In the 1950s, a family that owned a farm near Beulah, Michigan kept a bull chained to an elm (榆树). The bull paced around the tree, dragging the heavy iron chain, which led to a groove (槽) in the bark . The groove deepened over the years. Though for whatever reason, it did not kill the tree.
After some years, the family took their bull away. They cut the chain, leaving the loop around the tree and one link hanging down.
Then one year, agricultural disaster struck Michigan in the form of Dutch Elm Disease. All of the elms lining the road leading to the farm became infected and died. Everyone thought that the old elm would be the next.
The farm owners considered doing the safe thing: pulling it out and cutting it up into firewood before it died. But they simply could not bring themselves to do it. It was as if the old tree had become a family friend. So they decided to let nature take its course.
Amazingly, the tree did not die. Nobody could understand why it was the only elm still standing in the county!
Plant experts from Michigan State University came out to observe the tree. They observed the scar left by the iron chain, now almost completely covered by bark. The experts decided that it was the chain that saved the elm’s life. They reasoned that the tree must have absorbed so much iron from the chain that it became immune to the virus.
It’s said that what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger. Or, as Earnest Hemingway put it, "Life breaks us all, but afterwards, many of us are strongest at the broken places."What did the family do with the elm when the agricultural disaster hit Michigan one year?
| A．They invited plant experts to observe it. |
| B．They pulled it out and chopped it up into firewood. |
| C．They prevented it from being infected by the disease. |
| D．They did nothing and just let it be. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．A groove formed because of natural forces. |
| B．The family decided to keep the tree because they had become attached to it. |
| C．All of the elms in Beulah, Michigan died of the disease. |
| D．The plant experts advised the family to chop it down. |
What actually saved the elm?
| A．The bull. | B．The groove. | C．The iron chain. | D．The experts. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Let nature take its course |
| B．Strengthened by our wounds |
| C．Constant dripping wears away a stone |
| D．Bend, but don’t break |
A woman and a man were involved in a car accident on a snowy cold Monday morning. Both of their cars became totally damaged. But amazingly neither of them was hurt. God works in mysterious ways.
After they got out of their cars, the woman said, “ So you’re a man. That’s interesting. I’m a woman. Wow, just look at our cars! There’s nothing left, but we’re unhurt. This must be a sign from God that we should meet and be
friends and live together in peace for the rest of our days.”
Flattered（受到了奉承）, the man replied, “ Oh yes, I agree with 
you completely. This must be a sign from God!”
The woman continued, “And look at this, here’s another miracle. My car is completely destroyed but this bottle of wine doesn’t break. Surely God wants us to drink this wine and celebrate our good fortune.” Then she handed the bottle to the man.
The man nodded his head in agreement, opened it and drank half the bottle and then handed it back to the woman. The woman took t
he bottle and immediately put the cap back on, and handed it back to the man.
The man asked, “ Aren’t you having any?”
The woman replied, “ No. I think I’ll just wait for the police…”
60. What was the result of the accident?
A. The drivers were badly hurt.
B. The cars were completely destroyed.
C. The police arrived and saved the drivers.
D. The drivers became good friends.
61. The woman told the man to drink the wine to .
A. thank God’s help B. accept her apology
C. celebrate their survival D. calm down and get relaxed
62. Which of the following words can best describe the woman?
A. Tricky. B. Friendly. C. Generous. D. Optimistic（乐观的）.
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中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Most people think that the capital of the movie world is Hollywood, in the United States. However, the real movie capital is Mumbai, in India. Mumbai used to be known as Bombay, and so the film industry（工业）there is called “Bollywood”. Bollywoo
d makes twice as many movies each year as Hollywood-more than 800 films a year.
The movies from Bollywood are very different from Hollywood movies. For one thing, Bollywood movies are much longer than most Hollywood movies. Most Bollywood movies are more than three hours long, and contain singing, dancing, action adventure, mystery, and romance ( but usually no kissing). Because Bollywood films contain so many different features, this style of film is sometimes called a “ masala” film.
