Ⅲ　阅读　（共两节，满分40分）

第一节  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A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A person has to be sixteen to drive, seventeen to see certain movies, and eighteen to vote. People can get terrific discounts on all sorts of stuff－provided they’re over sixty-five. Everywhere we look there are age limits that define what people can and can’t do. But creativity has no boundaries, no limitations. Anyone can invent. And they do. Inventors are popping up at the youngest ages.

Sitting in the car waiting for her mom to return from shopping, Becky decided she might as well try to finish her math homework. But it was growing dark and getting hard to see the paper.

“I didn’t have a flashlight, and I didn’t want to open the car door because then the whole car would light up.” recalled Becky. “So I thought it would be neat to have my paper light up somehow, and that’s when the idea came to me.”

It isn’t every day that a ten-year-old invents a product eagerly sought by several businesses, but that’s exactly what Becky Schroeder did when she created a tool that enabled people to write in the dark. Her invention? The Glo-sheet.

That night Becky went home, trying to imagine different ways of making her paper glow in the dark. She remembered all sorts of glow-in-the-dark toys－like balls and Frisbees－and wondered how they were made. She was determined to find a solution. So they very next day, Beck’s dad took her on an outing to the hardware store. They returned with a pail (桶) of phosphorescent paint. She took the paint and stacks of paper into the darkest room in the house－the bathroom. There, she experimented.

“I’d turn on the light, turn it off, turn it on,” said Becky. “My parents remember me running out the room saying ‘It works, it works! I’m writing in the dark!’ ”

She used an acrylic board and coated it with a specific amount of phosphorescent paint. She took a complicated idea and made it work rather simply. When the coated clipboard is exposed to light, it glows. The glowing board then illuminates or lights up the paper that has been placed on top. Two years after her initial inspiration, in 1974, Becky became the youngest female ever to receive a U.S. patent.

She didn’t actively market her Glo-sheet. She didn’t need to. The New York Times wrote an article about an incredible invention－patented by a twelve-year-old, and the inquiries and orders streamed in.

1. From Paragraph 1 , we can draw a conclusion that _________.

A. it is illegal for one to drive under sixteen

B. people enjoy privileges when over sixty-five

C. one is never too old or too young to invent

D. people hate the limitations that define our behavior

2. What caused Becky to invent Glo-sheet?

A. She was trying to do homework when it got dark.

B. She was having trouble with math problems.

C. She was trying to earn some money. 

D. She was working on a school project.

3. What is the meaning of the underlined words “phosphorescent paint” in paragraph 5?

A. paint that acts as a glue                                  B. paint that covers a mark

C. paint that becomes hard                                 D. paint that glows in the dark

4. What does it mean that Beck “didn’t actively market her Glo-sheet” according to paragraph 8?

A. She kept the original one for her own use.

B. Other people came to her for the Glo-sheet.

C. Becky’s father tried to sell the Glo-sheet.

D. She gave away patent to the government.

5. With which statement would Becky most likely agree?

A. Experience is needed to be a good inventor.

B. Only by inventing things can you know what people need.

C. Always try to sell patent rights to large companies. 

D. You never know what you can do unless you try.

 

After the Summer Olympics are over, when all the athletics have gone home and the television audience has switched off, another group of athletics and fans will arrive at the host city, and another competition will begin. These are the Paralympics, the games for athletes with a disability. But in Beijing in 2008, for the first time, one of the greatest Paralympics will not be taking part.

  She is a British athlete by the name of Tanni Grey-Thormpson. Born with spine hifida (脊椎裂) which left her paralysed from the waist down. Tanni used a wheelchair from the age of 7. at first, she was not keen on sport, apart from horse-riding, which gave her a sense of freedom. But in her teens, she started taking sports more seriously. She tried swimming, basketball and tennis. Eventually she found athletics, and never looked back.

  Indeed, Tanni’s athletic career took off. In 1984, when she was 15, she pulled off a surprise victory in the 100metres at the Junior National Wheelchair Games.

