Beauty has always been regarded as something praiseworthy. Almost everyone thinks attractive people are happier and healthier, have better marriages and have more respectable jobs. Personal advisors give them better advice for finding jobs. Even judges are softer on attractive defendants. But in the executive（主管的） circle, beauty can become a liability.

　　While attractiveness is a positive factor for a man on his way up the executive ladder, it is harmful to a woman.

　　Handsome male executives were considered having more honesty than plainer men; effort and ability were thought to lead to their success.

　　Attractive female executives were considered to have less honesty than unattractive ones; their success was connected not with ability but with factors such as luck.

　　All unattractive women executives were thought to have more honesty and to be more capable than the attractive female executives. Interestingly, though, the rise of the unattractive overnight successes was connected more to personal relationships and less to ability than that of the attractive overnight successes.

　　Why are attractive women not thought to be able? An attractive woman is considered to be more feminine has an advantage in traditionally female jobs, but an attractive woman in a traditionally manly position appears to lack the "manly"qualifies required.

　　This is true even in politics, "When the only clue is how he or she looks, people treat men and women differently, " says Anne Bowman, who recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates（候选人）. She asked 125 undergraduate students to rank two groups of photographs, one of men and one of women, in order of attractiveness. The students were told the photographs were of candidates for political offices. They were asked to rank them again, in the order they would vote for them.

　　The results showed that attractive males completely defeated unattractive men, but the women who had ranked most attractive unchangeably received the fewest votes.

　　The word "liability" most probably means ________.

　　A. disadvantage　B. advantage　　　C. misfortune　　 D. trouble

　Bowman's experiment shows that when it comes to politics, attractiveness________

　　A. turns out to　be a disadvantage to men

　　B. is more of a disadvantage than an advantage to women

　　C. has as little effect on men as on women

　　D. affects men and women alike

　　It can be inferred from the passage that people's views on beauty are often________.

　　A. practical　　　B. supportive　　 C. old - fashioned　D. one - sided

　　The author writes this passage to ________.

　　A. give advice to job - seekers who are attractive

　　B. discuss the disadvantages of being attractive

　　C. demand equal rights for women

　　D. state the importance of appearance

After the Summer Olympics are over, when all the athletics have gone home and the television audience has switched off, another group of athletics and fans will arrive at the host city, and another competition will begin. These are the Paralympics, the games for athletes with a disability. But in Beijing in 2008, for the first time, one of the greatest Paralympics will not be taking part.

　 She is a British athlete by the name of Tanni Grey-Thormpson. Born with spine hifida (脊椎裂) which left her paralysed from the waist down. Tanni used a wheelchair from the age of 7. at first, she was not keen on sport, apart from horse-riding, which gave her a sense of freedom. But in her teens, she started taking sports more seriously. She tried swimming, basketball and tennis. Eventually she found athletics, and never looked back.

　 Indeed, Tanni’s athletic career took off. In 1984, when she was 15, she pulled off a surprise victory in the 100metres at the Junior National Wheelchair Games.

　 In 1988, Tanni went to her first Paralympic Games in Seoul. She won bronze in the 400 metres. Even greater success followed at the 1992 Barcelona. Paralympics. Tanni won gold in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 metres relay, setting two world records in the process. In the same year she achieved she first of her six London Wheelchair Marathon victories.

　 Tanni’s enduring success had been part motivation(动机), part preparation, “The training I do that enables me to be a good sprinter(短跑运动员) enables me to be good at a marathon too. I train 50 weeks of the year and that keeps me prepared for whatever distance I want to race…. I am still competing at a very high lever, but as I get older things get harder and I want to retire before I fall apart.”

　 Indeed Tanni retired finally after the Visa Paralympic World Cup in 2007. Her wish is to coach young athletes for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

　 In spite of ups and downs, she never take her fate lying down. In her splendid life, she has won an amazing eleven gold medals, four silvers and one bronze in series of Paralympics- a top lever athletic career covering two decades. She has won the London Wheelchair Marathon six times, more than any other competitor, and she has set over thirty world records.

　 What advice does she have for young athletes? “Work hard at your studies, and then train, train and train again.”

