第二节：（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中选出最佳选项。
Writer and power chair adventurer Mary Laver has not walked for twenty years. Yet the cheerful and positive 60 year old is not only refusing to let her disability get her down ---- she is also planning to cross the length of Britain in a power wheelchair.
Getting ready for the trip is not easy. She has already run into many problems - not least officials and organizations who view her as a health and safety risk. One police officer wrote to Mary requesting:
1. The proposed route through our area with road numbers.
2. The dates and times each day that this will be taking place.
3. The location details of the proposed overnight stops.
4. The names and mobile phone contact details of the Support Crew.
Another police officer asked her to travel off road! As Mary told me, this was unacceptable - as a power wheelchair user with limited movement she needs to be "gettable".
There are other problems in her way though - she is, after all, in her 60's and has severe rheumatoid arthritis(风湿性关节炎). However, unlike many other people with arthritis, she is no longer in pain.
"When you are in a power chair and it is going at eight miles an hour, believe me it feels fast … to
me it is the Formula One(一级方程式赛车) chair of electric wheelchairs."
At the end of the interview, I asked Mary if she had a message for any other power chair users who wanted to do a challenge, and her reply was simple："Just do it!"
41.What is Mary Laver planning to do？
A. Travel to write a power wheelchair adventure.
B. Travel across Britain in a power wheelchair.
C. Prove she can do what a man can in driving.
D. Try a fast Formula One power chair sport.
42.Why did a police officer write to Mary requesting the four points?
A. He tried to stop her . B. Mary’s adventure is valueless.
C. The power chair is too fast. D. He wanted to ensure her safety.
43.The underlined word “She needs to be gettable” in the passage probably means “_______”
A. She’ll have a try whatever difficulties she may have.
B. A road for a power wheelchair user is a must for her.
C. Mary has to jump off her wheelchair once on the road.
D. With rheumatoid arthritis, she need some field help.
44. When Mary said “Just do it !” at the end of the interview, she meant “_______”
A. Be brave though disabled. B. Fear no challenges at all.
C. Take action right away. D. Make it whoever you are.
If a diver surfaces too quickly, he may suffer the bends. Nitrogen (氮) dissolved (溶解) in his blood is suddenly liberated by the reduction of pressure. The consequence, if the bubbles (气泡) accumulate in a joint, is sharp pain and a bent body—thus the name. If the bubbles form in his lungs or his brain, the consequence can be death.
Other air-breathing animals also suffer this decompression (减压) sickness if they surface too fast: whales, for example. And so, long ago, did ichthyosaurs. That these ancient sea animals got the bends can be seen from their bones. If bubbles of nitrogen form inside the bone they can cut off its blood supply. This kills the cells in the bone, and consequently weakens it, sometimes to the point of collapse. Fossil (化石) bones that have caved in on themselves are thus a sign that the animal once had the bends.
Bruce Rothschild of the University of Kansas knew all this when he began a study of ichthyosaur bones to find out how widespread the problem was in the past. What he particularly wanted to investigate was how ichthyosaurs adapted to the problem of decompression over the 150 million years. To this end, he and his colleagues traveled the world’s natural-history museums, looking at hundreds of ichthyosaurs from the Triassic period and from the later Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
When he started, he assumed that signs of the bends would be rarer in younger fossils, reflecting their gradual evolution of measures to deal with decompression. Instead, he was astonished to discover the opposite. More than 15% of Jurassic and Cretaceous ichthyosaurs had suffered the bends before they died, but not a single Triassic specimen (标本) showed evidence of that sort of injury.
If ichthyosaurs did evolve an anti-decompression means, they clearly did so quickly—and, most strangely, they lost it afterwards. But that is not what Dr Rothschild thinks happened. He suspects it was evolution in other animals that caused the change.
