If Barack Obama's wife and kids thought they'd be getting his undivided attention during their long-awaited summer holiday, perhaps they should think again.
The US President kicked off his vacation by revealing that, in addition to endless games of tennis and golf, he plans to spend the week ploughing through five books, weighing in at an astonishing 2,300 pages. His summer reading list, unveiled(透露) by the White House, contains two heavyweight works of non–fiction and three novels.
On top of the president’s table is Hot, Flat and Crowded, by New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman. Subtitled "why we need a green revolution", it makes a leftish(左倾的) call to arms regarding the future of the planet.
Mr Obama's second choice is historian David McCullough's biography of John Adams, the often under-rated second US president, who was the subject of an award-winning HBO docu-drama(纪实剧)last year.
The novels include two crime thrillers: Richard Price's Lush Life, and The Way Home, a novel by George Pelecanos set in Washington, DC – which, much like Obama's best-selling autobiography(自传), explores the relationship between a father and his son.
Completing the set is the novel Plainsong, by a little-known writer called Kent Haruf. Set in a small town on the Colorado plains, its existence on the reading list may reassure voters that Middle America has not been ignored by their commander-in-chief.
Publishers are keeping an eye on whether the famous "Obama bounce" – which has helped sales at the first family's favourite clothes stores, such as J Crew – will continue to apply to their troubled industry. The President's endorsement(认可) is said to have lifted sales of Joseph O'Neill's novel Netherland about cricket in Holland and New York last year.
Given that President Obama has already spent a portion of his week so far playing golf, beating Michelle at tennis, and visiting friends, questions will inevitably(不可避免地) be asked about his ability to put any dent(挫伤) at all in the ambitious reading list.
To finish all five books, he would have to manage more than 300 pages every day – quite an "ask" when a small portion of his time must also be spent running the country.
57. What’s the function of the first paragraph?

A. To give an example.
B. To introduce a topic.
C. To describe a hope.
D. To offer an argument.
58. Which of the following statements is NOT true?   
A. Some people doubted if the president could finish his books.
B. The Way Home is a book which explores the relationship between a father and his son.
C. Lush life, set in Washington, is a novel written by Richard Price.
D. Thanks to Obama, sales of Netherland have been lifted.
59. Which of the following was NOT a book the President planned to read?
A. John Adams.
B. Netherland.
C. Hot, Flat and Crowded.
D. Lush Life.
60. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?       
A. Obama’s Hobbies
B. Obama’s Holiday Plan
C. Obama’s Holiday Life
D. Obama’s Holiday Book List

Despite being tall, Michelle Obama is much smaller than she appears on television. And she seemed a little short by her surroundings in the great hall of Christchurch College as she spoke quietly without a microphone because of a technical mistake. Her audience were 40 young girls from a London state school where 50 languages are spoken.
“I remember how well-meaning but misguided people questioned whether someone with my background could succeed at an elite (精英) university,” she said. “When I was accepted, I had all kinds of worries and doubts. I wouldn’t be as well prepared as students from privileged families and I wouldn’t fit in. But you are just as capable and have just as much to offer as anyone else.”
This was Mrs. Obama’s only solo outing during the state visit and part two of an unusual relationship which she has struck up with Anderson College in Islington. Two years ago on her first visit to the UK she visited the school.
Yesterday she returned to meet the pupils but this time at Christchurch College where they were taking part in an open day run to improve Oxford’s still poor record on diversifying student intake.
Mrs. Obama was asked why she married her husband, what it was like being First Lady and when there would be a female President in the White House. Her message—which she repeated time and again—was work hard, have self-belief, and don’t be afraid to fail. It was very un-British, but rather effective. Afterwards there were hugs for everyone and a photo with her.
And watching the group of multicultural young Britons surround her among the splendor of the college building one thought stood out. Had Mrs. Obama been born in Britain, she would almost certainly not have made it to Oxford as she did to Harvard. But now—thanks in part to her—some of these children just might.
【小题1】According to the passage, Michelle Obama ____________.

A.graduated from Anderson College
B.paid her first visit to the UK this time
C.was confident when she entered the college
D.came from a family without good background
【小题2】It is implied in the passage that these 40 young girls ____________.
A.were all from the United States
B.were students of Oxford University
C.came from different cultural backgrounds
D.stayed with Mrs. Obama because of hard work
【小题3】Michelle Obama thinks success may come from the following EXCEPT ____________.
A.working hardB.believing in yourself
C.good opportunitiesD.facing failure without fear
【小题4】What can we learn from the underlined sentence?
A.The British pupils couldn’t understand her message.
B.Her message reached the British pupils successfully.
C.Repetition is not the British way to give a message.
D.All effective messages are not conveyed in British.

