President Coolidge’s statement, “The business of America is business,” still points to an important truth today — that business institutions have more prestige (威望) in American society than any other kind of organization, including the government. Why do business institutions possess this great prestige?
One reason is that Americans view business as being more firmly based on the ideal of competition than other institutions in society. Since competition is seen as the major source of progress and prosperity by most Americans, competitive business institutions are respected. Competition is not only good in itself, it is the means by which other basic American values such as individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and hard work are protected.
Competition protects the freedom of the individual by ensuring that there is no monopoly (壟斷) of power. In contrast to one all-powerful government, many businesses compete against each other for profits. Theoretically, if one business tries to take unfair advantage of its customers, it will lose to competing business which treats its customers more fairly. Where many businesses compete for the customers’ dollar, they cannot afford to treat them like inferiors or slaves.
A contrast is often made between business, which is competitive, and government, which is a monopoly. Because business is competitive, many Americans believe that it is more supportive of freedom than government, even though government leaders are elected by the people and business leaders are not. Many Americans believe, then, that competition is as important, or even more important, than democracy in preserving freedom.
Competition in business is also believed to strengthen the ideal of equality of opportunity. Competition is seen as an open and fair race where success goes to the swiftest person regardless of his or her social class background. Competitive success is commonly seen as the American alternative to social rank based on family background. Business is therefore viewed as an expression of the idea of equality of opportunity rather than the aristocratic (貴族的) idea of inherited privilege.
1. The statement “The business of America is business” probably means______.
A. America is a great power in world business
B. Business is of primary concern to Americans
C. The business institutions in America are concerned with commerce
D. Business problems are of great importance to the American government
2. Americans believe that they can realize their personal values only ______.
A. by protecting their individual freedom                        
B. when given equality of opportunity
C. by way of competition                                               
D. through doing business
3. Who can benefit from business competition?
A. People with ideals of equality and freedom.   
B. Both business institutions and government.
C. Honest businessmen.                             
D. Both businessmen and their customers.
4. Government is believed to differ strikingly from business in that government is characterized by ______.
A. its role in protecting basic American values                  
B. its absolute control of power
C. its democratic way of exercising leadership
D. its function in preserving personal freedom
5. It can be inferred from the passage that the author believes ______.
A. in many countries success often depends on one’s social status
B. businesses in other countries are not as competitive as those in America
C. American businesses are more democratic than those in other countries
D. Americans are more ambitious than people in other countries

第二部分：閱讀理解(共15小題：每小題2分, 滿分30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), 并在答題卡上將該項(xiàng)涂黑。
The ability to do several things at once has become one of the great measures of self-worth for 21-century Americans. It is called multitasking, and it takes many forms. As one example, why go out to lunch when you can eat at your desk, talk to a client on the phone, scroll through your e-mail, and scan a memo simultaneously? And why simply work out on treadmill (單調(diào)的工作) when you could be watching television and talking on a portable phone at the same time? What a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment --- three activities for the time commitment of one! Ah, such efficiency. No wonder those who turn “to do” lists into a time-management art form tend to boast (自夸): “Look, me, how many things I can accomplish at once. If I’m this busy, I must be important.”
Yet last week the New York Assembly struck a blow against multitasking, at least behind the wheel, when it approved a bill banning drivers in the state from using handheld cellular phones. Too dangerous, the assembly said, citing research showing that drivers are four times more likely to have a collision when they are talking on a cellphone.
No one can argue against using time effectively. But accompanying the supposed gains are losses. Consider the woman out for an early-morning walk in a suburban neighborhood. She strides briskly, head down, cellphone clamped to her ear, chattering (喋喋不休) away, oblivious of the birds and flowers and glorious sunshine. Did the walk have any value?
More than a decade ago, long before multi-tasking became a word in everyday use, a retired professor of theology(神學(xué)) in Indiana with whom I corresponded (通信) made a case for what might be called uni-tasking — the old-fashioned practice of doing one thing at a time.
Offering the simplest example, he said, “When you wash the dishes, wash the dishes.” Good advice, I’ve found, whatever the task.
Perhaps, too, the ban on phoning-on-the-road will even spark a move away from other forms of dual activity. Who can tell? It could mark the first step in a welcome reconsideration of what really constitutes productivity and accomplishment.
1. The author thinks that multitasking has become one of the great measures of self-worth because ________.
A. it helps people to use time effectively                   
B. it makes people feel they are important
C. it means the ability to do several things at once     
D. people worship speed and desire
2. The bill approved by the New York Assembly is mentioned in the second paragraph in order to ________.
A. demonstrate the danger of multitasking                
B. show the high efficiency of multitasking
C. introduce the legislation system in America   
D. argue against using time effectively
3. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word “oblivious” in the third paragraph?
A. serious                     B. absorbed deeply      
C. not noticing                     D. forgetting
4. We learn from the passage that uni-tasking is ________.
A. the new fashion for 21-century Americans            
B. accepted by most residents in Indiana
C. created by a retired professor of theology
D. the traditional act of doing one thing at once
5. In the eyes of the author, multi-tasking ________.
A. could not be avoided in this fast-changing age
B. should be taken the place of by uni-tasking
C. robs people of time to focus and reflect
D. should not become a word in everyday use

