阅读理解
The Tibetan Plateau(青藏高原) is the world's highest place. It's four times the size of France and home to most of the world's highest mountains. As you might expect, it's cold there. And it may be that the deep chill of the Tibetan Plateau played a role in the evolution of some of the world's most charismatic(魅力十足的) animals. That's the belief of a scientist who discovered the skull of a woolly rhino(长毛犀) on the Tibetan Plateau. The woolly rhino — two tons, two tusks, lots of hair and lots of attitude — was an Ice Age giant. It lived with other Ice Age beasts in Europe and Asia, starting about 2.5 million years ago. But Xiaoming Wang, from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, was shocked when he found a 3.5-million-year-old rhino skull(头骨化石) on the Tibetan Plateau. "It caught us by complete surprise that they are actually up in the high plateau well before the Ice Age has started," Wang says. That's about a million years before the Ice Age started, in fact. Wang thinks his discovery shows that at least some animals were prepared for the Ice Age. "At least in the case of the woolly rhino, it actually adapted itself in the cold environment in the Tibetan Plateau before the Ice Age has even started," Wang says.
"The animal actually used its head to sweep snow," Wang explains, "so they can get at the vegetation below the snow cover."
So Wang thinks the Plateau was a sort of evolutionary cradle(摇篮) for cold-weather animals. When the rest of the world eventually iced up, they moved out of Tibet and took over. Anthony Barnosky, a paleontologist at the University of California, Berkeley, says even now, these isolated "cradles" are important for evolution(进化). "The interesting thing," Barnosky says, "is on Earth today we have biodiversity(生物多样性) isolated in certain spots, and we just never know which of those isolated places will be the cradle of evolution for the next big environmental change coming down the pike(出现)." The only problem is that to be ready, you have to know what the next environment will be like. Or just be very lucky.
16. The underlined word "chill" in Para.2 could be replaced as ___________.
A. hole
B. cold C. shape
D. lake
17. Which is NOTtrue about the woolly rhinos(长毛犀) on the Tibetan Plateau?
A. They were Ice Age giants with two tusks, lots of hair and lots of attitude.
B. They had lived on the Tibetan Plateau before the Ice Age has started.
C. They were able to sweep snow with their heads.
D. They hardly adapted themselves in the cold environment.
18. What did Anthony Barnosky think of the isolated "cradles" ?
A. They adapted the cold weather.
B. They played an important role in evolution.
C. It was hard to know whether they would change.
D. It was luck to change the next big environmental.
19. The research might appear in the
.
A. journal science
B. newspaper
C. English textbook
D. blog
20. From the passage, we can infer that _________.
A. Facing the cold, the animals continuously evolved
B. Xiaoming Wang works in the USA
C. Both Wang and Barnosky are paleontologists
D. A Chinese scientist discovered the skull of a woolly rhino
【参考答案】16—20、BDBAA
阅读理解（共20小题；每小题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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
In Singapore, most of us love window-shopping while some others enjoy having a picnic at East Coast Park or Changi Beach on sunny days. Singaporeans are never bothered by the occasional thunderstorm. However, we know that if it rains for long continuous periods, there will be more serious effects. Just recently the main shopping street of Orchard Road was flooded and some part of Bukit Timah was impassable to traffic. People reacted by writing in to the newspaper to complain about this! We forget that other countries suffer much worse effects. Elsewhere, heavy tropical（热带的）storms often result in floods that ruin crops especially in Thailand and Malaysia. This in turn usually means that the price of rice and vegetables here in Singapore will rise because we import these products from them. If there is a typhoon or tsunami, thousands of lives are lost too. This happened in Indonesia and Phuket in Thailand in 2004 and it serves to remind us of how Mother Nature can cause great damage.
Weather patterns in general have changed dramatically in recent years. Scientists believe that global warming and the resulting melting of the polar ice-cap has caused the level of the ocean to rise. This in turn causes flooding of low-lying areas in countries where the land is rather flat and some parts of which is below water level. It is believed that human activities have caused Mother Nature to show her extreme anger, so it is now important that we really work together to cut down on harmful activities, for example, illegal logging（伐木）or irresponsible forest-burning to clear land for farming.
56.From Paragraph 1, we can see that most Singaporeans love________.
A. making complaints
B. going out for picnics
C. doing window-shopping D. traveling along the coast
【答案】C
【解析】根据第一段第一句可知。
57.What will happen in Singapore if there are floods in its neighboring countries?
A. Heavy tropical storms will follow shortly.
B. The price of rice and vegetables will go up.
C. Many people will write in to the newspaper.
D. More rice and vegetables will be imported.
【答案】B
【解析】根据第一段倒数三，四句可知。热带风暴导致的洪水会毁掉庄稼，新加坡的蔬菜和大米是从这些国家进口的，所以会导致蔬菜，大米的价格上升。
58.The underlined word“it” in Paragraph 2 refers to___________.
