Section B

Directions: Read the following four 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 you have just read.?

(A)

  The Lego Group had a very humble beginning in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter from Denmark. Christiansen began creating wooden toys in 1932. Two years later, he stumbled on the Lego name by putting together the first two letters of the Danish words Leg and Godt, which mean “play well.” The name could be interpreted as “I put together” in Latin; it also corresponds to the Greek verb meaning “gather” or “pick up.”

  In 1947, the company expanded to making plastic toys. At first, the use of plastic for toy manufacture was not highly regarded by retailers and consumers of the time. Many of the Lego Group’s shipments were returned, following poor sales. However, Christiansen’s son, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, saw the immense potential in Lego bricks to become a system for creative play. As the junior managing director of the Lego Group, he spent years trying to improve the “l(fā)ocking” ability of the bricks and made the bricks more versatile. In 1958, the modern interlocking brick design was finally developed and patented.

  Today Lego is sold in more than 130 countries. Every minute 33,824 Lego bricks are made, and kids around the world spend 5 billion hours a year playing with Lego. There will be more than 400 million people playing with Lego bricks this year. On average, every person in the world owns 62 Lego bricks, and about seven Lego sets are sold every second.

  This year Lego fans all over the world are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the tiny building blocks. Though already 50 years old, Lego is still the same product it was in the 1950s. Bricks bought then are still compatible with current bricks and that is probably the reason the toy has never fallen out of favor.

65.   Which of the following is true about the name Lego?

A. It is a combination of Greek and Latin words.

B. It was created by Ole Kirk Christiansen’s son.

C. It was created in 1947 for naming the plastic toys.

D. It came from Danish words meaning “play” and “well.”

66.   When did the Lego brick become as a creative form of toy?

A. 1958                   B. 1947                 C. 1934                  D. 1932

67.   Which of the following is true in describing the popularity of Lego?

A. More than 5 billion people in the world own Lego sets.

B. Children spend an average of 62 dollars on Lego bricks each year.

C. People in the world spend 400 million hours playing with Lego every year.

D. The Lego Group now produces more than 30 thousand toy bricks every minute.

68. What is the main reason that Lego remains popular up to now?

A. Old Lego bricks may still be connected to new ones.

B. The company hasn’t changed its name since 1947.

C. The material for the bricks has proved to be safe.

D. The price of the toy is relatively reasonable.

第二節(jié) 閱讀下面短文，回答文章后面的5個(gè)問(wèn)題。

（E）

Most people agree that the direct, assertive(過(guò)分自信的) American personality is a virtue, but it sometimes surprises foreigners. In many cultures, respect for older people or those in positions of authority keeps others from expressing their true feelings. But in the US children often argue with their parents, students may disagree with their teachers, and citizens may express opposition to the actions of government. If the soup has a fly in it or the meat is too tough to chew, the diner can complain to the waiter, if the boss makes a mistake, an employee will politely point it out.

Some  straight talks about the American personality must include the admission that Americans have their faults. The extremely competitive nature of Americans is probably their worst fault. Of course, competition isn’t always bad. As a matter of fact, it promotes excellence by encouraging individuals and business to try to do their best. But the desire to get ahead of others sometimes causes people to do things that are unkind and even dishonest. Also, Americans admire what is practical, fast, efficient, and fresh. Sometimes they fail to understand and appreciate practices that have greater respect for more traditional, leisurely ways of doing things. On the other hand, people from other cultures may dislike the practical, challenging American lifestyle.

Despite culture differences, most foreigners give Americans credit for their virtues. Americans are generally viewed as friendly, adaptable, energetic, and kindhearted. Most newcomers to the US like Americans, and the feeling is usually mutual.

Perhaps the greatest American virtue is a deep interest in new ideas and new people. In a nation of immigrants, the foreigner does not remain an outsider for long.

61.What does the passage mainly talk about? (No more than 5 words) 

____________________________________________

62.According to the passage, why do people outside America tend to avoid expressing their true feelings when they see their parents or teachers make a mistake? (No more than 15 words)

____________________________________________

63.Why is extremely competitive nature considered as one of the American faults?( No more than 20 words)

____________________________________________

64.What does the writer mean by saying “most foreigners give Americans credit for their virtues”? (No more than 10 words)

____________________________________________

65.Please explain the underlined word “immigrant” in English. (No more than 10 words) _____________________________________________

第二部分  知識(shí)運(yùn)用

語(yǔ)法和詞匯知識(shí) （共15小題；每小題1分，滿(mǎn)分15分）

從A、B、C、D四個(gè)選項(xiàng)中，選出可以填入空白處的最佳選項(xiàng)。

11. -----What about the rent?

   ------______. You can pay weekly or monthly.

    A. It just depends        B. That’s all right 

    C. It’s up to you         D. I’m with you on that  

24. There were two boys in the lab,__________did the experiment successfully.

   A. the clever of whom       B. the cleverer of whom 

   C. the clever of them        D. the more clever of them

28. The hearings and comments often help managers avoid harmful decisions, leading them toward more _______ choices.  

A. useful   B. beneficial   C. important   D. influential

11. The award-winning book was written by a teenager,______was, indeed, beyond all expectations.

A. as         B. which            C. what          D. That

14.Only by this means _______ complete the task ahead of time .

