阅读理解
With the possible exception of equal rights, perhaps the most heated argument across the United States today is the death penalty (死刑). Many argue that it is an effective deterrent (威慑) to murder, while others think there is no enough proof that the death penalty reduces the number of murders.
The argument advanced by those opposed （反对） to the death penalty is that it is cruel and inhuman punishment, that it is tile mark of a bad society and finally that it is of questionable effectiveness as a deterrent to crime (罪行) anyway.
In our opinion, the death penalty is a necessary action. Throughout recorded history there have always been those peculiar persons in every society who made terrible crimes such as murder. But some are more dangerous than others.
For example, it is one thing to take the life of another in time of blind anger, but quite another to coldly plan and carry out the murder of one or more people in the style of a butcher. Thus, murder, like all other crimes, is a matter of different degree. While it could be argued with some reason that the criminal in the first instance should be merely kept from society, such should not be the fate of the latter type murderer.
The value of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime may be open to discussion. But the majority of people believe that the death penalty protects them. Their belief is proved by the fact that the death penalty prevents murder. For example, from 1954 to 1963, when the death penalty was carried out from time to time in California, the murder rate remained between three and four murders for each 100, 000 population. Since 1964 the death penalty has been done only once, and the murder rate has risen to10.4 murders for each 100, 000 population. The sharp climb in the state's murder rate, which began when killings stopped, does not happen by chance. It certainly shows that the death penalty does deter many murderers. If the law about death penalty is vetoed (否决), some people will be murdered- some whose lives may have been saved if the death penalty were in effect. This is really a life or death matter. The lives of thousands of people must be protected.
1. The main purpose of this passage is to _____.
A. speak for the majority
B. support a veto
C. speak ill of the government
D. argue for the value of the death penalty
答案解析：答案为D。本题为文章的主旨大意题。由第一段的 “Many argue that …, while others think ...”和最后一段的首句 “The value of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime may be open to discussion.”可知，本文讨论死刑的价值。
2. Which of the following is among the heated arguments across the USA besides death penalty?
A. Air pollution.
B. The war against Iraq.
C. Equal rights.
D. Election of president.
答案解析：答案为C。本题为细节题。从第一段的首句 “With the possible exception of equal rights, perhaps the most heated argument across the United States today is the death penalty (死刑).”. The numbers in the last paragraph show that ______.
A. if they stick to death penalty, the number of murders will be reduced
B. death penalty almost stopped from 1954 to 1963
C. the population of California has risen
D. death penalty is of little value
答案解析：答案为A。本题为推理题。从最后一段的第二句 “But the majority of people believe that the death penalty protects them.” 和最后三句 “If the law about death penalty is vetoed (否决), some people will be murdered- some whose lives may have been saved if the death penalty were in effect. This is really a life or death matter. The lives of thousands of people must be protected.”“For example, from 1954 to 1963, when the death penalty was carried out from time to time in California…” 可知，1954年到1963年期间，死刑时不时地在California执行，并不是废除了，故选项B错误。C选项在文中未提及，D选项与本段的中心意思违背。
4. It can be inferred that the writer thinks that ______.
A. the death penalty is the most important problem in the United States today
B. the second type of murderers (in Paragraph 4) should be sentenced to death
C. the veto of the law about death penalty is of little importance
D. the value of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime is not to be discussed
答案解析：答案为B。本题为推理题。细读第四段， 由“it is one thing … blind anger, but quite another to coldly plan …in the style of a butcher. Thus,
murder… is a matter of different degree. While it could be argued with some reason that the criminal in the first instance should be merely kept from society, such should not be the fate of the latter type murderer.”可知，作者认为谋杀分为 “blind anger （盲目的愤怒）” 和 “coldly plan …in the style of a butcher （冷酷的屠夫式的谋杀），谋杀的程度不一样，如果是第一种就仅仅让谋杀者与社会隔离即可，而不是后一种谋杀者的命运，言外之意就是后一种谋杀应该判死刑。故答案为B。
结合前面几题的分析，第一段作者认为除了人权问题，在美国讨论最热烈的问题是死刑。故选项A错误。从最后一段倒数第三句话 “If the law about death penalty is vetoed, some people will be murdered- some whose lives may have been saved if the death penalty were in effect.” 可知，如果死刑被否决，一些本可以挽救的生命就会被谋杀，可见死刑的否决对保护人的生命有着重要的意义，C选项的意思与此相反，故错误。D选项与最后一段的首句
“The value of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime may be open to discussion.” 表达相反，故错误。
阅读理解
Whoever named the bird turkey — a word that English speakers began mentioning as long ago as 1541 — made a big mistake. Although that bird came from Guinea（几内亚）in Africa, the English apparently first imported it from Turkish merchants. So, naturally, they called it a turkey. When English speakers established their first colony in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, they thought they saw turkeys there too. “We found an island, on which there were many turkeys,” wrote one. These birds were not from Turkey and were not related to the Guinean fowl（家禽）of Africa. But turkeys they were called, and turkeys they remain.
