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，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中选出最佳选项。
A
Mr. Brozina is a single father and an elementary school librarian who reads aloud for a living. When his daughter, Kristen, hit fourth grade, he proposed The Streak: to see if they could read together for 100 straight bedtimes without missing once.
When The Streak reached 100, they celebrated with a pancake breakfast, and Kristen whispered, "I think we should try for 1,000 nights."
Mr. Brozina was delighted, but what he was thinking was, a thousand nights?! "I thought, we'll never do it," he recalled. "And then we got to 1,000, and we said, 'How can we stop?' "
For 3,218 nights (and some mornings, if Mr. Brozina was coming home too late to read). The Streak went on. It progressed from picture books to middle-school classics to Harry Potter, Agatha Christie, Dickens and Shakespeare, continuing on, until Kristen's first day of college.
In those nine-plus years, they survived many close calls. When Kristen was still in elementary school, her father went to Washington. "The phone rang at 10:45 at the hotel and it was Kristen," Mr. Brozina recalled. "She said, 'Dad, we forgot The Streak!' Fortunately, I always traveled with several books and we read right then and there."
This spring, Kristen graduated from Rowan' University. She has performed as you'd expect for a product of The Streak, an English major with a 3.94 average. She also won two national writing contests, was an editor of the humor arid literary publications and won the annual English department award.
56. According to the passage, Mr. Brozina and his daughter read together for .
A. 100 bedtimes B. 1000 nights
C. over nine years D. nearly 3000 nights and some mornings
57. In the passage, the underlined phrase in Paragraph 1 probably means _____.
A. the period of time for reading together B. me children's book
C. the special night C. the school work
58. How has Kristen benefited from reading with her father?
A. She has grown closer to her father. B. She has become a school librarian herself.
C. She has performed well at university. D. She has won many reading awards.
59. This passage is about a father who _____.
A. is very strict in his work B. enjoys reading when travelling
C. makes his daughter love reading D. has a hard time bringing up his daughter
Teddy Bears have been a very popular children’s toy for many years. Most adults can remember their first stuffed（填充玩具）bear, and over the decades these toys have become nearly a symbol of their childhood. However, children are not the only ones with whom these toys have become popular, as many adults make it a habit to collect these toys as well.
The Teddy Bear first became popular during the early 20th century and was associated with then President Theodore Roosevelt. The story can date back to a hunting trip that President Roosevelt had taken where he was invited to be the one to shoot a black bear that had been tied to a tree. Being a crazy outdoors lover and hunter, Roosevelt refused to kill the animal because he believed that shooting the helpless bear was unsportsmanlike and wrong. This story quickly spread through newspapers across the country, and in the end inspired the introduction of a stuffed toy called “Teddy’s bear”.
These toys became popular soon after first introduced, and within ten years, they were being produced by dozens of companies around the world. Within a generation, these stuffed bears were “the” toy to have, and have always been within children’s toy boxes ever since.
They are most often mass-produced in factories in order to keep up with the high demand. However, there are still companies that take great pride in their handmade designs; and while handmade teddy bears are often preferred, they are also generally more expensive than their mass-produced ones.
Today, these bears and other similar toys generate well over a billion dollars a year in profits for the companies that make them. Walk through just about any toy store in America and you will find dozens of different teddy bears lining the shelves. According to the passage, we can know President Roosevelt ______.
| A．didn’t like hunting |
| B．enjoy being special |
| C．was not brave enough |
| D．was fair and respectable |
Compared with mass-produced teddy bears, the handmade ones ______.
| A．don’t sell well |
| B．are of high quality |
| C．are more expensive |
| D．are preferred by adults |
From the last paragraph, the writer intends to show ______.
| A．teddy bears are very popular |
| B．toys are loved by many companies |
| C．producing toys can earn more money |
| D．teddy bears are also enjoyed by adults |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．History of the Teddy Bear. |
| B．A popular toy — Teddy Bear. |
| C．Who made the first toy bear? |
| D．Profits Teddy Bear have made. |
In-line skating（滚轴溜冰）is a fun sport that everyone can enjoy. Follow these safety tips to keep skating safe and fun.
