Here's a hotel worth writing something about: a company in Poland plans to build tourist accommodation under the sea. The structure can be dragged to a suitable location and placed on supports on the sea bed. The ‘Water Discus’ will be made up of an underwater disc containing 22 bedrooms with sea views, connected by lift and stairs to a disc above the surface containing other hotel facilities.
Project manager Robert Bursiewicz says: “Nowadays it's possible to build submarines ('潜艇) which go deeper than 500m below the sea surface, so building an underwater hotel is not a problem. ”
In fact, they don't plan to have the hotel very deep. Water acts like a filter (过滤器) for sunlight, and below 15m most colors, apart from blue, are washed out. And we all want to see colorful marine life, don't we?
But this isn't the first hotel to offer underwater views from the bedrooms. The two-bedroom Jules' Undersea Lodge, off the coast of Florida, has been taking in guests 10m beneath the surface since 1986.
The company that operates the hotel also runs a diving course for beginners to help get guests down and into the hotel. It is accessible only through an opening at the bottom.
And you'll find all the usual facilities in the room, according to Teresa McKirma, Jules's chief financial officer. It has a television, air conditioning and Wi-Fi. But for the staff, simple things like cleaning and making beds can be challenging, since the lodge is in sea water.
"It actually takes quite a lot of work to get anything down there," she says. "We have to put everything in waterproof boxes and attach weights to them to counter their buoyancy (浮力). "
The hotel has suitably sized waterproof boxes so that pizzas can be delivered by divers to guests who order them for their evening meal. And after a meal, if you can't sleep because of the excitement of the experience, you don't have to count sheep. You'll fall asleep quicker if you count fish.According to the passage, the new hotel will ______.
| A．contain three discs |
| B．come into use soon |
| C．have a movable structure |
| D．be built 500m beneath the surface |
【改编】Why won't they intend to have the hotel very deep in the water?
| A．They lack advanced technology. |
| B．They lack advanced technology. |
| C．They reject to enjoy colorful life. |
| D．Most colors are washed out below 15m. |
According to Teresa McKirma, ______.
| A．entertainment is impossible in the hotel |
| B．the staff's work is difficult to finish |
| C．it's easy to get things down there |
| D．the built hotel is badly equipped |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A．Passengers can't enjoy their meals. |
| B．Passengers will feel fed up with the views. |
| C．Passengers have no choice but to count fish. |
| D．Passengers may get excited about the experience. |
How I Turned to Be Optimistic
I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt＇s house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America. We were on the bus then. I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me. I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio program for school children to which I listened every morning.
I do not remember myself crying for this reason again. In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives. When we were leaving I thought about all the places I was going to see—the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures. The country I was leaving never to come back was hardly in my head then.
The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism, but the idea did not come to me at once. For the first two years in New York I was really lost—having to study in three schools as a result of family moves. I did not quite know what I was or what I should be. Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me. Some time passed before my stepfather and I got used to each other. I was often sad, and saw no end to “the hard times.”
My responsibilities in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home. I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with Immigration officers, took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives.
From my experiences I have learned one important rule: Almost all common troubles eventually go away! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy.
61. How did the author get to know America?
A. From her relatives B. From her mother
C. From books and pictures D. From radio programs
62. Upon leaving for America the author felt .
A. confused B. excited
C. worried D. amazed
63. For the first two years in New York, the author .
A. often lost her way B. did not think about her future
C. studied in three different schools D. got on well with her stepfather
64. What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 4?
A. She worked as a translator
B. She attended a lot of job interviews
C. She paid telephone bills for her family
D. She helped her family with her English
65. The author believes that .
A. her future will be free from troubles
B. it is difficult to learn to become patient
C. there are more good things than bad things
D. good things will happen if one keeps trying
第三部分 阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40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。
I suddenly heard an elephant crying as though frightened．Looking down，I immediately recognized that something was wrong，and ran down to the edge of the near bank．There I saw Ma Shwe with her three-month-old calf(young elephant)struggling in the fast-rising water，and it was a life-and-death struggle．Her calf was floating and screaming with fear．Ma Shwe was as near to the far bank as she could get，holding her whole body against the rushing water，and keeping the calf pressed against her huge body．Every now and then the rushing water would sweep the calf away.
