Everyone wants some degree of success. Many people believe that they deserve success simply because they believe that they deserve success.
But there is a widespread belief that people who get on in life may be successful not because they deserve it, but because of influential (有影响的) friends or the right background. Sometimes it may just be a comforting and harmless belief, while at the other extreme it can be very destructive. I once met a brilliant young engineer who worked in a chemical plant. Because of her knowledge and experience, she should have been promoted to Production Manager. Instead, the job went to a man who was totally unsuited for the post. Everyone knew that he only got it because he was politically acceptable to his superiors (上司). This injustice discouraged the young engineer and many of her colleagues. It also meant that the factory was much less efficient than it could have been.
At the same time, we should not be pessimistic (悲观的). More and more the modern world depends on having people who are in the job because they are good enough, not just because their faces fit. There is a story of a factory owner who sent for an engineer to see to a machine which would not go. He examined it, then took out a hammer and tapped, once. The machine started up immediately. When he presented his bill, the owner protested, "This can't be right! $ 100 just for tapping a machine with a hammer?" The engineer wrote out a new bill: "For tapping a machine, $1; for knowing where to tap. $99."The engineer at the chemical plant was not promoted because _____.
| A．it was politically less good for the boss to accept her than the man |
| B．her boss did not think she had the fight qualifications for the job |
| C．the man who got the promotion was more experienced than she was |
| D．it is more difficult for a woman to get a promotion than for her male colleague |
The engineer who repaired the machine was right in charging $ 100 because____.
| A．he hit the machine to get it started again |
| B．the factory owner could not have repaired it himself |
| C．he was charging for his knowledge and expert skills |
| D．he was the only person who could find out what was wrong with it |
What can we learn about the author's attitude toward the widespread belief that "people get on in life may be successful not because they deserve it"?
| A．He quite agrees with it. |
| B．He doesn't express his opinion his opinion at it. |
| C．He completely disagrees with it. |
| D．He doesn't quite agree with it. |
According to the text, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Having influential friends or right background seems helpful sometimes. |
| B．The engineer had good reason to overcharge the factory owner. |
| C．Not all those who are good in their jobs have the chance to be promoted. |
| D．Those who are good in their jobs are still largely needed by the modern society. |
第三部分：阅读理解（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。
A
Kenya wants to organize a major international conference to discuss how to fight piracy(海盗) off the coast of Somalia. The conference may also deal with ways to rescue Somalia from seventeen years of civil war. More than forty percent of its people depend on food aid.
Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula says the world cannot end piracy and civil war without dealing with Somalia’s political problems.
Somali pirates operate in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. The Gulf of Aden connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean by way of the Suez Canal. The pirates have fast boats, modern weapons and equipment like satellite phones and global positioning systems.
Pirates hijacked the Sirius Star off the coast of Kenya and moved it to waters off Somalia.
The tanker Sirius Star, at three hundred thirty meters long, is the biggest ship ever known to have been captured by pirates. It also happened farther south than most attacks, and farther out at sea ---- more than eight hundred kilometers from land.
The ship was headed for the United States with two million karrels of oil, worth an estimated one hundred million dollars. A Saudi Arabian company owns the tanker. The pirates have reportedly demanded twenty-five million dollars in negotiations to release the ship and its crew of twenty-five.
Somali pirates generally do not steal goods or kill hostages. They are believed to be holding seventeen ships with about three hundred crew members. Among the ships is a Ukrainian vessel hijacked(劫持) in September with a load of military weapons including tanks.
The increase in piracy is raising the cost of insuring ships. Also, oil from the Middle East and exports from East Asia could take longer to arrive.
Some of the world’s heaviest shipping traffic passes the Somali coast. But major shipping companies have begun to consider new routes. One of the world’s biggest shippers, A.P, Moeller Maersk, says it will avoid the Gulf of Aden. A move away from the Suez Canal could hurt Egypt’s economy.
American and other foreign navy ships are now watching for pirates. This week the Indian Navy destroyed a heavily armed “mother ship” in the Gulf of Aden. But the area to protect covers more than one hundred sixty million square kilometers.
