第三部分 阅读理解 (共15小题;每小题2分，满分30分)

请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A

Millions of British people have ditched the traditional ‘thank you’ and replaced it with the less formal ‘cheers’, according to a survey.

Although the average person will say ‘thank you’ nearly 5,000 times a year, one in three are more likely to throw in a ‘cheers’ or ‘ta’ where it’s needed, rather than risk sounding old fashioned.

One in 20 now say ‘nice one’ instead, while younger generations are more likely to offer a ‘cool’ than a ‘thank you’.

‘Merci’, ‘fab’ and even ‘gracias’ were also listed as common phrases to use, as was ‘much appreciated’.

One in twenty who took part in the survey of 2,000 people by the Food Network UK for Thank You Day, which is marked on November 24, 2011, said a formal ‘thank you’ was now not often needed in everyday conversation. More than one in ten adults said they regularly won’t say thank you if they are in a bad mood.

Most people declared that saying thank you was something drilled into them by their parents. A huge 70 percent of those questioned will say thank you to a person’s face without even meaning it, while a fifth avoid saying it when they know they should — on at least two occasions every day.

It seems our friends and family get the brunt (压力) of our bad manners with half admitting they’re not good at thanking those closest to them — many justifying (为……辩解) the lack of thanks because their family ‘already know I’m grateful’.

When spoken words won’t do, it falls to a nice text to do the job for most people.

A third will still send a handwritten thank-you note — but 45 percent admit it’s been more than six months since they bothered to send one.

A quarter of British people say thank you with food, with 23 percent cooking a meal to show their appreciation to someone. Another 15 percent bake a cake.

It follows that 85 percent of people will be annoyed at not getting the gratitude (感激) they feel they should receive.

56. Most of the people who took part in the survey say that they say “thank you” ________.

A. when they are in good mood                           B. completely out of habit

C. when they feel truly grateful                          D. purely out of politeness

57. The underlined word “ditched” in Paragraph 1 means “________”.

A. abandoned                  B. used                     C. shared                  D. grasped

58. It can be learned from the passage that _______.

A. different ways of expressing gratitude are all fashionable

B. people should avoid saying “thank you” nowadays

C. a thank-you note is still appreciated by most people

D. people in a bad mood never say “thank you”

59. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Most people express their gratitude to others by buying food for them.

B. About fifty percent of people try not to say thank you when they should.

C. Most people may feel natural when they fail to receive others’ gratitude.

D. Many people think it unnecessary to say thanks to their family members.

B

Two talented Sheffield High School pupils have just found out they’ve been shortlisted in the top five of their categories in the new national Ambition AXA Awards.

Natalie Chan-Lam (Year 12) and Clare Rees-Zimmerman (Year 11) are both in the running to win a prize that will help them to achieve their ambition. The new national Ambition AXA Awards have been created to recognize excellence in 11—18 year olds. The national awards programme covers five categories: The Arts, Sport, Science, Enterprise and Community. Natalie is up for the Ambition AXA Award for Sport while Clare has earned her top five place in the Ambition Award for the Arts.

The Ambition AXA Award for Sport aims to find the young person who thinks they may one day win an Olympic medal. Natalie is a Badminton International who has a long string of singles and double National titles behind her from U11 National Singles Champion (冠军) right through the ages to the latest U17 UK Schools Games, as well as a run of titles won with the England Badminton team over the last few years. Through her achievements in badminton and through her promotion of the sport in school and at club level, Natalie has inspired many other students to take up the sport and badminton is now a major sport at Sheffield High School. Amazingly, she still makes time to play for and coach school teams, encouraging and assisting others to have the opportunity to reach their own level of personal excellence. Natalie’s ambition is to be selected for the Olympics in 2016.

The Ambition Award for the Arts is awarded to a young person who dreams of reaching the top in their field. Clare is a remarkable musician who has already, at the age of fifteen, achieved the highest marks ever seen at SHS for grade 8 violin and viola. Clare’s music teacher Val Linnemann says of Clare, “To me, one of the most outstanding things about Clare is her total willingness to listen and ask intelligent questions. She is patient and good-natured and willing to help with other players.” If she were to receive an Ambition Award, Clare has plans to use this money to enhance (增加) opportunities for others through workshops.

If they get enough votes, they’ll make the top three in the country and be one step further towards the top awards. To vote for them, click on this link.

60. The Ambition AXA Awards are meant for ________.

A. anyone who is the best in one of the five categories

B. those who are likely to be future stars in certain fields

C. some pupils who have won great success in certain fields

D. children who have ambitions in all the five categories

61. We can conclude from the passage that Natalie and Clare are both girls with ________.

A. belief, patience and confidence                    B. courage, curiosity and enthusiasm

C. caution, sympathy and experience                D. ability, kindness and achievements

62. The main purpose of the passage is ________.

A. to introduce the Ambition AXA Awards        B. to tell us what the two girls have done

C. to persuade us to vote for the two girls         D. to inspire more people to win the awards

C

The Importance of Setting Speech Goals

A speech is a wonderful opportunity to inform, persuade or entertain. The best speeches often take on a combination of all three of these components. However, before you can go about the writing of a great speech, it is important to set goals. Goals keep you, your speech and your audience focused.

