Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling. Recycling in the home is very important of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need. We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place.
The total amount of packaging increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a typical household’s waste in the UK. In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.
Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of it for carrying this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such items in the first place. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, a few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue, encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example.
But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to associate packaging with quality. We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. This is especially true of food. But it also applies to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary.
There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realise just how much unnecessary material is collecting. We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb.What does the underlined phrase “over-consumption” refer to?
| A．Using too much packaging. |
| B．Recycling too many wastes. |
| C．Making more products than necessary. |
| D．Having more material than is needed. |
The author uses figures in Paragraph 2 to show _______.
| A．the tendency of cutting household waste |
| B．the increase of packaging recycling |
| C．the rapid growth of super markets |
| D．the fact of packaging overuse |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
| A．Unpackaged products are of bad quality. |
| B．Supermarkets care more about packaging. |
| C．It is improper to judge quality by packaging. |
| D．Other products are better packaged than food. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Fighting wastefulness is difficult. |
| B．Needless material is mostly recycled. |
| C．People like collecting recyclable waste. |
| D．The author is proud of their consumer culture. |
I was in a rush as always, but this time it was for an important date I just couldn’t be late for! I found myself at a checkout counter behind an elderly woman seemingly in no hurry as she paid for her groceries. Being a PhD student without a lot of money, I had hurried into the store to pick up some flowers. I was in a huge rush, thinking of my upcoming evening. I did not w
ant to be late for this date
We were in Boston, a place not always known for small conversations between strangers. The 
woman stopped unloading her basket and looked up at me. She smiled. It
was a nice sm
ile—warm and reassuring(令人宽慰的)-and I returned her gift by smiling back.
“Must be a special lady, whoever it is that will be getting those beautiful flowers,” she said.
“Yes, she’s special,” I said, and then to my embarrassment, the words kept coming out. “It’s only our second date, but somehow I am just having the feeling she’s ‘the one,’” jokingly, I added, “The only pr
oblem is that I can’t fig
ure out why she’d want to date a guy like me.”
“Well, I think she’s very lucky to have a boyfriend who brings her such lovely flowers and 
who is obviously in love with her,” the woman said .”My husband used to bring me flowers every week—even when times were tough and we didn’t have much money. Those were incredible days; he was very romantic and—of course— I miss him since he’s passed away.”
I paid for my flowers as she was gathering up her groceries. There was no doubt in my mind as I walked up to her. I touched her on the shoulder and said “You were right, you know. These flowers are indeed for a very special lady.” I handed the flowers and thanked her for such a nice conversation.
It took her a moment to realize that I was giving her the flowers I had just purchased. “May you have a wonderful evening ,”I said. I left het with a big smile and my heart warmed as I saw her smelling the beautiful flowers.
I remember being slightly late for my date that night and telling my girlfriend the above story. A couple of years later, when I finally worked up the courage to ask her to marry me, she told me that this story had helped to seal it for her—that was the night that I won her heart .
41．Why was the writer in a hurry that day?
A. He was to meet his girlfriend. B. He had to go back to school soon.
C. He was delayed by an elderly lady. D. He had to pick up some groceries.
42．What does the underlined phrase “her gift” (Paragraph 2 ) refer to?
A. Her words. B. Her smile. C. Her flowers. D. Her politeness.
43．Why did the writer give his flowers to the elderly lady?
A. She told him a nice story. B. She allowed him to pay first.
C. She gave him encouragement. D. She liked flowers very much.
44．What is the message conveyed in the story?
A. Flowers are important for a date. B. Small
talk is helpful.
C. Love and kindness are rewarding. D. Elderly people deserve respecting.
The appeal of advertising to buying motives can have both negative and positive effects. Consumers may be convinced to buy a product of poor quality or high price because of an advertisement. For example, some advertisers have appealed to people’s desire for better fuel economy for their cars by advertising automotive products that improve gasoline mileage. Some of the products work. Others are worthless and a waste of consumers’ money.
