The Palm Islands are the largest artificial islands in the world and are under construction in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates．They are being developed as tourist, leisure, and residential resorts, and will increase the coastline of the country by 120 kilometres.
After four years of planning and careful consideration of the environmental issues, construction started in 2001．Dutch engineers with experience of reclaiming land from the sea were employed in the building of the first two islands．The site for all three islands is an area of the sea where the water is not very deep．Sand is taken from the seabed and sprayed into the construction site．Although the shallow water facilitates this process, the islands are still very exposed to the currents and tidal movements of the sea．Rocks are used to hold the sand in place resulting in a large crescent (月状的) structure．This acts as a breakwater and protects the islands from the sea.
The first two islands are in the shape of date palm trees and consist of a trunk and 17 frond, or leaves coming off the trunk．The first island, named Palm Jumeirah, has three five-star hotels in the trunk, and luxury homes in the leaves．It is astonishing that when these homes went on sale in 2004, they were all sold within three days.
The second palm, Jebel Ali, was started in 2002 and is designed to be an entertainment centre．Six marinas (小游艇船坞) are planned, with a water theme park, and homes built on stilts (桩柱) in the water.
The Palm Deira planned to be the largest of the three islands, with a length of 14 km and a width of 8.5 km, an area larger than the city of Paris．It will consist of residential properties, marinas, shopping malls, sports facilities, and clubs．These will be open to both residents and tourists.
More artificial islands, the World Islands, are now being constructed near the Palm Jumeirah．They consist of 300 private islands grouped into the shape of the continents of the world and will be used for estates, private homes, community islands, and resorts.
Unquestionably, these artificial islands are one of the wonders of the modern world．They will also maintain Dubai’s status as one of the leading tourist destinations in the region.According to the passage, all the following are right EXCEPT___________.
| A．Some Dutch engineers are experienced in reclaiming land from the sea. |
| B．The islands are being built in the shallow water of the sea. |
| C．All the luxury homes on Palm Jumeirah were sold. |
| D．The World Islands are bigger than the Palm Jumeriah. |
The underlined word “facilitates” in the second paragraph probably means___________.
| A．holds back | B．makes easier |
| C．slows down | D．leads to |
What is the passage written for?
| A．To introduce the wonderful artificial islands. |
| B．To show how to build artificial islands. |
| C．To offer a travel service for tourists. |
| D．To prove the Palm Islands are the largest artificial islands in the world. |
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。
Usually, when your teacher asks a question, there is only one correct answer. But there is one question that has millions of current answers. That question is “What’s your name?” Everyone gives a different answer, but everyone is correct.
Have you ever wondered about people’s names? Where do they come from? What do they mean?
People’s first names, or given names, are chosen by their parents. Sometimes the name of a grandparent or other member of the family is used. Some parents choose the name of a well-known person. A boy could be named George Washington Smith; a girl could be named Helen Keller Jones.
Some people give their children names that mean good things. Clara means “bright”; Beatrice means “one who gives happiness”; Donald means “world ruler”; Leonard means “as brave as a lion”.
The earliest last names, or surnames, were taken from place names. A family with the name Brook or Brooks probably lived near brook(小溪)；someone who was called Longstreet probably lived on a long, paved road. The Greenwood family lived in or near a leafy forest.
Other early surnames came from people’s occupations. The most common occupational name is Smith, which means a person who makes things with iron or other metals. In the past, smiths were very important workers in every town and village. Some other occupational names are: Carter — a person who owned or drove a cart; Potter —a person who made pots and pans.
The ancestors of the Baker family probably baked bread for their neighbors in their native village. The Carpenter’s great-great-great-grandfather probably built houses and furniture.
Sometimes people were known for the color of their hair or skin, or their size, or their special abilities. When there were two men who were named John in the same village, the John with the gray hair probably became John Gray. Or the John was very tall could call himself John Tallman. John Fish was probably an excellent swimmer and John Lightfoot was probably a fast runner or a good 
dancer.
