第二部分:阅读理解(共20小题；每小题2分,满分40分)
阅读下面短文,从A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项。
A
How Americans Began to Eat Tomatoes
People have strange ideas about food. For example, the tomato is a kind of very delicious vegetable. It is one of useful plants that can be prepared in many ways. It has rich nutrition and vitamin in it. But in the 18th century, Americans never ate tomatoes. They grew them in their gardens because tomato plants are so pretty. But they thought the vegetable was poisonous (有毒的). They called tomatoes “poison apples.”
President Thomas Jefferson, however, knew that tomatoes were good to eat. He was a learned man. He had been to Paris, where he learned to love the taste of tomatoes. He grew many kinds of tomatoes in his garden. The President taught his cook a way for a cream of tomato soup. This beautiful pink soup was served at the President’s party. The guests thought the soup tasted really good. They never thought their president would serve his honored guests poison apples. Jefferson never spoke to his honored (忠实的) guests about the fact.
36. After you read the passage, which of the following do you think is true?
A. Americans never ate tomatoes after they began to plant them.
B. Americans didn’t eat tomatoes before 19th century.
C. Even now Americans don’t eat tomatoes.
D. In the 18th century Americans ate a lot of tomatoes.
37. The passage tells us that Jefferson was a President who learned to love the taste of tomatoes___.
A. while he was in Paris              B. when he was a little boy
C. because his parents told him so       D. from books
38. According to the text, _______ made the beautiful pink soup served at the President’s party?
A. the President himself       B. a French cook
C. the President’s cook       D. the President’s wife
39. From the passage we know all the honored guests invited by Jefferson were       .
A. people from other countries       B. from France
C. people of his own country        D. men only
40. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. All of the guests knew the soup that was served at the President’s party was made of tomatoes.
B. All of the guests thought the soup which was prepared by the President’s cook was nice.
C. All of the guests thought the taste of the beautiful pink soup was nice.
D. None of the guests knew that their president would serve his honored guests poison apples.

If you have ever gone through a toll booth(收费所), you know that your relationship to the person in the booth is not the most intimate you'll ever have. It is one of life's frequent affairs: You hand over some money; you might get change; you drive off.

　　Late one morning in 1984, headed for lunch in San Francisco, I drove toward a booth. I heard loud music. It sounded like a party. I looked around. No other cars with their windows open. No sound trucks. I looked at the toll booth. Inside it, the man was dancing.

　　"What are you doing?" I asked.

　　"I'm having a party," he said.

　　"What about the rest of the people?" I looked at the other toll booths.

　　He said, "What do those look like to you?" He pointed down the row of toll booths.

　　"They look like……toll booths. What do they look like to you?"

　　He said, "Vertical coffins. At 8:30 every morning, live people get in. Then they die for eight hours. At 4:30, like Lazarus from the dead, they reemerge and go home. For eight hours, brain is on hold, dead on the job. Going through the motions."

　　I was amazed. This guy had developed a philosophy, a mythology about his job. Sixteen people dead on the job, and the seventeenth, in precisely the same situation, figures out a way to live. I could not help asking the next question: "Why is it different for you? You're having a good time."

He looked at me. "I knew you were going to ask that. I don't understand why anybody would think my job is boring. I have a corner office, glass on all sides. I can see the Golden Gate, San Francisco, and the Berkeley hills. Half the Western world vacations here……and I just stroll in every day and practice dancing."

1.According to the first paragraph, in most cases, how do you describe the relationship between drivers and toll booth?

A．most intimate      B．very tense         C．pretty ordinary     D．extremely hostile

2.Why did the author go to San Francisco?

A. To attend a party

B. B. To have a meal

C. To dance with the worker in the toll booth

D. To hand in the repair fee of his car

3.The underlined name “Lazarus” mentioned in the eighth paragraph probably refers to a person___________.

A. who was very active in his life

B. B. who was dead and revived from death

C. who was going to San Francisco

D. who liked dancing at work

4.According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

A．The author passed by the toll booth every day.

B．The worker enjoyed his work very much.

C．Only western people like to spend their holidays in the Berkeley hills.

D．The dancing worker was getting badly along with his colleagues.

5.After hearing what the worker said, the author would probably_________.

A．go to the worker’s senior to complain about his bad attitude towards job.

B．go climbing the Golden Gate and the Berkeley hills to have a vacation.

C．learn to take a positive attitude to job and appreciate valuable things in life.

D．go back home instead of wasting time traveling to San Francisco.

Many students in China are learning English. Some of these students are small children. Others are teenagers. Many are adults. Some learn at school, others study by themselves. A few learn English language over the radio, on television, or in films. One must work hard to learn another language.

    Why do all these people want to learn English? It is difficult to answer that question. Many boys and girls learn English at school because it is one of their subjects. They study their own language and maths and English ... Some people learn English because it is useful for their work. Many people often learn English for their higher studies, because at college or university some of their books are in English. Other people learn English because they want to read newspaper and magazines in English.

Many students in China are learning English, aren't they? ____.

