第三部分阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40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, 并在答题卡将该项涂黑。
Tears are nature’s way of making us feel more comfortable. When our eyes is made uncomfortable by some small pieces of pollution, or when we are cutting onions, or when we are worn out and “red-eyes” from over work and late hours, tears form in our eyes to clean and refresh them.
Tears are also a sign of strong emotion. We cry when we are sad and we cry when we are happy.
And tears seem to be uniquely human. We know that animals also experience emotion fear, pleasure, loneliness, but they do not shed (流) tears.
Biologically speaking, tears are actually drops of saline fluid, which is a little bit salty, produced by a gland (腺) in the body. Because salt is an important part, tears may actually constitute（构成）the most conclusive evidence that the human animal is the end product of a long evolutionary process that began in the sea.
And it is clear that, in addition to the emotional benefits, the shedding of tears has a specific biological function as well. Through tears, from our body we can get rid of certain chemicals which build up in response to stress and create a chemical imbalance in the body. Crying actually makes us feel better by correcting that imbalance and making us feel good again. And thus the emotional and the biological functions of tears merge (合并) into one and make us even more “human” than we would otherwise be.
56. According to the passage, human beings may have originated（起源）in __________.
A. the sea B. the salt C. chemicals D. animals
57. Which of the following is NOT a function of tears?
A. Biological. B. Emotional. C. Political. D. Chemical.
58. According to the article, which of the following is unique to humans?
A. The feeling of loneliness. B. The state of feeling good.
C. The ability to shed tears. D. The feeling of fear.
59. Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?
A. Tears are a sign of strong emotion.
B. Tears are always making us feel more comfortable.
C. Tears are uniquely human.
D. Tears have certain biological function.
The U.S. government’s push to decrease the nation’s output of greenhouse gases by increasing the fuel efficiency of the cars Americans drive is arousing again an emotional argument: Does driving a small, fuel-efficient car make you more likely to die on the road?
Engineers and statistical analysts can point to data that suggest more-efficient cars don’t necessarily put motorists at greater overall risk. But most of us care less about the “overall” risk than we do about ourselves. Driving a big Chevrolet Tahoe SUV makes many of us believe we are safer than we would be in a smaller car — even if statistical measures across a large population of vehicles and all kinds of car accidents suggest the advantage of safety isn’t quite as wide as SUV owners believe.
The Obama government has put the fuel-efficiency and safety question back on the front burner by calling for new-vehicle fuel economy to rise to an average of 35 miles per gallon (加仑) by 2020 from about 25 mpg today. That goal could move higher if the government decides to adopt California’s requirement to cut vehicle greenhouse-gas giving off, which would result in stricter mileage standards.
Those moves, and the effects of last summer’s gas-price shock, are driving auto makers to offer cars such as the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit and Daimler AG’s Smart For Two — which get the kind of mileage today that law says should be the average in a decade. Beyond that, auto makers will launch a wide range of new compact (紧凑的) vehicles, and decrease production of large, body-on-frame SUVs.
That’s leading to new concerns about “green safety”, a term for managing the balance between reducing vehicle size for efficiency and adding safety and protection features that tend to make vehicles heavier and less efficient. Undoubtedly, further work has to be done before Americans make the choice.The U.S. government requires to improve the fuel efficiency in order to ________.
A. push Americans to drive smaller cars
B. reduce the output of greenhouse gases
C. drive auto makers to produce fewer SUVs
C. cause Americans to make an argumentAccording to Paragraph 2, engineers and analysts’ idea ________.
| A．fails to relieve people of their worry about safety |
| B．persuades people to purchase smaller cars instead of SUVs |
| C．is based on research and therefore persuasive enough |
| D．makes people think of their safety as well as others’ |
About the Obama government’s new moves, the auto makers are ________ and average
Americans are ________.
| A．uncertain; positive | B．doubtful; uncertain |
| C．supportive; positive | D．positive; uncertain |
The best title for the text should be ________.
| A．New Law Reduces Greenhouse Gases Output |
| B．Can Small Cars Overcome Accident Fears? |
| C．New Compact Cars Gets Popular in the U.S. |
| D．Do We Have to Follow the Government? |
On warm summer days with little or no wind, the air temperature in cities can be up to ten degrees higher than that of the surrounding countryside. This is a phenomenon commonly referred to as the “urban heat island” effect.
