During my elementary school years, I used to compare my mom with my best friend Tiffany's mom..
Tiffany's mom always gave her lots of money to buy the most fashionable clothes and favorite food. Her mom allowed her to do anything she liked. I really admired Tiffany. My mom didn't give me much pocket money and she always told me that I should behave myself. I was annoyed with her.
Whenever I didn't get what I wanted, I would complain to my mom, Tiffany's mom would give her that! I wish she were my mom. "Every time, my morn would calmly say "Poor Tiffany". I couldn't understand her. "She shouldn't be feeling sorry for Tiffany!" I thought. "She should be feeling sorry for me."
One day, I couldn't help saying to Mom, "Poor Tiffany? Lucky Tiffany! She gets everything she wants! Why do you feel sorry for her? " I burst into tears.
My mom sat down next to me and said softly. "Yes, I do feel sorry for her. I have been teaching you a lesson that she will never be taught. "
I looked up at her. "What are you talking about?"
Mom said with care, "One day she will really want something. Maybe she'll find out that she can't have it. Her mother won't always be around to give her money, and what's more, money can't buy everything. "
She continued, "I have taught you valuable lessons by not giving you everything you want. You'll know how to look for bargains and save money, but she won't. You'll understand that you need to work hard to get the things that you want but she won't. When Tiffany is a grown woman, she'll wake up one day and she will be wishing that she had a mom like the one you've got. Life lessons are more important than modern clothes and delicious food. "
It took some time, but I eventually understood my mom's words. Now I am a happy and successful woman.
During the author's elementary school years, she .
A.wished that her mom were as good as Tiffany's |
B.went to school with Tiffany every day |
C.usually pared her lesson with Tiffany's |
D.sometimes gave lots of money to Tiffany |
Why did the author's mom always say "Poor Tiffany"?
A.She felt sorry for Tiffany because Tiffany was poor. |
B.She wanted to tell a lie to fort the author. |
C.She thought that Tiffany was spoiled by her mother. |
D.She told the author this and wanted her to help Tiffany. |
What do we learn about the author's mother?
A.She was strict and taught the author to be independent. |
B.She cared for other people's children more than her own. |
C.She thought that life lessons were as important as money. |
D.She was so poor that she couldn't give the author much money. |
What can we infer from the passage?
A.The author was quite annoyed with her mother in the past. |
B.The author's mother felt sorry for Tiffany. |
C.Tiffany's mother took the author's mother's advice. |
D.The author is thankful to her mother now. |
It was a beautiful Sunday morning,and Maggie and I were returning from our walk through the woods. We were only a couple of blocks away from home when I suddenly saw a cellphone and a credit card sitting on the road. We took them home. We always find amazing things on the street and she looks upon them as a movable feast—a chicken wing here or a bone there.
I found another cellphone a few years back,too,and called a number in its phone book. I explained the situation to the guy who answered. He said it was his sister’s and that he’d come to pick it up,which he did.
And that was that. No verbal thank-you,no written thank-you,and no “here’s a box of chocolates” thank-you.
I didn't have time to call anyone on my latest found cellphone. I was pouring myself coffee when it started to vibrate(振动)and dance across the kitchen counter.
“Who’s this?”someone asked when I picked up.
“Who's this?" I asked. "Sarah?"
She was surprised at my knowing her name until she realized her name was on the credit card. “Could you send them to me?” she asked. She lives in Arlington,which is 2 miles away from my house.
“Hmm,no. ” I replied,adding that I thought she could come to get them,and that if I wasn’t at home,they would be in my mailbox.
A day later,when I was out for a run,someone came and took them away. There wasn't even a piece of paper put in the mailbox with "Thanks" on it. In their age of e-mail and cellphone there's really no excuse. Years ago,I found something more precious than a $100 bill on the street—a driver's license. I saw that its owner lived a couple of blocks from me so I called him up. He asked whether I could slip the license through his front door.
“I guess I could,”I replied.
And that was that.
60. What is the relationship between Maggie and the writer?
A. Wife and husband. B. Daughter and father.
C. Teacher and student.D. Master and pet dog.
6 1. How did the writer know Sarah's telephone number?
