第二部分：阅读理解（共25小题，每小题2分，满分50分）
第一节：阅读下列短文，然后从所给的四个选项 (A、B、C和D) 中选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该项涂黑。
A
The best Mother’s Day gift I ever received was a magnolia(木兰)tree. At first, it was a tired little thing, but it was mine, and I know I would treasure it.
Magnolia trees were my mother’s favorite. We had one in the front yard of our house when I was growing up. I can still remember Mom’s pleasure upon seeing the buds. “Oh, look,” she’d cry out every year, “the magnolia tree is going to bloom(开花)—just in time for my birthday.” And sure enough, on April 19, her birthday, the graceful pink-and-white flowers would be all over the branches, announcing the arrival of spring.
Back then, I didn’t find the blooming of a tree to be an event worthy of celebration. A new toy, a pretty dress or a trip to the amusement park—those were exciting. But my mother had a way of appreciating the smallest things as wonders. A baby’s smile, or a call from an old friend filled her with happiness.
On the first Mother’s Day following her death six years ago, I wasn’t sure how I’d manage. Reminders of my mother’s absence seemed to be everywhere.
That Sunday morning I awoke to a quiet house, with warm sun streaming through the windows. I wondered where my husband had gone with our two daughters, Kira,4, and Sophie, 9 months. As I was relaxing in bed, enjoying the peace, Kira suddenly burst through the bedroom door.
“Look outside, Mommy!” she ordered. There, in the yard, David was digging a hole. Next to him was a little tree whose roots were wrapped.
“It’s a magnolia tree,” Kira said, though I didn’t need to be told. I raised the window and called out to David. “Happy Mother’s Day!” he said.
It was. Although I didn’t have my mother any longer, I had her tree, and each year since, I’ve had her enthusiasm(激情). Now when we pull up to our house on a bright spring day, I say to my daughters, “Oh look! The magnolia’s about to bloom.” And when it does, we admire its beauty and use it as a chance to talk about my mother and her love for flowers.
What time does the magnolia bloom according to the passage?

Minimalism (简约主义) is a term that describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is reduced to its most basic features.

As for me, minimalism functions well not in art or design, but in my daily life.

When I was packing for university, I found it extremely difficult to let go of some of the things I owned. I knew I couldn’t take everything with me, but I kept asking myself “how could I possibly throw this away?”, “what if I need it one day?”, and “what about all of the memories?” Now that I’ve moved, and left that stuff behind, I don’t even miss it. Whether or not I got rid of it, it barely makes a bit of difference to me now.

I’ve learned that over time people forget, or their need for a particular object eventually disappears. Either they store it away or they get rid of it.

You might think nostalgically（怀旧的） about the toys you cared about when you were a child, but what is making you smile now is not the thing itself but the memory of it. 1’ve heard it a hundred times, “you don’t need things to make you happy.” It takes something life-changing like moving across the country to realize how true this is.

Speaking of which, for a lot of people, minimalism is about able to move. It’s about being able to go almost anywhere at any time because you don’t have many possessions to carry. When you keep things you don’t need they become a burden that ties you to a place. Moving to university was a good time to let go of a lot of stuff. And when I visit for the holidays, I’ll probably get rid of even more, to lighten the burden.

Of course there are exceptions. There are some things that are irreplaceable, very rare or expensive or we simply love and cherish for some reason or another, since we are humans. But after we keep those, how much is left that we don’t really need?

Hence, minimalism. And why does minimalism bring happiness? That was a bit of a roundabout way of saying that, it’s because what really makes me happy is freedom. And the key to freedom is minimalism because minimalism reduces our attachment to things.

Attachment to too many objects creates a great mess and can severely hold back our freedom to do whatever we want, while minimalism helps us start new projects, move, travel, learn new things, work, expand, be debt-free, be healthy – really living life to our full potential.

I left the nest to fly onwards and upwards, I can’t do it with old things weighing me down. And that is why I have adopted minimalism with open arms.

