阅读理解，阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出一个最佳选项。

　　In December, 2010, many American newspapers publish a list of the best books of the year．Freedom by Jonathan Franzen is one of the most repeatedly praised books on this year's list of favorites．It tells about the ups and downs of the Berglund family over many years．Mr．Franzen fills the book with sharp observations about American politics, culture and society．

　　Jennifer Egan's book A Visit from the Goon and Squad takes place in 13 chapters over 40 years．The story moves back and forth in time, from different viewpoints．One main character is former rock musician Bennie Salazar who works for a record company．The other main character is a troubled young woman named Sasha who works for Bennie．The reader learns about their past and those of their friends．

　　The main character in The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman is a failing English language newspaper publisher in Rome, Italy．Each chapter of the book tells about a reporter or editor working for this paper．Their stories are filled with intelligence and great personality．

　　Two of the most popular non-fiction books of 2010 were about rock and roll stars．Just Kids is by rock singer Patti Smith．It tells about her friendship with the artist Robert Mapplethorpe in the 1960s and 1970s before they became famous．Life is the autobiography of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards．It is an honest and exciting look at the development of rock and roll and the wild times this famous band has experienced．

　　Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand tells about a man named Louis Zamperini．She tells about his extraordinary survival story after his plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean during World War Two．

　　Stacy Schiff has received great praise for her book Cleopatra：A Life．It tells about one of the most misrepresented and famous women in history, Cleopatra．She ruled ancient Egypt about 2, 000 years ago．One critic said Ms．Schiff has brought Cleopatra to life by unearthing her story from centuries of lies．

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阅读理解，阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出一个最佳选项。

　　Visitors to central Austin Texas would be easy to miss a small, old house called the O．Henry Museum．William Sydney Porter(1862-1910)-better known as O．Henry, was one of America's best loved writers of short stories．Beginning in 1893, he lived here．It was saved from destruction, moved, and turned into a museum in 1934．The museum is a good way to learn about the interesting life of him．

　　William Porter Sydney rented this house and lived with his wife Athol and daughter for about 2 years．Many objects in the museum belonged to the Porters．Others didn't, but are in the house to recreate the way it looked during their lifetime．

　　Porter worked at a pharmacy, farm, land office and bank．He also loved words and writing．The museum has special proof of Porter's love of language-his dictionary．It is said that he read every word in it．Porter started a small publication called “The Rolling Stone”．He wasn't being published early on, so he published himself．His funny stories, poems, and drawings were published in the magazine．But it was too costly to continue for long, so he closed the project after about one year．

　　Other troubles would lead the Porters to leave Austin．Porter was accused of financial wrongdoing at the bank and lost his job．Fearing a trial, he fled the country．But he returned because his wife was dying．After her death, he faced the trial and was found guilty．He served three and a half years in a federal prison in Ohio．

　　Porter would keep his time in prison a secret．But there was one good thing about it．It provided him with time to write．By the time of his release, he had published 14 stories and was becoming well-known as O．Henry．

　　Porter would later move to New York City and find great success there．He published over 380 stories in the last 8 years of his life．

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阅读理解，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。

　　Shakespeare, more perhaps than any other writer, made full use of the greatest resources of the English Language．Most of us use about five thousand words in our normal employment of English; Shakespeare in his works used about twenty－five thousand! There is probably no better way for a foreigner to appreciate the richness and variety of the English language than by studying the various ways in which Shakespeare uses it．Such a study is well worth the effort, even though some aspects of English usage, and the meaning of many words, have changed since Shakespeare's day．

　　However, it is surprising that we should know comparatively little about the life of the greatest English author．We know that Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon, and that he died there in 1616．He almost certainly attended the Grammer School in the town, but of this we cannot be sure．We know he was married there in 1582 to Anne Hathaway and that he had three children．We know that he spent much of his life in London writing his masterpieces．But this is almost all that we do know．

