Technology has utterly transformed our ability to communicate with each other. Linking to each other both literally and figuratively, many of us connect through cell phones, email, instant messaging, blogs, and networking web sites, yet we may be less connected to each other than we think.
According to a study, Americans are becoming increasingly socially isolated. The study reveals, for example, that one quarter of Americans say that they have no one to discuss important personal issues with, and that the number of close friends that American have has dropped from three to two. Meanwhile, the Boston Globe reports that this spreading isolation is experienced more sharply among those with less education, people of color, and older Americans. Unsurprisingly, those who are young, white, and well educated tend to have stronger social networks.
From my own experience I have to say that I’ve never felt more connected, thanks to a web of friends, family, and colleagues. One of my closest friends is someone I met through an online discussion group who lives hundreds of miles away from me. We have met face-to-face only twice, yet our regular electronic correspondence and cell phone calls sustain our close friendship. And, speaking of blogging, my blog has introduced me to people I would never have met otherwise and has led to enduring and important friendships.
On the other hand, I recently saw a scene unfold that proved to me how deeply disconnected we as Americans have become. I had just wrapped up a presentation on mediation at a family therapy(治疗) center. As I was leaving, I noticed a mother and her teenage son who had just completed their session with their family therapist(临床医学家). After making their next appointment, they both took out their cell phones, placed calls, and began loud conversations with whoever was on the other end. I walked out behind them to the parking lot to my car. They both jumped into their SUV, and, as I saw them drive off, they were still talking on their cell phones.
But, alas, not to each other.
51. What does the passage lead you to believe?
A. Americans are more socially connected today.
B. Americans are more socially isolated today.
C. Technology plays a bigger role in American society.
D. Americans don’t make good use of technology.
52. Which of the following has nothing to do with the isolation among Americans?
A. Age. B. Education. C. Skin color. D. Sex.
53. The author himself _______.
A. has a wider range of friends because of technology
B. has failed to take advantage of technology
C. can only find true friendship through the Internet
D. can’t make true friends in actual life
54. What is true about the mother and son in the passage?
A. They came for therapy in the same car.
B. They were quite close to each other.
C. There was not much communication between them.
D. They preferred talking to each other on cell phones.
55. The author probably feels ________ with the mother and son.
A. puzzled B. disappointed C. amused D. surprised
Scientists have developed a water treatment system that they say is a powerful but simple way to save lives. Four grams of chemicals can treat ten liters of dirty water for a low cost, about ten cents.
Experts say infections from dirty water kill several thousand children in developing countries every day. The Procter and Gamble company has been developing the "PUR Purifier of Water" system since 1995. The company has been working with the United States Centers for Disease control and Prevention(C.D.C.).
C.D.C. researchers tested it in Guatemala, Pakistan and Kenya. Procter and Gamble researcher Greg Allgood says cases of diarrhea(腹泻) in those studies fell by about 50 percent. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland tested the system at a refugee camp in Liberia. Mr. Allgood says that study found a reduction of more than 90 percent. Use of the system is being expanded worldwide.
The treatment contains bleach(漂白剂) to kill disease-causing organisms. It also contains something that dirt and other particles stick to. Mr. Allgood says the chemicals can remove lead and other dangerous metals and even agricultural poisons like D.D.T.
Mr. Allgood heads the Children's Safe Drinking Water program at Procter and Gamble. He says about forty million packets of the treatment have been given to countries for free. They have been used in emergencies and in areas with limited supplies of clean water.
Clean water is a limited resource in many parts of the world. Delegates from about 130 nations attended the Fourth World Water Forum last month in Mexico City. Scientists, policy experts and others discussed ways to provide clean water to the world’s poor. Organizers say more than twenty percent of the world population lacks clean drinking water. The final declaration did not go so far as to declare water a human right. But it did say that governments, not private companies, must take the lead in improving the public’s ability to have clean water.
