III. PART THREE  READING COMPREHENSION (24 points)

Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A,B,C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.

Some time ago, I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn’t think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended, as there are a whole lot of antique (古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception (接待). I was quite wrong. Then man wouldn’t even look at my chair.

The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same , and the third and, the fourth-so I decided that my approach must be wrong.

I went into the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, “ Would you like to buy a chair?” He looked it over carefully and said, “Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?” “Twenty pounds,” I said. “OK,” he said, “I’ll give you twenty pounds. ” “It’s got a slightly broken leg,”I said. “Yes I saw that, it’s nothing.”

Everything was going according to plan and I was getting excited. “What will you do with it?” I asked. “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done.” “I’ll buy it,” I said. “What do you mean? You’ve just sold it to me,” he said. “Yes, I know but I’ve changed my mind. I’m sorry, I’ll give you twenty-seven pounds for it.” “You must be crazy ,” he said Then , suddenly the penny dropped. “ I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair.” “ You’re right,” I said. “ And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, ‘Would you mend this chair for me’?” “I wouldn’t have agreed to do it,” he said. “We don’t’ do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I’ll mend this for you, shall we say for a fiver?” He was a very nice man and was greatly amused (感到有趣) by the whole thing.

1. We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer_________.

       A. was rather impolite          B. was warmly received

       C. asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair     D. asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair

2. The expression “the penny dropped” in the last paragraph means the shopkeeper_________.

       A. changed his mind            B. accepted the offer

       C. saw the writer’s purpose   D. decided to help the writer

3. How much did the writer pay?

       A. ??5.     B. ??7.     C. ??20.    D. ??27.

4. From the text, we can learn that the writer was_________.

       A. honest       B. careful      C. smart  D. funny

回答問題（共3小題；每小題2分，滿分6分）

閱讀下面短文，根據(jù)第58至第60小題的具體要求，盡可能簡要回答問題，并將答案轉(zhuǎn)寫到答題卡上。

In China, more and more middle school students are getting shorter sleeping time than before. More students sleep less than nine hours every night, because they have much homework to do. Some homework is given by their teachers, and some by their parents. Also, some students don’t know how to save time. They are not careful enough while they do their homework, so it takes them a lot of time. Some students spend too much time watching TV or playing computer games. They stay up very late. Some students have to get up early every morning on weekdays to get to school on time by bus of by bike . It can be a long way from home to school. It will probably make them sleepy during school hours.

   Schools and parents should cut down some of the homework so that our children can enjoy more than nine hours of sleep every night for their health. For children, they should make the most (best use) of their time. When they have enough time for sleeping they will find it much better for both their study and health.

58. What make most students sleep less than nine hours every night? (回答詞數(shù)不超過5個(gè))

   ________________________________________________________________________

59. According to the article, who else gives children some homework to do except their teachers?

 (回答詞數(shù)不超過5個(gè))

   ________________________________________________________________________

 60. What is the possible result if the students have enough time for sleeping? (回答詞數(shù)不超過14個(gè))

_______________________________________________________________________

The days of the hunter are almost over in India. This is partly because there is practically nothing left to kill, and partly because some steps have been taken mainly by banning tiger-shooting to protect those animals which still survive.

Some people say that Man is naturally a hunter. I disagree with this view. Surely our earliest forefathers, who at first possessed no weapons, spent their time digging for roots, and were no doubt themselves often hunted by meat-eating animals.

I believe the main reason why the modern hunter kills is that he thinks people will admire his courage in overpowering dangerous animals. Of course, there are some who truly believe that the killing is not really the important thing, and that the chief pleasure lies in the joy of the hunt and the beauty of the wild countryside. There are also those for whom hunting in fact offers a chance to prove themselves and risk death by design; these men go out after dangerous animals like tigers, even if they say they only do it to rid the countryside of a threat. I can respect reasons like these, but they are clearly different from the need to strengthen your high opinion of yourself.