 

第三部分:阅读理解(共20小题;每题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,并在答题卡上将该选项的标号涂黑。

It happened to me recently that I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father and how it had changed my views of the current US President. The person I was talking to agreed with me that it was, in his words,“a wonderfully written book .”However, he then proceeded  to talk about Mr Obama in a way that suggested he had no idea of his background at all. I sensed that I was talking to a book liar.

And it seems that he is not the only one. Clearly two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven’t . In The World Book Day survey, Dreams From My Father is at number 9. The survey lists top ten books, and various authors, which people have lied about reading. As I’m not one to lie too often, I’ll admit here and now that I haven’t read the entire ten books. But I am pleased to say that I have read the book at number one, George Orwell’s 1984. I think it’s absolutely outstanding.

Asked why they lied, the most common reason was to impress someone they were speaking to . This could be difficult if the conversation became more in-depth !

The World Book Day survey also has some other interesting information in it. It shows that many people lie about having read classical works by Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens and so on. But when asked which authors they actually enjoy, they named JK Rowling, Jilly Cooper, and Stephen King (ah, the big sellers, in other words). Forty-one percent of people asked admitted they turned to the back of the book to read the end before finishing the story.

So which books have you lied about reading—if any—and which is your favourite?

1.The main reason why people lie about reading is to         

A.make fun of the listener     B.impress the listener

C.please the listener          D.interest the listener

2.The underlined word“proceeded”in the passage probably means“         ”

A.wanted   B.happened    C.continued    D.stopped

3.What does The World Book Day survey show?

A.Nearly half of the people surveryed didn’t read through a whole classical book.

B.People don’t like Dreams From My Father and George Orwell’s 1984

C.Few people lie about having read classical works by Jane Austen.

D.People usually enjoy reading books by Charles Dickens.

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A.Are You A Book Liar?    B.Readers Are All Liars

C.World Book Day        D.Dreams From My Father,

 

 

Schools have banned cupcakes, issued fatness report cards and cleared space in cafeterias for salad bars. Just last month, Michelle Obama’s campaign to end childhood fatness promised to get young people moving more and restore school lunch, and drink makers said they had cut the number of liquid calories shipped to schools by almost 90 percent in the past five years.

But new research suggests that interventions(干预) aimed at school-aged children may be, if not too little, too late.

More and more evidence points to essential events very early in life — during the child years, babyhood and even before birth, in the womb(胎) — that can set young children on a fatness path that is hard to change by the time they’re in kindergarten. The evidence is not ironclad, but it suggests that prevention efforts should start very early.

Among the findings are these:

The fat angel-like baby who is growing so nicely may be growing too much for his or her own good, research suggests.

Babies whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are at risk of becoming fat, even though the babies are usually small at birth.

Babies who sleep less than 12 hours are at increased risk for fatness later. If they don’t sleep enough and also watch two hours or more of TV a day, they are at even greater risk.

Some early interventions are already widely practiced. Doctors recommend that overweight women lose weight before pregnancy rather than after, to cut the risk of fatness and diabetes in their children; breast-feeding is also recommended to lower the obesity risk.

Like children and teenagers, babies and toddlers have been getting fatter. One in 10 children under age 2 is overweight. The percentage of children ages 2 to 5 who are fat increased to 12.4 percent in 2006 from 5 percent in 1980. But most prevention programs have avioded intervening at very young ages, partly because the school system offers an efficient way to reach large numbers of children, and partly because the rate of fat teenagers is even higher than that of younger children — 18 percent.

Scientists like Dr. Birch worry about what are called epigenetic changes. The genes taken over from mother and father may be turned on and off and the strength of their effects changed by environmental conditions in early development. Many doctors are concerned about women being fat and unhealthy before pregnancy because the womb is the baby’s first environment.

Experts say change may require abandoning some treasured cultural attitudes. “The idea that a big baby is a healthy baby, and a crying baby is probably a hungry baby who should be fed, are things we really need to rethink,” Dr. Birch said.

61. What is NOT included in Michelle Obama’s campaign?

A. To restore school lunch.

B. To get young people moving more.

C. To issue fatness report cards.

D. To end childhood fatness.

62. Why should fatness prevention efforts start very early?

A. Because children now are growing too much for their own good.

B. Because there is too much liquid calories in drinks for children.

C. Because experiences even when in the womb can affect a child.

D. Because fat children cannot be healthy ones when they grow up.

63. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word “ironclad” in paragraph three?

A. right       B. protective       C. objective      D. positive

64. Which of the following is NOT right?

A. 18% of the younger children are fatter than fat teenagers.

B. 10 % of the children under age 2 gain too much weight.

C. 12.4% of the children ages 2-5 were overweight in 2006.

D. In 1980, only 5% of the children ages 2-5 were too fat.

65. What does Dr. Birch’s statement mean in the last paragraph?

A. Feeding the baby when it is crying is not right.

B. Fat babies may not be so healthy as people think.

C. Parents should take responsibility for fat babies.

D. Lovely babies shouldn’t be so fat as people think.

 

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