My family and I lived across the street from Southway Park since I was four years old. Then just last year the city put a chain link fence around the park and started bulldozing (用推土机推平) the trees and grass to make way for a new apartment complex. When I saw the fence and bulldozers, I asked myself, “Why don't they just leave it alone?”
Looking back, I think what sentenced the park to oblivion (被遗忘) was the drought (旱灾) we had about four years ago. Up until then, Southway Park was a nice green park with plenty of trees and a public swimming pool. My friends and I rollerskated on the sidewalks, climbed the trees, and swam in the pool all the years I was growing up. The park was almost like my own yard. Then the summer I was fifteen the drought came and things changed.
There had been almost no rain at all that year. The city stopped watering the park grass. Within a few weeks I found myself living across the street from a huge brown desert. Leaves fell off the park trees, and pretty soon the trees started dying, too. Next, the park swimming pool was closed. The city cut down on the work force that kept the park, and pretty soon it just got too ugly and dirty to enjoy anymore.
As the drought lasted into the fall, the park got worse every month. The rubbish piled up or blew across the brown grass. Soon the only people in the park were beggars and other people down on their luck. People said drugs were being sold or traded there now. The park had gotten scary, and my mother told us kids not to go there anymore.
The drought finally ended and things seemed to get back to normal, that is, everything but the park. It had gotten into such bad shape that the city just let it stay that way. Then about six months ago I heard that the city was going to “redevelop” certain worn-out areas of the city. It turned out that the city had planned to get rid of the park, sell the land and let someone build rows of apartment buildings on it.
The chain-link fencing and the bulldozers did their work. Now we live across the street from six rows of apartment buildings. Each of them is three units high and stretches a block in each direction. The neighborhood has changed without the park. The streets I used to play in are jammed with cars now. Things will never be the same again. Sometimes I wonder, though, what changes another drought would make in the way things are today.
1. How did the writer feel when he saw the fence and bulldozers.'?
A．Scared. B. Confused. C. Upset. D. Curious.
2. Why was the writer told not to go to the park by his mother?
A．It was being rebuilt. B. It was dangerous.
C. It became crowded. D. It had turned into a desert.
3. According to the writer, what eventually brought about the disappearance of the park?
A. The drought. B. The crime.
C. The beggars and the rubbish. D. The decisions of the city.
4. The last sentence of the passage implies that if another drought came, .
A. the situation would be much worse
B. people would have to desert their homes
C. the city would be fully prepared in advance
D. the city would have to redevelop the neighborhood
The term “multitasking” originally referred to a computer's ability to carry out several tasks at one time. For many people, multitasking has become a way of life and even a key to success. In fact, some excellent mental aerobic exercises (大脑训练) involve engaging the brain in two or more challenging activities at a time. Although checking e-mail while talking on a phone and reading the newspaper may be second nature for some people, many times multitasking can make us less productive, rather than more. And studies show that too much multitasking can lead to increased stress, anxiety and memory loss.
In order to multitask, the brain uses an area known as the prefrontal cortex (前额叶脑皮层). Brain scans of volunteers performing multiple tasks together show that as they shift from task to task, this front part of the brain actually takes a moment of rest between tasks. You may have experienced a prefrontal cortex “moment of rest” yourself if you've ever dialed (拨电话) a phone number and suddenly forgotten who you called when the line is answered. What probably occurred is that between the dialing and the answering, your mind shifted to another thought or task, and then took that “moment” to come back. Research has also shown that for many volunteers, job efficiency (效率) declines while multitasking, as compared to when they perform only one task at a time.
Multitasking is easiest when at least one of the tasks is habitual, or requires little thought. Most people don' t find it difficult to eat and read the newspaper at the same time. However, when two or more attention-requiring tasks are attempted at one time, people sometimes make mistakes.
We often don't remember things as well when we're trying to manage several details at the same time. Without mental focus, we may not pay enough attention to new information coming in, so it never makes it into our memory stores. That is one of the main reasons we forget people's names—even sometimes right after they have introduced themselves. Multitasking can also affect our relationships. If someone checks their e-mail while on the phone with a friend, they may come off as absent-minded or disinterested. It can also cause that person to miss or overlook key information being passed on to them.
1. Why are some mental aerobic exercises designed to engage people in multitasking?
A. To make them more productive.
B. To reduce their stress and anxiety.
C. To develop their communication Skills.
D. To help them perform daily tasks more easily.
2. According to Paragraph 2, why may a person suddenly forget who he has called?
A. He may have his prefrontal cortex temporarily damaged.
B. He is probably interrupted by another task.
C. He is probably not very familiar with the person he has called.
D. He may need a rest between dialing and speaking.
3. People tend to make mistakes when .
A. they perform several challenging tasks at a time
B. new messages are processed one after another
C. their relationships with others are affected
D. the tasks require little thought
4. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Multitasking has become a way of life.
B. Multitasking often leads to efficiency decline.
C. Multitasking exercises need to be improved.
D. Multitasking enables people to remember things better.
Below is a housing
guide for students going to London.