　　However, what is important about Shakespeare's life is not its incidental details but its products, the plays and the poems．For many years scholars have been trying to add a few facts about Shakespeare's life to the small number we already possess and for an equally long tine critics(批评)have been theorizing(理论化)about the plays．Sometimes, indeed, it seems that the poetry of Shakespeare will disappear under the great mass of comment that has been written upon it．

　　Fortunately this is not likely to happen．Shakespeare's people have long delighted not just the English but lovers of literature everywhere, and will continue to do so after the scholars and critics and all their works have been forgotten．

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阅读理解，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。

　　An unlucky Singaporean thief picked up six years of hard labor after the unique(独特的)ring of the mobile phone he stole led police straight to him．Pretending to be a police detective, Rahman Magundario robbed two teenagers in a park, told them to turn their backs and stole the ＄140 phone, court documents show．If he had chosen another target(目标)in the mobile mad city state, he might have got off the hook．His number was up a short while later when the victim(受害人)heard the characteristic tune he had programmed into the phone．An unsuspecting buyer, who paid ＄70 in a coffee shop for what he thought was Magundario's mobile, pointed police to the thief．The 39-year-old was sentenced for threatening the teenagers and pretending a police officer．“He got six years of corrective training, ” a court official said．“It's worse than a prison sentence．”

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阅读理解，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。

　　It seems that the Englishmen just cannot live without sports of some kind．A famous French humourist once said that this is because the English insist on behaving like children all their lives．Wherever you go in this country, you will see both children and grown-ups knocking a ball about with a stick or something, as if in Britain men shall always remain boys and women girls! Still, it can never be bad to get exercise, can it?

　　Taking all amateur(业余)and professional sports in Britain into consideration, there can be no doubt that football is at the top of the list．It is called soccer in the United States．The game originated(起源于)in Britain and was played in the Middle Ages or even earlier, though as an organized game, or“association football”, it dates only from the beginning of the 19th century．

　　The next is rugby, which is called“football”in the United States．It is a kind of football played by two teams of fifteen players than eleven．In rugby, an oval-shaped ball is used which can be handled as well as kicked．It is a pretty rough game．

　　In summer, cricket is the most popular sport．In fact, it has sometimes been called the English national game．Most foreigners find the game rather slow or even boring, but it enjoys great popularity among the British．

　　Tennis rates high on the list, too．It was introduced into England from France in the 15th century, but it was from England that it spread to practically every country in the world．

　　Table tennis, or“ping-pong”, surely is not played on a great scale as it is in China or Japan．Basketball and volleyball were introduced into Britain during the late 19th century from America and are gaining popularity．Horse-back riding, swimming, rowing and golf all attract a lot of people．

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阅读理解，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。

　　Ad．1

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　　Ad．3

　　Ad．4

　　Ad．5

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阅读理解

　　“Mum, what does it mean when someone tells you that they have a skeleton(骨骼)in the closet(衣橱)？”Jessica asked．“A skeleton in the closet?” her mother paused thoughtfully, Well, it's something that you would rather not have anyone else know about．For example, if in the past, someone in Dad's family had been arrested for stealing a horse, it would be ‘a skeleton in his family's closet'．He really wouldn't want any neighbor to know about it．”

　　“Why pick on my family?” Jessica's father said with anger．“Your family history isn't so good, you know．Wasn't you great – great grandfather a prisoner who was transported to Australia for his crimes?” “Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian unless your ancestors arrived as prisoners．” “Gosh, sorry I asked．I think I understand now,” Jessica cut in before things grew worse．

　　After dinner, the house was very quiet．Jessica's parents were still quite angry with each other．Her mother was ironing clothes and every now and then she glared at her husband, who hid behind his newspaper pretending to read．When she finished, she gathered the freshly pressed clothes in her arms and walked to Jessica's closet．Just as she opened the door and reached in to hang a skirt, a bony arm stuck out from the dark depths and a bundle of white bones fell to the floor．Jessica's mother sank into a faint(晕倒), waking only when Jessica put a cold, wet cloth on her forehead．She looked up to see the worried faces of her husband and daughter．

