第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，共40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
A
There were two things in the world that Ghagra Geeta Bali hated. The first was the way，Rani，the domestic help．combed her hair．The second was，you guessed it，her name. She hated her name so much that she prayed to god every night：Dear god，let me be born again. So I can have a name like Rita or Preeti．A short，smart one-word name.
On Tuesday，Ghagra Geeta Bali and her mother went for their usual shopping. There was a long queue of children just outside the record store．They went loser to look. It was yet another scheme to sell a few audio cassettes．Everyone who bought a cassette qualified for the scheme.
In this case，the artist whose songs were featured on the cassette was a young sensation called Malik Fafidabadi，a great favorite with teenagers. Ghagra Geeta Bali was no exception.
A friendly young man was writing down the names of the people who wanted to participate in the scheme．Out of this long list Malik would pick one name，and the chosen one would get to meet him．plus of course，win many freebies（赠品）.
But when her mother asked her to participate，Ghagra Geeta Bali said no. She didn't want to speak out her name in front of so many people and make herself the butt（笑料）of amusement. But mothers being mothers，she just went up to the man and told him in firm tones：“Please enter my daughter's name. It is Ghagra Geeta Bali.”
“It is what?” the man asked，naturally a little taken aback.
“G-h-a-g-r-a G-e-e-t-a B-a-l-i. There she is，”she replied while pointing to her daughter. The crowd standing around also turned to stare. All Ghagra Geeta Bali wanted then was for the earth to open up and swallow her.
That did not happen．But the following week she received a call．It was from the recording company that had announced the scheme. And they told her that she was the chosen one
“It is all because of your name，” said the public relations  man  who had called.“Mr Faridabadi took one look at it in the list and said that he couldn't wait to meet the brave girl bearing it．”
56．Ghagra Geeta Bali didn't like her name because__________
A．it would bring her a lot of trouble    B．it was too long and not beautiful
C．it would make her angry          D．it was too ugly and dull
57．When the girl saw the crowd turn to stare at her，she felt_________
A．scared    B．shocked             C．embarrassed     D．disappointed
58. What is the message of the story?
A．Mother's love makes all the difference
B．Children should always trust their parents．
C．One should be brave to meet anything strange
D．Something that one thinks is bad may turn out good

PART THREE  READING COMPREHENSION

Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.

A

An Indian civil servant, SM Raju, has come up with a new way of providing employment for millions of poor people in Bihar. His campaign to encourage people to plant trees effectively addresses two burning issues of the world: global warming and shrinking job opportunities.

Mr Raju’s success could clearly be seen on 30 August, 2009 when he organized 300,000 villagers from over 7,500 villages in northern Bihar to engage in a mass tree planting ceremony.

Mr Raju has linked his “social forestry” program to the central government’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), which is also designed to provide employment for poor people. Under NREGA — started in February 2006 as the government’s most ambitious employment generation scheme for poor people — the authorities are bound by law to provide a minimum of 100 days of employment a year for members of families living below the poverty line. About 44% of Bihar’s population fall into this category.

Mr Raju says that Bihar — being the poorest and most lawless state of India — hasn’t been able to spend the allocated (分配的) NREGA funds. “This is because of a lack of awareness among officials about the scheme,” he said. “So the idea struck to my mind: why not involve families below the poverty line in social forestry and give them employment under this scheme for 100 days? Under the scheme, each family can earn a minimum of 10,200 rupees ($210).”

The civil servant immediately made a plan of his idea. In June, Mr Raju published a booklet of “dos and don’ts” and distributed it to village heads. His plan meant that NREGA funds were fully used — in the past this hasn’t always been the case.

“I told the villagers they would get 100 days employment in a year simply by planting trees and protecting them. The old and disabled would be given preference,” he explained.

Every village council has now been given a target of planting 50,000 saplings — a group of four families have to plant 200 trees and they must protect them for three years till the plants grow stronger.

“They would get the full payment if they can ensure the survival of 90% of the plants under their care. For a 75-80% survival rate, they’ll be paid only half the wage. For less than 75%, the families in the group will be replaced,” the guidelines say.

