第二部分 阅读理解（共25小题。第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题1分；满分45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
If I were writing a history of my family, some of the darkest moments recorded would be those surrounding Christmas trees．One would certainly think otherwise; selecting and putting up our trees have always been filled with risk．For example, one afternoon dangerously close to Christmas Eve my mother bought what she thought to be a bargain, a glorious tree that was so full and tall that we could hardly get it onto the house．Once we did, my father immediately realized that we would have to hire a carpenter to build a stand for it．Another December, perhaps the very next one, we bought a tree earlier than we ever had before．We were happy with its shape and delighted that its size was manageable．We easily placed it in a stand, decorated（装饰）it from top to bottom, and then self-satisfiedly sat back by the fire in its soft light．Two or three days passed and the truth could not be hidden; we had bought a tree cut so long ago that its needles were coming off．There was nothing to do undecorated it, take it down, and begin treeshopping again．Our most recent Christmas tree offered still another difficult task．When we brought it home, once again it seemed larger than it had in the great outdoors．To complicate matters, we had bought a new stand, one whose nuts and bolts worked more mysteriously than those of our old stand．I persuaded two young neighbors to stop playing basketball and to help us get the tree into the house and set it correctly in the stand．Unfortunately, no one noticed the mud on our helpers’ shoes, so only after removing several reddish brown spots from the carpet were we able to discuss the question of where the lights and ornaments（装饰）were stored．Perhaps those who cut their own trees have tales more painful than these．I don’t care to hear them, as my family’s experiences are enough to cause me to make the following suggestion：“Let’s forget the tree next Christmas．Let’s simply hang some flowers on the front door and over the mirror in the hall．”
41．The darkest moments in the writer’s family were with the fact that________．
A．the family bought big Christmas trees
B．they had problems decorating their Christmas trees
C．they had problems picking suitable Christmas trees
D．they had problems finding carpenters for putting up Christmas trees．
42．We can learn from the passage that the writer would like to________．
A．forget about Christmas
B．get the neighbors to put up their trees
C．buy a better tree
D．make some other decorations to celebrate Christmas rather than the tree
43．When the writer said“mother bought what she thought to be a bargain”, he means________．
A．she bought the tree at a cheap price
B．she didn’t really want to buy it
C．she had to bargain hard with the salesman
D．she couldn’t afford a more expensive one
44．Which 
of the following can be the best for the passage?
A．How to Select a Christmas Tree B．No More Christmas Tree for US
C．Dark Moments of Life D．Christmas without Trees
In any family with more than one child, chidren seem to naturally compete for their parents’ love and attention. Parents say they love every child equally. But is that true?
Susan, founder of a consulting firm in Chicago, interviewed 216 women and found that even though none of her questions asked directly about a parent favoring one child over another, about two-thirds of the women said there was a favored child. And they also remembered their experience when they were young. One of the women said, “My mother always liked my brother better, and he got to go to summer camp in 1968 and I didn’t.”
Plumez, who interviewed parents with both biological children and adoptive children for an adoption book in 2008, found that what matters most is whether your temperaments(性情) are pleasing. “In some cases, parents would say they felt closer to their adopted children,” she says, “Some parents like the children with characters similar to theirs. Two people who are shy and withdrawn might get along well, unless the shy parent doesn’t like that aspect of themselves and they try to push the naturally withdrawn child to be more extroverted.”
It could be a result of gender, birth order or how easy or difficult a child’s temperament may be, but a parent’s different treatment has far-reaching effects. Students have found that less-favored children may suffer emotionally, with decreased self-esteem and behavioral problems in childhood. Favoritism is a reason for the next generation not to like each other.
Experts say it is not realistic to say everyone should be treated equally, because no two people are the same and they relate differently to others.
