题目内容

The world is not coming to an end on December 21, 2012, the US space agency insisted on Monday in a rare campaign to dispel widespread rumors fueled by the Internet and a new Hollywood movie.

The latest big screen offering from Sony Picture, 2012, arrives in theaters on Friday, with a 200-million-dollar production about the end of the world supposedly based on myths (虚构的故事) backed by the Mayan calendar. It is claimed that the end of time will come as a Planet X—or Nibiru—heads toward or collides with the Earth.

Some websites accuse NASA of hiding the truth on the planet’ s existence, but the US space agency denounced such stories as an “Internet hoax(恶作剧) ”. “There is no factual basis for these claims,” NASA said in a question-and-answer posting on its website. “If such a collision were real, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye. Obviously, it does not exist. Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012,” it insisted. “After all, our planet has been getting along just well for more than four billion years.” added NASA.

There is another planet, Eris, floating in space. But the small planet similar to Pluto will remain safely fixed in the outer solar system and it can come no closer than four billion miles to the Earth, according to NASA.

Initial theories set the disaster for May 2003, but when nothing happened the date was moved forward to the winter in 2012 to coincide with the end of a cycle of the ancient Mayan calendar.

NASA insisted the Mayan calendar in fact does not end on December 21, 2012, as another period begins immediately afterward. And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our planet would be “negligible”, NASA said.

“And while comets and asteroids (小行星) have always hit the Earth, big hits are very rare, ” NASA noted. The last major impact was believed to be 65 million years ago, resulting in the end of dinosaurs.

“We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs,” the space agency said.

61．_______ played a key role in the spread of the rumors.

A. A new book　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. The Internet and a new Hollywood movie

C. NASA　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. An Indian calendar

62．The film 2012 is _______.

A. about the end of the world　　　　　　　　　　 B. based on the scientific prediction

C. well accepted in the science field　　　　　　　　 D. about a romantic love story

63．We can infer that _______.

A. people didn’t take the rumors seriously　　　　　　　

B. Planet X—or Nibiru does exist

C. astronomers have been tracking Planet X for over ten years

D. the rumors caused a panic among some people

64．NASA thinks that Eris _______.

A. might pose a threat to the Earth　　　　　　　　 B. doesn’t pose any threat to the Earth

C. is too far away to be visible　　　　　　　　　　 D. is similar to our planet, where life might exist

65. Which of the following is the best title?

A. New Hollywood movie 2012　　　　　　　　B. December 21, 2012, NOT the end of the world

C. End of the ancient Mayan calendar D. How rumors came into being

BADBB

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I had an experience some years ago, which taught me something about the ways in which people make a bad situation worse by blaming themselves. One January, I had to hold two funerals on successive days for two elderly women in my community. Both had died “full of years”, as the Bible would say. Their homes happened to be near each other, so I paid condolence (吊唁) calls on the two families on the same afternoon.

At the first home, the son of the deceased (已故的) woman said to me, “If only I had sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold and snow , she would be alive today. It’s my fault that she died.” At the second home, the son of the other deceased woman said, “If only I hadn’t insisted on my mother’s going to Florida, she would be alive today. That long airplane ride, the sudden change of climate, was more than she could take. It’s my fault that she’s dead.”

You see that any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty. Because the course of action they took turned out badly, they believe that the opposite course — keeping Mother at home, putting off the operation — would have turned out better. After all, how could it have turned out any worse?

There seem to be two elements involved in our willingness to feel guilty. The first is our pressing need to believe that the world makes sense, that there is a cause for every effect and a reason for everything that happens. That leads us to find patterns and connections both where they really exist and where they exist only in our minds.

The second element is the view that we are the cause of what happens, especially the bad things that happen. It seems to be a short step from believing that every event has a cause to believing that every disaster is our fault. The roots of this feeling may lie in our childhood.

A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needs, and that he makes everything happen in it. He wakes up in the morning and summons the rest of the world to its tasks. He cries, and someone comes to attend to him. When he is hungry, people feed him, and when he is wet, people change him. Very often, we do not completely outgrow that childish view that our wishes cause things to happen.

