(2007年普通高等学校夏季招生考试英语（北京卷）)C

 Lying in the sun on a rock, the cougar （美洲狮） saw Jeb and his son, Tom, before they saw it. Jeb put his bag down quickly and pulled his jacket open with both hands, making himself look big to the cougar. It worked. The cougar hesitated, ready to attack Jeb, but ready to forget the whole thing, too.

 Jeb let go of his jacket, grasped Tom and held him across his body, making a cross. Now the cougar’s enemy looked even bigger, and it rose up, ready to move away, but unfortunately Tom got scared and struggled free of Jeb.

 “Tom, no!” shouted his father.

  But Tom broke and ran and that’s the last thing you do with a cougar. The second Tom broke free, Jeb threw himself on the cougar, just as it jumped from the rock. They hit each other in mid-air and both fell. The cougar was on Jeb in a flash, forgetting about Tom, which was what Jeb wanted.

  Cougars are not as big as most people think and a determined man stands a chance, even with just his fists. As the cougar’s claws（爪子）got into his left shoulder, Jeb swung his fist at its eyes and hit, hard. The animal howled（吼叫）and put its head back. Jeb followed up with his other fist. Then out of the comer of his eye, Jeb saw Tom. The boy was running back to help his father.

 “Knife, Tom,” shouted Jeb.

  The boy ran to his father’s bag, while Jeb started shouting as well as hitting, to keep the cougar’s attention away from Tom. Tom got the knife and ran over to Jeb. The cougar was moving its head in and out, trying to find a way through the wall Jeb was making out of his arms. Tom swung with the knife, into the cougar’s back. It howled horribly and ran off into the mountains.

  The whole fight had taken about thirty seconds.

63. Why did Jeb pull his jacket open when he saw the cougar?

A. To get ready to fight.              B. To frighten it away.   C. To protect the boy.    D. To cool down.

64. What do we know about cougars?

A. They are afraid of noises.                                     B. They hesitate before they hit.

C. They are bigger than we think.                             D. They like to attack running people.

65. How did Jeb try to hold the cougar’s attention?

A. By keeping shouting and hitting.                          B. By making a wall out of his arms.

C. By throwing himself on the cougar.                      D. By swinging his fists at the cougar’s eyes.

66. Which of the following happened first?

A. The cougar jumped from the rock.                        B. Tom struggled free of his father.

C. Jeb asked Tom to get the knife.                                   D. Jeb held Tom across his body.

(2013·高考北京卷，C)Although being famous might sound like a dream come true，today’s stars，feeling like zoo animals，face pressures that few of us can imagine.They are at the center of much of the world’s attention.Paparazzi (狗仔队) camp outside their homes，cameras ready.Tabloids (小报) publish thrilling stories about their personal lives.Just imagine not being able to do anything without being photographed or interrupted for a signature!

According to psychologist Christina Villarreal，celebrities－famous people－worry constantly about their public appearance.Eventually，they start to lose track of who they really are，seeing themselves the way their fans imagine them，not as the people they were before everyone knew their names.“Over time，”Villarreal says，“they feel separated and alone.”

The phenomenon of tracking celebrities has been around for ages.In the 4th century B．C.，painters followed Alexander the Great into battle，hoping to picture his victories for his admirers.When Charles Dickens visited America in the 19th century，his sold?out readings attracted thousands of fans，leading him to complain (抱怨) about his lack of privacy.Tabloids of the 1920s and 1930s ran articles about film?stars in much the same way that modern tabloids and websites do.

Being a public figure today，however，is a lot more difficult than it used to be.Superstars cannot move about without worrying about photographers with modern cameras.When they say something silly or do something ridiculous，there is always the Internet to spread the news in minutes and keep their “story” alive forever.

If fame is so troublesome，why aren’t all celebrities running away from it? The answer is there are still ways to deal with it.Some stars stay calm by surrounding themselves with trusted friends and family or by escaping to remote places away from big cities.They focus not on how famous they are but on what they love to do or whatever made them famous in the first place.

Sometimes a few celebrities can get a little justice.Still，even stars who enjoy full justice often complain about how hard their lives are.They are tired of being famous already.

1.It can be learned from the passage that stars today________.

A．are often misunderstood by the public

B．can no longer have their privacy protected

C．spend too much on their public appearance

D．care little about how they have come into fame

2.What is the main idea of Paragraph 3?

A．Great heroes of the past were generally admired.

B．The problem faced by celebrities has a long history.

C．Well?known actors are usually targets of tabloids.

D．Works of popular writers often have a lot of readers.

3.What makes it much harder to be a celebrity today?

A．Availability of modern media.

B．Inadequate social recognition.

C．Lack of favorable chances.

D．Huge population of fans.

4.What is the author’s attitude toward modern celebrity?

A．Sincere.? B．Sceptical.

C．Disapproving.? D．Sympathetic.

Urbanization

(2013·高考北京卷)Until relatively recently，the vast majority of human beings lived and died without ever seeing a city.The first city was probably founded no more than 5,500 years ago.__ 1.__In fact，nearly everyone lived on farms or in tiny rural (乡村的) villages.It was not until the 20th century that Great Britain became the first urban society in history—a society in which the majority of people live in cities and do not farm for a living.

Britain was only the beginning. 2.__The process of urbanization—the migration (迁徙) of people from the countryside to the city—was the result of modernization，which has rapidly transformed how people live and where they live.

In 1990，fewer than 40% of Americans lived in urban areas.Today，over 82% of Americans live in cities.Only about 2% live on farms.__ 3.__

Large cities were impossible until agriculture became industrialized.Even in advanced agricultural societies，it took about ninety?five people on farms to feed five people in cities._ 4._Until modern times，those living in cities were mainly the ruling elite(精英) and the servants，laborers and professionals who served them.Cities survived by taxing farmers and were limited in size by the amount of surplus food that the rural population produced and by the ability to move this surplus from farm to city.

Over the past two centuries，the Industrial Revolution has broken this balance between the city and the country. 5._Today，instead of needing ninety?five farmers to feed five city people，one American farmer is able to feed more than a hundred non?farmers.

A．That kept cities very small.

B．The rest live in small towns.

C．The effects of urban living on people should be considered.

D．Soon many other industrial nations became urban societies.

E．But even 200 years ago，only a few people could live in cities.

F．Modernization drew people to the cities and made farmers more productive.

G．Modern cities have destroyed social relations and the health of human beings.

(2013·高考北京卷，A)We all know that the cost of heating our homes will continue to be a significant burden on the family budget.Now millions of people are saving on their heating bills with the EP portable heater.With over one million satisfied customers around the world，the new EP heats better and faster，saves more on heating bills，and runs almost silent.

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1.What is mainly discussed in Paragraph 2?

A．The heat of the EP.

B．The safety of the EP.

C．The appearance of the EP.

D．The material of the EP.

2.From the passage，we can learn that the EP________.

A．doesn’t burn up oxygen

B．runs without any noise

C．makes people get sleepy

D．is unsuitable for children and pets

3.The underlined word“evenly”in Paragraph 4 probably means________.

A．continuously B．separately

C．quickly D．equally

4.The main purpose of the passage is to________.

A．persuade people to buy the product

B．advise people to save on heating bills

C．report the new development of portable heaters

D．compare the functions of different heater brands

(2013·高考北京卷)—Do you think Mom and Dad________late?

—No，Swiss Air is usually on time.

A．were? B．will be

C．would be? D．have been