阅读理解
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
A family story is like a puzzle. Each family member leaves some clues. Family members come together because they have a common tie with one another, sharing a name and special traditions. Exploring family roots and sharing past memories ensure each tradition lives on.
Ancestory.com has created customized (订做的) “Our Name is History” books to give your family a look into your history by learning about your last name. By visiting it, you can check if information is available for your last name. Ancestory.com researchers have collected more than 5 billion names from records such as passenger lists, immigration records and from birth, marriage and death records. The collected information is then used for each customized book.
“Our Name is History” books are available for nearly 200,000 last names, accounting form 85 percent of all the US homes. The collected information is a great start of learning about your family roots. This book will not only surprise your mother, but also become a precious memory to pass down through the generations. It can also be an inspiration for her to talk about all the special women in her life. So instead of just giving her flowers or jewelry, give her a special family name book and share your favorite memories with her.
After learning the general history of your last name, your might be inspired to continue your exploration. The “Our Name is History” books include a special software product for building, searching and sharing your family history.
To learn more about “Our Name is History” books, visit www. Ournameinhistory.com. The deadline to order in time for Mother’s Day is April 30. The first paragraph mainly talks about _________.
| A．the importance of exploring family root |
| B．what a family story really is |
| C．the importance of a family name |
| D．how to pass down a family’s traditions |
What does the underlined word “it” refer to in Paragraph 2?
| A．The “Our Name is History” book. |
| B．The website Ancestory.com. |
| C．The website www. ournameinhistory.com. |
| D．The family’s last name. |
The “Our Name is History” books _________.
| A．are very cheap compared with flowers or jewelry |
| B．can tell us where we should look to find out family history |
| C．cover the last names of all Americans |
| D．can tell us origins of our last names |
What will mothers do if they get “Our Name is History” books?
| A．They may be inspired to talk about some special women they remember. |
| B．They will collect information about their family roots. |
| C．They will learn how great their ancestors are. |
| D．They will share them with some other families. |
What’s the purpose of the author in writing this passage?
| A．To tell us how to explore family roots. |
| B．To help family traditions to live on. |
| C．To advertise “Our Name is History” books. |
| D．To tell us how to create our own family history. |
Ⅲ 阅读（共两节，满分40分）
第一节：阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30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。
A
In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity, others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self – worth relied (依赖) on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life – and – death affairs. In their single – minded pursuit (追求) of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.
However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to se ek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “I may have lost, but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try.” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self – respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve (缓解) can we discover a new meaning in competition.
41．What does this passage mainly talk about?
A．Competition helps to set up self – respect.
B．Opinions about competition are different among people.
C．Competition is harmful to personal quality development.
D．Failures are necessary experiences in competition
42．Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?
A．It pushes society forward. B．It builds up a sense of duty.
C．It improves personal abilities. D．It encourages individual efforts.
43．The underlined phrase “the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 means.
A．those who try their best to win
B．those who value competition most highly
C．those who are against competition most strongly
D．those who rely on others most for success
44．What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a desire to fail ?
A．One’s worth lies in his performance compared with others.
B．One’s success in competition needs great efforts.
C．One’s achievement is determined by his particular skills.
D．One’s success is based on how hard he has tried.
45．Which point of view may the author agree to?
A．Every effort should be paid back.
B．Competition should be encouraged.
C．Winning should be a life – and – death matter.
D．Fear of failure should be removed in competition.
(D)
Mozart was one of the greatest composers who ever lived. He was born in Salzburg,
Austria, in 1756. Even when he was very young, Mozart loved music. His father, who was the leader of an orchestra, was very happy that his son was so interested in music. When Mozart was three years old, he learned to play the harpsichord, which is a kind of piano. Mozart began to compose music at the age of five, and his father took him to play in front of the kings and queens of Europe.
At one concert, one of the violinists was missing from the orchestra. Mozart picked up a violin and played the music without a mistake. Mozart’s father and the other players in the orchestra were surprised. Mozart had never been taught to play the violin! Mozart continued travelling around Europe with his father, who was his teacher in everything. He composed many pieces for the piano, the violin, and later for full orchestra.
Mozart could write down a piece of music even if he had heard it only once. One day, he went to hear a group of people singing in a big church in Rome. The song was very special. The church leader said that people could sing the song only once a year, and only in his church. No one else was allowed to have the music. Mozart listened to the song. Although it was very difficult and long, Mozart went back home and wrote down the whole piece from memory. The head of the church heard about this, and instead of being angry with Mozart, he gave him a prize.
When Mozart grew up, people were not so interested in him. He worked as a teacher and pianist, but he did not make much money. In 1791, at the age of 35, he died. He was so poor that there was not enough money for him to have a proper grave. No one knows where he is buried.
