(2013·高考四川卷，B)On a sunny day last August，Tim heard some shouting.Looking out to the sea carefully，he saw a couple of kids in a rowboat were being pulled out to sea.
Two 12yearold boys，Christian and Jack，rowed out a boat to search for a football.Once they’d rowed beyond the calm waters，a beach umbrella tied to the boat caught the wind and pulled the boat into open water.The pair panicked and tried to row back to shore.But they were no match for it and the boat was out of control.
Tim knew it would soon be swallowed by the waves.
“Everything went quiet in my head，”Tim recalls(回忆)．“I was trying to figure out how to swim to the boys in a straight line.”
Tim took off his clothes and jumped into the water.Every 500 yards or so，he raised his head to judge his progress.“At one point，I considered turning back，” he says.“I wondered if I was putting my life at risk.”After 30 minutes of struggling，he was close enough to yell to the boys，“Take down the umbrella！”
Christian made much effort to take down the umbrella.Then Tim was able to catch up and climb aboard the boat.He took over rowing，but the waves were almost too strong for him.
“Let’s aim for the pier(码头)，”Jack said.Tim turned the boat toward it.Soon afterward，waves crashed over the boat，and it began to sink.“Can you guys swim？”he cried.“A little bit，”the boys said.
Once they were in the water，Tim decided it would be safer and faster for him to pull the boys toward the pier.Christian and Jack were wearing life jackets and floated on their backs.Tim swam toward land as water washed over the boys’faces.
“Are we almost there？”they asked again and again.“Yes，”Tim told them each time.
After 30 minutes，they reached the pier.
1.Why did the two boys go to the sea?
A．To go boat rowing.
B．To get back their football.
C．To swim in the open water.
D．To test the umbrella as a sail.
2.What does “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A．The beach. B．The water.
C．The boat. D．The wind.
3.Why did Tim raise his head regularly?
A．To take in enough fresh air.
B．To consider turning back or not.
C．To check his distance from the boys.
D．To ask the boys to take down the umbrella.
4.How did the two boys finally reach the pier?
A．They were dragged to the pier by Tim.
B．They swam to the pier all by themselves.
C．They were washed to the pier by the waves.
D．They were carried to the pier by Tim on his back.
(2013·高考湖北卷，B)Mothers and daughters go through so much－yet when was the last time a mother and daughter sat down to write a book together about it all? Perri Klass and her mother，Sheila Solomon Klass，both gifted professional writers，prove to be ideal cowriters as they examine their decades of motherhood，daughterhood，and the wonderful ways their lives have overlapped (重叠)．
Perri notes with amazement how closely her own life has mirrored her mother’s：both have fulltime careers；both have published books，articles，and stories；each has three children；they both love to read.They also love to travel－in fact，they often take trips together.But in truth，the harder they look at their lives，the more they acknowledge their big differences in circumstance and basic nature.
A child of the Depression (大萧条)，Sheila was raised in Brooklyn by parents who considered education a luxury for girls.Starting with her college education，she has fought for everything she’s ever accomplished.Perri，on the other hand，grew up privileged in the New Jersey suburbs of the 1960s and 1970s.For Sheila，wasting time or money is a crime，and luxury is unthinkable while Perri enjoys the occasional small luxury，but has not been successful at trying to persuade her mother into enjoying even the tiniest thing she likes.
Each writing in her own unmistakable voice，Perri and Sheila take turns exploring the joys and pains，the love and bitterness，the minor troubles and lasting respect that have always bonded them together.Sheila describes the adventure of giving birth to Perri in a tiny town in Trinidad where her husband was doing research fieldwork.Perri admits that she can’t sort out all the mess in the households，even though she knows it drives her mother crazy.Together they compare thoughts on bringing up children and working，admit longhidden sorrows，and enjoy precious memories.
Looking deep into the lives they have lived separately and together，Perri and Sheila tell their motherdaughter story with honesty，humor，enthusiasm，and admiration for each other.A written account in two voices，Every Mother Is a Daughter is a duet (二重奏) that produces a deep，strong sound with the experiences that all mothers and daughters will recognize.
1.Why does Perri think that her own life has mirrored her mother’s?
A．They both have gone through difficult times.
B．They have strong emotional ties with each other.
C．They have the same joys and pains，and love and bitterness.
D．They both have experiences as daughter，mother and writer.
2.The word “luxury” in Paragraph 3 means________.
A．something rare but not pleasant
B．something that cannot be imagined
C．something expensive but not necessary
D．something that can only be enjoyed by boys
3.What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?
A．The content of the book.
B．The purpose of the book.
