Thanksgiving Day is special holiday in the United States and Canada. Families and friends gather to eat and give thanks for their blessing.
Thanksgiving Day is really a harvest festival. This is why it is celebrated in late fall, after the crops are in. But one of the first thanksgivings in America had nothing to do with a good harvest. On December 4, 1619, the Pilgrims from England landed near what is now Charles City, Virginia. They knelt down and thanked God for their safe journey across the Atlantic.
The first New England Thanksgiving did celebrate a rich harvest. The Pilgrims landed at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. They had a difficult time and the first winter was cruel. Many of the Pilgrims died. But the next year, they had a good harvest. So Governor Bradford declared a three-day feast（盛宴）. The Pilgrims invited Indian friends to join them for their special feast. Everyone brought food.In time, other colonies（殖民地）began to celebrate a day of thanksgiving. But it took years before there was a national Thanksgiving Day. During the Civil War, Sarah Josepha Hale persuaded Abraham Lincoln to do something about it. He proclaimed（宣布）the last Thursday of November 1863 as a day of thanksgiving. Today, Americans celebrate this happy harvest festival on the fourth Thursday in November. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving Day in much the same way as their American neighbours. But the Canadian thanks-giving Day falls on the second Monday in October.
1. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated .
A. in spring B. summer C. in autumn D. in winter
2. The first to celebrate thanksgiving were .
A. some people from England B. the American Indians
C. Sarah Josepha Hale D. Governor Bradford
3. We can infer from the passage that New England must be .
A. in the U. S. A. B. in Great Britain
C. in Canada D. on some island off the Atlantic
4. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Thanksgiving Day used to be a holiday to celebrate a good harvest.
B. Abraham Lincoln was not the first to decide on thanksgiving celebrations.
C. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated to express the American and Indian people’s thanks to God.
D. There’s little difference between the American way and the Canadian way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day.
5. The passage mainly tells us .
A. how Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the U. S. A.
B. how Thanksgiving Day came into being and the different ways it is celebrated
C. that Thanksgiving Day is in fact a harvest holiday
D. how the way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day changed with the time and places
The Take
By Martina Cole
Hardcover; 448 pages
Publisher: Headline Book Publishing Ltd.
ISBN: 0747269718
Price : ￡85
Jackie Jackson, who lives in Essex, UK, is preparing a party. Friends and family gather for the party to welcome her husband Freddie.
But it’s not your typical welcome back event. After six years in prison, Freddie thinks he is the Essex equivalent to the Godfather. And he’s going to make sure everyone knows it.
Lovers and Players
By Jackie Collins
Hardcover; 512 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 0743268024
Price: ￡97
Amy is a pretty young New York heiress（女继承人）, she is engaged to an older man—Max Diamond, a powerful real estate(房地产) businessman.
At the party before the wedding, she runs into Jett, Max’s younger half-brother. Jett is just back from Italy, where he is a successful model. They have no idea who each other are. One night of romance leads to big complications.
Angels and Demons
By Dan Brown
Hardcover; 768 pages
Publisher: Random 
House
ISBN: 037543318X
Price: ￡128
Robert Langdon, the hero of the best-selling history thriller Da Vinci Code, makes his original appearance in Angels and Demons. In this book, Langdon tried to solve the mystery of a century-old underground organization and save the Vatican from a tomb.
66. Which of the following statements about The Take is NOT true?
A. It’s published by Headline Book Publishing Ltd.
B. It’s the cheapest one of the three books mentioned.
C. Jackie Jackson and Freddie are husband and wife.
D.
Jackie Jackson was in prison for six years
67. Which of the followin
g descriptions about Max and Jett are TRUE?
A. They are twins. B. They share one common parent
C. They are businessmen D. They are models
68. If you are interested in mysterious stones, you will probably read______.
A. The Take B. Lovers and Players C. Da Vinci Code D. Angels and Demons
69. It’s possible that Da Vinci Code was written by ______.
A. Jackie Collins B. Martina Cole C. Dan Brown D. Robert Langdon
70. In which column of the newspaper will you read the passage?
A. Best-selling UK Fictions
B. Best-selling US Essays
C. Best-selling French Fictions
D. Best-selling Romantic Love Stories
Youth volunteers from Beijing University visited Songtang Hospital, a care clinic for the aged and dying patients, on April 21, the second Global Youth Service Day.
Thirty student volunteers from the university’s School of International Studies sat at the beds of the patients in their specially-decorated “care huts”. They talked with them and gave messages to patients kept in their beds.
