There are twenty seven bridges over the River Thames．And the Tower Bridge is the first bridge you have to pass if you go to London from the sea．It is close to the Tower of London，from which it got its name．It is a symbol （象征） of London．
The Tower Bridge was set up over the River Thames in London in 1894and is one of the finest and most famous bridges in the world．It is the only bridge over the Thames that can be raised and opened in the middle．The middle part can be raised to let the huge ships pass．It used to be raised about 50times a day，but now it is raised only 4to 5times a week．If you are lucky enough to see the bridge with its two arms open high in the air，you will never forget it．
The Tower Bridge stands just on the south side of the Tower of London．People often think they are of the same age．But in fact，the Tower of London was built a thousand years ago，while the Tower Bridge only has a history of over one hundred years．
The Tower Bridge was first painted chocolate brown．Then in 1977，it was painted red，white and blue．Its picture also appeared in the opening of the 2012Summer Olympic Games held in London．So come to visit the famous bridge．You are sure to have a wonderful experience．
41．The color of the Tower Bridge hasn't changed for more than a hundred years．
42．In 1894，the Tower Bridge was built in London．
43．The Tower of London has a much longer history than the Tower Bridge．
44．The Tower Bridge is now raised less often than in the past．
45．This passage means to introduce the Tower of London． ．
C
“Everything happens for the best.” Whenever I faced disappointment, my mother would say this to me.
After I graduated form college in 1932, I decided to find a job in radio as a sports announcer(广播员). I went to Chicago and knocked at the door of every station. But unluckily, I was refused every time.
At one station, a kind lady told me that big stations wouldn’t hire(雇佣) a person without any experience and suggested that I try my luck at smaller stations. Following her advice, I went back to Dixon, where I had grown up. There were no such jobs in Dixon, and my father said a newly-opened store wanted a local athlete to work for it. I wanted this job, but I was refused again.
“Everything happens for the best,” Mom reminded me. Dad offered me the car to look for a job. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport, Iowa. The program director, Peter MacArthur, told me they had already hired an announcer.
As I left his office, I felt so frustrated. “How can I become a sports announcer if I can’t get a job in a radio station?” I asked aloud.
While I was waiting for the elevator, I heard someone calling. It was MacArthur. “What was that you said about sports? Do you know anything about football?” Then he asked me to have a try. He was pleased with my performance, and he offered me a chance to work there.
On my way home, I thought of my mother’s words: “If you carry on, one day something good will happen. Something wouldn’t have happened if without the failure before.”Why couldn’t the writer find a job at big radio stations?
| A．Because he never graduated from college. |
| B．Because he didn’t work hard in college. |
| C．Because he didn’t have much experience. |
| D．Because he didn’t know about sports. |
Which of the following is the correct order of events?
a. The writer got a job as a sports announcer at a radio station.
b. The writer was refused when he wanted jobs in Chicago.
c. The writer graduated from college.
d. The writer went back to his hometown to look for a job.
| A．cbda | B．cbad | C．bcda | D．bcad |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The writer’s parents didn’t want him to be a sports announcer. |
| B．There were no radio announcer jobs in the writer’s hometown. |
| C．The writer became uninterested in being a sports announcer. |
| D．The writer got a job as a sports announcer in Dixon at last. |
According to the last paragraph, what did the writer’s mom want to tell him?
| A．He shouldn’t be a sports announcer. |
| B．Disappointment leads to failure. |
| C．He should be proud of himself. |
| D．Everything will be OK if he keeps trying. |
B
Sun Liping, 6 , lives in a small village in Yunnan. Her biggest wish is to have running water in her home. All 35 families in Sun’s village have a serious problem--- they don’t have enough water. Every day, the villagers have to walk 20 minutes to get water.
Last year, the worst drought since the 1950s hit Yunnan, making more than 2 million people short of drinking water. This year, the drought is even worse.
Not only Yunnan, but many other provinces in China are short of water as well, such as Gansu and Qinghai.
According to a report on February 17, each Chinese person has about 28% of the world’s average（平均的） person’s amount of available(可用的) water. Two thirds of China’s cities are short of water and nearly 300 million people in rural areas don’t have safe water for drinking.
Every drop of water is important. Waste a drop of water a day and you lose a bucket(桶) a year. How can we use water in a smart way? Here are some tips for you to save water in your daily life:
1. Put plastic bottles of water in your toilet to cut down the water waste when you flush (冲洗) your toilet.
2. Don’t keep the water running while you’re brushing your teeth or washing your face and hands.
3. Use low-flow(低流量) shower heads .
4. Use a bucket to collect shower water while you wait for it to warm up.
5. Make your shower time shorter.
6. Set up a rain bucket to collect rainwater for watering plants or flowers. What is the problem in Sun’s village?
| A．They don’t have enough food. |
| B．They don’t have enough water. |
| C．They have to walk far away to go to school. |
| D．There are fewer and fewer villagers. |
What does the underlined word drought mean in the second paragraph?
| A．饥饿 | B．干旱 | C．水灾 | D．贫穷 |
According to the report, __________________________________.
A. China has just 28 percent of the world’s available water.
Each Chinese person can use more water than the world’s average person.
There is not enough water in two thirds of China’s cities.