1. What is the advantage of using Loot?
A. It has more offers from accommodation agencies than Renting.
B. It gives you personal information about other co-renters.
C. Their website is designed mainly for students.
D. There are some good bargains.
2. A good agent can help you .
A. know more people
B. find cheap accommodation
C. get the right accommodation quickly
D. get free information about most accommodations
3. The information passed on by word of mouth is important because .
A. it is better than that found through any other source
B. it helps you find some of the best housing never advertised
C. the final year students always offer better information
D. the landlords have little valuable information
4. For students going to London for the first time, which of the following provides the most reliable information?
A. University accommodation offices.
B. Loot and Renting.
C. Noticeboards.
D. Family.
第二部分：阅读理解(第一节20小题。第二节5小题；每小题2分，满分50分)
第一节：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，并在答题纸上将该
选项标号涂黑。
When you are little, the whole world feels like a big playground. I was living in Conyers, Georgia the summer it all happened. I was a second grader, but my best friend Stephanie was only in the first grade. Both of our parents were at work and most of the time they let us go our own way.
It was a hot afternoon and we decided to have an adventure in Stephanie's basement. As I opened the basement door, before us lay the biggest room, full of amazing things like guns, dolls, and old clothes. I ran downstairs, and spotted a red steel can. It was paint. I looked beyond it and there lay even more paint in bright colors like purple, orange, blue and green.
"Stephanie, I just found us a project for the day. Get some paintbrushes. We are fixing to paint. " She screamed with excitement as I told her of my secret plans and immediately we got to work. We gathered all the brushes we could find and moved all of our materials to my yard. There on the road in front of my house, we painted big stripes ( 条纹) of colors across the pavement (人行道). Stripe by stripe, our colors turned into a beautiful rainbow. It was fantastic!
The sun was starting to sink. I saw a car in the distance and jumped up as I recognized the car. It was my mother. I couldn't wait to show her my masterpiece. The car pulled slowly into the driveway and from the look on my mother's face, I could tell that I was in deep trouble.
My mother shut the ear door and walked towards me. Her eyes glaring, she shouted, "What in the world were you thinking? I understood when you made castles out of leaves, and climbed the neighbors' trees, but this! Come inside right now !" I stood there glaring back at her for a minute, angry because she had insulted (侮辱) my art.
"Now go clean it up!" Mother and I began cleaning the road. Tears ran down my cheeks as I saw my beautiful rainbow turn into black cement.
Though years have now passed, I still wonder where my rainbow has gone. I wonder if, maybe when I get older, I can find my rainbow and never have to brush it away. I guess we all need some sort of rainbow to brighten our lives from time to time and to keep our hopes and dreams colorful.
1. What did the writer want to do when his mother came home?
A. To introduce Stephanie to her. B. To prevent her from seeing his painting.
C. To put the materials back in the yard. D. To show his artwork to her.
2. In his mother's eyes, the writer __ .
A. was a born artist B. always caused trouble
C. was a problem solver D. worked very hard
3. The underlined word "rainbow" in the last paragraph refers to __ .
A. the rainbow in the sky B. the stripes on the pavement
C. something imaginative and fun D. important lessons learned in childhood
4. It can be learned from the passage that parents should .
A. encourage children to paint
B. value friendship among children
C. discover the hidden talent in children
D. protect rather than destroy children's dreams
第二节：完形填空(共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分)
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从21—40各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。
I will never forget the year I was about twelve years old. My mother told us that we would not be 21 Christmas gifts because there was not enough money. I felt sad and thought, "What would I say when the other kids asked what I'd 22 ?" Just when I started to 23 that there would not be a Christmas that year, three women 24 at our house with gifts for all of us. For me they brought a doll. I felt such a sense of 25 that I would no longer have to be embarrassed when I returned to school. I wasn't 26 . Somebody had thought 27 of me to bring me a gift.
Years later, when I stood in the kitchen of my new house, thinking how I wanted to make my 28 Christmas there special and memorable, I 29 remembered the women's visit. I decided that I wanted to create that same feeling of 30 for as many children as I could possibly reach.
So I 31 a plan and gathered forty people from my company to help. We gathered about 125 orphans (孤儿) at the Christmas party. For every child, we wrapped colorful packages filled with toys, clothes, and school supplies, 32 with a child's name. We wanted all of them to know they were. 33 . Before I called out their names and handed them their gifts, I 34 them that they couldn't open their presents 35 every child had come forward. Finally the 36 they had been waiting for came as I called out, "One, two, three. Open your presents!" As the children opened their packages, their faces beamed and their bright smiles 37 up the room. The 38 in the room was obvious, and 39 wasn't just about toys. It was a feeling — the feeling I knew 40 that Christmas so long ago when the women came to visit. I wasn't forgotten. Somebody thought of me. I matter.
21. A. sending B. receiving C. making D. exchanging
22. A. found B. prepared C. got D. expected
23. A. doubt B. hope C. suggest D. accept
24. A. broke in B. settled down C. turned up D. showed off
25. A. relief B. loss C. achievement D. justice
26. A. blamed B. loved C. forgotten D. affected
27. A. highly B. little C. poorly D. enough
28. A. present B. first C.. recent D. previous
29. A. hardly B. instantly C. regularly D. occasionally
30. A. strength B. independence C. importance D. safety
31. A. kept up with B. caught up with C. came up with D. put up with
32. A. none B. few C. some D. each
33. A. fine B. special C. helpful D. normal
34. A. reminded B. guaranteed C. convinced D. promised
35. A. after B. until C. when D. since
36. A. chance B. gift C. moment D. reward
37. A. lit B. took C. burned D. cheered
38. A. atmosphere B. sympathy C. calmness D. joy
39. A. it B. such C. something D. everybody
40. A. by B. till C. for D. from
The traffic rule says young children under the age of four and __ less than 40 pounds must be in a child safety seat.
A. being weighed B. to weigh C. weighed D. weighing