41. Which of the following sports did Tanni like before thirteen?

A. Basketball         B. Swimming.          C. Tennis.        D. Horse-riding.

42. When did Tanni win her first Olympic gold medal?

A. In 1984.           B. In 1988.             C. In 1992.       D. In 2007.

43. The underlined word “that” in the 5th paragraph refers to _______.

A. fifty weeks’ training             B. being a good sprinter

C. training almost every day         D. part motivation and part preparation

44. What’s the right order of the events related to Tanni?

a. She works as a coach.      b. She took up athletics.

c. She won four gold medals in Barcelona.   d. She competed in her first Paralympic Games.

e. She achieved a victory in her first London Wheelchair Marathon.

A. b, d, c, e a    B. a, d, b, c ,e     C. A,d,c,e,b       D. b.d.a.e.c

45. What can we learn from Tanni’s success?

A. Union is strength.                 B. Never too late to learn.

C. Well begun is half done.         D. No pains, no gains.

IV．阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40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。
　　With her beautiful looks, cheerful character and strong spirit, Karena Lam（林嘉欣）is making waves among Chinese movie fans and professionals （专业人士）.
　　The Canada - born actress won the Golden Horse Best Supporting Actress and Best New Performer awards （金马奖最佳女配角和最佳新人奖）for her role in “July Rhapsody” （《男人四十》）in Taiwan on November 16．She won the same titles at the HongKong Film Awards in April, 2002.
　　Lam played a wifful （任性的）high school girl in the film and her idol （偶像）Jacky Cheung （张学友）played the girl 's middle - aged teacher.
　　Her awards have made her the person to watch in Hong Kong and Taiwan cinema. But the 24-year-old girl thinks the awards have put more pressure on her and given her new challenges （挑战）.
　　Besides Jacky Cheung, Lam has appeared alongside other top Hong Kong stars. Last year she starred with Leslie Cheung （张国荣）in“ Inner Senses ” （《异度空间》）and this year she acted with Nicholas Tse （谢霆锋）in“ Tiramisu” （《恋爱行星》）. Is there anything that can stop Lam's success?
　　“I have learnt that ff someone is trying to hurt you, the best revenge （报复）is to keep living happily and having a good life.That’s what I did, ” she said.
　　She is an optimist （乐天派）and determined to be successful. “I always have a way of finding my own happiness. I know what's going to make me smile, and I go for it, ”she said.
　　Two films—a comedy and a love - story are waiting for her and she plans to release （首次上演）her first Cantonese （粤语）album next summer.
41．According to the passage, which of the following shows the right order of what Lam did or will do?
　　a．To star with Leslie Cheung in“Inner Senses.”
　　b．To win the Golden Horse Best Supporting Actress and Best New Performer awards for her role in“ July Rhapsody.”
　　c．To release her first cantones album.
　　d．To act with Nicholas Tse in“ Tiramisu. ”
　　e．To win the Hong Kong Film Awards.
　　A. b, e, a, d, c　　　B. c, a, d, e, b     C. e, b, d, c, a　　　D. a, d, e, b, c
　42．In“Inner Senses” Lam was one of the________performers.
　　A. supporting　　B. chief　　　　　 C. ordinary　　　D. learned
　43．The underlined phrase“make waves” probably means________.
　　A. gain much attention　　　B. make trouble
　　C. sing and dance　　  D. fan the flames of disorder

IV．阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40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。

　　With her beautiful looks, cheerful character and strong spirit, Karena Lam（林嘉欣）is making waves among Chinese movie fans and professionals （专业人士）.

　　The Canada - born actress won the Golden Horse Best Supporting Actress and Best New Performer awards （金马奖最佳女配角和最佳新人奖）for her role in “July Rhapsody” （《男人四十》）in Taiwan on November 16．She won the same titles at the HongKong Film Awards in April, 2002.

　　Lam played a wifful （任性的）high school girl in the film and her idol （偶像）Jacky Cheung （张学友）played the girl 's middle - aged teacher.

　　Her awards have made her the person to watch in Hong Kong and Taiwan cinema. But the 24-year-old girl thinks the awards have put more pressure on her and given her new challenges （挑战）.

　　Besides Jacky Cheung, Lam has appeared alongside other top Hong Kong stars. Last year she starred with Leslie Cheung （张国荣）in“ Inner Senses ” （《异度空间》）and this year she acted with Nicholas Tse （谢霆锋）in“ Tiramisu” （《恋爱行星》）. Is there anything that can stop Lam's success?

