第三部分：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。

   What is a creepy crawly?

A few years ago, I was on a bicycle trip when I got off my bike for a rest. I sat down on the grass. A few seconds later, I was covered in ants. They were swarming all over me so I got up and brushed them off. It was a strange experience but I soon forgot about it.

A couple of years later, I was living in Jordan. I had just moved into a modern flat and was unpacking plates when I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I looked over at the kitchen drawer and there was a cockroach crawling out of it. I screamed. Then I grabbed a can of insecticide and sprayed it on the cockroach. He ran under the nearby bathroom door. It took me three days before I found the courage to open the bathroom door to see if he was still alive. He wasn’t.

Why did I react so violently to one lone insect when a closer encounter with hundreds of ants hardly affected me? The answer is easy: because cockroaches are creepy crawlies and ants aren’t. Creepy crawlies are those little bugs which provoke feelings such as uneasiness, anxiety or dislike – they make your skin crawl.

Did you know that some people feel such a fear of bugs that it becomes a phobia? Psychologists have offered many explanations. Some say we associate them with dirt and disease. Or that these are life forms that are so alien to us, that we find them repulsive(令人厌恶的) for their dissimilarity.

Insects, however, don’t follow our rules – they just do what they want and invade our space. Unfortunately, although insects and bugs have been a successful animal species up to now, many of them, like many other species nowadays, are under threat of extinction. Entomologists warn that this could upset entire ecosystems and lead to all kinds of disastrous consequences.

So my plea to you is: the next time you feel the urge to stamp on, splatter or spray a creepy crawly, give a thought to the planet and stop.

1. Why did the author mention the ants in the beginning?

A. Because the experience with the ants presents a sharp contrast to that with the cockroach later.

B. Because the author wants to show her preference to the ants and her dislike for the cockroach.

C. Because both ants and cockroaches are creepy crawlies that the author dislikes.

D. Because meeting the ants is an unusual experience that the author can hardly forget.

2. What does “insecticide” in the second paragraph probably mean?

A. a kind of fruit juice.                              B. a kitchen knife.

C. liquid for killing insects.                        D. cleanser for the bathroom.                                                                                                                                                                       

3. How does the author feel about the bugs like cockroaches?

A. The author doesn’t mind the contact with those harmless small creatures.

B. They make the author feel so awful that they should be killed.

C. They invade our space and become a threat to humans.

D. They still deserve a place for keeping the balance of the nature.

4. Which of the following is NOT the reason why the cockroach makes the author’s skin crawl?

A. It looks so strange and different that the author can’t accept its appearance.

B. It can make the author feel sick and cause a strong dislike.

C. The author may relate it to something dirty or disease at the sight of it.

D. It reminds the author of the experience of meeting hundreds of ants.

5. Which of the following statements about bugs is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Some people may be frightened so much by bugs that it leads to a psychological barrier in some degree.

B. People can enjoy a cleaner living environment if more bugs like cockroaches are killed.

C. Many bugs are in danger of extinction so they should be placed under human’s protection.

D. Some bugs are extremely unpleasant that people have a strong wish to destroy them.

The stamp on the letter is an art, from _______ we can get a lot of cultural knowledge.

A. whom             B. which         C. them           D. those

 

—If you go to the post office，would you please get me a stamp？

　　 —I am ______ willing to.

　　A. no more than   B. not more than  C. more than  D. no less than

Japanese people,who never miss a chance to be photographed,were lining up to get their pictures on a postage stamp．Vanity（虚荣）stamps with personal photographs went on sale for the first time in Japan as part of an international postage stamp exhibition．The customer’s photo was taken with a digital camera and then printed on stamp sheets,a process that takes about five minutes．Sold in a sheet of 10 stamps for $8．80,little more than the cost of lunch in Tokyo,each stamp printed a different scene from a traditional painting along with the photo．

The stamps can be used normally to mail a letter,and postal officials hope they will help encourage interest in letter writing in the Internet age．“Certainly e-mail is a useful method of communication,but letters are fun in a different way,”said Hatsumi Shimizu an official in the Post Ministry．“We want to show young people that letters can be fun too．”[

While similar stamp sheets appeared in Australia in 1999 and are now sold in some nations and territories,Japan’s fondness for commemorative photos is likely to make them especially popular here．Indeed,officials had prepared 1 000 sheets but they were sold out in less than 30 minutes．Although the stamps are currently only available as a special service during the exhibition,postal officials said they may start selling them on a regular basis in the future．

1.The best title of this passage might be______．

A．Never Miss a Chance to be Photographed

B．Your Own Face on a Postage Stamp

C．First Japanese Postage Stamps with a Photo

D．Letters are as Fun as E-mails

2.By saying“little more than the cost of lunch in Tokyo”,the author really means______．

A．this service is not very expensive

B．the cost of this service is very high

C．food in Tokyo is very dear

D．$8．80 is a very small amount of money

3.The purpose of this activity is______．

A．to make the international postage stamp exhibition more interesting

B．to make more stamps for normal use

C．to draw interest in writing letters

D．to satisfy Japan’s fondness of commemorative photos

4.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．Japanese people like to take photos．

B．This kind of stamps must be used to mail letters．

C．Japanese people can get this kind of stamps easily after the stamp exhibition．

D．This service is more popular in Japan than in other places．

 

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【小题1】．Which of the following is NOT included in a starter pack?

A．One hundred used stamps and hinges and album pages.

B．The Collectors Club Guide to Collecting and badge and stickers.

C．The latest Collectors Club magazine and membership card.

D．Royal Mail Stamp Calendar and Collectors Corner supplement.

【小题2】．This advertisement is written for people who want to_______.

A．make money through collecting stamps

B．develop stamp collection as a hobby

C．get something free from the club

D．find out where the club is located

【小题3】．From the advertisement we can learn_____.

A．Collectors Club is among the biggest clubs in this country

B．how much you must pay to become a member of the club

C．today is the last day for stamp collectors to join the club

D．members may receive a set of album pages every month

【小题4】．Where is this advertisement most probably found?

A．In a newspaper.	B．On a web page.
C．In a magazine.	D．On a TV program.