第三部分阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
第一节（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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
　　Nearly a thousand people laugh heartily together for jalf an hour every morning in a park in Shenzhen.The Guangzhou Daily took a closer look at those happy people.
　　They are members of a group named Laughing Club,and when they get together,all they do is laugh.
　　Zheng Lixin,the fouder of the club and regarded as the "laugh leader",told the paper that laughing does him a lot of good.He started after he read some advice in a book and tried giggling afer quarrelling with his wife to relax.
　　After laughing for a few days,Zhang found himself more outgoing and relaxed.Soon his wife joined him,bringing the family more laughter and less bickering.
　　When he got to know a kind of "laughing yoga(瑜珈)" is good for the health,Zhang went to Bomday to learn from locals and developed what he learned into more than 30 ways of laughing.
　　The "lion bellow"is to shout with the fingers outstretched(伸开) near the ears.There is the "open mouth laugh".The "bow-pulling laugh",the "welcoming laugh" and evenn the "quarrelling laugh",with different arm movements of laugh style.
　　The "laugh movement" swept over Shenzhen in a matter of months,attracting tens of thousands of people to join,and has been followed in nearby cities such as Guangzhou.
　　Every morning at the lakefront and at 8 p.m.on every Monday,Wednesday and Friday at the mountain peak square in Linadhua Mountain Park,club members gather to laugh and shout loudly.
　　56.From the first paragraph we know that________.
　　A.the Guangzhou Daily is the source of the information
　　B.those happy people come from the Guangzhou Daily
　　C.there is a Guangzhou Daily office near the Laughing Club
　　D.the Guangzhou Daily supported the laughing movement
　　57.Which of the underlined words has a meaning similar to "laughing""
　　A.B.C.D.
　　58.What is the "lion bellow"?
　　A.It's a kind of "laughing yoga".
　　B.It's a bombay style of laughing.
　　C.It's one of the 30 ways of laughing.
　　D.It's not among the 30 ways of laughing.
　　59.What's the idea expressed by the last two paragraphs?
　　A.The Laughing Club is getting larger.
　　B.The laugh movement is becoming popular.
　　C.The laughing is done only in parks.
　　D.Lianhua Mountain Park also has a lake in it.

As the price of a college degree continues to rise, there's growing evidence that the monetary（货币的） payoff isn't quite as big as often advertised. The best estimate now is that a college degree is worth about $300,000 in today's dollars--nowhere near the million figure that is often quoted.

"That million number has driven me crazy!" says Sandy Baum, a Skidmore economist who studied the value of a college degree for the College Board last year.

Baum's research showed that college graduates earn, on average, about $20,000 a year more than those who finished their educations at high school. Add that up over a 40-year working life and the total differential is about $800,000, she figures. But since much of that bonus is earned many years from now, taking away the impact of inflation means that$800,000 in future dollars is worth only about $450,000 in today's dollars.

Then, if you remove the cost of a college degree--about ,$30,000 in tuition and books for students who get no aid and attend public in-state universities--and the money a student could have earned at a job instead of attending school, the real net value in today's dollars is somewhere in the $300,000 range, a number confirmed by other studies.

But, especially these days, that still makes a college degree one of the most lucrative investments a person can make, Baum notes.

　Better yet, college graduates can go on to earn advanced degrees, which return even bigger payoffs. The average holder of a bachelor's degree earns about$51,000 a year, Baum calculates. But those who've gone on to earn MBAs, law degrees, or other professional degrees earn about $100,000 a year.

　In addition, Baum found that there are plenty of other rewards for a degree. The quality of the jobs college graduates get is far better, for example. College graduates are more likely to get jobs with health insurance. And it is easier for them to find and hold jobs. The unemployment rate for college graduates was just 2.2 percent last year, half the unemployment level of those with only high school diplomas.

There are lots of other nonmonetary benefits as well. College graduates are healthier, contribute more to their communities, and raise kids who are better prepared academically, studies show.

Other researchers have found that the payoff of a degree is especially lucrative for students from low-income families, since the education and degrees give them a chance to break out of low-paying careers.

1.What can be inferred from Para 1 ?

   A. The payoff of a college degree is still big enough to match the advertised.

   B. It’s more and more difficult to get a college degree.

   C. The return of a college degree is less than often quoted.

   D. A college degree is worth about one million dollars.

2.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “lucrative” in Para.5?

   A. attractive                 B. worthless                C. approachable                 D. balanced

3.How can a college graduate increase his or her yearly income according to the passage?

   A. By getting jobs with health insurance immediately.

   B. By going on for higher degrees.

   C. By breaking out of low-paying jobs.

   D. By contributing more to his or her community.

4.Which of the following statements can be learned from the text ?

