第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下面的短文，从A,B,C,D四个选项中，选出最佳选项
My elder brother Steve, in the absence of my father who died when I was six, gave me important lessons in values that helped me grow into an adult. For instance, Steve taught me to face the results of my behavior. Once when I returned in tears from a Saturday baseball game, it was Steve who took the time to ask me what happened. When I explained that my baseball had soared through Mrs. Holt’s basement window, breaking the glass with a crash, Steve encouraged me to confess(坦白) to her. After all, I should have been playing in the park down Fifth Street and not in the path between buildings. Although my knees knocked as I explained to Mrs. Holt, I offered to pay for the window from my pocket money if she would return my ball. I also learned from Steve that personal property is a sacred thing. After I found a shiny silver pen in my fifth-grade classroom, I wanted to keep it, but Steve explained that it might be important to someone else. He reminded me of how much I’d hate to lose to someone else the small dog my father carved from a piece of wood. I returned the pen to my teacher, Mrs. Davids, and still remembered the smell of her perfume as she patted me on my shoulder.
Yet of all the instructions Steve gave me, his respect for life is the most vivid in my mind. When I was twelve I killed an old brown bird in the yard with a BB gun. Excited with my accuracy, I screamed to Steve to come from thehouse to take a look. I shall never forget the way he stood for a long moment and stared at the bird on the ground. Then in a dead, quiet voice, he asked, “Did it hurt you first, Mark?” I didn’t know what to answer. He continued with his eyes firm, “The only time you should even think of hurting a living thing is if it hurts you first. And then you think a long, long time. “ I really felt terrible then, but that moment stands out as the most important lesson my brother taught me.
56. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. The relationship between Mark and Steve
B. The important lesson Mark learned in school
C. Steve’s important role in Mark’s growing process.
D. Mark and Steve’s respect for living things.
57. It can be inferred from the passage that when Mark confessed to Mrs. Holt, ____.
A. he felt surprised                B. he was light-hearted
C. he felt frightened               D. he behaved bravely
58. In the story about the pen, which of the following lessons did Steve teach his brother?      
A. Respect for personal property.
B. Respect for life.
C. Sympathy for people with problems.
D. The value of honesty.
59. Which of the follow is true according to the passage?
A. Mark was still a boy when he wrote this passage.
B. Even if a living thing hurts you, you should not kill it without hesitation
C. When a living thing hurts you, you should kill it.
D. Mark lost the small dog his father raised.

Drink driving should be treated as a crime ________ whether the driver causes a crash.

A. according to      B. regardless of

C. in addition to    D. in terms of

Dreaming is believing, claim researchers of a new study, who found that dreams have an effect on people’s behavior, judgment and they might contain important hidden truths as well.
“Psychologists’ interpretations (解释) of the meaning of dreams vary widely. But our findings show that people believe their dreams provide meaningful insight (见识) into themselves and their world,” said a lead author of the study Carey More wedge, an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
In six different studies, researchers surveyed nearly 1,100 people about their dreams. One of the studies focused on general beliefs about dreams and involved 149 university students. All students were asked to rate different theories about dreams. The experts found that a surprising majority of the participants supported the theory about dreams revealing (揭示) the hidden truths about themselves and the rest of the world.
In a second experiment, they surveyed 182 people at a Boston train station, and asked them to imagine one out of four possible situations that could have occurred the night before a scheduled airline trip. Most of the participants said that dreaming of a plane crash would be more likely to affect their travel plans than would just thinking about a crash, or being warned by the government of a terrorism risk. They said a dreamed crash would influence their travel plans just as much as learning about a real crash on their planned route would.
Another experiment involved 270 men and women from across the United States. In a short online survey, they were asked to recall one of the dreams they had seen about any person they knew. The findings showed that people were more likely to remember and describe pleasant dreams about a person they liked, rather than a person they disliked. Meanwhile, in most cases they tended to consider an unpleasant dream as more meaningful if it was about a person they disliked.
“In other words,” said More wedge, “people attribute (归因于) meaning to dreams when it corresponds (与……一致) with their pre-existing beliefs and desires.” The researchers say that more investigation (研究) is needed to fully understand how people interpret their dreams. According to More wedge, most people realize that dreams are not predicting their future, but they still try to find some meaning in there.
【小题1】The purpose of the studies is to _______.

A．When a dream conflicts with people’s existing beliefs and desires, they tend to attribute less meaning to it.