 A. you can  B. can you  C. should you D. you should

第三部分  閱讀理解 (共20小題；每小題2分，滿(mǎn)分40分)

    閱讀下列短文。從每題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)(A、B、C和D)中。選出最佳選項(xiàng)．并在答題卷上將該項(xiàng)填出。

A

       My wife passed away a few years ago, and I went through the worst time in my life. I even wanted to kill myself. Just for my kids, I had to continue to live and work as a small town doctor at my medical clinic in Hawaii. My kids had gone to live on the mainland, and I was alone. Then they asked me to have a family trip.

   On our trip, we turned on the TV at the motel and saw the second plane crash into the World Trade Center. Seeing it falling down, I said to my kids: "I'm going to Afghanistan". And a few weeks later, International Medical Corps sent me to set up 20 clinics in provinces where people had no health care. In these field clinics surrounded by frightening shoots or deadly bombs, we were eventually serving 27,000 patients a month in a very busy schedule. Tired and nervous, I gradually had a sense of achievement, a sense of purpose, and my depression went away.

   In the years to follow, I went to Indonesia after the tsunami (海嘯), Pakistan after the earthquakes, Sudan after the civil war, and Iraq after more and more bombs. Each time after disasters one after another, hundreds of people were killed, wounded and many more had to flee. We once set up movable clinics in an area with 19,000 refugees, and it was supposed to hold 13,000 originally. Flu broke out, one of the biggest killers of kids in refugee camps, and it spread like wildfire. Water and food were also serious problems. "Adventures or not?", I often asked myself.

  When my wife passed away, I thought my life was done. But in reality, it was just getting started. At the end of her life, she went unconscious. I held her head in my hands and told her of all the places we would visit and the exciting adventures we would have.

I think about the moment many times during my "adventures". I didn't know how predictive those words would be. But I know that she is still with me.

56. Where has the doctor been in the past few years?

   A. Some countries where he could set up clinics.  

   B. Some African countries where flu broke out.

   C. The places where the earthquakes happened.

   D. The places that the horrible disasters struck.

57. How would the doctor describe his life after he had worked in Afghanistan?

   A. Tired and troublesome.           B. Busy and risky.

   C. Meaningful and helpful.          D. Frightening and depressing.

The underlined word "refugees" means people__________  

   A. who are robbed, killed, or wounded    B. who suffer from flu in movable clinics

   C. who like to take adventures          D. who have lost homes because of disasters

59. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

   A. The doctor's wife encouraged him to work in foreign countries.

   B. What the doctor said to his wife before her death became reality.

   C. The doctor's adventures made him understand the love of his wife.

   D. With the true love of his wife; the doctor started to change his life.

C

　　When did you last see a polar bear? On a trip to a zoo, perhaps? If you had attended a winter activity in New York a few years ago, you would have seen a whole polar bear club. These "Polar Bears" are people who meet frequently in the winter to swim in freezing cold water. That day, the air temperature was 3℃, and the water temperature was a bit higher. The members of the Polar Bear Club at Coney Island, New York are usually about the age of 60. Members must satisfy two requirements. First, they must get along well with everyone else in the group, this is very important because there are so many different kinds of people in the club. Polar Bears must also agree to swim outdoors at least twice a month from November through February.

　　Doctors do not agree about the medical effects of cold-water swimming. Some are worried about the dangers of a condition in which the body's temperature drops so low that finally the heart stops. Other doctors, however, point out that there is more danger of a heart attack during summer swimming because the difference between the air temperature and water temperature is much greater in summer than in winter.

The Polar Bears themselves are satisfied with the benefits (or advantages) of cold-water swimming. They say that their favorite form of exercise is very good for the circulatory system(循環(huán)系統(tǒng)) because it forces the blood to move fast to keep the body warm. Cold-water swimmers usually turn bright red after a few minutes in the water. A person who turns blue probably has a very poor circulatory system and should not try cold-water swimming.

　　The main benefits(or advantages) of cold-water swimming are probably mental. The Polar Bears love to swim year-round; they find it fun and relaxing. As one 70-year-old woman says. "When I go into the water, I pour my troubles into the ocean and let them float away."

51. The members of the Polar Bear Club must meet the following requirements except that_____ .

　A. they should be easy to make friends with

　B. they must swim outdoors at least 8 times in the four cold months

　C. they must agree to swim outdoors from November through February

　D. they must reach the age of 60

52. Doctors _____ .

　A. encourage people to take part in cold-water swimming actively

　B. point out the possible danger of blood illness during cold-water swimming

　C. believe swimming is helpful both in winter and in summer

　D. have different ideas about the medical effects of cold-water swimming

53. According to the passage, some doctors believe it is true that _____ .

　A. you are healthy if cold-water swimming turns your skin color blue

　B. cold-water swimming causes more heart attacks in summer than in winter

　C. cold-water swimming can make the body temperature dangerously high

　D. Polar Bears are bears swimming in freezing water

54. The Polar Bears like to swim all the year round, for _____ .

　A. they can remain young   B. it is an easy way to keep the body warm in winter

　C. they find it enjoyable and interesting D. they might meet fewer troubles in life

55. The passage is mainly about _____ .

  A.a group of cold-water swimming lovers             B. the polar bears' life 

　C. doctors' ideas about cold-water swimming        D. the requirements of the Polar Bear Club

21._____by a desire to learn, he was not interested in children’s play and adventure when he was young.

A. Driven                    B. Driving                   C. To drive                  D. To be drive