I have two sons. They are as different as night and day. My youngest is sweet, loveable, easy-going, and finds joy in everything. My oldest we’ve nicknamed the “Evil Genius” is ambitious, self-confident, and suffers no fools.
Whenever we mentioned Santa my husband and I were rewarded with major eye rolling and deep sighs from my oldest. At first we both tried to ignore it.
We both knew that our eldest had figured out the big secret. But I’d be damned(指责) if he was going to ruin it for his six-year-old brother who had plenty of Santa-loving years ahead of him. I looked at my husband in the eye and said, “I’ll handle this.” to which he responded “Okay just be careful because I’m not sure he knows - he might just be acting like it.” But I knew. And I had it in my mind that he was about to break his younger brothers spirit and break the news to him. I was afraid he was going to take the Christmas spirit away from my sweet innocent youngest and stamp all over it. I had to protect him. I needed to control this now before it got out of control. I rushed into the play room where my oldest was playing alone. I looked him dead in the eyes and said: “Well you know Santa isn’t real, right?” And as I stared at my eight-year-old son for what seemed like a long time of silence, his eyes started to fill with tears. And a tear dropped down his cheek when he screamed out, “He’s not?”
“Um well it’s not that he’s not real (shut up you idiot- stop saying he’s not real), but he doesn’t really make and deliver all the toys. Dad and I get some of them for you. So he’s real. He’s just got a little help from us.”
The Evil Genius wasn’t buying it. He just sat there looking at me with an expression of doubt.
You know when you make a terrible mistake but you can’t stop yourself from making it worse? That was me because I just had to know. I had to know why he had seemed to be over Santa. So I asked him why he rolled his eyes and sighed every time his father and I mentioned Santa, to which he replied that kids at school had been saying Santa wasn't real but that he still thought he was.
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Two different sons |
| B．Santa secret given away |
| C．Protecting one, ruining the other |
| D．Making a mistake worse |
What did the writer conclude when “Evil Genius” rolled his eyes and sighed?
| A．“Evil Genius” had discovered Santa was not real. |
| B．“Evil Genius” had broken the secret to his younger brother. |
| C．“Evil Genius” had passed his Santa-loving years. |
| D．“Evil Genius” had been influenced by his classmates. |
What does the underlined sentence mean in the passage?
| A．“Evil Genius” refused to buy toys. |
| B．“Evil Genius” didn’t believe his mother’s words. |
| C．“Evil Genius” wanted to keep silent. |
| D．“Evil Genius” would not give away the secret. |
What lesson can we learn from the story?
| A．Lies can never change facts. |
| B．Honesty is the best policy. |
| C．No one is perfect. |
| D．We should think twice before we act. |
第三部分阅读技能（共三节，满分35分）
第一节阅读理解（共12小题；每小题2分，满分24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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Animals are natural resources that people have wasted all through our history.
Animals have been killed for their fur and feathers, for food, for sport, and simply because they were in the way. Thousands of kinds of animals have disappeared from the world forever. Hundreds more are on the danger list today. About 170 kinds in the United States alone are considered in danger.
Why should people care? Because we need animals. And because once they are gone, there will never be any more.
Animals are more than just beautiful and interesting. They are more than just a source of food. The most important is that every animal has its place in the balance of nature. Destroying one kind of animal can create many problems.
For example, when farmers killed large numbers of hawks(老鹰), the farmers stores of corn and grain were destroyed by rats and mice. Why? Because hawks eat rats and mice. With no hawks to keep down their numbers, the rats and mice multiplied(繁殖) quickly.
Luckily, some people are working to help save the animals. Some groups raise money to let people know about the problem. And they try to get the governments to pass laws protecting animals in danger.
Quite a few countries have passed laws. These laws forbid the killing of any animals or plants on the danger list. Slowly, the number of some animals in danger is growing.
41. Animals are important to us mainly because ______.
A. they give us a source of food B. they are beautiful and lovely
C. they keep the balance of nature D. they give us a lot of pleasure
42. What has happened to the animals on the earth?
A. Hundreds of kinds of animals have disappeared forever.
B. Many kinds of animals have died out.
C. About 170 kinds of animals have disappeared forever.
D. All kinds of animals are in danger.
43. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. People care much about animals because they need them.