Another big difference between Bollywood and Holl
ywood movies is the way the movies are made. It takes much longer to make a movie in Hollywood than in Bollywood. In fact, filming may begin on a Bollywood movie before the script（剧本）is even finished. The director and writers can make up the story while the film is being made. Sometimes they will even write the script by hand instead of taking time to type it.
Bollywood actors are very popula
r and some are in such high demand that they may work on several movies at the same time. They may even shoot（拍摄）scenes for several films on the same day using the same costumes and scenery. Since most Bollywood movies follow the same kind of story, shooting scenes for several films at the same time is not a big problem for actors or directors. This also helps keep the cost of Bollywood movies lower than the cost of Hollywood movies. The average Bollywood film, with a budget（预算）of only two million US dollars, seems very cheap compared to the average budget of sixty million US dollars for a Hollywood film -thirty times as much!
56．Which
of the following is the main topic of the reading?
A. Famous stars in Bollywood.
B. The differences between two movie industries.
C. How Bollywood movies are made.
D. The history of movie making in India.
57. Which of the following is NOT true about Mumbai?
A. It is the movie capital of India.
B. The new name is Bombay.
C. More movies are made there than in Hollywood.
D. It is less expensive to make films there than in Hollywood.
58. Bollywood films are often called “ masala” films because .
A. they are very popular B. they are much longer than Hollywood films
C. they show Indian culture D. they mix different styles of movies
59. Which of the following statements would the writer probably agree with?
A. Most Bollywood movies are very similar.
B. It takes a lot of money to make a good movie.
C. Only Indian people can understand Bollywood movies.
D. Hollywood movies are too short.
Are some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experience? Strangely enough, the answer to these questions is yes. To some extent our intelligence is given to us at birth, and no amount of education can make a genius out of a child born with low intelligence. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings. Thus the limits of person’s intelligence are fixed at birth, whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment. This view, now held by most experts, can be supported in a number of ways.
It is easy to show that intelligence is to some extent something we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be intelligence. Thus if we take two unrelated people at random from population, it is likely that their degree of intelligence will be completely different. If, on the other hand, we take two identical twins, they will very likely be as intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth.
Imagine now that we take two identical twins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring. We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this indicates that environment as well as birth plays a part. This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all are likely to have similar degree of intelligence.
51. The writer is in favor of the view that man’s intelligence is given to him____________.
A. at birth B. through education
C. both at birth and through education D. neither at birth nor through education
52. If a child is born with low intelligence, he can_____________________.
A. become a genius B. still become a genius if he should be given special education
C. reach his intelligence limits in rich surroundings
D. not reach his intelligence in his life.
53. In the second paragraph, the underlined sentence means if we_______________.
A．pick any two persons
B. take out two different persons
C. choose two persons who are relative
D. choose two persons with different intelligence
54. The example of the twins going to a university and to a factory separately shows___________.
A. the importance of their intelligence B. the role of environment on intelligence
C. the importance of their positions D. the part that birth plays
55. The best title of the passage can be _______________.
A. Surroundings B. Intelligence
C. Dependence on Environment D. Effect of education
It was Thanksgiving morning and in the crowded kitchen of my small home I was busy preparing the traditional Thanksgiving turkey when the doorbell rang. I opened the front door and saw two small children in rags huddling together inside the storm door on the top step.
“Any old papers, lady?” asked one of them.
I was busy. I wanted to say “no” until I looked down at their feet. They were wearing thin little sandals, wet with heavy snow.
“Come in and I’ll make you a cup of hot cocoa.”
They walked over and sat down at the table. Their wet sandals left marks upon the floor. I served them cocoa and bread with jam to fight against the cold outside. Then I went back to the kitchen and started again on my household budget.
The silence in the front room struck me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, “Lady, are you rich?”