This phenomenon happens when pavement, buildings, and other infrastructure (基础设施) replace natural land cover. Large amounts of paved and dark colored surfaces—such as roofs, roads, and parking lots—absorb, rather than reflect, the sun’s heat, causing surface temperatures and overall ambient (周围的) air temperature to rise. Unlike soil, paved areas contribute to runoff, which means that as paved areas increase, the amount of water available for evaporation (蒸发) decreases. Moreover, urban areas have fewer trees and less natural vegetation which help to control the heat by providing shade and blocking solar radiation. The surfaces of leaves also provide water for evaporation which cools the air, further worsening the heat island effect.
In particular, during summer, more energy is required to cool the insides of building and for refrigeration, thereby creating additional heat output. This in turn leads to higher ambient air temperatures, which can also significantly increase the formation of urban smog in an area, degrading local air quality. Such a situation may directly affect public health with individuals more likely to suffer from heat exhaustion and the effects of asthma (哮喘). The underlined part in Paragraph 2 means ________.
| A．Due to dark colored roads, urban areas are becoming hotter each year |
| B．Dark colored surfaces reflect the sun’s heat, causing air temperatures to rise |
| C．Because urban surfaces absorb heat, air and surface temperatures increase |
| D．Rising ambient air temperatures lead to urban surfaces absorbing more heat |
Which of the following is not a cause of the urban heat island effect?
| A．The lack of trees |
| B．The demand for refrigeration |
| C．The blocking of solar radiation |
| D．The construction of infrastructure. |
The underlined word “degrading” most probably means ________.
| A．ignoring | B．improving |
| C．highlighting | D．worsening |
The passage is mainly developed by ________.
| A．giving typical examples |
| B．following the time order |
| C．presenting the effect and analyzing the cause |
| D．analyzing a problem and seeking the solution |
More and more pupils are giving teachers presents, but the practice only creates insecurity in parents and staff.
I’ve certainly noticed some pupils being feverishly overgenerous of late. Last year, I received not one bottle of wine but four for helping a disaffected pupil through his GCSEs. By and large, my colleagues report the gifts differing along gender lines. Gentlemen get ties, mugs, booze and, if they’re really lucky, tickets to football matches. The ladies are often presented with flowers, jewels, chocolates and so on.
When my son was at private school, I noticed there was a real competitiveness between the students about giving presents to teachers, with expensive baskets from fancy stores and huge bouquets being handed out on the last days of term. Since my wife and I only let my son give thank-you cards, it was clear we were not “classy”. Now he is at an inner-city primary, we’ve noticed that this kind of nonsense seems to have more or less disappeared. For one thing, there isn’t that kind of money floating around – but there isn’t that kind of competitive culture either.
Personally, I think gifts to teachers should be banned beyond the thank-you card: they cause many more problems than they solve, creating insecurity in both parents and staff. Perhaps the recession and the lack of money in people’s pockets might be a good excuse for the government to issue some guidelines to schools that gifts shouldn’t be accepted by teachers.
The gifts that I really value are the cards which say a genuine thank you. I still keep them in a file at home.What can the author most probably be?
| A．A teacher. | B．A school nurse. |
| C．A researcher. | D．A gift shop owner. |
The underlined word “nonsense” in Paragraph 3 refers to the fact that ________.
| A．the son only gives thank-you cards to teachers |
| B．the author and his wife are not classy |
| C．the son goes to an inner-city primary |
| D．the students give gifts to teachers |
To solve the problem, the author thinks it’s a good way to ________.
| A．forbid the students to give any gifts to teachers |
| B．create insecurity by giving thank-you cards |
| C．make people have less money in pockets |
| D．issue some guidelines by the government |
Which of the following can be the best title?
| A．Don’t Forget to Give Gifts to Your Teachers |
| B．Presents Won’t Make Pupils Teachers’ Pets |
| C．Learn the Competitive Culture of Gifts |
| D．Refuse Presents from Your Students |
Last summer, as part of my high school graduation project, I volunteered at Saunders House nursing home.
