The campaign is over. The celebrations have ended. And the work for US president-elect Barack Obama has begun.
The 47-year-old politician rose to the highest post because of his stand against the war in Iraq and his plans to fix a weak economy. But what will the first 47-year-old African-American president do for race relations.
Obama’s victory appears to have given blacks and other minorities a true national role model. For years, many looked to athletes and musicians for inspiration. As Darius Turner, an African-American high school student in Los Angeles, told the Los Angeles Times.“Kobe( the basketball player) doesn’t have to be everybody’s role model anymore.”
Recent polls also suggest that Obama’s victory has given Americans new optimism about race relations. For example, a USA Today poll found that two-thirds of Americans believe relations between blacks and whites“will finally be worked out”. This is the most hopeful response since the question was first asked during the civil rights revolution in 1963.
However, it’s still too early to tell whether Obama’s presidency will begin to solve many of the social problems facing low-income black communities.
Although blacks make up only 13 percent of the US population, 55 percent of all prisoners are African-American. Such numbers can be blamed on any number of factors on America’s racist past, a failure of government policy and the collapse of the family unit in black communities.
It is unlikely that Obama will be able to reverse（扭转）such trends overnight. However, Bill Bank, an expert of African-American Studies, say that eventually young blacks need to find role models in their own communities.“That’s not Martin Luther King, and not Barack Obama,”he told the Los Angeles Times, “It’s actually the people closest to them. Barack only has so much influence.”
In the opinion of black British politician Trevor Phillips, Obama’s rise will contribute more to multiculturalism than to race relations in the US.
52: For years, before Obama was elected president of the US, .
A. Kobe was the only role model for all the blacks
B. blacks could only find role models on the basketball court
C. minorities in America couldn’t find role models in their real life
D. American blacks had no role model who was successful in political area
53. According to Bill Bank, .
A. Obama is not the proper role model for African-Americans
B. young blacks should not be so much influenced by Obama
C. blacks should find other role models because Obama is far from their reality
D. it’s better for young blacks to find role models in those who are close to them
54. What do you think the author is probably going to talk about in the next paragraph?
A. In what ways Obama will contribute to racial relations in the US.
B. How Obama will influence Americans as a national role model.
C. How Obama will contribute to multiculturalism in the US.
D. How to choose a role model in his community as a young black.
55.What would be the best title for this passage?
A. The First African-American President
B. America’s New Role Model
C. Obama—a Successful Black
D. Choosing a Right Role Model
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A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Most children, even the youngest of children, are delighted to be around cats and dogs. But these pets carry plenty of germs and allergens(过敏原), prompting researchers to ask: Are cats and dogs really safe for children?
A study finds that, contrary to many parents’ fears, owning cats or dogs does not increase a child’s risk of developing allergies, and in fact, may actually protect them. The study’s lead author, Dr. Dennis Ownby of the Medical College of Georgia, said that even he was “very surprised” by the results. Ownby and colleagues followed more than 470 children from birth to age 6 or 7, comparing those exposed to cats and dogs during their first years of life to those who were not.
By using skin-prick tests for detecting common allergies, the researchers found that, contrary to what many doctors had been taught for years, children who had lived with a pet were not at greater risk.
Even more remarkable, children who had two or more dogs or cats had an even greater reduction, up to 77 percent, in risk of allergies. Researchers suggest this protective effect may be the result of early exposure to lots of bacteria that are carried by dogs and cats. Exposing young children to these bacteria helps “exercise” their immune（免疫的） systems early in life so that they’re better able to resist allergic diseases later.
“There’s something very important in the first years of life when the immune system is developing that we can retrain it away from an allergic response,” said Dr. William Davis.
And while researchers are not encouraging parents to buy dogs or cats just to reduce a child’s allergy risk, they say if a family already has one or more animals, there’s no need to get rid of them.
41. Why do the researchers feel “very surprised” by the results of the study?
A. Because the results are contrary to what they have expected.
B. Because so many families are going to get rid of their cats and dogs.
C. Because parents are so much worried about their children.
D. Because children with animals may develop allergies easily.
42. Compared with children who have pets, those who haven’t ________.
A. will lose the chance to develop immune system
B. may suffer allergic diseases more often
C. will reduce the harm from bacteria
D. are more likely to resist allergic diseases
43. It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A. pets are ill-treated by their owners
B. fewer families would like to own cats and dogs
C. keeping pets is a good way to keep children healthy
D. the results of the study can make families with pets feel at ease
44. The underlined word “it” in the fifth paragraph refers to ________.
A. the early life B. an allergic disease
C. immune system D. something important
45. What may be the best title of the passage?
A. How to protect your kids from allergies.
B. Your pets may be helping your kids.
C. Bacteria do good to your kids.
D. Advantages of owning pets.
When a 13-year-old Virginal girl started sneezing, her parents thought it was merely a cold. But when the sneezes continued for hours, they called in a doctor. Nearly two months later the girl was still sneezing, thousands of times a day, and her case had attracted worldwide attention.
