Valentine’s Day is a popular festival of love and romance. There are      legends associated with the festival along with the belief that birds began to mate from this day. Historians trace (追踪)its      to an ancient Roman festival. It is said that in ancient Rome, people      a holiday on February 14th to honor Juno—the Queen of Roman Gods and Goddesses. On the following day, February 15th，the festival of Lupercalia was celebrated to honor the Roman God of Agriculture.

An interesting      was followed on the festival of Lupercalia to bring together young boys and girls who otherwise were strictly      . On the eve of the festival, names of young Roman girls were written on a slip of paper and placed into jars. Each young man      a girl's name from the jar and was paired with the girl during the festival. Sometimes the      lasted for a year until next year's celebration. Quite often，the couple would fall in love with each other and       marry. The custom lasted for a long time until people felt that it was un-Christian and that mates should be chosen by sight, not      .

The pairing of young boys and girls set the mood of the Valentine's Day Festival as we know today. But it was      due to the efforts and daring of a priest St Valentine that the festival got its       and clearer meaning. The story goes that Emperor Claudius II of Rome found it      to get soldiers and felt the reason why men did not join the      was that they did not wish to leave their wives and families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. St Valentine challenged Claudius's      order and secretly married couples. When his disobedience was      ，Valentine was put to death on February 14, around 270 AD. After his death Valentine was named a saint.

1.A. acceptable          B. familiar        C. various D. unrelated

2.A. possibility  B. development         C. event    D. origin

3.A. studied       B. observed       C. handled       D. discussed

4.A. movement B. celebration   C. competition  D. custom

5.A. respected  B. educated       C. separated      D. organized

6.A. spoke out  B. brought out  C. pulled out     D. drew out

7.A. pairing        B. dating        C. playing  D. celebrating

8.A. fortunately         B. occasionally  C. finally    D. surprisingly

9.A. order          B. risk        C. name    D. luck

10.A. usually     B. actually C. really    D. factually

11.A. history     B. story     C. fame     D. name

12.A. strange    B. slow      C. awful     D. tough

13.A. war  B. party     C. army     D. game

14.A. unfinished        B. unjustified     C. unrecognized        D. unconcerned

15.A. discovered       B. attacked        C. memorized   D. promised

Despite being tall, Michelle Obama is much smaller than she appears on television． And she seemed a little short by her surroundings in the great hall of Christchurch College as she spoke quietly without a microphone because of a technical mistake． Her audience were 40 young girls from a London state school where 50 languages are spoken．

“I remember how well-meaning but misguided people questioned whether someone with my background could succeed at an elite （精英） university,” she said． “When I was accepted, I had all kinds of worries and doubts． I wouldn’t be as well prepared as students from privileged families and I wouldn’t fit in． But you are just as capable and have just as much to offer as anyone else．”

This was Mrs． Obama’s only solo outing during the state visit and part two of an unusual relationship which she has struck up with Anderson College in Islington． Two years ago on her first visit to the UK she visited the school．

Yesterday she returned to meet the pupils but this time at Christchurch College where they were taking part in an open day run to improve Oxford’s still poor record on diversifying student intake．

Mrs． Obama was asked why she married her husband, what it was like being First Lady and when there would be a female President in the White House． Her message—which she repeated time and again—was work hard, have self-belief, and don’t be afraid to fail． It was very un-British, but rather effective． Afterwards there were hugs for everyone and a photo with her．

And watching the group of multicultural young Britons surround her among the splendor of the college building one thought stood out． Had Mrs． Obama been born in Britain, she would almost certainly not have made it to Oxford as she did to Harvard． But now—thanks in part to her—some of these children just might．

1.According to the passage, Michelle Obama ____________．

   A． graduated from Anderson College

   B． paid her first visit to the UK this time

   C． was confident when she entered the college

   D． came from a family without good background

2.It is implied in the passage that these 40 young girls ____________．

   A． were all from the United States

   B． were students of Oxford University

   C． came from different cultural backgrounds

   D． stayed with Mrs． Obama because of hard work

3.Michelle Obama thinks success may come from the following EXCEPT ____________．

   A． working hard    B． believing in yourself

    C． good opportunities          D． facing failure without fear

4.What can we learn from the underlined sentence?

   A． The British pupils couldn’t understand her message．

   B． Her message reached the British pupils successfully．

   C． Repetition is not the British way to give a message．

   D． All effective messages are not conveyed in British．

The Maldives faces the threat of extinction from rising sea levels, but the government said it was looking to the future with plans to build homes and a golf course that float.

An increase in sea levels of just 18 to 59 centimeters would make the Maldives－a nation of tiny coral islands in the Indian Ocean－virtually uninhabitable by 2100,  the UN’s climate change panel(专门小组) has warned.

President Mohamed Nasheed has vowed a fight for survival, and he signed a deal with a Dutch company to study proposals for a floating structure that could support a convention center, homes and an 18-hole golf course.

The company , Dutch Docklands, is currently building floating developments in the Netherlands and Dubai.

The Maldives began work on an artificial island known as the Hulhumale near the crowded capital island of Male in 1997 and more than 30,000 people have been settled there to ease congestion.

The city, which has a population of 100,000, is already protected from rising sea levels by a 30-million-dollar sea wall, and the government is considering increasingly imaginative ways to combat(对抗) climate change.

