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第二部分：阅读理解(第一节20小题，第二节5小题；每小题2分，满分50分)

第一节：阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。

They say that before long，we will be able to receive more than 500 television networks on cable or by satellite .Some people think that it's ridiculous to have that many channels．Their usual criticism goes something like this：

“I already get more channels on my TV than I have time to watch．No one needs to see that much TV．There’s not enough time in the day to watch all that!”They also state that most of what’s on television now isn’t worth watching in the first place．

I think they’re missing the point．If the local library wanted to add another 5,000books,would

we say“That’s silly,we’ll never have time to read all those books．”?The point is that we would

have more choices．

I don’t believe that most people should watch more television And if we had 500 or even 1,000 channels to choose from，we wouldn’t have to spend more time watching the tube．We would．however,have a better selection of programs to choose from．That means that the quality of our viewing time would improve．

I，for one，say that the more channels we can access，the better,Give me more choices! If they’re not worth my time，I’ll just hit the“off”button．

41．The author’s main purpose of writing this article is to tell readers

A．his opinion about having more channels on TV

B．some people think it unnecessary to have so many TV channels

C．we will soon have more channels on TV

D．how to choose proper programs on TV

42．According to the passage，some people dislike having more channels because _______．

A．they already get enough channels on their TV

B．it's a waste of time to watch TV programs

C．some of the TV programs are poor in quality

D．they can’t afford enough time to watch so many programs

43．According to the author having more channels means_______．

A．having more good programs

B．having more choices

C．having more time to watch TV

D．getting more information over TV

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

A  People usually don’t have enough time to see all the programs on TV．

B．More and more television networks are being set up

C．People will think it silly if the local library adds another 5．000 books．

D  If we have more channels，we can improve the quality of our viewing time．

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Parenting has never been an easy job，but mothers and fathers today face challenges in raising their children that their own parents may never have had to deal with

While children have always been particular eaters，for example，parents today are trying to supply healthful food in a world full ofchicken nuggets，processed snacks and soft drinks．Bike riding and hopscotch have given way to video games and text messaging．And working parents have to cope with all things around day care，jobs and family．

At the same time，a large amount of health information on the Intemet and elsewhere has introduced a higher level of stress for parents．Web sites provide supplemants(补品)that increase a child’s brain health while news organizations report on the latest scare from baby bottles or too much television．

All of this makes raising a healthy child overwhelming．But it doesn’t have to be．

This Well guide offers small steps and simple ways to improve a child’s well-being in four

areas—nutrition，development，playtime and safety Inside，there’s advice from experts on how to raise a healthy，active youngster；tips on diet and behavior，help for problems like insomnia，and the latest thinking on day care，discipline and other topics．It’s all designed to help kids stay well every day．

45．According to the author,what is most likely to be found in today’s homes?

A．Hopscotch     B．Healthful food．  C．Bike riding．  D Brain supplements

46．What does“Well guide'’in the last paragraph probably refer to?

A．A programon how to deal with daily affairs

B  A game on how to make kids clever．

C．A book on how to raise a child．

D A site on how to reduce work stress

47．From the 1st paragraphinthe passage,we can infer that_______

A．today’s parents are too busy to raise their own children

B  today’s parents should seek advice from their own parents

C  it was much easier to raise children in the past

D．parents have more concems in raising children today

48．The underlined word in Paragraph 4 can be replaced by          ．

A．relaxing       B．delighting      C．stressful     D puzzling

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For millions ofpeople，the American dream ofowning a home seems to be slipping out of

reach．

“Maybe young couples can no longer afford to buy a ready-made house as their parents did,'’

says 40-year-old building instmctor Pat Hennin．“But they can still have a home．Like their pioneer ancestors，they can build it themselves，and at less than half the cost of a ready-made house．”

The owner-builders came from every occupational group，although surprisingly few are professional building workers．Many take the plunge with little or no experience．“l learned how to build my house from reading books，”says John Brown，who built a six-room home for$25，000 in High Falls，New Jersey．“If you have patience and the carpentry(木匠)skill to make a bookcase，you can build a house．”An astonishing 50 percent of these owner builders hammer every nail．1ay every pipe，and wire every switch with their own hands．The rest contraet(承包)for some parts of the task．But even those who just act as contractors and finish the insides of their homes can save from 30 percent to 45 percent ofwhat a ready-made home would cost．

One survey revealed that 60 percent ofowner-builders also design their homes．Many others

buy commercial house plans for less than $100 or use plans available from the U．S． Department ofAgriculture．

49．What does the passage mainly tell us?

A．The cost of having a house built．

B．A comparison between young couples and their parents．

C．The life of owner-builders in America．

D．The American dream of owning a house．

50．It can be inferred from the passage that many Americans find it difficult to _______

A．build a house             B．find aready-made house

C．have a good job           D．buy a house

51．The underlined phrase“take the plunge”most probably means“_______”

A．decide to build a house    B．decide to pull down a house

C．decide to buy a house      D．decide to rent a house

52．From the passage we learn that_______．

A．Many house plans are offered free of charge．

B．Most of the house plans arc offered by building instructors

C．Fifty percent of the Amedcan young couples build houses．

D．Must of the owner．builders design their homes．

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Birds in cities are damaging their health by trying to sing above the noise of urban life．

New research shows that male birds are trying to compete against traffic and city sounds．They are now singing louder and at higher frequencies，which could harm their vocal cords．Some birds are choosing to sing at night instead of dudng the day．This makes them more open to attack and also creates stress and exhanstion．