B. Once a certain kind of animals is gone forever, there will never be any more.
C. Killing all rats and mice may cause some problems.
D. People must not kill any animals.
44. What can we infer from the fact that quite a few countries have passed laws protecting animals
in danger?
A. Every person will know the importance of protecting wild animals.
B. Animals in danger will not be killed any more.
C. The number of some animals in danger will increase.
D. Animals in danger will be kept away from people.
E
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Every boy and every girl expects their parents to give them more pocket money. Why do their parents just give them a certain amount?51
The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family.52Some children get weekly pocket money. Others get monthly pocket money.
First of all, children are expected to make a choice between spending and saving. Then parents should make the children understand what is expected to pay for with the money. At first, some young children may spend all of the money soon after they receive it. Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until it is the right time.53
In order to encourage their children to do some housework, some parents give pocket money if the children help around the home. Some experts think it not wise to pay the children for doing that.54
Pocket money can give children a chance to experience the three things they can do with
themoney. They can spend it by giving it to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want. 55 Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice. Saving can also open the door to future saving and investing for children.
| A．They can save it for future use. |
| B．Timing is another consideration. |
| C．As helping at home is a normal part of family life. |
| D．Some children are not good at managing their pocket money. |
E.Learning how to get money is very important for every child.
F.One main purpose is to let kids learn how to manage their own money.
G.By doing so, these children will learn that spending must be done with a budget（预算）.
D
The reasons for going to college have been accepted without question for more than a generation．All high school graduates ought to go ，because college will help them earn more money, become “better” people，and learn to be more responsible citizens than those who don’t go.
But college has never been able to work its magic for everyone．And now that close to half our high school graduates are attending，those who don’t fit the pattern are becoming more numerous，and more obvious．College graduates are selling shoes and driving taxis；college students interfere with each other’s experiments and write false letters of recommendation in the intense competition for admission to graduate school．Others find no stimulation in their studies，and drop out—often encouraged by college administrators．
Some observers say the fault is with the young people themselves—they are spoiled and they are expecting too much．But that’s a criticize of the stud
ents as a whole，and doesn’t explain all campus unhappiness．Others blame the state of the world，and they are partly right．We’ve been told that young people have to go to college because our economy can’t absorb an army of untrained eighteen-year-old either．
Some adventuresome educators and campus watchers have openly begun to suggest that college may not be the best，the proper, the only place for every young person after the completion of high school．We may have been looking at all those surveys and statistics upside down，it seems，and through the rosy glow of our own remembered college experiences．Perhaps college doesn’t make people intelligent，ambitious，happy , liberal，or quick to learn things-maybe it's just the other way around，and intelligent，ambitious，happy, liberal，quick-learning people are merely the ones who have been attracted to college in the first place．And perhaps all those successful college graduates would have been successful whether they had gone to college or not．This is heresy(异端)to those of us who have been brought up to believe that if a little schooling is good，more has to be much better．But contrary evidence is beginning to gradually increase in amount．
48．What does the author believe according to the passage?
A．People used to question the value of college education．
B．People used to have full confidence in higher education．
C．All high school graduates went to college．
D．Very few high school graduates chose to go to college
49．Why does the drop-out rate of college students seem to go up?
A．Young people are disappointed with the traditional way of teaching at college.
B．Many young people are required to join the army．
C．Young people have little motivation in pursuing a higher education．
D．Young people don’t like the intense competition for admission to graduate school．
50．According to the passage，the problems of college education partly arise from the fact that___.
A．society cannot provide enough jobs for properly trained college graduates
B．high school graduates do not fit the pattern of college education
C．too many students have to earn their own living
D．college administrators encourage students to drop out
C
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Thursday that his country hopes to deepen ties with China, which have been strained over French President Nicolas Sarkozy's meeting with the Dalai Lama.