Significantly, his scheme has even stopped the migration of poor labourers from the area in search of employment elsewhere.

56. According to the passage, the main purpose of SM Raju’s “social forestry” program is to _____.

A. promote the practice of NREGA

B. make efforts to prevent global warming

C. increase the employment of poor people

D. prevent poor people from migrating elsewhere

57 According to the passage, the poor people in Bihar don’t make full use of NREGA funds because _____.

A. the local officials don’t realize the importance of NREGA

B. the local government doesn’t get enough support from the central government

C. the local poor people know little about NREGA

D. Bihar is the most lawless state in India

58. We can infer from the passage that _____.

A. most people in Bihar will benefit from NREGA

B. the old and disabled people are not involved in tree planting

C. families who can’t ensure 75% survival rate of the trees will not be paid

D. Raju’s new plan will reduce Bihar’s population below the poverty line

59. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. There’s a good way to deal with global warming

B. Tree planting provides employment for the poor

C. Tree planting solves the problem of unemployment

D. Raju’s “social forestry” program wins the support of NREGA

60. How can villagers get more NREGA funds?

  A. Thinking better ways to stop global warming

  B. Working hard for one hundred days

  C. Planting more trees and ensuring the survival of plants

  D. Stopping moving from the area to search employment elsewhere

D
Wrting artieles about films for The Front Page was my first proper job. Before then I had done bits of reviewing --- novels for other newspapers, films for a magazine and anything I was asked to do for the radio．That was how I met Tom Seaton, the first arts editor of The Front Page, who had also written for television．He hired me, but Tom was not primarily a journalist, or he would certainly have been more careful in choosing his staff．
At first, his idea was that a team of critics should take care of the art forms that didn’t require specialized knowledge: books, TV, theatre, film and radio．There would be a weekly lunch at which we would make our choices from the artistic material that Tom had decided we should cover, though there would also be guests to make the atmosphere sociable．
It all felt like a bit of dream at that time: a new newspaper and I was one of the team．It seemed so unlikely that a paper could be introduced into a crowded market．It seemed just as likely that a millionaire wanted to help me personally, and was pretending to employ me．Such was my lack of self-confidence．
Tom’s original scheme for a team of critics for the arts never took off．It was a good idea, but we didn’t get together as planned and so everything was done by phone．It turned out, too, that the general public out there preferred to associate a reviewer with a single subject area, and so I chose film．Without Tom’s initial push, though, we would hardly have come up with the present arrangement, by which I write an extended weekly piece, usually on one film．
The space I am given allows me to broaden my argument --- or forces me, in an uninteresting week, to make something out of nothing．But what is my role in the public arena? I assume that people choose what films to go to on the basis of the stars, the publicity or the director．So if a film review isn’t really a consumer guide, what is it? I certainly don’t feel I have a responsibility to be ‘right’ about a movie．Nor do I think there should be a certain number of ‘great’ and ‘bad’ films each year．All I have to do is put forward an argument．I’m not a judge, and nor would I want to be．
67．What do we learn about Tom Seaton from the first paragraph?
A．He encouraged Mark to become a writer．
B．He had worked in various areas of the media．
C．He met Mark when working for television．
D．He prefers to employ people that he knows．
68．The weekly lunches were planned in order to       .
A．help the writers get to know each other
B．provide an informal information session
C．distribute the work that had to be done
D．entertain important visitors from the arts
69．What does the author mean when he says that Tom’s plan ‘never took off’ in Paragraph 4?
A．It was unpopular.    
B．It wasted too much time.
C．It wasn’t planned properly.
D．It wasn’t put into practice.
70．Which of the following best describes what Mark says about his work?
A．His success varies from year to year．
B．He prefers to write about films he likes．
C．He can freely express his opinion．
D．He writes according to accepted rules．

