第三部分  阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项。

August has always been difficult for me. It is the time when I realize that the books my English teacher assigned to me are not going to read themselves and that I have a difficult month in front of me.

You might think that I don’t want to spend my summer reading, but that’s not the problem: I love reading. On the first day of my summer holidays this year, I went to the library and got “A Gathering of Old Men” by African-American writer Ernest Gaines. I enjoyed it very much. I read all the magazines that my parents subscribe to and spend about 30 minutes every day with the morning paper. So why do I hate summer reading for school? Because the books on summer reading lists are often slow-going and just uninviting. Teachers and librarians don’t understand that summer reading can be entertaining as well as educational. They choose books that a friend of my mother’s calls “spinach books”: good for you, but not much fun to take in. Every summer, I read them, hate them and get bitter about the experience.

This bitterness started three years ago when I was about to begin high school. As preparation, my English teacher told me to read “The Age of Innocence” by American author Edith Wharton. I’m sure there are many people who enjoyed “The Age of Innocence”—some might even say it’s their favorite book.

But I don’t think any of these people read it as a 14-year-old boy on his summer vacation.

“The Age of Innocence” is the story of a forbidden romance in New York 100 years ago. At 14, my only experience with romance was my love for baseball. I couldn’t imagine being in love, much less being in love in 1900. “The Age of Innocence” was totally different to my life.

Most of my required summer reading has been like that—books written in a style that plays up the adjectives and plays down the verbs. I guess teachers don’t think exciting plots make for “good literature”. To me, though, a good writer describes events and characters in a way that makes the reader want to know what happens next.

If I were making up a summer reading list, it would include “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” by George V. Higgins, “The Right Stuff” by Tom Wolfe, and “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer. These are all books that have literary value but, just as important, can also entertain kids on vacation. If the teachers could stand a little fun in the books they assign, my Augusts would be a lot more enjoyable.

46. The author thinks he will have a difficult August because _______.

A. he doesn’t like reading in summer vacation

B. he hates the English teacher assigning homework

C. he is to read the books boring and not right for kids

D. he hates August

47. What can make students interested in August reading ought to be ______.

A. romantic            B. out of date       C. pure    D. entertaining and educational

48. The author listed such books as “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” because he thinks ______.

A. they can change his opinion                          B. he can learn a lot more from them

C. they are of literary value, and enjoyable  D. he has to do as teachers tell him to

49. In the opinion of the author of this passage, a good writer should be one who _______.

A. uses a way of describing that makes the reader wish to know what to happen next

B. describes events and characters in different ways

C. is learned

D. is full of imagination

50. Which of the following could be the best title of this passage?

A. I Don’t Like Reading on the Vacation     

B. Why Can’t Teachers Set Us Fun Books? 

C. Teachers, Don’t Set Us Any Reading Assignments

D. Teachers, Set Us Free

Can you understand the beginning of this essay? "My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we used 2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & 3 kds FTF."

    The Scottish teacher who received it in class had no idea what the girl who wrote it meant. The essay was written in a form of English used in cell phones text messages. Text messages (also called SMS)through cell phones became very popular in the late 1990s. At first, mobile phone companies thought that text messaging would be a good way to send messages to customers, but customers quickly began to use the text messaging service to send messages to each other. Teenagers in particular enjoyed using text messaging, and they began to create a new language for messages called "texting"

    A text message is limited to 160 characters, including letters, spaces, and numbers, so messages must be kept short. In addition,typing on the small keypad of a cell phone is difficult, so it's common to make words shorter. In texting, a single letter or number can represent a word, like "r" for "are," "u" for "you," and "2"for "to." Several letters can also represent a phrase, like "lol" for "laughing out loud." Another characteristic of texting is the leaving out of letters in a word, like spelling "please" as "pls."

    Some parents and teachers worry that texting will make children bad spellers and bad writers. The student who wrote the essay at the top of this page said writing that way was more comfortable for her. (The essay said, "My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend, and their three kids face to face."

    Not everyone agrees that texting is a bad thing. Some experts say languages always develop, and this is just another way in which English is changing. Other people believe texting will disappear soon. New technology for voice messages may soon make text messages a thing of the past.

1.Which characteristic of texting is NOT described in the passage?

  A. Using letters to represents words.

  B. Using phrases to represent essay.

  C. Using letters to represent phrases.

  D. Using numbers to represent words.

2.Which of the following was most probably the title of students' essay?

  A. My Smmr Hols

  B. CU in LA

  C. My GF

  D. My G8 Tchr

3.Why aren't some people worried about the effect of texting?

  A. Not many people use texting.

  B. Spelling in English is too difficult.

  C. Teenagers quickly become bored with texting.

  D. Texting will disappear because of new technology.

Can you understand the beginning of this essay? "My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we used 2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & 3 kds FTF."

The Scottish teacher who received it in class had no idea what the girl who wrote it meant. The essay was written in a form of English used in cell phones text messages. Text messages (also called SMS)through cell phones became very popular in the late 1990s. At first, mobile phone companies thought that text messaging would be a good way to send messages to customers, but customers quickly began to use the text messaging service to send messages to each other. Teenagers in particular enjoyed using text messaging, and they began to create a new language for messages called "texting"

A text message is limited to 160 characters, including letters, spaces, and numbers, so messages must be kept short. In addition,typing on the small keypad of a cell phone is difficult, so it's common to make words shorter. In texting, a single letter or number can represent a word, like "r" for "are," "u" for "you," and "2"for "to." Several letters can also represent a phrase, like "lol" for "laughing out loud." Another characteristic of texting is the leaving out of letters in a word, like spelling "please" as "pls."

Some parents and teachers worry that texting will make children bad spellers and bad writers. The student who wrote the essay at the top of this page said writing that way was more comfortable for her. (The essay said, "My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend, and their three kids face to face."

Not everyone agrees that texting is a bad thing. Some experts say languages always develop, and this is just another way in which English is changing. Other people believe texting will disappear soon. New technology for voice messages may soon make text messages a thing of the past.

1.Which characteristic of texting is NOT described in the passage?

A. Using letters to represents words.

B. Using phrases to represent essay.

C. Using letters to represent phrases.

D. Using numbers to represent words.

2.Which of the following was most probably the title of students' essay?

A. My Smmr Hols

B. CU in LA

C. My GF

D. My G8 Tchr

3.Why aren't some people worried about the effect of texting?

A. Not many people use texting.

B. Spelling in English is too difficult.

C. Teenagers quickly become bored with texting.

D. Texting will disappear because of new technology.