Hundreds of suggestions, ranging from “put a clothes pin on her nose” to “have her stand on her head” poured in. But nothing did any good. Finally, she was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital where Dr. Leo Kanner, one of the world’s top authorities on sneezing, solved the baffling (难以理解的) problem with great speed.
He used neither drugs nor surgery for, curiously enough, the clue for the treatment was found in an ancient superstition(迷信) about the amazing bodily reaction we call the sneeze. It was all in her mind, he said, 
a view which Aristotle, some 3,000 years earlier, would have agreed with heartily.
Dr. Kanner simply gave a modern psychological interpretation to the ancient belief that too much sneezing was an indication that the spirit was troubled; and he began to treat the girl accordingly.
“Less than two days in a hospital room, a plan for better scholastic and vocational（职业的） adjustment, and reassurance about her unreasonable fear of tuberculosis（肺结核） quickly changed her from a sneezer to an ex-sneezer,” he reported.
Sneezing has always been a subject of wonder, awe and puzzlement. Dr Kanner has collected thousands of superstitions concerning it. The most universal one is the custom of begging for the blessing of God when a person sneezes— a practice Dr. Kanner traces back to the ancient belief that a sneeze was an indication that th
e sneezer was possessed of an evil spirit. Strangely, people over the world still continue the custom with the traditional, “God bless you” or something else.
When scientists look at the sneeze, they see a remarkable mechanism（身体机制） which, without any conscious help from you, takes on a job that has to be done. When you need to sneeze you sneeze, this being nature’s clever way of getting rid of an annoying object from the nose. The object may be just some dust in the nose which nature is trying to remove.
51. The girl sneezed continuously because she __________.
A. was ill B. was mentally ill
C. had heavy mental burden D. had attracted world-wide attention
52. When the girl began to sneeze continuously, ___________.
A. a lot of people offered their advice
B. she was taken to John Hopkins Hospital
C. she was given a treatment found in ancient superstition
D. many doctors treated her in different ways
53. Dr. Kanner cured the girl by ___________.
A. using Aristole’s method B. giving her psychological treatment
C. practicing superstition D. treating her tuberculosis
54. When a person sneezes, we say “God bless you” because____________.
A. it’s a tradition B. the person is possessed of an evil spirit
C. the person is ill D. God will bless those who sneeze
55. According to scientists, people sneeze because _____________.
A. they are ill B. to sneeze is human nature
C. they do not need any conscious help D. there are unwanted things in their noses
Global warming may or may not be the great environmental crisis of the 21st century, but — regardless of whether it is or isn’t — we won’t do much about it. We will argue over it and may even, as a nation, make some fairly solemn-sounding commitments(承诺) to avoid it. But the more dramatic and meaningful these commitments seem, the less l
ikely they are to be observed.
Al Gore calls global warming an “inconvenient truth,” as if merely recognizing it could put us a path to a solution. But the real truth is that we don’t know enough to relieve global warming, and — without major technological breakthroughs — we can’t do much about it.
From 2003 to 2050, the world’s population is projected to grow from 6.4 billion to 9.1 billion, a 42% increase. If energy use per person and technology remain the same, total energy use and greenhouse gas emissions(排放) (mainly, CO2) will be 42% higher in 2050. But that’s too low, because societies that grow richer use more energy. We need economic growth unless we condemn the world’s poor to their present poverty and freeze everyone else’s living standards. With modest growth, energy use and greenhouse emissions more than double by 2050.
No government will adopt rigid restrictions on economic growth and personal freedom (limits on electricity usage, driving and travel) that might cut back global warming. Still, politicians want to show they’re “doing something.” Con
sider the Kyoto Protocol(京都议定书). It allowed countries that joined to punish those that didn’t. But it hasn’t reduced CO2 emissions (up about 25% since 1990), and many signatories(签字国) didn’t adopt tough enough policies to hit their 2008-2012 targets.
The practical conclusion is that if global warming is a potential disaster, the only solution is new technology. Only an aggressive research and development program might find ways of breaking our dependence on fossil fuels or dealing with it.
The trouble with the global warming debate is that it has become a moral problem when it’s really an engineering one. The inconvenient truth is that if we don’t solve the engineering problem, we’re helpless.
46. What is said about global warming in the first paragraph?
A. It may not prove an environmental crisis at all.
B. It is an issue requiring worldwide commitments.
C. Serious steps have been taken to avoid or stop it.
D. Very little will be done to bring it under control.
47. According to the author’s understanding, what is Al Gore’s view on global warming?
A. It is a reality both people and politicians are unaware of.
B. It is a phenomenon that causes us many inconveniences.
C. It is a problem that can be solved once it is recognized.
D. It is an area we actually have little knowledge about.
48. G
reenhouse emissions will more than double by 2050 because of ________.
A. economic growth
B. wasteful use of energy
C. the widening gap between the rich and poor
D. the rapid advances of science and technology
49. The author believes that, since the signing of the Kyoto Protocol, ________.
A. politicians have started to do something to better the situation
B. few nations have adopted real tough measures to limit energy use
C. reductions in energy consumption (消耗) have greatly cut back global warming
D. international cooperation has contributed to solving environmental problems
50. What is the message the author intends to convey?
A. Global warming is more of a moral issue than a practical one.
B. The ultimate solution to global warming lies in new technology.
C. The debate over global warming will lead to technological breakthroughs.
D. People have to give up certain material comforts to stop global warming.
President Coolidge’s statement, “The business of America is business,” still points to a very important truth today—that business organizations have more prestige in American society than any other kind of organization, including the government. Why do business institutions still possess this great prestige?