I choose this experience because it was something that I had never done before and I wanted to lend a helping hand. When I first came up with the idea of volunteering at a nursing home, I wanted to help out with activities and meet with some of the residents (住客).
At first it was challenging because I was extremely shy; however after getting to know the residents a little better, I started to feel more comfortable around them. My goal in volunteering was to bring a smile to the residents by doing different activities from word games to playing chess. I feel as if I had accomplished that goal.
At the nursing home, I did a lot of different activities with the residents ranging from Jeopardy, to Wheel of Fortune. One of my favorites was a word game where I would write a ten letter word on the board and the residents would try to come up with as many smaller words as possible. I could tell that it was one of their favorite games because they always seemed to be so enthusiastic when they played. I also transported residents to and from their rooms when they needed help; and whenever it was a nice day out, I would take them outside to get some fresh air and relax. On Saturday mornings, I would deliver the newspaper to the residents and on Sundays, I assisted with morning church services.
The most unforgettable part of this experience was when I had one on one conversations with the residents; it was incredible how many great stories they had to tell. One of the first residents was Mr. Charles Bowman who is one hundred and three years old!The author volunteered at the nursing home because ________.
| A．she was willing to help |
| B．the residents needed her |
| C．she was good with the old |
| D．the old people challenged her |
What helped the author get over the challenge?
| A．The determination to do the voluntary work. |
| B．Communicating with the residents. |
| C．The residents’ smiling faces. |
| D．The sense of achievements. |
The author felt it ________ to do the activities with the residents.
| A．enjoyable | B．upset |
| C．uncomfortable | D．challenging |
The author wrote the passage in order to ________.
| A．persuade readers to care more about the old |
| B．encourage readers to do voluntary work |
| C．describe a social problem |
| D．share an experience |
People would keep reproducing. Countries would probably pass ‘no reproduction’ laws to keep population balanced, but obviously not everyone would observe. The world’s population would grow very quickly at that. Animals and plants would die out, because humans needed the food.
There would be no room for more people in the world. Scientists would most likely try to create living ‘communities’ underwater, on the moon, and in space stations. The state of starvation and lack of space would be difficult to deal with. Natural selection would happen with humans, which is when certain types of animals or plants are selected for, or selected against. For instance, rich humans and strong, tough humans would be more likely to live, because the rich could afford to buy the limited food, and the tough humans could kill people for their food, and steal the food. This possibility relates directly to the assumption that humans would not die of diseases and such, but must be killed or run out of the necessities for living.
If you mean that no one could ever die, even if they were shot, burned, starved and eaten, then that would never ever happen; it’s a fantasy. However, if that were the case, then at some point, if there were not more areas to live than the land that humans live on now, then we would end up so packed that it would be virtually impossible to move, and humans would be forced to be on top of other people. It would be ridiculously crowded.
Although, if humans lived forever, then I assume that we would all be extremely smart, and would have figured out solutions to the living situations, like on another planet, on the moon, under water, etc. What can we infer from the underlined part in Paragraph 1?
| A．More food would be produced for humans |
| B．More room would be found for the growing population. |
| C．New babies would come into this world without an end. |
| D．Humans would continue to develop their intelligence. |
How is Paragraph 2 mainly developed?
| A．By making comparisons. | B．By making conclusions. |
| C．By giving advice. | D．By giving examples. |
What does the author mean by “it’s a fantasy” in paragraph 3?
| A．It will surely happen. |
| B．It will probably become a fact. |
| C．It is a story that is based on facts. |
| D．It is a belief based on imagination. |
What is the author’s main purpose of writing the passage?
| A．To analyze the possibility that animals and plants die out. |
| B．To explain why scientists will create living areas for humans. |
| C．To argue that no human being is likely to live forever. |
| D．To convince people that it is possible for humans to live on other planets. |
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