Whales that suffer the bends often do so because they have surfaced to escape a predator (捕食动物) such as a large shark. One of the features of Jurassic oceans was an abundance of large sharks and crocodiles, both of which were fond of ichthyosaur lunches. Triassic oceans, by contrast, were mercifully shark- and crocodile-free. In the Triassic, then, ichthyosaurs were top of the food chain. In the Jurassic and Cretaceous, they were prey (猎物) as well as predator—and often had to make a speedy exit as a result.Which of the following is a typical symptom of the bends?
| A．A twisted body. |
| B．A gradual decrease in blood supply. |
| C．A sudden release of nitrogen in blood. |
| D．A drop in blood pressure. |
The purpose of Rothschild’s study is to see ______.
| A．how often ichthyosaurs caught the bends |
| B．how ichthyosaurs adapted to decompression |
| C．why ichthyosaurs bent their bodies |
| D．when ichthyosaurs broke their bones |
Rothschild’s finding stated in Paragraph 4 ______.
| A．confirmed his assumption | B．speeded up his research process |
| C．disagreed with his assumption | D．changed his research objectives |
Rothschild might have concluded that ichthyosaurs ______.
| A．failed to evolve an anti-decompression means |
| B．gradually developed measures against the bends |
| C．died out because of large sharks and crocodiles |
| D．evolved an anti-decompression means but soon lost it |
We’ve considered several ways of paying to cut in line: hiring line standers, buying tickets from scalpers (票贩子), or purchasing line-cutting privileges directly from, say, an airline or an amusement park. Each of these deals replaces the morals of the queue (waiting your turn) with the morals of the market (paying a price for faster service).
Markets and queues—paying and waiting—are two different ways of allocating things, and each is appropriate to different activities. The morals of the queue, “First come, first served, have an egalitarian (平等主义的) appeal. They tell us to ignore privilege, power, and deep pockets.
The principle seems right on playgrounds and at bus stops. But the morals of the queue do not govern all occasions. If I put my house up for sale, I have no duty to accept the first offer that comes along, simply because it’s the first. Selling my house and waiting for a bus are different activities, properly governed by different standards.
Sometimes standards change, and it is unclear which principle should apply. Think of the recorded message you hear, played over and over, as you wait on hold when calling your bank: “Your call will be answered in the order in which it was received.” This is essential for the morals of the queue. It’s as if the company is trying to ease our impatience with fairness.
But don’t take the recorded message too seriously. Today, some people’s calls are answered faster than others. Call center technology enables companies to “score” incoming calls and to give faster service to those that come from rich places. You might call this telephonic queue jumping.
Of course, markets and queues are not the only ways of allocating things. Some goods we distribute by merit, others by need, still others by chance. However, the tendency of markets to replace queues, and other non-market ways of allocating goods is so common in modern life that we scarcely notice it anymore. It is striking that most of the paid queue-jumping schemes we’ve considered—at airports and amusement parks, in call centers, doctors’ offices, and national parks—are recent developments, scarcely imaginable three decades ago. The disappearance of the queues in these places may seem an unusual concern, but these are not the only places that markets have entered.According to the author, which of the following seems governed by the principle “First come, first served”?
| A．Taking buses. | B．Buying houses. |
| C．Flying with an airline. | D．Visiting amusement parks. |
The example of the recorded message in Paragraphs 4 and 5 illustrates ______.
| A．the necessity of patience in queuing |
| B．the advantage of modern technology |
| C．the uncertainty of allocation principle |
| D．the fairness of telephonic services |
The passage is meant to ______.
| A．justify paying for faster services |
| B．discuss the morals of allocating things |
| C．analyze the reason for standing in line |
| D．criticize the behavior of queue jumping |
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 Guest ServicesFront Gate Guest Services can help you with anything from finding out what time your favourite show starts to purchasing tickets. The Guest Services location inside Front Gate also serves as a message centre, lost children's area and lost and found. Canada's Wonderland does not offer personalized public paging (传呼). |
 Food & Drink OptionsShops are located throughout Canada's Wonderland. Picnic baskets and coolers are welcome at the shelter located outside Wonderland on the north side of our Front Gate. Outside food and drinks are not allowed in the park. Bottled water may be brought into the Park. |
 ATMsATMs are located just inside the Park beside Stroller, Locker and Wheelchair Rentals at the Front Gate, as well as KidZville (beside Guest Services), Splash Works (two locations), and outside Thunder Run. |
 Pet CareA pet care facility is located outside our Front Gate on the south side for a daily fee. Water and air-conditioned shelters are provided. Guests are asked to provide food and exercise. |
 First AidIf you need medical assistance, tell any park employee who will call First Aid and have them come to your location. |
 Stroller, Locker and Wheelchair RentalsStroller, locker and wheelchair rentals are available inside the Park at the Front Gate, beside Thrills Are Wonderland. |
 HIQ Smoking PolicySmoking is not permitted while riding or standing in line for rides or in any of the children's areas or the Water Park. Smoking is permitted in designated (指定的) areas only. |
Failure to observe all Park rules could result in being driven out of the Park without refund. |
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The leaflet is to inform visitors of the Park's.
