Buying insurance (保险) is a way in which people can protect themselves against large losses. Protection against fire is one kind of insurance. Large numbers of people pay small sums of money to an insurance company. Although thousands of people have paid for fire insurance, only a few will lose their homes by fire. The insurance company will pay for these homes out of the small sums of money it has collected.
The first modern fire insurance company was formed in London, England, in the 1760s. A great fire had just destroyed most of the city, and people wanted protection against further losses. The first company grew rapidly. Soon other companies were founded in other areas.
Benjamin Franklin helped form the first fire insurance company in America in 1752, and then a new kind of insurance for farmers was suggested. The new insurance would provide protection against the loss of crops from storms.
Later on another new insurance company was started in America. This company, which offered life insurance, collected small sums of money regularly from many different men. If a man died, his family was given a large sum of money.
Over the years, insurance companies have offered new kinds of insurance protection. The new kinds of insurance cover losses from such accidents as car and plane crashes. Today, most people have some kind of insurance. Who helped set up the first company in America?
| A．Benjamin Franklin. | B．Businessmen. |
| C．The first insurance company in London. | D．Farmers. |
Insurance means ____.
| A．Protection against the losses from the storms |
| B．protection against illness |
| C．Protection against accidents |
| D．all of the above |
The first modern insurance company offered ____.
| A．life insurance | B．fire insurance | C．a new kind of insurance | D．both A and B |
Why do most people buy some kind of insurance today?
| A．Insurance will keep their homes from burning. |
| B．People can protect themselves against large losses. |
| C．Insurance will pay for safety. |
| D．The insurance companies grow rapidly. |
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
第一节：（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）
Strange coincidences（巧合）happened to the deaths of John F.Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln.For example,Kennedy was elected President in 1960 while Lincoln became President in 1860.Both were murdered from behind,on a Friday,and in the presence of their wives.The two men were exactly one hundred years apart and so were their murderers,Lee Harvery Oswald and John Wilkes Booth.Perhaps the strangest coincidence is that Kennedy’s secretary,whose name was Lincoln,advised him not to go to Dallas where he was shot later.Lincoln’s secretary,whose name was Kennedy,suggested him not going to the Ford Theatre,where he met his death.
56.The coincidence of the two presidents’ death were .
A.very mysterious B.just the same
C.rather different D.quite special
57.Where was his wife when Kennedy was murdered?
A.Maybe she was in a church
.
B.She was at home because the secretary had advised her not to go with her husband.
C.She was somewhere we don’t know.
D.She was with his husband.
58.Which of t
he following is NOT true?
A.The two murderers were one hundred years apart.
B.The two murderers fired their guns behind the two presidents.
C.The two presidents were shot in a theatre.
D.Both secretaries told the two presidents not to go where they were killed,but both failed.
59.What’s the passage mainly about?
A.Two strange presidents.
B.Strange coincidences between Kennedy’s and Lincoln’s deaths.
C.Both Kenney and Lincoln didn’t die in a natural way
D.Both Kennedy and Lincoln died on Friday.
More than an eye candy
Parents in Beijing are ready to go a little further to please their children now that the new China Science and Technology Museum has opened its 198-seat 4D theater.
The 4D theater, which opened last month (December ), is the third cinema the museum has opened to the public since its relocation to the National Olympic Park in September.
YAOX Entertainment, a Taiwan-based company producing 3D，4D，special effects and animated films, is responsible for providing the films in the coming month.
As for 3D films, audiences have to wear special goggles while watching these movies. In addition, viewers can feel wind, a rainstorm, or waterfall, and the seats will move according to the plot.
Admission for adult visitors is 30 yuan per person, 20 yuan for students and children.
The new China Science and Technology Museum, 5 Beijing Donglu, Chaoyang District.
Film introduction
U-Bugs Adventure: Under attack in an air-sea fight, a German U-boat from World War II dives deep for protection. The strong tides take it to a mysterious ancient city at the bottom of the. Suddenly, a giant sea monster takes on the sub(潜水艇) and during the struggle it falls into an energy light-beam zone, and is transported through a time tunnel to meet with Zheng He’s 14th century fleet sailing to the West. Duration: 15 minutes
Dog & Bugs: A dog sees some bees buzzing around and wonders: “How can I fly in the sky as free as those bugs?” Then, he sprouts a pair of wings, just like the bees, and flaps his wings to join them and collect some honey. Duration: 15 minutes
Virus to Go: This film is about severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which is like a terrorist attack, causing extensive contamination(大范围的感染). Because of human neglect(忽视), the SARS virus cannot be stopped and causes harm to an entire city. Fortunately, at the last minute, man finds a way to solve the crisis. Duration: 15 minutes
68．The underlined word“goggles”means ．
A．a type of watch B．a kind of glasses
C．ear-protecting equipment D．a piece of jewellery
69．If you happen to be interested in Sci-fi & history films, most probably should be your cup of tea.
A．the mew China Science and Technology Museum B．U-Boat Adventure
C．Dog & Bugs D．Virus to Go
70．In which section of an English newspaper can you find the information above?
A．News B．Business C．Entertainment D．Sports
Bruce Horowitz writes in USA Today that Domino’s Pizza is changing its pizza recipe . It will be a completely new pizza with a different crust, cheese , and sauce.
Some observers say that the company is taking a big risk with such a total reform of its main product. However, in a 2009 consumer survey , Domino’s tied for last place for taste . Domino’s was voted the best for convenience and price.
This change is not something that Domino’s took lightly. They spent two years testing many different recipes before settling on the new Domino’s Pizza..
