato's The Republic, for example, I needed to keep looking at the introduction of the book to remind myself what the text was about. However, with the special patience and superstition (迷信) of a schoolboy, I looked at every word of the text. And by the time I reached the last word, pleased, I persuaded myself that I had read The Republic and seriously crossed Plato off my list.
1. On hearing the teacher's suggestion of reading, the writer thought______.
A. one must read as many books as possible.
B. a student should not have a complicated idea.
C. it was impossible for one to read two thousand books.
D. students ought to make a list of the books they had read
2. While at high school, the writer_________.
A. had plans for reading B. learned to educate himself
C. only read books over 100 pages D. read only one book several times
3. The underlined phrase "with finality" in the second paragraph probably means_________.
A. firmly B. clearly C. proudly D. pleasantly
4. The writer's purpose in mentioning "The Republic" is to________.
A. explain why it was included in the list[
B. describe why he seriously crossed it off the list
C. show that he read the books blindly though they were hard to understand
D. prove that he understood most of it because he had looked at every word
5. The writer provides two book lists to________.
A. show how he developed his point of view
B. tell his reading experience at high school
C. introduce the two persons' reading methods
D. explain that he read many books at high school
III 阅读(共两节，满分40分)
第—节阅读理解 (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A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
The famous director of a big and expensive movie planned to film a beautiful sunset over the ocean, so that the audiences could see his hero and heroine(男女主角) in front of it at the end of the film as they said goodbye to each other for ever. He sent his camera crew out one evening to film the sunset for him.
The next morning he said to the men, “Have you provided me with that sunset ?”
“No, sir,” the men answered.
The director was angry. “Why not?” he asked.
“Well, sir,” one of the men answered, “we’re on the east coast here, and the sun sets in the west. We can get you a sunrise over the sea, if necessary, but not a sunset.”
“But I want a sunset!” the director shouted. “Go to the airport, take the next flight to the west coast, and get one.”
But then a young secretary had an idea. “Why don’t you photograph a sunrise,” she suggested, “and then play it backwards? Then it’ll look like a sunset.”
“That’s a very good idea!” the director said. Then he turned to the camera crew and said, “Tomorrow morning I want you to get me a beautiful sunrise over the sea.”
The camera crew went out early the next morning and filmed a bright sunrise over the beach in the middle of a beautiful bay. Then at nine o’clock they took it to the director. “Here it is, sir,” they said, and gave it to him. He was very pleased.
They all went into the studio. “All right,” the director explained, “now our hero and heroine are going to say goodbye. Run the film backwards so that we can see the ‘sunset’ behind them.”
The “sunset” began, but after a quarter of a minute, the director suddenly put his face in his hands and shouted to the camera crew to stop.
The birds in the film were flying backwards, and the waves on the sea were going away from the beach.
1. One evening, the director sent his camera crew out _________.
A. to film a scene on the sea B. to find an actor and an actress
C. to watch a beautiful sunset D. to meet the audience
2. Why did the director want to send his crew to the west coast?
A. Because he changed his mind about getting a sunset.
B. Because he was angry with his crew.
C. Because he wanted to get a scene of sunset.
D. Because it was his secretary’s suggestion.
3. The director wanted to film a sunset over the ocean because ______.
A. it went well with the separation of the hero and heroine
B. when they arrived at the beach it was already in the evening
C. it was more moving than a sunrise
D. the ocean looked more beautiful at sunset
4. After the “sunset” began, the director suddenly put his face in his hands ______.
A. because he was moved to tears
B. as he saw everything in the film moving backwards
C. as the sunrise did not look as beautiful as he had imagined
D. because he was disappointed with the performance of the hero and heroine
5. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. The crew had to follow the secretary’s advice .
B. If you want to see a sunrise, the east coat is the place to go.
C. The camera crew wasn’t able to film the scene the first day.
D. The director ordered his crew to stop filming the “sunset”.
Everybody hates rats. But in the earthquake capitals of the world – Japan, Los Angeles, Turkey – rats will soon be man’s new best friends.
What happens after an earthquake? We send in rescue dogs. Why? Because they can smell people. Dogs save lives. They help rescuers to find living people. But dogs are big and they can’t get into small spaces. So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives: the rat.
How does it work? First , the rat is trained to smell people. When this happens, the rat’s brain gives a signal（信号）.This is sent to a small radio on its back, and then the rescuers follow the radio signals. When rat’s brain activity jumps, the rescuers know that someone is alive. The rat has smelled that person.
Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better. Christian Linster at Cornell University, New York, says, “Robots’ noses don’t work well when there are other smells around. Rats are good at that. ” Rats can also see in the dark. They are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don’t need electricity!
The “rat project” is not finished, but Julie Ryan of International Rescue Corps in Scotland says, “It would be fantastic. A rat could get into spaces we couldn’t get to, and a rat would get out if it wasn’t safe.” Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building（but only after an earthquake, of course.）
1．In the world earthquake capitals, rats will bee man’s best friends because they can .
A．take the place of man’s rescue jobs
B．find the position of people alive who are trapped in buildings
C．serve as food for people alive who are trapped in buildings
D．get into small spaces
2．From the third paragraph we know the rescuers can judge a person is alive by .
A．the noise made by the rat
B．the rat’s unusual behaviour
C．the signal sent by the radio on the rat’s back
D．the smell given off by the person
3．In doing rescue jobs, .
A．rats smell better than dogs
B．dogs don’t need to be trained to smell people
C．robots’ sense of smell can be affected by other smells around
D．rats can see in the dark and smaller than robots
4．Rats have all the following advantages except that .
A．they are more fantastic than other animals
B．they are less expensive to train than dogs
C．they don’t need electricity
D．they are small and can get into small places
5．After reading the passage we can know .
A．at present rats have taken the place of dogs in searching for people
B．the “rat project” has been finished
C．people are now happy to see a rat in a building
D．now people still use dogs and robots in saving people
Parking has long been a major headache for drivers in Shanghai. The Transportation Department is mapping out a new plan for the city’s parking system. There are one million cars on the road in Shanghai but only enough public parking space to provide room for 15percent of them. It is no wonder that local drivers get so worried trying to find a place to park.
The city is seeing a rise in private car owners. In March, the city sent out 2,000 private car licenses, the highest number of licenses ever sent out in a month. And prices rose to 14,600 yuan, 500 more than in February. Industry experts say this suggests that local people have a strong, active interest in buying cars.
By the year 2020, the number of automobiles in Shanghai will probably reach two million. If one parking lot is for each car, then a lot of parking space should be built for these vehicles.
Downtown Shanghai is most short of parking space. However, experts point out that simply building more parking lots in downtown areas is not practical and doesn’t provide an ideal solution. The idea of “ Park & Ride” system has been suggested. This means that drivers can leave their vehicles in car par nearby subway or bus stations and ride public transport to go downtown. Based on this idea, the city will limit the number of parking lots in downtown areas and demand higher parking fees but build more parking areas near main subway and bus stops.
1.The underlined phrase “ mapping out ” in the first paragraph means __________.
A. making B. arguingC. controlling D. inspiring
2. About __________ drivers can find places to park their cars in Shanghai now.
A. 850,000 B. 1,000,000 C. 150,000 D. 2,000,000
3. What does the second paragraph mainly tell us ?
A. The city sent out more private licenses in February.
B. Less and less people bought cars in March.
C. The city sent out less private licenses in March.
D. More and more people are going to buy cars.
4. According to the idea of a “ Park & Ride ” system, the city will __________.
A. send out more private car licenses
B. build more parking lots near bus stops
C. encourage people to buy more cars
D. build more parking areas in downtown