D. There are about 300 million people in China’s cities who don’t have enough water. Which of the following would lead to a waste of water?
| A．Using low-flow shower heads. |
| B．Collecting shower water while waiting for it to warm up. |
| C．Taking a quick shower. |
| D．Keeping the water running while brushing one’s teeth. |
阅读理解。（每小题2分，共30分）
阅读下列材料，从 A、B、C、D 四个选项中选出最佳答案，并把答题卡上对应题目的答案标号涂黑。
A
People say that George Washington, the first president of the United States, never told a lie. But it seems that the president was not without faults.
A New York library recently found that Washington borrowed two books from the library in 1789. He didn’t return them.
If he were still alive, he would have to pay the library ＄300,000 for being 220 years late.
On October 5, 1789, when the first president borrowed the books form the New York Society Library, he didn’t sign his name in the borrower’s book. He just wrote “president” to show who had taken them out.
The two books should have been brought back a month later but were never returned. Workers at the library realized the books were missing.
The New York Society Library doesn’t expect anyone to pay the fine. But it hopes that someone will return the books. Gorge Washington is__________.
| A．the president of the US now |
| B．the first president of the US |
| C．the first black president of the US |
| D．the president who always borrowed the books without returning them back |
Gorge Washington borrowed a book from ________.
| A．the Washington Public Library |
| B．the New York Society Library |
| C．the Paris Society Library |
| D．the Chinese Public Library |
The library hopes _________.
| A．Gorge Washington will return the book. |
| B．Gorge Washington will pay the fine |
| C．someone will find the book and return it |
| D．someone will pay the fine for the president |
Have you ever wondered?
1.Why do airplanes take longer to fly west than east?
It can take five hours to go west-east from New York (NY) to London but seven hours to travel east-west from London to NY. The reason for the difference is an atmospheric phenomenon (大气现象) known as the jet stream (气流). The jet stream is a very high altitude (=" above" sea level) wind which always blows from the west to the east across the Atlantic. So the planes moving at a constant air speed go faster from the west to the east when they are moving with the wind than in the opposite.
2.What would happen if the gravity on Earth was suddenly turned off?
Supposing we could magically turn off gravity. Would buildings and other structures（建筑物）float away? What happened would depend on (依靠) how strongly the things were attached (吸附) to the earth. The earth is moving at quite a speed, moving at over a thousand miles per hour. If you turn something around your head on a string, it goes around in a circle until you let go of the string. Then it flies off in a straight line. ‘Turning off’ gravity would be like letting go of the string. Things not attached to the earth would fly off in a straight line. People in buildings would suddenly shoot upwards at a great speed until they hit the ceiling (=" top" surface of a room). Most things outside would fly off into space.What information can we get from the first passage?
| A．It is the jet stream that affects how fast airplanes fly. |
| B．Planes go slower when they are moving with the wind. |
| C．It takes more time to fly from NY to London than from London to NY. |
| D．The jet stream always blows from the east to the west across the Atlantic. |
The underlined word “shoot” in the 2nd paragraph means “_________”.
| A．send for | B．move quickly | C．come out | D．grow quickly |
It can be known that without gravity _________.
| A．buildings and other structures would float away |
| B．trees and buildings would not so easily fly off |
| C．something around your head would not float away |
| D．everything outside buildings would fly off into space |
Where can we read this passage?
| A．In a research paper. | B．In a short story. |
| C．In a travel magazine. | D．In a student’s book |
At two o’clock a bank robber stole in. “This is a hold-up,” the man said loudly. He took a gun from under his jacket, pointing to George. “Hand it over!” George reached into his money-box and took all the bills from the top part --- close to six thousand dollars. The robber took them and turned to leave. Then, while everyone watched the robber, George calmly lifted the top part of the money-box, took bills from the bottom part and put them into his own pocket secretly. The door was shut and the bank robber was gone. George fainted（晕倒）. As soon as he was safely behind his bedroom door, George counted the money. He had eight thousand dollars. He was very happy.
The next morning, while the others were checking the bank’s records, George was asked to go to Mr. Burrow’s office and was introduced to Mr. Carruthers, who used to be president of the bank.
“Good morning, George, I was sorry to give you a hard time yesterday, but with all the banks being robbed these days I thought it would be a good idea to prove that our small bank can be robbed, too. I have retired （退休）, but I am always thinking of our bank. That’s why I played my little game yesterday, just to keep everyone on his toes（趾）. Now, I have put the money back in your money-box all six thousand.” Which of the following do you think is TRUE?
| A．George wanted to protect the money for the bank. |
| B．George had been thinking of taking money away. |
| C．This bank had been robbed several times. |
| D．Nobody knew the bank would be robbed that day. |
Why was George asked to go to Mr. Burrow’s office?
| A．His stealing money was known to all. |
| B．Mr. Burrow wanted to say sorry to him. |
| C．Mr. Carruthers wanted to explain the whole thing to him. |
| D．Mr. Burrow wanted to tell him the money had been put back. |
In this article “to keep everyone on his toes” means _________.
| A．to make everyone work hard |
| B．to keep everyone standing straight |
| C．to make everyone do a kind of exercise |
| D．to keep everyone preparing for the coming danger |
Which sentence can be used to end this story?
| A．George turned cold with fear. |
| B．George turned red with anger（愤怒）. |
| C．George was pleased with the end. |
| D．George was excited with the end. |