Last Sunday I made a visit to some new neighbors down the block. No specific purpose in mind, just an opportunity to sit at the kitchen table, have some tea and chat. As I did so, it occurred to me how rare the Sunday visit has become.
When I was a kid in the New Jersey of the 1960s, Sunday visits were routine. Most stores were closed, almost nobody worked, and the highways, as a result, were not the desperate steeplechases（障碍赛跑） they have become today. My family normally traveled eight city blocks to the home of my grandmother—the same house my father was raised in, where adults would sit on the front porch and chat while we children played hide-and-seek.
The Sunday visit was something to desire strongly. It was the repetition to church, our reward for an hour of devotion, an opportunity to take advantage of the fact that Dad was not at work, we were not in school, and there were no chores that couldn’t wait until Monday. Sunday was, indeed, different from all the other days of the week, because everyone seemed to be on the same schedule, which means that there was one day when everyone seemed to have time for everybody else.
Sunday as a day of rest is, or was, so deeply rooted in the culture that it’s surprising to consider that, in a short span of time, it has almost entirely lost this association. In my childhood, it was assumed that everyone would either be home or visiting someone else’s home on Sunday. But now the question is, “What do you plan to DO this Sunday?” The answer can range from going to the mall to participating in a road race to jetting to Montreal for lunch. If one were to respond, “I’m making a Sunday visit to family,” such an answer would feel sepia-toned, an echo from another era.
I suppose I should be grateful to live in Maine, a state of small towns, abundant land and tight relationships. Even though folks work as hard here as they do anywhere else, the state’s powerfully rural cast（特质）still harbors at least remnants of the ethic of yesterday’s America, where people had to depend on one another in the face of economic vagaries（反复无常的情况）and a challenging environment.
1．The writer’s general impression of the Sunday in the past was a day when _______.
A. everyone was paying a visit to some relative far away
B. everyone seemed to be free and could have some leisure
C. Dad was not at work while Mom was busy cleaning the house
D. nearly every adult would go to church and children were not at school
2．In the fourth paragraph, the writer compares the response “I’m making a Sunday visit to family” to an echo from another era because _______.
A. people nowadays prefer staying at home on Sunday
B. such answers are rarely heard in our modern society
C. people in the city dislike being disturbed on Sunday
D. visiting someone on Sunday might take a lot of time
3．From the last paragraph we may infer that _______.
A. people in Maine suffer more from economic depression and the changed environment
B. people in Maine has abandoned their tradition and lived an absolute new life
C. land in Maine is short, thus the relationship between people is tense
D. people in Maine always help each other when they are in need
4．Which word we may use to describe the writer’s attitude towards the Sunday today?
A. Unsatisfied. B. Anxious. C. Treasured. D. Teased.
When our son, Alex, was young, he hated to travel. We endured refusals to visit one more museum, even if it was the Louvre. We coped with a child who resisted even a taste of onion soup in Paris and who insisted he would like nothing more than ordering room service at the hotel and watching TV.
Over the years, we have come up with several hard-earned but realistic strategies to help kids cope on long-distance trips.
First, we recognize that some children have trouble adjusting to new environments, food, time zones and schedules. So, in advance of a trip to England, we gave our son a taste of the new culture by making shepherd’s pie for supper. He loved the mashed potatoes, chopped meat and brown gravy（肉汁）. For Italy, we sampled homemade pesto（香蒜沙司） served over linguine（扁面条）. For Amsterdam, I cooked up a pot of comforting pea soup and baked a delicious apple pancake called pannekoeken. Then, when we traveled to these places, he ate these foods and they seemed like a taste of home.
In addition to food, we always sample the culture beforehand by reading books and renting movies from the countries we will be visiting. For Italy, the book Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino and the films Johnny Stecchino, Cinema Paradiso, and Il Postino gave our son a glimpse of the Italian way of life. For Britain, we rented Mr. Bean and Billy Elliot, and enjoyed stories by J.R.R. Tolkien and E. Nesbit. For Amsterdam, he finished The Diary of Anne Frank.
Before we leave home, we also ask Alex to go through our tour books and pick out activities that appeal to him. He was excited about visiting the London Dungeon and the Imperial War Museum, and taking a ride in the London Eye. They turned out to be big hits. Because Alex’s preferences were given equal attention, he was more tolerant of his parents’ selections, such as visiting Charters Cathedral and the Van Gogh Museum.