The greatest big-game hunters expressed in their writings something of these finer motives. One of them wrote:

“You must properly respect what you are after and shoot it clearly and on the animal’s own territory. You must fix forever in your mind all the wonders of that particular day. This is better than letting him grow a few years older to be attacked and wounded by his own son and eventually eaten, half alive, by other animals. Hunting is not a cruel and senseless killing—not if you respect the thing you kill, not if you kill to enrich your memories, not if you kill to feed your people.”

I can understand such beliefs, and can compare these hunters with those who hunted lions with spears and bravely caught them by the tail. But this is very different from many tiger-shoots I have seen, in which modern weapons were used. The so-called hunters fired from tall trees or from the backs of trained elephants. Such methods made tigers seem no more dangerous than rabbits.

1. There is no more hunting in India now partly because ______.

A. it is dangerous to hunt there                   B. hunting is already out of date

C. hunters want to protect animals              D. there are few animals left to hunt

2. The author thinks modern hunters kill mainly ______.

A. to make the countryside safe                B. to earn people’ s admiration

C. to gain power and influence                     D. to improve their health

3. What do we learn about the big-game hunters?

A. They hunt old animals.                     B. They mistreat animals.

C. They hunt for food.                  D. They hunt for money.

4. What is the author’s view on the tiger-shoots he has seen?

A. Modern hunters lack the courage to hunt face-to-face.

B. Modern hunters should use more advanced weapons.

C. Modern hunters like to hunt rabbits instead of tigers.

D. Modern hunters should put their safety first.

Babies born in summer are more likely to become short-sighted in late life, a study has shown.

As many as a quarter of all cases of short-sightedness are caused by too great an exposure to sunlight in the first weeks of life, say eye experts.

They are advising all parents to put sunglasses on their babies during the first weeks.

Scientists had already established that over-exposure to sunlight caused short-sightedness in animals.

Researchers who compared the months in which babies were born with whether they needed glasses later on say the principle also applies to humans.

A study of almost 300,000 young adults─the largest of its kind─showed that those born in June and July had a 25 per cent greater chance of becoming severely short-sighted than those born in December or January. Research leader Professor Michael Belkin, of Tel Aviv University, said it was because prolonged illumination(光照) causes the eyeball to lengthen, causing short-sightedness.

Hence the more light a newborn is exposed to, the more the eyeball lengthens and the worse the short-sightedness will be.

The mechanism which lengthens the eyeball is associated with levels of melatonin(褪黑激素), a pigment (色素) which protects the skin against harmful rays of the sun.

In young babies not enough melatonin is released as protection, meaning they are more vulnerable to sunburn and changes to eyeball shape.

Sight expert Professor Daniel O’Leary, of Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, said “At the moment we don’t know the precise cause of why light exposure affects sight, but the evidence seems to prove that it is one of the reasons for people becoming short-sighted.”

1.    Babies born in summer are more likely to be short-sighted ____________.

      A. because the summer sun is too strong for babies

      B. because babies born in summer have lengthened eyeballs

      C. if they are exposed to much sunlight in the first weeks after they are born

      D. if parents don’t know a proper way to protect their babies’ eyes

2.    Melatonin is a kind of material to ___________.

      A. prevent the eyes from becoming near-sighted

      B. protect the skin from harmful sun rays

      C. make our body strong

      D. protect babies’ eyes from summer sun

3.    From what Professor Daniel O’Leary says we can conclude that ___________.

      A. there is no evidence that short-sightedness is related to exposure to sunlight

      B. whether light exposure affects sight still needs to be further proved

      C. he believes that light exposure can cause short-sightedness

      D. he tries to give the cause of why light exposure affects sight

4.    The underlined word “vulnerable” in the passage probably means __________.

      A. easy to be harmed                           B. resistant

      C. protective                                      D. changeable

.      How can you expect to learn anything ____ you devote all your energies to playing computer games?