“I felt sorry that I could not offer more to these people except talking with them and trying to cheer them up”, said Deng Yetao, a third-year student, “But it occurred to me that they need more care and love than babies. They are afraid of the coming deat
h. Their loneliness is worse than physical p
ains.”
“Even though they are suffering a lot, the majority of the elderly people want to talk to us. Each of them has a lot of life experiences and philosophies to share. Instead of doing them a favor, I felt I was gaining a valuable lesson,” said Mao Xiaohua, another third-year student.
Mao talked with two elderly patients for a whole afternoon. The fact that most of the patients in the 80-room clinic are aged people with diseases which will lead to death soon made the volunteers’ hearts heavy.
Ninety-one percent of the patients will spend the last days of their lives in the clinic, according to a survey by the hospital.
Daily visits and services by social workers and youth volunteers are a very important part of their programme. A total of 330,000 Beijing students from 119 universities and colleges have visited the hospital. Many continue to offer services in their spare time. Some of them volunteer to hold the hands of dying patients during the last minutes of their lives.
Yin Hang, a student from Beijing Medical College, said he felt “the glory of life” as he saw the fading smile on the face of the old man who slipped into a deep unconsciousness while he was holding his hands.
61. Youth volunteers from Beijing University went to Songtang Hospital to ______.
A. pay a visit to the wounded B. talk with the aged
C. offer services to the aged D. learn something from the aged
62. What the aged most suffered from is ______.
A. loneliness B. death C. physical pain D. disease
63. According to what Mao Xiaohua said, we know that_____.
A. the elderly taught him a good lesson when he talked to them
B. he learned something important from the elderly instead of only helping them
C. he only wanted to get something rather than do them a favor
D. he was glad to have given them a favor
64. When volunteers know most of the aged people in the clinic are dying patients, they feel _____.
A. sad B. disappointed C. hopeless D. worthless
65. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The youth are fond of doing popular things.
B. The Second Youth Service Day is started by the Chinese government.
C. 91% of the aged in China are facing death.
D. The volunteers are taking an active part in the activity
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，从题中所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Scientists in Canada say big ocean fish have almost disappeared from the world since the start of
industrial fishing in the 1950s. The scientists found the populations of large fish like tuna(金枪鱼), swordfish and cod（鳕鱼） have dropped by ninety percent in the past fifty years.
The study took ten years. The researchers gathered records from fishing businesses and governments around the world. The magazine Nature published the findings.
The scientists say the common method called long line fishing is especially damaging to populations of large fish. This method involves many fishing lines connected to one boat. These wires can be nearly one hundred kilometers long. They hold thousands of sharp metal hooks to catch fish.
Long line fishing is especially common in the Japanese fishing industry. Records showed that Japanese boats used to catch about ten fish for every one hundred hooks. But long line fishing boats now might only catch one fish per hundred hooks.
The scientists say industrial fishing can destroy groups of fish much faster than in the past. The study suggests that whole populations can disappear almost completely from new fishing areas within ten to fifteen years.
Ransom Myers and Boris Worm of Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia led the study with the University of Kiel in Germany. Worm says the destruction could lead to a complete reorganization of ocean life systems. Meyers says the decreased numbers of large fish are not the only worry. He says even populations that are able to reproduce do not get the chance to live long enough to grow as big as their ancestors. He says not only are there fewer
big fish, but also they are smaller than those of the past.
American government scientists say even with the best efforts to protect fish populations, decreases are to be expected.
56. Which one can be the best title for the passage?
A. Discoveries Canadian scientists have made B. Japan fishing industry
C. Losses of big fish D. Modern fishing methods
57. When did the researchers begin to survey the decrease of large fish?
A. in the 1960s B. in the 1970s C. in the 1980s D. in the 1990s
58. The underlined word “sharp” in Para 3 means _________.
A. having a fine edge or point that can cut or make a hole in something
B. sudden or rapid change in something
C. quick to react or to understand things
D. loud, sudden and often high in tone
59. Which of the following statements can show the fact that the populations of large fish have dropped?
A. Today’s “large” fish are smaller th
an those of the past.
B. Long line fishing boats now might catch ten fish for every one hundred hooks.
C. Fish able to reproduce don’t have the chance to live longer.
D. Long line fishing boats now might catch one fish for every one hundred hooks
60. Where is the passage probably taken from?
A. A story book B. A business magazine C. An environmental report D. An economic survey
Only three local students won Chinese Blog（博客）Competition. And 15 of the 18 awards went to students from China.