One reason is that Americans view business as being more firmly based on the idea of competition than other organizations in society. Since competition is seen as the main source of progress and development by most Americans, competitive business organizations are respected. Competition is not only good in itself; it is the means by which other basic American values, such as individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and hard work are protected.
Competition protects the individual freedom by making sure that there is no monopoly(垄断) of power. Compared with one and all-powerful government, many businesses compete against each other for benefit. If one business tries to take unfair advantage of its customers, it will lose to the competing business which treats its customers more fairly. Since there are many businesses competing for the customers’ dollars, they cannot afford to treat them unfairly and the customers would lose nothing.
A contrast(对比) is often made between business, which is competitive, and government, which is a monopoly. Because business is competitive, many Americans believe that it gives more support for freedom than government, even though government leaders are elected by the people while business leaders are not. Many Americans believe that competition is as important, or even more important, as democracy(民主) in protecting freedom.
Competition in business is also believed to strengthen the idea of equal opportunities. Competition is seen as an open and fair race where success goes to any person regardless of his or her social class background. Competitive success is commonly seen as the American choice of the higher social position which is not based on one’s family background. Business is therefore viewed as an expression of the idea of equal opportunities.
76. Which of the following is discussed as the main topic in the passage?
A. Competition in America’s business B. Freedom in America’s business
C. Americans’ different values D. Business against government
77. Americans believe that they can realize their personal values ________.
A. when given equal opportunities
B. through doing business
C. by protecting their individual freedom
D. by means of competition
78. The underlined word “prestige ” in the first paragraph probably means ________.
A．reputation B. opportunity C. equality D. competition
79. Who can benefit from business competition?
A. Businessmen who compete
B. Customers of those businesses
C. People with the idea of equality and freedom
D. Both business organizations and government
80. It could be inferred from that the author believe ________.
A. business in other countries are not as competitive as those in the USA
B. business problems are very important to the American government
C. the competition in business plays a very important role in America
D. American business is the most powerful one in the whole world
A young man named Charles Lyell had different ideas. He wrote a book about them called Principles of Geology. The earth，according to Lyell，was not only thousands of years old，it was millions of years old. As to the common belief that changes in the earth’s surface happen suddenly because of a single earthquake or flood，he said that this might happen once in a while，but usually these changes took place very slowly. He believed that the surface of the earth had been changing from the beginning of time. The changes，he said，were caused by the long-term action of the winds and seas，and by forces such as volcanoes breaking out under the earth’s surface. Once in a great while he thought，a mountain might appear for the first time after an earthquake. But usually mountains would rise slowly and steadily.
Professor Henslow was interested in Lyell’s ideas，but he did not actually believe them. Charles Darwin could not make up his mind about them. But they set him thinking along lines which would later change the beliefs of thoughtful people all over the world.
At Cambridge，Charles Darwin studied just enough to pass the examination，and received his college degree in 1831.During this time，he had become more and more interested in geology. At the end of the school year，he went to North Wales with one of his teachers to examine the rock formations (构成) and to search for fossils. Fossils are the remains of ancient living things. They are usually found fixed in rocks in the earth’s crust (地壳). Fossils may be of animals，such as fish，insects，birds，or humans. They may be of plants from tiny leaves to huge trees.
When a living creature dies，it usually decays (腐烂)or is eaten by animals. However，if it sinks into a riverbed or is quickly covered by the blowing sands of a desert storm，the bones are kept up in the earth. Over many years the soft inner parts of a bone disappear，leaving the inside hollow. Water containing mineral enters into the hollow. Slowly the mineral hardens and makes the bone hard and heavy，like stone.
71.According to Charles Lyell，it is mainly that the earth has been formed like today’s shape.
A. from the beginning of time B. past some experiences of big flood
C. over a very long period of years D. because of several big earthquakes
72.Charles Lyell believed the fact that a mountain is formed .
A. more by seas than by volcanoes B. more slowly than suddenly
C. more by an earthquake than by winds D. more steadily than quickly
73.Unlike Professor Henslow，Charles Darwin .
A. never thought Lyell’s ideas were right
B. did made up his mind not to accept Lyell’s ideas
C. thought about what the world were then thinking about
D. thought over Lyell’s ideas and developed them
74.The main purpose of Darwin’s going to North Wales was to .
A. make a study of fossils
B. appreciate the rock formation
C. to do research work into dead animals
D. look for plants from tiny leaves to huge trees
75.In which order are fossils formed?
a. A living thing sinks into a riverbed or sands.
b. Water goes into a bone hollow together with mineral.
c. Something soft in a bone disappears.
d. The hardened mineral makes the bone hard.
e. The bone becomes hollow inside.
A.a b c d e B.c a b e d C.a c e b d D.e c d b a
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