“It does not mean that parent loves or likes one child more. It has to do with which one of them is independent,” says psychologist Laurie Kramer of the University of Illinois.The study carried out by Susan shows that ______.
| A．showing favoritism is common in many families |
| B．most mothers like their sons better than their daughters |
| C．only two-thirds of the women interviewed have more than a child |
| D．it is a favoritism that leads to absence of harmony in most families |
The underlined word “extroverted” in the third paragraph means _______.
| A．independent | B．outgoing | C．clever | D．brave |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Favoritism is not beneficial to the development of children |
| B．Parents’ favoritism to a certain child can’t be avoided in families |
| C．Parents may be favoring one of their children and don’t realize it |
| D．People are very much shaped by how they were treated by their parents |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Parents’ favoritism can affect children deeply |
| B．Why do parents show favoritism to children? |
| C．Parents should give attention to all their children |
| D．Building a harmonious family is important to children |
Most parents love the Internet and want their kids to use it. But a new survey in America finds almost as many also fear the online world—especially social networking sites such as My Space—and worry their kids will get in trouble with people they meet.
“The parents see the web’s incredible potential(可能性), and they know their kids have to be there.” says James Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, which released results from a survey that looked into parental attitudes toward the Internet. “It is also what they are scared of most.”
The study was conducted online May 5-10 by Insight Research Group. It says 80% of parents are concerned about kids meeting bad people online. That’s because young people who largely have grown up with the Net think of it as a social outlet(出口), say the researchers. To young people, the benefits of giving out some personal information to reach out to friends outweigh the risks. And the study shows they are so comfortable with the medium that 78% have a personal website or blog.
Parents also recognize the importance of the Internet. The survey shows 91% think the Net helps their children explore their passions, and 77% think the Internet is one of the most valuable education tools teens have. But 88% think it’s important to know what their kids are doing online.
Findings suggest both parents and teens need more education about using online media, Steyer says.
Internet safety has become an increasing concern for parents in America. Organizations like the Non-profit Common Sense have been trying to reach and help parents pay attention to the problem.In the second paragraph, the underlined word “It” refers to_____.
| A．Common Sense Media | B．the result of the survey |
| C．the web’s incredible potential | D．the website called My Space |
Why do young people give out their personal information?
| A．They think it has more advantages than disadvantages. |
| B．They want to make themselves famous by doing that. |
| C．They want to have a personal website each. |
| D．They want to get some information from others. |
Most parents think it is important to know_____.
| A．where their children give out the information | B．what kind of websites they have |
| C．how often they go online | D．what their children are doing online |
From the passage we can infer that_____.
| A．children are too young to know how to use the Internet |
| B．parents must teach their children how to use the Internet |
| C．parents also need to learn more about using the Internet |
| D．the Internet is the most valuable tool for children to learn |
UNICEF reports that 40 million children below the age of 15 suffer from abuse(虐待) and neglect. The USA National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse finds 3 million new reports of child abuse or neglect every year.
According to such information on human rights abuses of children, the United Nations declared 2010 as the International Year of Youth. In answer to the common human rights abuses of young people, Dr. Mary Shuttleworth of Youth for Human Rights International(YHRI) recently completed her seventh annual World Tour to five continents in eighty days. The purpose of the tour is to promote the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights to tens of thousands of children and officials.
According to UNICEF, 1.2 million children are illegally traded all over the world every year.
Sold as goods, these children are forced into inhuman labor, denied basic education and robbed of their childhoods. Youth who do not know their rights are easily cheated by ill-intentioned men. That is why YHRI thinks highly of education.
“When the United Nations declared 2010 as the International Year of Youth, I knew that their human rights had to be greater than ever,” Dr. Shuttleworth said. The tour reached Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Ecuador, Brazil, South Africa, Swaziland, Portugal, Sardinia, Sicily, Italy, Greece, Taiwan, Japan, Hawaii and Los Angeles.