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A visitor to the Park can.
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Sparrow is a fast-food chain with 200 restaurants. Some years ago, the group to which Sparrow belonged was taken over by another company. Although Sparrow showed no sign of declining, the chain was generally in an unhealthy state. With more and more fast-food concepts reaching the market, the Sparrow menu had to struggle for attention. And to make matters worse, its new owner had no plans to give it the funds it required.
Sparrow failed to grow for another two years. Until a new CEO, Carl Pearson, decided to build up its market share. He did a survey, which showed that consumers who already used Sparrow restaurants were extremely positive about the chain, while customers of other fast-food chains were unwilling to turn away from them. Sparrow had to develop a new promotional campaign.
Pearson faced a battle over the future of the Sparrow brand. The chain's owner now favored rebranding Sparrow as Marcy's restaurants. Pearson resisted, arguing for an advertising campaign designed to convince customers that visits to Sparrow restaurants were fun. Such an attempt to establish a positive relationship between a company and the general public was unusual for that time. Pearson strongly believed that numbers were the key to success, rather than customers' speeding power. Finally, the owner accepted his idea.
The campaign itself changed the traditional advertising style of the fast-food industry. The TV ads of Sparrow focused on entertainment and featured original songs performed by a variety of stars. Instead of showing the superiority of a specific product, the intention was to put Sparrow in the hearts of potential customers.
Pearson also made other decisions which he believed would contribute to the new Sparrow image. For example, he offered to lower the rent of any restaurants which achieved a certain increase in their turnover (营业额) .
These efforts paid off, and Sparrow soon became one of the most successful fast-food chains in the regions where it operated.
| 1． |
Which was one of the problems Sparrow faced before Pearson became CEO?
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| 2． |
What does the underlined word "them" in Paragraph 2 refer to?
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| 3． |
For what purpose did Pearson start the advertising campaign?
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| 4． |
The TV ads of Sparrow.
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| 5． |
What was Pearson's achievement as a CEO?
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You can't always predict a heavy rain or remember your umbrella. But designer Mikhail Belvacv doesn't think that forgetting to check the weather forecast before heading out should result in you getting wet. That's why he created lampbrella, a lamp post with its own rain sensing umbrella.
The designer says he come up with the idea after watching people get wet on streets in Russia. "once, I was driving on a central Saint Petersburg street and saw the street lamps lighting up people trying to hide from the rain. I thought it would be appropriate to have a canopy(伞蓬)built into a street lamp." he said.
The lampbrella is a standard-looking street lamp fitted with an umbrella canopy. It has a built-in electric motor which can open or close the umbrella on demand. Sensors(传感器)then ensure that the umbrella offers pedestrians shelter whenever it starts raining.
In addition to the rain sensor, there's also a 360°motion sensor on the biberglass street lamp which detects whether anyone's using the lampbrella. After three minutes of not being used the canopy is closed.
According to the designer, the lampbrella would move at a relatively low speed, so as not to cause harm to the pedestrians. Besides, it would be grounded to protect from possible lighting strike. Each lampbrella would offer enough shelter for several people. Being installed at 2 meters off the ground, it would only be a danger for the tallest of pedestrians.
While there are no plans to take lampbrella into production, Belyacv says he recently introduced his creation one Moscow Department, and insists this creation could be installed on any street where a lot of people walk but there are no canopies to provide shelter.
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For what purpose did Belyacv create the lampbrella?
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| 2． |
What do we know from Belyacv's words in Paragraph 2?
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| 3． |
Which of the following show how the lampbrella works?
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| 4． |
What does paragraph 5 mainly tell us about the lampbrella?
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| 5． |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
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