It’s going to be a busy day at Betsy Ross house in Philadelphia on Thursday. She won’t be there, since she died in 1836, but hundreds of tourists will be going through her house.
You see, Thursday is Flag Day in the United States. The unofficial holiday commemorates the adoption of the stars-and-stripes design of the American flag by the Continental Congress 235 years ago, on June 14, 1777. According to lore, the Ross House is the birthplace of the nation’s flag. That’s open to debate, but it’s a story that schoolbooks still tell. Betsy Ross was a seamstress, busy sewing cushions for chairs in Philadelphia, which was the focus place of the American revolution against British rule. The Declaration of Independence by the colonists was signed there, and so was the new nation’s Constitution after independence was won.
Widowed when her husband, a member of the local militia, was killed in a gunpowder explosion, Betsy Ross often mended the clothes of the rebels’ leader and future U.S. president, George Washington. According to what some say in history and others a stretch of what really happened, Washington asked Ross to design and sew the new nation’s flag. The story was promoted by Ross grandson, who wrote that Betsy Ross had “made with her hands the first flag.” She became a role model for girls - a shining example of women’s contributions to the nation’s history. Most research indicates that Ross did sew the first flag. She’s credited with substituting artful five-point white stars for six-pointed ones in the upper-left blue field. But many other accounts indicate George Washington brought the design to Ross and simply asked her to stitch it together.
In a letter, Washington wrote: “We take the stars from Heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her. And the white stripes shall go down to posterity as representing liberty.” People would like to go to Ross’s house in Philadelphia to _____.
| A．ask Betsy Ross who created the first American flag |
| B．meet her grandson who wrote a book about flags |
| C．debate over who designed the first American flag |
| D．remember her as the creator of the first American flag |
Which statement is true according to the passage?
| A．Betsy Ross was one of the people who signed The Declaration of Independence |
| B．All are in agreement that Ross designed the first American flag |
| C．It is almost certain that Ross did sew the first American flag |
| D．It is George Washington who designed the stars and stripes flag |
The underlined the word “seamstress” in Paragraph 2 probably means_____.
| A．a person who designs flags |
| B．a person who makes a living by sewing |
| C．a person who takes part in revolution |
| D．a person who creates chairs |
What does the last paragraph imply according to the passage?
| A．It implies that the U.S. is independent from Britain |
| B．It implies that Washington liked Ross’s design of the flag |
| C．It implies that Washington might be the designer of the flag |
| D．It implies that Ross did have helped with the design of the flag |
PART THREE READING COMPREHENSION
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.
A
An Indian civil servant, SM Raju, has come up with a new way of providing employment for millions of poor people in Bihar. His
campaign to encourage people to plant trees effectively addresses two burning issues of the world: global warming and shrinking job opportunities.
Mr Raju’s success could clearly be seen on 30 August, 2009 when he organized 300,000 villagers from over 7,500 villages in northern Bihar to engage in a mass tree planting ceremony.
Mr Raju has linked his “social forestry” program to the central government’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), which is also designed to provide employment for poor people. Under NREGA — started in February 2006 as the government’s most ambitious employment generation scheme for poor people — the authorities are bound by law to provide a minimum of 100 days of employment a year for members of families living below the poverty line. About 44% of Bihar’s population fall into this category.
Mr Raju says that Bihar — being the poorest and most
lawless state of India — hasn’t been able to spend the allocated (分配的) NREGA funds. “This is because of a lack of awareness among officials about the scheme,” he said. “So the idea struck to my mind: why not involve families below the poverty line in social forestry and give them employment under this scheme for 100 days? Under the scheme, each family can earn a minimum of 10,200 rupees ($210).”
The civil servant immediately made a plan of his idea. In June, Mr Raju published a booklet of “dos and don’ts” and distributed it to village heads. His plan meant that NREGA funds were fully used — in the past this hasn’t always been the case.
“I told the villagers they would get 100 days employment in a year simply by planting trees and protecting them. The old and disabled would be given preference,” he explained.
Every village council has now been given a target of planting 50,000 saplings — a group of four families have to plant 200 trees and they must protect them for three years till the plants grow stronger.
“They would get the full payment if they can ensure the survival of 90% of the plants under their care. For a 75-80% survival rate, they’ll be paid only half the wage. For less than 75%, the families in the 
group will be replaced,” the guidelines say.
