Every day, life is made and lost. Every day, life goes on. Every day we experience some of the most important parts of life and may not even realize it: love, generosity, and perseverance. These values aren’t just important to us; they make the world what it is.

Scientists say that gravitaional(重力的)force makes the world turn, but some people say that love makes it go round. Love can be found anywhere: in families, friends, even complete strangers. Even if you can’t see it, you know it’s there.

Love may connect people all over the world, but what would the world be without generosity? Whether after a national disaster, or a school fund-raiser, one thing is certain----it is better to give than to receive. Generosity is found everywhere and whether it’s a large or small act, it makes a difference. Sometimes, though, it takes effort to be generous, which leads us to perseverance.

Founding a country, riding a bike, or finishing an essay, these are all finished with perseverance. Perseverance is the one thing that can help us achieve whatever we want. It is what helps scientists to discover cures for diseases, and athletes to become champions.

There is an infinite(无穷的) number of things we value, but without love, generosity and perseverance, we just don’t think that our life or the world would be the way it is.

1. The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to “________”.

A. the world              B. gravitational force

C. value                    D. experience

2. To be generous, the author thinks________.

A. you needn’t make efforts                    B. you should be qualified

C. you should give all you have        D. you will find it good to give

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Perseverance is the only thing that can halp us to achieve success.

B. People don’t understand the life they are experiencing at all.

C. We can find love in complete strangers sometimes.

D. What the world is like depends on gravity and love.

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Success and Failure                    B. Three Values

C. Endless Love                          D. Life Full of Hope

第二卷 非选择题（两部分，共35分）

第四部分：任务型阅读（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）

请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。

注意：每个空格只填一个单词。请将答案写在答题卡上相应的横线上。

It is said that English speakers fall into three groups: those who have learnt it as a mother tongue, those who have learnt it as a second language through exposure(显露) in a society where it is spoken, and those who are forced to use it for administrative(管理的), professional or educational purposes.

This third group, along with the supremacy(至高地位) of English in the business world, has created a fast development in institutions offering English for business. However, the average business person, while happily accepting the challenge, does not have any idea how long the process may take.

Duncan Ford, a specialist in language teaching theory, partly puts the blame on misleading publicity and says that you have to think in terms of hundreds of hours while people still think learning a language is a three-hour-a-week job.

According to him, the key is lots of variety of the activities similar to the happiness of the class. The communicative way has replaced the old–fashioned note-taking method and for those people who think that a couple of hours with the latest CD-ROM is not to replace for English classes, they should think again. While seen as a useful back-up, they are not teacher replacement.

Learning English for a Special Purpose

In 490 B.C. the Greek messenger,  Pheidippides , ran about 40 kilometers from the town of “Marathon”to  Athens to announce the victory of  Athens over Macedon . Since then ,the 42–kilometer “Marathon”race has become a great test for athletes. However, for many years  , only men were allowed to run  this  race ,  because the distance was said to be unbearable for women. In 1966, an   American  women named Roberta Gibb proved that idea wrong.

Gibb had always enjoyed running .One day in 1964 , she saw the Boston Marathon happening as she was running in the woods. Since running meant a lot to her, she began training harder , hoping to join the marathon some day.

Gibb finally applied to run in the 1966 Boston Marathon, but she was not given entrance because the Boston Marathon Association considered that women were not strong enough to run 42  kilometers . Yet, this was no obstacle to Gibb, for she knew she had the physical and mental strength to complete the race .On the day the 1966 Boston Marathon was held , Gibb hid in the bushes and jumped into the race when it began. She finished the race in 3 hours and 21 minutes, defeating two thirds of the men in the race and proving that women could run the marathon.

Although what Gibb did was only to realize her dream, in doing so she showed the world that women could accomplish greater things than many people believed they could.

1.why were women forbidden to run the 42–km marathon ?

2.What  did  Roberta Gibb do to prepare herself for the  Boston Marathon ?

3.What happened to Gibb in the 1966 Boston Marathon?

4.According to the text ,what can we learn from  Roberta Gibb’s story?

