Ⅱ 阅读 (共两节，满分50分)

第一节 阅读理解 (共20小题;每小题2分，满分40分)

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A

Six years ago, I walked into a local animal shelter on a cold, rainy day. Although my house was already full of cats and dogs, I still couldn’t resist an occasional visit to the shelter. This time as I was walking down the row of pens full of barking dogs I noticed a small boy looking into one of them.

He had a malnourished(营养不良的) looking body and a bony face with a big nose sticking out of the middle of it. He was looking at a small, golden dog. Its bony ribs were showing and its thin tail was folded between its legs. It wasn’t begging for attention like the other puppies but was hiding in the corner instead. The boy looked up at me with sad eyes and asked what was wrong with it. “It was probably abused and abandoned”, I said. “That is why it is so scared.”

The boy immediately turned to an older lady and said, “Grandma, I want this one.” The old woman smiled and walked to the front desk to fill out the adoption forms. I followed and asked about the boy. I found out that he’d had a rough start in life too. She had just gotten custody(监护权) of him after the state had taken him from his parents. She had hoped getting a dog would make it easier on him. I looked back at him, holding his scared puppy, and said a prayer for them both.

It was yesterday. I was driving down the road enjoying a gloriously sunny, spring day. Then in a gree n front yard I saw the boy. His teenage body was tall and strong. His nose no longer seemed big but fit well into his smiling face. He was throwing a ball to a healthy, happy dog with shining golden hair. His little act of love and kindness had indeed gone a long way. It had saved a dog’s life, healed his own heart, and given this middle-aged man fresh hope for us all.

26. The author entered the animal shelter because ____________ .

A. he loves dogs and pets

B. it was too cold outside

C. he wanted to buy a dog

D. he wanted to see the boy

27. The reason why the dog was so scared is that _______ .

A. it was afraid of the cold

B. it had been ill-treated

C. it was frightened by the boy

D. it was frightened by the author

28 . Why did the boy want to adopt the golden dog?

A. Because the dog looked attractive.

B. Because his grandma also liked the dog.

C. Because they had something in common.

D. Because the author advised him to adopt it.

29.The Grandma wanted the boy to adopt a dog so that ___________ .

A. his life could be easier

B. he could play balls with it

C. he could forget about his parents

D. the dog could be taken good care of

30. What can we learn from the last paragraph ?

A. The author is a kind-hearted old man.

B. The boy’s nose has become smaller than before.

C. The author enjoys watching people playing with dogs.

D. Both the boy and the dog are growing healthily and happily.

B

Until last summer I had a very comfortable life: winter vacations skiing and summer cruises. My parents spent a lot of money on a private school, so they could get me into a competitive middle school. Everything was about tomorrow, next year, my graduation. We never had to worry about today.

Before last summer I never thought much about the people in the world who live day to day, every day, whose lives are controlled by poverty and hunger. Then I enrolled in a two-week intensive program. We lived in a “Tribal Village,” in a hot, dry open grassland in Arkansas, a state of the south-central United States. I am a tribal member in Mozambique, a country of southeast Africa. Every meal, I make the fire for my family, and feel the flames lick up my nostrils as I blow to keep the fuel alive. I cook mush with vegetables. This is all my family is ever given.

I feed the hen and three rabbits their dinner. I grow attached to the rabbits, even though I know I shouldn’t. I name them. I’m not getting enough t o eat; it’s time to decide whether or not to kill the rabbits. I feel pain but it’s a privileged child’s pain because I know I will soon be eating again. That’s not true for a lot of other children around the world.

Growing up comfortably in the U.S., I’ve never had to worry about my dinner, and even though this whole process was only a simulation, it changed my life. Now I believe in doing whatever I can to help find practical ways to defeat hunger.

So I’ve become president of Roots and Shoots, a group working to improve local environments for people and animals. I’m also working to create a program at my high school called the “Safe Passage” trip to help young people in the Guatemala City dump. And I’ve got plans to do more.

I'm often thinking of laboring in the hot sun and the millions who still do. Now, I try to live for today and stop worrying so much about the future. When I eat or feel full, I am grateful for this fortunate life and want to extend the same feeling to others.

I believe in offering help to those who need it.

31. What is true about the author before last summer?

A. Her life was under great pressure.

B. Her life was well-planned.

C. She didn’t have to worry about the future.

D. She had to worry about her dinner

32.We can learn from the second paragraph that _______________.

A. the author raised some rabbits as pets

B. the author took part in a two-week program in Africa

C. the author had a very difficult life in the “Tribal Village”

D. the author never thought about poor people after the program

33. The author feel pain because ____________ .

A. she is a privileged child

B. she is not getting enough to eat

C. she doesn’t want to kill the rabbits

D. she can’t go back to her regular life

34. What does the underlined word “simulation” in the fourth paragraph probably mean?

A. Reality B. Experience C. Imagination D. Imitation

35. What influence did the author’s experience in the “Tribal Village” have on her?

A. It gave birth to a belief in helping others.

B. It taught her to be grateful to her parents.

C. It has made her life more comfortable.

D. It inspired her to start two groups to help others.

C

Many of us mistakenly believe that it's wrong to think we have any good qualities. We may spend a lot of time blaming ourselves for our negative qualities, thinking that self criticism is the key to improving our performance. However, a constant focus on our supposed shortcomings can stop our efforts to make friends with other people. How can we believe that others could like us if we believe our inner being is flawed(有缺陷)?

