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）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从41—55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
(A)
We're all connected. You can send an e-mail message to a friend, and your friend can pass it on to one of his or her friends, and that friend can do the same, continuing the chain. Eventually, your message could reach just about anyone in the world, and it might take only five to seven e-mails for the message to get there.
Scientists recently tested that idea in a study involving 24,000 people. Participants had to try to get a message forwarded to one of 18 randomly chosen people. Each participant started by sending one e-mail to someone they knew. Recipients could then forward the e-mail once to someone they knew, and so on.
Targets, who were randomly assigned by researchers from Columbia University in New York, lived in 13 countries. They included an Australian police officer, a Norwegian veterinarian, and a college professor.
Out of 24,000 chains, only 384 reached their goal. The rest petered out, usually because one of the recipients was either too busy to forward the message or thought it was junk mail.
The links that reached their goal made it in an average of 4.05 e-mails. Based on the lengths of the failed chains, the researchers estimated that two strangers could generally make contact in five to seven e-mails.
The most successful chains relied on casual acquaintances rather than close friends. That's because your close friends know each other whereas your acquaintances tend to know people you don't know. The phenomenon, known as the strength of weak ties, explains why people tend to get jobs through people they know casually but aren't that close to.
So, start networking and instant messaging now. As they say in show business: It's all about who you know.
41. If you want to get into touch with a stranger in the world, how many e-mails might it take for the message to reach him/her?
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A. 5 to 7 |
B. 18 |
C. 13 |
D. 384 |
42. Which of the following is Not true about the test?
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A. 24,000 people took part in the study and sent e-mails to people they knew. |
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B. The 18 targets were chosen by chance. |
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C. About 98.4% of the mails didn’t reach their goal because some people were too busy or they mistook the message for junk mail. |
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D. The targets come from 13 countries, such as Australia, Norway and New York. |
43. What does the word “estimate” mean in the passage?
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A. make sure |
B. suppose |
C. think over |
D. imagine |
44. Why do people tend to get jobs more easily through casual acquaintances than close friends?
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A. Because close friends don’t talk with each other so much. |
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B. Because casual acquaintances can help you know more people and make more friends. |
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C. Because close friends don’t spend so much time gathering together. |
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D. Because casual acquaintances are kinder and more willing to help others. |
45. In which part of a newspaper will readers read this passage?
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A. Culture |
B. Entertainment |
C. Information and Technology |
D. Health |
第二节语法填空（共10题；每小题1.5分, 满分15分）
阅读下面短文，根据上下文填入适当的词语，或使用括号中的词语的适当形式填空,并将答案填写在答题卡上标号为31—40的相应位置。
Money really can’t buy happiness. According to a new survey, lawyers and __31_____ well-paid white-collar workers are more likely to suffer depression. A national survey of more than 7500 professionals has found that almost one __32_____ ten reported moderate (中度) to severe depressive symptoms. The legal profession had the worst result, _33_______ almost 16 percent reporting symptoms of clinical depression (临床抑郁症). Next __34_____(be) accountants and insurance underwriters, both on 10 percent. People in IT services, architecture and engineering also had depression rates above the average.
The survey __35_____ (conduct) by Beyondblue, an organization devoted to fighting depression, also showed that __36_____ under 30 who had the __37_____ (high) rates of depression were the most likely to “self-medicate” with drugs and alcohol. Beyondblue deputy chief executive and _38_________ (psychology), Dr. Nicole Highet, said the survey was first to reveal the extent of the problem. “We often associate depression with the most socially disadvantaged and people under financial pressure, __39_____ here’s a whole different group.” Dr. Highet said, She said while it was difficult to know exactly __40________ made some groups more prone to depression, it was likely to be driven by work pressures.
第二节：读写任务（共1小题，满分25分）
阅读下面短文，然后按照要求写一篇150字左右的英语短文。
Life is filled with challenges. As we get older we come to realize that those challenges are the very things that shape us and make us who we are, it is the same with the challenges that come with friendship.