C．The influence of the book.
D．The writing style of the book.
4.How are women’s lives explored in this book?
A．In a musical form.
B．Through field research.
C．With unique writing skills.
D．From different points of view.
(2013·高考广东卷，D)While Jennifer was at home taking an online exam for her business law class，a monitor(监控器)a few hundred miles away was watching her every move.
Using a web camera equipped in Jennifer’s Los Angeles apartment，the monitor in Phoenix tracked how frequently her eyes moved from the computer screen and listened for the secret sounds of a possible helper in the room.Her Internet access was locked－remotely－to prevent Internet searches，and her typing style was analyzed to make sure she was who she said she was：Did she enter her student number at the same speed as she had in the past? Or was she slowing down?
In the battle against cheating，this is the cutting_edge and a key to encourage honesty in the booming field of online education.The technology gives trust to the entire system，to the institution and to online education in general.Only with solid measures against cheating，experts say，can Internet universities show that their exams and diplomas are valid—that students haven’t just searched the Internet to get the right answers.
Although online classes have existed for more than a decade，the concern over cheating has become sharper in the last year with the growth of“open online courses.”Private colleges，public universities and corporations are jumping into the online education field.spending millions of dollars to attract potential students，while also taking steps to help guarantee honesty at a distance.
Aside from the web cameras，a number of other hightech methods are becoming increasingly popular.Among them are programs that check students’ identities using personal information，such as the telephone numbers they once used.
Other programs can produce unique exams by drawing on a large list of questions and can recognize possible cheaters by analyzing whether difficult test questions are answered at the same speed as easy ones.As in many university classes，term papers are scanned against some large Internet data banks for cheating.
1.Why was Jennifer watched in an online exam?
A．To correct her typing mistakes.
B．To find her secrets in the room.
C．To prevent her from slowing down.
D．To keep her from dishonest behaviors.
2.The underlined expression cutting edge in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to________.
A．advanced technique
B．sharpening tool
C．effective rule
D．dividing line
3.For Internet universities，exams and diplomas will be valid if________.
A．they can attract potential students
B．they can defeat academic cheating
C．they offer students online help
D．they offer many online courses
4.Some programs can find out possible cheaters by________.
A．checking the question answering speed
B．producing a large number of questions
C．scanning the Internet test questions
D．giving difficult test questions
5.Which of the following is the best title of this passage?
A．The Advantages of Online Exams
B．The Hightech Methods in Online Courses
C．The Fight against Cheating in Online Education
D．The War against the Booming of Online Education
(2013·高考福建卷，A)When I was 12，all I wanted was a signet (图章) ring.They were the “in” thing and it seemed every girl except me had one.On my 13th birthday，my Mum gave me a signet ring with my initials(姓名首字母) carved into it.I was in heaven.
What made it even more special was that it was about the only thing that wasn’t being “replaced”．We’d been burnt out in fires that swept through our area earlier that year and had lost everything—so most of the “new” stuff (东西) we got was really just to replace what we’d lost.But not my ring.My ring was new.
Then，only one month later，I lost it.I took it off before bed and it was missing in the morning.I was sad and searched everywhere for it.But it seemed to have disappeared.Eventually，I gave up and stopped looking for it.And two years later，we sold the house and moved away.
Years passed，and a couple of moves later，I was visiting my parents’ when Mum told me that she had something for me.It wasn’t my birthday，nor was it Easter or Christmas or any other giftgiving occasion.Mum noticed my questioning look.“You’ll recognize this one，”she said，smiling.
Then she handed me a small ring box.I took it from her and opened it to find my beautiful signet ring inside.
The family who had bought our house 13 years earlier had recently decided to do some redecorations，which included replacing the carpets.When they pulled the carpet up in my old bedroom，they found the ring.As it had my initials carved into it，they realized who owned the ring.They’d had it professionally cleaned up by a jeweler before sending it to my mother.
And it still fits me.
1.The underlined word “in” in the first paragraph probably means“________”．
A．fashionable B．available
C．practical D．renewable
2.When she got the ring back，the writer was about ________.
A．13 years old B．15 years old
C．26 years old D．28 years old
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．The writer’s family moved several times.
B．The writer never stopped looking for her ring.
C．The writer’s ring was cleaned up by the new house owner.
D．The writer lost her ring in the morning when she took it off.
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
A．My New Ring B．Lost and Found
C．Lost and Replaced D．An Expensive Ring
(2013·高考山东卷，D)Sparrow is a fastfood chain with 200 restaurants.Some years ago，the group to which Sparrow belonged was taken over by another company.Although Sparrow showed no sign of declining，the chain was generally in an unhealthy state.With more and more fastfood concepts reaching the market，the Sparrow menu had to struggle for attention.And to make matters worse，its new owner had no plans to give it the funds it required.
