第三部分：阅读理解（共12小题；每小题2分，满分24分）

请认真阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Few people realize that there is a big difference between formal English and informal English. Formal English is used for most writing, and often in public speaking and formal meetings. It pays close attention to grammar rules, because if we use proper grammar, our meaning is often more precise. Also, on important occasions, we do not want to appear uneducated or to offend (冒犯) others, so we are very careful about how we speak. Informal English is used in speaking or writing to our friends and family. It often does not pay such close attention to grammar rules, because when we speak or write to them, we want our words to flow quickly. Also, with our friends and family, we are usually not so worried about appearing uneducated or about offending them by how we write or speak.

  A big difference between formal and informal English is the use of contractions. A contraction is where we make a word shorter or where we put two words together and take away some of the letters. For example, instead of saying “do not”, many people say “don’t”. Using contractions in our speech is fine because it sounds natural, especially when we speak to our friends. In formal writing, however, contractions are usually avoided because people might think that you have made a mistake, or that you do not know proper grammar.

  In the same way we might make words shorter, in informal English we often make sentences shorter as well. For example, if someone asks you your name, you will likely answer with one word: your first name. However, in formal English we usually use complete sentences. For example, we might write “My name is John”. In most speaking, we may not need to use every word in a sentence because the person we are speaking to will probably still understand us. In most writing, however, every word in a sentence must be written out in order to make sure that we can be understood.

56. When we use formal English, _______.

         A. we will offend others 

B. we will appear educated on important occasions

         C. we needn’t pay more attention to grammar rules

         D. we can express ourselves more directly and more quickly

57. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “precise”?

         A. simple                    B. direct                     C. puzzling                 D. clear

58. Contractions are best used when we are _______.

         A. speaking at a formal meeting                        B. speaking to our friends

         C. speaking in public                                              D. writing an application (申请) letter

59. In speaking, we do not always use complete sentences because ______.

         A. we do not care about grammar                    B. we do not want to sound stupid

         C. we can still be understood                              D. we don’t want to waste time

 

What do you want to be when you grow up? A teacher? A doctor? How about an ice-cream taster?

Yes, there really is a job where you can get paid to taste ice cream. Just ask John Harrison, an “Official Taste Tester” for the past 21 years. Testing helps producers to be sure of a product’s quality. During his career Harrison has been responsible for approving large quantities of the sweet ice cream –as well as for developing over 75 flavors （味道）.

Some people think that it would be easy to do this job; after all, you just have to like ice cream, right? No –-- there’s more to the job than that, says Harrison, who has a degree in chemistry. He points out that a dairy or food-science degree would be very useful to someone wanting a career in this “cool” field.

In a typical morning on the job, Harrison tastes and rates 60 ice-cream samples. He lets the ice cream warm up to about 12 F. Harrisonexplains, “You get more flavor from warmer ice cream, which is why some kids like to stir it, creating ice-cream soup.”

While the ice cream warms up, Harrison looks over the samples and grades each one on its appearance. “Tasting begins with the eyes,”he explains. He checks to see if the ice cream is attractive and asks himself, “Does the product have the colour expected from that flavor?”Next it’s time to taste!

Continuing to think up new ideas, try out new flavors, and test samples from so many kinds of ice cream each day keeps Harrison busy but happy – working at once cool job.

1.What is John Harrison’s job?

A．An official.                            B．An ice-cream taster.

C．A chemist.                             D．An ice-cream producer

2.According to John Harrison, to be qualified(有资格的) in the “cool field”, it is helpful to        .

A．keep a diary of work                     B．have a degree in related subjects

C．have new ideas every day                 D．find out new flavors each day

3.What does Harrison do first when testing ice cream?

A．He stirs the ice cream.

B．He examines the colour of the ice cream.

C．He tastes the flavor of the ice cream.

D．He lets the ice cream warm up.

4.Which of the following is probably the best title of the passage?

A．Tasting with Eyes                        B．Flavors of Ice Cream

C．John Harrison’s Life                    D．One Cool Job

 

Dolphins and sharks are showing up in surprisingly shallow

water just off the Florida coast. Mullets, crabs, rays and small

fish gather by the thousands off an Alabama pirer. Birds covered in

oil are crawling deep into marshes （沼泽）, never to be seen again.

Marine scientists studying the effects of the BP disaster（英国石油公司漏油事件）are seeing

some strange phenomena. Fish and other wildlife seem to be fleeing the oil out in the Gulf and clustering in cleaner waters along the coast in a trend that some researchers see as a potentially troubling sign. The animals' presence close to shore means their usual habitat is badly polluted, and the crowding could result in mass die-offs as fish run out of oxygen. Also, the animals could easily be captured by their enemies.

