Zoe Chambers was a successful PR(Public Relations) consultant and life was going well—she had a great job, a beautiful flat and a busy social life in London. Then one evening in June last year, she received a text message telling her she was out of work. “The first two weeks were the most difficult to live through,” she said. “After everything I’d done for the company, they dismissed me by text! I was so angry and I just didn’t feel like looking for another job. I hated everything about the city and my life.”
Then, Zoe received an invitation from an old school friend, Kathy, to come and stay. Kathy and her husband, Huw, had just bought a farm in north-west Wales. Zoe jumped at the chance to spend a weekend away from London, and now, ten months later, she is still on the farm.
“The moment I arrived at Kathy’s farm, I loved it and I knew I wanted to stay,” said Zoe. “Everything about my past life suddenly seemed meaningless.”
Zoe has been working on the farm since October of last year and says she has no regrets. “It’s a hard life, physically very tiring,” she says. “In London I was stressed and often mentally exhausted. But this is a good, healthy tiredness. Here, all I need to put me in a good mood is a hot bath and one of Kathy’s wonderful dinners.”
Zoe says she has never felt bored on the farm. Every day brings a new experience. Kathy has been teaching her how to ride a horse and she has learnt to drive a tractor. Since Christmas, she has been helping with the lambing—watching a lamb being born is unbelievable, she says, “It’s one of the most moving experiences I’ve ever had. I could never go back to city life now.”
1. When working as a PR consultant in London, Zoe thought she lived a ______ life.
A. satisfying B. tough C. meaningless D. boring
2 The most important reason why Zoe went to visit Kathy’s farm is that _________.
A. Zoe lost her job as a PR consultant B. Kathy persuaded her to do so
C. Zoe got tired of the city life D. Zoe loved Wales more than London
3. How does Zoe feel about the country life according to the passage? ______.
A. Tiresome and troublesome B. Romantic and peaceful
C. Mentally exhausting but healthy D. Physically tiring but rewarding
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Larry Walters’boyhood dream was to fly. After finishing school, Larry joined the U.S. Air Force, but was refused from pilot-training school because of poor eyesight. However, his dream remained.
Larry, aged 33, was a truck driver in Los Angeles. One day, while sitting outside and watching jets fly overhead, an idea came to him to use weather balloons to fly.
A few weeks later, Larry bought 42 weather balloons. He tied them to a chair and filled them with helium(氦). Then he sat down in the chair with some beer, sandwiches and a BB gun. Larry’s plan was to float about 10 meters above his backyard, enjoy a few hours in the air, and then pop some balloons with his gun to get back down. But things did not go according to Larry’s plan.
When his friends cut the lines, Larry lifted by the 42 balloons and shot skyward at an astonishing speed. He finally settled at an altitude of 4,000 meters. Afraid to pop any of the balloons, in case he should break the balance of his “craft”, Larry sat, cold and frightened, in the sky for 14 hours.
Airline pilots heading toward Los Angeles’busy international airport radioed in reports of the strange sight. Larry’s presence in the sky caused numerous planes to change their routes. Eventually, Larry worked up the nerve to shoot a few balloons and landed in power lines. Uninjured, he climbed down to safety and was arrested by waiting police.
Larry set a record for a gas-filled balloon flight. But it cost him. He was later fined $1,500 for breaking air safety regulations.
68. What’s the BB gun used for in the passage?
A. To protect Larry from unexpected danger. B. To fill the balloons with gas.
C. To shoot the balloons to get him back. D. To fight with the waiting police.
69. It turned out that Larry________.
A. floated about 10 meters high B. remained in the sky for 14 hours
C. set a world record in making balloons D. became a truck driver after the flight
70. The underlined part in Paragraph 5 most probably means ____.
A. watched carefully B. gathered his courage
C. kept his balance D. climbed down
71. It can be learned from the passage that________.
A. Larry’s boyhood dream came true in the end
B. Larry’s disappearance in the sky caused much trouble
C. Larry won a prize of $1,500 for his bravery
D. Larry was not accepted as a pilot for his poor hearing
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China to sell yuan bonds (国库券) abroad
China has announced its first sale of government bonds yuan outside the mainland.
