You either have it, or you don’t---a sense of direction, that is. But why is it that some people could find their way across the Sahara without a map, while others can lose themselves in the next street?
Scientists say we’re all born with a sense of direction, but it is not properly understood how it works. One theory is that people with a sense of direction have simply worked harder at developing it. Research being carried out at Liverpool University supports this idea and suggests that if we don’t use it, we lose it.
“Children as young as seven have the ability to find their way around,” says Jim Martland, Research Chief of the project. “However, if they are not allowed out alone or are taken everywhere by car, they never develop the skills.”
Jim Martland also emphasizes that young people should be taught certain skills to improve their sense of direction. He makes the following suggestions:
l If you are using a map, turn it so it relates to the way you are facing.
l If you leave your bike in a strange place, put it near something like a big stone or a tree. Note landmarks on the route as you go away from your bile. When you return, go back along the same route.
l Simplify the way of finding your direction by using lines such as streets in a town, streams, or walls in the countryside to guide you. Count your steps so that you know how far you have gone and note any landmarks such as tower blocks or hills which can help to find out where you are.
Now you need never get lost again!Scientists believe that _________.
| A．some babies are born with a sense of direction |
| B．people learn a sense of direction as they grow older |
| C．people never lose their sense of direction |
| D．Everybody possesses a sense of direction from birth |
What is true of seven-year-old children according to the passage?
| A．They never have a sense of direction without maps. |
| B．They should never be allowed out alone if they lack a sense of direction. |
| C．They have a sense of direction and can find their way around. |
| D．They can develop a good sense of direction if they are driven around in a car. |
If you leave your bike in a strange place, you should _________.
| A．tie it to a tree so as to prevent it from being stolen |
| B．draw a map of the route to help remember where it is |
| C．avoid taking the same rout when you come back to it |
| D．remember something easily recognizable on the route |
According to the passage the best way to find your way around is to _________.
| A．ask policemen for directions |
| B．use walls, streams, and streets to guide yourself |
| C．remember your route by looking out for steps and stairs |
| D．count the number of landmarks that you see |
Which of the following statements is right?
| A．Our sense of direction needs to be strengthened, otherwise we will lose it. |
| B．We need not worry about losing our sense of direction, for we were born with it. |
| C．If we have a map, we will never get lost. |
| D．All of the above. |
Why must we pay taxes? The answer is that the government needs money for many things, for example to pay its soldiers, sailors and airmen, to build roads, bridges, offices, schools, etc and to buy goods from abroad; and only the people of the country can supply the money．One of the most important taxes is income-tax which a person pays according to the amount of his income-tax．Whether he is a businessman, a doctor, a lawyer, a shopkeeper, a miner, or anything else．This is called a “direct” tax, because it is paid in money direct to the government．
Another tax is paid on goods such as watches, jewellery, new clothes, tobacco, wine, etc, when they are brought into a country, such a tax is paid as part of the price of these goods if they are later sold in shops．We call it “indirect” tax, because it is paid indirectly through the shopkeeper．
People usually complain about having to pay taxes, but they forget that the money is spent on the things that they and their families need．We need policemen to catch thieves, to see that men obey the laws, to direct traffic, etc, and they must be paid what they earn; children need education and there must be schools and teachers; we want our streets to be kept clean, and the wages of men who do this kind of work have to be paid．Above all, the country must always be ready to defend itself against attacking enemies, and we cannot have an army without paying for it．
Taxes, therefore, cannot be avoided．We buy our own food and clothes and pay for our own amusements, but there are several things that the State finds the money for, and that are necessary for us if our society is to continue．So we have no real cause to complain when we are asked to supply money to be spent for the good of ourselves and for our fellow-citizens．
1．Indirect tax means _______．
A．tax that one pays direct to the government
B．tax that is not paid directly to the government
C．tax that is paid as an extra amount added to the price of certain goods
D．Both B and C
2．Which of the following is right?
A．Taxes are paid to the sellers．
B．Income-tax is an indirect tax．
C．The tax on new clothes is paid in money direct to the government．
D．Tax is amount of money that you have to pay to the government so that it can pay for public services．
3．People have no real reason to complain about having to pay taxes because _______．
A．some shopkeepers are very rich
B．they need money to buy goods from abroad
C．their children need education
D．the money is spent on the things that they and their families need
4．“Taxes cannot be avoided” means _______．
A．people have to pay taxes to the government
B．you do not have to pay tax on some goods
C．soldiers do not have to pay taxes
D．all goods have to be taxed
Beldon and Canfield are two seashore towns, not far apart．Both towns have many hotels, and in summer the hotels are full of holiday-makers and other tourists．
Last August there was a fire at the Seabreeze Hotel in Beldon．The next day, this news appeared on page two of the town’s newspaper．The Beldon Post:
FIRE AT SEABREEZE
Late last night firemen hurried to the Seabreeze Hotel and quickly put out a small fire in a bedroom．The hotel manager said that a cigarette started the fire．We say again to all our visitors： “Please don’t smoke cigarettes in bed．” This was Beldon’s first hotel fire for five years．
The Canfield Times gave the news in these words on page one：
ANOTHER BELDON HOTEL CATCHES FIRE
Last night Beldon firemen arrived just too late to save clothing, bedclothes and some furniture at the Seabreeze Hotel．An angry holiday-maker said, “An electric lamp probably started the fire．The bedroom lamps are very old at some of these hotels．When I put my bedside light on, I heard a funny noise from the lamp．” We are glad to tell our readers that this sort of adventure does not happen in Canfield．
What are the facts, then? It is never easy to find out the exact truth about an accident．There was a fire at the Seabreeze Hotel last August: that is one fact．Do we know anything else? Yes, we know that firemen went to the hotel．
Now what do you think of the rest of the “news” ?