1.In paragraph l, the writer gives the definition of minimalism to      .

A．introduce a topic                       B．present his own idea

C．describe a scene                        D．offer an argument

2.Many people don’t want to let go of some of their belongings because       .

A．they haven’t had any life-changing experiences

B．they fear their memories will be gone with the thrown-away stuff

C．they hope to live life to their full potential by storing things away

D．they may have to change their lifestyle because of the loss of them

3.Which of the following is NOT the reason why the writer favors “minimalism” in life?                          

A．It takes the burden off her while she is moving.

B．It reduces her attachment to her personal things.

C．It enables her to gain the freedom that she desires.

D．It helps her to realize how true life is.

4.By saying “there are exceptions”, the writer means       

A．little is left if we keep what we cherish most in our life

B．minimalism should be practised accordingly in different situations

C．minimalism is a method difficult to employ in reality

D．life is full of exceptions so it’s difficult to preserve what we value

5.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Minimalism brings happiness.

B．Minimalism is applied in many fields.

C．Minimalism makes people think nostalgically.

D．Minimalism is about able to move.

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。

My grandparents built and lived in a small 600-square-foot cottage for most of their adult lives. They actively practiced living a   21   life. Saving and avoiding overspending was their life   22   for their whole life.   23   seeking satisfaction through material items, they chose to spend   24   time together, with family, and in nature.

Over the years my grandparents noticed   25   changes in their community. Every year more farmland was   26   to build larger and larger homes. With houses’ prices   27  , many of their neighbors sold their little homes and lands.   28   only their small house was still on the block, surrounded by a sea of tall buildings. Countless family members   29   my grandparents to expand their home. But they didn’t want a bigger place and were   30   with what they had.

　　In many ways, I’ve modeled my life after my grandparents. Through their example I learned an important   31  : It is absolutely possible to live a small and fulfilling life.

　　My grandparents lived in a small home, but they owned a(n)   32   garden. They loved gardening deeply because it not only   33   their grocery bill, but also improved their health and gave them a(n)   34   to be outside. They said, “  35   you live in a small home or an apartment, you don’t have to give up gardening.”

My grandparents avoided lifestyle creep(攀比) by paying for their own home in cash and building it themselves. They also recycled and   36   everything. For instance, they drove the same car for over 15 years and didn’t buy anything new until their stuff was   37   worn out.

My grandparents taught me that living well on   38   isn’t about feeling bad for myself.   39  , it’s about giving yourself the time, freedom, and money to seek your dreams. You know: Becoming debt free, living in a smaller home, and others are a few ways to   40   your life.

1.A. dull                       B. simple                     C. single                       D. busy

2.A. attitude               B. experience            C. principle                 D. standard

3.A. Rather than        B. More than              C. Other than             D. Apart from

4.A. shopping             B. work                        C. break                       D. quality

5.A. obvious              B. delicate                  C. enjoyable               D. flexible

6.A. improved            B. ruined                     C. discovered             D. distributed

7.A. taking up             B. making up              C. going up                 D. turning up

8.A. Probably             B. Suddenly                C. Instantly                  D. Eventually

9.A. forced                           B. encouraged           C. persuaded             D. ordered

10.A. content             B. angry                       C. cautious                  D. familiar

11.A. lesson               B. theory                     C. truth                        D. sentence

12.A. small                  B. special                     C. ordinary                 D. huge

13.A. reduced           B. handled                  C. checked                  D. handled

14.A. platform           B. stage                        C. excuse                     D. solution

15.A. As if                    B. Even if           C. Only if            D. What if

16.A. sewed               B. created                   C. sold                          D. reused

17.A. thoroughly       B. generally                C. nearly          D. hardly

18.A. more                B. less                         C. better                     D. worse

19.A. What’s more    B. As a result              C. On the whole         D. On the contrary

20.A. risk                     B. manage      C. limit                       D. destroy