56. According to the passage, which of the following is the key to solving the piracy in Somalia?
A. Providing lots of money. B. Ending Civil war.
C. Supplying enough food. D. Handling Somalia’s political problems.
57. Somali pirates do the following things except that _______.
A. they demand money B. they hold the ships with crew
C. they kill some of the hostages D. they hijack ships with military weapons
58. What can we infer from the passage?
A. The cost of ship transport is decreasing.
B. The routes of some ships might change.
C. Nothing has been done to fight against the piracy.
D. The Suez Canal is of no importance to Egypt’s economy.
C
Taiwan police cannot decide whether to treat it as an extremely clever act of stealing or an even cleverer cheat（诈骗）.Either way, it could be a perfect crime（犯罪）, because the criminals are birds----homing pigeons.
The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car: if you want the car back, pay some money. Then, the car owner is directed to a park, told where to find a bird cage and how to attach money to the neck of the pigeon inside. Carrying the money in a tiny bag, the pigeon flies off.
There have been at least four such pigeon pick-ups in Changwa. What at first seemed like the work of a clever stay-at-home car thief, however, may in fact be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal mind---- one that avoids（避免） not only collecting money but going out to steal the car in the first place. Police officer Chen says that the criminal pro
bably has pulled a double trick: he gets money for things he cannot possibly return. Instead of stealing cars, he lets someone else do it and then waits for the car owner to place an ad in the newspaper asking for help.
The theory is supportd by the fact that, so far,none of the stolen cars have been returned. Also, the amount of money demanded----under 3,000 Taiwanese dollars-----seems too little for a car worth many times more.
Demands for pigeon-delivered money stopped as soon as the press reported the story. And even if they start again, Chen holds little hope of catching the criminal. “We have more important things to do,”he said.
66.After the car owner received a phone call, he ___________.
A. went to a certain pigeon and put some money in the bag it carried
B. gave the money to the thief and had his car back in a park
C. sent some money to the thief by mail
D.told the press about it
67. The “lazier and more inventive”criminal refers to ________.
A.the car thief who stays at home B.one of those who put the ads in the paper
C.one of the policemen in Changwa D. the owner of the pigeons
68.The writer mentions the fact that “none of the stolen cars have been returned” to show ____________.
A.how easily people get fooled by criminals B.what Chen thinks might be correct.
C. the thief is extremely clever. D.the money paid is too little.
69. The underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refers to ________.
A.criminals B. pigeons C. the stolen cars D.demands for money
70. We may infer from the text that the criminal knows how to reach the car owners because ____________.
A.he reads the ads in the newspaper
B.he lives in the same neighborhood
C.he has seen the car owners in the park
D.he has trained the pigeons to follow them
B
There is an English saying :“laughter is best medicine .”Until recently ,few people took the saying seriously .Now however ,doctors have begun to look into laughter and the effects it has on the human body .They have found that laughter re
ally can improve people’s health .
Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body .People watched funny films while doctors checked their hearts ,blood pressure ,breathing and muscles .It was found that laughter had similar effects to physical exercise .It increases blood pressure ,the heart beating and breathing ; it also works several groups of muscles in the face ,the stomach ,and even the feet .If laughter exercises the body ,it must be beneficial .
Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effect of pain on the body .In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programmes .The group that tolerated(忍耐)the pain for the longest time was the groups which listened to a funny programme .The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce a kind of chemicals in the brain which diminish both stress and pain .
As a result of these discoveries ,some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics ,in 
which they help to improve their patients’ condition by encouraging them to laugh .They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing ,making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter .
61.Doctors have proved the following EXCEPT that .
A.smiling does good to health B.laughter can be tolerated
C.there is a way to reduce pain D.laughter can work the muscles in the feet
62.The main idea of the passage is .
A.laughter and physical exercise have similar effects on the human body
B.smile can produce the same effects as laughter
C.pain can be reduced by laughter
D.laughter is the best medicine
63.The students who________tolerated the pain for the longest time .
A. listened to different radio programmes
B. could produce a kind of chemical
C. don’t have stress of pain
D. listened to a funny programme
64.The underlined word “diminish” is similar to .
A. test B. stop C. reduce D. increase
65.Doctors hold laughter clinics _________.
A. to give better condition to their patients
B.in order to improve patients’ health
C.to make patients smile
D.to prove smile and laughter have the same effect
Ⅳ．阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
A
People in cities all over the world shop in supermarkets. Who decides what you buy in the supermarket? Do you decide? Does the supermarket decide?