The author had to hold the two women’s funerals probably because     .

A. he wanted to comfort the two families    B. he was an official from the community

       C. he had great pity for the deceased    D. he was priest of the local church

People feel guilty for the deaths of their loved ones because     .

       A. they couldn’t find a better way to express their sorrow

       B. they believe that they were responsible

       C. they had neglected the natural course of events

       D. they didn’t know things often turn out in the opposite direction

According to the passage, the underlined part in paragraph 4 probably means that     .

       A. everything in the world is predetermined

       B. the world can be interpreted in different ways 

       C. there’s an explanation for everything in the world

       D. we have to be sensible in order to understand the world

What’s the main idea of the passage?

       A. Life and death is an unsolved mystery.

       B. Every story should have a happy ending.

       C. Never feel guilty all the time because not every disaster is our fault.

       D. In general, the survivors will feel guilty about the people who passed away .

Surfing-the art of riding a wave on a pointed board-is the wildest, fastest natural water sport known to man. In recent years, it has developed into a major sport around the world, from Australia to South Africa. Australians challenge man-eating sharks to ride the green waves in Australia; Hawaiian experts risk their lives on huge, thirty-foot swells(巨浪)against the wind of Oahu; Californians of all ages go out all the year round. In the winter, surf-riders put on life-suits to ride grave waves so cold that their flesh turns blue.

Surfing is no sport for weak persons. Swimming a quarter of a mile or more, and pushing a surfboard out to where the swells are just right for riding, can be real work. Then, at exactly the right moment, you climb up the wave and go fast across the face of a powerful swell with the white water jumping at your feet. The huge wave bites at your shoulder, threatening (威胁)at any moment to smash you flat. In the next several seconds, a cool head and lightning-quick action back to the pressure of the attacking wave will bring your board under control for that great ride down the back of the great, green mountain of water. Once on the beach, you know why surfing is growing in popularity as an international sport, and you're glad to be a member of this new water world.

The first paragraph mainly tells us ________ .

A. people around the world go surfing all the year round

B. the definition (定义) of the sport

C. how to surf in the sea

D. where to surf around the would

The author believes that surfing________.

A. is not an easy sport

B. can be done by anyone

C. should be done by everyone

D. does not require courage

In order to experience what real surfing is, ________.

A. you must first swim a quarter of a mile to warm your body

B. you will first ride on a board to reach the beach

C. you must first put on warm clothes before doing surfing

D. you must first swim to the swells with your board

The West began to take more notice of the East.The fifth volume of an enormous work reassessing the Chinese contribution to science and technology is to be published next year.The first volume,which was published twenty years ago,set the tone for the whole work.In it,evidence was given to show that many inventions which,until then,western historians had claimed forEurope,were made first in China.The attempt to rewrite the intellectual history of the world was not received without protest by some reputable historians.However,the evidence that has been presented so far in the first four volumes has persuaded many historians who were skeptical at first.China’s invention of paper,printing,the magnetic compass and gunpowder has never been disputed,but this new history has added advanced bridge design,mechanical clocks,paddle boats and many other inventions to the list.

In the four volumes published so far no attempt has been made to explain why China has not kept up with the West in science and technology in modern times.It is probable that the answer is to be found in the social and economic history of China,where a static(稳定的) society under a relatively kind regime(政权) of scholar-gentry(贵族) contrasts with the potentially revolutionary and dynamic(有活力的) society of the West at the end of the Middle Ages.In recent years,the Chinese government has been making every effort to catch up with the West again,and there is little doubt that the gap is being reduced year by year.But will China avoid the West’s mistakes?

The first volume was published__________.

A.ten years ago             B.last year                    C.five years ago            D.twenty years ago

In Line 7,the word “skeptical” means _________.

A.doubtful                    B.worried                     C.sad                           D.angry

Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?