B
Ever since I was a small girl in school, I’ve been aware of what the school textbooks say about Indians. I am an Indian and, naturally, am interested in what the schools teach about natives of this land.
One day, I read that a delicacy(美味) of American Indian people was dried fish, which , according to the textbook, tasted “like an old shoe, or was like chewing on dried leather.” To this day I can remember my surprise, my anger and my sadness at reading these words. We called this wind-dried fish “sleet-shus”, and to us, it was our favorite delicacy and, indeed, did not  taste like shoe leather, and didn’t rot our teeth and bring about the various dietary problem that trouble Indian people in modern times. It took many hours of long and hard work to cure the fish in just this particular fashion. Early fur traders and other non-Indians must have agreed, for they often had this food as they traveled around isolated areas.
I brought the textbook home to show it to my father, leader of my tribe at that time. On this particular day, he told me in his wise and modest manner that the outside world did not understand Indian people, and that I should not let it prevent me from learning the good parts of education.
At a later time in my life, I had brought a group of Indian people to the country fairgrounds to sell Indian-made arts and crafts. My group was excited to make some money by selling Indian handicrafts. We thanked the man who showed us to our booth and told him it was nice of him to remember the people of the Indian community. The man expanded a little and remarked that he liked Indian people. “In fact,” he went on to state, “we are bringing some professional Indians to do the show!”
As we stood there in shock, listening to this uninformed outsider, I looked at my dear Indian companion, an eighty-year-old woman who could well remember the great chiefs of the tribe who once owned all the land of this country before the white man came bringing “civilization”, which included diseases and pollution. My friend said not a word, but took the hurt as Indian people have done for many years.
Of course, we all knew that the “professional Indian” were not Indians at all, but dressed in leather and dancing their own dances. And, anyway, how does one become a “professional Indian”?
45．Which of the following statements about “sleet-shus” is true?
A．It tasted like an old shoe.
B．Eating it was like chewing on dried leather.
C．It was delicious but bad for our teeth.
D．It must have brought pleasure to Indians as well as early business men.
46．What does the writer mean by saying “how does one become ‘a professional Indian’”?
A．Only the Indians know how to become professional Indians.
B．The outside civilization can help and Indian become a professional Indian.
C．An Indian is a born professional Indian.
D．The outside civilization can help white people become professional Indians.
47．After reading the passage, you don’t know __________.
A．what the writer’s profession is
B．what upset the writer and her friend at the county fair
C．why the writer went to the county fair
D．the writer’s attitude to the so-called civilization
48．This story is primarily about ___________.
A．customs of native Americans
B．how textbooks describe native Americans.
C．misunderstanding between people from different cultures
D．how an Indian becomes a “professional Indian”

I used to work in an office, which had a Iocust tree growing outside the window. It had grown into a tall tree and must have been there for a long time. The tree blocked the view and made the office seem dull. Unfortunately, this happened to be the room assigned to me, and l was depressed by it for quite some time.
When the first spring came, everything was green except the locust tree.I felt very happy because I had thought it had died!
One morning, when I opened the window for some fresh air, I unexpectedly smelt a familiar sweet scent floating into my office which I could not name. Suddenly,I realized it was the locust tree!The tree that I thought dead was in full bloom!
From then on, I usually came to the office very early to see dew forming on the locust tree blossoms, and was eager to see spring again every year.
During summer, the green leaves provided shade protecting me from the harsh sunlight, but allowing enough light in to make it pleasant. In autumn, the leaves turned many different colors. Its beauty touched my soul. Many times, I thought to take photos but never did. Then, I had to leave in a hurry. Later in life, it became a great regret that I had not done so.
Actually, many times in our lives we think we own something and thus do not value it. We don't feel regretful until we lose it one day! Moreover, sometimes, we have to accept the things we don't want and need to discover the hidden beauty to find unexpected joy!
【小题1】 The locust tree first attracted the author most by____.