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。

A person has to be sixteen to drive, seventeen to see certain movies, and eighteen to vote. People can get terrific discounts on all sorts of stuff－provided they’re over sixty-five. Everywhere we look there are age limits that define what people can and can’t do. But creativity has no boundaries, no limitations. Anyone can invent. And they do. Inventors are popping up at the youngest ages.

Sitting in the car waiting for her mom to return from shopping, Becky decided she might as well try to finish her math homework. But it was growing dark and getting hard to see the paper.

“I didn’t have a flashlight, and I didn’t want to open the car door because then the whole car would light up.” recalled Becky. “So I thought it would be neat to have my paper light up somehow, and that’s when the idea came to me.”

It isn’t every day that a ten-year-old invents a product eagerly sought by several businesses, but that’s exactly what Becky Schroeder did when she created a tool that enabled people to write in the dark. Her invention? The Glo-sheet.

That night Becky went home, trying to imagine different ways of making her paper glow in the dark. She remembered all sorts of glow-in-the-dark toys－like balls and Frisbees－and wondered how they were made. She was determined to find a solution. So they very next day, Beck’s dad took her on an outing to the hardware store. They returned with a pail (桶) of phosphorescent paint. She took the paint and stacks of paper into the darkest room in the house－the bathroom. There, she experimented.

“I’d turn on the light, turn it off, turn it on,” said Becky. “My parents remember me running out the room saying ‘It works, it works! I’m writing in the dark!’ ”

She used an acrylic board and coated it with a specific amount of phosphorescent paint. She took a complicated idea and made it work rather simply. When the coated clipboard is exposed to light, it glows. The glowing board then illuminates or lights up the paper that has been placed on top. Two years after her initial inspiration, in 1974, Becky became the youngest female ever to receive a U.S. patent.

She didn’t actively market her Glo-sheet. She didn’t need to. The New York Times wrote an article about an incredible invention－patented by a twelve-year-old, and the inquiries and orders streamed in.

1. From Paragraph 1 , we can draw a conclusion that _________.

A. it is illegal for one to drive under sixteen

B. people enjoy privileges when over sixty-five

C. one is never too old or too young to invent

D. people hate the limitations that define our behavior

2. What caused Becky to invent Glo-sheet?

A. She was trying to do homework when it got dark.

B. She was having trouble with math problems.

C. She was trying to earn some money. 

D. She was working on a school project.

3. What is the meaning of the underlined words “phosphorescent paint” in paragraph 5?

A. paint that acts as a glue                                  B. paint that covers a mark

C. paint that becomes hard                                 D. paint that glows in the dark

4. What does it mean that Beck “didn’t actively market her Glo-sheet” according to paragraph 8?

A. She kept the original one for her own use.

B. Other people came to her for the Glo-sheet.

C. Becky’s father tried to sell the Glo-sheet.

D. She gave away patent to the government.

5. With which statement would Becky most likely agree?

A. Experience is needed to be a good inventor.

B. Only by inventing things can you know what people need.

C. Always try to sell patent rights to large companies. 

D. You never know what you can do unless you try.

If you are hungry, what do you do? Have your favorite meal and stay quiet after that?  59  But it never lets you know, because you keep it busy thinking about your friends or favorite stars．So it silently serves your needs and never lets itself grow．When mind loses its freedom to grow, creativity gets a full stop．This might be the reason why we all sometimes think "What happens next?", "Why can't I think?"

  60  Why reading but not watching TV? It is because reading has been the most educative tool used by us right from childhood．Since it develops other aspects of our life, we have to get help from reading．

Once you read a book, you run your eyes through the lines and your mind tries to explain something to you．  61 Now this seed is unknowingly used by you to develop new ideas．If it is used many times, the same seed can give you great help to relate a lot of things which you would have never thought of in your wildest dreams!

This is nothing but creativity．  62  Within no time you can start talking with your friends in English or any other language and never run out of the right words．

So guys, do give food for your thoughts by reading, reading and more reading．  63 Go and get a book!

E．Hunger of the mind can be actually solved through wide reading．

F．Reading can help you make more friends, too．

G．Also this makes a significant contribution to your vocabulary．

Listening to music can help me focus better. Since I discovered it two years ago，I've used music to get through boring work or to focus creatively. I've found that it can make even the dullest jobs enjoyable and help clear mental blocks to creativity.

I first noticed the good effects of music while playing video games. It was a few days before Christmas in 2005 and I was playing online video games. My parents had just given me a new MP3，so I decided to listen to music through the headphones while I played. After a few minutes I noticed a great change in my style of play. I was playing more naturally. The music relaxed me，and，to a certain extent，distracted me from the game，allowing my subconscious(潜意识的)talent to come through. The music also helped me block out the outside world. With those headphones on I was like a machine，moving from one task to the next without unnecessary thoughts or actions.

Music can also have a great effect on mood. If I'm in a bad mood at work，I'll listen to some of Bob Marley's and get down to business. It always takes my mind off what I'm doing and makes me a happier person. The same is true for classic rock. One summer，I did a boring job collecting bottle openers by hand. Without a radio playing classic rock in the background，I would have hated life.

Listening to music with relaxing rhythms and a positive message helps you forget your work and think happy thoughts. But the results you see will depend heavily on your personal tastes. Experiment with the types of music you listen to during certain tasks. By trial and error you'll finally discover your best choice.

