I used to think of myself as a fairly open person, but my bookshelves told a different story. Apart from a few Indian novels and the Australian and South African book, my literature collection consisted of British and American titles. Worse still, I hardly ever read anything in translation. My reading was limited to stories by English-speaking authors.
So, at the start of 2012, I set myself the challenge of trying to read a book from every country in a year to find out what I was missing. As I was unlikely to find publications from nearly 200 nations on the shelves of my local bookshop, I decided to ask the planet’s readers for help. I created a blog called A Year of Reading the World and put out an appeal for suggestions of titles that I could read in English.
The response was amazing. Before I knew it, people all over the planet were getting in touch with ideas and offers of help. Some posted me books from their home countries. Others did hours of research on my behalf. In addition, several writers sent me unpublished translations of their novels, giving me a rare opportunity to read works otherwise unavailable to the 62% of the British who only speak English. Even so, selecting books was no easy task. With translations making up only around 4.5 percent of literary works published in the UK and Ireland, getting English versions (版本)of stories was difficult.
But the effort was worth it. I found I was visiting the mental space of the storytellers. These stories not only opened my mind to the real life in other places, but opened my heart to the way people there might feel.
And that in turn changed my thinking. Through reading the stories shared with me by bookish strangers around the globe, I realised I was not alone, but part of a network that spread all over the planet. Which of the following might be found on the blog A Year of Reading the World?
| A．Lists of English version books. |
| B．Research on English literature. |
| C．Unfinished novels by British writers. |
| D．Comments on English literature. |
Why was it hard for the author to select the right books to read?
| A．The author had a busy schedule. |
| B．The author was only interested in a few topics. |
| C．The author could only read books written in English. |
| D．Most books recommended are not available in local bookshops. |
The author is probably from_________.
| A．America | B．the UK | C．Australia | D．Canada |
Which of the following words can best describe the author’s experience?
| A．fast and effortless | B．challenging but rewarding |
| C．hopeless but beneficial | D．meaningful but fruitless |
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Dozens of conditions are covered, from headaches, sunburn, bad breath, and blisters (水泡) to allergies (过敏), and hiccups (打嗝). You can most probably read the passage in a ________.
| A．newspaper | B．travel guide | C．reference book | D．textbook |
Which of the following could help you to improve your home environment?
| A．Off the Beaten Path & l80l Home Remedies. |
| B．Container Gardens by Number & Best Weekend Projects. |
| C．l80l Home Remedies & Container Gardens by Number. |
| D．Best Weekend Projects & Off the Beaten Path. |
What’s the purpose of the passage?
| A．To share his opinion about the books with readers. |
| B．To advise readers to read more in spare time. |
| C．To share the pleasure of reading with readers. |
| D．To advise readers to buy their books. |
阅读理解（共14小题；每小题2分，满分28分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的（A、B、C和D）四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项标号涂黑。
A
I was in a terrible mood. Two of my friends had gone to the movies the night before and hadn’t invited me. I was in my room thinking of ways to make them sorry when my father came in. “Want to go for a ride, today, Beck? It’s a beautiful day.”
“No! Leave me alone!” Those were the last words I said to him that morning.
My friends called and invited me to go to the mall with them a few hours later. I forgot to be mad at them and when I came home to find a note on the table. My mother put it where I would be sure to see it. “Dad has had an accident. Please meet us at Highland Park Hospital”.
When I reached the hospital, my mother came out and told me my father’s injuries were extensive. “Your father told the driver to leave him alone and just call 911, thank God! If he had moved Daddy, there’s no telling what might have happened. A broken rib（肋骨）might have pierced（穿透）a lung...”
My mother may have said more, but I didn’t hear. I didn’t hear anything except 
those terrible words: Leave me alone. My dad said them to save himself from being hurt more. How much had I hurt him when I hurled those words at him earlier in the day?
It was several days later that he was finally able to have a conversation. I held his hand gently, afraid of hurting him.
“Daddy… I am so sorry…”
“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ll be okay. ”
“No,” I said, “I mean about what I said to you that day. You know, that morning?”
My father could no more tell a lie than he could fly. He looked at me and said. “Sweetheart, I don’t remember anything about that day, not before, during or after the accident. I remember kissing you goodnight the night before, though. ”He managed a weak smile.
My English teacher once told me that words have immeasurable power. They can hurt or they can heal. And we all have the power to choose our words. I intend to do that very carefully from now on. The author was in bad mood that morning because _______.
| A．his father had a terrible accident |
| B．he couldn’t drive to the mall with his friends |
| C．his friends hadn’t invited him to the cinema |
| D．his father didn’t allow him to go out with his friends |
Why did the author say sorry to his father in the hospital?
| A．Because he didn’t go along with his father. |
| B．Because he was rude to his father that morning. |
C． Because he failed to come earlier after the accident. |
| D．Because he couldn’t look after his father in the hospital. |
The reason why the author’s father said he forgot everything about that day is that _______.
| A．he had a poor memory | B．he didn’t hear what his son said |
| C．he just wanted to comfort his son | D．he lost his memory after the accident |
What lesson did Beck learn from the matter?
| A．Don’t treat your parents badly. |
| B．Don’t hurt others with rude words. |
| C．Don’t move the injured in an accident. |
| D．Don’t be angry with friends at small things. |
An 18-year-old high school student who had just learned to swim in the last summer vacation saved the life of a drowning Ohio boy on Friday
afternoon.
