第一部分 阅读理解（共20小题，满分60分）

A

The fiddler crab (蟹) is a living clock. It indicates(=shows) the time of day by the colour of its skin, which is dark by day and pale by night. The crab’s changing colour follows a regular twenty—four hour plan that exactly matches the daily rhythm (节奏) of the sun.

Does the crab actually keep time, or does its skin simply answer to the sun’s rays, changing colour according to the amount of light strikes it? To find out, biologists kept crabs in a dark room for two months. Even without daylight, the crab’s skin colour continued to change exactly on time.

This characteristic (特性) probably developed gradually in answer to the daily rising and setting of the sun, to help protect the crab from sunlight and enemies. After millions of years it has become completely regulated (受控制) inside the living body of the crab.

The biologists noticed that once each day the colour of the fiddler crab is especially dark, and that each day this happens fifty minutes later than on the day before. From this they discovered that each crab follows not only the rhythm of the sun but also that of the tides (潮水). The crab’s period of greatest darkening is exactly the time of low tide on the beach where it was caught!

1. The fiddler crab is like a clock because it changes colour ______.

A in a regular 24—hour rhythm B. in answer to the sun’s rays

C. at low tide D. every fifty minutes

2. The crab’s changing colour ______.

A. tells the crab what time it is

B. protects the crab from the sunlight and enemies

C. keeps the crab warm D. is of no real use

3. When the fiddler crabs were kept in the dark , they ______.

A. did not change colour B. changed colour more quickly

C. changed colo
ur more slowly D. changed colour on the same timetable

4. The best title for this selection would be ______.

A. The Sun and the Tides B. Discoveries in Biology

C. A scientific Study D. A Living Clock

B

Driving a car at high speed along a highway seems to be fun. You need only to follow the bright traffic(交通) signs beside the highways and it will take you to where you wish.

But to a London taxi driver, driving is not an easy job. A taxi driver has to have not only good driving skills but also a good knowledge of the city of a London, from the smallest lane(小巷) to the most popular bar(酒吧) around. He has to be at the service of all kinds of passengers at all times.

A certain London taxi driver told of his job as follows.

Durin
g the night it is quite usual for him to stop two or three times for some refreshments (点心). He said. “I never drink when I’m working ---- I would lose my licence(执照).”

He normally goes home between 2 and 3 O’clock in the night, There are times he has to stay longer and try to make more runs. He said, “That’s the worst thing about working for yourself. If you don’t make the money , no one is going to give it to you.”

London taxi drivers not only ‘take’ but also ‘give’ , Every summer hundreds of children from London will go for a day at the sea--- by taxi! Their rides are paid by the taxi drivers, and these fares(车费) all go to the ‘London Taxi Fund for Underprivileged Children.’ At the sea. they are met by the mayor, and a lunch party is also held in honour of the taxi drivers and the children. After a happy day running around the sea beaches and visiting the market, the chi
ldren go home again-- by taxi, and free of charge, of course!

5. The London taxi drivers _______.

A. work hard because no one w
ould give them money for doing nothing

B. never stop driving in the city

C. only work between 2 and 3 o’clock in the night

D. are very rich

6. The author of the passage says that _______.

A. the taxi driver works longer than is necessary

B. the more runs the taxi driver makes, the more he gets

C. the taxi driver doesn’t like to work for others

D. the taxi drivers in the city not only take money but also give money

7. London taxi driver _______.

A. take money because they have to pay for the children’s ride

B. go to the sea for a day in the summer

C. pay the fares for the poor children to the sea for a day once every year

D. give the poor children a free ride for a day at the sea once every year

8. The underlined words under privileged Children mean children _______.

A. of low income families B. who like to travel in taxi

C. who wish to go to sea but have no money D. from London

C[来源:Z&xx&k.Com]

People living in the country enjoy several advantages that people living in the city cannot enjoy.

They are in close contact (接触) with nature. They make friends with trees and stones. owns can dogs. They breathe fresh air. They fight with strong winds. They listen to the song of birds.

This contact with nature is good for health. There are many diseases that are common in the city, but are not to be found in the country, For example, near---sightedness is almost unknown to country people.

Because of the absence of cars, one can walk more freely in the country than in the city, There are no rules of the road nor traffic signs to obey.

People living in the country can easily get fresh vegetables, fresh fruit and fresh milk, and they get them at lower prices than in the city.

Country life is economical (节俭的) in other ways, too. There are practically no temptations to waste money.

Country people are mostly honest. They say what they mean, and make and keep promises with sincerity (诚意). They do not put on air (摆架子). They do not pretend to have those ridiculous (荒谬的) manners which are necessary in what we call polite society.[来源:学§科§网Z§X§X§K]

9. What is probably more expensive in the country than in the city?

A. Vegetables. B. Beer. C. Milk. D. Fruit.

10. What is NOT true of country life?

A. The traffic accident rate is very high in the country.

B. Living in the country saves one a lot of money.

C. Country people enjoy better health than the city people.

D. Country people are honest.

11. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A. People living in the country enjoy no advantages.

B. People living in the city are in close contact with nature.

C. People living in the country suffer from more diseases than those living in the city.

D. The prices of farm products are lower in the country than in the city.

12. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. The Disadvantages of Living in the Country.

B. The Expenses of Living in the Country.

C. Country Life.

D. Healthy Country People.

D

“I would almost rather see you dead,” Robert S. Cassatt, a leading banker (银行家) of Philadelphia, shouted when his twenty-year-old eldest daughter announced that she wanted to become an artist. In the 19th century, playing at drawing or painting on dishes was all right for a young lady, but serious work in art was not. And when the young lady’s family ranked among (跻身于) the best of Philadelphia’s social (社交界的) families, such an idea could not even be considered.

That
was how Mary Cassatt, born 1844, began he
r struggle as an artist. She did not tremble before her father’s anger. Instead, she opposed (抗拒) him with courage and at last made him change his mind. Mary Cassatt gave up her social position (社会地位) and all thought of a husband and a family, which in those times was unthinkable for a young lady. In the end, after long years of hard work and perseverance (坚持), she became America’s most important woman artist and the internationally recognized leading woman painter of the time.

13. How did Mr. Cassatt react (反应) when his daughter made her announcement?

A. He feared for her life. B. He was very angry.

C. He nearly killed her. D. He warned her.

14. What in fact was Mr. Cassatt’s main reason in opposing his daughter’s wish?

A. Drawing and painting was simply unthinkable among ladies in those days.

B. He did not believe his daughter wanted to work seriously in art.

C. He believed an artist’s life would be too hard for his daughter.

D. Ladies of good families simply did not become artists in those times.

15. What made Mary Cassatt’s “struggle” to become a recognized artist especially hard?

A. She was a woman. B. Her father opposed her.

C. She had no social position. D. She did not come from an artist’s family.

七选五

There is an English saying:“16._________.” Until recently, few people took the saying seriously. Now, however, doctors have begun to look into laughter and the effects it has on the human body. 17. _________.

Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films while doctors checked their hearts, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise. 18.__________. If
laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial.

Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effect of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group that tolerated(忍耐) the pain for the longest time was the group which listened to a funny program. 19._________.

20.__________. They have found that even if their patients do
not really feel like laughing , making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter.

A. Laughter can prolong one’s life.

B. As a result of these discoveries, some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics in which they help to improve their patients’ condition by encouraging them to laugh.

C. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce a kind of chemicals in the brain which diminish both stress and pain.

D. It increases blood pressure, the heart beating and breat