A.  According to Baum's research, high school graduates earn more than those who have college degrees.

B.  College education is enough to ensure you a good life.

C.  Nonmonetary benefits from the degree attract students more than monetary ones.

D. Students from low-income families still think degrees are profitable to change their life.

---I’m afraid I can’t finish the book within this week.

　 ---_____.

　　A. Please go ahead　　　　B. That’s right  

　　C. Not at all　　　　　　D. Take your time

Among the more colorful characters of Leadville’s golden age were H.A.W. Tabor and his

second wife, Elizabeth McCourt, better known as "Baby Doe". Their history is fast becoming one of the legends of the Old West. Horace Austin Warner Tabor was a school teacher in Vermont. With his first wife and two children he left Vermont by covered wagon in 1855 to homestead in Kansas. Perhaps he did not find farming to his liking, or perhaps he was attracted by rumors of fortunes to be made in Colorado mines. At any rate, a few years later he moved west to the small Colorado mining camp known as California Gulch, which he later renamed Leadville when he became its leading citizen. "A large amount of lead is sure to be found here." he said.

　　As it turned out, it was silver, not lead, that was to make Leadville’s fortune and wealth. Tabor knew little about mining himself, so he opened a general store, which sold everything from boots to salt, flour, and tobacco. It was his custom to "grubstake" prospective（预期的） miners, in other words, to supply them with food and supplies, or"grub", while they looked for ore（矿石）, in return for which he would get a share in the mine if one was discovered. He did this for a number of years, but no one that he aided ever found anything of value.

　　Finally one day in the year 1878, so the story goes, two miners came in and asked for "grub". Tabor had decided to quit supplying it because he had lost too much money that way. These were persistent（坚持的）, however, and Tabor was too busy to argue with them. "Oh help yourself. One more time won’t make any difference," He said and went on selling shoes and hats to other customers. The two miners took $17 worth of supplies, in return for which they gave Tabor a one-third interest in their findings. They picked a barren place on the mountainside and began to dig. After nine days they struck a rich vein of silver. Tabor bought the shares of the other two men, and so the mine belonged to him alone. This mine, known as the "Pittsburgh Mine," made $1,300, 000 for Tabor in return for his $17 investment.

　　Later Tabor bought the Matchless Mine on another barren hillside just outside the town for $117,000.This turned out to be even more abundant than the Pittsburgh, producing $35 000 worth of silver per day at one time. Leadville grew. Tabor became its first mayor, and later became the governor of the state.

1. The word "grubstake" in paragraph 2 means __________ .

　　A. to supply miners with food and supplies

　　B. to open a general store

　　C. to do one’s contribution to the development of the mine

　　D. to supply miners with food and supplies and in return get a share in the mine,  if one    

was discovered

2. The underlying（潜在的）reason for Tabor’s successful life career is __________.

　　A. purely accidental

B. based on the analysis of miner’s being very poor and their possibility of   discovering profitable mining site

C. through the help from his second wife

　　D. he planned well and accomplished targets step by step

3. If this passage is the first part of an article, who might be introduced in the following  part?

A. Tabor’s life.      　　                     B. Tabor’s second wife, Elizabeth McCourt.

　　C. Other colorful characters.　　         D. Tabor’s other careers.　　

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Miss Gorgers taught physics in a New York school. Last month she explained to one of her classes about sound, and she decided to test them to see how successful she had been in her explanation. She said to them, “Now I have a brother in Los Angeles. If I was calling him on the phone and at the same time you were 75 feet away, listening to me from the street, which of you would hear what I said earlier, my brother or you and for what reason?”

Tom at once answered, “Your brother. Because electricity travels faster than sound waves.” “That’s very good,” Miss Gorgers answered; but then one of the girls raised her hand, and Miss Gorgers said, “Yes? Kate.”

“I disagree. Your brother would hear you earlier because when it’s 11 o’clock here and it’s only 8 o’clock in Los Angeles.” Kate said.

1. Miss Gorgers was teaching her class ______.

A. how to telephone         B. about electricity

C. about time zone           D. about sound　

2. Miss Gorgers raised this question because she wanted to know whether ______.

A. it was easy to phone to Los Angeles

B. her student could hear her from 75 feet away

C. her students had understood her lesson

D. sound waves were slower than electricity

3. Kate thought Tom was wrong because ______.

A. clocks in Los Angeles showed a different time from those in New York

B. electricity was slower than sound waves

C. Tom was not good at physics at all

D. Tom’s answer had nothing to do with sound waves

4. Whose answer do you think is correct according to the law of physics?

A. Tom’s. 　　                  B. Kate’s.          C. Both A and B. 　　          D. Neither A nor B.