US college students are burdened, with credit card (信用卡)debt, according to a study published Tuesday, and the problem can be serious－ranging from more drop-outs, to future employment problems and even self-murder. The study, by Georgetown University sociologist (社会学家) Robert Manning, blamed credit card issuers for actively targeting students and colleges for allowing them to do so. "The unrestricted selling of credit cards in universities or colleges is so aggressive that it now forms a greater threat than alcohol or sexual diseases," Manning told a news conference in Washington. "If we do not quickly deal with this serious problem, the matter will continue to get worse, with social consequences far more tragic (悲剧的) than mere dollars and cents. "

Based on hundreds of face-to-face interviews and surveys with students, Manning concluded both the number with credit card debt and their indebtedness had been "underreported" in previous studies－which failed to reflect the "survival strategies" many used to deal with their debts. These included the use of federal student loans to pay off credit cards, effectively shifting the debt, appealing to parents for loans, reducing course work hours to increase time at paid jobs, or even dropping out altogether to work full time.

"Official drop-out rates include growing numbers of students who are unable to cope with the stress of their debts and / or part time jobs for servicing their credit cards, " the study said. "Students credit card debts are examined during the employment process and may be an important factor in evaluating future employees," it noted. O’Donnell and Manning agreed students should bear some responsibility for reckless use of credit, but said credit card companies also had to be held responsible for making it so easy for them to get into debt. Manning said one of the most troublesome aspects of the student credit card issue was "the seduction (诱惑) of college and university officials by the credit card industry".

Sociologist Robert Manning's study shows that     .

   A. the number of American college students using credit cards on campus is increasing

   B. more and more American college students meet with credit card debt problems

   C. more and more American colleges encourage students to use credit cards to make profits

   D. credit card issuers will run into debt for encouraging college students to use credit cards

The author's feeling towards college students with credit card debts is __.

   A. discouraged and negative                 B. pitiful and critical

   C. indifferent and disapproving              D. negative and doubtful

The author implies all of following should be responsible for this problem EXCEPT      .

   A. credit card issuers                                  B. college authorities

   C. parents of the students                      D. students themselves

The word "reckless" in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by        .

A. inconsiderate       B. frequent               C. careful                     D. regular

It was raining as I got off the train in Nashville, Tennessee. I was tired so I went straight to my hotel.

A big, heavy man was walking up and down in the hotel lobby. Something about the way he moved made me think of a hungry dog looking for a bone. He had a big, fat, red face and a sleepy expression in his eyes. He introduced himself as Wentworth Caswell – Major Wentworth Caswell – from “a fine southern family”. Caswell pulled me into the hotel’s barroom and yelled for a waiter. We ordered drinks. While we drank, he talked continually about himself, his family, his wife and her family. He said his wife was rich. He showed me a handful of silver coins that he pulled from his coat pocket.

By this time, I had decided that I wanted no more of him. I said good night.

I was born in the south myself. But I live in New York now. I write for a large magazine. My boss had asked me to go to Nashville. The magazine had received some stories and poems from a writer in Nashville, named Azalea Adair. The editor liked her work very much. The publisher asked me to get her to sign an agreement to write only for his magazine.

I left the hotel at nine o’clock the next morning to find Miss Adair. It was still raining. As soon as I stepped outside I met Uncle Caesar. He was a big, old black man with fuzzy gray hair. Uncle Caesar was wearing the strangest coat I had ever seen. It must have been a military officer’s coat. It was very long and when it was new it had been gray. But now rain, sun and age had made it a rainbow of colors. Only one of the buttons was left. It was yellow and as big as a fifty cent coin.

Uncle Caesar stood near a horse and carriage. He opened the carriage door and said softly, “Step right in, sir. I’ll take you anywhere in the city.”

“I want to go to 861 Jasmine Street,” I said, and I started to climb into the carriage. But the old man stopped me. “Why do you want to go there, sir?”

“What business is it of yours?” I said angrily. Uncle Caesar relaxed and smiled. “Nothing, sir. But it’s a lonely part of town. Just step in and I’ll take you there right away.”

861 Jasmine Street had been a fine house once, but now it was old and dying. I got out of the carriage.

“That will be two dollars, sir,” Uncle Caesar said. I gave him two one-dollar bills. As I handed them to him, I noticed that one had been torn in half and fixed with a piece of blue paper. Also, the upper right hand corner was missing.

1.The narrator （故事的叙述者）got to Nashville probably _______.