I looked at my shabby slipcovers. The girl put her cup back in its saucer carefully and said, “Your cups match your saucers.” Her voice was hungry with a need that no amount of food could supply. They left after that, holding their bundles of papers against the wind. They hadn’t said “Thank you.” They didn’t need to. They had reminded me that I had so much for which to be grateful. Plain blue china cups and saucers were only worth five pence. But they matched.
I tasted the potatoes and stirred the meat soup. Potatoes and brown meat soup, a roof over our heads, my man with a good steady job—these matched, too.
I moved the chairs back from the fire and cleaned the living room. The muddy prints of small sandals were still wet upon my floor. Let them be for a while, I thought, just in case I should begin to forget how rich I am.
46. Two children came to the writer’s front door because _________________.
A. it was Thanksgiving Day
B. they were beggars
C. they wanted old papers
D. they wanted a cup of cocoa
47. Why did the writer let the children in?
A. She showed great pity on them
B. She had old papers to sell
C. She wanted to invite them to her Thanksgiving feast
D. She wanted them to see how rich she was
48. The girl thought the writer was rich perhaps because ________________.
A. she saw that the lady’s room was comfortable
B. she saw the cups matched the saucers
C. the writer’s slipcovers were very new
D. the writer was preparing a big meal while she was too hungry.
49. From the passage, we can infer that whether you are rich depends on ____________.
A. how much money you have had B. how you feel about your life
C. how you have helped others D. what job your husband is doing
50. The writer left the muddy prints of small sandals on the floor for a while to ____________.
A. show her husband that someone had come
B. remind her that she had helped two children
C. remind her that she was very rich in the neighborhood
D. remind her how life should be
Ⅲ阅读(共两节，满分40分)
第—节 阅渎理解(共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
阅读—列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Without most people realizing it, there has been a revolution in office work over the last ten years. Before that time, large computers were only used by large, rich companies that could afford the investment. With the advancement of technology, small computers have come onto the market, which are capable of doing the work that used to be done by much larger and expensive computers, so now most smaller companies can use them
The main development in small computers has been in the field of word processors (处理器) , or WPS as they are often called. 40% of British offices are now estimated to have a word processor and this percentage is growing fast.
There are many advantages in using a word processor for both secretary and manager. The secretary is freed from a lot of daily work, such as re-typing letters and storing papers. He or she can use this time to do other more interesting work for the boss. From a manager’s point of view, secretarial time is being made better use of and money can be saved by doing daily jobs automatically outside office hours.
But is it all good? If a lot of daily secretarial work can be done automatically, surely this will mean that fewer secretaries will be needed. Another worry is the increasing medical problems related to work with visual display units (显示器). The case of a slow loss of sight among people using word processors seems to have risen greatly. It is also feared that if a woman works at a VDU for long hours, the unborn child in her body might be killed. Safety screens to put over a VDU have been invented but few companies in England bother to buy them.
Whatever the arguments for and against word processor, they are a key feature (特征) of this revolution in office practice.
41. Ten years ago, smaller companies did not use large computers because_________.
A. these companies had not enough money to buy such expensive computers
B. these computers could not do the work that small computers can do today
C. these computers did not come onto the market
D. these companies did not need to use this new technology
42. According to the writer, the main feature of the revolution in office work over the last
ten years is __________.
A. the saving of time and money
B. the use of computers in small companies
C. the wide use of word processors
D. the decreasing number of secretaries
43. It is implied but not directly stated in the passage that with the use of word processors
_________.
A. some secretaries will lose their jobs
B. daily jobs can be done automatically outside office hours
C. medical problems related to work with a VDU have increased greatly
D. the British companies will make less money
44. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. There are both advantages and disadvantages in using a word processor.
B. The British companies care much for the health of the people using word processors.
C. The technology in the field of computers has been greatly advanced over the last
ten years.
D. Using word processors, secretaries can get more time to do more interesting work
for their bosses.
45. It can be concluded from the passage that ________.
A. safety screens are of poor quality
B. working at a VDU for a long time is good for one’s health
C. more and more British offices will use word processors
D. British companies will need fewer and fewer managers
粤公网安备 44130202000953号