Some family names were made by adding something to the father’s name. English-speaking people added –s or –son. The Johnsons are descendants of John; the Roberts family’s ancestor was Robert. Irish and Scottish people added Mac or Mc or O. Perhaps all of the MacDonnells and the McDonnells and the O’Donnells are descendants of the same Donnell.
1. Which of the following aspects do the surnames in the passage NOT cover?
A. Places where people lived. B. People’s characters.
C. Talents that people possessed. D. People’s occupations.
2. According to the passage, the ancestors of the Potter family most probably _______.
A. owned or drove a cart B. made things with metals
C. made kitchen tools or contains D. built houses and furniture
3. Suppose and English couple whose ancestors lived near a leafy forest wanted their new-born son to become a world leader, the baby might be named _______.
A. Beatrice Smith B. Leonard Carter
C. George Longstreet D. Donald Greenwood
4. The underlined word “descendants” in the last paragraph means a person’s _____
A. later generations B. friends and relatives
C. colleagues and partners D. later sponsors
| BORDER CROSSINGS While there are no restrictions on zhe amount of money that you can bring across the border.you must report to both the US and Canadian border services amounts equal to or greater than $10.000. PERSONAL EXEMPTIONS（免税）ON PURCHASES AMERICANS RETURNING TO THE US Less than 48 hours: $ 200 US 48 hours or more: $ 800 US duty-free personal exemption. next $ 1.000 US at 3% Including up to 100 cigars and 100 cigarettes. CANADIANS RETURNING TO CANADA Less than 24 hours: $ 50 CAN 48 hours or more: $ 400 CAN Including up to 100 cigars and 200 cigarettes. 7 days or more: $ 750 CAN Including up to 100 cigars and 200 cigarettes. DOCUMENTATION NEEDED FOR BORDER CROSSING LAND OR SEA TO THE US(INCLUDING FERRIES) A valid passport or passport card, or a NEXUS card. (A NEXUS card is a Tru  sted Traveler Program that provides quick travel forpre-approved,low risk travelers through special lanes.) A recent Washington State, New York or BC driver's license. Note: Ch  ildren 15 years of age and younger require only a birth certificate orcopy.(Certified copies are not required but are advised.) AIR TRAVEL TO THE US A valid passport, an Air NEXUS card, or a U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Marine Document. |
| 1． |
If a Canadian who is on a 7-day trip to New York buys $ 800 CAN worth of goods,how much should he pay tax on when returning home?（） A. $ 800 CAN B. $750 CAN C.$ 400 CAN D. $ 50 CAN |
| 2． |
For an American citizen on a 2-day tour of Canada,how much tax does he have to pay on $ 1.600 US worth of purchases when returning to the US?（） A. $ 24 US B. $ 48 US C. $52 US D. $ 200 US |
| 3． |
What documentation should a couple with a 7-year-old child carry when they drive a car from Canada to America?（） A. A BC driver's license, an Air NEXUS card, and a birth certificate. B. An Air NEXUS card, a U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Marine Document, and a birth certificate. C.Two vaild passport crads and a certified copy of a birth certificate. D. A NEXUS card, a U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Marine Document.,and a certified copy of a birth certificate. |
Pacing and Pausing
Sara tried to befriend her old friend Steve's new wife, but Betty never seemed to have anything to say. While Sara felt Betty didn't hold up her end of the conversation, Betty complained to Steve that Sara never gave her a chance to talk. The problem had to do with expectations about pacing and pausing.
Conversation is a turn-taking game. When our habits are similar, there's no problem. But if our habits are different, you may start to talk before I'm finished or fail to take your turn when I'm finished. That's what was happening with Betty and Sara.
It may not be coincidental that Betty, who expected relatively longer pauses between turns, is British, and Sara, who expected relatively shorter pauses, is American. Betty often felt interrupted by Sara. But Betty herself became an interrupter and found herself doing most of the talking when she met a visitor from Finland. And Sara had a hard time cutting in on some speakers from Latin America or Israel.