A well-dressed man entered a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife’s birthday. The price didn’t matter. Since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a nice black one that cost $5000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left.
A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality, as she wanted a pair of earrings made, “Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?” said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, “I would say it’s exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl.”
The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers, offering $ 25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the advertisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right.
Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse. “I don’t like to part with it,” she said sadly, “I inherited it from my mother, and my mother inherited it from hers. But I really need the money.”
The jeweler was quick to pay her before she changed her mind. Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news. The man, however, was nowhere to be found.
1. The man said he wanted to buy a pearl for ______.
A. his wife   B. his mother-in–law  C. his own mother   D. no one
2. He paid $ 5,000 for the black pearl without bargaining because ______.
A. he was very rich    B. he wanted to make the jeweler believe him
C. he was anxious to get it   D. his business had been successful
3. He told the jeweler to get him another pearl that must be ______.
A. exactly the same size as the black on
B. exactly the same quality as the black one
C. worth no more than $ 25,000
D. exactly as big and nice as the black one
4. Many people answered the advertisement because they wanted _______.
A. to see the perfect pearl
B. to buy some beautiful pearls too
C. to get in touch with the rich man
D. to sell their own pearl at a high price
5. The jeweler couldn’t find the man anywhere because ______.
A. he died suddenly.
B. He happened to be out
C. He got $ 20,000 by cheating and had run away with the money.
D. He wouldn’t show up until the jeweler called him a second time.

People who speak or perform before the public sometimes may suffer from “Stage Fright. ” Stage fright makes a person nervous. In the worst case(情況) it can make one's mind go back and forget what one ought to say,  or to act. Actors, musicians, dancers, lawyers, even radio show hosts(節(jié)目主持人) have suffered from stage fright at one time or another.
Diana Nichols is an expert in helping people free from stage fright at a medical centre in New York City. She helps actors learn to control themselves. Miss Nichols says some people have always been afraid to perform before the audience. Others, she says, develop stage fright after a fearful experience.
She offers them ways to control the fear. One way is to smile before going onto the stage. Taking two deep breaths also helps. Deep breathing helps you get control of your body.
Miss Nichols persuades her patients to tell themselves that their speech or performance does not have to the perfect. It's all right to make a mistake. She tells them they should not be too cautions(謹(jǐn)慎的) while they are performing. It is important that they should continue to perform while she is helping them. After each performance, they discuss what happened and find out what advice helped and what did not. As they perform more and more, they will fear less and less as much as 50%. Miss Nichols says the aim is only to reduce stage fright, not to eliminate it completely. This is because a little stage fright makes a person more cautious, and improves the performance.
1 One who is suffering stage fright may        .
A. forget one's part before the audience
B. smile all the time on the stage
C. make a speech fast than ever
D. be cautious to improve his performance
2 The underlined word “eliminate” in the last paragraph means        .
A. keep          B. reduce           C. change          D. get rid of
3 The wrong way to overcome stage fright is        .
A. to smile before going to the stage.
B. to take two deep breaths to calm oneself
C. to pay less attention to one's mistakes in performance
D. to perform less and to watch more
4 Which of the following statements is right?
A. We can get rid of stage fright completely.
B. A little stage fright can make actors perform better.
C. We can reduce stage fright as much as one third.
D. A little stage fright leads to complete failure.