A. From her telephone’s phone book.B. From her credit card.
C. From her e-mail. D. From her driving license.
62. The writer wants to tell usthrough the unusual stories.
A. we should return the things we picked to the losers
B. we should learn to appreciate others because of the use of e-mail and cellphone
C. people would learn to appreciate persons who provide help)
D. the advance of society makes people lose some virtues(美德)
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。
Willa Cather 0nce said. “When people ask me whether writing has been a hard or easy road,I always answer with the famous saying: The end is nothing; the road is all. That is what I mean when I say writing has been a pleasure. I have never used the computer with the thought that one more task had to be done. "
Like most writers. Willa Cather did not write books for the money that they brought her,but rather for the Pleasure that came in their writing. Her works were,like her,simple and full of the vigor of her days in Nebraska,where she grew from child to young womanhood and where she developed a deep 1ove for the treeless land of the great plain with its wild flowers,wheat fields and rivers.
“It’s a rather strange thing about the flat country," she wrote later. "It takes hold of you, it leaves you perfectly cold. A great many people find it very dull; they like a church tower,an old factory. a waterfall,the country all made to look like a German Christmas card…But when I come to the open plain,something happens. I'm home. I breathe differently. ”
56 Willa Cather wrote because she found writing .
A. simple and lively B. opened up a road to success
C. neither too hard nor too easyD. interesting and enjoyable
57. What was the place like where Cather grew up?
A. It was cold,plain and without a church.
B. It was vast, open,flat and wild.
C. It was like a German Christmas card.
D. It was a colorful world of wild flowers.
58. When she said “It takes hold of you,it leaves you perfectly cold. ”,Willa Cather meant that
A. you either love the place or hate it
B.you decide either to stay or to leave
C. some find the place warm: others find it cold
D. some find the place peaceful; others find it wild
59. What happens when Cather comes to the open plain?
A. She breathes differently from others.
B. She wants to make the place her home.
C. She feels completely comfortable.
D. She finds the place similar to her home.
There is nothing else but economy that occupies the minds of Americans at present times of economic crisis(经济危机). The statistics on unemployment,housing costs and consumer confidence keep coming and coming,leaving people not just scared to spend money but also very stressed and emotionally exhausted. This stress(压力)has an effect on everything,starting withour sleep,mood,physical health,relationships and eating habits.
“Time of economic stress leads to increase rates of depression(忧郁),”says Dr. Christopher Palmer,director of continuing education at McLean Hospital in Belmont,Massachusetts. “It worsens illness in people who has been constantly depressed. But it also causes new cases of depression. Just the fear of losing one’s job can put people over the edge. ”
And,without any doubt,just depression alone can create a variety of bad health effects.
●Sleep
33 percent of Americans reported that they have lost sleep due to the economic crisis. 26 percent say they are sleeping less than 6 hours per night,which is considered to be at least one hour less than the most favorable 7 to 8 hours recommended by sleep experts.
●Mental health,stress and heart attack
80 percent of Americans reported that last year the economy is a huge source of stress; 49 percent said the situation makes them feel nervous or anxious; 48 percent reported that they feel very sad and have developed depression.
Nearly twice the risk of heart attack or death was found in patients with the highest levels of depression or anxiety. Among those individuals,a 10 percent higher rise of heart attack or death was found in those whose anxiety rose over time.
●Relationships
The chances of violent(暴力的)behavior are nearly 6 times higher for individuals who are left without a job. Workplace stress can lead to domestic violence.
67. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Now Americans don’t dare to spend money.
B. Now all Americans have problems in sleeping.
C. Economy is the most troubling problem for Americans now.
D. Economic crisis has destroyed many American families.
68. How does the economic crisis affect most Americans according to the passage?
A. They sleep fewer than six hours.
B. They sleep less than the proper amount.
C. Diseases caused by economy make them sleepless.
D. They lose sleep at night.
69. If a person is out of work,he might .
A. become more violentB. get divorced(离婚)
C. get rid of workplace stress D. go mad
70. The best title of this passage is probably“ ”.
A. The World Economic Crisis Is Getting Worse
B. Economic Crisis Affects Our Health
C. Economic Crisis Causes Trouble to Sleep
D. Ordinary People Suffer Greatly in Economic Crisis
Limit the use of private cars, improve public transport and encourage the use of bicycles to control traffic congestion(拥挤) during the 2008 Olympics, experts from foreign countries advised Beijing on Friday.
Professor Nigel Wilson, of the civil and environmental engineering department of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said he was "supportive to the limiting of private cars during the Olympic Games", saying that in foreign countries, the method is also adopted during big events, but he was unsure about the approach.
The government planned to keep an average of more than one million cars off the roads to improve traffic flow during the Olympics, said Liu Xiaoming, deputy director of the Beijing Traffic Committee, at the China Planning Network First Urban Transportation Congress.
