第三部分阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
第一节：（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。
As Christmas approaches, towns and cities around the UK are preparing for a very British celebration．
The switching on of a town' s Christmas lights has become an increasingly competitive event over the years, with some councils （会议） spending lots of money to attract A-list famous persons to do the honors．
The American singer Mariah Carey flew to London in November to switch on the lights at one of the city's biggest shopping centers, while Jim Carrey lighted Oxford Street and promoted his new film at the same time．
Traffic in the historic English city of Bath was brought to a halt as thousands of fans crowded to see the Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage conducted the switching-on ceremony．
Some celebrations do not go according to the plan, as was seen in Birmingham when dozens of people were injured as the famous British boy band JLS took the stage．
Not all towns can afford to bring in an internationally-known star, so many switchon ceremonies are handled by ex-TV talent show competitors．
Pantomime （圣诞童话剧） stars are also much in demand at this time of year, as they aim to promote their Christmas shows．
But if your council hasn't got the budget to bring in a famous face, what are the cheaper alternatives?
A town in the west of England chose to let the public decide by giving their suggestions online．The result: a 21-year-old DIY store worker was given the honor．
"I was amazed and delighted to be asked," said Scott Parker, "it's just a special gift and not something I'd, ever thought about before．"
1．According to the passage, what kind of special celebration can you see at Christmas in UK?
A．People meeting their favorite stars and getting special gifts．
B．Well-known persons invited to make a performance in public．
C．A-list persons lighting Oxford Street and promoting their films．
D．Switching-on ceremonies that are conducted by honored persons．
2．The underlined word "halt" in Paragraph 4 probably means "______" ．
A．start B．stop C．ban D．run
3．Which of the followings can be learned from the passage?
A．Mariah Carey is invited to Bath to switch on the lights．
B．Pantomime stars rarely appear at events like this．
C．Not all those who switch on the Christmas lights can make lots of money．
D．Average persons can not get a chance to switch on the Christmas lights．
4．The following are famous persons EXCEPT _____．
A．Scott Parker B．Mariah Carey
C．Nicolas Cage D．Jim Carrey
Sharks have gained unfair reputation for being large fierce sea animals. That humanity’s unfounded fear and hatred of these ancient creatures are leading to a worldwide slaughter (大屠杀) may result in the extinct
ion of many larger, coastal shark species. The shark is the victim of a warped (有偏见的) attitude of wildlife protection; we strive (努力) only to protect the beautiful, non-threatening parts of our environment. And, in our efforts to restore only non-threat parts of our earth, we ignore other important parts.
A perfect illustration of this attitude is the contrasting attitude towards another large sea animal, the dolphin. During the 1980s, environmentalists in the United States objected to the practice of hunting tuna (金枪鱼) in the Pacific Ocean since these nets also caught dolphins. The environmentalists generated enough political and economic pressure to prevent tuna companies from buying tuna that had been caught in drift nets. In contrast to this effort, the populations of sharks in the Pacific Ocean have decreased to the point of extinction and there has been very little effort by the same environmentalism to save this important species of wildlife in water. Sharks are among the oldest creatures on earth, having survived in the seas for more than 350 million years. They are extremely efficient animals, feeding on wounded or dying animals, thus performing an important role in nature of knocking out the weaker animals in a species. Just the fact that species such as the Great White Shark have managed to live in the oceans for so many millions of years is enough proof of their efficiency and adaptability to changing environment. It is time for humans, who may not survive another 1,000 years at the rate they are damaging the planet, to cast away their fears and begin considering the protection of sharks as creatures that may provide us with an insight into our own survival. The best summary of the passage is __________.
| A．sharks have such a bad reputation |
| B．how sharks become some of the oldest creatures on earth |
| C．sharks should be put under wildlife protection |
| D．the campaign to save dolphins was not extended to save sharks |
How long have sharks been living on the planet?
| A．More than 25 million years. |
| B．More than 150 million years. |
| C．More than 350 million years. |
| D．More than 500 million years. |
Which of the following best describes the organization of this passage?