第三部分：閱讀理解（共20小題，每小題2分，滿分40分）
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)，并在答題卡上將該項(xiàng)涂黑。
A Businessman ordered ten goldsmiths to make ten coins each. Each coin was to weigh exactly ten gram of pure gold.
One of the goldsmiths was a bad man.  He decided to cheat.  He made all his coins one gram short. Now the businessman heard that one of them had cheated.  He also  heard that this man had made each of his coins one gram short.
The businessman was a clever person.  He took a certain number of coins from each of the smiths,  weighed them together once only and found their weight to be 540 grams. This was enough for him to find out which one of the goldsmiths had cheated.
1 The word “goldsmith” means        .
A. a person named Smith who sells articles(物品) made of gold
B. a thief who steal gold
C. a worker who makes articles of gold
D. a person who works for the man named Smith
2 The businessman found the cheat by        .
A. looking each man in the eye
B. weighing one coin after another
C. weighing coins
D. asking who hadn't made coins according to his request
3 In order to find the cheat,  the businessman weighed      coins altogether .
A. fifty      B. fifty-four    C. fifth-five        D. sixty
4 Suppose the businessman took one coin from the first smith,  two from the second, 
and ten from the tenth,  he found out that he      goldsmith was the cheat.
A. first      B. sixth       C. ninth                 D. tenth

D
After giving a talk at a high school, I was asked to pay a visit to a special student. An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me, and it would mean a great deal to him. I agreed.
During the nine-mile drive to his home, I found out something about Matthew. He had muscular dystrophy（肌肉萎縮癥）. When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to see five, and then they were told he would not make it to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal power lifter(舉重運(yùn)動(dòng)員), and I knew about overcoming obstacles (障礙) and going for my dreams.
I spent over an hour talking to Matthew. Never once did he complain or ask, “Why me?” He spoke about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams. Obviously, he knew what he was talking about. He didn’t mention that his classmates had made fun of him because he was different. He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weight with me.
When we finished talking, I went to my briefcase(衣箱) and pulled out the first gold medal I won and put it around his neck. I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles than I ever would. He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me. He said, “You are a champion(冠軍). You earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you.”
Last summer I received a letter from Matthew’s parents telling me that Matthew had passed away. They wanted me to have a letter he had written to me a few days before:
Dear Rick,
My mom said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me. I also want to let you know that the doctors tell me that I don’t have long to live anymore. But I still smile as much as I can.
I told you someday I was going to the Olympics and win a gold medal. But I know now I will never get to do that. But I know I’m a champion, and God knows that too. When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you. Thank you for loving me.
       Your friend,
       Mathew
72.  The boy wanted to meet the author because ______.
A. he was interested in what the author was doing 
B. he wanted to get a gold medal himself
C. he admired the author very much    
D. he wanted the author to know him too
73.  The underlined part in the third paragraph probably means “______”.
A. Why do you come to see me?    B. Why do I have to stay at home?
C. Why does the disease fall on me?     D. Why not give a gold medal to me?
74.  We can infer from the passage that ______.
A. Matthew was a determined boy and considered himself as normal
B. Rick used to have the same disease and later became a power lifter
C. Matthew was to become a champion before he died
D. After meeting Matthew, Rick regarded him as normal.
75.  The author wrote the passage with the purpose of ______.
A. describing his unusual friendship with a disabled child
B. showing his admiration towards the disabled child
C. telling an experience of meeting a disabled child
D. expressing his pity to all the disabled children