There was a sudden rise in the water and the calf was washed clean over the mother’s body and was gone ．Ma Shwe turned quickly to reach it and pressed the calf with her head and trunk(象鼻)against the rocky bank．Then with a huge effort，she picked it up in her trunk and tried until she was able to place it on a narrow shelf of rock．
Just at this moment．she fell back into the river．If she were carried down, it would be certain death．I knew，as well as she did，that there was one spot where she could get up the bank，but it was on the other side from where she had put her calf．While I was wondering what I could do next，I heard the sound of a mother’s love．Ma Shwe had crossed the river and got up the bank and was making her way back as fast as she could，roaring(吼叫)all the time，but to her calf it was music.
56．The moment the author got down to the river bank he saw ．
A．the calf was about to fall into the river
B．Ma Shwe was placing the calf on the rock
C．the calf was washed away by the rising water
D．Ma Shwe was holding the calf against the rushing water
57．How did Ma Shwe manage to save her calf from the fast-flowing water?
A．By pressing it against her body．
B．By putting it on a safe spot．
C．By taking it away with her．
D．By carrying it on her back．
58．How did the calf feel about the mother elephant's roaring?
A．It was a great comfort. B．It was a sign of danger．
C．It was a call for help． D．It was a musical note．
59．What does the underlined sentence mean?
A．The mother took the calf away on its body．
B．The mother cleaned the calf with its back．
C．The calf was carried away by the water．
D．The calf was washed clean in the water．
60．What could be the best title for the text?
A．A Brave Act B．A Mother's Love
C．A Deadly River D．A Matter of Life and Death
One potential prolem with allowances (零用钱) is that children’s reponsible beha
vior can become about earning the allowance rather than the intrinsic (固有的) value of their family responsibilities. For example, if you pay your children for taking out the trash, they see this chore (家务事) as a job that they should be rewarded for instead of a responsibility they must fulfil as part of the family. But giving children an allowance for weekly chores is not necessarily bad. You are rewarding them for fulfilling their family responsibilities, but it is not for a specific act. Rather, it is an appreciation of their commitment to your family values.You are also conveying another important message that their actions have consequences: if they do good things, good things happen. They also learn a lesson about the market economy, namely, that work is rewarded.
Allowances can also be used as punishment and to teach children lessons about family values. For example, if your children join a group of kids smashing (炸碎) pumpkins on Halloween, a part of a reasonable punishment might be to require them to pay the families out of their allowances to replace the pumpkins. Thus, your children learn that bad behavior has financial consequences. Also, by relating the punishment to the misdeed, you ensure that your children see the connection and learn the value lesson.
How much allowance should you pay your children? The precise amount depends on your family’s financial situation, the cost of living and your children’s needs. Children can start to earn a weekly allowance as early as 5 years of age. An increase of $1 per week for each year of your children’s lives is realistic until they reach their mid-teens. When they begin to drive and date, you can calculate their expenses and establish a reasonable allowance that covers their needs.
64. How many advantages of giving allowances are mentioned in the passage?
A. One. B.Two. C.Three. D.Four.
65. According to the author,_____ .
A.giving children an allowance for weekly chores will certainly cause problems
B.it is better to reward children for fulfilling family responsibilities than for a specific act
C.you can’t give your chidren allowances unless they do good deeds
D.it is unnecessary for small children to learn about the market economy
66.The precise allowance amount you should pay your chidren 
depends on all the following factors EXCEPT ___ .
A. the living standard in your area
B. how rich or poor your family is
C. how much other children receive
D. the actual needs of your chidren
67. It can be inferred that________.
A.The author doesn’t want to give any tips on allowance amounts
B. allowance given to chidren of different ages may vary
C.children under 5 can’t be given any allowance
D. allowance amounts grow at the same speed with your chidren
The Royal Horticultural Society(RHS) finds that women gardeners’ voices speed up the growth of tomato plants much more than men’s.
In an experiment, the researchers found that tomato plants grew up to two inches taller if they were sung to by a female rather than a male.
The most effective voice came from Sarah Darwin, whose great-great grandfather was the botanist(植物学家) Charles Darwin, one of the founding fathers of the RHS.
