Ⅲ. 阅读（共两节，满分40分）

第一节　阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从41—55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Although April did not bring us the rains we all hoped for, and although the Central Valley doesn’t generally experience the sound and lightning that can go with those rains, it’s still important for parents to be able to answer the youthful questions about thunder and lightning.

The reason these two wonders of nature are so difficult for many adults to explain to children is that they are not very well understood by adults themselves. For example, do you know that the lightning we see flashing down to the earth from a cloud is actually flashing up to a cloud from the earth? Our eyes trick us into thinking we see a downward motion when it’s actually the other way round. But then, if we believed only what we think and we see, we’d still insist that the sun rises in the morning and sets at night.

Most lightning flashes take place inside a cloud, and only a relative few can be seen jumping between two clouds or between earth and a cloud. But, with about 2,000 thunderstorms taking place above the earth every minute of the day and night, there’s enough activity to produce about 100 lightning strikes on earth every second.

Parents can use thunder and lightning to help their children learn more about the world around them. When children understand that the light of lightning flashing reaches their eyes almost at the same moment, but the sound of the thunder takes about 5 seconds to travel just one mile, they can begin to time the interval(间隔) between the flash and the crash to learn how close they are to the actual spark(闪光).

1. According to the author, in the area of the Central Valley, ___________.

A. rains usually come without thunder and lightning

B. it is usually dry in April

C. children pay no attention to the two natural wonders

D. parents are not interested in thunder and lightning

2. We believe that lightning is a downward motion because ___________.

A. we were taught so by our parents from our childhood

B. we are taken in by our sense of vision

C. it is a common natural sight

D. it is a truth proved by science

3. What is TRUE about lightning according to the passage?

A. Only a small number of lightning flashes occur on earth.

B. Lightning travels 5 times faster than thunder.

C. Lightning flashes usually jump from one cloud to another.

D. There are far more lightning strikes occurring on earth than we can imagine.

4. The underlined word “activity” is most closely related to the word(s)___________.

A. “cloud”                                       B. “lightning strikes”        

C. “lightning flashes”                              D. “thunderstorms”

5. It can be concluded from the passage that____________.

A. we should not believe what we see or hear

B. things moving downward are more noticeable

C. people often have wrong ideas about ordinary phenomena (现象)

D. adults are not as good as children in observing certain natural phenomena

单词拼写（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）

第一节　根据所给首字母和中文提示完成各句，使句意通顺。（共5小题；每空1分，满分5分）

1.The club is for t_______ who are between 13 and 19 years old.

2. You can’t ask a lady about her age in public because it will make her e______.

3.The famous professor gave us an _________ (解释) of how sound travels in water.

4.Mary looks _________ (苗条) than Helen.

5.I am _________ (羞愧) that you should dress like this.

单词拼写（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
第一节　根据所给首字母和中文提示完成各句，使句意通顺。（共5小题；每空1分，满分5分）
【小题1】The club is for t_______ who are between 13 and 19 years old.
【小题2】 You can’t ask a lady about her age in public because it will make her e______.
【小题3】The famous professor gave us an _________ (解释) of how sound travels in water.
【小题4】Mary looks _________ (苗条) than Helen.
【小题5】I am _________ (羞愧) that you should dress like this.

第二部分阅读理解（共25小题。第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题1分；满分45分）
第一节　阅读下列短文，从媒体所给的四个选项（A,B,C,D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
A
A beggar followed a lady and asked her for some money. She refused, so he turned away sadly and said he must do what he had made up his mind to do.
At this word, the lady was greatly frightened for she was afraid for his life. So she called him back and gave him a dollar. The beggar took the money, put it into his pocket, and thanked her a great deal. “You have saved me from a terrible fate,” he said. The lady asked him what he meant. The beggar replied, “Madame, I have been begging all day, but only you have taken pity on me. Without this dollar you gave to me, I should have had to go to work now.
41. Before meeting the lady, the beggar ________.
A. had already received some dollars already
B. had been thinking of taking his own life
C. had received no money for that day
D. had acted as if he was looking for a job
42. If the woman had understood the beggar’s words correctly, she would probably _____.
A. have given him one more dollar
B. have persuaded him to give up begging
C. have gone away without giving him any money
D. have offered him some work
43. In the story, “a terrible fate” means _______
A. to beg     B. to go to work    C. to die   D. to live a hard life
44. The best headline(标题) for the story is ______.
A. How to Beg              B. Money before Everything    
C. Anything except Work     D. Work for Money

第二部分阅读理解（共25小题。第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题1分；满分45分）

第一节　阅读下列短文，从媒体所给的四个选项（A,B,C,D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）

A

A beggar followed a lady and asked her for some money. She refused, so he turned away sadly and said he must do what he had made up his mind to do.

At this word, the lady was greatly frightened for she was afraid for his life. So she called him back and gave him a dollar. The beggar took the money, put it into his pocket, and thanked her a great deal. “You have saved me from a terrible fate,” he said. The lady asked him what he meant. The beggar replied, “Madame, I have been begging all day, but only you have taken pity on me. Without this dollar you gave to me, I should have had to go to work now.

41. Before meeting the lady, the beggar ________.

A. had already received some dollars already

B. had been thinking of taking his own life

C. had received no money for that day

D. had acted as if he was looking for a job

42. If the woman had understood the beggar’s words correctly, she would probably _____.

A. have given him one more dollar

B. have persuaded him to give up begging

C. have gone away without giving him any money

D. have offered him some work

43. In the story, “a terrible fate” means _______

A. to beg     B. to go to work    C. to die   D. to live a hard life

44. The best headline(标题) for the story is ______.

A. How to Beg              B. Money before Everything    

C. Anything except Work     D. Work for Money