第Ⅰ卷

一、阅读理解（15小题，每小题2分，共30分）

A

Scientists are trying to make the deserts into good land again．They want to bring water to the deserts，so people can live and grow food．They are learning a lot about the deserts．But more and more of the earth is becoming desert all the time．Scientists may not be able to change the desert in time．

Why is more and more land becoming desert,9 Scientists think that people make deserts．People are doing bad things to the earth．

Some places on the earth don't get much rain．But they still don't become deserts．This is because some green plants are growing there．Small green plants and grass are very important to dry places．Plants don't 1et the sun make the earth even drier．Plants do not let the wind blow the dirt away．When a bit of rain falls，the plants hold the water．Without plants，the land can become desert more easily．

1．We can know from the passage that deserts ．

A．never have any plants or animals in them

B．can a11 be turned into good land before long

C．are becoming smaller and smaller

D．get very little rain and with few plants

2．Small green plants are very important to dry places and ．

A．they make the earth richer B．they don't let the wind blow the soil away

C．they attract water D．they use little water

3．Land is becoming desert little by little because ．

A．plants can't grow there

B．there is not enough rain

C．people haven't done what scientists wish them to do

D．scientists know 1ittle about the deserts

4．After reading this passage，we learn that ．

A．plants can keep dry land from becoming desert

B．it is good to get rid of the grass in the deserts

C．all places without much rain will become deserts

D．it is better to grow crops on dry land than to cut them

B

Jimmy's father was a teacher and taught physics in a middle school and his mother worked in a shop．They lived a happy life until his parents died one night when suddenly an earthquake broke out．Luckily his sister took him to see their aunt in the city and they did not stay at home．Everything was destroyed in the earthquake and the two children got into trouble．Thanks to their aunt who was not rich enough，they grew up but they lived a hard life．His sister was so sad that she became a nun(修女)．After he finished middle sch001，he was introduced to an owner of a hotel and began to work there．

One day the young man fell to ground while he was cleaning a window on the second floor．One of his legs was broken and he had to be in hospital．He said to the nurse，“I'm a poor man，madam．Arrange a third-class ward(病房)for me，please．”

“Can't anybody help you．9”

“No，madam，”answered Jimmy．“I have only a sister．She's a nun and she's poor，too．”

“I don't think so，”the nurse said angrily．“Nuns usually marry God．And God is the richest in the world，you know!”

“Well，then，”Jimmy said with a smile．“Please arrange a first-class ward for me and post the bill to my brother-in-law．”

8．Which of the following is TRUE?

A．The nurse would arrange a third—class ward for Jimmy．

B．Jimmy's sister became a nun because of her illness．

C．The nurse would post Jimmy's bill to God．

D．Jimmy had a rich brother-in-law.

C

Why are so many people afraid to fail? Quite simply because we forget that failure is part of the human life．Every person is able to fight failure and finally succeed．

Most parents try hard to prevent their children from knowing that they have failed．One way is to lower standards(标准)．When a child finishes making a table，its mother describes it as“Fantastic”，though the table isn't good at all．Another way is to blame others．If John fails science，mother will say his teacher is unfair or foolish．

There’s a problem with the two ways．It makes a child unprepared for life in the real world．Young children need to learn that no one can be best at everything，no one can win all the time and that it's possible to enjoy a game even when you don't win．A child often feels terrible，of course，when he is not invited to a birthday party，or is not chosen into a football team．But parents should not say“It doesn't matter”quickly．The young should be allowed to experience disappointment(失望)—and be helped to come out of it．

Failure never gives people pleasure．It hurts both children and their parents．But it can be really good to your life when you learn to use it．You must 1earn to ask “Why did I fail? ”Don't blame someone else．Ask yourself what you did wrong，how you can improve．If someone else can help，don't be shy about asking them．Success just repeats what has been done．It is not as good a teacher as failure．You can learn how to give a good party from an unsuccessful one．

9．How do most parents prevent their children from failure?

A．They give them some presents． B．They don't tell them that they have failed．

C．They don't blame other people． D．They help them to come out of failure．

10．Which of the following does a person need to learn when he fails?