IV.阅读理解（共17小题；每小题２分，满分34分）

Like cats, geckos（壁虎）always land on their feet. If they happen to fall from a wall or leaf they’ve been climbing, a quick move of the tail makes sure that they always land on their feet first, a new study finds.

Geckos are truly built for climbing: their feet have hairy toes that can fix themselves to a wall or other vertical（竖直的）surfaces. However, geckos’ feet can’t always keep hold and they may fall to the ground. When geckos fall or jump off a wall, they always land stomach-side down. Geckos’ long tails become necessary during their falls, the new study shows.

Researchers did an experiment. They placed geckos up-side-down on the underside of a leaf. When they lost their foothold and fell, the geckos pitched （倾斜）their tails for balance. They then rotated（旋转）their tails to make their bodies rotate. As soon as they were right-side up, they stopped rotating. On average, it only took the geckos about a tenth of a second to right themselves so that they would land on their feet.

Cats use a different way to land on their feet after a fall. As their tails don’t have the power like geckos’ tails, cats can’t use them to right themselves. Instead they twist their bodies around mid-air.

Engineers are trying to build a robot that imitates the geckos’ climbing ability. A tail will be fixed to the robot to allow it to keep balance.

54. What do we know about geckos?

A. Their toes make it possible for them to walk on walls.

B. Their tails can fix them to a wall or other vertical surfaces.

C. They often land on their backs when they jump off walls.

D. It takes them a second to right themselves in mid-air.

55. How do cats avoid their injury during a fall?

A. By twisting their bodies.                 B. By fixing their toes to the ground.

C. By using their tails to right themselves.        D. By landing upside-down.

56. Geckos’ special abilities have given engineers some new ideas to _________.

A. allow robots to climb vertical surfaces       

B. reproduce geckos like robots

C. invent robots that can rotate on the ground

D. invent robots that can balance themselves using their tails

57. What is the text mainly talking about?

A. The interesting living habits of geckos.   B. The differences between cats and geckos.

C. Why geckos always land on their feet.      D. How geckos climb up vertical walls.

Fresh flowers actually continue to grow while in a vase．So in order to keep flowers fresh, you need to consider what the flowers need to grow and stay healthy．Flowers need water, light, and food．Besides, you need to be aware of a few precautions to take．

Distilled water（蒸馏水） is the best kind of water to use for fresh flowers, because there are no chemicals in it．Change the water for your fresh flowers every day or no less than every 2 days to prevent bacteria（细菌） building up．Cut the stems under water again before putting them back in the vase, so that they will be able to draw water up easily．

Keep your fresh flowers out of direct sunlight．At night, put them in the fridge．This will prolong their life．Adding commercial flower food to good water is probably the best method of keeping flowers fresh．Some people put sugar in the water for food．That is OK, but commercial flower food has bacteria-killing ingredients, which can make the water more acidic（酸性的）．If you want a more natural food for your fresh flowers, try water that has been specially treated．That solution will also give the water acidity, sugar, and bacteria-killing ability．

Keep your fresh flowers away from fruit．Fruit gas, or ethylene, will reduce the life of your fresh flowers, making them get older faster．Ethylene is what makes fruit ripen．It is given off by dead flowers, too, so be sure to remove them．

If you follow these tips, your fresh flowers will last a long time and beautify any room in which you put them．

1．What does the underlined word precautions in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．problems that happen to flowers． B．advantages of having flowers．

C．measures taken to prevent problems．   D．preparations to grow flowers outside．

2．The fact that distilled water is most beneficial for fresh flowers indicates that ______．

A．distilled water is perfect for people to drink

B．running water shouldn’t be used to water flowers

C．it takes great efforts to keep flowers fresh

D．fresh flowers aren’t used to certain chemicals

3．In order to prolong the life of fresh flowers, you should ______．

A．protect them from direct sunlight during the daytime

B．put them in a damp place at night

C．put them in a fridge all the time

D．put them near water during the daytime

4．Which of the following is the best method of keeping flowers fresh?

A．Cutting the stems under water before putting them back．

B．Using distilled water and commercial flower food．

C．Keeping them away from fruit gas．

D．Watering them with water which contains sugar．