New York’s streets were covered by people dressed in elephant costumes (服装) and others waving antiwar posters with pictures of US President George W. Bush on them last week. But this was no carnival (狂欢节) – it was the Republican Party’s National Convention (共和党全国大会), which attracted thousands of protestors (抗议者). It was the largest protest ever at a US political convention, with at least 120,000 people marching through Manhattan on August 29. They demanded that the US leave Iraq and a new president be chosen.

The Republicans say the opposition – Democrat Party (民主党) encouraged the people on to the streets. They believe it is a democratic move to help win presidential election, to be held on November 2. The election is described as “the decisive battle between donkey and elephant”. The two animals are the symbols of the two major political parties in the US. The elephant represents (象征) the Republicans, whose candidate (侯选人), President George W. Bush, is trying to defeat the donkey to win his second them. The donkey represents the democrats, whose candidate, John Kerry, is trying to kick the elephant out of the White House.

Republicans think the elephant is powerful and clever, but the Democrats argue it is stupid and conservative (守旧的). In return, the Republicans regard the donkey as stubborn (倔强的) and silly but the Democrats say it is humble, plain, smart and courageous.

The Republicans have been sending emails to Bush supporters and journalists with the heading, “An Elephant Never Forgets”, said party spokeswoman Heather Layman. Elephants are known for their long memories. The emails suggest that Bush will keep his promises, while Kerry will not stick to his words.

It is interesting that both symbols were created by a single person, Thomas Nast, a famous political cartoonist of the late 19th century. During the election in 1874, Nast drew a cartoon, in which a donkey in a lion’s skin frightened an elephant marked “Republican”.

What does “kick the elephant out of the White House” mean?

A. Drive the animal out of the White House.        B. Drive President Bush out of power.

C. Keep the elephant out of the White House.       D. Insist on Bush’s being elected.

In the eyes of the Republicans, the donkey is considered as      .

A. clever              B. foolish              C. polite              D. brave

Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The same artist created the two symbols.

B. The emails suggest Kerry will not carry out his promises.

C. “An Elephant Never Forgets” means that an elephant has a good memory.

D. John Kerry is a Democrat.

Several interesting American museums tell about health subjects. One is the Doctor Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry. It is at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. That is where the first college in the world to train dentists began. The museum tells about the history of the medical treatment of teeth. Visitors can see some frightening devices that once were used to remove infected (受感染的) teeth. They also can see sets of teeth made of animal bone. They were made for a famous American -- the first President, George Washington.
Most people do not consider a visit to the dentist their idea of a good time. However, the director of the museum says he wanted to make the museum a fun place to visit. He says he also wants to teach visitors about the importance of taking care of their teeth.
Another museum collects devices that help people hear. The Kenneth W. Berger Hearing Aid Museum is at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. The museum has more than three-thousand hearing aids from around the world. They include old and strange devices. Some hearing aids were made to look like other objects. That is because in the past many people did not want anyone to know they were wearing a hearing aid.
【小题1】It is common for people to think it uneasy to pay a visit to ____.

根据所给的首写字母和上下文进行课文内容填空
Daisy had always l【小题1】to help endangered species of wildlife. One day, she was taken to a d【小题2】land where he met an antelope. When she heard w【小题3】 the animal told her, she b【小题4】 into tears. Then she wanted to go to a place where there was some wildlife protection. This time, she saw an elephant. At last, she came to a thick rainforest. Daisy was a【小题5】 to see a monkey rubbing itself with a millipede insect. The monkey said: “It c【小题6】a powerful drug which a【小题7】mosquitoes. You should pay more a【小题8】 to the rainforest where I live and a【小题9】 how the animals live together. No rainforest, no animals, no d 【小题10】.”

.

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分；共40分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Several interesting American museums tell about health subjects. One is the Doctor Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry. It is at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. That is where the first college in the world to train dentists began. The museum tells about the history of the medical treatment of teeth. Visitors can see some frightening devices that once were used to remove infected teeth. They also can see sets of teeth made of animal bone. They were made for a famous American —— the first President, George Washington.

Most people do not consider a visit to the dentist their idea of a good time. However, the director of the museum says he wants to make the museum a funny place to visit. He says he also wants to teach visitors about the importance of taking care of their teeth.

Another museum collects devices that help people hear. The Kenneth W. Berger Hearing Aid Museum is at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. The museum has more than three-thousand hearing aids from around the world. They include old and strange devices. Some hearing aids were made to look like other objects. That is because in the past many people did not want anyone to know they were wearing a hearing aid.

56. It is common for people to think it uneasy to pay a visit to ____.

A. the University of Maryland            B. the Museum of Dentistry

C. the Hearing Aid Museum              D. the dentist

57. The text mainly tells about _____.

A. museums in the US               B. interesting American museums

C. American museums with health subjects

D. the history of the medical treatment of teeth

58. What do we learn about George Washington from the text?

A. He once visited the National Museum of Dentistry.

B. He considered the Museum of Dentistry a fun place to visit

C. His artificial (人造的) teeth were collected in the National Museum of Dentistry.

D. His teeth seemed to be made of animal bone.

59. The underlined word “devices” in the first and last paragraph probably means _____.

A. ways        B. strategies        C. tools          D. desires

Several interesting American museums tell about health subjects. One is the Doctor Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry. It is at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. That is where the first college in the world to train dentists began. The museum tells about the history of the medical treatment of teeth. Visitors can see some frightening devices that once were used to remove infected (受感染的) teeth. They also can see sets of teeth made of animal bone. They were made for a famous American -- the first President, George Washington.

Most people do not consider a visit to the dentist their idea of a good time. However, the director of the museum says he wanted to make the museum a fun place to visit. He says he also wants to teach visitors about the importance of taking care of their teeth.

Another museum collects devices that help people hear. The Kenneth W. Berger Hearing Aid Museum is at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. The museum has more than three-thousand hearing aids from around the world. They include old and strange devices. Some hearing aids were made to look like other objects. That is because in the past many people did not want anyone to know they were wearing a hearing aid.

1.It is common for people to think it uneasy to pay a visit to ____.

A．the University of Maryland                B．the Museum of Dentistry

C．the Hearing Aid Museum                  D．the dentist

2.The text mainly tells about _____.

A．museums in the US                      B．interesting American museums

C．American museums with health subjects      D．the history of the medical treatment of teeth

3.What do we learn about George Washington from the text?

A．He once visited the National Museum of Dentistry.

B．He considered the Museum of Dentistry a fun place to visit

C．His artificial teeth were collected in the National Museum of Dentistry.

D．His teeth seemed to be made of animal bone.

4.The underlined word “devices” in the first and last paragraph probably means _____.

A．museums         B．strategies          C．hearing aids        D．tools