43. The story is mainly about ____.
A. Mozart and his music
B. a leader of an orchestra
C. the life of a great composer
D. the head of a church in Rome.
44. Mozart’s father helped Mozart a lot by ____.
A. teaching him about music
B. giving him a violin to play with
C. sending him to a music school
D. giving him a lot of money
45. When Mozart was only three years old, he ____.
A. went to Rome B. began to sing C. began to compose music D. played the harpsichord.
46. Mozart had a very good _____.
A. violin B. grave C. memory D. orchestra
47. Although Mozart was one of the world’s greatest composer, ____.
A. he died poor B. he did not teach anyone.
C. he did not know many famous people
D. he couldn’t play the piano or violin
(C)
Thanksgiving Day is a very special day for people in the United States. In that country they celebrate Thanksgiving Day on the fourth Thursday in November. Canadians also celebrate Thanksgiving Day, but they do it on the second Monday of October. In Britain, where the festival is called “ Harvest Festival”, people celebrate earlier in the year, in September.
A harvest is the fruit you take from the trees and the crops you take from the ground. In North America, Europe, and England, harvest time for most fruit and crops is in the special day of the year. They thank God for the good things that have happened during the year and for the good harvest they have had. People usually take small boxes of fruit, flowers, and vegetables to their churches to show their thanks.
The first thanksgiving service in North America took place on 4 December 1610 when 38 English people arrived in America to make their home in the new country. They held this service not to thank God for the harvest, but to thank God for their safe journey. The next year, many more English people arrived. They had a bad winter, but fortunately the harvest was good. They decided to celebrate with a big meal. They shot and killed small animals to eat and cooked everything outside on large fires. About 90 Indians also came to the meal. Everyone ate at tables outside their houses and played games together. The festival lasted three days.
A Thanksgiving Day celebration was held every year for a long time, but not always on the same day of the year. Then, in 1789, President George Washington named 26 November as the Day of Thanksgiving. Almost a hundred years later, President Abraham Lincoln changed the date, and said that the last Thursday in November should be Thanksgiving Day.
Nowadays, North Americans around the world get together with their families on this day to eat good food and have a happy time.
39. The story is about ____.
A. festivalsB. an American festival
C. English people in AmericaD. giving thanks for everything
40. The last Thursday in November in November is ____.
A. a festival in every country in the world
B. Thanksgiving Day in the United States
C. the day farmers pick fruit from the trees
D. the day the first English People came to America
41. On thanksgiving Day people ____.
A. plant their crops.B. celebrate a safe journey
C. thank God for a good harvest D. harvest their fruit and crops.
42. At the first thanksgiving service in North America, the people ____.
A. shot a lot of small animals
B. thanked God for a safe journey
C. thanked God for a good harvest
D. had a big dinner outside their houses.
(B)
Stories about Kites in Japan
People have flown kites in Japan for more than 1000 years. There are many different kinds of kites there. Some look like bats; others look like birds. Most have pictures on them.
There are many interesting stories about kites in Japan.
One story tells us about a thief who used a kite to fly. He wanted to steal the gold from the top of an old tower. The thief and his friends made a large kite. One dark windy night, the thief caught hold of(抓住) the kite. His friends raised the kite into the air. Then they moved the kite near the top of the tower. The thief was able to steal the gold.
Another story tells about a father and a son who were on a small lonely island in the middle of the Japanese sea. There were no bouts or ships. They couldn’t go back to the mainland. So they made a big kite. His son flew on it back to Japan.
There is a K-Day in Japan. The young men of Japan have kite matches. When the kites are flying the match starts. The young men try to break each other’s kite string(细线). The last kite left in the sky is the winner.
35. Most kites in Japan ____.
A. are very large B. are very small C. look like bats D. look nice with pictures.
36. In the kite match, the young men try to ____.
A. make their kites fly high
B. stop each other’s kites from flying in the sky
C. make very large kites themselves
D. draw beautiful pictures on their kites.
37. The father in the passage made a big kite to help his son to ____.
A. return home B. fly over Japan C. win the match D. steal the gold.
38. which of the following is NOT true?
A. The last kite left in the sky is the winner in the kite match.
B. The thief stole the gold from the top of an old tower.
C. The father and the son in the story were dead in the sea at last.
D. There is K-Day in Japan.
第二部分：阅读理解（共两节，满分40 分）
第一节（共17小题，满分34分）
(A)
The word “cool”
“Cool” is a word with many meanings. Its old meaning is used to express a temperature that is a little cold. As the world has changed, the word has had many different meanings.
“Cool” can be used to express feelings or interest in almost anything.
When you see a famous car in the street, maybe you will say “It’s cool.” You may think “He’s so cool.” You can use it instead of many words such as “new” or “surprising”. Here an interesting story we can use to show the way the word is used. A teacher asked her students to write about the waterfall they had visited. On one student’s paper was just the one sentence, “It’s cool.” Maybe he thought it was the best way to show what he saw and how he felt.
But the story also show a scarcity(缺乏) of words. Without “cool”, some people have no words to show the same meaning. Can you think of any other words that make your life as colorful as the word “cool”? I can. And I think they are also very cool.
31. We know the word “cool” has had ____.
A. many different meanings B. only one meaning C. the same meaning D. no meaning
32. If you are ____ something, you may say “It’s cool.”
A. afraid of B. unhappy with C. interested in D. angry with
33. The sentence “It’s cool.” On the student’s paper may mean “It looks really ____.”
A. careful B. wonderful C. thankful D. painful
34. The writer takes an example to show he ____ the way the word is used.
A. strange to B. pleased with C. worried about D. excited at