  In 1988, Tanni went to her first Paralympic Games in Seoul. She won bronze in the 400 metres. Even greater success followed at the 1992 Barcelona. Paralympics. Tanni won gold in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 metres relay, setting two world records in the process. In the same year she achieved she first of her six London Wheelchair Marathon victories.

 Tanni’s enduring success had been part motivation(动机), part preparation, “The training I do that enables me to be a good sprinter(短跑运动员) enables me to be good at a marathon too. I train 50 weeks of the year and that keeps me prepared for whatever distance I want to race…. I am still competing at a very high lever, but as I get older things get harder and I want to retire before I fall apart.”

  Indeed Tanni retired finally after the Visa Paralympic World Cup in 2007. Her wish is to coach young athletes for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

 In spite of ups and downs, she never take her fate lying down. In her splendid life, she has won an amazing eleven gold medals, four silvers and one bronze in series of Paralympics- a top lever athletic career covering two decades. She has won the London Wheelchair Marathon six times, more than any other competitor, and she has set over thirty world records.

 What advice does she have for young athletes? “Work hard at your studies, and then train, train and train again.”

Which of the following sports did Tanni like before thirteen?

   A. Basketball         B. Swimming.          C. Tennis.        D. Horse-riding.

When did Tanni win her first Olympic gold medal?

   A. In 1984.           B. In 1988.             C. In 1992.       D. In 2007.

The underlined word “that” in the 5th paragraph refers to _______.

   A. fifty weeks’ training             B. being a good sprinter

   C. training almost every day         D. part motivation and part preparation

What’s the right order of the events related to Tanni?

   a. She works as a coach.      b. She took up athletics.

   c. She won four gold medals in Barcelona.   d. She competed in her first Paralympic Games.

   e. She achieved a victory in her first London Wheelchair Marathon.

   A. b, d, c, e a    B. a, d, b, c ,e     C. A,d,c,e,b       D. b.d.a.e.c

What can we learn from Tanni’s success?

   A. Union is strength.              B. Never too late to learn.

   C. Well begun is half done.         D. No pains, no gains.

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around, when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.

 I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady with a warm smile. She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old.”

 "Why are you in college at such a young age?" I asked. She replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of kids and then retire(退休) and travel..." 

 I knew she was joking. I was curious what might have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

"I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me. 

We became friends. Every day we would talk nonstop after class. I was always interested in listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me. And Rose easily made friends wherever she went.

At the end of the term we invited Rose to make a little speech. She cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. I’ve learned a few secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.”

“There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change.

“Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do……"

1.When the writer and Rose first met, they began their talk in a_______ way.

A. serious                        B. polite       C. formal              D. humorous

2.Which of the following has the similar meaning to the underlined word “motivated” in the fourth paragraph?

A. encouraged               B. persuaded                    C. taught                            D. forced

3.Rose went to college in order to _______.

A. meet a rich husband                                        B. make new friends 

C. get a college education                                     D. get a better job

4.The writer considered Roses as a “time machine” because__________.

A. she always came to class on time.     

B. she make friends easily at college.

C. she knew the difference between growing older and growing up

D. she enjoyed a long life and had lots of wisdom and experience.

5.From this passage we know Rose believed_________.

A. “The early bird catches the worm”  

B. “It is never too late to learn”

C. “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bushes” 

D. “One false step will make a great difference.”

 

Maybelle said she wouldn't be coming with me to the library. I asked why, and she said she could get all the short stories she wanted off the Internet. Saved walking all the way to the library, and putting up with my long chat on the way there, and on the way back. Maybelle is very direct like that, always has been.

"But, Maybelle, we've been walking to the library every Monday for the last fifty years!"

She said," Why don't you get Internet'? We can send each other emails."

So I had to get Internet. I called the local high school. They said they'd send me a good student to tell me all about computers and such.

Evil thing, this Internet. Makes you lose old friends, forces you to learn new complex ideas, even if you're too old. But Maybelle said you have to be modern; otherwise, you're dead.

The kid came the next day. Tall skinny black kid, by the name of Arsenius, said his work would cost more.