Much of what we know about the Jamestown colony was written by Captain John Smith, whose efforts preserved the colony from collapse（垮掉）and who in turn was preserved by the Indian “princess” Pocahontas. Smith’s accounts of the colony frequently mention turkeys as food, gifts, and objects of trade. In 1607, Smith wrote, to celebrate the first peace after the first armed fight, the Indians brought turkeys, bread and what they had, singing and dancing in celebration of friendship till they departed. Elsewhere Smith noted that the Indians made warm and beautiful cloaks（披风）from turkey feathers. Further north, as the Plymouth colony neared the end of its first year in 1621, Governor William Bradford also observed a great flock of wild turkeys, of which they took many.
Undoubtedly,
turkeys were among the fowls served at the first Thanksgiving dinner.
Despite those significant beginnings and Benjamin Franklin’s lobbying（游说）, the turkey lost to the bald eagle in the contest for American bird. And it is a loser in modern English slang, too. Since the 1920s, turkey has been a term for a play or movie that is a failure, and since the 1950s for a person who is not fit for his job. But though the turkey never succeeded in becoming the American symbol, it did become the American feast. Thanksgiving is Turkey Day, and the turkey has come into our language more than other birds. We never “talk eagle”, we “talk turkey” when we speak frankly.
63. Who named the bird turkey?
A. English speakers.
B. Turkish merchants.
C. Captain John Smith.
D. Guineans.
【答案】A
【解析】从第一段的第二句话Although that bird came from Guinea（几内亚）in Africa, the English apparently first imported it from Turkish merchants. So, naturally, they called it a turkey. 得知虽然这种鸟原产地是几内亚，但是是英国人从Turkish商人那里买的，很自然的，英国人就称这种鸟turkey.
【考点定位】考察的是细节理解题
64. It can be inferred from the second paragraph that ________.
A. turkeys were brought to Jamestown by Smith
B. the Indians fought with Captain Smith for turkeys
C. turkeys were served at the first Thanksgiving dinner
D. Captain John Smith wrote a book named Jamestown Colony
65. When we say somebody is a turkey, it means ________.
A. he is very angry
B. he has no ability to do his job
C. he likes eating turkeys
D. he speaks frankly
66. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. The turkey was beaten in a fight by the bald eagle.
B. Turkeys were introduced to America from Guinea.
C. The turkey has become American food because it was beaten.
D. Turkey has become a term of failure in modern English slang.
阅读理解
Tim Richter and his wife, Linda, had taught for over 30 years near Buffalo, New York--he was in computers, she was in special education. "Teaching means everything to us," Tim would say. In April 1998, he learned he would need a heart operation. It was the kind of news that leads to some serious thinking about life's purpose.
Not long after the surgery, Tim saw a brochure describing Imagination Library, a program started by Dolly Parton' s foundation (基金会) that mailed a book every month to children from birth to age five in the singer's home town of Sevier, Tennessee. “I thought, maybe Linda and I could do something like this when we retire," Tim recalls.
He placed the brochure on his desk, "as a reminder."
Five years later, now retired and with that brochure still on the desk, Tim clicked on imagination library .com. The program had been opened up to partners who could take advantage of book and postage discounts.
The quality of the books was of great concern to the Richters. Rather than sign up online, they went to Dollywood for a look-see. “We didn’t want to give the children rubbish,” says Linda. The books-reviewed each year by teachers, literacy specialists and Dollywood board members-included classics such as Ezra Jack Keats’s The Snowy Day and newer books like Anna Dewdney’s Llama Llama series.