Sometimes advertising is intentionally misleading. A few years ago a brand of
bread was offered to dieters (节食者) with the message that there were fewer calories in every slice. It turned out that the bread was not dietetic (适合于节食的), but just regular bread. There were fewer calories because it was sliced very thin, but there were the same number of calories in every loaf.
On the positive side, emotional appeals may respond to a consumer’s real concerns. Consider fire insurance. Fire insurance may be sold by appealing to fear of loss. But fear of loss is the real reason for fire insurance. The security of knowing that property is protected by insurance makes the purchase of fire insurance a worthwhile investment for most people. If consumers consider the quality of the insurance plans as well as the message in the ads, they will benefit from the advertising.
Each consumer must evaluate her or his own situation. Are the benefits of the product important enough to justify buying it? Advertising is intended to appeal to consumers, but it does not force them to buy the product. Consumers still control the final buying decision.
56. Advertising can persuade the consumer to buy worthless products by _________.
A. stressing their high quality
B. convincing him of their low price
C. maintaining a balance between quality and price
D. appealing to his buying motives
57. The reason why the bread advertisement is misleading is that ________.
A. thin slices of bread could contain more calories
B. the loaf was cut into regular slices
C. the bread was not genuine bread
D. the total number of calories in the loaf remained the same
58. The passage tells us that _______.
A. sometimes advertisements really sell what the consumer needs
B. advertisements occasionally force consumers into buying things they don’t need
C. the buying motives of consumers are controlled by advertisements
D. fire insurance is seldom a worthwhile investment
59. It can be inferred from the passage that a smart consumer should ________.
A. think carefully about the benefits described in the advertisements
B. guard against the deceiving nature of advertisements
C. be familiar with various advertising strategies
D. avoid buying products that have strong emotional appeal
60. The passage is mainly about ________.
A. how to make a wise buying decision
B. ways to protect the interests of the consumer
C. the positive and negative aspects of advertising
D. the function of advertisements in promoting sales
Dogs are social animals and without proper training, they will behave like wild animals. They will soil your house, destroy your belongings, bark excessively, fight other dogs and even bite you. Nearly all behavior problems are perfectly normal dog activities that occur at the wrong time or place or are directed at the wrong thing. The key to preventing or treating behavior problems is learning to teach the dog to redirect its normal behavior to outlets that are acceptable in the domestic setting.
One of the best things you can do for your dog and yourself is to train its obedience. Obedience training doesn’t solve all behavior problems, but it is the foundation for solving just about any problem. Training opens up a line of communication between you and your dog. Effective communication is necessary to instruct your dog about what you want it to do.
Training is also an easy way to establish the social rank order. When your dog obeys a simple request of “come here, sit,” it is showing obedience and respect for you. It is not necessary to establish yourself as top dog or leader of the pack（群）by using extreme measure. You can teach your dog its subordinate（从属的）role by teaching it to show submission to you. Most dogs love performing tricks for you to
pleasantly accept that you are in charge.
Training should be fun and rewarding for you and your dog. It can enrich your relationship and make living together more enjoyable. A well-trained dog is more confident and can more safely be allowed a greater amount of freedom than an untrained animal.
51. Behavior problems of dogs are believed to _______.
A. be just part of their nature
B. worsen in modern society
C. occur when they go wild
D. present a threat to the community
52. The primary purpose of obedience training is to _______.
A. teach the dog to perform clever tricks
B. make the dog aware of its owner’s authority
C. provide the dog with outlets for its wild behavior
D. enable the dog to regain its normal behavior
53. Effective communication between a dog and its owner is _______.
A. essential to solving the dog’s behavior problems
B. the foundation for dogs to perform tasks
C. a good way to teach the dog new tricks
D. an extreme measure in obedience training
54. Why do pet dogs love performing tricks for their masters?
A. To avoid being punished.
B. To show their affection for their masters.
C. To win leadership of the dog pack.
D. To show their willingness to obey.
55. When a dog has received effective obedience training, its owner _______.
A. can give the dog more rewards
B. will enjoy a better family life
C. can give the dog more freedom
D. will have more confidence in himself
The flag, the most common symbol of a nation in the modern world, is also one of the most ancient. With a clear symbolic meaning, the flag in the traditional form is still used today to mark buildings, ships and other vehicles related to a country.