| A．Specific(细节) to general. | B．Cause and effect. |
| C．Statement and example. | D．Time order. |
How did environmentalists manage to protect dolphins?
| A．They prevented fishermen from selling them for meat. |
| B．They pressured fishermen into protecting dolphins by law. |
| C．They created shelters where dolphin fishing was not allowed. |
| D．They brought political pressure against tuna companies. |
What makes Americans spend nearly half their food dollars on meals away from home? The answers lie in the way Americans live today. During the first few decades of the twentieth century, canned and other convenience foods freed the family cook from full-time duty at the kitchen range. Then, in the 1940s, work in the wartime defense plants took more women out of the home than ever before, setting the pattern of the working wife and mother. Today about half of the country’s married women are employed outside the home. But, unless family members pitch in with food preparation, women are not fully liberated from that housework. Instead, many have become, in a sense, prisoners of the completely cooked convenience meals. It’s easier to pick up a bucket of fried chicken on the way home from work or take the family out for pizzas or burgers than to start opening cans or heating up frozen dinners after a long , hard day. Also, the rising divorce rate means that there are more single working parents with children to feed. And many young adults and elderly people, as well as unmarried and divorced mature people, live alone rather than as part of a family unit and don’t want to bother cooking for one.
Fast food is appealing because it is fast, it doesn’t require any dressing up, it offers a “fun” break in the daily outline, and the outlay of money seems small. It can be eaten in the car--- sometimes picked up at a drive-in window without even getting out---or on the run. Even if it is brought home to eat, there will never be any dirty dishes to wash because of the handy disposable (一次性的) wrappings. Children, especially, love fast food because it’s finger food, no struggling with knives and forks, no annoying instructions from adults about table manner.Americans enjoy fast food mainly because __________.
| A．it can be eaten in the car |
| B．it is much more tasty than home-made food |
| C．one only uses his fingers while eating it |
| D．it is time-saving and convenient |
It can be inferred that children __________.
| A．want to have more freedom at table |
| B．never wash dishes after each meal |
| C．are good at using forks and knives while eating |
| D．take eating time as a fun break |
Many Americans are eating out and not cooking at home partially because __________.
| A．they want to make a change after eating the same food for years at home |
| B．the food made outside home tastes better than food cooked at home |
| C．many of them live alone and don’t like taking trouble to cook |
| D．American women refuse to cook at home due to women’s liberation movement |
According to the text, a drive-in window is a __________.
| A．car window from which you can see the driver |
| B．window in the restaurant from which you get your takeout in the car |
| C．place where you check the mechanic condition of your car |
| D．place where you return the used plates after eating |
How the Americans view love
An old song says that " love makes the world go around" If you watch Americans on Valentine's Day, you can believe it. The whole country breaks out with little red hearts. Lovestruck people give cards, flowers and candy to their sweethearts.
The American concept of love and romance begins with dating. Young people date in several ways. At first they might have group dates with several boys and girls together. Later, they start going on single date - just one boy and one girl.
When two couples go out together, it's called double dating. A friend might even arrange a blind date for you with someone you don't know who your partner will be until the time of the date.
American young people see a date as a time just to have fun. They don't always have a romantic interest in mind. Someone may go out with one person this week, and another the next. After a while, a boy and a girl may decide they want to go steady. This means they think of each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. It also
means they don't want to date anyone else. Romance is beginning to bloom.