A. in the morning   B. at noon    C. in the afternoon    D. in the evening

2. The narrator didn’t like Caswell mainly because of ________.

A. his appearance   B. his family    C. the way he talked and behaved  D. his wife

3. The publisher told the narrator to go to Nashville ______.

A. to get a writer to sign an agreement for his magazine

B. to collect some stories and poems from a writer

C. to look for good writers for his magazine

D. to visit his old friend Azalea Adair

4. Uncle Caesar’s strange coat ________.

A. was worn by a military officer      B. was a new gray coat

C. was an old yellow raincoat         D. had only one button left

5. From the question “Why do you want to go there, sir?”, we guess that Uncle Caesar _______.

A. wanted to know why the narrator wanted to go there

B. knew the place and was concerned about the narrator 

C. would charge two dollars for taking the narrator there

D. must have lived in the neighbourhood before

Researchers in over 80 nations are taking part in a project to conduct a decade-long census(统计) of sea life. Scientists presented some of their findings at a recent conference as the project neared its completion.

In deep icy waters under Antarctica, scientists found bulbous tunicates, an underground animal, and many newly-discovered creatures believed to be related to starfish (海星) and other marine(海洋的）creatures.

Elsewhere in the world’s oceans, they have recently discovered many kinds of underwater life forms new to science. It is all part of a research effort called the Census of Marine Life.

“There are about 2,000 scientists worldwide involved,” said Bob Gagosian, President, CEO of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. Gagosian helps manage the project. “Everywhere they’ve gone they’ve found new things,” he says. “The ocean basically is unexplored from the point of view of marine living things.”

Researchers have placed small markers on hundreds of fish and marine animals to track by satellite their migration(迁移）routes and to discover places where sea life gathers.

According to Ron O’Dor, a senior scientist with the Census of Marine Life, knowledge of life on the ocean floor is especially limited. “90% of all the information we have is from the top hundred meters of the ocean,” O’Dor states.

And he says the sea floor is, on average, at a depth of 4, 000 meters. And so, as some machines dive far below what people have previously seen, scientists are discovering new species of plants, animals and living things.

Since the census project began, more than 5,300 new marine animals have been found. Ocean researchers say they hope to catalogue 230,000 species during the census —which some say is only a small part of all the creatures living in the sea.

1.Why do the researchers place small markers on many marine creatures?

2.From what Ron O’Dor says, we can conclude that        .

3.What can we learn from the passage?

4.Why does the author write the passage?

第三部分：阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）

请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Usually, when your teacher asks a question, there is only one correct answer. But there is one question that has millions of current answers. That question is “What’s your name?” Everyone gives a different answer, but everyone is correct.

Have you ever wondered about people’s names? Where do they come from? What do they mean?

People’s first names, or given names, are chosen by their parents. Sometimes the name of a grandparent or other member of the family is used. Some parents choose the name of a well-known person. A boy could be named George Washington Smith; a girl could be named Helen Keller Jones.

Some people give their children names that mean good things. Clara means “bright”; Beatrice means “one who gives happiness”; Donald means “world ruler”; Leonard means “as brave as a lion”.

The earliest last names, or surnames, were taken from place names. A family with the name Brook or Brooks probably lived near brook(小溪)；someone who was called Longstreet probably lived on a long, paved road. The Greenwood family lived in or near a leafy forest.

Other early surnames came from people’s occupations. The most common occupational name is Smith, which means a person who makes things with iron or other metals. In the past, smiths were very important workers in every town and village. Some other occupational names are: Carter — a person who owned or drove a cart; Potter  —a person who made pots and pans.

The ancestors of the Baker family probably baked bread for their neighbors in their native village. The Carpenter’s great-great-great-grandfather probably built houses and furniture.

Sometimes people were known for the color of their hair or skin, or their size, or their special abilities. When there were two men who were named John in the same village, the John with the gray hair probably became John Gray. Or the John was very tall could call himself John Tallman. John Fish was probably an excellent swimmer and John Lightfoot was probably a fast runner or a good dancer.

Some family names were made by adding something to the father’s name. English-speaking people added –s or –son. The Johnsons are descendants of John; the Roberts family’s ancestor was Robert. Irish and Scottish people added Mac or Mc or O. Perhaps all of the MacDonnells and the McDonnells and the O’Donnells are descendants of the same Donnell.

1. Which of the following aspects do the surnames in the passage NOT cover?

A. Places where people lived.      B. People’s characters.

C. Talents that people possessed.   D. People’s occupations.

2. According to the passage, the ancestors of the Potter family most probably _______.

A. owned or drove a cart          B. made things with metals

C. made kitchen tools or contains   D. built houses and furniture

3. Suppose and English couple whose ancestors lived near a leafy forest wanted their new-born son to become a world leader, the baby might be named _______.

A. Beatrice Smith          B. Leonard Carter

C. George Longstreet       D. Donald Greenwood

4. The underlined word “descendants” in the last paragraph means a person’s _____

A. later generations          B. friends and relatives

C. colleagues and partners     D. later sponsors