( C )
Steve is always in a good mood. One day I went up to Steve and asked him, “ How do you do it?”  Steve replied, “Each morning I wake up and say to myself, ‘You have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.’ So I choose to be in a good mood. It’s your choice how you live your life.”
I reflected on what Steve said. Soon thereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. Several years later, I heard that Steve was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communication tower. I saw Steve about six months after the accident. I asked him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place. “The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my daughter,” Steve replied. “Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live.”
“Weren’t you scared? Did you lose consciousness (意識)?” I asked.
Steve continued, “The paramedics (護(hù)理人員) were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read ‘he is a dead man’. I knew I needed to take action.”
“What did you do?” I asked.
“A nurse asked if I was allergic (過敏的) to anything,” Steve answered, “ ‘Yes,’ I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working. I yelled,’ Gravity (重力).’Over their laughter, I said, ‘I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.’”
Steve lived, thanks to the skills of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude.
I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Every single day has enough trouble of its own.
69. What is Steve’s attitude towards life?       
A. Worrying about life all day long.   B. Choosing to see the positive aspects of life.
C. Being cold to people in life.  D. Being angry at everything in life.
70. What did the writer do after he left the Tower Industry?
A. He furthered his studies in college.  B. He went on a vacation in foreign countries.
C. He stayed at home to enjoy his life.  D. He started his own business.
71. What went through Steve’s mind when the accident happened?
A. How badly he was injured.  B. The reason for the accident.
C. The well-being of his daughter. D. Whether he was going to die or not

Ayesha and Latisha Jones need to take a break in their own homework to help their dad, because at the age of 52, John Jones is just now learning to read.
“I was so uncomfortable and so ashamed,” he said. For many years, unable to read a menu or a bus schedule, Jones was just one of the estimated 65,000 adults in Buffalo, New York who cannot read above a 5th-grade level.
And a new study shows the problem is getting worse in many states. California, New York and Florida have all shown surprising increases in illiteracy（文盲）rates. The situation has improved in a few states, like Mississippi, Rhode Island and Kentucky. But worldwide, the United States doesn’t perform well.
Fourteen countries rank higher in reading ability than the United States, including Finland, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, South Korea, UK, Japan, Sweden, Iceland, Belgium, Austria, France and Norway.
Back in Buffalo, a program called Read to Succeed targets the problem early, teaching preschoolers shapes, colors and letters.
“We have a lot of poverty and that means a lot of children don’t have the skills, but they have the potential（潛質(zhì)）,” said Helene Kramer of Read to Succeed. The theory is : you’re never too young or too old to learn.
Working with Buffalo’s literacy volunteers has given Jones a fresh start. “They gave me a chance to open a door that I could never open before,” he said. “I could never open it before, because I couldn’t read.” It’s not easy, but Jones says seeing his daughters read inspires him to try.
64. In America, which of the following states has seen an improvement in the situation of illiteracy?
A. New York.   B. Mississippi.   C. Florida.   D. California
65. Helene Kramer would probably think that _______.
A. kids should not learn to read too early
B. old people aren’t able to learn to read
C .poverty contributes to poor reading ability
D. most poor kids have difficulty reading
66. What can we know about John Jones?
A. He is very tired of learning to read.
B. He is thankful for the chance to learn to read.
C. It is easy for him to learn to read.
D. His children don’t like to help him.
67. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
A. Canadians perform better in reading than Americans
B. American children’s ability to solve problems is quite bad
C. the illiteracy rates in New York have dropped
D. Norway ranks the lowest in reading ability
68. What might be the best title for the passage?
A. America ranks higher in reading ability.
B. volunteers help a man live a new life.
C. Reading offers more chances to children.
D. Find inspiration to fight illiteracy.