When you enter the supermarket, you see shelves full of food. You walk in the aisles between the shelves. 
You push a shopping cart and put your food in it.
You probably hear soft, slow music as you walk along the aisles. This may be an attempt to please you, so you will enjoy shopping. Some supermarkets want to increase their profits by playing soft and slow music, because the slow music makes you walk slowly and you have more time to buy things.
Fresh fruit and vegetables are usually put near the entrance. When you arrive at the supermarket, you concentrate on the kinds of fruit and vegetables you need first. Once you've got that out of the way, you can relax and do the rest of the shopping without any hurry. Besides, if you see fresh goods first, it gives you a "feel good" impression of freshness, so you can not help spending your money.
Maybe you go to the meat department then. There is some meat on sale, and you want to find it. The manager of the supermarket knows where customers enter the meat department. The cheaper meat is at the other end of the meat department, away from where the customers enter. You have to walk past all the expensive meat before you find the cheaper meat. Maybe you will buy some of the expensive meat instead of the meat on sale.
Most of the food in supermarkets is very attractive. It all says "Buy me quickly!" to the customers. The fresh fruit and vegetables say "Buy me quickly!" as you walk by. The expensive meat says "Buy me quickly!" The supermarket tells you what to buy.
56. Some supermarkets play soft, slow music because it ________.
A. can help customers get the things they want
B. makes customers walk slowly and buy more
C. can make customers relaxed and happy
D. can tell customers exactly where to go
57. The manager knows ________.
A. where customers come from B. which customers like slow music
C. where fresh meat should be put D. which customers like cheap meat
58. When walking past the expensive meat, the customers will _______.
A. possibly buy some B. pay no attention to it
C. look for some cheap meat D. feel uncomfortable
59. If you see fresh goods first in the supermarket, ________.
A. you know where to get things B. it brings you good luck
C. it makes you spend less money D. you’ll get a fresh impression
60. Supermarket managers make the food attractive so that ________.
A. the customers will buy more B. it looks very expensive
C. the customers come often D. it seems cheap and fine
E
It is the last day of the school year and I stand empty – handed with no gift to give you.
It isn't that I haven't tried to think of something meaningful and special … quite to the contrary. For months I have combed shops and department stores, and even searched the Internet only to realize that nothing could measure up to the feelings of a mother’s grateful heart an
d a teacher’s loving devotion.
How I wish a colorful bundle of fresh wildflowers could reflect the beauty of your way with children! Jewelry would surely be nice, but what can I afford that would not grow quickly out of style? You deserve respect for your determination and creativity, your devotion and talent.
At the moment the first school bell rang last August, I placed in you my trust, believing you would teach my child and reserve respect for me as a parent. I added to that my constant and devoted wish that you would be reasonable and fair to set limitations and rules while offering my child a chance to learn self-control. I sincerely hope that your classroom would be a safe shelter for my child to grow and learn, which is a perfect mixture of self-discipline and controlled instruction. I prayed for your health and your happiness, and your ability to be supplied with the tools necessary to complete your task as a teacher and educator. I offered you my time as often as I could, and my support for your cause. Occasionally, I even offered you a challenge when I spoke my mind, sometimes standing firm, sometimes giving up with a renewed assurance or a “ wait and see” attitude!
I wish with all my heart I could put a delicate ribbon on a wrapped package and give you a “ something” to express my appreciation and affection, but I have nothing to give you that would be better than the precious gift I have ever had to offer and which you already so pleasantly accepted months ago－the one you have held close to your heart, laughed with and probably cried with, cheered and scolded – my child!
And today, as my child returns to my side for the summer, the gift I humbly give to you is found deep within my heart...
57．On the last day of the school year, the author has no gift to give the teacher, because .
A．she has no time to think of something meaningful and special
B．she cannot find something that can properly express her feelings
C．there is nowhere to buy a colorful bundle of fresh wildflowers
D．she thinks it unnecessary to express her feelings to the teacher
58．According to the author, the best gift for the teacher is_________
A．her child B．her respect C．her present D．her support
59．The underlined sentence in the passage implies that the author hopes that .
A．the teacher can teach her child patiently
B．the teacher will not be too strict with her child
C．the teacher will teach her child enough self - control
D．the teacher can stand firm in the teaching
60．This passage is most probably adapted from__________.
A．a novel B．a letter C．a paper D．a report
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