Death Valley is one of the most famous deserts in the United States, covering a wide area with its alkali sand. Almost 20 percent of this area is well below sea level, and Badwater, a salt water pool, is about 280 feet below sea level and the lowest point in the United States.
Long ago the Panamint Indians called this place “Tomesha”— the land of fire. Death Valley’s present name dates back to 1849, when a group of miners coming across from Nevada became lost in its unpleasantness and hugeness and their adventure turned out to be a sad story. Today Death Valley has been declared a National Monument(纪念碑) and is crossed by several well-marked roads where good services can be found easily. Luckily the change created by human settlement has hardly ruined the special beauty of this place.
Here nature created a lot of surprising, almost like the sights on the moon, ever-changing as the frequent wind moves the sand about, showing the most unusual colors. One of the most astonishing and variable parts of Death Valley is the Devil’ s Golf Course, where it seems hard for one to tell reality from terrible dreams. Sand sculptures(沙雕) stand on a frightening ground, as evening shadows move and lengthen.______ is the lowest place in the desert.
| A． Tomesha | B．Death Valley |
| C．Nevada | D．Badwater |
The name of the valley comes from _______.
| A．an Indian name | B．the death of the miners |
| C．the local people | D．a National Movement |
From the passage we can learn that _______.
| A．no one had ever known the desert before the miners |
| B．it’s still not easy to travel across the desert |
| C．people can find gas-stations, cafes and hotels in the desert |
| D．people have changed the natural sight of the desert |
Devil Golf Course is famous for _______.
| A．the frequent wind | B．the colors of the sand |
| C．dream-like sights | D．the sand sculptures |
From the passage we can see that the writer _______ the Death Valley.
| A．appreciates | B．is fearful of |
| C．dislikes | D．is tired of |
第三部分：阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Justin’s bedroom was so full of flat bicycle tires, bent tennis rackets, deflated（瘪掉的）basketballs, and games with missing pieces that you could barely get in the door. His parents pleaded with him to clean out his room.
“What use is a fish tank with a hole in the bottom?” his father asked. But Justin simply smiled and repeated his motto, “Never throw anything out, you never know when it might come in handy.”
When Justin was away from home, he always carried his blue backpack--a smaller version of his bedroom--a place to store the many objects that he collected. It was so worn and stretched that it hardly resembled a backpack anymore.
Justin had earned a reputation for figuring things out and getting people out of otherwise hopeless situations. Many of his classmates and neighbors sought him out when they needed help with a problem. On the first day of school, his friend Kenny, came looking for Justin.
“Do you think you have something in your bag that could help me remember my locker combination?” he asked. “I lost the piece of paper it was written on. I have a science class in two minutes and if I'm late on the first day it’ll make me look bad for the rest of the year.” Kenny looked really worried.
“Relax,” Justin said, taking his backpack off and unzipping the top. “Remember how you borrowed my notebook in homeroom to write the combination down? Well, I know how we can recover what you wrote.”
He took the notebook and a soft lead pencil out of his bag. The page that Kenny had written on had left faint marks on another page in the notebook. Justin held the pencil on its side and rubbed it lightly over the marks. Slowly but surely the numbers of the locker combination appeared in white, set off by the gray pencil rubbings.
“That's amazing!” Kenny said. “I owe you one.” And he dashed off to open his locker.
It was just another day in the life of the boy whose motto was “Never throw anything out, you never know when it might come in handy.”
56. Why is Justin's room such a mess?
A. He always forgets to clean it.B. He shares the room with his brother.
C. He has no time to clean it.D. He never throws anything away.
57. In what way is Justin’s backpack a smaller version of his bedroom?
A. He uses it as a place to store objects.
B. He uses it to carry his books and sports equipment.
C. His parents tell him to clean it all the time.
D. He's had it for as long as he can remember.
58. The underlined phrase "pleaded with" means
A. ignoredB. asked C. pushed D. Ordered
59. How does Kenny feel toward Justin?
A. Annoyed. B. Disinterested.C. Grateful. D. Angry.
Miguel’s co-workers don’t quite understand him. One day he is smiling and friendly, a real team player. The next day, he is cross, getting angry over minor things, especially when asked to improve one of his designs.