Significantly, his scheme has even stopped the migration of poor labourers from the area in search of employment elsewhere.
56. According to the passage, the main purpose of SM Raju’s “social forestry” program is to _____.
A. promote the practice of NREGA
B. make efforts to prevent global warming
C. increase the employment of poor people
D. prevent poor people from migrating elsewhere
57 According to the passage, the poor people in Bihar don’t make full use of NREGA funds because _____.
A. the local officials don’t realize the importance of NREGA
B. the local government doesn’t get enough support from the central government
C. the local poor people know little about NREGA
D. Bihar is the most lawless state in India
58. We can infer from the p
assage that _____.
A. most people in Bihar will benefit from NREGA
B. the old and disabled people are not involved in tree planting
C. families who can’t ensure 75% survival rate of the trees will not be paid
D. Raju’s new plan will reduce Bihar’s population below the poverty line
59. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. There’s a good way to deal with global warming
B. Tree planting provides employment for the poor
C. Tree planting solves the problem of unemployment
D. Raju’s “social forestry” program wins the support of NREGA
60. How can villagers get more NREGA funds
?
A. Thinking better ways to stop global warming
B. Working hard for one hundred days
C. Planting more trees and ensuring the survival of plants
D. Stopping moving from the area to search employment elsewhere
Waterland, California, June 26,2001—two cars dropped from sight, falling into the bottom (底部) of a 400-feet deep sinkhole (陷洞) which appeared suddenly. At a town 12 miles from Waterland, two bedrooms of one house dropped into a hole 60 feet across and 35 feet deep part of the next house hung dangerously over the hole.
Sinkholes have been happening without warning in this part of California for years. So far there is no way to predict (预告) when or where one will appear. But when one does, others usually follow in the same area, usually along a straight line.
The worst sinkhole in recent appeared in 1996. It was 70 feet across and 150 feet deep. It destroyed in one house, damaged several others and broke the walls of a city block. One hole, 15-feet deep, opened up this year in the middle of a highway, 19 seconds after a car had driven by. Others in the same area took place at night damaging houses, swallowing up trees and parts of streets and making 23 frightened people run away from their homes in night clothes.
Sinkholes happen when the weather is dry. The earth at the surface begins to drop into empty space under the ground, like sand falling in huge hourglass (沙漏). This is how a sinkhole is formed.
71. From the text we know sinkhole do not happen ______.
A. during the period of wet weather B. in a straight line
C. in the dry season D. at night
72. When one sinkhole appears, others usually follow ________.
A. everywhere B. on straight highway only
C. nearby D. in the places far away
73. Sinkholes take place because ________.
A. there are large holes under houses
B. Waterland has an underground lake
C. there are too many heavy things on the surface of the earth
D. dry earth moves and fills underground holes
74. Which of the following is not talked about in the text?
A. Sinkholes cause car accidents B. Sinkholes destroy houses
C. Sinkholes kill people D. Sinkholes damage streets
75. This text mainly tells us that ________.
A. sinkholes always happen without any warning
B. sinkholes have been happening in the Waterland area, causing some damage
C. even drivers cannot keep away from sinkholes
D. why a sinkhole happens and how its name has been formed
I have a special rule for travel: never carry a map. Sometimes I get lost, but I usually have a good time. I can practice a new language, meet new people, and learn new customs. And I find out about different “styles” of directions every time I ask, “ How can I get to the post office?”
In Japan, most streets don’t have names; people use landmarks in their directions. For example, the Japanese will say to the travelers “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”
In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not mountains, so the land is very flat (平的)，in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. For example, they will say: “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”
People in Los Angeles, California, measure distance in time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh”, they answer, “It’s about five minutes from here.” They don’t know how many miles away it is.
People in Greece sometimes do not even try to give directions because tourists seldom understand the Greek language. Instead, a Greek will often say, “Follow me.” Then he’ll lead you through the streets of the city to the post office.
