三、阅读理解（30分）

On New Year’s Eve

At midnight on New Year’s Eve, people in Rome, Italy, throw out all the things they no longer want. The streets are filled with old chairs, beds, clothes and dishes. In Madrid, Spain, the new year comes in more quietly. People flock to the main square. Each holds a bag of grapes. As the clock strikes twelve, the people eat the grapes— one for each stroke.

In Tokyo people eat noodles on New Year’s Eve. This food is said to bring long life. Early the next morning, some Japanese families climb Mount Fuji. There they watch the first sunrise of the new year.

41. This story is about New Year’s Eve in ____.

A. Italy and Spain     B. China and Japan    C. Japan             D. both A and C

42. In Rome, Italy, the streets are filled with old things on New Year’s Eve because __     .

A. people throw out all the things they no longer want

B. the city has never been clean

C. people want to change back what they want

D. they want to see the sun come up

43. People in both Spain and Japan bring in the new year by____.

A. throwing things away                      B. eating a special food

C. climbing a mountain                       D. watching the first sunrise

44. In Tokyo, people eat noodles on New Year’s Eve _____.

A. because they like eating noodles very much

B. so that the daytime could be longer

C. in order that they could live longer

D. though they don’t eat them

第三部分：阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C 和D）中，选出最佳选项。

Having divorced (离婚) my dad, my mom had to move frequently in order to find a job that would provide her with enough money to support the big family. For three years, we lived in the town of Parkersburg. On the first Christmas there, my brothers and I had been well prepared for a holiday without presents. But we had a surprise on Christmas Eve.

At midnight, we were woken up by someone shouting at our front door, “Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!” We jumped up and ran to the door to find no one there, but several boxes and bags! Not only were there gifts, which were our favorite, but there were also clothes and food. Each of us kids, as well as Mom, had gifts with our names on them. And the clothes all fit us!

Another year went by and on Christmas Eve, we again got boxes and bags full of goodies. The next year we moved. We were in the same town but across the other side. Mom was beginning to get on her feet. Since we had moved and Mom had a better job, we were quite certain that “Santa” wouldn’t visit us that year. But we were wrong!

Those “Santa” visits restored in me the belief in the goodness of mankind, though to this day we don’t know who our helper was.

When we grew up, Mom moved to Virginia. She had some extra money one Christmas. She sent it to me and let us know her decision. We then took action. My husband and children had so much fun buying and wrapping presents for the needy family we had chosen. On Christmas Eve, we allowed the excited kids to stay up late to be part of our secret “Santa” project.

Such satisfaction there was in being able to pass on the gift of love to others who needed it. And the gift goes on!

56. From the first paragraph, we can learn that ______.

A. the writer’s family didn’t like to celebrate Christmas

B. the writer felt sorry about not having Christmas presents

C. the writer’s mother couldn’t afford any Christmas presents

D. the writer knew that something surprising would happen

57. The presents that the writer’s family received must be from _______.

A. someone who has no children        B. someone who knew them well

C. the church in the neighborhood       D. the richest family in the town 

58. What decision did the writer’s mom make in the fifth paragraph?

A. To give her extra money to a poor family.   

B. To thank the person who once helped her family.

C. To give some Christmas presents to a poor family in secret.  

D. To invite a poor family to spend Christmas with her family.  

59. This passage is written to ______.

A. show pity to the poor people        B. show human kindness  

C. thank the helper                 D. show the advantages of being rich

下面文章中有5个段落需要添加首句。请从以下选项（A、B、C、D、E和F）选出适合各段落的首句，并在答题纸上将相应选项的标号涂黑。选项中有一项是多余选项。

A. Time can run out.

B. Tomorrow won’t be better.

C. Ideas need time to develop.

D. Your professor will be impatient.

E. You blow off your chances for help.

F. You are probably overestimating （高估）the pain.

Never Put off Tomorrow What You Can Do Today

Want to put off studying for the physics test? Or writing that thirty-five-page research paper on future uses of biotechnology? Sure you do? And who wouldn’t? But it’s still a silly idea to put off doing something until a future time. Here is why ....

1.__________. The task will be still the same. It won’t be any more fun and you still won’t want to do it. As the deadline gets closer and closer, the task seems to become larger and larger if you haven’t started the work. And the stress increases. Now not only do you have to write that paper, you have to do it under great pressure.

2._________ . Before you start, it seems that the task is unlikely to be accomplished. But you know what? You’re probably miscalculating. Get started -------- maybe on a small piece ------ And you will discover that you have more resources and know more about the subject than you thought. Result? You won’t experience nearly as much suffering as you expected to. Things are guaranteed ------ 100 percent ------- to get better.

3._____________ . If you leave your work before the night before it’s due, you give up the possibility of getting input from your professor. Professors regularly give advice ----- or at least a few useful tips ---- during office hours. Unfortunately though, they don’t usually hold office hours at midnight, so you will be out of luck when you discover the night before the midterm that you have no idea how to do the questions that will count for two-thirds of your grade.

4.________ . Ever wonder why the professor assigns the papers two weeks before it’s due? It’s because he or she expects you to be thinking about the issue, or doing the research, for two weeks. No, not every waking moment, but at least some of the time. After all, the professor could just as easily have given the assignment one week before it was due if he or she expected less thinking. When you throw together a paper or a report at the last minute, your ideas are half-baked. And your professor will know it.

5.________ . If you put things off at the last minute, you might find that you haven’t budgeted enough minutes to finish the necessary tasks. It’s the easiest thing in the world to miscalculate how long it will take to do all the work especially when new issues arise ------ like illness, family problems, computer breakdowns, trouble at work, and all the other things ------- as you are thinking through your paper argument or preparing yourself for the coming test. If you keep delaying, you don’t allow yourself time for those various life events that have an adverse(不利的) effect on your ability to complete your assignment. 

______________________, he had to walk home at midnight.

Irene’s Thai
For Reservations Call 62473579
12.24 Christmas Eve Dinner 198 RMB per person including coffee and tea. Each guest invited to select a special surprise from our Xmas Tree.
12.25 Special Christmas Thai buffet brunch from 11 am to 4 pm. Includes soft drinks, coffee & tea. 98 RMB per person.
12.31 New Year Buffet Dinner 200 RMB per person. You can eat with exotic Thai Dancing. Show times at 8 pm & 9 pm.
Monday & Friday, you can eat AlaCarte Menu. 150 RMB, including soft drinks & draught beer.
Book now for your Christmas Party
The Place: Club Pegasus
The Party: New Year’s Eve!!!
The Price: 100 RMB Open Bar!!!
8:00 pm — 1:00 am
The Reason: Great Music, Beautiful People,
Life, Love, Fun, Excitement!!!
Merry Christmas from the crew at Pegasus
50 RMB Entrance includes two complimentary (赠送的) drinks.
Champagne Toast at Midnight
If ever there was a time to enjoy oneself, that time is now!!!
【小题1】The best way to make a reservation at Irene’s is by ______.