42. What’s the main reason for this phenomenon?

　　 A. The decline of intelligence.　　 B. The spread of technology.

　　 C. The laziness of people.　　　　　　 D. The development of culture.

41. What’s mainly talked about in the text?

　　 A. The advanced skills in Britain. B. The useful skills in Britain.

　　 C. The diappearing skills in Britain.

　　 D. The promising skills in Britain.

40. What would be the best title for the text?

　　 A. The deepest love in the world　 B. A model couple for love

　　 C. Measure of love　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. An unusual family celebration

B

The practice of sending thank-you notes is one of the fastest disappearing practices in Britain, according to a survey by insurance firm Churchill. Some would say it is the only acceptable response to receiving a gift, or enjoying an evening at a friend’s home. But the practice of handwriting thank-you notes is among the fastest disappearing skills in modern Britain.

These days, people are more likely just to send a text or email. And the spread of technology is not just killing off traditional manners, but it is hindering (起阻碍作用) our mental abilities, research suggests. Using a dictionary and mental arithmetic (心算) are two other skills being replaced by technology. Consulting a dictionary or reference book is a thing of the past.

A survey of 1,000 adults found 67 percent thought the ability to write a thank-you card had died out. Websites, such as Wikipedia, have taken over the need to look at a dictionary or proper reference book, according to 61 percent of those questioned. And almost four in ten believe the ability to do mental arithmetic has suffered as people can readily use a calculator on their phone or computer screen.

Satellite navigations (卫星导航) were blamed for the fact that the ability to read a map is another skill that is dying out. Going to the library, playing board games and sending postcards are other traditional activities being killed off by technological advances, the study suggests.

39. In the last paragraph, by mentioning Mother Teresa’s words, the writer intends to show 　　.

　　 A. Mother Teresa thinks there is no way to promote world peace

　　 B. Mother Teresa has done a lot for the world peace

　　 C. family love is very important in our life

　　 D. family love is important in human development

38. From the text, we can infer the husband is 　　.

　　 A. thoughtful　　 B. humorous　　　 C. generous　　　　 D. cautious

37. According to the text, before the woman met her boss, 　　.

　　 A. her husband had predicted that she would certainly succeed

　　 B. her husband had been prepared for both good and bad news

　　 C. the woman knew her boss wouldn’t turn her down

　　 D. the woman didn’t talk about her decision with her husband

36. From the first paragraph, we can infer that the writer 　　.

　　 A. doesn’t think people can live without love

　　 B. agrees that people can die of love

　　 C. agrees that people can be loved to death

　　 D. doesn’t agree that we can love someone to death

27. A. doctor　　　 B. patient　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. father　　　　　　 　　　 D. teacher

Section C (12 marks)　　　

Directions: Complete the following passage by filling in each blank with one word that best fits the context.

Giant pandas live in the mountains of China. They live in areas that have thick bamboo forests and evergreen trees. The bamboo forests allow pandas to have easy access (28)　　 their main food source—bamboo. Pandas eat mainly bamboo, but may also eat flowers, grasses and honey. (29)　　 often sleep at the bottom of trees or on rocks.

Pandas are very lazy animals (30)　　 spend most of their time resting and eating. A panda spends 10 to 16 hours a day eating or looking (31)　　 food. A panda must eat 20 to 40 pounds of bamboo a day! (32)　　 pandas like to sleep, they don’t hibernate (冬眠).

There are less (33)　　 2,000 giant pandas left in the wild. Pandas are endangered (34)　　 their food source and habitat are disappearing due to human destruction (破坏), such as cutting down the forests. Today many reserves have been created to protect (35)　　 habitat of giant pandas.

Part II Reading Comprehension (30 marks)

Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.

A

Freda Bright says, “Only in opera do people die of love.” It’s true. You really can’t love somebody to death. I’ve known people to die from no love, but I’ve never known anyone to be loved to death. We just can’t love one another enough.

　A heart-warming story tells of a woman who finally decided to ask her boss for a raise in salary. All day she felt nervous. Late in the afternoon she gathered the courage to approach her employer. To her delight, the boss agreed to a raise.

The woman arrived home that evening to a beautiful table set with their best dishes. Candles were softly glowing. Her husband had come home early and prepared a festive meal. She wondered if someone from the office had tipped him off, or... did he just somehow know that she would not get turned down?

She found him in the kitchen and told him the good news. They embraced and kissed, and then sat down to the wonderful meal. Next to her plate the woman found a beautifully lettered note. It read, “Congratulations, darling! I knew you’d get the raise! These things will tell you how much I love you.”

Following the supper, her husband went into the kitchen to clean up. She noticed that a second card had fallen from his pocket. Picking it off the floor, she read, “Don’t worry about not getting the raise! You deserve it anyway! These things will tell you how much I love you.”

Someone has said that the measure of love is when you love without measure. What this man feels for his spouse (配偶) is total acceptance and love, whether she succeeds or fails. His love celebrates her victories and soothes her wounds. He stands with her, no matter what life throws in their direction.

When Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize, she was asked, “What can we do to promote world peace?” She answered, “Go home and love your family. And love your friends. Love them without measure. ”

26. A. met　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. knew　 　　　 C. accepted　　　　 　　 D. became　

25. A. informed　　 B. reminded　 　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. warned　　　　　 　　 D. charged