When we are faced with a challenge, we usually have two choices: we can try to beat if off, or we can decide that the thing presenting the challenges isn’t worth the trouble and call it quits. Although there are certainly times when calling it quits is the right thing to do, in most cases all that is needed is commitment and communication.
When we are committed to something, it means that no matter how painful or how uncomfortable something is, we will always choose to face it and work through instead of running away from it. Communication is making a space for discussion and talking about how you feel as opposed to just saying what the other person did wrong. If you can say to a friend, “I got my feelings hurt.” rather than “You hurt my feelings.” You are going to be able to solve the problem much faster.
In dealing with many challenges that friendship will bring to you, try to see them for what they are: small hurdles you need to jump or get through on your way through life. Nothing is so big that it is impossible to get over, and hurt only serves to make us stronger. It’s all part of growing up. It happens to everyone, and some day you will look back on all of this and say, “Hard as it was, it made me who I am today. And that’s a good thing.”
［写作内容］
以约30个词概括短文的要点；
然后以约120个词就“在生活或学习中如何面对挑战”这个主题发表看法，并包括如下要点：
① 在生活或学习上，你曾经遇到过什么比较大的挑战？
② 你是如何面对这个挑战的？你成功了吗？
③ 对你面对挑战的经历，你有何感悟？
［写作要求］
1）可以使用实例或其他论述方法支持你的观点，也可以参照阅读材料的内容，
但不得直接引用原文中的句子；2）题目自拟。
［评分标准］ 概括准确，语言规范，内容合适，篇章连贯。
第四部分：写作(共两节，满分40分)
第一节：基础写作（共1小题，满分15分）
你是2008年北京奥运会的一名英语志愿者，除了给来自世界各地的运动员提供帮助外，你的另一使命是向他们传播中国文化, 其中包括中国传统节日的介绍。请根据下面的提示用英语写一篇短文，向他们介绍中国的端午节。
［写作内容］
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名称 |
端午节 |
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历史 |
2000多年 |
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时间 |
每年的农历五月初五；初夏，标志着一年最热季节的开始 |
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庆祝活动 |
赛龙舟。 以前：只有中国人庆祝； 现在：越来越多外国人参加赛龙舟活动 |
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特色食品 |
把糯米包裹在新鲜的竹叶里的粽子 |
［写作要求］ 使用5个句子表达全部的内容。
［评分标准］ 句子结构准确，信息内容完整，篇章结构连贯。
第二节：信息匹配（共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）
请阅读下列应用文及相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。请在答题卡上将对应题号的相应选项字母涂黑。
以下是有关博物馆、音乐厅、剧院、大学等的信息：
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A．National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside represents the full collection of museums and galleries in the city and offers the Eight Pass for a small fee, this enables the visitor a year's unlimited visits to all eight establishments. |
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B．Although it is mainly associated with classical music, the Philharmonic Hall has branched out into popular music and the varied programme now includes country, rock, jazz and pop concerts; similar acts can be seen at the Empire. There is also the Picket on Hardman Street, and The Life Cafe on Bold Street also has live music, including the occasional big name wanting to play in a smaller venue. |
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C．London Theatre may be separated into three parts. One section encompasses the sophisticated end of the theatre spectrum- plenty of Shakespeare and excellent modern plays. There are also the 'West End' shows- this refers to the big productions, not to where they're located. There are many big-production plays and operas that make for a great evening out. |
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D．Humanities College will set targets in three humanities-based specialist subjects. Applicants must choose a minimum of one key subject from history, geography or English. They will choose two other subjects from the following: religious education, citizenship, classics, English, history and geography. |
E. Dance performances tend to center on Sadler's Wells theater, where contemporary dance, ballet and opera can all be found. The Royal Festival Hall and the Barbican Centre also house excellent productions, and the ICA is a mecca for experimental dance.
F. Sefton college is the leading specialist catering training centre in the education sector. Everyday we offer healthy, innovation and exciting menus, which meet the government standards. We have provided catering and cleaning services to Saint Francis Xaviers College and the whole Liverpool for many years and recently won the contract to supply catering to Manchester. So join us, you will get lot of practice.