What a goal is

In the context of a speech, a goal is the purpose of the speech, and what it hopes to accomplish. For example, the goal of a eulogy (颂歌) might be to celebrate the life of a loved one. The goal of a speech at a political gathering would be to inform the crowd about the political position of a candidate and persuade them to vote and campaign for the candidate in question.

Why a goal is important

Without a goal, a speech is without direction. The goal informs the structure and content of the speech. For example, if a speech’s goal is to convince people that smoking is bad for them, the speech will be structured with persuasive arguments to back up the goal. A speech with a goal of informing the audience will keep the information fair and factual.

A goal is incredibly important to the speech’s ability to connect with an audience. If the speaker is unaware of the goal of the speech, the audience will likely be unaware as well. This severely reduces the effectiveness of the message.

Aside from informing the audience of the content and structure, a speech’s goal drives the speaker to greater heights. If a speaker is asked to speak on a specific subject, but never establishes the goal, they won’t know where to start in the research, organizing and writing of the speech.

___________________________________

If you have been charged with (被委以) delivering a speech, establishing a goal can seem difficult at first. There are several things to take into consideration. First, think about who you will be speaking to. The demographic (人口统计) of your audience will likely determine whether you will be able to persuade them, or whether they will be able to sit through. Second, think about the topic itself. If the topic is something controversial, it may worth your while to consider an informative approach to present both sides of the issue. Finally, consider your resources. A speech with an informative or persuasive goal usually requires a great deal of research, and sometimes takes more time to write.

63. According to the passage, what three components does the best speech combine?

A. Informing, delivering and entertaining.              B. Informing, persuading and entertaining.

C. Informing, writing and delivering.                     D. Informing, writing and persuading.

64. The goal of a speech at a political gathering might be _______.

A. to persuade the audience to vote for a candidate  B. to celebrate the life of a person you admire

C. to entertain the audience with humor and magic  D. to persuade the audience to buy new products

65. All the following indicate the importance of a speech goal EXCEPT that _______.

A. a speech will lose its direction without a goal

B. a speech goal can help keep the audience aware of the speech

C. a speech goal can help the speaker know about the research, organizing and writing

D. a speech goal makes it possible for the speaker to achieve whatever he wants in life

66. Which of the following can be filled into the blank as the subtitle for the last paragraph?

A. How to achieve a speech goal                      B. How to deliver a difficult speech

C. What to consider to establish a goal             D. What to consider to deliver a speech

D

Kepler 22b, a planet more like Earth than any yet discovered, has been identified as a potential future home for mankind.

Kepler 22b contains both land and water and has temperatures which average around 22℃. It also contains the right atmosphere to potentially support life.

It is, however, 600 light years from Earth. The planet, where a year lasts 290 days, was first spotted two years ago.

However, NASA scientists using the agency’s Kepler space telescope have now concluded that it offers the best hope yet for future human habitation outside the Solar System.

One of the key standards for a planet to be habitable is that it remains roughly the right distance from its main star to be neither too cold nor too hot.

This range of ideal temperatures is known to scientists as the “Goldilocks” zone, as the temperature is “just right” for life.

Bill Borucki, Kepler principal investigator at NASA Ames Research Centre, said: “We have now got good planet confirmation with Kepler 22b. We are certain that it is in the habitable zone and if it has a surface it ought to have a nice temperature.”

There are now three planets outside the system, known as exoplanets, which experts believe could potentially be colonised (建殖民地) by future generations.

In May, French astronomers identified Gliese 581d, which is far closer at around 20 light years away. It is about six times the mass (质量) of Earth and is one of a family of at least six planets.

In August, a team from Switzerland reported that another planet called HD 85512b and 36 light years away seemed to be habitable.

The planet is in the constellation of Vela, measuring around 3.6 times the Earth’s mass.

According to an online catalogue that indexes bodies outside our solar system, a total of 47 exoplanets and exomoons are potential habitable candidates but not enough research has been done to be sure.

67. Whether a planet is suitable for mankind to live on doesn’t depend on ________.

A. whether there are proper temperatures               B. whether it is close enough to Earth

C. whether there is atmosphere around it               D. whether there is land and water on it

68. In what way is Kepler 22b like Earth?

A. Its mass.                    B. Its size.               C. Its conditions.            D. Its shape.

69. It can be learnt from the passage that ________.

A. Kepler 22b is closer to Earth than Gliese 581d

B. Kepler 22b is most likely to be habitable of all

C. Kepler 22b’s year lasts longer than the earth’s

D. Kepler 22b’s mass is greater than HD 85512b’s

70. We can infer from the passage that ________.

A. the farther a planet is away from the earth, the more likely it is to be habitable

B. the longer a year of a planet lasts, the farther it is away from the Solar System

C. the smaller mass a planet has than the earth, the less possibly there is water on it

D. the more potential habitable exoplanets are found, the more research we should do