An eighteen-year-old high school student from Utah won the top prize in the Intel Science Talent Search in the United States. The winner received a computer and a scholarship for a college education.
More than 1,500 students from across the country entered projects in the competition this year. Their research included chemistry, medicine, physics, mathematics, engineering, and computer science—almost every area of science.
Forty students were invited to Washington, D.C. for the final judging. A group of scientistsjudged them on their research abilities, critical thinking skills and creativity. The judges alsoquestioned the students about scientific problems before deciding on the winners.
The top winner received 100,000 dollars for college. Shannon Babb of American Fork High School studied the water quality of tile Spanish Fork River in Utah for six years. She found that people have a harmful effect on the river through human activity, including agriculture. And she suggested ways to improve the water quality in the future. These include educating the public not to put household chemicals down the drains（下水道）, which lead to the river eventually.
Seventeen-year-old Yi Sun of the Hanker School in San Jose, California, earned the second place. He won a 75,000-dollar scholarship for new discoveries about a mathematical theory known as random walks. His work could help computer scientists and chemists. Yi Sun was born in China.
The third-place winner was also seventeen and born in China. Yuan “Chelsea” Zhang of Montgomery Blair High School in Rockville, Maryland, won a 50,000-dollar scholarship. She researched the molecular genetics（分子遗传学）of heart disease. Her findings could aid the development of new medicines.
The Intel Science Talent Search is the oldest science competition for high school students in the United States. It is 65 years old this year. Past winners have gone on to receive six Nobel prizes and other top honors in science and math.What do we know about the talent search project?
| A．Most of its winners have received Nobel prizes. |
| B．The project includes researches in every area of science. |
| C．Only a small part of the students can attend the final judging. |
| D．Most of the winners come from Asian countries. |
According to the text, .
| A．water quality in Utah will be better than that in the other states |
| B．the river was polluted only by those living near it |
| C．Shannon Babb suggested more than one way to improve the water quality |
| D．household chemicals should be kept in the drains forever |
Which of the following about the girl from Maryland is NOT true?
| A．The scholarship she received was half as many as Shannon Babb. |
| B．Her discovery is of great help to Chinese medicine. |
| C．Her research will contribute to the cure of heart disease. |
| D．She and the second-place winner Yi Sun have something in common. |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．Three winners' contributions to science and math. |
| B．Three Chinese students won the Science Talent Search. |
| C．Great rewards were given to winners in the competition. |
| D．Winners of the Intel Science Talent Search in the US. |
Where are you most likely to find this text?
| A．In a newspaper. | B．In a handbook. |
| C．In a textbook. | D．In a medical magazine. |
D
You’ve probably heard of the butterfly effect that small changes in one place can lead to great damage elsewhere. The Toy Story II, Made-in-China, appearing on the internet, TV screens and front pages of newspapers worldwide since August, was a live show. China’s fame as “the world’s factory” was badly damaged this summer by a small, but powerful magnet (磁铁), and colorful paints on toys.
Mattel, the world’s largest toy company in the US, on August 14 announced the biggest recall (召回) of toys in its history. Among the recalled products were 17.4 million toys that had a design problem. They contained a small, powerful magnet that could harm children if it was swallowed. Another 2.2 million toys were recalled because of impermissible levels of lead (铅) in their paint.
Although the designing problem has nothing to do with where the toys were made, the reports in the western media of the recall started to draw a horrible picture in many American parent’s minds.
The toy recall issue followed shortly after recalls earlier in the year of Chinese-made pet food and toothpaste and left users all over the world worried about buying anything labeled (贴上标签) “Made-in-China”.
The recall of the toys teaches Chinese companies that quality is extremely important. However, many of the complaints by western countries about Chinese goods reflect complicated feeling
s about the growing Chinese economy, culture differences and various political systems.
However, more than 100 US multinational companies from many industries, including Boeing and Microsoft, signed a letter to the US Congress on September 28, to say no to the proposal against China. “Imposing (加强) unfair barriers to trade in the name of product safety is not a solution,” the companies wrote.
Toys are made for children to learn about the reality world and become more mature (成熟), however, the Chinese version of Toy Story helps lots of adults learn about responsibility, importance of quality, understanding, communications, and more.
53. The author mentions the butterfly effect at the beginning of the passage to ______.
A. explain what the butterfly effect is
B. tell the readers what causes the butterfly effect
C. say that the toy effect is similar to the butterfly effect
D. compare the differences between the butterfly effect and the toy effect
54. Which of the following are the reasons mentioned to have caused the recall?
a. The picture on the toys.
b. The designing problem.
c. The colorful paints on toys.
d. The materials toys are made of.
e. The small powerful magnet on toys.