以下是与广告相关的五个年青人，请匹配与他们各自可能去的地方。
56. Jon Murphy: I have worked for six months in California and have been to places as far as Bangkok, Australia, Canada and throughout Europe. Working with the communities is fantastic.
57. James Barton: I suppose I was born with a love of music. Everyday, I listen to music for at least two hours and music bands are my favourite.
58. Jane Lake: I was at university studying Religious Studies and English. And now my area of practice is painting and drawing.
59. Dave Kirby: I met my great friend Andrew Schofield and it was probably he who introduced me to the theatre and plays.
60. Gary Birkett: Being a chef involves a lot of work. Not only do you have to cook but you learn about stock control, sourcing quality food, compiling rosters and creating attractive and exciting menus.
B
It was 1961 and I was in the fifth grade. My marks in school were miserable and, the thing was, I didn’t know enough to really care. My older bother and I lived with Mom in a dingy multi-family house in Detroit. We watched TV every night. The background noise of our lives was gunfire and horses’ hoofs from “Wagon Train” or “Cheyenne”, and laughter from “I Love Lucy”, or “Mister Ed”. After supper, we’d sprawl on Mon’s bed and stare for hours at the tube.
But one day Mom changed our world forever. She turned off the TV. Our mother had only been able to get through third grade. But, she was much brighter and smarter than we boys know at the time. She had noticed something in the suburban houses she cleaned books. So she came home one day, snapped off the TV, sat us down and explained that her sons were going to make something of themselves. “You boys are going to read two books every week,” she said. “And you’re going to write a report on what you read.”
We moaned and complained about how unfair it was. Besides, we didn’t have any books in the house other than Mom’s Bible. But she explained that we would go where the books were: “I’ll drive you to the library.”
So pretty soon there were these two peevish boys sitting in her white 1959 Oldsmobile on their way to Detroit Public Library. I wandered reluctantly among the children’s books. I loved animals, so when I saw some books that seemed to be about animals, I started leafing through them.
The first book I read clear through was Chip the Dam Builder. It was about beavers. For the first time in my life I was lost in another world. No television program had ever taken me so far away from my surroundings as did this verbal visit to a cold stream in a forest and these animals building a home.
It didn’t dawn on me at the time, but the experience was quite different from watching TV. There were images forming in my mind instead of before my eyes. And I could return to them again and again with the flip of a page.
Soon I began to look forward to visiting this hushed sanctuary form my other world. I moved from animals to plants, and then to rocks. Between the covers of all those books were whole worlds, and I was free to go anywhere in them. Along the way a funny thing happened: I started to know things. Teachers started to notice it too. I got to the point where I couldn’t wait to get home to my books.
Now my older brother is an engineer and I am chief of pediatric neurosurgery at John Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore. Sometimes I still can’t believe my life’s journey, from a failing and indifferent student in a Detroit public school to this position, which takes me all over the world to teach and perform critical surgery.
But I know when the journey began the day Mom snapped off the TV set and put us in her Oldsmobile for that drive to the library.
46. We can learn form the beginning of the passage that ___________.
A. the author and his brother had done well in school
B. the author had been very concerned about his school work
C. the author had spent much time watching TV after school
D. the author had realized how important schooling was
47. Which of the following is not true about the author’s family?
A. He came from a middle-class family.
B. He came from a single-parent family.
C. His mother worked as a cleaner.
D. His mother had received little education.
48. The mother was ____________ to make her two sons switch to reading books.
A. hesitant B. unprepared C. reluctant D. determined
49. How did the two boys feel about going to the library at first?
A. They were afraid B. They were reluctant.
C. They were impatient. D. They were eager to go.
50. The author began to love books for the following reasons EXCEPT that ___________.
A. he began to see something in his mind
B. he could visualize what he read in his mind
C. he could go back to read the books again
D. he realized that books offered him new experience