Nasheed has even spoken of buying land elsewhere in the world to enable Maldivians to relocate if their homes are submerged.   He has also pledged to turn his nation into a model for the rest of the world by becoming "carbon neutral (碳中和)" by 2020.

His plan involves ending fossil fuel use and powering all vehicles and buildings from "green" sources such as burning coconut husks.

What do you know about Maldives?

A. It has a population of 100,000.               B. It has a floating golf course.

C. It is a nation of tiny coral islands.           D. It is located in the Pacific Ocean.

The underlined word "uninhabitable" might mean _________ .

A. 不能居住的    B. 不习惯的        C. 不能改变的     D. 不能忍受的

The floating structure will be used as all the following except ________ .

A. a convention center         B. a sports center

C. homes                         D. a golf course

What are the government's ways to combat climate change?

A. Buy land elsewhere in the world.           

B. Make the nation "carbon neutral" by 2020.

C. Use "green" sources instead of fossil fuel.             

D. All of the above.

Nations plan next steps to end global warming

On December 3，more than 10,000 scientists, environmental activists and government officials from 187 countries met in Bali, Indonesia, which is the largest global warming conference ever held.

One of the main goals of the two-week meeting is to develop a replacement for the international treaty called the Kyoto Protocol, which has been signed by 174, countries, calling for limits on the emission of greenhouse gases.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, nations were legally bound to reduce greenhouse gases, but since it was signed in 2005, they have continued to increase worldwide. Of the largest greenhouse gas emitters, only Russia and Japan have agreed to follow me rules. China and India－second and sixth on the list－are making efforts to make cuts.

The U.S signed the treaty in 1997 but has not yet agreed to follow the strict rules, which require that greenhouse gas release be reduced by 10% by 2012. U.S. officials are opposed to these mandatory（强制性的），or required, cuts in emissions. "We’re worrying that it would be too costly and would hurt the U.S. economy. But we're not here to be a roadblock," said Harlan L. Watson, a top U.S. climate official.

Even if greenhouse gases are reduced, scientists say it will take decades or longer to stop the global warming that is already underway. To help poor countries deal with rising temperatures and climate changes, the UN has developed the "Adaptation Fund" to help them improve farming techniques and water systems.

But so far, it has only raised $67 million.

"The money should come from the countries most responsible and most capable," said Kate Raworth, a senior research official from the Oxfam International aid group. She listed the U.S., European Union, Japan, Australia and Canada.

The underlined word "they" in Paragraph 3 refers to“_____”.

A. greenhouse gases

B. the countries which have signed the treaty.

C. people who are against the treaty

D. the measures taken to reduce greenhouse gases

By saying "But we’re not here to be a roadblock", Harlan L. Watson wants to say that_____．

A. the U.S will be a roadblock to the global economy

B. the U.S has realized that some action must be taken

C. the U.S refused to follow the rules of the Kyoto Protocol

D. the U.S thinks this conference of no importance

According to Kate Raworth, the "Adaptation Fund" should come from all the following EXCEPT______．

A. Japan      B. European Union     C. India       D. Canada

Why did U.S officials not agree to make effort to reduce greenhouse gases?

A. Because the greenhouse gases they emitted are not so harmful.

B. Because they fear that it would affect the U.S economy.

C. Because they shouldn’t be responsible for global warming.

D. Because they think these gases won’t cause global warming_____.

We can learn from the passage that_____.

A. the conference will last a fortnight

B. the U.S hasn’t signed the Kyoto Protocol.

C. many manufacturers attended the conference

D. the global warming will be stopped as soon as greenhouse gases are reduced                                    

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中选出最佳选项
A
My friend, Emma Daniels, spent the summer of 1974 traveling in Israel. During her month long stay in Jerusalem she often went to a cafe called Chocolate Soup. It was run by two men, one of whom—Alex—used to live in Montreal. One morning when Emma went in for coffee, while chatting with her new friend Alex, she mentioned that she had just finished the book she was reading and had nothing else to read. Alex said he had a wonderful book she might like, and that he’d be happy to lend it to her. As he lived just above the cafe, he quickly ran up to get it. The book he handed to Emma just minutes later was Markings, a book by a former Secretary General of the United Nations (UN).
Emma had never read it, nor had she ever bought a copy. But, when she opened it up, she was floored to see her own name and address inside the cover, in her own handwriting. It turned out that the summer before, at a concert back in Montreal, Emma had met a Californian who was in town visiting friends. They decided to exchange addresses, but neither of them had any paper. The man opened up a book he was carrying in his backpack (背包) and asked Emma to write her name and address inside. When he returned to California, he 1eft the book behind in Montreal, and his friend Alex kept it. When Alex later moved to Jerusalem, he took the book along.
（  ）56. Alex lent Emma the book Markings, __________ .
A. to show his friendliness to her
B. to show his interest in reading
C. to tell her about the importance of the UN
D. to let her write her name and address inside
（  ）57. How did Emma feel the moment she opened the book?
A. Pleased.    B. Satisfied   C. Worried.      D. Surprised.
（  ）58. We can learn from the text that the Californian __________ .
A. met Emma at a concert
B. invited Emma to a concert
C. introduced Emma to his friend
D. left Emma his backpack
（  ）59. Who was supposed to be the first owner of the book?
A. An official of the UN.
B. A coffee shop owner.
C. A friend of the author’s.
D. Alex's friend from California.