第二部分： 阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2.5分，满分50分)

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

A

Do you like to eat out? Do you like to eat quickly? Do you like inexpensive food? Some people go to fast-food restaurants for these reasons. In the past, people usually went to diners (路边小餐馆)for these reasons. In fact, many people in the State still go to diners today for the same reasons.

A man named Walter Scott had the first “diner” in 1872. It was not really a diner. It was only a food cart. People on the street walked up to the cart to buy food. These carts served late-night workers who wanted a cup of coffee and all late-night meal. The meal was a sandwich or boiled eggs. In 1887, Samuel Jones built the first diner big enough to allow the customers to come inside. However, they did not sit down. Later, people built diners with counters and stools and people sat down while they ate.

Before long, many diners stayed open around the clock. In other words, people were able to eat in a diner at any time. Diners changed in other ways, too. The original menu of sandwiches and coffee became bigger. It included soup, favorite dish, and a breakfast menu. In addition, diners soon became permanent buildings. They were no longer carts on wheels.

Diners today look similar to the diners of the early 1900s. They are usually buildings with large windows. Inside, the diners have shining counters with stools, booths, and tables and chairs. People can eat all three meals in a modern diner.

Today, many people eat in fast-food restaurants such as McDonald’s and Burger King. However, the diner remains an American tradition, and thousands of people still enjoy eating there. It was popular a century ago, and it is still popular today.

36. A man named Walter Scott had the first “diner” in 1872. Why is diner in quotation marks(引号)?

A. Because it is spelled differently from “dinner”.

B. Because diner was a new word.

C. Because the first diner was not a real diner.

D. Because it is a special kind of restaurant.

37. What meals did the first diners serve?

A. Only breakfast. B. Only night-meals.

C. Only lunch. D. All of the above.

38. According to paragraph 3, diners changed in ____________________.

A. two ways B. three ways C. four ways D. five ways

39. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Diners existed before fast-food restaurant.

B. The menu included more food than sandwiches and coffee.

C. Burger King is a fast-food restaurant.

D. Sandwiches became bigger.

40. The main idea of the passage is that _____________________.

A. the diner is a traditional and popular place to eat in the United States

B. Samuel Jones built the first diner big enough to allow the customers to come inside

C. American diners serve many types of food 24 hours a day to their customers

D. diners are different from fast-food restaurants in many ways

B

There is a common belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in spelling. No school I have taught in has ever considered spelling unimportant as a basic skill. There are, however, quite different ideas about how to teach it, or how much priority (优先) it must be given over general language development and writing ability. The problem is how to en­courage a child to express himself freely in writing without holding him back with spelling.

If spelling becomes the only point of his teacher’s interest, clearly a bright child will be likely to “play safe”. He will write only words within his spelling range. That’s why teachers often encourage the early use of dictionaries and pay attention to content rather than technical ability.

I was once shocked to read on the bottom of a sensitive piece of writing about a personal experience: “This work is terrible! There are far too many spelling mistakes.” It may have been a sharp criticism of the pupils’ technical abilities in writing, but it was also a sad thing for the teacher who had omitted (略过) to read the composition, which contained some beautiful expressions of the child’s deep feelings. The teacher was not wrong to draw atten­tion to the mistakes, but if his priority had centered on the child's ideas, an expression of his disappointment with the presentation would have given the pupil more hope to seek improve­ment.

41. Teachers differ in their opinions about

A. the difficulties in teaching spelling

B. the necessity of teaching spelling

C. the importance of the basic writing skills

D. the role of spelling in general language development

42. The expression “play safe” probably means ____.

A. to write carefully

B. to avoid using words one is not sure of

C. to use dictionaries frequently

D. to do as teachers say