46. What is mainly talked about in this passage?
A. Water pollution around the world.
B. The causes of diarrhea in African countries.
C. A newly developed water treatment system.
D. The Fourth World Water Forum in Mexico City.
47. Which of the following developed the water treatment system?
A. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
B. The Procter and Gamble Company and C.D.C.
C. The Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program.
D. Johns Hopkins University.
48. Which of the following about the new water treatment system is NOT true?
A. It is effective but very expensive.
B. It was tested in Guatemala, Pakistan and Kenya.
C. It is being expanded worldwide.
D. It can remove dangerous metals in the water.
49. Which of the following shows that the shortage of clean water is a serious problem?
A. Forty million packets of the treatment have been given to countries for free.
B. Delegates from about 130 nations attended the Fourth World Water Forum.
C. Four grams of chemicals can treat liters of dirty water for a low cost.
D. Infections from dirty water kill several thousand children every day.
50. The best title for this article is ______.
A. A Small Packet of Chemicals, a Big Effect on Dirty Water
B. The Procter and Gamble Company and C.D.C.
C. The Shortage of Clean Water
D. How to Cure Diarrhea
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。
China has now mapped out plans for its next four launches in the Shenzhou program on the next flight. But one conclusion seems to have escaped most reports in the aerospace media. The flight of Shenzhou 7 could be timed to coincide with the Beijing Olympics. Plans for the 2008 Summer Olympics call for the events to be held between the 8th and 24th of August. It's reasonable to expect that China will use the event to promote its achievements before the world, and human spaceflight is China's most significant recent breakthrough.
Shenzhou 7, China's next manned space mission, was originally advertised for 2007. This fit into the pattern of staging a two-year gap between crewed Shenzhou missions, which have previously launched in 2003 and 2005. But Chinese media statements have recently amended this to 2008. Chinese media have reported that while the overall program is going well, more time is needed to work on the spacesuit that will be used on this flight to stage China's first spacewalk. It's possible that Chinese engineers want to make best preparations for this complex mission.
China could intend to carry out the mission of Shenzhou 7 just as media attention is focused on the lead-up to the Olympics. The crew of the flight, and possibly China's other flown astronauts, could then take part in the opening ceremony. China has previously feted her space travellers in great celebrations, such as the Hong Kong event that saw Yang Liwei singing with actor Jacky Chan.
China has also suggested that the activity will be carried out by a single astronaut, and has indicated that half an hour is a rough estimate of the planned time for the spacewalk. China is apparently following suit, probably for the same reasons of conservative mission planning and safety.
41. From the first paragraph we can infer that ________.
A. China hasn’t made its plan for the Beijing Olympics
B. The new Shenzhou program are known to all the reporters
C. China has planned to send up Shenzhou 7 in 2008
D. Beijing Olympics will be held during the flight of Shenzhou 7
42. China has decided to carry out its human spaceflight in 2008 in order to ______.
A. make the Beijing Olympics more interesting
B. show its great achievements to the world
C. prove that China is a developed country
D. introduce its science and technology to the world
43. Which one of the following is WRONG according to this passage?
A. China sent its first manned spacecraft in October of 2003.
B. Chinese engineers want to make more preparations for Shenzhou 7.
C. The spacesuit for the flight of Shenzhou 7 hasn’t been prepared well.
D. Two Chinese astronauts walked in space in 2003.
44. The underlined word “amended” in the passage has a similar meaning to ______.
A. improve B. change C. expect D. decide
45. What would be the best title for this passage?
A. The Beijing Olympics. B. The Shenzhou Olympics.
C. China’s Shenzhou Program. D. Spacewalk in 2008.
第二节 语法填空（共10小题，每小题1.5分，满分15分）
阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答题卡标号为31—40的相应位置上。
Night after night, she came to tuck me in, even long after my childhood years. _31_________ (follow) her longstanding custom, she’d lean down and push my long hair out of the way, then kiss my forehead.
I don’t remember _32_____ it first started annoying me — her hands pushing my hair that way. Finally, one night, I shouted out at her, “Don’t do that anymore — your hands are too rough!” She didn’t say _33______ in reply. But never again _34_____ my mother close out my day _35_____ that familiar expression of her love.