Sharing Wilson's view, Dr. Yoshitsugu Hayashi, dean of the Graduate School of Environmental Studies of Nagoya University, believed the reduction in car use should be achieved not by banning, but through incentives.
"Drivers who don't use their private cars could be given points," he said, "and the points could be exchanged for goods from online shopping."
Wetzel stressed limiting the use of company cars. "Governmental officials should also be encouraged to use public transportation or ride bicycles," he said, adding that he himself is a bicycle-rider in London.
Matthew Martimo, director of Traffic Engineering with Citilabs, said the bicycle was China's advantage. "Limiting private cars is an idea worth trying but it is just a temporary solution," he said. "The real cause of congestion is high density of people in Beijing and many have cars."
Beijing, with a population of 15 million, is home to more than three million automobiles, and the number is rising by 1,000 a day.
Professor Wilson said the Olympic Games was a great opportunity for Beijing to think about traffic problems and develop transportation, adding that the city had already been making public transport more efficient. Beijing has promised to stretch its 114-kilometer city railway to 200 kilometers before the opening of the Olympic Games.
“We are looking forward to borrowing Beijing's experiences and drawing from its lessons in preparation for the 2012 Olympics,” said Wetzel.
51. The underlined word incentives in paragraph 4 means_______.
A. something that encourages people to try B. online shopping
C. points could be exchanged for goods D. award
52.It can be seen from the passage that ______.
A. the government planned to forbid over 1 million cars to run on the roads during the Olympics.
B. banning private cars is the best way to solve traffic congestion in Beijing
C. Beijing now has 200 kilometers of city railway
D. the use of company cars will not be limited
53. Why did Wetzel stress “ he himself is a bicycle-rider in London”?
A. To limit the use of company cars.
B. To encourage governmental officials to use public transportation or ride bicycles.
C. To show that riding bicycles is good for health.
D. To show that he loves riding bicycles.
54. Which of the following may be the reason for the traffic congestion in Beijing?
A. The 2008 Beijing Olympic games.
B. The number of cars in Beijing is rising by 1,000 a day.
C. The large population in Beijing and the large number of cars.
D. Public transport in Beijing is not efficient.
55. The purpose of the passage is ________.
A. to limit the use of private cars, improve public transport
B. to encourage the use of bicycles to control traffic congestion during the 2008 Olympics
C. to borrow Beijing's experiences and draw from its lessons in preparation for the 2012 Olympics
D. to tell the advice given by foreign experts on traffic congestion during 2008 Beijing Olympics
Slang is a popular, less official and often very current form of language. It is an important part of a living language and is constantly changing as language changes. Slang is often playful, direct and sometimes less respectful than the more official and traditional version of language. So now I'm going to lay it on you! To “lay it on” is American slang for “to tell” or “to explain.”
Slang can take many forms. For example, slang can be local to one city or area. In Washington, D.C. there is a whole set of slang to describe politics and business in the city. For example, the term POTUS stands for President of the United States. POTUS can often be found with his wife, FLOTUS, the first lady of the United States.“Inside the Beltway” is a popular expression that describes the area of Washington, D.C. The beltway is the large highway that circles the city.
The Internet has helped create a whole new kind of computer-related slang. An “angry fruit salad” is an expression that describes a Web site with too many bright colors. “Netiquette” is slang for correct behavior when using the Internet.
Young people often develop the latest slang. For example, to say Special English “rocks” or is “phat” means Special English is really great. A “kegger” is a party where beer is served. If something is “wack” it is wild and crazy.
Different professions often have their own slang as well. For example, medical workers might refer to a complaining patient as a “gomer”. A "tough stick" is someone whose veins are difficult to find when he or she needs to have blood taken.
No matter how well you speak English, there are always new and interesting slang words to discover. There are entire dictionaries for describing slang. Many experts do not even agree on what is and what is not slang. Often slang words later become a part of officially accepted language. Official or not, slang is an energetic and exciting part of the American language that continues to change.
46. Which of the following is not true for slang compared with the official language?
A. Playful B. Direct
C. Less respectful D. More official
47. It can be inferred from the passage that______.
A. if you speak English very well, there is no problem for you to understand English speakers
B. slang words are created by people in their daily life
C. English speakers are clear whether it is a slang
D. slang words will never be accepted as official language
48.Which of the following is not mentioned to have helped create slang?
A. The internet. B. Young people.
C. President of the United States. D. Professions
49. Where do you think is the passage adapted from?
A. A radio speech B. A magazine.
C. A textbook. D. A newspaper.
50. Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?
A. What is slang? B. Slang is popular
C. Who creates slang? D. Slang is a language.