A. No, they aren't        B. No, they are

C. Yes, they are         D. Yes, they aren't

If one wants to learn another language well, he must ____.

A. learn at school        B. study by himself

C. work hard            D. study hard

The sentence "It is difficult to answer that question" means ____.

A. that question is not difficult to answer

B. that question is difficult to answer it

C. it is difficultly to answer that question

D. it is hard to answer that question

"Their own language" means ____.

A. Chinese      B. English       C. French       D. Japanese

What's the Chinese of "study by themselves"?

A. 和他们一起学习      B. 自学    C. 向他们学习    D. 通过学习

Iceland is a popular European tourist destination. Before you go there, it is good to learn some of the basic Iceland customs first.

Just like other countries in Europe, it is one of the customs in Iceland to shake hands and say “Hello”. Kissing each other’s cheeks is acceptable along with wishing each other a happy day.

Another custom is to take off your shoes in the hallway(走廊) when you enter someone’s home. Also, don’t be surprised if someone invites you to their house, since Icelanders love to have guests. Just make sure you take flowers or a similar token of thanks to give them.

If you have been invited to eat, keep in mind that you don’t need to express thanks before meals like the French or the Japanese. Rather, eat heartily and then thank your host afterwards by shaking his hand.

Keep in mind that believing in mysterious beings is part of the tradition in Iceland. Indeed, most of the unique and sometimes strange rock formations in Iceland are due to elves(小精灵), according to the people of Iceland.

Are you planning to spend Christmas in Iceland? If so, make sure you practice saying “Gleileg jol got tog fars!” first, which is the local Christmas greeting. It is part of the tradition in Iceland to have long Christmas holidays—26 days—longer than in any other European country. There are 13 Santa Clauses in Iceland, too!

There may not be a law requiring you to follow the customs, but there is no harm in doing so. Following them, you might be rewarded with a rich cultural experience and a more meaningful trip.

1. When you are invited to someone’s home in Iceland, you'd better do all of the following EXCEPT ______.

A. eating heartily and enjoying your time there

B. expressing your thanks to the host before you eat

C. taking some flowers or something else to the host

D. taking off shoes in the hallway before you enter the home

2.Which of the following is one of the differences in customs between Iceland and France?

A. Shaking hands when greeting.

B. A 26-day-long Christmas holiday.

C. Saying hello when meeting each other.

D. Kissing each other’s cheeks when greeting.

3.The text is mainly about ______.

A. what some of the customs in Iceland are like

B. why some of the customs in Iceland are special

C. how some of the customs in Iceland were formed

D. what some of the customs are like in Europe

4. In the text, the author aims to tell us that ______.

A. happiness is a form of courage

B. when in Rome, do as the Romans do

C. practice is the only path to knowledge

D. everyone has good and bad times in life

Unlike traditional commercials, Public Service Advertisements（PSA）are primarily designed to inform and educate rather than sell a product or service. The goal of a PSA is not to make a big sale, but rather to change public opinion and raise awareness for a problem.

Smokey Bear has been a recognized symbol of the protection of America’s forests from fire. It is created to educate the public about the dangers of wildfires. Smokey Bear was started in 1944 with the slogan, “Smokey Bear Says—Care will prevent 9 out of 10 forest fires”. Smokey Bear’s later slogan,  “Remember! Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires”, was created in 1947 by the Advertising Council in America. In April 2001, the message was changed to “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires”.

The wildfire prevention campaign with Smokey Bear is one of the longest and most successful campaigns in advertising history. The Advertising Council often was in partnership with other organizations and groups to create various advertising for Smokey Bear since 1944.

The Advertising Council teamed with Walt Disney Company to create a series of PSAs. The ads feature（以···为形象）characters form the classic film Sleeping Beauty and aim to reach parents and children. The lovely Bambi also appeared in the advertisements. Mickey Mouse is much more popular throughout the country.

Those PSAs, which appear on television, on the radio, in the newspaper and on the website continue to remind Americans about the importance of wildfire prevention have helped to reduce the number of acres burned annually by wildfires. According to recent survey, Smokey Bear and his famous words of wisdom “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires” are recalled by 3 out of 4 adults.

In addition to the PSA campaign, Smokey Bear has his own U.S. postage stamp and website for more information about wildfire prevention. From the website, you can also learn all about wildfires and how we can protect our forests.

1.PSA are primarily designed to      .

A. educate the public                              B. change people’s status

C. discuss a problem                       D. sell products or services

2.Which of the following is true of the Smoky Bear?

A. It is one recognized symbols of Walt Disney cartoons.

B. It firstly appeared in America in 1944 with no slogan.

C. It is created to warn Americans of the dangers of wildfires.

D. Its slogan changes every three years.

3.How does the author support his topic in Paragraph 4?

A. By summing up.                                 B. By giving examples.

C. By comparison.                                      D. By asking questions.

4.According to this text, Smoky Bear       .

A. helps a lot to reduce wildfires in America

B. isn’t popular among the American pupils

C. has set up its own website to advertise products

D. becomes the symbol of the Advertising Council