The government will sell 6bn yuan of bonds in Hong Kong to “improve the international status of the yuan,” the finance ministry said.
The sale is a milestone as China opens up its financial markets and promotes RMB as a world benchmark(基准点) .
Hundreds arrested in deadly Uganda riots(暴乱)
At least 640 people were arrested and 14 killed in fighting in Uganda’s capital between government forces and loyalists of a traditional kingdom. The number of people arrested for suspected roles in the three-day riots could go up because investigations are still under way, said Kale Kayihura, the nation’s police chief.
“French Spiderman” conquered the 88-story Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur
Now 47, Robert has climbed some of the tallest buildings in the world, typically without the aid of safety equipment. On Sept. 1, armed with nothing but the chalk on his hands and some good climbing shoes, the “French Spiderman” added the 88-story Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur to his impressive list—which now totals more than 70—of skyscrapers(摩天大楼) climbed up.
Motorway lights go out
The Highway Agency has decided to turn off lights at undisclosed locations between midnight and 5 a.m. from March. It has done so despite warnings from motoring groups and safety campaigners. Nine councils have already switched off some street lights or plan to do so to save money and cut carbon emissions (排放物).
64. We can learn from the passage that ____.
A. China has sold 6bn yuan of bonds in Hong Kong
B. more suspected people will probably be arrested in Uganda
C. about 654 people took part in the Uganda riots
D. the riots will last another three days
65. How many skyscrapers has Robert conquered so far?
A. exactly 47 B. over 70 C. about 88 D. less than 158
66. The disadvantage of turning off motorway lights includes ____.
A. saving money B. cutting carbon emissions
C. causing safety problems D. decreasing the number of cars
67. All of the fields are mentioned except____ .
A. politics B. health C. traffic D. people
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The third theme of geography is movement. As people travel around the world, exchanging goods, ideas and interests, the global community is transformed. Take surfing, for example, the sport originated in Hawaii centuries ago. Today, the cry “surf up!” can be heard along coastlines everywhere.
Europeans were the first Westerners to observe the sport. In 1779, Captain Cook, a British explorer, and his crew sailed around the Sandwich Islands ( Now Hawaii ). Near the rocky coast of the Big Island, they witnessed a man riding a wave while standing on a board.
Cook was stricken by what he saw. Hawaiians would pray for good waves and hold ceremonies when building surfboards. Their boards were built according to rank: Chiefs used long boards (16 to 18 feet long ), while commoners used shorter ones (6 to 8 feet long ).
After the arrival of Europeans, Hawaiian surf culture declined. Many Hawaiians died of European-borne diseases. Also, Christian missionaries (传教士) spread the belief that surfing was “ignorant (愚昧的)fun”.
These conditions changed after Hawaii became a United States territory in 1900( It became a state in 1959.) Travelers to the islands brought back stories of wave riding. Tales of the thrilling sport spread across the U.S., then to the rest of the world.
Today, surfing is the king of board sports. According to wannasurf.com, the world has nearly 8,000 “surf spots” in 136 countries on 6 continents. The Association of Surfing professionals (ASP) holds an annual world tour in which top riders compete for millions of fans on the waves.
top-5 countries with surf spots
country NO. of Sports
United States 1375
Australia 1160
South Africa 575
France 352
New Zealand 338
60. According to the passage , surfing originated in________.
A. Britain B. Europe C. America D. France
61. Which of the following is TRUE?
A. Captain Cook was interested in surfing.
B. There are no surf spots in Asia.
C. In Hawaii, everyone was equal in sports.
D. Surfing is the third theme of geography.
62. The underlined word in the fourth paragraph probably means________.
A. excited Europeans B. gradually lost its strength
C. died out D. became more and more popular
63 What would be the best title for the text?
A. The spread of surf culture. B. The history of surf culture.
C. The rebirth of surf culture. D. The advantages of surf culture.
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第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每题2分，满分40分）
请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项.
The three most valuable brand(商标)names on earth : Marlboro, Coca-cola and Budweiser, in that order.