I'm always looking for new concentration aids，so I'd love to know what type of music works best for me.

1. We can infer that the passage was written in ________.

A. 2005　  　B. 2006　　  C. 2007　 　D. 2008

2. The author first discovered the effects of music ________.

A. from his parents  B. by chance

C. at work         D. when he was a child

3. Which of the following statements is NOT an effect of music for the author?

A. It helps him block out the outside world.

B. It arouses his subconscious talent.

C. It helps his mind relax.

D. It makes him work without any thought.

4. The author mentions the experience of collecting bottle openers in Paragraph 3 to ________.

A. tell us that life is dull

B. drove that music affects mood

C. tell us how to seek happiness

D. tell us bad mood can affect work

5. In order to get the greatest effect of music，you are advised to ________.

A. listen to some of Bob Marley's

B. only choose relaxing music

C. test all kinds of music

D. listen to classic rock

Many Americans are turning to Japan, they think, a country of high academic achievement and economic success, for possible answers. However, the answers provided by Japanese preschools are not the ones Americans expected to find. In most Japanese preschools, surprisingly little emphasis is put on academic instruction. In one survey, 300 Japanese and 210 American preschool teachers, child development specialists, and parents were asked about various aspects of early childhood education. Only 2 percent of the Japanese respondents (答问卷者) listed “to give children a good start academically” as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools. In contrast, over half the American respondents chose this as one of their top three choices. To prepare children for successful careers in first grade and beyond, Japanese preschools do not teach reading, writing, and mathematics, but rather skills such as determination, concentration, and the ability to work as a member of a group. The huge majority of young Japanese children are taught to read at home by their parents.

Like in America, there is diversity (多样性) in Japanese early childhood education. Some Japanese kindergartens have specific aims, such as early musical training or potential development. In large cities, some kindergartens are attached to universities that have elementary and secondary schools. Some Japanese parents believe that if their young children attend a university-based program, it will increase the children’s chances of eventually being admitted to top-rated（一流的） schools and universities. Several more progressive programs have introduced free play as a way out for the heavy intellectualizing (智能化) in some Japanese kindergartens.

We learn from the first paragraph that many Americans believe     .

       A. Japanese parents are more involved in preschool education than American parents

       B. Japan’s economic success is a result of its scientific achievements

       C. Japanese preschool education emphasizes academic instruction

       D. Japan’s higher education is superior to theirs

In Japan’s preschool education, the focus is on     .

       A. preparing children academically      B. developing children’s artistic interests

       C. developing children’s potential       D. shaping children’s character

Why do some Japanese parents send their children to university-based kindergartens?

       A. They can do better in their future studies.

       B. They can make more group experience grow there.

       C. They can be self-centered when they grow up.

       D. They can have better chances of getting a first-rate education.

Free play has been introduced in some Japanese kindergartens in order to      .

       A. broaden children’s knowledge        B. train children’s creativity

       C. lighten children’s study load    D. enrich children’s experience

Last year, a report by a committee of education experts said that a lot of American students cannot write well. The report noted the concerns of business leaders and teachers. The experts said that more students should have to pass a writing test before they can finish high school. They pointed out that major college entrance tests are changing now to include a writing part.

Educators know that teaching students to write well is not easy. One problem is the amount of time needed to read through large amounts of work. So some companies have developed computer programs. These can grade student writing much more quickly than a person can. Writing tests can also cost less to carry out by computer than paper-and-pencil. These computer systems are known as e-readers. They use artificial (人工的) intelligence to think in a way like teachers. In the state of Indiana, computer grading of a statewide writing test began with a test of the system itself. For two years, both a computer and humans graded the student writing. Officials say there was almost no difference between the computer grades and those given by the human readers.

The entrance test commonly used by business schools, the GMAT, already uses e-readers. The GRE and TOEFL tests might start; officials are deciding. The GRE is the Graduate Record Examination. TOEFL is the Test of English as a Foreign Language.

Systems are also being used to grade writing in college classes. The computers read a few hundred examples of student writing already graded by humans. Then the systems compare new writings against those already examined.

How do teachers feel all about this? Many say machines can never do the job as well as people can. A computer can find spelling and grammar mistakes. But these teachers say it can never really understand what a writer is trying to say. Critics say a program cannot follow a thought or judge humor or understand a beautifully expressed idea.

But inventors of the programs say computer grading guarantees that each piece of writing is graded in the same way. They also say the systems are meant to judge knowledge more than creativity.

1．What do the teachers think of the computer system?

A. They think highly of the computer systems.

B. They think that computers cannot grade writing as well as people.

C. They believe that computers can understand a writer’s idea well

D. They are glad computers will spare their effort to correct students’ school work.

2．From the first paragraph we can conclude that _________.

A. American students’ writing ability is being improved

B. American students’ writing ability is not satisfactory

C. business leaders and teachers are not worried about students’ writing

D. all college entrance tests will include a writing part

3．Which of the following is NOT the advantage of e-readers?

A. Saving much of teachers’ time.                     

B. Saving a lot of money.

C. Being fair and objective.                              

D. Appreciating humor and beauty

4．The best title of this passage might be _________.

A. Computer-graded Writing                            

B. Human-graded Writing

C. How to Improve Students’ Writing                

D. Advantages of E-readers