1．Which of the following best gives the main idea of this text?
A．Beldon and Canfield are both good places for tourists in summer．
B．A fire broke out at night in Seabreeze Hotel last summer．
C．It was not easy to find out exact truth from newspapers．
D．Two newspapers gave reports on the same matter．
2．Which of the following are probably facts?
a．The fire broke out in a bedroom at the hotel．
b．A cigarette started the fire．
c．An old lamp started the fire．
d．The fire broke out at night．
e．There has never been a fire in Canfield．
A．b and c B．a and d C．c and e D．a and c
3．The Canfield Times used the headline like this in order to make its readers think _______．
A．hotels in Beldon often catch fire
B．hotels in Beldon don’t often catch fire
C．this was the second fire at the Seabreeze Hotel
D．Beldon was a good place except that hotels there are not quite safe
4．The Canfield newspaper gave a report just the opposite to the Beldon Post by saying that _______．
A．the bedroom lamps were very old at the Seabreeze Hotel
B．the bedroom lights made funny noise when the fire took place
C．the firemen failed to save clothing, bedclothes and other things
D．such accidents never happened in Canfield for the past 5 years
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
Last year．I took a sightseeing trip to Washington, DC．I heard a voice say, “Can you help me?” When I turned around, I saw an elderly blind woman with her hand extended．Immediately, I pulled out all of my change and placed it on her hand without even looking at her．But the blind woman smiled and said, “I don’t want your money．I just need help finding the post office．”
In an instant, I realized what I had done．I acted with prejudice―I judged another person simply for what I assumed she had to be．I hated what I saw in myself．
The thing I had forgotten about myself is that I am an immigrant．I left Honduras and arrived in the US at the age of 15．I started my new life with two suitcases,my brother and sister．Through the years, I have been a doorkeeper, cashier and pizza delivery driver among many other humble(卑微的)jobs, and eventually I became a network engineer．
In my own life, I have experienced prejudice．I remember a time―at the age of 17―when I was a busboy, I heard a father tell his little boy that if he did not do well in school, he would end up like me．
But now, living in my American middle-class lifestyle, it is too easy to forget my past, to forget who I am, where I have been ,and to lose sight of where I want to be going．That blind woman on the streets cured me of my blindness．She reminded me of my belief in humility(谦虚)．By the way, I helped that lady to the post office．I hope to thank her for the priceless lesson．
1．How did the writer give the blind woman money?
A．In a modest way B．In a polite way
C．In an impatient way． D．In a painful way
2According to the text, the writer__________．
A．still lives a poor life B．was busy with his work
C．was born in Honduras D．was a native of Washington D．C．
3．According to the text, the author most probably agrees that one should__________．
A．be nice to the elderly and the disabled
B．try to experience different kinds of culture
C．treat others equally with love and respect
D．think about one’s past as often as possible
4．What would be the best title of the text?
A．A priceless lesson B．An act of prejudice
C．A sightseeing trip D．A humble moment
The Antarctica is actually a desert.
The Antarctica is all ice all the year. The warmest temperature ever recorded there is zero at the South Pole. Explorers(探险家) used to think that a place so cold would have a heavy snowfall. But less than ten inches of snowfalls each year. That is less than half an inch of water. Ten times that much moisture(水分) falls in parts of the Sahara.
The little snow that falls in Antarctica never melts(融化). It continues to pile up deeper and deeper year after year and century after century. When the snow gets to be about eighty feet deep, it is turned to ice by the weight of the snow above it.
1. Antarctica is called a desert because it _____.
A. is sandy
B. has the same temperature as a desert
C. has little moisture
D. all of the above
2. The Antarctica has _____.
A. ten times as much moisture as the Sahara
B. the same amount of moisture as the Sahara
C. about one-tenth the moisture of the Sahara
D. none of these
3. The snow in Antarctica is very deep because it _____.
A. never stops falling
B. piles up year after year
C. never melts
D. Both B and C
4. The best title for this passage is “_____”
A. A Strange Continent
B. The Antarctica—An Ice Desert
C. Snowfall at the South Pole
D. The World’s Greatest Desert
Oxford is a very old town on the River Thames, about 60 miles from London. Unlike modern university towns, where you usually find the university on the edge of the town, or on its own campus(校园), Oxford’s center is the university; and around the crossroads at the very heart of Oxford, Carfax, there are grey stone colleges and other university buildings. In the center you can also find interesting old restaurants. There are a lot of churches, and few really large and interesting buildings, such as Ashmolean Museum, the round library, the Bodleain and the Radcliff Camera. Like all English towns, there are parks. The Parks is the home of university cricket(板球). In the summer months, as you leave the center and go towards the edge of Oxford you can see industrial areas in one direction; and in another, beautiful suburbs(郊区). There is, in fact, quite a lot of industry in Oxford.
1. The passage mainly introduces to us _____ .
A. an old industrial center.
B. well-known university.
C. a famous university town.
D. newly developed town.
2. Visitors to Oxford will find that _____ .
A. the university is also the town center.
B. one of the crossroads is called Carfax.
C. the university is on the edge of the town.
D. most buildings are modern and interesting.
3. What’s the special about The Parks?
A. All towns in Britain have parks like this.
B. It is the only park in Oxford.
C. It’s the home of Oxford sportsmen.
D. It is related to a popular game.
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