Satisfied, the couple set up the Richter Family Foundation and got to work. Since 2004, they have shipped more than 12,200 books to preschoolers in their area. Megan Williams, a mother of four, is more than appreciative: “This program introduces us to books I’ve never heard of .”
The Richters spend about ＄400 a month sending books to 200 children. “Some people sit there and wait to die,” says Tim. “Others get as busy as they can in the time they have left.”
16.What led Tim to think seriously about the meaning of life?
A. His health problem.
B .His love for teaching.
C. The influence of his wife.
D .The news from the Web.
17.What did Tim want to do after learning about Imagination Library?
A. Give out brochures.
B .Do something similar.
C. Write books for children
D. Retire from being a teacher.
18.According to the text, Dollly Parton is
.
A. a well-known surgeon
B. a mother of a four-year-old
C. a singer born in Tennessee
D .a computer programmer
19.Why did the Richters go to Dollywood?
A. To avoid signing up online.
B. To meet Dollywood board members.
C. To make sure the books were the newest.
D. To see if the books were of good quality.
20.What can we learn from Tim’s words in the last paragraph?
A. He needs more money to help the children.
B. He wonders why some people are so busy.
C. He tries to save those waiting to die.
D. He considers his efforts worthwhile.
【参考答案】16—20、ABCDD
阅读理解D
Chinese writer Mo Yan’s Nobel Prize for Literature might ignite an explosion of global interest in Chinese literature and lead to more titles translated into English, European experts say.
“Hopefully, the award means more people will read Chinese literature and more works will get translated,” says Michel Hockx, professor of the Languages and Cultures of China and Inner Asia from University of London. “Many very good Chinese writers have been accepted globally for a long time already. Mo Yan is probably the most translated Chinese writer alive, with at least five of his novels made available in English over the past 20 years.”
Jonathan Ruppin, web editor of bookseller Foyles, says Mo’s win coincides with growing interest in Chinese literature and recognizes the talents of a distinctive and visionary（富于幻想的）writer. “We are very excited by the fact that English translations of more of his books should now become available,” Ruppin says. He made the comment after Mo became the first Chinese citizen to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in its century-long history.
As East-West cultural exchange has been booming, Chinese literature has been attracting growing attention in recent years. Hockx explains, “It’s mainly because there are many more opportunities for Chinese writers to visit other countries, to publish their works outside China and to interact with readers abroad. At the same time, more and more people globally are learning Chinese and taking an interest in the Chinese language and culture.”
University of Oxford lecturer in modern Chinese literature Margaret Hillenbrand says, “The obvious reason for the growing global presence of Chinese literature is the growing global presence of China itself. People have come to realize that there is a serious knowledge deficit （缺少）between China and its international counterparts — in particular, China knows incomparably（无比地）more about Europe and America than the other way round — and reading Chinese literature is an effective, simple means of solving that gap.”
67. The underlined word “ignite” in Paragraph 1 probably means
“________”.
A. start out
B. burn up
C. set off
D. appeal to
68. Chinese literature has been attracting growing attention mainly because
A. Chinese writers have been writing more and more books in English
B. the Chinese language has become the most widely used language in the world
C. the Chinese government attaches great importance to literature
D. the cultural communication between China and western countries has developed
【答案】D
【解析】从第四段Hockx explains, “It’s mainly because there are many more opportunities for Chinese writers to visit other countries, to publish their works outside China and to interact with readers abroad. At the same time, more and more people globally are learning Chinese and taking an interest in the Chinese language and culture.” Hockx所解释的中国的文学作品越来越受关注的主要原因是中国的作家有越来越多的机会去国外推广的作品并吸引了外国的读者。与此同时，越来越多的外国人学习汉语并对中国的语言和文化表现出很厚的兴趣，由此可以推断出中国和西方国家的关系加强了才导致的这种结果。
【考点定位】考察的是推理判断题
69. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. Chinese literature has spread with the development of China.
B. The Nobel Prize for Literature has a history of hundreds of years.
C. In the past, no Chinese writers were accepted outside China.
D. Foreigners know about China mainly by reading Mo Yan’s works.
70. How do you understand the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?
A. China knows more about Europe and America than before.
B. China knows more about Europe and America than they know about China.
C. China, Europe and America know one another more than before.
D. Compared with America, China knows more about Europe.