　　“I have learnt that ff someone is trying to hurt you, the best revenge （报复）is to keep living happily and having a good life.That’s what I did, ” she said.

　　She is an optimist （乐天派）and determined to be successful. “I always have a way of finding my own happiness. I know what's going to make me smile, and I go for it, ”she said.

　　Two films—a comedy and a love - story are waiting for her and she plans to release （首次上演）her first Cantonese （粤语）album next summer.

41．According to the passage, which of the following shows the right order of what Lam did or will do?

　　a．To star with Leslie Cheung in“Inner Senses.”

　　b．To win the Golden Horse Best Supporting Actress and Best New Performer awards for her role in“ July Rhapsody.”

　　c．To release her first cantones album.

　　d．To act with Nicholas Tse in“ Tiramisu. ”

　　e．To win the Hong Kong Film Awards.

　　A. b, e, a, d, c　　　B. c, a, d, e, b     C. e, b, d, c, a　　　D. a, d, e, b, c

　42．In“Inner Senses” Lam was one of the________performers.

　　A. supporting　　B. chief　　　　　 C. ordinary　　　D. learned

　43．The underlined phrase“make waves” probably means________.

　　A. gain much attention　　　B. make trouble

　　C. sing and dance　　  D. fan the flames of disorder

As the Chinese saying goes, each family has its own trouble. But I want to say that some troubles are 　36　 .

　 My mother is now 84 years old. She can't read or write, nor can she understand putonghua. What's 　37　 , she is hard of hearing. 　38　 she came to live with us from our home town, our two children gave her new 　39　 in life and kept her 　40　 for several years. When the children grew up, she still kept 　41　 in housework, shopping, and cooking every day.

　 　42 she was getting old, we asked her to keep 　43　 the road and not go shopping, cook 　44　 wash clothes. The more she 　45　 , the more we worried for her. But she never 　46　 . Now every day at work, I 　47　 my mother when I have a 　48　 minutes. What is she doing now, I 　49　 . The modern kitchen appliances have trained a good 　50　 into a forgetful cook. She forgets to 　51　 the gas and we'll smell rice 　52　 before we enter our home. Rushing into the kitchen, we'll see the 　53　 pot smoking on the stove. We have asked her not to do housework, but she says we don't 　54　 her any more and cries and refuses to eat. Then we 　55　 her as if we were treating a child.

（　 ） 36. A. curious　 　B. glad　　　　C. sweet　　　　 D. troublesome

（　 ） 37.　A. more　　　 B. that　　 　 C. the matter 　　 D. wrong

（　 ） 38.　A. As　　　　 B. Because　 C. Until　　　　　 D. When

　（　 ） 39.　A. ideas　　　 B. meaning　 C. thought　　　　 D. trouble

　（　 ） 40.　A. busy　　　 B. free　　 　 C. unhappy　 　　 D. worried

（　 ） 41.　A. active　　　B. easy　　 　 C. quiet　　　　　 D. secret

　（　 ） 42.　A. As　　　　 B. So　　　　 C. Though　　 　　 D. What

　（　 ） 43.　A. away　　　 B. off　　 　 C. on　　　 　　　 D. up

　（　 ） 44.　A. and　　　 B. but　　 　 C. nor　　　 　　　 D. or

　（　 ） 45. A. did　　　 B. kept　　 　 C. lived　　 　　　 D. said

　（　 ） 46. A. believed　 B. followed　　 C. heard　　 　　 D. obeyed

　（　 ） 47. A. ask　　　 B. call　　 　 C. see　　　 　　 D. think of

　（　 ） 48. A. few　　　 B. free　　 　 C. good　　 　　 D. spare

　（　 ） 49. A. know　　　 B. say　　 　 C. suppose　 　　 D. wonder

　（　 ） 50. A. child　　　 B. housewife　 C. servant　 　 　 D. worker

　（　 ） 51. A. order　　　 B. shut off　　 C. turn on　 　　 D. use

　（　 ） 52. A. burning　　 B. cooked　 　 C. ready　　 　　 D. smell

　（　 ） 53. A. grain　　　 B. rice　　　　 C. tea　　　　　　D. water

　（　 ） 54. A. belong to　 B. care　　　　C. need　　 　　 D. respect

　（　 ） 55. A. appreciate　 B. comfort　 　C. encourage　　 D. feed