We’ve also learned the hard way that dragging our son out of bed early in the morning ,thus making him grumpy all day. Now that he is a teenager, we let him sleep in while we sip coffee at a café, work out at the hotel gym, or take a long walk. This makes our time together much more enjoyable
1．According to the writer, parents are advised to _______.
A. cook children’s favorite food
B. postpone traveling until the kids are in college
C. allow their kids a ride in the London Eye
D. take children’s interest and preferences into account
2．Cinema Paradiso and Il Postino are mentioned as _______.
A. particular desires of children B. an approach to interest the future possible visit
C. highly appreciated films for tourists D. comfortable activities children could pick out
3．The underlined word “grumpy” in the last paragraph is similar in meaning to _______.
A. bad-tempered B. tolerant C. energetic D. nervous
4．Which of the following might serve as a possible title for this passage?
A. Kids and Parents. B. Joys of Traveling.
C. Whether You Go or Not. D. How to motivate Kids to travel
The Great Wall of China is one of
Beijing’s biggest draws for tourists; despite its fame and ubiquity in
postcards across the world, it rarely fails to attract tourists at the first
proper sight.Yet the authorities open only certain sections of the wall as fit
for viewing, and few get to visit the unauthorized sections. Fewer still are
aware of the existence of at least one part of the Wall that remains in almost
original condition, nearly 1,500 years after construction of legendary
fortification began. But there’s a good reason for this – it’s underwater.
American journalist Steven Schwankert has been diving since age 10. It was though his setting – up of a diving school that Schwankert came to explore some of lesser – known areas of China’s lakes – and discovered the underwater Wall under a reservoir. “The most fascinating piece of diving I ever did in China must be the Great Wall. I managed to find out about it via the Internet. It wasn’t difficult to get to Pan Jiakou in Hebei Province, near the East Qing Tomb about 4 hour’s drive from Beijing. Why do I want to dive the Great Wall? Why do people want to walk on the Great Wall? It’s the same answer.”
There are, however, advantages of visiting the Great Wall in a diving suit over being on foot. The water acts as a preservative by preventing the kind of mass tourism that has brought trouble on other parts of the Wall. “Unlike the people who walk in the Wall, we as divers never need to actually touch it. I’ve dived twice there, the last time in July. I found that the water then was much deeper than it was before – 13 meters deep.” When he first dived, parts of the Wall were visible above the surface. Now even the guard tower is completely submerged. “It’s better that the Wall is deep under water, as there are lots of boats coming in and out around that area. Their wave action could potentially damage the brickwork. So, the deeper, the better.”
1．Steven Schwankert is most interested in .
A．collecting photos of the Wall B．walking along on the Wall
C．diving the underwater Wall D．visiting some famous lakes
2．What does the underlined word “submerged” in Paragraph 5 most probably mean?
A．Damaged by water. B．Washed by water.
C．Preserved by water. D．Covered by water.
3．What is the topic discussed in the last paragraph?
A．Advantages of walking on the Great Wall.
B．Advantages of visiting the underwater Wall.
C．The reasons why the Wall is deep under water.
D．The reasons why the underwater Wall is protected.
4．What can we infer from the text?
A．The underwater Wall will sink deeper year by year.
B．Diving the Wall is popular with divers all over the world.
C．Diving is a good way to visit the Wall without causing much damage.
D．More and more tourists will come to visit the underwater Wall in China.
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每题2分，满分40分）
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。
The Pillow
At the age of sixteen, I joined a volunteer group with my dad. I went on my first volunteer project in West Virginia. On the night we arrived, we discovered that “our family” was living in a trailer(拖车) that was in poor condition. A crew had been working on it for two weeks, but every time they finished one problem, another surfaced.
We decided the only reasonable solution was to build a new house – something unusual but necessary under these circumstances. The family was overjoyed with their new house that was twenty by thirty feet with three bedrooms, a bath and a kitchen.
On Tuesday of that week, while we ate lunch together, I asked the family’s three boys, Josh, Eric and Ryan, "What do you want for your new room?" Expecting toys and other gadgets that children usually ask for, we were surprised when Josh responded, "I just want a bed."
The boys had never slept in a bed! They were accustomed to plastic mats. That night we had a meeting and decided that beds would be the perfect gift. On Thursday night, a few adults in our group drove to the nearest city and bought beds and new bedding.