The national flag as we know it today is in no way a primitive artifact. It is, rather, the product of thousands of years’ development. Historians believe that it had two major ancestors, of which the earlier served to show wind direction.
Early human beings used very fragile houses and boats. Often strong winds would tear roofs from houses or cause high waves that endangered travelers. People’s food supplies were similarly vulnerable. Even after they had learned how to plant grains, they still needed help from nature to ensure good harvests. Therefore they feared and depended on the power of the wind, which could bring warmth from one direction and cold from another.
Using a simple piece of cloth tied to the top of a post to tell the direction of the wind was more dependable than earlier methods, such as watching the rising of smoke from a fire. The connection of the flag with heavenly power was therefore reasonable. Early human societies began to fix long pieces of cloth to the tops of totems (图腾) before carrying them into battle. They believed that the power of the wind would be added to the good wishes of the gods and ancestors represented by the totems themselves.
These flags developed very slowly into modern flags. The first known flag of a nation or a ruler was unmarked: The king of China around 1000 B.C. was known to have a white flag carried ahead of him. This practice might have been learned from Egyptians even further in the past, but it was from China that it spread over trade routes through India, then across Arab lands, and finally to Europe, where it met up with the other ancestor of the national flag.
46. The best title for the passage would be “________”.
A. Development of the National Flag B. Power of the National Flag
C. Types of Flags D. Uses of Flags
47. The underlined word “vulnerable” in Paragraph 3 means ________.
A. impossible to make sure of B. likely to be protected
C. easy to damage D. difficult to find
48. The earliest flags were connected with heavenly power because ________.
A. they could tell wind direction
B. they could bring good luck to fighters
C. they were handed down by the ancestors
D. they were believed to stand for natural forces
49. What does the author know of the first national flag?
A. He knows when it was sent to Europe.
B. He believes it was made in Egypt.
C. He thinks it came from China.
D. He doubts where it started.
50. What will the author most probably talk about next?
A. The role of China in the spread of the national flag.
B. The second ancestor of the national flag.
C. The use of modern flags in Europe.
D. The importance of modern flags.
IV. 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A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在
答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I am a writer. I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language—the way it can evoke (唤起) an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all—all the Englishes I grew up with.
Born into a Chinese family that had recently arrived in California, I’ve been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. Like others, I have described it to people as “broken” English. But I feel embarrassed to say that. It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than “broken”, as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness. I’ve heard other terms used, “limited English,” for example. But they seem just as bad, as if everything is limited, including people’s perceptions of the limited English speaker.
I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mother’s “limited” English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say. That is, because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect. And I had plenty of evidence to support me: the fact that people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.
I started writing fiction in 1985. And for reasons I won’t get into today, I began to write stories using all the Englishes I grew up with: the English she used with me, which for lack of a better term might be described as “broken”, and what I imagine to be her translation of her Chinese, her internal language, and for that I sought to preserve the essence, but neither an English nor a Chinese structure: I wanted to catch what language ability tests can never show: her intention, her feelings, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts.
41. By saying “Language is the tool of my trade”, the author means that ________.
A. she uses English in foreign trade
B. she is fascinated by languages
C. she works as a translator
D. she is a writer by profession
42. The author used to think of her mother’s English as ________.
A. impolite B. amusing C. imperfect D. practical
43. Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 3?
A. Americans do not understand broken English.
B. The author’s mother was not respected sometimes.
C. The author’ mother had positive influence on her.
D. Broken English always reflects imperfect thoughts.
44. The author gradually realizes her mother’s English is ________.
A. well structured B. in the old style
C. easy to translate D. rich in meaning
45. What is the passage mainly about?
A. The changes of the author’s attitude to her mother’s English.
B. The limitation of the author’s perception of her mother.
C. The author’s misunderstanding of “limited” English.
D. The author’s experiences of using broken English.
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