A. the arrival of heavy tropical storms
B. the import of rice and vegetables
C. the rising price of rice and vegetables
D. the loss of lives in natural disasters
【答案】D
【解析】上句提到台风和海啸会导致成千上万的人死亡。这在2004年在印度尼西亚和泰国的普吉岛发生过。自然灾害到这人死亡这件事用来提醒我们大自然可以带来巨大损害。
59.Which of the following shows how the low-lying areas are flooded?
a. global warming
b. the rise in ocean level
c. harmful human activities
d. the flooding of low-lying areas
e. the melting of the polar ice-cap
A. c→a→e→b→d
B. a→c→e→b→d
C. c→a→b→e→d
D. d→a→c→b→e
【答案】A
【解析】根据最后一段可知。
60.What should we do in order not to make Mother Nature angry?
A. Clear more land for farming.
B. Reduce harmful human activities.
C. Bring down the price of food.
D. Improve the quality of weather.
【答案】B
【解析】根据最后一段It is believed that human activities have caused Mother Nature to show her extreme anger, so it is now important that we really work together to cut down on harmful activities,“人们认为是人类的活动导致了大自然极端愤怒， 因此，现在我们真的应该团结合作减少有害活动。”
The research carried out by the University of Bari in Italy could help prove hospitals who are accused of wasting money on art and decoration as it suggests a pleasant environment helps patients ease discomfort and pain.
A team headed by Professor Marina de Tommaso at the Neurophysiopathology Pain Unit asked a group of men and women to pick the 20 paintings they considered most ugly and most beautiful from a selection of 300 works by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli. They were then asked to look at either the beautiful paintings, or the ugly painting, or a blank panel while the team zapped(照射) a short laser pulse at their hand, creating a sensation as if they had been stuck by a pin. The subjects rated the pain as being a third less intense while they were viewing the beautiful paintings, compared with when looking at the ugly paintings or the blank panel. Electrodes measuring the brain's electrical activity also confirmed a reduced response to the pain when the subject looked at beautiful paintings.
While distractions, such as music, are known to reduce pain in hospital patients, Prof de Tommaso says this is the first result to show that beauty plays a part.
The findings, reported in New Scientist, also go a long way to show that beautiful surroundings could aid the healing process.
"Hospitals have been designed to be functional, but we think that their artistic aspects should be taken into account too," said the neurologist. "Beauty obviously offers a distraction that ugly paintings do not. But at least there is no suggestion that ugly surroundings make the pain worse. I think these results show that more research is needed into the field how a beautiful environment can alleviate suffering."
Pictures they liked included Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh and Botticellis Birth of Venus. Pictures they found ugly included works by Pablo Picasso, the Italian 20th century artist Anonio Bueno and Columbian Fernando Botero. "These people were not art experts so some of the pictures they found ugly would be considered masterpieces by the art world," said Prof de Tommaso.
16. The underlined word “alleviate” in the fifth paragraph probably means “_____”.
A. cure
B. ease
C. improve
D. kill
17. How many artists have been mentioned in the passage?
A. 4.
B. 5.
C. 6.
D. 7.
18. Which of the following is TURE about the view of Prof de Tommaso’s?
A. Beautiful surroundings could help to heal sufferings completely.
B. Hospitals must take their artistic aspects into consideration first.
C. Ugly surroundings will surely make the pain worse.
D. Both music and beauty can reduce pain in hospital patients.
19. From the last paragraph, we know that _____.
A. some artists’ paintings were beautiful, so they were masterpieces
B. only art experts could judge they were masterpieces or not, though ugly
C. the artists mentioned above were not really art masters.
D. some of them were art masters, while others were not.
20. Which of the following is the suitable title for the passage?
A. Beautiful surroundings can ease pain.
B. Ugly paintings could be masterpieces.
C. More research should be done in the field.
D. Latest environmental research.
【参考答案16--20】BCDBA
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。
A
I took the bus to work for many years. No one knew each other; the passengers all sat there sleepily in the morning. The bus was cheerless and silent.
One of the passengers was a small grey man who took the bus to the center for senior citizens every morning. No one ever paid very much attention to him. One July morning he said good morning to the driver and smiled. The driver nodded guardedly. The rest of us were silent.
The next day, the old man boarded with a big smile and said in a loud voice, “A very good morning to you all!” Some of us looked up, amazed, and murmured “ good morning” in reply.
The following weeks, our friend was dressed in a nice old suit and tie. The thin hair had been carefully combed. He said good morning to us every day and we gradually began to nod and talk to each other.