If someone seems to dislike you, the reason for that dislike might have little or nothing to do with you. The person who doesn't like you might be fearful, or shallow, or busy or shy. Perhaps you and that person are simply a mismatch for each other at this particular time.

Don't take yourself out of the game by deciding that your flaws are bigger than your good qualities. In fact, some of the very qualities you consider to be flaws may be irresistible to someone else. For all the factors that might cause one person to reject you, there are at least as many factors that will work in your favor with someone else.

You might be thirty pounds over your ideal weight, but you may have a wonderful laugh and a real enthusiasm for life. There are many people who don’t mind your extra pounds. You may drive a shabby car, but you might be a great dancer and a loyal friend. There are people out there looking for loyalty, or fun, or sweetness, or wisdom, and the package it comes in is not important. If you are worried that you are not beautiful enough to attract friends, keep in mind that not everyone is looking for physical beauty in their friends. You can decide to feel inferior(自卑) because you don't have much money and you don't drive a nice car. You can believe that this is the reason that you don't have many friends in your life. On the other hand, if you are very wealthy you may be suspicious that everyone is after your money and that nobody really l ikes you as a person.

The point is that you can focus on just about anything and believe it's the reason you do not have friends and cannot make any.

36. According to the author ___________ plays an important role in making friends.

A. admitting your shortcomings B. self criticism C. modesty D. confidence

37. If you are not liked by a person, _________ .

A. you should find the reason in yourself

B. you’d better talk with the person face to face

C. you may not be the one to be blamed

D. you and that person misunderstand each other

38. We can learn from the third paragraph that ____________ .

A. your good qualities may turn out to be your flaws

B. your weakness may also be your strengths in some way

C. your negative qualities cause a person to reject you

D. you’ll have few friends if your flaws a re bigger than your good qualities

39. Which of the following is true according to the author?

A. It is important to lose weight.

B. It is easier for a wealthy person to make friends.

C. Inner qualities are more important than physical appearance.

D. If you are not beautiful enough, try to improve your physical beauty.

40. What do you think the author is most likely to suggest if he continues to write?

A. How to find your good qualities.

B. How to make friends.

C. How to make self criticism.

D. How to lose weight.

D

Sunny countries are often poor. A shame, then, that solar power is still quite expensive. Eight19, a British company by Cambridge University, has, however, invented a novel way to get round this. In return for a deposit of around $10 it is supplying poor Kenyan families with a solar cell able to generate 2.5 watts of electricity, a battery that can deliver a three amp(安培) current to store this electricity, and a lamp whose bulb is a light-emitting diode(二极管). The firm thinks that this system, once the battery is fully charged, is enough to light two small rooms and to power a mobile-phone charger for seven hours. Then, next day, it can be put outside and charged back up again.

The trick is that, to be able to use the electricity, the system's keeper must buy a scratch card—for as little as a dolla r—on which is printed a reference number. The keeper sends this reference, plus the serial number of the household solar unit, by SMS to Eight19. The company's server will respond automatically with an access code to the unit.

Users may consider that they are paying an hourly rate for their electricity. In fact, they are paying off the cost of the unit. After buying around $80 worth of scratch cards—which Eight19 expects would take the average family around 18 months—the user will own it. He will then have the option of continuing to use it for nothing, or of trading it in for a bigger one, perhaps driven by a 10-watt solar cell.

In that case, he would go then through the same process again, paying off the additional cost of the upgraded kit at a slightly higher rate. Users would therefore increase their electricity supply steadily and affordably.

According to Eight19's figures, this looks like a good deal for customers. The firm believes the average energy-starved Kenyan spends around $10 a month on oil—enough to fuel a couple of smoky lamps—plus $2 on charging his mobile phone in the market-place. Regular users of one of Eight19's basic solar units will spend around half that, before owning it completely. Meanwhile, as the cost of solar technology falls, it should get even cheaper.

41. The underlined word “get round” in the first paragraph can be replaced by _______ .

A. make use of B. come up with C. look into D. deal with

42. What should the user do when the electricity in the battery is used up?

A. Buy a scratch card.

B. Recharge it outside.

C. Buy another solar cell.

D. Return it to the company.

43. How much would users pay for the cell and scratch cards before they own a 2.5-watt solar cell?

A. Around $10. B. Around $80. C. Around $90. D. Around $180.

44. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ____________.

A. Kenyan families would find it difficult to afford the solar cell

B. using the solar cell would help Kenyan families save money

C. few Keny an families use mobile phones for lack of electricity

D. the company will make a great profit from selling solar cells

45. What might be the most suitable title for the passage?

A. Solar Energy: Starting from Scratch.

B. Eight19: a creative British Company.

C. Kenyan Families: Using Solar Energy for Free.

D. Poor Countries: Beginning to Use Solar Energy.