The general phenomenon, then, is that the small conversation techniques, like pacing and pausing, lead people to draw conclusions not about conversational style but about personality and abilities. These habitual differences are often the basis for dangerous stereotyping (思维定式). And these social phenomena can have very personal consequences. For example, a woman from the southwestern part of the US went to live in an eastern city to take up a job in personnel. When the Personnel Department got together for meetings, she kept searching for the right time to break in--and never found it. Although back home she was considered outgoing and confident, in Washington she was viewed as shy and retiring. When she was evaluated at the end of the year, she was told to take a training course because of her inability to 
speak up.
That's why slight differences in conversational style--tiny little things like microseconds of pause-can have a great effect on one's life. The result in this case was a judgment of psychological problems---even 
in the mind of the woman herself, who really wondered what was wrong with her and registered for assertiveness training.
| 1． |
What did Sara think of Betty when talking with her?
|
| 2． |
According to the passage, who are likely to expect the shortest pauses between turns?
|
| 3． |
We can learn from the passage that
|
| 4． |
The underlined word "assertiveness" in the last paragraph probably means
|
The Cost of Higher Education
Individuals (个人) should pay for their higher education.
A university education is of huge and direct benefit to the individual. Graduates earn more than non-graduates. Meanwhile, social mobility is ever more dependent on having a degree. However, only some people have it. So the individual, not the taxpayers, should pay for it. There are pressing calls on the resources (资源) of the government. Using taxpayers' money to help a small number of people to earn high incomes in the future is not one of them.
Full government funding (资助) is not very good for universities. Adam Smith worked in a Scottish university whose teachers lived off student fees. He knew and looked down upon 18th-century Oxford, where the academics lived comfortably off the income received from the government. Guaranteed salaries, Smith argued, were the enemy of hard work; and when the academics were lazy and incompetent, the students were similarly lazy.
If students have to pay for their education, they not only work harder, but also demand more from their teachers. And their teachers have to keep them satisfied. If that means taking teaching seriously, and giving less time to their own research interests, that is surely something to celebrate.
Many people believe that higher education should be free because it is good for the economy (经济). Many graduates clearly do contribute to national wealth, but so do all the businesses that invest (投资) and create jobs. If you believe that the government should pay for higher education because graduates are economically productive, you should also believe that the government should pay part of business costs. Anyone promising to create jobs should receive a gift of capital from the government to invest. Therefore, it is the individual, not the government, who should pay for their university education.
| 1． |
The underlined word "them" in Paragraph 2 refers to
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| 2． |
The author thinks that with full government funding
|
| 3． |
The author mentions businesses in Paragraph 5 in order to
|
Open Letter to an Editor
I had an interesting conversation with a reporter recently--
-one who works for you. In fact, he's one of your best reporters. He wants to leave.
Your reporter gave me a copy of his resume (简历) and photocopies of six stories that he wrote for you. The headlines showed you played them proudly. With great enthusiasm, he talked about how he finds issues (问题), approaches them, and writes about them, which tells me he is one of your best. I'm sure you would hate to lose him. Surprisingly, your reporter is not unhappy. In fact, he told me he really likes his job. He has a great assignment (分工), and said you run a great paper. It would be easy for you to keep him, he said. He knows that the paper values him. He appreciates the responsibility you've given him, takes ownership of his profession, and enjoys his freedom.
So why is he looking for a way out?
He talked to me because he wants his editors to demand so much more of him. He wants to be pushed, challenged, coached to new heights.
The reporter believes that good stories spring from good questions, but his editors usually ask how long the story will be, when it will be in, where it can play, and what the budget is.
He longs for conversations with an editor who will help him turn his good ideas into great ones. He wants someone to get excited about what he's doing and to help him turn his story idea upside down and inside out, exploring the best ways to report it. He wants to be more valuable for your paper. That's what you want for him, too, isn't it?
So your reporter has set me thinking.
Our best hope in keeping our best reporters, copy editors, photographers, artists---everyone--is to work harder to make sure they get the help they are demanding to reach their potential. If we can't do it, they'll find someone who can.
| 1． |
What does the writer think of the reporter?
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| 2． |
What does the reporter want most from his editors in their talks?
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| 3． |
Who probably wrote the letter?
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| 4． |
The letter aims to remind editors that they should
|