Tom Erickson was credited with (因．．．．．．而受赞扬
)saving the life of Jason Pryor,10, in Mill Creek (小河) Park. Young Jason Pryor, from Chillicothe, was visiting relatives from Anchor Point when he fell into Mill Creek.
The Pryor boy had no business playing near the edge of the river, but he had no idea of the danger.
The creek, with much more water than usual for the recent spring rains, flowed fast and carried the boy around a bend and out of sight from his parents, who took Jason out there and said they had not even witnessed the incident.
Luckily for Jason, one of the most unselfish students from Brentwood’s Central High School was taking a walk alone through the park.
As soon as he found the boy struggling in the water, Erickson jumped into the creek and managed to pull the drowning boy out of the water. And it was reported that Erickson had never received any life-saving instruction before.
“I wasn’t sure I could do it,” Erickson said. “I didn’t know if I could swim through the river by myself, not to mention getting another person out with me.”
This incident should be a lesson to young children who do not know how to swim. Stay away from dangerous bodies of water. Young Jason Pryor lives at _______.
| A．Anchor Point | B．Chillicothe, Ohio | C．Mill Creek | D．Brentwood |
Which of the following sentences is true according to the passage?
| A．Life-saving instruction helped a lot in the incident. |
| B．Jason’s parents saw him fall into the creek but couldn’t help. |
| C．The creek flowed fast because it was very straight without any bends. |
| D．Erickson was not sure if he could save the boy when jumping into the creek. |
What’s the possible meaning of the underlined sentence “The Pryor boy had no business playing near the edge of the river,” in the third paragraph?
| A．The accident was none of the boy’s business. |
| B．The boy had no friends to play with him. |
| C．The boy shouldn’t have played near the creek. |
| D．The boy was very busy and had no time to play. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Did You Know the Danger of Water | B．Be Responsible Parents |
| C．The Fast Running Mill Creek | D．Beginning Swimmer Saved Drowning Boy |
Geena David knew she wanted to be a movie star when she was very young. She was not sure what gave her the idea, but she wanted to look like a movie star. “I have a lot of pictures from my childhood of me wearing sunglasses,” she ways. “I used to wear them to watch TV.”
Early movie actors started wearing sunglasses not because they looked good, but because their eyes hurt. The lights used on movie sets were extremely bright and could cause a painful problem known as “Klieg eyes”. It was named after the Klieg brothers who invented the lights. Actors wore sunglasses to give their eyes a rest. But when movie stars began wearing their sunglasses in public, they quickly became a must.
Eventually actors started wearing sunglasses in their movies as well as on the street. Audrey Hepburn wore ultra-cool Ray-Ban sunglasses in the 1961 movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. As a result, Ray-Ban sunglasses started to appear more and more in the movies. In 1979, Ray-Ban “Wayfarers” were worn by Jake and Elwood in The Blue Brothers. Tom Cruise wore Ray-Ban “Aviator” sunglasses in the 1986 hit, Top Gun. Then in 1997, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones made Ray-Ban “Predator” sunglasses famous in Men in Black.
Of course sunglasses aren’t just a fashion statement. The main reason to wear sunglasses is to protect our eyes against UV radiation. UV radiation can damage our eyes, so people now choose their sunglasses carefully. But you don’t have to give up style for safety. The choice of frames and lenses available these days is huge. So you can protect your eyes and still be the coolest person on the beach. What is mainly discussed in this passage?
| A．The use of sunglasses. | B．The history of sunglasses. |
| C．The sunglasses wearing. | D．Why movie stars like to wear sunglasses. |
Why did Geena David like to wear sunglasses?
| A．She was a movie star. | B．She wanted to follow a movie star. |
| C．Wearing sunglasses was good to her eyes. | D．It was good wear sunglasses when watching TV. |
Early actors’ eyes hurt because _______.
| A．they wore sunglasses. | B．they went out in the sun too much |
| C．the lights on movie sets were too bright | D．their scripts were written in very small writing |
We may know from this passage that _______.
| A．Audrey Hepburn was a famous film star |
| B．Ray-Ban is the name of sunglasses maker |
| C．sunglasses made Top Gun the hit in 1986 |
| D．Men in Black must be an advertisement of sunglasses |
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The manager expects to meet and talk with successful applicants in Paris in June and July.What is the purpose of the text?
| A．To introduce a language school in Japan. | B．To hire language teachers to work in Japan. |
| C．To describe working conditions in Japan. | D．To make clear the requirements for Japanese teachers. |
We know from the text that those who are going to Japan will _______.
| A．teach English only in Osaka | B．receive a degree from a university |
| C．have free accommodation | D．get trained for the job |
Before going to Japan, you need _______.
| A．to see the manager of NOVA France | B．to take some computer courses |
| C．to write a letter to Japan | D．to find a place to live |
If you want to work in Japan you should _______.
| A．have some working experience | B．know how to use computers |
| C．present good teaching plans | D．speak several languages |
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