第二部分：阅读理解（共25小题；第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题1分，满分45分）
第一节：阅读下列短文，从每小题所给的四个选项A、B、C、D中，选出最
佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A．
Each Indian tribe had a different language. Many Indians never learned any language except their own. Do you know how Indians from different tribes talked to each other? They had two ways to talk without sound． One way was by sign language; the other way by signals.
Sign language is a way of talking by using signs. Indians used sign language when they met strangers. In this way, they could find out whether the stranger was a friend or an enemy. In the Indian sign language, signs were made with the hands. One sign meant “man”. Another meant “horse”. To tell the time of day when something happened, an Indian pointed to the sky. He showed where the sun had been at the time.
Indians usually used signals when they wanted to send messages to someone far away. To make signals, an Indian might use a pony. He might use a blanket. Or he might use smoke, a mirror or fire arrows.
To signal that he had seen many animals, an Indian rode his pony in a large circle. Sometimes the Indian gave a signal like this and then went away to hide. This meant that there was danger.
The blanket signal was visible from far away. An Indian held the corners of a blanket in his hands. Then he began to swing the blanket from side to side in front of him. An Indian could send many different signals with his blanket.
He could also send many signals with a mirror. He usually used the mirror to warn someone of danger. Or he attempted to get the attention of a person far away. But he also used it to send messages in code. Of course, mirrors could be used only when the sun was shining. At night, Indians used fire arrows for signaling.
An Indian also sent signals with smoke. He made a small fire of dry wood． Then he put grass or green branches on it. He held a blanket over the fire for a minute. When he removed the blanket from the fire, there was a cloud of smoke. The number of clouds of smoke told his message in code.
Now you can see that Indians didn’t need to learn each other’s language. They could talk to one another by using signals or sign language.
41． The whole text is mainly about _______.
A． different tribes have different languages
B． the Indians had many kinds of languages
C． how Indians communicated between different tribes
D． why the Indians used many languages
42． An Indian used a mirror to do all the followings EXCEPT _______.
A． send messages in code 
B． get the attention of someone in the distance
C． warn someone of danger
D． to tell a friend from an enemy
43． Sign language is _______.

Can you remember the day when you spoke your first word? If you can, you are unusual. Try to imagine what first few months of your life were like. I am sure you just spent most of your time eating, sleeping and crying. As you grow older, you were awake more of the time. It took your parents more time to play with you and talk to you. You watched and listened curiously. You began to know that people made certain sounds to go with certain things.
Then you began to try making the sounds you heard. And step by step you were able to make the right sound for one thing.On that day you came to understand the secret of language. The secret is that a certain sound means a certain thing. One sound might be as good as another. But it is no good as a word unless everybody agrees on its meaning. Only when a group of people use the same set of sounds of things, can they understand each other. Then, and only then do these people have a LANGUAGE.
After you found the secret of language, you learned words. Some of the words meant things, such as BOOKS, CHAIRS and SHOES. Some words meant doing things, such as GO and SWIM. And other words describe things, such as GOOD and DIRTY. Soon you learned to put words together to express one’s idea, such as “I want to go out and play with my friends.” This is language. By means of language people can communicate. So we say languages are means of communication.
【小题1】When you were a little baby, you_________.

.

There is one language that is used in every country in the world. The people who use it are young and old, short and tall, thin and fat. It is everybody’s second language. It is easy to understand, although you can’t hear it. It is sign language.

When you wave to a friend who is across the street, you are using sign language. When you smile at someone, you are saying, “I want to be friendly”, but you are not using speech. You are using sign language. When you raise your hand in class, you are saying, “Please ask me. I think I know the correct answer.”

Babies who can’t talk can point at things. They are using sign language. A policeman who wants to stop traffic holds up his hands. He is using sign language.

Many years ago, a French priest, Charles Michel de Epee, became interested in education for deaf people. He invented a finger alphabet (字母表). It is still in use. People can make the sign for letters and spell words with their hands, and deaf people can read and understand them. Soon there were schools for the deaf in many countries. The only university for the deaf is Gallaudet College in Washington, D.C.

Today, in the United States, there are special TV news programs for deaf people. The newsreader tells the news in sign language. At the same time, the words appear on the TV screen.

The actors in the Theatre of Deaf don’t spell every word. Sometimes they use hand signs. When they put two hands together, it means sandwich. They can make a roof with their hands when they want to show a house. One finger in front of an actor’s mouth can mean quiet. You can talk to people who are behind windows that are closed. And when you go swimming with your friends, you can have conversations under water.

How many hand signs do you use every day?

63. Which of the following about sign language is TRUE?

A. It is a special language used in a few countries in the world.

B. It is a way to express one’s ideas without words.

C. It is only used by the deaf.             

D. It can be heard.

64. If you want to express the idea that “I am very friendly” to someone, you will ______.

A. raise your hand                          B. put one hand onto the other

C. smile to the person                     D. make a roof with your hands

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

A. Hand signs instead of finger signs are used everyday.

B. There are schools, colleges and universities for the deaf in the USA.

C. The French priest Charles invented sign language. 

D. Even babies are using sign language.

66. The passage is mainly about ______.

A. an introduction to sign language      B. the importance of sign language

C. a famous priest in France            D. how to use sign language 

Whenever we meet with difficulty or failure, teachers, parents or others often say to us or perhaps we say to ourselves, “Never give up.” These can be encouraging words and words of determination. A person who believes in himself will keep trying to reach his goal no matter how many times he fails. In my opinion, the quality of determination to succeed is an important one to have. Therefore, I believe that we should never give up.
One reason is that if we give up too easily, we will rarely achieve anything. It is not unusual for us to fail in our first attempt at something new, so we should not feel disappointed and should try again. Besides, if we always give up when we fail, we will not be able to develop new skills and grow.
Another reason we should never give up is that we can learn from our mistakes so that we can not make the same ones. If we do not try again, the lesson we have learned is wasted.
Finally, we should never give up because as we work to reach our goals, we develop confidence, and this confidence can help us succeed in other areas of our lives. If we never challenge ourselves, we will begin to doubt our abilities.
In short, it is important that we do not give up when working for our goals. Whether we succeed in the end or not, we will learn something, and what we learn will help us to become better and more confident. Furthermore, if we give up, we have no chance of attaining our goals any more, but if we keep making great efforts, there is always a chance that we will succeed one day.
Topic: Never Give Up

第二节：阅读填空（共10小题，每题1分，满分10分）

认真阅读下面短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格里填入最恰当的单词。注意：每空填一个单词。

Whenever we meet with difficulty or failure, teachers, parents or others often say to us or perhaps we say to ourselves, “Never give up.” These can be encouraging words and words of determination. A person who believes in himself will keep trying to reach his goal no matter how many times he fails. In my opinion , the quality of determination to succeed is an important one to have. Therefore, I believe that we should never give up.

One reason is that if we give up too easily, we will rarely achieve anything. It is not unusual for us to fail in our first attempt at something new, so we should not feel disappointed and should try again. Besides, if we always give up when we fail , we will not be able to develop new skills and grow.

Another reason we should never give up is that we can learn from our mistakes so that we can not make the same ones. If we do not try again, the lesson we have learned is wasted.

Finally, we should never give up because as we work to reach our goals, we develop confidence, and this confidence can help us succeed in other areas of our lives. If we never challenge ourselves, we will begin to doubt our abilities.

In short, it is important that we do not give up when working for our goals. Whether we succeed in the end or not , we will learn something , and what we learn will help us to become better and more confident. Furthermore, if we give up , we have no chance of attaining our goals any more , but if we keep making great efforts, there is always a chance that we will succeed one day.