Identifying your personality characteristics is the first step in developing a good attitude. Are you a positive, confident person or are you shy and reserved? Do you face problems, looking for solutions, or do you feel someone to blame? Characteristics define you. They help you succeed, or they hold you back.
Self-awareness, or understanding the factors that make up your personality, is an important step towards happiness, and happiness is the key characteristic of a good attitude. To become self-aware is to be aware of both your good and bad characteristics.
What are the characteristics that people compliment(恭维) on you? Are you dependable”, “responsible” or “solid”? Pay attention to the compliment because they are a confirmation of your strongest characteristics. You can use these characteristics to create an even better image.
People form opinions about you. Whether they are right or wrong doesn’t enter the question. You, however, can change their opinions by demonstrating the personality characteristics and attitudes that match the way you want to be viewed. In becoming self-aware, understanding how others see you is an important step. This can be painful; but if you are brave enough to try it, it can be an excellent growth experience.
Change is not easy, especially when it has to do with your behaviors. You should break the behavior change into small steps because small steps are easier to achieve and more likely to last. The change will be permanent if you want to change for yourself.
73．The purpose for writing this passage is to__________.
A．help you to get along well with others
B．give you advice on how to be happy
C．help you to get rid of our bad behaviors
D．help you to develop a good personality
74．You should be self-aware because___________.
A．it may help you on the way to success
B．it is a matter of failure or success
C．it will surely make you happy and successful
D．it helps you to create a better mage
75．What may be talked about after this passage?
A．Detailed steps of changing your behaviors
B．Why it is important to improve yourself
C．Why it is hard to change your personality
D．Tips in how to get along well with others
Struggling in the US? Move to China!
I graduated from the university with a degree of civil engineering. It is a good field but my heart was not in it. I wanted to be an actor or work in the entertainment industry…living a creative life. My choice of civil engineering was really a mistake but I realized too late. As soon as I graduated, I moved straight to Los Angeles—the home of the film and television industry!
For three years, I tried to get a job in that field. I often worked as an extra in movies and TV shows—standing in the background while actors are in the foreground. This was fun for a while, but I wanted a real acting job, where I was speaking! Sadly, in Los Angeles, there is too much competition. Every race and age is represented: old, young, black, white, Asian and thousands of blondish-red haired Midwestern types like me. Being an extra couldn’t make enough money for me to live in Los Angeles. I had to do something else for money.
After three years of trying, I gave up my dream of being an actor and started a different career. I then tried network-marketing, but in the end, that failed. Seven years after graduating college, I was still in debt, still searching for a satisfactory life. I decided to go back to civil engineering.
However, I was starting to get very disappointed with my life. Why is life not like what I expected? I expected to have made a lot of money, gotten married, with a house and nice cars, kids, time freedom, etc. Millions of people lead lives with their dreams shelved, existing but not really living. I want my life to be different, more satisfactory, more alive. America was not providing that for me…
In addition, America was too expensive—always worrying about money was a headache. I wanted a life filled with adventure, romance, friendships, successes, and dreams realized.
…
I decided to move to China.
69．How can we describe the writer’s attitude toward life?
A．Practical B．Passive C．Disappointed D．Positive
70．What does the underlined sentence mean?
A．A lot of people are living but they are not enjoying their life.
B．A lot of people are living with dreams though their life is not that enjoyable.
C．A lot of people give up their dreams and yet are living a good life.
D．A lot of people don’t have dreams, nor do they want to live either.
71．What did the writer do before he finally decided to move to China?
A．Engineer→extra→marketing→engineer
B．Extra→marketing→engineer
C．Engineer→extra→marketing
D．Extra→engineer→marketing
72．What can we infer from the passage?
A．Life is easier in the US.
B．Life in China is not easy.
C．There is always somewhere in the world where you can enjoy life.
