Although I started learning English during my college years, when I entered the States, I only understood two English words “Yes” and “No”. We learned many grammar rules but we could not make the language connections to the real English world. Language frustration worries almost all first generation immigrants. For example, I got a letter from a Chinese-American who has lived in the States for a long time and has a good IT job saying “My 11-year-old girl writes quite well, but as her parents, we could not even read her article.”In addition, my Chinese-American professor friend has difficulty reading a novel. Improving our English skills has become a long journey for all of us. Honestly, if I have a chance, I really want to reach out to everyone in the world who has had a similar experience: learning a second language in adulthood. I wish I could encourage them to speak out about the culture shock, frustration they felt about the differences between West and East.
I have mainly focused on my English writing since 2008 after I found “Literacy Volunteers”, an organization that specially focuses on helping immigrants improve their English. I decided to challenge myself, writing a story like an American. I saw many wonderful Americans there. As soon as I met my teacher Alice, I asked her to be my private language tutor and have taken Tims English class. Every week Alice and I have worked on my English essays sentence by sentence.
To observe the culture differences between West and East, occasionally, I posted a few of my English essays online. I mentioned previously about American culture; when people read the same article or even face the same situation, American and Chinese act very differently. In my viewpoint, these differences make America the strongest country in the world. I know you have the right to express your own opinions, but accusing others without proof is not acceptable.The underlined word “frustration” in the first paragraph means .
| A．failure and setbacks | B．words and problems |
| C．understanding and progress | D．slang and idioms |
In the passage, “Literacy Volunteers” is .
| A．only intended to help the Chinese-Americans |
| B．an organization which is set up to make a profit |
| C．of great use to people like the author |
| D．a school showing how to enjoy literature |
From the last paragraph we can learn that .
| A．Americans and Chinese are of the same idea about something |
| B．culture shock only exists between Chinese and Americans |
| C．accusing others freely can be acceptable in America |
| D．culture differences have great influence on the people |
The purpose of the passage is .
| A．to show how hard a Chinese-American lives in America |
| B．to share her experience of improving her English |
| C．to imply grammar rules are not important |
| D．to warn Chinese-Americans of English |
Most people seem to be passive at work. They do what they are told to do, and they don’t do what they are not told to do. In the end, one thing results: unmotivated (不积极的) people.
We’re employed to think. In fact, no matter how many times our bosses disagree with us, it is our responsibility to think for the company. There are lots of times when I disagree with my boss, and sometimes we even end up having arguments; however, I still offer my suggestions whenever I don’t agree.
Spending more time thinking also helps us to be more efficient (高效的) and helps to reduce our chances of frustration (挫败). Before I do something, I usually need some time to think about it to make sure that what I’m doing makes sense. This can be as long as a few days when a project is big, or as short as only a few seconds for a simple task. After thinking about a project, it sometimes becomes clear that a simple task could achieve the same result. In those cases, not only did I save myself from possible frustration, but I also felt happy and satisfied that I saved valuable resources for my company.
With so many people not taking time to think, it’s no wonder that many people are unmotivated. Today, I encourage you to think things over whenever you have a chance. At first, it might take a while, but once it becomes a habit, you will feel more motivated as you will be more valuable to the company.
57. It is suggested in the passage that people should _____.
A. stop arguing with their bosses B. seize every chance they meet
C. present views to their companiesD. avoid big projects
58. According to the passage, spending more time thinking _________.
A. is a waste of time and resources
B. can help people understand what others do
C. can help people impress their companies
D. is a good way to improve efficiency
59. The author wrote this passage to ________.
A. persuade people to do what they are not told to do
B. encourage people to be more motivated
C. show people how to give different opinions
D. tell people how to form good thinking habits.
60. It can be inferred from the passage that the author is ______ at work.
A. negative B. lazy C. positive D. powerful
High school students have always spread gossip(传言) in the halls, on the walls and on the phone. Now it’s on the Internet, too. On various message boards, kids write about whom they hate, whom they think have fallen in love with each other and record other often hurtful things that may or may not be true.