A. in case                   B. while                       C. when                       D. unless

第二節(jié)：完形填空（共20小題；每小題1.5分，滿分30分）

    閱讀下面短文，掌握其大意，然后從36－55各題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)（A、B、C和D）中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)，并在答題卡上將該項(xiàng)涂黑。

There was a rich foreign merchant who had 4 wives. He loved the 4th wife most and  36  her with best clothes and  37  her to delicious food.

  He also loved the 3rd wife very much. He’s very proud of her and always wanted to  38  his 3rd wife to his friends.

  He too, loved his 2nd wife. 39  the merchant faced some 40  , he always turned to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out.

  Now, the merchant’s first wife had made great  41  to his business. However, the merchant did not love her and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.

  One day, the merchant fell ill. He knew that he was going to die  42  . He told himself, “ Now I have 4 wives with me. 43  when I die, I’ll be alone. How  44  I’ll be!”

  Thus, he asked the 4th wife, “ I  45 you most. Now that I’m dying will you 46  me and keep me company?” “No way!” replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word.

  The  47  merchant then asked the 3rd wife, “ I have loved you so much for all my life. Will you follow me and keep me company?” “ 48  !” replied the 3rd wife. “ Life is so good over here! I’m going to 49  when you die!”

  He then asked the 2nd  wife, “ I 50 turned to you for help. Now I need your help again. Will you follow me and keep me company?” “I’m sorry, I can’t  51  you out this time!” replied the 2nd wife.

  Then a 52 pulled out, “ I’ll leave with you. I’ll follow you no matter  53  you go.” Broken-hearted, the merchant said, “ I should have taken much better  54  of you while I could have.”

 Actually, we all have 4 wives in our life: our body, our possessions, our friends, and our 55  . We should take good care of our soul all our life.

36 A wore                    B bought           C dressed               D shared

37 A gave                   B treated           C provided                  D sent

38 A show off          B turn off         C show out             D turn out

39 A Wherever           B However         C Whether              D Whenever

40 A requests          B exercises         C problems             D duties

41 A friends            B contributions    C differences          D attempts

42 A soon               B fast             C easily                D bitterly

43 A So                    B And                  C But                          D For

44 A lonely               B friendly             C lovely                          D lively

45 A respected              B missed               C wanted                     D loved

46 A like                      B catch              C take                         D follow

47 A sad                          B hopeless            C anxious                    D lucky

48 A Yes                   B No                    C Sure                         D OK

49 A work                 B leave              C remarry                    D stay

50 A seldom           B always               C sometimes             D never

51 A advise           B demand             C suggest                     D help

52 A voice             B sound             C shout                     D laugh

53 A how                  B where             C when                     D why

54 A advantage       B pity                    C care                         D control

55 A wealth            B health             C power                          D soul

We spent a day in the country and picked a lot of flowers. Our car was full of flowers inside! On the way home we had to stop at traffic lights, and there my wife saw the bookshelf.

       It stood outside a furniture shop. “Buy it,” she said at once. “We’ll carry it home on the roof-rack(車頂架). I’ve always wanted one like that.”

       What could I do? Ten minutes later I was twenty dollars poorer, and the bookshelf was tied on to the roof rack. It was tall and narrow, quite heavy too.

       As it was getting darker, I drove slowly. Other drivers seemed more polite than usual that evening. The police even stopped traffic to let us through. Carrying furniture was a good idea.

       After a time my wife said, “There’s a long line of cars behind. Why don’t they overtake(超車)?”

       Just at that time a police car did overtake. The two officers(警官)inside looked at us seriously when they went past. But then, with a kind smile they asked us to follow their car through the busy traffic. The police car stopped at our village church. One of the officers came to me．

       “Right, sir,” he said. “Do you need any more help now?”

       I didn’t quite understand. “Thanks, officer,” I said. “You’ve been very kind. I live just down the road.”

       He was looking at our things: first at the flowers, then at the bookshelf. “Well, well,” he said and laughed. “It’s a bookshelf you’ve got there! We thought it was——er, something else.”

