第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题,每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下面短文, 从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
There was room for all of us, and the sleeping bags kept the night coldness away. We would listen to the sound of the river, and hear the coyotes (土狼) howling along the hills not far away.
Those were the cool summer nights of the mid-nineties in Southern Alberta, Canada, when the four children were young and we would lie on the trampoline (蹦床) in the backyard late at night, for the sun would not set till late in July and August. We would look at the stars up above and never grow tired of it.
These were the times when I would tell the stories of my own childhood and teach the kids life’s lessons that have been remembered to this day. I chuckle (轻声地笑), as I recall the time when we heard a coyote not far away, and then I started a story about a bear approaching the trampoline. The bear came close (in the story), and the kids snuggled up to mom and me, until suddenly I’d let out a howl and grab all the kids and they would be frightened and jump up and then all laugh, “Daddy, you scared us!”
Now the children are in their mid and late teens, but they fondly remember the starry nights on that trampoline. Recently my oldest daughter on her wedding day sang a song for her parents, entitled “I’ll always be your little girl”. She wrote the music and words and yes indeed: it included a memory of those starry nights.
I have learned as a parent that one of the greatest gifts we can give our children as they are growing up is the time to tell them stories, or if telling stories is not that simple, perhaps read them a story. They can read their own books, but telling or reading them a story will create a close relationship with pleasant memories such as those late summer nights under the starry sky.
56. The passage is mainly about _____.
A. coyotes’ effects on children B. the relationship between children
C. the author’s unforgettable experiences D. the author’s memories of starry nights
57. The underlined part “snuggled up” probably means _____.
A. lay down B. got close C. gave in D. struggled forward
58. How do the children feel about their childhood?
A. Very enjoyable. B. A bit regretful. C. Rather busy. D. Sort of dull.
59. In the last paragraph, the writer mainly wants to express _____.
A. it is easy to tell stories to children B. kids should read stories themselves
C. it is important to tell or read stories to kids
D. it’s necessary to spend summer nights with kids
For hundreds of years, Japan has been hit, from time to time, by tsunamis（海啸）, which are caused by earthquakes or underwater volcanoes. The story of the boy Yuuki is the story of such a disaster.
Yuuki lived with his family in a seaside village, below a small mountain. One day, as he played on top of the mountain, Yuuki felt a small earthquake but it was not strong enough to frighten anybody. Soon after, however, Yuuki noticed the sea darken and begin running away from the shore very fast, leaving behind wide areas of beach that had never been seen before.
Yuuki remembered reading that just before a terrible tsunami, the sea suddenly and quickly rolls backward. He ran to the beach, warning the villagers who had gathered to admire the new beach land.
But no one listened. They laughed at him and continued playing in the new sand.
Desperate, Yuuki could think of only one thing to do. He lit a tree branch, raced to the rice fields and began burning the harvested rice. Then he called out, “Fire! Fire! Everyone run to the mountain! Now!”
When everyone reached the mountain top, a villager cried out, “Yuuki is mad! I saw him set the fire.” Yuuki hung his head in shame, but said nothing as the villagers screamed at him.
Just then, someone shouted, “Look!”
In the distance a huge dark wave of water was speeding towards the shore. When it hit the shore, it destroyed everything.
On the mountain everyone stared at the village ruins in terror.
“I'm sorry I burned the fields,” said Yuuki, his voice trembling.
“Yuuki,” the village chief answered. “You saved us all.”
The villagers cheered and raised Yuuki into the air. “We were going to celebrate our rice harvest tonight,” said one, “but now we’ll celebrate that we’re all still alive!” Where was Yuuki when the earthquake struck?
| A．On the beach. | B．On the mountain. |
| C．In the rice fields. | D．At home. |
In what order did the following events take place?
a.Yuuki ran to the rice fields.
b.The villagers paid no attention to Yuuki’s word.
c.Yuuki went to warn the villagers.
d.The village was in ruins.
e.The people were screaming at Yuuki.
| A．c, b, d, a, e | B．a, c, d, b, e | C．c, b, a, e, d | D．a, c, d, e, b |
How did Yuuki save the villagers from the disaster?
| A．He told them about the earthquake. |
| B．He explained why the sea was flowing out. |
| C．He told the village chief to warn the people. |
| D．He set fire to the rice field. |
What were the people planning to do before the tsunami struck their village?
| A．Burn the rice crop. | B．Play on the beach. |
| C．Climb the mountain. | D．Celebrate the rice harvest. |
Human remains of ancient settlements will be reburied and lost to science under a law that threatens research into the history of humans in Britain, a group of leading archeologists (考古学家) says. In a letter addressed to the justice secretary, Ken Clarke, 40 archaeologists write of their “deep and widespread concern” about the issue. It centers on the law introduced by the Ministry of Justice in 2008 which requires all human remains unearthed in England and Wales to be reburied within two years, regardless of their age. The decision means scientists have too little time to study bones and other human remains of national and cultural significance.