D．More Americans will move to China.
Parents often believe that they have a good relationship with their teenagers. But last summer, Joanna and Henry noticed a change in their older son: suddenly he seemed to be talking far more to his friends than to his parents. “The door to his room is always shut.” Joanna noted.
Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in their 14-year-old daughter. ”She used to cuddle up with me on the sofa and talk,” said Mark. “Now we joke that she does this only when she wants something. Sometimes she wants to be treated like a little girl and sometimes like a young lady. The problem is figuring out which time is which.”
Before age 11, children like to tell their parents what’s on their minds. “ In fact, parents are first on the list.” Said Michael Riera, author of Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers. “This completely changes during the teen years.” Riera explained. “They talk to their friends first, then maybe their teachers, and their parents last.”
Parents who know what’s going on in their teenagers’ lives are in the best position to help them. To break down the wall of silence, parents should create chances to understand what their children want to say, and try to find ways to talk and write to them. And they must give their children a mental break, for children also need freedom, though young. Another thing parents should remember is that to be a friend, not a manager, with their children is a better way to know them.
65．“The door to his room is always shut” suggests that the son________.
A．is always busy with his studies
B．doesn’t want to be disturbed
C．keeps himself away from his parents
D．begins to dislike his parents
66．What troubles Tina and Mark most is that_______
A．their daughter isn’t as lovely as before
B．they can’t read their daughter’s mind exactly
C．they don’t know what to say to their daughter
D．their daughter talks with them only when she needs help
67．Which of the following best explains ”the wall of silence” in the last paragraph?
A．Teenagers talk a lot with their friends.
B．Teenagers do not want to understand their parents.
C．Teenagers do not talk much with their parents.
D．Teenagers talk little about their own lives.
68．What can be learned from the passage?
A．Parents are unhappy with their growing children.
B．Parents have suitable ways to talk with their teenagers.
C．Parents should be patient with their silent teenagers.
D．Parent should try to understand their teenagers.
“Lately, I have been feeling very stressed and easily lose my temper at people around me,” said Susan Huang. Her troubles are typical of someone her age, according to a survey by the Chinese Academy of Science’s Psychology Institute. In 2000, the institute’s researchers began surveying close to 8,000 people nationwide. People were studied in relation to the pressures they felt during periods of transition.
The results of the survey were released last week, and they make for the interesting reading. For example, people used to take for granted that the older they were, the more pressure they felt.
But, surprisingly, the results have shown that young people in their twenties are the most stressed. This is because young people are forming their values at a time when Chinese society is undergoing great changes, explained Chen Long, a member of the survey team.
“Society is changing and neither their parents nor their teachers can teach them enough to know how to cope with it,” Chen said. Some of them get anxious from the overwhelming amount of information in the wired world, Chen added.
Another problem is that the economic reforms have forced people to develop a more competitive attitude. Those surveyors said they felt more pressure from heavier work-loads, increased peer competition, and greater responsibilities.
Medical disputes and business activities increasingly find their way into people’s free time and simply add to their stress, the survey showed.
Then there is the pressure to achieve more also weighing heavily on people. This is particularly true for those with higher education. Those people really want to acquire new knowledge and use their ability to get ahead and get more out of society.
The researchers hope their survey will throw some light on the state of mental health among the Chinese during this period of major economic and political reforms.
61．Which of the following is one of the reasons for the pressures people felt?
A．people are forming their values.
B．Chinese society is not undergoing a period of transition.
C．The economic reforms have forced young people to develop a more competitive attitude.
D．People with higher education really want to achieve more.
62．What does the underlined word “they” refer to?
A．People getting stressed. B．The results of the survey.
C．Periods of transition. D．The researchers.
63．According to Huang, people with pressure are likely to ____.
A．form their values B．achieve more out of society
C．lose their temper D．make for interesting reading
64．The purpose of the author in writing this article is to ____.
A．share the state of people with pressure
B．tell us how to deal better with pressure
C．advise people to develop an active attitude to life
D．attract more attention to people’s mental health