       My wife began to laugh. Suddenly I understood why the police drove here. I smiled at the officer. “Yes, it’s a bookshelf, but thanks again.” I drove home as fast as I could.

1. From the story we know that_________.

       A. the writer was poor and didn’t buy the bookshelf for his wife

       B. the writer’s wife didn’t like the bookshelf at all

       C. the writer was always glad to buy something for his wife

       D. the writer was not very glad to buy the bookshelf for his wife

2. What made the writer think that carrying furniture was “a good idea”?

       A. He could drive slowly and it was safe．

       B. Other drivers would let him go first．

       C. His wife could use a new bookshelf．

       D. He could save a lot of money and time．

3. Why were the police and other drivers so kind to the writer?

       A. Because they thought the writer liked studying very much and needed  

a bookshelf．

       B. Because they didn’t think it was polite to overtake a car with a

bookshelf on it．

       C. Because they thought somebody in the writer’s family had died and he

needed help．

       D. Because they thought it was dangerous to carry a bookshelf on a car．

4. Why did the writer’s wife begin to laugh?

       A. Because now she knew what mistake the police had made．

       B. Because at last her husband understood why the police had driven to

the church．

       C. Because the officer was always looking at the flowers and the

bookshelf．

       D. Because the police had helped them a lot．

 Let’s go to______ cinema. That’ll take your mind off the problem for

______while

A. the; the                B. the; a              C. a; the           D. a ; a

—Coffee________tea?                       

—Coffee________no sugar, thank you.

   A.or ,and          B.and ,and       C.and , but               D.or , but

第二部分  閱讀理解（共25小題；第一節(jié)每小題2分，第二節(jié)每小題1分，滿分45分）

第一節(jié)  閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)（A、B、C、D）中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)。

Do you know of Guo Degang? In recent months he has become well known in China as a crosstalker．He has never performed on TV before, but attending his crosstalk performance is becoming increasingly fashionable in Beijing, especially for youth and school children．

Guo arrived in Beijing from Tianjin in 1995 and came across a teahouse where he found several young people performing crosstalk．Being a crosstalker himself, he couldn’t help taking to the stage．Gradually, more and more people came to the teahouse to see him perform．He soon found himself playing to audiences numbering more than 100 in a teahouse that could only contain 80．

As his popularity grew, Guo thought over the future of his art．“Traditional crosstalk is at least half an hour long, but performances are no longer than five minutes on TV, which kills much of the story．TV is part of the fast-food culture and crosstalk is a face-to-face art form — it needs interaction (交流), and is not suited to TV,” Guo said．He decided to bring it back to its roots： the teahouse and theater．

In 1996, Guo and some young crosstalk actors founded Deyun Crosstalk Association．Over the next ten years, the association organized countless performances in teahouses across Beijing．Despite their growing popularity, Guo ensured (確保) that ticket prices were kept low to make the art form accessible to everyone．Tickets to his performances are still 20 yuan today．And in keeping with technology and modern times, the association set up a BBS site on the Internet where fans could download recordings and discuss performances with actors．

He hopes that through their efforts, more young people will learn to appreciate crosstalk and perhaps train to be crosstalkers themselves．

1．Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A．Guo Degang and his traditional crosstalk

B．A traditional art form—crosstalk

C．The development history of crosstalk

D．Deyun Crosstalk Association

2．From the passage, we can know the crosstalk originates(源于) from ________．

A．the TV show           B．the teahouse and theater

C．the cinema              D．the common people

3．According to the passage, Deyun Crosstalk Association set up a BBS site on the internet to ________．

A．let fans download recordings

B．have fans discuss performances with actors

C．keep up with modern technology

D．a(chǎn)sk more people appreciate their favorite crosstalk

4．From the passage, we can know the following EXCEPT________．

A．the crosstalk is a face-to- face art which needs interaction

B．Guo was a crosstalker when he was in Tianjing

C．the performances of Guo are very popular

D．the tickets to Guo’s performances may rise in future