170 students’ task: to get a fully-designed blog up and running, complete with many postings based on a theme of choice—all written in Chinese.
Themes ranged from local opinions－such as the usage of Singlish, education and whether Singapore can be a cultural centre－to food blogs.
The entries were judged on Language proficiency（熟练程度）and the quality of writing, as well as the design and level of exchanging ideas with readers.
Academics(学者) from the National University of Singapore and the SIM University IT experts, and a journalist from Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao in Singapore made up the judges.
In the end, only three Singaporean students made it to the award list—the rest of the awards were swept up by students from China.
“No surprise, ” said Mr. Chow Yaw Long, 37, teachers in charge from Innova Junior College, which organized the event. “Although the topics were local subjects, the foreign students were generally better in terms of the content of the posts and their grasp of the Chinese language. ”
One of the three local students winning the first prize in the Best Language Award was blogger Christina Gao 19, from the Saint Andrew’s Junior College, who spared no effort in researching for and writing her blog. Each entry took her between five and seven days to produce, complete with pictures and even podcasts(播客).
Her advice for bloggers is: Be responsible(负责任的).
“Some bloggers out there only seek to blame(责备) the authorities and other bloggers.” Said Miss Gao. “I think they lack responsibilities and there is no value to their posts.”
72. The competition was organized by ___________.
A. the National University of Singapore B. Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao
C. the Saint Andrew’s Junior College D. Innova Junior College
73. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Not all the themes were about local subjects.
B. Chinese students won most of the awards.
C. The blogs could be written in Chinese or Singlish.
D. The judges were from universities in Singapore and China.
74. What Miss Gao said suggests that ___________.
A. she likes to blame the authorities B. she thinks highly of the others’ blogs
C. she has a sense of responsibility D. she loves to read valuable posts
75. The passage in mainly about ___________.
A. how Chinese students won the awards in the competition
B. why bloggers should take responsibility for their blogs
C. what the result of the competition was
D. how Miss Gao won the first prize in the competition
It was the first snow of winter — an exciting day for every child but not for most teachers. Up until now, I had been able to dress myself for recess(课间休息), but today I would need some help. Miss Finlayson, my kindergarten teacher, had been through first snow days many times in her long career, but I think she may still remember this one.
I managed to get into my wool snow pants. 
But I struggled with my jacket because it didn’t fit well. It was a hand-me-down from my brother, and it made me wonder why I had to wear his ugly clothes. At least my hat and matching scarf(围巾) we
re mine, and they were quite pretty. Finally it was time to have Miss Finlayson help me with my boots(靴子). In her calm, motherly voice she said, "By the end of winter, you will be able to put on your own boots.” I didn’t realize at the time that this was more a statement of hope than of confidence.
I handed her my boots and stuck out my foot. Like most children, I expected the adult to do all the work. After much wiggling and pushing, she managed to get first one into place and then, with a sigh, worked the second one on too.
I announced，“They’re on the wrong feet.” With the grace that only experience can bring，she struggled to get the boots off and went through the joyless task of putting them on again. Then I said，“These aren’t my boots, you know.” As she pulled the offending boots from my feet, she still managed to look both helpful and interested. Once they were off, I said，“They are my brother’s boots. My mother makes me wear them, and I hate them!” Somehow, from long years of practice, she managed to act as though I wasn’t an annoying(烦人的) little girl．She pushed and shoved, less gently this time, and the boots were returned to their proper place on my feet. With a great sigh of relief, seeing the end of her struggle with me, she asked, “Now, where are your gloves?’’
I looked into her eyes and said, “I didn’t want to lose them, so I put them into the toes of my boots.”
68. According to the passage, the little girl got__________from her brother.
A. the wool snow pants and the jacket B. the jacket and the boots
C. the jacket and the hat D. the boots and the gloves
69. Why does the author say Miss Finlayson would remember that first snow day?
A. Because the little girl played a trick on her.
B. Because it was the most exciting day of the winter.
C. Because the little girl was in her brother’s clothes.
D. Because the little girl wore a pretty scarf.
70. We can learn from the text that Miss Finlayson_________.
A. was losing confidence in the little girl B. gradually lost patience with the little girl
C. because disappointed with the little girl D. was getting bored with the little girl
71. It can be inferred(推断) that before the little girl finally went out to enjoy the first snow of winter，the teacher had to help her put on her boots __________.
A. once B. twice C. three times D. four times
粤公网安备 44130202000953号