Time after time, with the passing years, my _36_____ (think) returned to that night. By then I missed my mother’s hands, missed her goodnight kiss on my forehead.
Now those hands I once thought to be so rough were still doing things for me and my family. I frequently recalled the night my young voice complained. One night, catching Mom’s hand in hand, I blurted out how sorry I was for that night. I thought she’d remember, _37______ I did. But Mom didn’t know what I _38______ (talk) about. She had forgotten — and forgiven — long ago.
That night, I fell asleep with a new _39_______ (appreciate) for my gentle mother and __40_______ caring hands. And the guilt that I had carried around for so long was nowhere to be found.
II 语言知识及应用（共两节，满分35分）
第一节 完形填空（共10小题；每小题2分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从21～30各题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland (since 1437) as well as one of the biggest and most important cities in the country, the seventh biggest in the United Kingdom. The ___21___ of the city is around half a million. It lies in the southeast of ___22___. As the capital city it is also the seat of the Scottish Parliament (created in 1999). It is the second most ___23___ city in the United Kingdom after London, with 13 million visitors a year.
The ___24___ of Edinburgh is 100 square miles (259 square kilometers). The historical centre of the city is divided into two main parts, the Old Town and the New Town. They are ___25___ Princes Street Gardens. Both districts were ___26___ as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.
Edinburgh is quite famous for its annual Edinburgh Festival held four weeks from early August.
Edinburgh has been connected with many___27___people through its whole history. Famous authors of the city ___28___Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the ___29___ of Sherlock Holmes, or nowadays J. K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter. As far as the __30__ is concerned, the most famous people connected with Edinburgh are Charles Darwin (the biologist), Alexander Graham Bell (the telephone pioneer), and so on.
21. A. people B. number C. area D. population
22. A. England B. Britain C. Wales D. Scotland
23. A. travelled B. visited C. seen D. explored
24. A. land B. amount C. area D. boundary
25. A. separated by B. divided into C. divided by D. separated into
26. A. regarded B. thought C. listed D. treated
27. A. great B. historical C. famous D. intelligent
28. A. include B. contain C. have D. are
29. A. author B. discoverer C. director D. creator
30. A. science B. biology C. art D. literature
第二节：读写任务（共1小题；满分25分）
阅读下面的短文，然后按要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文。
Halloween is very popular in western countries. On October 31st, dozens of children dressed in costumes（节日服装）knock on their neighbors' doors and yell "Trick or Treat" when the door opens. Pirates and princesses, ghosts and popular heroes of the day all hold bags open to catch the candy or other goodies that the neighbors drop in. As they give each child a treat the neighbors exclaim over the costumes and try to guess who is under the masks.
Today school dances and neighborhood parties called "block parties" are popular among the young and the old. More and more adults celebrate Halloween. They dress up like historical or political figures and go to masquerade parties（化妆舞会). In larger cities, costumed children and their parents gather at shopping malls early in the evening. Stores and businesses give parties with games and treats for the children. Teenagers enjoy costume dances at their schools and the more outrageous the costume the better!
Certain pranks（恶作剧）such as soaping car windows and tipping over garbage cans are expected. But partying and pranks are not the only things that Halloweeners enjoy doing. Some collect money to buy food and medicine for needy children around the world.
[写作内容]
1. 以约30个词概括短文的要点；
2. 以约120词就“中西节日的不同”为主题写篇短文，并包含以下内容要点：
(1)你还知道哪些西方节日？你印象中的西方节日有哪些特点？
(2)请具体讲述一个你熟悉的中国传统节日；
(3)你更喜欢中国传统节日，还是西方节日？为什么？
[写作要求]
你可以使用实例或其它论述方法支持你的论点，也可以参照阅读材料的内容，但不要抄袭阅读材料中的句子。
[评分标准]
概括准确、语言规范、内容合适、篇章连贯。