Sparrow failed to grow for another two years，until a new CEO，Carl Pearson，decided to build up its market share.He did a survey，which showed that consumers who already used Sparrow restaurants were extremely positive about the chain，while customers of other fastfood chains were unwilling to turn away from them.Sparrow had to develop a new promotional campaign.
Pearson faced a battle over the future of the Sparrow brand.The chain’s owner now favored rebranding Sparrow as Marcy’s restaurants.Pearson resisted，arguing for an advertising campaign designed to convince customers that visits to Sparrow restaurants were fun.Such an attempt to establish a positive relationship between a company and the general public was unusual for that time.Pearson strongly believed that numbers were the key to success，rather than customers’ spending power.Finally，the owner accepted his idea.
The campaign itself changed the traditional advertising style of the fastfood industry.The TV ads of Sparrow focused on entertainment and featured original songs performed by a variety of stars.Instead of showing the superiority of a specific product，the intention was to put Sparrow in the hearts of potential customers.
Pearson also made other decisions which he believed would contribute to the new Sparrow image.For example，he offered to lower the rent of any restaurants which achieved a certain increase in their turnover(营业额)．
These efforts paid off，and Sparrow soon became one of the most successful fastfood chains in the regions where it operated.
1.Which was one of the problems Sparrow faced before Pearson became CEO?
A．The number of its customers was declining.
B．Its customers found the food unhealthy.
C．It was in need of financial support.
D．Most of its restaurants were closed.
2.What does the underlined word“them”in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A．Customers of Sparrow restaurants.
B．Sparrow restaurants.
C．Customers of other fastfood chains.
D．Other fastfood chains.
3.For what purpose did Pearson start the advertising campaign?
A．To build a good relationship with the public.
B．To stress the unusual tradition of Sparrow.
C．To learn about customers’spending power.
D．To meet the challenge from Marcy’s restaurants.
4.The TV ads of Sparrow ________.
A．changed people’s views on pop stars
B．amused the public with original songs
C．focused on the superiority of its products
D．influenced the eating habits of the audience
5.What was Pearson’s achievement as a CEO?
A．He managed to pay off Sparrow’s debts.
B．He made Sparrow much more competitive.
C．He helped Sparrow take over a company.
D．He improved the welfare of Sparrow employees.
(2013·高考重庆卷，D)Not all bodies of water are so evidently alive as the Atlantic Ocean，an Sshaped body of water covering 33 million square miles.The Atlantic has，in a sense，replaced the Mediterranean as the inland sea of Western civilization.Unlike real inland seas，which seem strangely still，the Atlantic is rich in oceanic liveliness.It is perhaps not surprising that its vitality has been much written about by ancient poets.
“Storm at Sea”，a short poem written around 700，is generally regarded as one of mankind’s earliest artistic representations of the Atlantic.
When the wind is from the west
All the waves that cannot rest
To the east must thunder on
Where the bright tree of the sun
Is rooted in the ocean’s breast.
As the poem suggests，the Atlantic is never dead and dull.It is an ocean that moves，impressively and endlessly.It makes all kinds of noise—it is forever thundering，boiling，crashing，and whistling.
It is easy to imagine the Atlantic trying to draw breath－perhaps not so noticeably out in midocean，but where it meets land，its waters bathing up and down a sandy beach.It mimics(模仿)nearly perfectly the steady breathing of a living creature.It is filled with symbiotic existences，too：unimaginable quantities of creatures，little and large alike，mix within its depths in a kind of oceanic harmony，giving to the waters a feeling of heartbeat，a kind of subocean vitality.And it has a psychology.It has personalities：sometimes peaceful and pleasant，on rare occasions rough and wild; always it is strong and striking.
1.Unlike real inland seas，the Atlantic Ocean is________.
A.always energetic
B.lacking in liveliness
C.shaped like a square
D.favored by ancient poets
2.What is the purpose of using the poem “Storm at Sea” in the passage?
A.To describe the movement of the waves.
B.To show the strength of the storm.
C.To represent the power of the ocean.
D.To prove the vastness of the sea.
3.What does the underlined word “symbiotic” mean?
A.Living together.
B.Growing fast.
C.Moving harmoniously.
D.Breathing peacefully.
4.In the last paragraph，the Atlantic is compared to________.
A.a beautiful and poetic place
B.a flesh and blood person
C.a wonderful world
D.a lovely animal