    The nearly two-month-old spill（漏油）has created an environmental disaster in US history as tens of millions of gallons have flown into the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. Scientists are seeing some unusual things as they try to understand the effects on thousands of species of marine life.

For nearly four hours Monday, a three-person crew with Greenpeace cruised past delicate

islands and mangrove-dotted inlets in Barataria Bay off southern Louisiana. They saw dolphins by the dozen frolicking（嬉戏）in the oily sheen（光泽）and oil-tinged pelicans feeding their young. But they spotted no dead animals.

"I think part of the reason why we're not seeing more yet is that the impacts of this crisis are

really just beginning," Greenpeace marine biologist John Hocevar said.

The counting of dead wildlife in the Gulf is more than an academic exercise; the deaths will

help determine how much BP pays in damages.

What do the marine life react to the BP disaster?

       A．Birds crawl deep into caves.

       B．Dolphins and sharks show up in deep water.

       C．Tens of thousands of marine animals are found dead.

       D．Sea creatures flee from oil spill, gathering near seashore.

Which of the following is NOT related to the potentially troubling sign?

       A．The usual habitat of deep-water animals is badly polluted.

       B．Many animals could be easily eaten by their enemies.

       C．Masses of fishes could die due to lack of oxygen.

       D．Some dolphins are frolicking in marshes.

The environmental disaster was caused by     .

      A．the damage of the Mexico Gulf ecosystem

       B．the lack of environmental sense of BP

       C．the nearly two-month-old oil spill

       D．the crowding marine life

What is John Hocevar’s attitude towards the disaster?

       A．Worried.   B．Disappointed.   C．Depressed.       D．Hesitant. 

From the passage, we can infer that         .

       A．Bp will pay much money according to the number of dead wildlife there

       B．marine scientists have seen some strange phenomena

       C．the disaster has little influence on dolphins

       D．a three-person crew reached no conclusion

— Where is John?   — He _____ in the library.

A. should be    B. must be     C. can be  D. must have been

Is it time to kick Russia out of the BRICs （金砖四国）? If so, it may end up sounding like a famous ball-point pen maker-BIC. An argument is being made that Goldman Sach’s famous marketing device（策略）,the BRICs, should really be the BICs.

“Is Russia really worth the name BRICs?” asks Anders Aslund, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, in an article for Foreigh Policy. Aslund, who is also co-author with Andrew Kuchins of “The Russian Balance Sheet”, thinks the Russia of Putin and Medvedev is just not worthy of inclusion alongside Brazil, India and China in the list of future economic powerhouses. He writes:

“The country’s economic performance has fallen to such a weak level that one must ask whether it has any say at all on the global economy, compared with the other members of its group. I have just returned from Moscow, which is always dull around this season. For the last seven years, Russia has taken very few measures to improve its economy. Instead, the state has been living on oil and gas. ”

Economically, Aslund has the numbers on his side. The International Monetary Fund figures that the Russian economy will fall by 6.7 percent in 2009, while China will grow 8.5 percent and India 5.4 percent. There is less of a case for Brazil, with a fall of 0.7 percent, but it is still doing

far better than Russia.

But the BRICs are not just about economy. As is mentioned above, it is a marketing device to encourage investors to focus on the big promising players. From an investment standpoint, it could be argued that Russia is leading the BRICs. Its stock（股票）market is up 128 percent this year while around 80 percent is for the other three.

At very least, however, Russia’s economic underperformance and stock market outperfoumance does suggest it is indeed one of the group.

1.According to the passage, which country will enjoy the biggest increase in 2009?

A．China.

B．Russia.

C．Brazil.

D．India.

2.According to Aslund, Russia shouldn’t be a BRIC partly because_______.

A．Russia’s economic performance is far worse than the other three

B．Russia’s leaders are not good at managing economy

C．Russia has taken effective measures to improve its economy

D．Russia will no longer attract investors from other countries

3.From the passage we know that ________.

A．Anders Aslund is working for the Russian government

B．Russia outperfoumed the other three countries in stock market

C．most people disagree Russia is included in BRICs

D．the BRICs would end up being the BICs sooner or later

4.The author seems to ________.

A．suggest it’s time to kick Russia out of the BRICs?

B．feel worried about the economy of the BRICs

C．think Russia is worth being one of the group

D．show disappointment to Russia’s economy