The words of Gandhi, Einstein and other great thinkers are to be quoted in service announcements on London’s Underground．
Transport for London has asked Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller to edit a list of mottos to be used by tube drivers．Gandhi’s “there is more to life than increasing its speed” and the artist Cezanne’s “we live in a rain-bow of chaos” are among the quotes．Deller hopes they will make passengers’ journeys a bit more thought-provoking(发人深省的)．
Deller’s original plan was to abolish all public announcements for a day．“It makes me feel annoyed,” he said．“It’s like some psychological warfare(战争 ) on the passengers．”
But his idea was refused by the manager of Transport for London, who instead agreed to the plan of replacing some announcements with something more human and attractive．
Sally Shaw, who is running the scheme for Transport for London, says it is part of an attempt to improve day-to-day interaction and rely less on automated announcements．
“I think everyone has their own little philosophy on their journeys．And if we can get more of that out in the air, that would be great,” she said．
Susy Wells, one of the drivers to test the idea out on the London Underground, is also enthusiastic about it．
She said, “I like to make my own announcements and it’s nice to get passengers to think as well．”
What’s more, some quotes are helpful to the drivers．They help the passengers become more understanding about the drivers’ work．
The quotes such as Thomas Fuller’s “a stumble(绊脚) may prevent a fall” are popular for helping explain why a little inconvenience was sometimes necessary to keep the system safe．
1．The underlined phrase “tube drivers” probably means______．
A．taxi drivers            B．subway drivers
C．truck drivers           D．bus drivers
2．Why did Deller want to abolish all public announcements on the underground?
A．Because they cause a war among passengers．
B．Because the public announcements make Deller tired．
C．Because the public announcements are dull．
D．All public announcements are not suitable for the passengers．
3．The reason why the sayings are to be quoted on London’s Underground is ______．
A．that everyone has their own life motto
B．that sayings are believed to be more human and attractive
C．that sayings can help develop spiritual civilization in London
D．that saying can make drivers think more
4．The best title of this passage would be _____．
A．Changes on London’s Underground
B．Culture on London’s Underground
C．Some Quotes Seen on London’s Underground
D．Introduction to London’s Underground

C
Jamie Oliver has been invited by Gordon Brown to prepare a banquet at No. 10 for President Barack Obama and other leaders of the G20, offering a cut-price menu to reflect times when trade and industry are far from prosperous and the rate of employment is decreasing.
Downing Street sources say Oliver, the well-known chef, will cook using “honest high-street products” and avoid expensive or “fancy” ingredients (材料).
The prime minister is trying to avoid a repeat of the embarrassment last year when he sat down to an 18-course banquet at a Japanese summit to discuss world food shortages.
Obama, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and other leaders will be served by apprentices (学徒) from Fifteen, the London restaurant Oliver founded to help train young people in poverty in order to make a living by mastering a skill.
Brown wants the dinner to reflect the emphasis of the London summit, which he hopes will lead to an agreement to lift the world out of recession. “To be invited to cook for such an important group of people, who are trying to solve some of the world’s major problems, is really a privilege,” said Oliver.
“I’m hoping the menu I’m working on will show British food and produce is some of the best in the world, but also show we have pioneered a high-quality apprentice scheme at Fifteen London that is giving young people a skill to be proud of.”
The chef has not yet finalized the menu, but is expected to draw inspiration from his latest book, Jamie’s Ministry of Food, which has budget recipes for beef and ale stew (啤酒炖菜) and “impressive” chocolate fudge cake.
49. The underlined word “recession” in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to “_______”.
A. business       B. opposition           C. discussion           D. depression
50. What can we learn about Oliver from the text?
A. He is a well-known American cook.        
B. He is invited to attend the G20 summit.
C. He has founded the Fifteen London.      
D. He is one of the apprentices serving leaders of the G20.
51. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
A. Oliver is honored to be invited to cook for the G20 leaders.
B. Altogether three presidents are mentioned in the text.
C. President Barack Obama offers the cut-price menu.
D. The menu for the G20 dinner banquet has been decided.
52. What is the Fifteen London?
A. an apartment in London                               B. a luxurious restaurant in London
C. a restaurant as well as a training center                D. a famous avenue