When we saw the delivery truck coming, we told the family about the surprise. We could hardly contain ourselves. It was like watching excited children on Christmas morning.
That afternoon, as we fitted the frames of the beds tog tether, Eric ran into the house to watch us. Too dirty to enter his room, he observed with wide-eyed enthusiasm from the doorway.
As my father slipped a pillowcase onto one of the pillows, Eric asked, "What is that?"
"A pillow," she replied.
"What do you do with it?" Eric continued to ask.
"When you go to sleep, you put your head on it,” I answered softly. Tears came to our eyes as she handed Eric the pillow.
"Oh . . . that's soft," he said, hugging it tightly.
Now, when my sister or I start to ask for something that seems urgent, my Dad gently asks, "Do you have a pillow?"
We know exactly what he means.
1．The writer’s first volunteer project was .
A．working on a poor trailer B．helping a poor family
C．donating beds and bedding D．dealing with a housing problem
2．On bearing Josh’s answer, the writer was shocked because .
A．the family lived in a trailer B．he expected to get some toys
C．he didn’t know what a bed was D．the boys had no bed to sleep in
3．From the passage, we can learn that Eric had never seen before.
A．a trailer B．a truck C．a pillow D．a house
4．By saying “Do you have a pillow?”, the writer’s father means that .
A．what they want to get may be unnecessary
B．they should not waste money on small things
C．they should do more volunteer work for the poor
D．what he will buy is not what they want but a pillow
第二节 完型填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项
Wings of Angel
I used to hate myself because I wasn’t “normal”. Everyone else could play on the monkey bars and ride on a bicycle, but not 31 . I had a severe spinal cord disorder(脊髓病) and I knew I would always be much 32 than others.
I hated going to school and I hated 33 at me. I hated seeing others smiling broadly and standing 34 and tall. And most of all, I hated looking in the 35 and seeing an ugly and hunchback(驼背).
My friends found me 36 because I didn’t let other get close to me. I thought I was going to go on like this for the rest of my life 37 Angela appeared.
That afternoon, I was sitting by myself in a corner of the school—a spot where no one would
38 me. That’s when I first heard your voice.
“Hi. Can I sit down?”
I raised my head and there she was, with an irresistible smile on her round face.
“What are you looking at?” you asked.
“Ants.”
“What are they doing?”
“No 39 .”
“I bet they’re playing games and make friends. Don’t you think so?”
That was how our 40 started and it didn’t stop. We talked about everything under the sun—the ants, the clouds, my little niche(处境)—until it was sunset.
Then suddenly, you saw my 41 . She just stared.
My heart 42 . What I feared most had happened and I knew for sure she would 43 me now.
She stood up, pointed at my back and said, “I know 44__ your back is hunched.”
I closed my eyes like a criminal waiting to be 45 . I begged in my heart for her to 46 , but you just kept on going. “I know what you’ve got in there. Do you?”
“No,” I answered 47 .
She bent and whispered in my ears.
“Your back is bunched because you’ve got a pair of wings from the angels.”
I was 48 . I looked into your eyes and her 49 touched my heart. From that day on, I started to learn to 50 myself because I have the wings of an angel and a kind – hearted friend.
31．A．them B．it C．mo D．her
32．A．sadder B．shorter C．weaker D．slower
33．A．looking B．smiling C．aiming D．glaring
34．A．still B．alone C．straight D．together
35．A．street B．sun C．corner D．mirror
36．A．distant B．stubborn C．hopeless D．unfortunate
37．A．after B．before C．since D．until
38．A．disturb B．seek C．interrupt D．ignore
39．A．wonder B．idea C．sign D．action
40．A．connection B．competition C．conversation D．comprehension
41．A．face B．back C．eyes D．shoulders
42．A．sank B．beat C．broke D．ached
43．A．care for B．rely on C．look down upon D．put up with
44．A．that B．how C．whether D．why
45．A．accused B．arrested C．punished D．sentenced
46．A．relax B．leave C．stop D．pause
47．A．shyly B．weakly C．proudly D．firmly
48．A．astonished B．ashamed C．annoyed D．amused
49．A．wisdom B．generosity C．honesty D．kindness
50．A．control B．like C．comfort D．enjoy
．Sheep on a remote Scottish island are gradually shrinking _______ global warming, according to a study published in the journal Science.
A. on account of B. by means of C. in case of D. in spite of