A nine-year-old girl named Arwa lives with her parents and six brothers and sisters in an old, two-roomed house. She knows nothing of wealth and power but, in her own way, she has helped make history.
Arwa was the youngest of three Yemeni girls who recently went to court complaining they were married against their will and asking for a divorce（離婚）. It forced the government to change its law on early marriage.
Her father Abdul Ali described how a stranger asked him in the market if he knew some marriageable girls. After visiting their home and seeing Arwa and her 15-year-lold sister, he chose the younger child. Abdul Ali said the man had promised he would wait for the girl to reach puberty（青春期）before calling her to his house but then changed his mind.
So why did he sell his daughter to a stranger? “He gave me $150 and promised another $2,000. I was really in need of money and thought it was a solution for the family,” he explained.
When Arwa fought against her husband, she was beaten. The pain only came to an end when her husband and father quarreled and Abdul Ali allowed her to seek outside help. Then she went looking for a neighbor to lend her money for the journey to court. The judge at court took pity on her and gave her freedom.
Yemen’s Minister for Social Affairs, Professor Amat al-Razak Hammed, recognizes that the government needs to make a change and will personally decide on a legal age of 16. She says that both fathers who marry their children off early and officials who sign the marriage contracts should be punished.
Arwa’s courage to seek a divorce was inspired by another young girl from the capital, Sana’a who has become a national famous person.
60. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 refer to?
A. Arwa’s behavior influenced the government to change the law on early marriage.
B. Arwa was the first girl to fight for the right of women to have freedom of marriage.
C. Arwa worked together with the government to draw up new marriage laws.
D. Arwa set a good example to other girls who have similar problems.
61. How much money did Arwa’s father probably get in total by selling her?
A. $150.          B.$2,000.      C.$2,150.             D.$3,000.
62. Which of the following statements about Arwa is NOT true?
A. She is too young to know anything about wealth and power.
B. She got the money for the journey to court from her father.
C. She was one of the Yemeni girls who used the law to seek a divorce.
D. Her husband treated her very badly.
63. According to the new marriage law in Yemen, _______.
A. girls can’t get married until they are 20 years old
B. girls can get married without their parents’ permission
C. officials are forbidden to sign marriage contracts
D. fathers who marry their children off early will be punished

Most people are worried about the health of economy. But does the economy also affect your body health?
It does, but not always the ways you might expect. The data(數(shù)據(jù)) on how an economic downturn influences an individual’s health is mixed.
It’s clear that a long-term economic rise leads to improvements in a population’s overall health, in developing and developed societies alike.
But whether the short-term economic fall will damage your own health depends on your health habits when times are good. And economic studies suggest that people usually do not take care of themselves in good times—drinking too much, dining on fattier restaurant meals and skipping exercises.
“The value of time is higher during good economic times,” said Grant Miller, a professor of medicine at Stanford. “so people work more and do less of the things that are good for them, like cooking at home and exercising. ”
Similar patterns have been seen in some developing nations. Dr. Miller, who is studying the effects of fluctuating coffee prices on health in Colombia where coffee plays an important role in economy development, says that although falling prices are bad for the economy, they appear to improve the population’s overall health. When prices are low, laborers have time to enjoy their own life such as doing housework, exercising and taking care of their children, etc.
“When coffee prices suddenly rise, people work harder on their coffee fields and spend less time doing things around the home, including things that are good for their children,” he said.
Christopher J. Rohm, professor of economics at University of North Carolina. US shares similar ideas.
57. What would be the best title?
A. Does the economy affect your body health?
B. Does your life habit play an important role in economy development?
C. Economic rise leads to improvement in people’s health.
D. Coffee prices affect people’s health.
58. According to Grant Miller, it is implied that_______.
A. a long-term economic rise can damage your body health
B. a long-term economic fall can damage people’s body health
C. a short-term economic rise can improve people’s body health
D. a short-term economic fall can improve your body health
59. What does the underlined word “fluctuating” in the sixth paragraph mean?
A. lasting         B. changing        C. rising       D. falling\
60. Professor Christopher J. Rohm thinks that_________.
A. people work harder when it is in long-term good economy times
B. people work less when it is in short-term good economy times
C. people have more time to enjoy their own life in short-term bad economy times
D. people do less of the things around the home in long-term bad economy times