　　“What happened? Where am I?” she asked．“You just destroyed the school's skeleton, Mum,” explained Jessica．“I brought it home to help me with my health project．I meant to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I mentioned skeletons and closets, it caused a problem between you and Dad．” Jessica looked in amazement as her parents began to laugh madly．“They're both crazy,” she thought．

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阅读理解

Shakespeare's Birthplace and Exhibition of Shakespeare's World

　　Welcome to the world－famous house where William Shakespeare was born in l564 and where he grew up．The property(房产)remained in the ownership of Shakespeare's family until 1806．The House has welcomed visitors traveling from all over the world, for over 250 years．

　　◆Enter through the Visitors' Centre and see the highly－praised exhibition Shakespeare's World, a lively and full introduction to the life and work of Shakespeare．

　　◆Stand in the rooms where Shakespeare grew up．

　　◆Discover examples of furniture and needlework from

　　Shakespeare's period．

　　◆Enjoy the traditional(传统的)English garden, planted with trees and flower mentioned in the poet's works．

　　The Birthplace is within easy walking distance of all the car parks shown on the map; nearest is Windsor Street(3 minutes' Walk)．

　　㊣The House may present difficulties but the Visitors' Centre, its exhibition, and the garden are accessible(可进入的)to wheelchair users．

　　⊙The Shakespeare Coffee House(opposite the Birthplace)．

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阅读理解

　　US researchers have found traces of an ancient lake on Mars recently, increasing hopes of discovering evidence that billions of years ago the Red planet hosted life．

　　The lake, which dates back some 3.4 billion years, appears to have covered as much as 80 square miles and was up to 1,500 feet deep, said the team from the University of Colorado．

　　"This is the first clear evidence of shorelines on the surface of Mars," said Boulder's research associate, Gaetano Di Achille, in a study published in the latest edition of Geophysical Research Letters．

　　"The identification of the shorelines and accompanying geological evidence allows us to calculate the size and volume of the lake, which appears to have formed about 3.4 billion years ago．"

　　Analysis of the images has shown the water carved out the canyon(溪谷)in which it was found, which then opened out into a valley depositing(使淤积)sediment(沉积)which formed a delta(三角洲)．

　　"Finding shorelines is a great discovery to us," said assistant professor Brian Hynek, adding it showed the lake existed at a time when Mars was thought to have been cold and dry．

　　Scientists believe the oldest surfaces on Mars formed during the wet and warm era known as the Noachan epoch, about 4.1 billion to 3.7 billion years ago．

　　The newly discovered lake is believed to date from the Hesperian era and postdates the end of the warm and wet period on Mars by 300 million years, according to the study．

　　Scientists believe deltas next to the lake may well hold secrets about past life on Mars as such places on Earth have become the natural deposits of organic carbon and other markers of life．

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　　While small may be beautiful, tall is just plain uncomfortable it seems, particularly when it comes to staying in hotels and eating in restaurants．

　　The Tall Persons Club Great Britain(TPCGB), which was formed six months ago to campaign for the needs of the tall, has turned its attention to hotels and restaurants．Beds that are too small, shower heads that are too low, and restaurant tables with hardly any leg-room all make life difficult for those of above average height, it says．

　　But it is not just the extra-tall whose needs are not being met．The average night of the population has been increasing ye the standard size of beds, doorways, and chairs has remained unchanged．

　　“The bedding industry says a bed should be six inches larger than the person using it, so even a king-size bed at 6′6″(6 feet and 6 inches)is falling short for 25％ of men, while the standard 6′3″ bed caters for less than half of the male population．” said TPCGB president Phil Heinricy , “seven-foot beds would work fine．”

　　Similarly, restaurant tables can cause no end of problems．Small tables, which mean the long-legged have to sit a foot or so away from them, are enough to make tall customers go elsewhere．

　　Some have already taken note, however．At Queens Moat Houses′ Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh, 6′6″beds are now put in as standard after requests for longer beds from taller visitors, particularly Americans．

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