The company will have an advertising campaign to launch the change that will have spread to all its restaurants by December 27,2009. After that, look for the company to put out new ads proudly telling the public about the change. The author says that Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest day for pizza sales and that Domino’s “may buy an ad the bit game”
Everyone has his or her own preferences when it comes to food. It will be interesting to see how well the new Domino’s Pizza is received by those who consider pizza to be an important part of their diets.
64．What is the main idea of this article?
A．Changing a recipe is fun
B．Domino’s Pizza did poorly in taste comparisons
C．Many people eat pizza on Super Bowl Sunday
D．Domino’s making a major change to its pizza
65．Which statement is true?
A．Domino’s was rated best for its price
B．No one likes the taste of the original Domino’s pizza
C．This reading selection tells us which pizza had the highest taste tanking
D．The new recipe will change a little
66．The new Domino’s Pizza will .
A．certainly make Domino’s the most popular pizza in the world
B．have been available by the year 2010 in all its restaurants
C．cost twice as much as the old one
D．only be found in a few Domino’s
67．What can we learn from paragraph 4?
A．“The company ” in sentence 1 and “the company ” in sentence 2 refer to the same company.
B．Domino’s will put out a lot of advertisements to promote its new pizza.
C．Super Bowl Sunday is a special day only for Domino’s
D．The writer of the passage likes Domino’s new pizza recipe.
A new study suggests that the more teenagers watch television , the more likely they are to develop depression (抑郁)as young adults. But the extent to which TV may or may not be to blame is a question that the study leaves unanswered.
The researchers used a national long-term survey of adolescent health to investigate the relationship between media use and depression . They based their findings on more than four thousand adolescents who were not depressed when the survey began in 1995.
As part of the survey, the young people were asked how many hours of television or videos they watched daily. They were also asked how often they played computer games and listened to the radio.
Media use totaled an average of five and one-half hours a day. More than two hours of that was spent watching TV.
Seven years later, in 2002, more than seven percent of the young people had signs of depression. Their average age at that time was twenty-one.
Brian Primack at the Universtiy of Pittsburgh Medical School was the leading author of the new study . He said every extra hour of television meant an eight percent increase in the chances of developing signs of depression.
The researchers say they did not find any such relationship with the use of other media such as movies, video games or radio. But the study did find that young men were more likely than young women to develop depression given the same amount of media use.
Doctor Primack says the study did not explore if watching TV causes depression . But one possibility, like sports and socializing . It might also interfere with sleep, he says, and that could have an influence.
The study was just published in the Archives of General Psychiatry. In December, the journal Social Indicators Research published a study of activities that help lead to happy lives. Sociologists from the University of Maryland found that people who describe themselves as happy spend less time watching television than unhappy people. The study found that happy people are more likely to be socially active, to read, to attend religious services and to vote.
60．The average age of the depressed young people should be when they began to receive the survey.
A．21 B．15 C．14 D．20
61．According to the passage, which of the following can possibly lead to depression?
A．Swimming B．Attending a party
C．Attending religious services D．Watching TV for a long time.
62．We can learn from the passage .
A．the survey lasted a short time
B．over 280 teenagers who received the survey became more or less depressed in 2002
C．men are more likely to become depressed than women
D．the study about the relationship between media use and depression was published in the journal Social Indicators Research
63．What is the best title for the passage?
A．Teens, television, depression B．Depression—the common problem of teens
C．Problems of watching TV D．Teens—a group enjoying watching TV
第三部分阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
第一节（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 girl became a volunteer in the activities of Deathbed Care, which meant visiting and taking care of a patient suffering form an incurable disease with days numbered.
The girl was assigned to an old man suffering from cancer whose children lived abroad. Their living conditions were not satisfactory while the old man had a lot of savings. She was expected to comfort him and keep up his spirits.
Every Saturday the girl came on time to keep him company , telling him stories. When he was having an intravenous drip (动脉滴注)，she would help massage his arms. The doctor found the patient much improved mentally. The old man began to involve himself actively in the medical treatment and he seldom shouted at others.
But something that happened made the doctor uneasy and puzzled. Each time the girl left, the old man would give her some money. The doctor did nothing to interfere (干涉), unwilling to offend the old man. A month later the old man showed evident signs of decline after suffering coma (昏迷) a few times.
When rescued from the latest coma, the old man said to the doctor as his last wish, “I have deep sympathy for the girl. Will you be kind enough to help her finish her studies?”
But the doctor knew that her family was well-off and she had no difficulty pursuing her studies. Sometimes she even came to the hospital in her father’s car.
When the girl came at the weekend after the death of the old man , the doctor told her the bad news. She was very sad and burst into tears. Then she handed $500 to the doctor, saying, “The old man had all along thought I came to do the job because of poverty. He gave me money so that I could continue my schooling . ” Now he got the answer to the puzzle . In the last period of his life , the last period of his life, the old man found it a real pleasure to be able to help a girl badly in need .
56．If you’re a volunteer in the activities of Deathbed Care, what kind of people do you have to attend to?
A．The patients in need of help
B．The people suffering from cancer
C．The patients without many days left
D．The people suffering from diseases
57．What can we infer about the old man ?
A．He had a lot of savings
B．He was suffering from cancer
C．He often lost his temper before meeting the girl
D．He asked the doctor to help the girl finish her study
58．What can we know from the passage?
A．The doctor told the old man the truth
B．The old man’s children were wealthy
C．The girl’s father encouraged her to accept the money
D．The girl didn’t accompany the old man when he died
59．What is the real reason resulting in the old man’s mental improvement?
A．The girl’s comfort and care
B．The pleasure of being helpful people in need
C．People’s understanding
D．His children’s progress
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