The YHRI World Tour 2010 has reached tens of thousands of students as well as officials, educators, and religious leaders and thus promotes human rights education to millions more.2010 was declared as the International Year of Youth because ______.
| A．3 million children reported their information to the UN |
| B．many children are suffering from ill-treatment and neglect |
| C．children are illegally traded throughout the whole world |
| D．human rights abuses of young people have been avoided |
According to para. 2, Dr. Shuttleworth first started her annual World Tour in _____.
| A．2000 | B．2004 | C．2008 | D．2010 |
Youth for Human Rights International is paying attention to education because _______.
| A．education should serve most children |
| B．too many children are forced to leave school |
| C．children who know their rights will make more money |
| D．children who know little about their rights are easily cheated |
According to the passage, the YHRI World Tour 2010 _______.
| A．has almost stopped the child abuse | B．has reached different areas and people |
| C．has found more forced child labor | D．was neglected by some political leaders |
Lichens (地衣) are difficult to see. They don’t move. They often mix into the living place. You might not even recognize one if you are looking right at it.
Lichens live on rocks, branches, houses, and even metal street signs. You can find these colorful organisms (微生物) almost everywhere — from deserts to rainforests, and from Antarctica to Africa. They’ve traveled in outer space, and some scientists think there might even be lichens on Mars.
What you probably don’t realize is that a lichen is more than a single thing. It includes two different types of living organisms: a fungus (菌类) and an alga (藻类). Neither of these organisms is a plant, so the lichen isn’t a plant either.
Through photosynthesis (光合作用), the alga gets the sun’s energy to make food for the fungus, which is the place for the alga to live in. However, the alga cannot leave the fungus.
Around the world, scientists have found tens of thousands of types of lichens. Many may not even have been discovered yet. As scientists continue to find new kinds of lichens, they are also working to understand how they are connected to one another. By putting together a lichen family tree, they hope to understand why so many different types of lichens have grown in so many places around the world.
Many researchers are trying to understand basic facts about the organisms and their connections. Researchers are also using lichens to examine the health of the environment. What do we know about lichens according to the passage?
| A．They will die if they leave Earth. |
| B．There are more lichens than plants on Earth. |
| C．They look similar to the environment around them. |
| D．They are too small to be easily seen by people. |
What does the second paragraph mainly talk about?
| A．The way lichens live. |
| B．The natural environment of lichens. |
| C．The way lichens work as organisms. |
| D．The family tree of lichens. |
Which of the following statements is NOT the scientists’ purposes of studying lichens?
| A．To understand basic facts about them. |
| B．To creat a lichen family tree. |
| C．To understand how lichens are related to each other. |
| D．To understand why lichens can live in different places. |
We can know from the passage that __________.
| A．lichens can be used to better understand the environment |
| B．lichens don’t have any differences in colors or sizes |
| C．lichens don’t use photosynthesis like a green plant |
| D．scientists have discovered every kind of lichen |
Research has shown that music has an important effect on one’s body and psyche (心灵). In fact, there is a growing field of health care known as music therapy, which uses music to treat diseases. Even hospitals are beginning to use music therapy. This is not surprising, as music affects the body and mind in many powerful ways.
Research has shown that quick music can make a person feel more alert, while slow music can produce a calm, deep thinking state. Also, research has found that music can change brainwave activity levels. This can help the brain to change speeds more easily on its own as needed, which means that music can bring lasting benefits to your state of mind, even after you’ve stopped listening.
Breathing and heart rates can also be influenced by music. This can mean slower breathing, slower heart rate. This is why music and music therapy can help reduce the damaging effects of long-term stress, greatly promoting (促进) not only relaxation, but health.
Music can also be used to bring about a more positive state of mind by helping to keep worries at bay. Music has also been found to bring many other benefits, such as lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of strokes. It is no surprise that so many people are considering music as an important tool to help the body become or stay healthy.What can we infer about music therapy?
| A．It is a type of music. |
| B．It is a research about music. |
| C．It is a kind of musical effect on diseases. |
| D．It is the use of music method to help treat diseases. |
The reason why music can help deal with stress is that ________.
| A．it is used by many hospitals |
| B．it can help change brainwaves |
| C．it does good to breathing and heart rates |
| D．it can bring a more positive state of mind |
According to the passage, music can help deal with all the following EXCEPT ________.
| A．nervousness | B．mind illnesses |
| C．strokes | D．high blood pressure |
The passage is mainly about _________.
| A．the importance of music therapy |
| B．benefits music can bring |
| C．research on the effect of music |
| D．diseases music can help heal |
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