I said, "All right. As long as I get Internet."

"You need a computer, then you need to get hooked up," he said.

"Let's buy a computer and get hooked up, then."

"How much you want to spend?"

"Whatever it takes."

"How many rams you want?"

I wasn't going to show him my ignorance, so I said, "Whatever it takes."

"Let's go to the mall. You got a car?"

"In the garage."

When I opened the garage door, he gasped. Daddy's car is still there, a'57 Chevy. I never drive it. Walk everywhere.

I said," Let's walk. It's only a mile or so."

He said," Let's drive, or you will faint on me in this heat."

"Young man, I don't faint, never have. We're walking."

"I get paid by the hour," he said. "Walking will cost you a lot more. Also, you feel like carrying a computer a mile or so?"

1.What kind of person is Maybelle?

A. She always says what she means in an honest way.

B. She no longer likes reading in her old age.

C. She doesn't want to be friends with the writer any more.

D. She doesn't want to keep up with the time.

2.Why does the writer want to have Internet at his place?

A. Because the writer believes that one is never too old to learn.

B. Because the writer thinks that it is better late than never.

C. Because of the pressure from people of his age.

D. Because of the convenience the Internet will bring.

3.Arsenius gives _________ reasons for driving to the mall.

A. two            B. three              C. four               D. five

 

The repairman told me, “No charge Professor Pan! We’re friends．” “I’d rather pay,” I replied．“If it’s free, I can’t afford it!”

Chinese often refuse payment for professional services, insisting, "We’re friends now!" But then they show up later to ask me to tutor them in English, or get them into an American university, and I wish I’d have just paid the 30 yuan I owed them in the first place!

According to the Americans, "There’s no free lunch," meaning that there’s a price for everything, and I’m always looking around to figure out what this means．Many of our neighbours have given us fruit or flowers or costly teas, never asking anything in return．For years, a bicycle repairman has repeatedly refused to let me pay him．"Wait until you have something major to fix! "he insists．

I mentioned to a peasant friend that I wished I had a stone mill to grind(磨)flour for bread．A month later he showed up with a beautiful mill that he’d had his uncle in the countryside carve from a solid block of granite(花岗石)．

Chinese generosity(慷慨)is a real education for Americans like me, who would rather avoid social entanglements (纠纷) and just hand over the money．But cash can’t compensate(补偿)for the greatest gift--friendship．

When an American saw some of my friends sitting on bamboo stools under the trees, sipping(呷)tea, he said, "They  must have nothing better to do．""Actually, "I said, "they are professors, with plenty to do．But probably you’re right in saying that, at this moment, they have nothing better to do．And neither do I!" And I joined the group．We chatted about tea and Chinese cooking and how much my boys have grown since we arrived．One man said, "They were pocket-sized when you came here．Now

they’re taller than you．How time flies!"

How life flies．And Chinese are smart enough to share what they know they cannot keep．They freely give of their time, never too busy to help a friend．And they are teaching me, slowly, to both give and receive．So the next time someone says, "No charge．We’re friends! " I will thank them heartily．But if they show up later asking me to tutor them in English, I’ll make sure they tutor my son in Chinese as well, because there’s still no free lunch．

64．The author insisted on paying repairman while he was offered free repairs because he     .

A．was an honest man

B．didn’t know the repairman

C．thought it natural to pay for others’ service

D．didn’t want to help others in return

65．Generally, the author thinks that Chinese are _________．

A．generous and always ready to help their friends

B．good at exchange of equal values

C．free enough to drink tea and chat with their friends

D．helpful but don’t treasure time

66．The best title of the passage should be “       ”.

A．Learn to Both Give And Receive    B．A Good Lesson from Chinese

C．True Help or Not                   D．Still No Free Lunch

67．Which of the following is TRUE?

A．The Chinese would rather not take the money to avoid problems in social communication.

B．When a peasant knew the author needed a mill, he made one for the author himself.

C．The author thinks that Chinese are wise enough to enjoy the limited life.

D．The author thinks little of Chinese way of life.