第二部分：阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分，满分40分)。

A

In the USA, many high schools and some colleges and universities have a special celebration(庆典) once a year called Homecoming. Former students and teachers come back to the school to enjoy the memories of their time there and the many Homecoming activities. Homecoming might last for only one day or for several days, even one week.

High schools usually choose one boy and one girl from the senior class to be the “Homecoming King” and “Homecoming Queen”. The students usually choose a boy and a girl who have done a lot for the school.

Most schools have a Homecoming parade(游行). The school band will often lead the way, followed by many different cars and trucks.

Most schools also have a football game for Homecoming—and, of course, tailgate parties. A tailgate party is a group of people drinking and eating around the back, or tailgate, of someone’s pick-up truck.

There are many other activities that might be a part of the Homecoming celebration. There might be a school-wide picnic one day; another day, there may be plays, concerts, competitions or games, all depending on a school’s traditions.

Homecoming celebrations nearly always end with a dance and/or a great dinner. The school is decorated beautifully, and a band is paid to come and play. Students dress up: guys in suits and girls in beautiful dresses.

36. Homecoming in the USA _____.

A. is held only in high schools     B. is held to celebrate the birth of schools

C. might be prepared for students only  D. might last from one day to one week

37. “King and Queen of Homecoming” are chosen according to _____.

A. their contributions (贡献) to the school  B. their healthy bodies

C. their excellent grades in study    D. their good-looking faces

38. All the activities might be found at the Homecoming except _____.

A. a parade  B. a football game  C. a picnic    D. an exam

39. The “tailgate” is most probably _____ a truck or a car.

A. in front of   B. in the middle of  C. at the back of  D. on the top of

40. Homecoming celebrations usually end with _____.

A. a play or concert    B. a dance or a dinner

C. a picnic or a dance    D. a competition or a game

B

A lot of teachers hate doodlers(乱写乱画的人)during classes.“Pay attention!” Teachers will often warn doodling students, sure that they must be daydreaming.

However, according to a recent study, doodling while listening to a boring lecture helps concentrate the attention。

Andrade, a psychology professor in England asked participants to listen to a boring lecture. Half the participants were told to color in squares and circles freely on a piece of paper while listening to the lecture. The other half weren’t given a task. After it was over, the participants were asked to retell the lecture.

Those given the doodling task (color in squares and circles) remembered 29 percent more information than the non-doodlers.Andrade said.

“If someone is doing a boring task，like listening to a dull conversation，they may start daydream，”said Professor Andrade.

“Daydreaming distracts (使分心) them from the task，resulting in poorer performance.A simple task，like doodling，can stop them from daydreaming without affecting their performance at the task.”he said.

So the next time you’re doodling during a class, and you hear “pay attention”，you can tell the teacher with confidence that you’ve been paying attention to every word.

41.The passage mainly tells us         .

A.doodling will be banned in classes   B. teachers are against doodling

C.doodling may help concentrate   D. doodling call lead to daydream

42.Teachers hate doodlers because they thought          .

A.doodlers are not good at study      B.doodlers are doing no task

C.doodlers pay no attention in class  D.doodlers are not polite to them

43.According to the text，it is helpful to doodle when     .

A.a boring lecture is given         B.an interesting story is told

C.watching a long TV program      D.having a conversation with the teacher

44.Professor Andrade thinks       .

A.those given the doodling task can remember less information

B.if you have daydream during classes you’ll have a good memory

C.daydreaming is better than doodling

D.doodling can stop us from daydreaming

45.We can learn from the text that       .

A.doodling is the best way to draw attention

B.daydreaming is different from doodling

C.doodling will be helpful in any occasion

D.every student should doodle in class

C.

How Americans Began to Eat Tomatoes

People have strange ideas about food. For example, the tomato is a kind of very delicious vegetable. It is one of useful plants that can be prepared in many ways. It has rich nutrition and vitamin in it. But in the 18th century, Americans never ate tomatoes. They grew them in their gardens because tomato plants are so pretty. But they thought the vegetable was poisonous (有毒的). They called tomatoes “poison apples.”

President Thomas Jefferson, however, knew that tomatoes were good to eat. He was a learned man. He had been to Paris, where he learned to love the taste of tomatoes. He grew many kinds of tomatoes in his garden. The President taught his cook a way for a cream of tomato soup. This beautiful pink soup was served at the President’s party. The guests thought the soup tasted really good. They never thought their president would serve his honored guests poison apples. Jefferson never spoke to his honored guests about the fact.

46. After you read the passage, which of the following do you think is True?

A. Americans never ate tomatoes after they began to plant them.

B. Americans didn’t eat tomatoes before 19th century.

C. Even now Americans don’t eat tomatoes.

D. In the 18th century Americans ate a lot of tomatoes.

47. The passage tells us that Jefferson was a president who learned to love the taste of tomatoes       .

A. while he was in Paris             B. when he was a little boy

C. because his parents told him so     D. from books