阅读理解(共44分)

阅读下列短文，根据短文内容，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳选项。(共26分，每小题2分)

Birthdays are celebrated(庆祝)all over the world. Some ways to celebrate birthdays are rather similar from county to country：candles，cakes，and birthday wishes. But there are also different ways to celebrate birthdays. Here are a few：

Denmark

A flag is flown outside a window to show that someone who lives in the house is having a birthday. Presents are placed around the child’s bed while he is sleeping so he will see them at once when he wakes up. India

Usually Indian children wear white to school. However, on their birthdays, children wear colored clothes to school and give out chocolate to everyone in the class. Their best friends help them to do this.

Japan

The birthday child wears new clothes to mark the special time. Certain birthdays are more important than others. These are the third and seventh for girls and fifth for boys. Holland

The birthday child receives an especially large present. The family also puts flowers on the birthday child’s chair to make it beautiful.

A

47. When someone is having a birthday in Denmark，you can see _____ outside the window.　　     A.flowers  B.presents   C.a flag     D.a chair

48. In _________  flowers are put on the chair of the birthday child.

A.Japan   B.Denmark   C.India     D.Holland

49 In India, birthday children wear _______ clothes to school.

A.colored   B.long   C.big     D.tight

B

British people are famous for drinking tea. But both Sahar and Bobby Green became young millionaires(百万富翁) when they opened a chain of American-style(美国风味的) coffee shops in the U.K.

Having the idea：It started when Sahar took a weekend trip to New York to visit her brother Bobby. One evening , in a Thai restaurant，Sahar told Bobby how much she wished she could buy American-style coffee  in London . Bobby suggested  they start their own coffee shop. Sahar fell in love with the idea.

Doing the Research: Back in London, she spent a whole day on the London subway, getting off the train at different stations to taste the coffee. “It was terrible, and I know there was a gap (缺口) in the market.” In November 1995, they opened their first Coffee Republic shop in central London.

Making it work：The first year was very difficult. There were problems finding and keeping staff, and British people were not used to the names of American coffees, like Latte and Macchiato. But being successful was their dream and they were not going to give up . Today , there are over 100 Coffee Republic shops all over the country and the company has revenues(收入) of $30 million a year.

Advice for others: Sahar has now written a best-selling book about their experience, called Anyone Can Do It! She hopes it will help other young people to start their own businesses. She believes success is 1% idea and 99% hard work, but she says, “If you think you have the energy, then get out and follow your dream.”  291

50. What kind of company do these people run?

A. Travel.          B. Tea.      C.Coffee.                D. Hotel.

51. What relationship is between Sarha and Bobby?

A. Teacher and student.   B. Sister and brother.  C. Doctor and patient.   D. Mother and son.

52. What is the passage mainly about?

A. Sahar’s trip to America.                    B. Sahar’s wonderful life story.

C. The American – style coffee shop            D. The success of a family business

C

Some people think that as more and more people have televisions in their homes, fewer and fewer people will buy books and newspapers. Why read an article in the newspaper, when the TV news can bring you the information in a few minutes and with pictures? Why read the life story of a famous man, when a short television program can tell you all that you want to know?

Television has not killed reading, however. Today, newspapers sell in very large numbers. And books of every kind are sold more than ever before. Books are still a cheap way to get information and enjoyment. Although some books with hard covers are expensive, many books are printed today as paperbooks (平装本), which are quite cheap. A paperback collection of short stories, for example, is always cheaper than an evening at the cinema or the theater, and you can keep a book for ever and read it many times.

Books are a wonderful provider of knowledge and pleasure and some types of books should be in every home. Every home should have a good dictionary. A good encyclopedia (百科全书), though expensive, is useful, too, because you can find information on any subject. Besides, you can have such books as history books,   science textbooks, cookbooks, and collections of stories and poems. Then from time to time you can take a book of poems off your shelves and read the thoughts and feelings of your favorite poets.  252

53. It can be inferred from the passage that ____.

A.Fewer and fewer people will buy books.

B.A good dictionary should be kept in every home.

C. Books with hard covers sell better than paperbooks.

D. More people like TV programs about famous men.

54. What does the sentence “Television has not killed reading, however.” underlined in the second paragraph suggest?

A. People only need reading, though.

B. Reading is still necessary today.

C. Reading is more fun than television.

D. Watching television doesn’t help reading.

55. What can we learn from the passage?

A. TV programs are a chief provider of knowledge.

B. Cinemas are the best choice in getting information.

C. Reading is cheap way of learning and having fun.

D. Newspapers are an expensive way to enjoy oneself.