A．It's impossible to enjoy a game if he misses it．

B．He's the worst of all．

C．It's natural not to win a game and no one can win all the time．

D．He's shy about asking others for help．

11．The writer of this article thinks that if a child fails，parents should ．

A．give him a quick prize B．advise him to repeat failure

C．blame others D．encourage him to learn to use failure

12．The best title for this article may be ．

A．Learning from Failure B．Ways of Preventing Failure

C．Reasons for Failure D．Getting Pleasure from Failure

D

Recently，I came across a poster that read，“If it wasn't for the last minute，a lot of things wouldn't

get done!”

It may sound funny，but it is very true．Most of us，instead of starting a task ahead of time，put it off till the very last minute，and then rush through it．This results either in a badly done job or an

incomplete one．

There are people who always put off things for different reasons．Some lack the will to get started．Others cannot get started because they keep changing their plans．There are yet others who are lazy and want to put off hard work．The word to describe all such people is“disorganized”．

Take a minute off to think about yourself：Do you get your books together and start sorting out badly jumbled(混乱的)notes just when the exams are round the corner and then burn the midnight oil trying to memorize 8 year's worth of material in a week? Do you go hunting for clean socks and uniforms only when it's time to leave for school?

Lack of mental organization is unhealthy．You could lose trust，and worse still，good friends．Planning is important if you want to get ahead in life．It is easy enough if you follow these four simple steps：

1．Plan your course of action：For instance，if you are studying for an exam，gather your books and notes well in advance，make a timetable for daily studies and set a day and time to start．

2．Get started：Start studying on the day you've decided．

3．Stick to your plans：Don't change your plans along the way，except when it is absolutely necessary．

4．Never give it up less than your best：Study as hard as you can and leave the rest to luck．If you’ve done your best，success will certainly be yours!

二、任务型阅读（七选五，共5小题，每小题2分，共10分）

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Farmer Ed Rawlings smiles as he looks at his orange trees． 16 Warm sunshine and gentle rains，along with Ed Rawlings' care，will produce a good crop of oranges this year．

17 In January and February。Temperatures can destroy Ed's entire orange crop．Having farmed in Florida for the past 35 years，Ed Rawlings is prepared for the frosts．When temperatures drop below freezing，Ed tries to save his crops by watering his orange trees．The water freezes and forms a thin layer of ice on the trees．Strange as it may sound，this layer of ice actually keeps the fruit warm．

What happens is simple． 18 The warmth of the heat it loses is sucked in by the fruit and keeps its temperature at a safe level．Ed Rawlings has effectively used this method to save many orange crops.

But Ed still faces some difficulties． 19 Also，just the right quantity of water must be used．Too much water can form a thick layer of ice that will break the trees' branches．Another difficulty is that wind blows away the heat．So Ed has to worry about not only when but also how often his trees should be watered，and how much water should be used．

20 With equipment，air and soil temperatures and wind speed can be measured．The information is fed into a computer which can tell when temperatures drop to freezing．The computer can correctly decide the quantity of water to be used and how frequently the trees should be watered．Ed Rawlings will find looking after his orange trees a lot easier with the help of a computer，and we'll have the benefits of computer-age oranges．

A．It is more difficult to grow orange trees than crops．

B．The young oranges are growing well in Florida's weather．

C．When the trees are watered，the water loses heat and becomes ice．

D．The cold temperature is the big danger to orange harvest．

E．Computer technology may help Ed Rawlings with some of these worries．

F．But Ed has to fight against Florida's changeable winter．

G．The trees should be watered at the exact moment when the temperature drops to the freezing

point．

三、完型填空（每小题1分，共20小题，20分）

阅读下面的短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

I had brought my six-year-old daughter，Elli，to the hospital．We sat in the chair waiting for our 21 ．A few minutes later，a 22 walked in；I instinctively (本能地)moved 23 to Elli．He was very tall and 24 ．His head was shaved and he wore several earrings in his ears and nose．On one arm there was a huge tattoo(身)．He 25 near us, which made me 26 ．

Elli didn't seem to 27 the same．She quickly made friends with the stranger，whose name was Anthony．I opened a children's book and 28 to E11i．When I was reading，Elli was 29 on one of the big boy's 30 wit