“Your current requirement that all archaeologically unearthed human remains should be reburied, whether after a standard period of two years or a further special extension, is contrary to basic principles of archaeological and scientific research and of museum practice,” they write.
The law applies to any pieces of bone uncovered at around 400 dig sites, including the remains of 60 or so bodies found at Stonehenge in 2008 that date back to 3,000 BC. Archaeologists have been granted a temporary extension to give them more time, but eventuallly the bones will have to be returned to the ground.
The arrangements may result in the waste of future discoveries at sites such as Happisburgh in Norfolk, where digging is continuing after the discovery of stone tools made by early humans 950,000 years ago. If human remains were found at Happisburgh, they would be the oldest in northern Europe and the first indication of what this species was. Under the current practice of the law those remains would have to be reburied and effectively destroyed.
Before 2008, guidelines allowed for the proper preservation and study of bones of sufficient age and historical interest, while the Burial Act 1857 applied to more recent remains. The Ministry of Justice assured archaeologists two years ago that the law was temporary, but has so far failed to revise it.
Mike Parker Pearson, an archaeologist at Sheffield University, said: “Archaeologists have been extremely patient because we were led to believe the ministry was sorting out this problem, but we feel that we cannot wait any longer.”
The ministry has no guidelines on where or how remains should be reburied, or on what records should be kept.According to the passage, scientists are unhappy with the law mainly because ______.
| A．it is only a temporary measure on the human remains |
| B．it is unreasonable and thus destructive to scientific research |
| C．it was introduced by the government without their knowledge |
| D．it is vague about where and how to rebury human remains |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．Temporary extension of two years will guarantee scientists enough time. |
| B．Human remains of the oldest species were dug out at Happisburgh. |
| C．Human remains will have to be reburied despite the extension of time. |
| D．Scientists have been warned that the law can hardly be changed. |
What can be inferred about the British law governing human remains?
| A．The Ministry of Justice did not intend it to protect human remains. |
| B．The Burial Act 1857 only applied to remains uncovered before 1857. |
| C．The law on human remains hasn’t changed in recent decades. |
| D．The Ministry of Justice has not done enough about the law. |
Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
| A．New discoveries should be reburied, the government demands. |
| B．Research time should be extended, scientists require. |
| C．Law on human remains needs thorough discussion, authorities say. |
| D．Law could bury ancient secrets for ever, archeologists warn. |
I went on line to check if my pay was in my bank account（账户）. To my amazement I discovered that not only had I been paid, but a company I’d never worked for had also paid me! I know I would have been beside myself (情绪失控) if my own salary was not in my account, so I tried to get the money back to the right person. Easier said than done.
The bank couldn’t help as it “wasn’t a bank problem.” The human-resource department at the company that paid me was unable to help as I didn’t have enough details. I rang the bank again. Thankfully I had a sympathetic call operator who gave me a name, so I again rang the company “Daniel” worked for.
I expected the bank would contact me to arrange to take the money from my account and repay Daniel. I heard nothing for a month and the money remained in my account when Daniel called, explaining he’d tried to get back his money but had been unsuccessful as neither the bank nor his company felt it was their error. He had rung to ask if I could speak to the bank, but after chatting for a few minutes we realized we could probably fix this problem ourselves.
We decided I would take the money from my account and he would pick it up from me. Due to my busy job I was unable to meet Daniel personally but he left me a lovely bottle of wine in exchange for what was rightfully his. I never had any intention of keeping Daniel’s pay but red tape（繁琐手续）made it difficult to do the right thing. It all came down to two people being able to do what a huge bank and a large company couldn’t do — admit a mistake has occurred and fix it.What was the attitude of the author towards the extra money in his bank account?
| A．He didn’t know what to do with it. | B．He felt lucky to get it. |
| C．He thought of keeping it for himself. | D．He wanted to return it to the right person. |
How was the problem solved in the end?
| A．The author and Daniel solved the problem themselves. |
| B．It cost Daniel a lovely bottle of wine to get back his money. |
| C．The author gave the money back to the company. |
| D．The call operator offered to solve their problem. |
From the passage we can infer that _________.
| A．the bank could solve the problem soon and easily with the red tape |
| B．some large organizations usually have troublesome official rules |
| C．Daniel didn’t know the error until he contacted the author |
| D．it was easy for a company to have a mistake which had occurred fixed |
Job sharing refers to the situation in which two people divide the responsibility of one full-time job. The two people willingly act as part-time workers, enough hours between them to fulfill the duties of a full-time worker. If they each work half the job, for example, they each receive 50
per cent of the job’s wages, its holidays and its other benefits.