“The difference between urban and rural birdsong is becoming so big that the two groups could now be unable to communicate．This could lead to inbreeding and a weak gene pool．”said Dr Sue Anne Zollinger of the University of St Andrews．

According to Zollingar,a bird group with a small geae pool might adapt less quickly to new diseases and could be wiped out．

A study of the dawn chorus found that birds in Berlin sang up to 14 decibels(分贝)louder than those in the forest．The birds sang loudest on weekday momings．

“By trying to sing over the sound of the city,birds are rising vocal injury,”said Zollinger．“All this puts the sarne strain on a bird’s vocal cords as when  ahuman need to shout to be heard—except the birds are doing it all day,every day,”she said．

“Singing under such pressure means birds have less control over the sound they produce． Their songs may lose quality and become more rough—sounding．”said Zollinger．This could make them appear less attractive to female birds．

Mark Constantine，author of The Sound Approach to Birding，said：“Birdsong is important for our quality of life and has been proved to reduce our blood pressure．When we live in the centre of large，urban areas，we get stressed and it's extremely good to have birdsong around us．The impact on humans of birdsong is massive．It harms us，as well as the birds，if their songs become louder and simpler

53．Some birds in cities now choose to sing at night time because_______．

A．they want to attract more birds of opposite sex

B．they are more likely to be discovered by their family

C．they can’t adapt to the loud noises during the daytime

D．they have to frighten their enemy away

54．According to the passage，urban and rural birds might not be able to_______．

A．recognize each other

B  communicate with each other

C  live with each other

D．compete against each other

55．It requires greatest efforts for birds in cities to sing o_______．

A．Monday nights            B．Wednesday afternoons

C．Saturday Evenings         D．Friday momings

56．According to Dr Sue Anne Zollinger,birds singing louder might eventually lead to_______．

A．the harm done to man’s health

B  the dying out of a species

C．the serious damage to the bird’s vocal cords

D．the decrease ofthe birth rate ofa bird group

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Researchers Look Behind the Tears to Study Crying

Many people found themselves unusually moved by the historic presidential inauguration(就职演说)last week in Washington Watching the huge crowds，we saw laughter，cheers，hugs-but also many tears

It made us wonder,why dopeople cry?Surely tears must be good for us—away to calm the mind and cleanse the body．Yet studies show that crying sometimes makes people feel worse．

Three researchers in Florida and the Netherlands recently looked more deeply into the subject． They examined detailed descriptions ofcrying experiences．Psychologist Jonathan Rottenberg at the University of South Florida says they wanted to study crying as it happens in everyday life，not in a laboratory．

The team analyzed information from the Intemational Study on Adult Crying．As part of that study，three thousand people in different countries，mostly college students，wrote about recent crying experiences．They noted causes，surroundings and any people involved in the event．They also reported how they felt after they cried．

Professor Roaenberg says the research showed that all crying experiences are not created equal. Crying does not always make a person feel better，he says．About ten percent of people reported feeling worse after they cried．

But a third felt better after crying．And a majority reported the experience as helpful．

The research showed that people who cry alone may not do as well as those with others around． People who reached out for emotional support at the time-and received it-reported better results from the crying experience．

But Professor Rottenberg says those who felt shame or embarrassment while crying were less likely to report that crying had been helpful．

Research has shown that women cry more of ten and more intensely than men．But it may not be to better effect，says the psychologist．The new findings，he says，did not show that a person’s sex was an advantage of beneficial crying．In other words，just because women cry more does not mean they are more likely to have a“good”cry．

The paper entitled”Is Crying Beneficial?”appeared in December in Current Directions in Psychological Scieflce And there is more to learn．Jonathan Rottenberg says the science ofcrying is still in its infancy．

57·Why did the author mention the presidential inauguration in Washington in the first paragraph?

A．Because he was impressed by the laughter,cheers，hugs and tears．

B．Because he wanted to introduce the topic about crying．

C．Because he wanted to show people’s dissatisfaction with the result．

D．Because it was the historic moment that many people cried

58．How did the researchers carry out the research?

A．They studied crying experiences not only in everyday life but also in labs．

B．They collected the crying experiences of the students at the colleges．

C They studied the crying experiences of grown-ups from various countries．

D．They noted their own crying experiencesand compared with others．

59．We can learn from the passage that_______．

A．it may be better to cry alone than with others around

B．some support from others may make crying helpful

C．women who cry more of ten may have better effects than men

D．the effects will be better if you feel shy while crying

60．The underlined phrase in the last paragraph probably means_______．

A．in the early stage   B．in a secret state   C．in the first place    D in good condition

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第二节：书面表达

随着私家车的普及，城市的交通堵塞越来越严重。最近，本市正在考虑学习伦敦和新加坡的经验，对城区的私家车辆另外收取定的交通拥塞费用(a congestion fee)，请你根据以下讨论的情况，写篇短文。

注意：词数：100一120，文章的开头已给出(不计词数)。

With the development of our society,more and more private cars stream onto the road，which

brings a big problem to our city.So shall we charge the car drivers a congestion fee?

_____________________________________________________________________________    _____________________________________________________________________________    _____________________________________________________________________________                                                                            

For a long time they walked without saying ____ word. Jim was the first to break ____ silence.

A. the; a           B. a; the            C. a; /            D. the; /

 The general manager thought of______ problems before he made the final decision.

A. a good many    B. a great deal of   C. lots     D. a plenty

— What’s the name？

— Khulaifi. _____ I spell that for you？

  A. Might    B. Would    C. Can        D. Shall