A. abe B. bde C. bce D. acd
55. Boeing and Microsoft signed a letter to the US Congress because ______.
A. the growing Chinese economy makes them afraid
B. the Chinese companies have realized the importance of quality
C. the Toy Story has made some Chinese companies suffer great losses
D. they think it’s unfair to impose barriers in the name of product safety
56. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
A. Made in China. B. Butterfly Effect.
C. Western Media. D. Toy Story.
C
As kids, my friends and I spent a lot of time out in the woods. “The woods” was our part-time address, destination, purpose, and excuse. If I went to a friend’s house and found him not at home, his mother might say, “Oh, he’s out in the woods,” with a tone of airy acceptance. It’s similar to the tone people sometimes use nowadays to tell me that someone I’m looking for is on the golf course or at the gym, or even “away from his desk.” For us ten-year-olds, “being out in the woods” was just an excuse to do whatever we feel like for a while.
We sometimes told ourselves that what we were doing in the woods was exploring (探险). Exploring was a more popular idea back then than it is today. History seemed to be mostly about explorers. Our explorations, though, seemed to have less system than the historic kind: something usually came up along the way. Say we stayed in the woods, throwing rocks, shooting frogs, picking blackberries, digging in what we were briefly persuaded was an Italian burial mound.
Often we got “lost” and had to climb a tree to find out where we were. If you read a story in which someone does that successfully, be skeptical: the topmost branches are usually too skinny to hold weight, and we could never climb high enough to see anything except other trees. There were four or five trees that we visited regularly — tall beeches, easy to climb and comfortable to sit in.
It was in a tree, too, that our days of fooling around in the woods came to an end. By then some of us has reached seventh grade and had begun the rough ride of adolescence (青春期). In March, the month when we usually took to the woods again after winter, two friends and I set out to go exploring. We climbed a tree, and all of a sudden it occurred to all three of us at the same time that we really were rather big to be up in a tree. Soon there would be the spring dances on Friday evenings in the high school cafeteria.
48. The author and his fiends were often out in the woods to ______.
A. spend their free time B. play golf and other sports
C. keep away from their parents D. escape from doing their schoolwork
49. What can we infer from paragraph 2?
A. The activities in the woods were well planned.
B. Human history is not the result of exploration.
C. The author explored in the woods aimlessly.
D. Exploration should be a systematic activity.
50. The underlined word “skeptical” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. calm B. doubtful C. serious D. optimistic
51. From the last paragraph, we can learn that ________.
A. they usually didn’t go to the woods in winter
B. the author and his friends are of the same age
C. all high school students would go dancing on Friday evenings
D. they stopped going to the woods because they were adults now
52. How does the author feel about his childhood?
A. Happy but short. B. Lonely but memorable.
C. Boring and meaningless. D. Long and unforgettable.
B
Among the most popular books being written today are science fictions (小说). Hundreds of titles are published every year and are read by all kinds of people. Furthermore, some of the most successful films of recent years have been based on science fiction stories.
It is often thought that science fiction is a fairly new development in literature, but its forefathers can be found in books written hundreds of years ago. These books were often concerned with the presentation of some form of ideal society, a main subject which is still often found in modern stories.
Most of the classics of science fiction, however, have been written within the last one hundred years. Books by writers, such as Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, to mention just two well–known authors, have been translated into many languages.
In an age where science fact frequently overtakes (超过) science fiction, the writers may find it difficult to keep ahead of scientific advances. Those who are clear-sighted to see how the ways are going, however, may provide a valuable lesson on how to deal with the problems which society will unpreventably face as it tries to master its new technology and come to terms with a continually changing view of the world.
45. It can be concluded that modern science fiction ______
A. is worse than that in the past
B. shows the writer’s viewpoints
C. tells stories about men from other planets
D. has been written only by Jules Verne and H.G. Wells
46. From the article we get the impression that science fiction ______.
A. is popular
B. is a fairly new development in literature
C. reflects the technical advances in the past
D. describes thing
s that happen in developed countries
47. Which of the following statements is true?
A. Science fiction is based on successful films.
B. Science fiction often overtakes science fact.
C. Writers may find it easy to keep ahead of scientific advances.
D. The writer who can see clearly the way we are going will give us valuable instructions.
第二部分 阅读理解（共两节，满分50分）
第一节 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。（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
A
I arrived in the classroom, ready to share my knowledge and experience with 76 students who would be my English literature class. Having taught in the US for 17 years, I have no doubt about my ability to hold their attention and to impress on them my admiration for the literature of my mother tongue.
I was shocked when the monitor shouted, “stand up!” The entire class rose as I entered the room and I was somewhat puzzled about how to get them to sit down again, but once the embarrassment (尴尬) was over, I quickly regained my calmness and admiration. I went back to my office with the rosy glow which came from a strong sense of achievement.