Step 1: Gear up!
Even before you put on your skates, put on all your safety gear（护具）.
Step 2: Buckle up!
Strap（绑紧）on your skates. Make sure they fit well and are snugly（紧贴）around your ankles. This helps your ankles stay strong and straight.
Step 3: Fall down!
You probably do not usually try to fall. But it is good to practice falling on skates. Fall forward onto your knee pads. Put out your hands and let your wrist guards hit the ground. See? Are you surprised that it doesn’t hurt?
Practice falling until it is easy to fall forward and get up again. If you are not afraid to fall, you will try new things. Knowing how to fall will help you be a better skater and find your balance. When you can stay balanced, you won’t fall as much.
Step 4: Stop!
Make sure you can stop on your skates. The quickest and safest is probably the brake stop. The brake is usually on the back of the right skate.
The brake stop:
Roll forward with your skates pointing the same way. Let your right skate roll a little forward. Bend your knees as if you are sitting down. Then press your right heel down hard. This will make your brake pad drag on the ground until you stop.
The T stop:
Roll forward with your skates pointing the same way. Then turn your right foot out so the toes are pointing to your right. Drag your right skate. Let the wheels drag on the ground until you come to a stop.
Another way to stop is to run or jump onto the grass.
Step 5: Roll around!
Find a flat, smooth place to practice. Do not skate in streets. Parks and playgrounds are good places to practice. Look for “No skating” signs to make sure you can skate there.According to the article, which of these steps are most important for a new skater?
| A．Learn to fall and stop safely. |
| B．Find a class and skate fast. |
| C．Relax and have fun. |
| D．Buy expensive gear and skates. |
In the step right after “Buckle up!” you should practice how to _____________.
| A．skate fast | B．brake | C．fall safely | D．put on gear |
To begin a brake stop, you should let your right skate roll forward, bend your knees, and _________.
| A．turn your foot |
| B．press your right heel down |
| C．put your wrists out in front |
| D．tighten your skates |
How is the passage organized?
| A．It tells stories about skating. |
| B．It gives descriptions of skates. |
| C．It uses a question-and-answer form. |
| D．It gives step-by-step instructions. |
Today, people all over the world are moving out of small villages in the country to go and live in big, noisy cities. They are moving from the peaceful hills, mountains, fields, rivers and streams of the countryside to the busy world of streets, buildings, traffic and crowds. This movement from rural (乡下的) areas to urban areas has been going on for over two hundred years.
In many countries, the main reason people come to live in towns and cities is work. After one or two large factories have been built in or near a town, people come to find work, and soon an industrial area begins to grow. There is usually a residential area nearby, too. The families of these workers need schools, hospitals and shops, so many people come to live in the area to provide these services and a city grows.
In every major city in the world, there is a business district where the big companies have their main offices. In the United States, this area is usually in the city center downtown. It is here that you can see many huge skyscrapers (摩天大楼) and office blocks. The people who work here often travel a long way to work each day. Many of them live in the suburbs of the city, far away from the industrial area and the city center. Some suburbs are very pleasant, with nice houses and big gardens. There are usually parks for children to play in and large department stores where you can buy all you need.
But what is the future of the big cities? Will they continue to get bigger and bigger? Perhaps not. Some major cities have actually become smaller in the last ten years, and it is quite possible that one day we will see people moving out of the major cities and back into smaller towns and villages.The underlined phrase “a residential area” means an area ________.
| A．where people can buy things |
| B．which is near a city center |
| C．where people can do business |
| D．which is suitable for living in |
Why do people move to live in cities or towns?
| A．Because they can live more comfortably there. |
| B．Because they mainly want to find work there. |
| C．Because they are sure of having a better life there. |
| D．Because they like noisy life better than peaceful life. |
What can we know about the business district?
| A．Big companies usually have their main offices in the business district. |
| B．People usually work and live in the skyscrapers in the cities. |
| C．A business district usually lies not far away from the city center downtown. |
| D．It’s reasonable for a business district without a park for children to play in. |
We can infer that this movement from rural to urban areas ________.
| A．has been going on for more than 2,000 years |
| B．will surely continue in the future |
| C．may not continue in the future |
| D．has now stopped already |
Most of my earliest childhood memories are of the beach — in the hot sun, building sandcastles, burying Dad in the sand.