A.Gunpowder.                     B.Needle.                            C.Paddle boats.             D.Bridge design.

The best title for this passage is _________.

A.China’s Inventions

B.Comparisons Between the East and the West

C.China Is Catching Up

D.Situations in China

Leif Erickson reached North America around the year 1000, but the attempt to explore was started slowly. It would be five centuries __1__ other Europeans landed on that continent.

Why were Europeans the ones to __2__ to the American? The Chinese and Arabs had the __3__ and technology to sail across the seas. __4__ of them tool regular voyages in the Indian Ocean and the Asian Pacific for trade. But exploration? By the mid-15th century China had followed the closed-door policy to __5__ itself from the rest of the world. The Arabs, with access to the minerals and spices (香料) of Africa and the Far East, saw no __6__ to journey into the unknown.

Europe, on the other hand, needed gold and silver; its mines could not __7__ the demand for coinage (铸币). Ottoman Turks blocked the routes across the land to Asia. Only the sea held the promise of new wealth.

__8__ the return of Magellan’s ships in 1522 from its voyage around the world, the belief was __9__ that the oceans were interconnected, promising the age of discovery. The English, as well as the Spanish, Portuguese and French, __10__ themselves to finding the “river of the west” through North America to the east.

A. after B. since   C. before D. when

A. push B. pull    C. draw   D. drive

A. sources    B. resources    C. substances  D. matters

A. Neither    B. Both   C. Any    D. None

A. prevent    B. protect       C. isolate D. differ

A. need B. chance       C. choice D. regret

A. create      B. meet   C. raise   D. develop

A. As    B. For     C. With   D. At

A. extended  B. estimated    C. accepted     D. made

A. contributed   B. referred      C. devoted      D. connected

Ⅲ.阅读（共两节，满分40分）

阅读理解（共15小题；每小2分，满分30分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

   When I was growing up in America, I was ashamed of my mother’s Chinese English. Because of her English, she was often treated unfairly. People in department stores, at banks,

And at restaurants did not take her seriously ,did not give her good service ,pretended not to

Understand her ,or even acted as if they did not hear her .  

My mother has realized the limitations of her English as well. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on phone to pretend I was she . I was forced to ask for information or even to yell at people who had been rude to her. One time I had to call her stockbroker (股票经纪人).I said in an adolescent voice that was not very convincing, “This is Mrs.Tan..”

   And my mother was standing beside me ,whispering loudly, “Why he don’t send me cheek already two week lone.”

And then , in perfect English I said : “I’m getting rather concerned .You agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn’t arrived.”

Then she talked more loudly. “What he want? I come to New York tell him front of his boss.” And so I turned to the stockbroker again, “I can’t tolerate any more excuse. If I don’t receive the check immediately , I am going to have to speak to your manager when I am in New York next week.”

The next week we ended up in New York. While I was sitting there red-faced, my mother, the real Mrs.Tan, was shouting to his boss in her broken English.

  When I was a teenager, my mother’s broken English embarrassed me. But now, I see it differently. To me, my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It is my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, and full of observation and wisdom. It was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed ideas, and made sense of the world.

1.Why was the author’s mother poorly served?

       A.She was unable to speak good English.

       B.She was often misunderstood.

       C.She was not clearly heard.

       D.She was not very polite.

2.From Paragorph 2, we know that the author was____________.

       A.good a pretending

       B.rude to the stockbroker

       C.ready to help her mother

       D.unwilling to phone for her mother

3.After the author made the phone call, __________

A.they forgave the stockbroker

       B.they failed to get the check

       C.they went to New York immediately

       D.they spoke to their boss at once

4.What does the author think of her mother’s English now?

       A.It confuses her.

       B.It embarrasses her.

       C.It helps her understand the world.

       D.It helps her tolerate rude people.

5.We can inter from the passage that Chinese English__________.

       A.is clear and natural to non-native speakers

       B.is vivid and direct to non-native speakers

       C.has a verv bad reputation in America

       D.may bring inconvenience in America

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