My students kept diaries. However, as I read them, the rosy glow was gradually replaced by a strong sense of sadness. The first diary said, “Our literature teacher didn’t teach us anything today. Perhaps her next lecture will be better.” Greatly surprised, I read diary after diary, each expressing a similar theme. “Didn’t I teach them anything? I described the entire Western philosophy (哲学) and laid the historical background for all the works we will study in class.” I complained. “How should they say I didn’t teach them anything?”
It was a long term, and it gradually became clear that my ideas about education were not the same as those of my students. I thought a teacher’s job was to raise interesting questions and provide enough background so that students could draw their own conclusions. My students thought a teacher’s job was to provide exact information as directly and clearly as possible. What a difference!
However, I also learned a lot, and the experience with my Chinese students has made me a better American teacher, knowing how to teach in a different culture.
41. We can know that on the first day the writer ______.
A. felt she didn’t teach them much
B. was very confident in her students
C. felt very confident in herself at first
D. was disappointed at her students’ performance
42. At the beginning of the lesson, the writer got puzzled because of ______.
A. cultural differences B. students’ admiration
C. students’ embarrassment D. the same experience
43. The writer learnt from their diaries that the students wanted to ______.
A. raise interesting questions B. know about background
C. draw their own conclusions D. know more exact facts
44. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. The writer got used to the life in China.
B. The writer doubted about her ability of teaching.
C. The writer had taught in many western countries.
D. The writer became better at teaching foreign students.
C
Cancun is a seaside town in Mexico, where most tourists come here to enjoy the beach, water sports and night life. In fact, it is so modern and Americanized that you might think you were in southern California or Florida.
But just a short two-hour hike from the town lie the ruins of the city of Chichen-Itza, one of the capitals of the lost Maya（玛雅）civilization. The center of the ruins of this city is the pyramid of El Castillo. The ancient Mayan religious people climbed this pyramid during festival to honor the Sun god. Tourists today climb it to view the architectural achievements of Chichen-Itza and to prove their fearlessness of heights and steep （陡峭的）climbs. There is a sign in Spanish, admonishing visitors “It’s dangerous to go up.” I gladly ignored it and started my climb.
The climbing was tough. The steps were higher than one might normally take., but the climb was not fearful at all. From the top of the pyramid, I had a wonderful view of the ruins of this Mayan city. What was most striking to me was that just beyond the ruins of splendid structures, gardens, temples and what looks like a modern sports stadium, you could only see forests for miles and miles. It was almost as if some race had mysteriously come out of nowhere, built it up and then suddenly disappeared from the planet, leaving only stones in its space.
The only remains on the top of the pyramid were the Temple of Kukulcan. During the festivals to worship the Sun god, only the high ranks would have the right to enter this temple.
After shooting a few pictures, I realized it was time to go down. Only then did I discover that what people fear about the climb is not the trip going up, but the way going down. I saw a few brave souls who were walking down as if they were in their own house. Looking down at the steepness of the pyramid, I desperately feared this great height. My first desire was to joke with a few people, “Where is the elevator（电梯）?” I figured that a civilization that was this advanced would have had the foresight(预见) to construct an elevator. Lacking such modern equipment, I had to use the chain provided by the Mexican tourist authorities and climb down on all fours.
My climb was complete eventually. I quickly got on the bus back to my comfortable hotel. Leaving the ruined city, I was still wondering what possibly happened long ago. But a few hours later, I was back in the modern world drinking cocktails on the beach, bathing in the sunshine before boarding the plane and waiting for my trip back home to the US, where all the modern things such as elevators are available!
57. Why did the writer pay a visit to the ruined city of Chichen-Itza?
A. He wanted to climb the pyramid of EL Castillo and know about the Mayan civilization.
B. He would got to the Temple of Kukulcan to attend a religious festival to honor the Sun god.
C. He thought the city of Chichen-Itza was quite different from the modern town of Cancun.
D. He was attracted by the ruined ancient buildings there and wanted to take some photos.
58. The underlined word “admonishing” in Paragraph 2 probably means “___________”.
A. urging B. forcing C. warning D. frightening
59. Which of the following best shows climbing the pyramid of EL Castillo is a difficult task?
A. The steps are very high and it is much more scaring to climb to the top.
B. The climbing calls for courage and patience, and also takes a long time.
C. When tourist climb up to the top, there is no elevator to take them down.
D. The pyramid is high and steep, and climbing down is much more fearful.
60. From the last paragraph, we can infer that the writer ______________.
A. had a bad impression of the visit and decided to leave as soon as possible.
B. thought modernization could offer people comforts and conveniences.
C. got tired of the modern life and tried a different one in his own way.
D. enjoyed himself in the climb though it was very tiring and dangerous.
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