Now the coast has a pleasant and relaxing attraction beyond words. I look forward to a windy cliff-top walk or a rainy day rock-picking just as much as those rare moments when I get to a short sleep in the sun. But there’s nothing more pleasurable than turning up at a beach to find it deserted.
These are my favourite secret beaches — ones either not well known or take a bit of effort to get to. Most of those listed scored highly in the Marine Conservation Society Good Beach Guide 2009; the others are too secret even for them.
Sennen Clove is just a mile northeast of Land’s End, the westernmost point of mainland England. It’s a beautiful spot, with white sands, deep green sea and amazing sunsets over the Isles (群岛) of Scilly, 28 miles away.
The west-facing beach is popular with surfers, with bigger waves and winds often found at the Gwenver end. There’s a beach restaurant with good views of the bay and the sunsets.
The smallest of Isles of Scilly, Bryher is a mile long, half a mile wide — and a natural wilderness of unbelievable scenery. Walk along the narrow sandy roads to the eastern seaboard and you come to two quiet beaches.
Green Bay has views over to the palm trees of Tresco’s Abbey Gardens, and a little further south is Rushy Bay, a beautiful beach facing the deserted island of Samson.
On Bryher, farm shops sell locally grown produce, and they trust you to leave the money in the pot. It’s that kind of place.The best title for this passage is ________.
| A．The Beautiful British Isles |
| B．Secret Beaches on the British Isles |
| C．The Most Pleasurable Place in Britain |
| D．My Experience of Searching Beaches |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The author is a tourist guide in a tourist agency. |
| B．The author likes walking on a rainy cliff-top most. |
| C．The author wrote the article to advertise for the beaches. |
| D．The author loves beaches that are not known to most people. |
Which of the following maps can correctly describe the geography position?
(LE="Land’s" End SC="Sennen" Cove IS="the" Isles of Scilly)
In the author’s view, farmers on Bryher are ________.
| A．sincere | B．selfish | C．courageous | D．mean |
Did you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? The average women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s. Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent than women. Right? Wrong. Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size. Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain. The brain consists of “grey matter” and “white matter”. While men have more of the latter, the amount of “thinking” brain is almost exactly the same in both sexes.
It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women. This means that little girls tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources（来源）at the same time. When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time.
There are other important differences between two sexes. As white matter is the key to spatial (空间的) tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things. “A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher. That may explain one of life’s great mysteries: Why men refuse to ask for directions … and women often need to!
The differences begin when fetuses (胎儿) are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children as young as one. A boy would try to climb a barrier before him or push it down while a girl would attract help from others. These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills. It may all go back to our ancestors, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research.
If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t. “The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it,” says a biologist.Which of the following is TRUE according to the first paragraph?
| A．Women’s brain is 10% less than men’s. |
| B．Grey matter controls thinking in the brain. |
| C．Grey matter plays the same role as white matter. |
| D．Both sexes have the same amount of white matter. |
What can we infer from the second and third paragraphs?
| A．Women don’t need to tell directions. |
| B．Women prefer doing many things at a time. |
| C．Men have weaker spatial abilities. |
| D．Men do better dealing with one job at a time. |
Which of the following do you agree with according to the fourth paragraph?
| A．Young boys may be stronger than young girls. |
| B．Women may have stronger feelings than men. |
| C．More women take up jobs requiring speech skills. |
| D．Our ancestors needed more spatial skills. |
What is the writer’s attitude in writing this passage?
| A．Defensive. | B．Persuasive. | C．Supportive. | D．Objective. |
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