It’s interesting that of the three most valuable brand names on earth, NONE of them are good for you.
Cigarettes kill 370,000 people a year in the U.S., not counting passive smoke. That’s over 1,000 people per day, equaling to five giant jets crashing daily. The estimates are that passive cigarette smoke kills over 15,000 people per year. That’s more than illegal drugs.
Coke is a solid company, but let’s face it, carbonated(含二氧化碳的) soft drinks of any brand are not healthy for you. There was a fellow parked in my driveway years ago. We were talking and he was drinking a cola. For some reason I had moved the cola and placed it on the hood (发动机罩) of his car.
“Don’t put that drink on my car!” he shouted. “Don’t you know the acid(酸) in that drink will eat the paint off my car?” he said. He quickly took the drink and finished drinking it.
The third most valuable brand in the world is a beer.
It’s interesting what we value the most. You can’t control what the world values. You can only control what you value.
What do you value? Is it really valuable?
One method of determining what you really value is to try to do without it. If you can’t do it without it, then that’s what you value.
Are you trying to get to the mountaintop with a cigarette in your mouth, a soda in one hand, and a beer in the other because those are the things that you can’t do without?
Stop and think about your real treasures.“For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also ...”
56. According to the passage, Budweiser refers to____ .
A. a kind of cigarette B. a kind of soft drink
C. a kind of paint D. a kind of beer
57. How many people are killed by passive cigarette smoke per day?
A. about 1,000 B. about 15,000 C. about 40 D. about 370,000
58. Why did the fellow take the cola and finish drinking it immediately?
A. Because cola was good for his health.
B. Because cola would damage the paint of his car.
C. Because he was very thirsty then.
D. Because he wanted to apologize to me.
59. What is the purpose of the text?
A. To give advice on how to determine what you value most.
B. To encourage people to give up smoking and drinking.
C. To warn people not to believe advertisements.
D. To tell people to have a clear mind about what is really valuable.
.
The Kingdome in Seattle was destroyed on March 26, 2000. It was taken down to make room for a new stadium. The blast(爆破) from the falling building caused the earth to shake as if an earthquake had happened.
Scientists placed more than 200 earthquake recorders in the earth to measure the movement. They found which parts of the city shook the most. This information helped them know which parts of the city would be damaged in a real earthquake at an early time.
A real earthquake happened on February 28, 2001 in Seattle. The Nisqually earthquake was 6.8 on the Richter scale(里氏6.8级). It damaged the same parts of Seattle that scientists had predicted(预测) from the pulling down of the Kingdome. It was a plate quake. It started deep in the earth, 37 miles below the surface on the Juan de Fuca Plate. Sometimes, huge plates under the earth cause earthquakes when the plates move against each other suddenly.
Scientists have learned that deep earthquakes have very few aftershocks(余震). The Nisqually earthquake had only 4 ones. Another earthquake in California that was close to the surface had over 120 aftershocks. Scientists do not know why the deep earthquakes have fewer aftershocks.
Scientists plan to blast in the ground near Seattle with the purpose of testing the plate. The shockwaves from the blast will jump off the plate and give them an idea of where the plate is and how it is moving. This will give them more information in case another real earthquake hits the area.
72． According to the passage, ______ have the most aftershocks.
A．shockwave earthquakes B．shallow earthquakes
C．deep earthquakes D．earthquakes more than 6.8 Richter scale
73．What do scientists hope to learn from the blast above the Juan de Fuca Plate?
A．They hope to learn where the plate is and how it is moving.
B．They want to destroy the Kingdome.
C．They want to know which places are likely to have the most damage.
D．They hope to find out how many plates there are in the ground there.
74．Why were the scientists interested in the pulling down of the Seattle Kingdome?
A．They wanted to see which areas near the Kingdome would shake the hardest.
B．They wanted to predict what might happen in a real earthquake.
C．They wanted to measure the movement of the Earth with earthquake recorders.
D．All of the above.
75．What will happen after a deep earthquake according to the scientists?
A．There will be many aftershocks.
B．There will be very few aftershocks.
C．The Richter scale of the quakes will be a 6.8 or more.
D．There will be little damage.
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