B．Most people disagree that dreams help them better know themselves and the world.

C．A majority of people believes that dreams can predict their future and try to find their meaning.

D．Dreams can be a useful tool for learning and problem solving.

My elder brother Steve, in the absence of my father who died when I was six, gave me important lessons in values that helped me grow into an adult.
For instance, Steve taught me to face the results of my behavior. Once when I returned in tears from a Saturday baseball game, it was Steve who took the time to ask me what happened. When I explained that my baseball had soared through Mrs. Holt’s basement window, breaking the glass with a crash, Steve encouraged me to confess（承认）to her. After all, I should have been playing in the park down Fifth Street and not in the path between buildings. Although my knees knocked as I explained to Mrs. Holt, I offered to pay for the window from my pocket money if she would return my ball. I also learned from Steve that personal property is a sacred（神圣的） thing. After I found a shiny silver pen in my fifth-grade classroom, I wanted to keep it, but Steve explained that it might be important to someone else in spite of the fact that it had little value. He reminded me of how much I’d hate to lose to someone else the small dog that my father carved from a piece of cheap wood. I returned the pen to my teacher, Mrs. Davids, and still remembered the smell of her perfume as she patted me on my shoulder.
Yet of all the instructions Steve gave me, his respect for life is the most vivid in my mind. When I was twelve, I killed an old brown sparrow in the yard with a BB gun. Excited with my accuracy, I screamed to Steve to come from the house to take a look. I shall never forget the way he stood for a long moment and stared at the bird on the ground. Then in a dead, quiet voice, he asked, “Did it hurt you first, Mark?” I didn’t know what to answer. He continued with his eyes firm, “The only time you should even think of hurting a living thing is if it hurts you first. And then you think a long, long time.” I really felt terrible then, but that moment stands out as the most important lesson my brother taught me.
【小题1】 What is the main subject of the passage?

A．he felt surprised	B．he was light-hearted
C．he felt frightened	D．he knelt before her

Sixty-five million years ago, an asteroid (小行星) that crashed on Earth led to the disappearance of the largest animals that have ever walked our planet – the dinosaurs. At least, this is what some scientists believe. But that accident happened so long ago. People have come to believe that we are free of threats from asteroids and everything else from space.

However, what happened on Feb 15 , 2013 was a reminder that we’re just as vulnerable as the dinosaurs once were. Two objects from space – a meteor (陨石) and an asteroid called 2012 DA14 –  visited Earth’s atmosphere on the same day. The former fell in Russia, injuring 1,200 people, while the latter passed by Earth at a record-setting close distance.

Scientists had been expecting the asteroid since last year, but the meteor was a surprise. NASA’s telescope system only detects asteroids at least 50 meters in diameter (直径), which is just about the size of 2012 DA14. But the meteor was much smaller, which made it harder to spot.

But what if we do spot an asteroid that is headed right for Earth? There are several possible ways in which dangerous asteroids could be made to change its orbit. Which method is best depends on several factors and most importantly  –  how much time we have to stop it.

If there is enough time before the hit, we can send off a heavy spacecraft to travel alongside the asteroid. The gravity from the spacecraft would gradually change the rock’s orbit. Besides that, scientists could one day use sun-powered lasers to either make asteroids disappear or change their course. If there’s not enough time, we’ll have to go after the asteroid with a spacecraft and change its orbit with a crash. Finally, if things are truly desperate, there will be only one choice left –  to use a nuclear bomb. That could turn the asteroid into a meteor shower, which would be even more dangerous.

1.The author mentioned the asteroid that led to the dinosaurs’ dying out to ______.

A. show that asteroids fall from space frequently

B. alert people about the possible danger of objects falling from space

C. inform readers about the constant threats the Earth faces

D. suggest that there are still many mysteries about the universe

2.The underlined word “vulnerable” in the second paragraph probably means ______.

A. unprotected                  B. lonely            C. stupid            D. self-important

3.Which of the following statements is TRUE about the meteor that fell to the Earth in Russia?

A. It passed by the Earth at a close distance.

B. It was spotted by NASA’s telescope system a year ago.

C. It is about the same size as the asteroid that passed by the Earth.

D. It fell to the Earth and caused great damage to the local community.

4.What is the main idea of the article?

A. Learning about asteroids and meteors.

B. The threats of objects from space and possible solutions.

C. NASA’s latest technology to discover visitors to the Earth from space.

D. How to measure the damage of collisions from asteroids and meteors.