"We need China, the world needs China to get out of the recession(衰退) " Fillon told parliament.Relations between the two countries hit a low after Sarkozy refused to call off a meeting with the Dalai Lama in December.
Beijing then pulled out of a summit（峰会） with the European Union (EU) that was supposed to have taken place on Dec 1 in France, which held the rotating EU presidency at the time.
Fillon stressed that Tibet is part of China, but insisted that the French president had every right to meet the Dalai Lama.
"For us, this incident does nothing to distract（转移） from our desire to reinforce our strategic partnership with China."
Former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin is scheduled to visit China next week following earlier attempts to improve relations.
China, which has said it is up to France to repair ties with Beijing, agreed with the EU last week to hold a summit soon, after the London G20 summit on April 2.
France was excluded from Premier Wen Jiabao's recent European visit.
"We all know why," Wen said when asked why he had omitted France from his journey, China News Service reported.
"I looked at a map of Europe on the plane. My trip goes around France," Wen said.
"The reason (for not visiting) doesn't lie with China", he told a group of reporters. He urged Paris to "mend and improve ties" with China.
44.Premier WenJiabao didn’t visit France because_______.
A.he promised to visit France later
B.former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin is scheduled to visit China soon
C.France didn’t attend the summit of the EU
D.Sarkozy met the Dalai Lama
45.According to France, ____________.
A.th
e president has the right to meet the Dalai Lama
B.the meeting will strengthen the strategic partnership with China
C.they don’t know why Premier WenJiabao didn’t visit France
D.China don’t care much for the ties with France
46.From paragraphs 2,3 and 4, the important conclusion is that _______.
A. Tibet is part of China
B. France and the world need China
C. Sarkozy refused to call off a meeting with the Dalai Lama in December.
D. Beijing pulled out of a summit with the Dalai Lama in December.
47.The main idea of the news is that_______.
A. It’s France’s fault to affect the relation between the two countries
B. France seeks to repair relations with China
C. Premier Wen urged Paris to “mend and improve ties” with China
D. Relations between China and France are going smoothly.
B
When people lose legs after accidents or illnesses, emergency care and artificial limbs（假肢）often allow them to walk again. Newts （蝾螈） in the same situation, on the other hand, can grow limbs back on their own! Scientists have known for a long time that certain animals can re-grow limbs, but they haven’t quite figured out how these creatures do it.
Researchers have now come up with some new ideas. Their work may give people the ability to re-grow lost limbs. The researchers started with two simple experiments：when you cut a newt’s leg at the ankle, only the foot grows back；when you cut off a leg at the very end, the whole leg grows back. In both cases, the re-growth begins with stem cells. Stem cells can develop into nearly any type of cell in the body.
How do a newt’s stem cells know when to grow only a foot and when to re-grow a whole leg?
This question relates to another mystery. In newt’s, a cut-off leg will grow back only if the nerve bundle（神经束）in it also grows back , but if something prevents the nerve bundle from growing, the stem cells at the wound won’t re-grow a new leg.
In its study, a British team focused on a protein called n-AG. When the team prevented nerves in a limb from growing, but added the n-AG protein to stem cells in the limb, the limb still re-grew. That protein seems to guide limb re-growth. People have proteins that are similar to n-AG. Further research into these materials may someday help human limbs recover by themselves.
40. In the experiments, the researchers cut off a newt’s foot or leg to find out _____.
A. what stem cells were B. whether they would grow back
C. how long it would take to re-grow D. how they would re-grow
41. A newt will re-grow its leg if _____.
A. its ankle was cut off but the nerve bundle was good
B. its leg was cut off and the nerve bundle stopped growing
C. its leg was cut off and the nerve bundle could grow back
D. its ankle and the nerve bundle were cut off
42. What do the underlined words “these materials” refer to?
A. Nerve bundles and proteins. B. Proteins similar to n-AG.
C. Stem cells and proteins. D. Stem cells and nerve bundles.
43. The first sentence of the passage _____.
A. acts as a lead–in B. shows where researchers got their new ideas
C. states the author’s opinion D. describes the result of researchers’ studies