Job sharing differs from conventional part-time work in that it occurs mainly in the more highly skilled and professional areas, which require higher levels of responsibility and employee commitment.
Job sharing should not be confused with the term work sharing, which refers to increasing the number of jobs by reducing the number of hours of each existing job, thus offering more positions to the growing number of unemployed people. Job sharing, by contrast, is not designed to address unemployment problems; its focus, rather, is to provide well-paid work for skilled workers and professionals who want more free time for other activities.
As would be expected, most job sharers are women. A survey carried out in 1988 by Britain’s Equal Opportunities Commission showed that 78 per cent of sharers were female, the majority of whom were between 20 and 40 years of age. Subsequent studies have come up with similar results. Many of these women were re-entering the job market after having had children, but they chose not to seek part-time work because it would have meant lower status. Job sharing also offered an acceptable shift back into full-time work after a long absence.
The necessity of close cooperation when sharing a job with another person makes the actual work quite different from conventional one-position jobs. However, to ensure a greater chance that the partnership will succeed, each person needs to know the strengths, weaknesses and preferences of his or her partner before applying for a position. Moreover, there must be a fair division of both routine tasks and interesting ones. In sum, for a position to be job-shared well, the two individuals must be well matched and must treat each other as equals.In what way is work sharing different from job sharing?
| A．Work sharing is aimed at creating more jobs. |
| B．Work sharing requires more working hours. |
| C．Work sharing provides a more satisfactory salary. |
| D．Work sharing depends on the employer’s decision. |
According to Paragraph 4, young mothers preferred job sharing to conventional part-time work mainly because _________.
| A．they were over ideal working ages |
| B．they sought higher social status |
| C．they had difficulty finding full-time jobs |
| D．they had to take care of both work and family |
In job sharing the partners should __________.
| A．enjoy equal social status | B．have similar work experience |
| C．know each other very well | D．keep in touch with each other |
The main purpose of the passage is to ___________.
| A．discuss how to provide more jobs | B．describe job sharing in general |
| C．recommend job sharing to women | D．compare job sharing with work sharing |
“People should have one meat-free day a week if they want to make a personal and effective sacrifice that would help deal with climate change,” the world’s leading authority on global warming has told The Observer.
Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said that people should then go on to reduce their meat consumption even further.
Pachauri, who was re-elected the panel’s chairman for a second six-year term last week, said diet change was important because of the huge greenhouse gas emissions (排放) and other environmental problems associated with raising cattle and other animals. “It was relatively easy to change eating habits compared to changing means of transport,” he said.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation has estimated that meat production accounts for nearly a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. These are produced during the production. For example, ruminants (反刍动物), particularly cows, give off a gas called methane, which is 23 times more effective as a global warming agent than CO2.
Pachauri can expect some opposite responses from the food industry to his advice, though last night he was given unexpected support by Masterchef presenter and restaurateur John Torode. “I have a little bit and enjoy it,” said Torode. “Too much for any person is bad. But there’s a bigger issue here: where the meat comes from. If we all bought British and stopped buying imported food, we’d save a huge amount of carbon emissions.”
Professor Robert Watson, the chief scientific adviser for the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, said government could help educate people about the benefits of eating less meat, but it should not regulate. “Eating less meat would help, there’s no question about that,” Watson said.
However, Chris Lamb, head of marketing for pig industry group BPEX, said the meat industry had been unfairly targeted and was working hard to find out which activities had the biggest environmental impact and reduce them. “Some ideas were contradictory,” he said. “For example, one solution to emissions from cattle and other animals was to keep them indoors, but this would damage animal welfare. Climate change is a very young science and our view is there are a lot of simple solutions being proposed.”What is directly related to global warming?
| A．Consumption of meat. | B．Growth of cattle. |
| C．Methane from ruminants. | D．Processing of meat. |
Who holds a view opposite to the others’ in the passage?
| A．Rajendra Pachauri. | B．John Torode. | C．Robert Watson. | D．Chris Lamb. |
It is implied in the passage that _____.
| A．we should try to keep away from cattle | B．ruminants should not be left outdoors |
| C．the meat industry will soon close down | D．we must do our duty to save the earth |
Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Less meat, slower global warming |
| B．More animals, more greenhouse gas |
| C．Less imported food, better our environment |
| D．Greater diet change, smaller climate change |
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