One morning he even had a bunch of wild flowers in his hand. The driver turned around smilingly and asked, “Have you got yourself a girlfriend, Charlie?” We never got to know if his name really was “Charlie”, but he nodded shyly and said yes. The other passengers whistled and clapped at him. Charlie waved the flowers before he sat down on his seat.
Every morning after that Charlie always brought flowers. Some passengers also brought flowers for him. The bus became a happy place.
Then, one morning, as autumn was closing in, Charlie wasn’t waiting at his usual stop. When he wasn’t there the next day and the day after that, we started wondering if he was sick or hopefully---on holiday somewhere. When we came nearer to the center for senior citizens, one of the passengers even asked the driver to wait.
We all held our breaths when he went to the door. The old gentleman was fine, but one of his close friends had died over the weekend. How silent we were the rest of the way to work.
The next Monday Charlie was waiting at the stop, and without a tie. Inside the bus was silent.
1. The story is mainly developed by ______.
A. time
B. logic
C. comparison
D. cause and result
2. Greeted with “good morning” from the old man, people aboard the bus at first _____.
A. felt tired and sleepy and didn’t want to talk
B. greeted him back loudly and politely
C. guarded against the conversation from strangers
D. felt surprised and became angry with him.
3. When the passengers found the old man was not waiting at the bus stop as usual, they did the following things EXCEPT _____.
A. buy flowers and wait for him to come
B. feel anxious and worried about him
C. miss him and expect to see him
D. hope he was going on holiday rather than falling ill
4. It can be inferred from the text that _____.
A. the driver didn’t like the old man at first
B. people usually wear a tie when they are happy
C. passengers brought flowers to express gratitude（感激） to the old man
D. the old man had a great influence on the passengers’ emotion
5. The purpose of the passage is to _____.
A. introduce the old gentleman and praise his good deeds
B. persuade us to become friendly and considerate to people around
C. tell us to keep silent when somebody passes away
D. criticize those who remain silent when they are greeted
【参考答案】1—5、ACADB
阅读理解
People use their mouths for many things. They eat, talk, shout and sing. They smile and they kiss. In the English language, there are many expressions using the word“mouth.”
For example, if you say bad things about a person, the person might protest（抗议）and say “Do not bad mouth me.” Sometimes, people say something to a friend or family member that they later regret because it hurts that person. Or they tell the person something they were not supposed to tell. The speaker might say: “I really put my foot in my mouth this time.”
If this should happen, the speaker might feel down in the mouth.
In other words, he might feel sad for saying the wrong thing.
Another situation is when someone falsely claims another person said something.
The other person might protest: “I did not say that.
Do not put words in my mouth.”
Some people have lots of money because they were born into a very rich family.
There is an expression for this, too. You might say such a person, “was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.” This rich person is the opposite of a person who lives from hand to mouth.
This person is very poor and only has enough money for the most important things in life, like food.
Parents might sometimes keep a child off sweet food as a form of punishment for saying bad things. For example, if a child says things she should not say to her parents, she might be described as a mouthy child. The parents might even tell the child to stop mouthing off..
But enough of all this talk. I have been running my mouth long enough.
61. When will a person probably say“do not bad mouth me”？
A. When he feels down.
B. When he is regretful.
C. When he is spoken ill of.
D. When he gets angry.
【答案】C
【解析】根据第二段第一句if you say bad things about a person, the person might protest（抗议）and say “Do not bad mouth me.”“如果你说一个人的坏话，这个人可能会抗议说不要说我坏话。”
62.What will the person say if he feels sorry for what he has said?
A. Do not bad mouth me.
B. Stop mouthing off.
C. Do not put words in my mouth.
D. I really put my foot in my mouth this time.
【答案】D
【解析】根据第二段Sometimes, people say something to a friend or family member that they later regret because it hurts that person. Or they tell the person something they were not supposed to tell. The speaker might say: “I really put my foot in my mouth this time.”有时人们对家人和朋友说了一些他们后来会后悔的话因为这些话上海了那个人。。。。说话的人就会说“这次我真的说错话了。”
63.If a person lives from hand to mouth, it implies that__________.
A. he is badly-off
B. he is hard-working
C. he has lots of money
D. he has enough to eat
【答案】A
【解析】根据第四段This rich person is the opposite of a person who lives from hand to mouth.与富人相对的是穷人。
64.By saying“I have been running my mouth long enough”,the speaker means“________”.
A. I have run a long way
B. I have talked too much
C. I have learned a lot
D. I have been a mouthy person
【答案】B
【解析】
65.What is mainly talked about in the text?
A. Expressions about the word“mouth”.
B. Functions of the organ“mouth”.
C. Opinions about“mouthy people”.
D. Meanings of the word“mouth”.
【答案】A
【解析】第一段最后一句是主题句. In the English language, there are many expressions using the word“mouth.”