Sixteen- year-old Jessica remembers once when some kids at her school wrote cruel things about her on the web. “ They were just making fun of me,” she says. They said she’s really ugly, she’s this, she’s that, blah-blah-blah.
Jessica’s 11-year-old sister, Emma, admits she’s used the web to write bad things about another girl, though she regrets it now. “After a while, you may feel like, how could I have been so mean? Or, why did I do that?” she says.
Experts say gossip on the Inernet can be more harmful than the old fashioned kind. It lasts longer and is taken more seriously. And, unlike ugly words on the bathroom wall, there’s no way to get rid of it.
If your kids are victims of online gossip, Dr. Commanday suggests putting the gossip into perspective(正确看待). “Point out to them how what’s being said on the screen differs from what everyone knows about you as a person,” Dr. Commanday says.
You can also try what worked for Emma: Keep your kids off the offensive website! “ When she was using it all the time, her name was there all the time. People were writing things about her,” explains Patti Thrift, Emma’s mother, “ Since she has no longer had access to that, she’ s no longer a topic of conversation.”
Experts say that any time your child is on the Internet , you should know what he or she is doing there. Online gossip is just another reason why.
52. From the examples of Jessica and her sister, we can learn that ________.
A. ugly girls like to spread gossip online
B. ugly girls easily become victims of online gossip
C. gossip-makers can regret what they do
D. online gossip is mailny some jokes on others
53. According to the passage, why is online gossip more hurtful?
A. It can not be removed.B. It is written words.
C. It is much uglier.D. It is easier to believe.
54. If you are a victim of online gossip, you’d better_______
A. ask your parents to stop itB. try to stay away from there
C. make it known to the policeD. speak ill of the gossip-maker
55. The purpose of the passage is to _____
A. introduce different kinds of hurt students might meet with
B. advise students to keep away from the Internet
C. list the bad influence gossip on the Internet brings
D. give some tips on how to prevent hurt of gossip on the Internet
56. The passage is mainly written for____
A. experts B teachers C. parents D. students
第三部分阅读技能（共两节，满分26 分）
第一节阅读理解（共12 小题满分18 分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
An animal activist is someone who has love for all kinds of animals. They fight for the right of animals because animals cannot speak for themselves.
Animal activists must love animals and fight against the mistreatment of animals. Becoming an animal activist will allow you to fight against cruelty.
If you are interested in forming a group or helping other organizations, you should know the rights that animals already have and what rights those organizations are working to get for animals. Knowing this will prepare you to help the organizations in their journey or even help you to set a new law yourself.
There are a lot of things you need to learn about being an animal activist. One of the key things is to always fight for what you believe is right.
You can attend hearings (听证会) at city halls and other important meetings. Through these you can learn what is going on and how people present their cases in front of a judge. In addition, some organizations have newsletters (时事通讯) that will let you know all the latest information on animal rights.
As an animal activist you can also attend protests (抗议). Protests are a great way of making your point understood by companies and the media. Protesters often carry signs to show what they are trying to do. They also go on marches, telling people that they all have the same aim and that they will continue to protest until their aims are achieved.
49. What would be the best title for this text?
A. What Is a Hearing B. Animal Activists and Animal Right
C. The Role an Animal Activist Plays D. How to Attend Protests
50. If you want to become an animal activist, you should do all of the following EXCEPT ______
A. getting the latest information on animal rights B. knowing the rights that animals have
C. attending protests against animal rightsD. having great love for animals
51. We can get information on animal rights from all of the following sources EXCEPT ________
A. animal protection organizations B. hearings in city halls
C. meetings about animal rightsD. some companies and the media
"Reduce, reuse and recycle, this familiar environmentalist slogan tells us how to reduce the amount of rubbish that ends up in landfills and waterways.
The concept is being used to deal with one possibly dangerous form of waste – electronic junk (电子垃圾), such as old computers, cell-phones, and televisions. But this process for managing e-waste may be used in an unscrupulous way more often than not used, a recent report suggests.