She read a passage from the On the Origin of Species and beat nine other ‘voices’. Her plant grew nearly two inches taller than the best performing male and half an inch higher than her nearest competitor.
Colin Crosbie, Garden Manager a
t the RHS, said, “We predicted that the male voice would be more effective but it turned out that the ladies’ voice was far better than the gentlemen’s. We just don’t know why. It could be because they have a greater range of pitch(高音) and tone(音色) that affects the sound waves that hit the plant.The sound wave is on environmental effect just like rain or light.”
In the experiment, every plant was played a different voice through earphones connected to the plant pot, and the environmental conditions for all the plants remained the same throughout the experiment. To ensure that the results of the experiment were convincing, two plants were also left to grow in silence.
The results showed that women on average saw their plants grow an inch taller than their male counterparts(对手) and much more than the plants left in complete silence.
Miss Darwin said, “I’m not sure if it’s my sweet tones or the text that I read from On the Origin of Species that made the plant sit up and listen, but either way, I think it is an honor to have such a voice, and it is especially fitting for me, because for years I have been studying wild tomatoes at the Natural History Museum(NHM) in London.”
60. How many tomato plants were chosen for this experiment?
A. 9. B. 10. C. 11. D.12.
61. What can we learn about Sarah Darwin?
A.She is very proud of her sweet voice..
B. She is one of the founding fathers of the RHS.
C. She has discovered why her voice benefits plants.
D. She will work at the NHM in London after the experiment.
62. Why were two plants left to grow in silence in the experiment?
A. To make the results of the experiment trustworthy.
B. To convince people that sound waves are better than rain and lig
ht.
C. To help find out how many inches plants can grow with the help of voices.
D. To prove that the environmental conditions for the plants remained the same.
63. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. The text from On the Origin of Species can help plants grow..
B. Sarah’s nearest competitor was also a woman..
C.Men’s voices have a greater range of pitch and tone than women’s..
D.Colin Crosbie predicted that women’s voices were better for the plant than men’s.
第三部分:阅读理解(共20小题,每题2分,共40分)
第一节：（共15小题,每题2分,共30分）
阅读下面四篇短文，从四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Forgiving is easy. Forget
ing the experience that comes before the forgiveness, however, always remains with us. Choosing to forgive means choosing to let go of the bad or negative emotions that one experiences so that we can live in peace and harmony.
Five years ago I went through a painful divorce. My elder brother, a grea
t believer of our faith, was very angry at my decision to divorce. Despite his response I felt my decision was correct. After two years of arguing over the phone and hurtful words in emails my brother and I ended our friendship in a cold silence.
Out of the blue(意想不到地) he visited the same city that I was living in to see our mother. I thought for nights about how to react to his visit. I sought advice from many friends---all of whom said I should wait for his apology before trying to repair our friendship. Since I had done nothing wrong, it was he that needed to come to me.
A very close friend advised me otherwise. He said, “Choose to be the bigger person here; forgive and forget. Let go and move on.” Though his words gave me courage, I still felt very angry and betrayed(背叛). My dear friend gave me a gentle shove(推，促使) and even stayed on the phone while I went over to greet my brother and family. When I did, I felt so relieved.I felt peace at last!
Todady I am so grateful to my friend for encouraging me. If I hadn’t taken his advice, I wouldn’t enjoy the loving relationship that I do now with all of my family. Still, it would be a lie if I said that I didn’t think about the past sometimes. The difference is that I do not feel angry. I am at peace and have a greater understanding and acceptance of the whole experience. In short I feel I have grown since then.
56. In the author’s opinion, the purpose of forgiving is _________.
A. to forget the unpleasant experience
B.to make up with relatives or friends
C.to let go of the bad or negative emotions
D. to make ourselves live in peace and harmony
57. What was the problem between the author and her elder brother ?
A. They had different attitudes of life.
B. They had different views towards her marriage.
C. They belonged to different political parties.
D.They had a quarrel about properties.
58. What drove the author to forgive her brother?
A. One close friend’s encouragement.
B. The friend’s staying on the phone.
C. Her mother’s persuasion.
D. Her own understanding with growth.
59. It can be inferred that the author______.
A. realized her mistake in her divorce in the end
B. learned how to forget unpleasant experiences
C. felt having learned to forgive means growth
D.thought friendship is the most important of all
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