66. The underlined word landmarks in the second paragraph means ____.
A. easily recognizable (可辨认的) objects by which one can tell one’s position
B. big markets where people can tell you how to get to the post office
C. tall buildings in front of which is the post office
D. bus stops which are near the post office you are looking for
67. From the passage we learn that in the American Midwest countryside, ____.
A. there are no buildings B. there are no landmarks
C. the fields are very flat D. there are some hills
68. Which of the following shows distance in time?
A. The Japanese. B. People in Los Angeles.
C. People in Greece. D. People in the American Midwest.
69. Why don’t the Greeks try to give directions?
A. Because they often say “Follow me.”
B. Because they will lead you to the post office.
C. Because they don’t understand any foreign language.
D. Because tourists don’t understand their language.
70. The passage tells us that ____.
A. there are different ways to get to the post office
B. people everywhere can tell you how far the post office is
C. in Greece there is much trouble in finding the post office
D. there are different customs in different places
第四部分阅读理解（共15个小题，每小题1分，满分15分）
In the western part of the United States where the Indians lived, a little mouse called the “bean mouse” became a guide to rich stores of good and tasty difficult-to-find food. Each season, the little animal would work very hard to search out the rare beans, and “cache” them away in its nest (窝). The Indians learned of this and found out the hiding place. They collected most of the beans for themselves. When the mouse returned to its home and found only a few of the tasty beans left, it set to work, harder than ever before, gathering more beans. This was a fine thing for the Indians, who had only to look for the nest, while the mouse had to look for the beans. But the Indians returned the favour (恩惠，善意) by always making sure that the animal had enough for the winter.
61. The Indians valued the bean mouse _________.
A. as a guide to food B. as fertile (肥沃的) land
C. because it made a good pet D. because its fur was valuable
62. The underlined word “cache” means _______.
A. throw them in every place B. place them in a hiding place for later use
C. put them in its home D. lay them under the mud
63. The passage says that the bean mouse was ________.
A. fearless B. friendly C. rare D. hard-working
64. The Indians are shown to be ________.
A. clever B. hard-working C. unkind D. educated
65. The best title for this passage is _________.
A. Man’s Best Friend B. Habits of the Bean Mouse
C. A Search of Rare Beans D. The Indians and the Mouse
Rome had the Forum (论坛). London has Speaker’s Corner. Now always-on-the-go New Yorkers have Liz and Bill.
Liz and Bill, two college graduates in their early 20s, have spent a whole year trying to have thousands of people talk to them in subway stations and on busy street corners. And just talk.
Using a 2-foot-tall sign that says, “ Talk to Me,” they attract conversationalists, who one evening included a mental patient, and men in business suits.
They don’t collect money. They don’t push religion (宗教). So what’s the point?
“ To see what happens,” said Liz. “ We simply enjoy life with open talk.”
Shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks, they decided to walk from New York City to Washington, a 270-mile trip. They found they loved talking to people along the way and wanted to continue talking with strangers after their return.
“ It started as a crazy idea.” Liz said. “ We were so curious about all the strangers walking by with their life stories. People will talk to us about anything: their job, their clothes, their childhood experiences, anything.”
Denise wanted to talk about an exam she was about to take. She had stopped by for the second time in two days, to let the two listeners know how it went.
Marcia had led her husband to a serious disease. “That was very heavy on my mind.” Marcia said. “ To be able to talk about it to total strangers was very good,” she explained.
To celebrate a year of talking, the two held a get-together in a city park for all the people they had met over the past year. A few hundred people appeared, as well as some television cameramen and reporters.
They may plan more parties or try to attract more people to join their informal talks. Some publishers have expressed interest in a book, something the two say they’ll consider before making a decision.
56. What did Liz and Bill determined to do after the attack on September 11, 2001?
A. Telling stories to strangers. B. Setting up street signs.
C. Talking with people D. Organizing a speaker’s party.
57. What they have been doing can be described as ____________.
A. pointless (无意义的) B. normal
C. crazy D. successful
58. Why are Denise and Marcia mentioned in the text?
A. They knew Liz and Bill very well.
B. They happened to meet the writer of the text.
C. They organized the get-together in the city park.
D. They are examples of those who talked to Liz and Bill.
59. What will Liz and Bill do in the future?
A. Go in for publishing B. Do more television programs.
C. Continue what they are doing D. Spend more time reading books.
60. How do they like the idea of writing a book?
A. They have decided to wait a year or two. B. They will think about it carefully
C. They agreed immediately D. They find it hard to do that.
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