“A lot of these materials are being sent to developing nations under the excuse of reuse – to bridge the digital divide,” said Richard Gutierrez, a policy researcher.
One of the problems is that no one proves whether these old machines work before they hit the seaways. Because of this, the report says, e-waste is a growing problem in Lagos, Nigeria, and elsewhere in the developing world. Much of the waste ends up being thrown away along rivers and roads. Often it’s picked apart by poor people, who may face dangerous exposure to poisonous chemicals in the equipment.
Businessmen also pay workers a little money to get back materials such as gold and copper. This low-tech recovery process could expose workers and the local environment to many dangerous materials used to build electronics. According to Gutierrez, this shadow economy exists because the excuse of recycling and reusing electronics gives businessmen “a green passport” to ship waste around the globe. “Developing nations must take upon some of the responsibility themselves,” Gutierrez said. But, he added, “A greater portion of this responsibility should fall on the exporting state.”
China, for example, has become a dumping place for large amounts of e-waste. The nation is beginning to take action to stop the flow of dangerous materials across its borders. The Chinese government, after many years of denial, is finally beginning to take the lead.
57．The underlined word “unscrupulous” in Paragraph 1 probably means ________.
A. unsafe B. tricky C. wrong D. immoral
58．What does the fourth paragraph mainly discuss?
A. Old computers and TVs still work before they are sent abroad.
B. Poor people break up e-waste to collect some valuable materials.
C. A lot of e-waste is dumped in developing countries.
D. The problem of e-waste is growing in developing countries.
59．From what Gutierrez said we can learn that ________.
A. exporting countries should mainly be responsible for this problem.
B. neither rich nor poor countries should be blamed for this problem
C. developing countries should be responsible for this problem
D. poor countries should blamed for this problem
60．It can be inferred from the last paragraph that _______.
A. China has hidden a large amount of e-waste in many secret places
B. China has greatly changed hre idea about the problem of e-waste
C. China has prevented poisonous materials from entering China for a long time
D. China is falling behind other countries in dealing with e-waste
Shopping in Singapore is really a pleasure for tourists. The Great Singapore Sale is held every year, usually during the summer months. Singapore’s famous shopping stores welcome a great number of visitors from all over the world. Their shopping hours last till midnight. During this time, nice and cheap goods are on sale for tourists to choose from. Tourists can also try delicious foods there and experience the Singaporean nightlife.
Certain stores offer discounts (折扣) of up to 70 percent or even higher if people use their credit cards. For tourists that hold a special Tourist Card, they can enjoy a lot of benefits, such as discounts o
n watches, jewelry and cosmetics (化妆品). The card also gives discounts when you visit local attractions such as the Singapore Zoo.
It is well worth checking out in the different shopping districts o
f Singapore during this 8-week Shopping Marathon. Orchard Road is surely the best place for shopping in the city. A large number of restaurants, clubs and cafes can be found in this area. Marina Bay includes both big department stores as well as small shops, so everything you would want to buy can be found here.
Advice for tourists planning to enjoy this festival of shopping: travel light and take a comfortable pair of shoes with you for you are sure to do a lot of walking and return with your bags much heavier.
53. You probably see the Great Singapore Sale when you go to Singapore in ______.
A. January B. August C. May D. November
54. We can learn from the passage that ______.
A. the Great Singapore Sale is held twice each year
B. the Shopping Marathon lasts for more than two months
C. Orchard Road is Singapore’s best shopping street
D. Marina Bay is a narrow street with small shops
55. Why are tourists advised to travel light if they intend to enjoy the shopping festival?
A. They will buy many goods and have to do lots of walking.
B. It is not safe for them to take heavy bags with them.
C. There is heavy traffic in the shopping districts of Singapore.
D. Travelling with too many things is not allowed in Singapore.
56. The author wrote this passage mainly to ______.
A. tell readers his or her experience and impression of visiting Singapore
B. help readers find the best shopping centres in Singapore
C. explain what has made Singapore popular around the world
D. introduce shopping in Singapore and attract more readers to go shopping there