Romance love is v
ery much a part of American culture. Movies, TV shows and books in America all picture people falling in love. Actually, people all over the world search for happiness in a loving relationship. Maybe love does make the world go around. How do you understand the understand sentence in the first paragraph?
| A．Many young people's hearts break in America that day. |
| B．You can see many pictures of little red hearts all over America that day. |
| C．People all over the world show their hearts to each other that day. |
D．people go out with their warm hearts t hat day |
How many ki
nds of dates a
re mentioned in the passage?
| A．2 | B．3 | C．4 | D．5 |
What does blind date mean?
| A．You can not see who is your partner during the date. |
| B．The partner of your date is a stranger. |
| C．Your date is arranged secretly. |
| D．You will not know your partner until the date begins. |
W
hich of the following statement is true about American's view of romantic?
| A．Romance love is the most important thing in the world |
| B．People all over the world search for romance love |
| C．Date is one thing, romantic is another. |
| D．They can find their ideal love in movies, TV shows and books |
The holiday's upon us. Finally, after months of study, you have some time to yourself. so, why not read a book? Well, some people will say, "Why bother with books? We have the Internet
and other media that offer a lot more colorful entertainment. Books are history!" But don't be fooled. There's still a lot to be said for reading.
One clear reason is that a well-chosen book is a wonderful source of vocabulary, so long as you have a good dictionary, of course. Believe me, it's far easier to get new English words and phrases from a book or article than it is from the TV or the Internet.
But an even more important point is that books give you something that modern media simply can not. The average webpage is picture-heavy and the text is often designed to make it as easy to read as possible. While "easy" may be attractive, unfortunately it's little use for many long-term develo
pment 
of reading skills and the general language level. For that, there's still no substitute (替代品）of a book.
But perhaps the best single reason is that simply choosing what you read and doing it independently means that it's something you do by yourself. You can choose what you want to read. It's hard work, but something down the line, you will find that what once seemed like a duty is now a pleasure. We asked three bookworms -- an English teacher, a book editor and a film critic - to pick some favorite reads for you. How many reasons for reading a book does the author mention in the passage?
| A．One | B．Two | C．Three | D．Four |
According to this passage, we basically need a ______ in reading.
| A．computer | B．dictionary | C．notebook | D．pencil |
In the author's opinion, reading on the Internet may ________
| A．develop long-term reading skills | B．improve the general language ability |
| C．not take the place of reading books | D．be an effective way of reading |
The passage is written mainly to ____________.
| A．share the pleasure of reading books | B．advise readers to read books |
| C．stress the importance of reading online. | D．help readers to choose good books. |
You are walking down the street, minding your own business when you see a snowball. No big deal, right? Except the snowball is as tall as you are. And weighs about a ton. Did we mention that it is June?
That’s the experience thousand of Londoners had when they crossed paths with “ Snowball in Summer,” Goldsworthy makes sculpture （雕塑）from all sorts of things he finds outside – leaves, earth, and rocks, as well as ice and snow. He wanted to find out how busy people would react to an unexpected snowball melting in their midst.
During the winter of 2008, he rolled 13 giant snowballs near his home in Scotland. He filled each one with a surprise in the center – such as berries, feathers, little stones or sheep’s wool – which would appear as the snow melted. The finished snowballs were stored in a deep freeze until summer, then transported to London in refrigerated trucks. At midnight on June 21, 2008, while the city slept, Goldsworthy and his helpers rolled their snowballs into place.
People walking to work or school must have thought the sky was falling when they stumbled across snowballs the size of baby elephants. Some of them had never even seen snow in real life, and they couldn’t help touching them in great surprise. As the snow started to melt, things got even more interesting. The perfectly round snowballs took on different shapes as the stuff inside began to poke through. Two days later, most of Goldsworthy’s snowballs were gone, and their fillings scattered. But Londoners were left with a really good story about that odd summer day when the snowball came. What is really special about the snowballs is that ______________________.
| A．they lie in the street |
| B．they are in the shape of baby elephants. |
| C．they have berries, feathers, little stones and feathers in them. |
| D．they appear in June. |
What was the purpose of Goldsworthy in making the snowballs?
| A．To find out people’s reactions to them |
| B．To call up people’s memory of the cold winter. |
| C．To show off his skills in sculpture. |
| D．To let people experience the cold winter. |
Why did Gold
sworthy and his helpers roll their snowballs into place at mid-night?
A. They didn’t want to disturb other people.
B. It was quite at that time.
C. They wanted to avoid the traffic jam.
D, They wanted to give people a surprise.
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