第三部分：阅读理解 (共20小题；每小题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。

A

The Kindle is coming! The Kindle is coming!

Amazon. corn will start selling its wireless electronic reader the Kindle in 100 countries, including China and most of Europe, from Monday, 19 October. The Kindle will cost $279 (189) globally. Amazon says 200,000 English-language books as well as over 85 newspapers and magazines will be available on the international device (设备).

The Kindle is popular with travellers who like the convenience of downloads and don't like carrying heavy books. Amazon says that for every 100 customers who buy a book in the US, some 48 now buy it as an e-book.

"Our vision for Kindle is every book ever printed, in print or out of print, in every language, all available within 60 seconds," Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos told the Irish Times, one of the newspapers that will be available on the device. The international Kindle version will store as many as 1,500 books, read PDF files and allow users to make annotations.

Forrester Research predicts that three million e-reader devices will be sold in the US this year, up from an earlier estimate of two million. That is expected to double next year. The research group says that Amazon will take a 60 per cent market share this year, followed by Sony’s Reader at 35 per cent. In July, Credit Suisse estimated that Amazon's revenues from the Kindle could reach $420 million this year, representing 8.4 per cent of the company's total income.

There are rumours that Amazon's next step will be to turn the Kindle into a device for tasks like e-mailing, texting and surfing the Web, thus competing with a tablet computer reportedly being developed by Apple.

56. The underlined word "revenues" in Paragraph 4 can be replaced ________.

A. users                    B. books                    C. income           D. device

57. Which of the following is true.'?

A. The Kindle can be bought in China now.

B. We can use the Kindle to surf the Internet.

C. The books the Kindle offers are written in 20,000 kinds of languages.

D. This readers are sold in 99 countries of Europe.

58. From this passage we can infer _______.

A. Next year Amazon will sell 6 million readers

B. This year the company's total income reach 5000 million

C. In the US about 48% customers who buy a book use the Kindle

D. You can't deal with the information Amazon provides

59. Which one of the following will like the Kindle most9.

A. Professor.         B. Students.                 C. Traveller.           D. Businessmen.

America, has always had people of many different nationalities and languages. The 1990 census (人口普查) indicates that almost 14% of Americans speak a non-English language at home. Yet only 3% reported that they spoke English “not well” or “not at all ”. That means that slightly more than one out of 10 Americans could be considered bilingual. Besides that, many high school and college students---and even some elementary school students---are required to take a foreign language. Actually, a growing number of Americans are coming to appreciate the benefits of using different languages.

    Ethnic enclaves (少数民族聚居地) have preserved the language and culture of American immigrants. Some local residents can function quite well in their native language, without having to bother learning English. Regions such as southern Florida and the Southwest have numerous Spanish-speaking neighborhoods. In fact, Spanish speakers---numbering over 17 million---form the largest non-English linguistic group in America. But Chinese, Vietnamese, Italian, Polish and many other ethnic group add to the linguistic flavor of America. Foreign languages are so commonly used in some ethnic neighborhoods that visitors might think they are in another country!

    Although some Americans welcome this linguistic and cultural diversity, others have begun to fear that the English language is being threatened. Since the 1980s, the “English Only ” movement has sought to promote legislation (立法) which would establish English as the “official language” and restrict the use of non-English language. However, some groups, including TESOL, the organization for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other language, object to such “language restrictionism”. But so far, 19 states have passed “English Only” legislation, and the topic is the focus of an ongoing debate.

Whether or not English is the official language of the United States, it remains the “language of wider communication”. Nearly everyone recognizes the need to develop the ability in using English in order to do well in America. American also recognize that English is the international language, and people with good English skills can get by in many international settings. On the other hand, in a world growing increasingly smaller, second language skills can be a great favor. They can build cross-cultural bridges and give people an edge in a variety of career field. Indeed, lack of foreign language skill can limit one’s chances for advancement and keep one in a cultural dead-end street. 

1. Ethnic groups have preserved their native languages because ______.

       A. their native languages are commonly used in their neighborhoods

       B. ethnic groups are not allowed to speak English

       C. ethnic groups can do very well in their native languages

       D. ethnic groups don’t allow their natives to learn English

2.The underlined word “bilingual” in paragraph 1 probably means ______.

       A. being able to speak two languages    B. being able to speak one language

       C. being able to speak different languages    D. being able to speak many foreign languages

3.Which of the following is TRUE about “English Only” movement?

       A. Its purpose was to establish a legislation of restricting the use of English.

       B. TESOL was in favor of “English Only ” by objecting to “English plus”.

       C. It was launched because English was being threatened.

       D. A large majority of American states support the movement.

4.What can be the best title of this passage?

       A. The English Only Movement        B. Learn to speak English

       C. English---an International Language D. Being Bilingual

There is a wide and deep choice of a career. Whether he’s a hand in construction or sitting behind the desk working on a computer, everyone has some ideas of what is an attractive career. However, making a career choice is not simply a matter of following a dream; for most people it means a lot of research and soul searching. Choosing the right career becomes one of the most important decisions of an individual’s life.

It used to be that one followed in the footsteps of their father or grandfather or took over the family’s business when it came to making a career choice. These days, a career path can start anywhere and then veer off into something totally different.

Career choices must be realistic and well thought out. It is not uncommon for persons to start a career path and realize they have made a terrible mistake, feeling as if it may be too late to turn around. Not only does a career choice concern your strongest skills and interest, it is also something that you will be doing continuously to bring in income. This is why a career choice can be such a personal decision. Formerly it used to be unusual for someone to change occupations or careers more than once or twice in a lifetime; it is now even more unusual to keep the same career during someone’s working life.

There are a great many measures in helping one choose the right profession. A number of websites offering tools such as career tests and information, educational resources, resume services and the kind can be found. It is important for one to research one’s career in this changing economy situation, and choose the best from several related career choices.

1.According to the author choosing the right career _________.

A．is not difficult at all                      B．needs a lot of dreams

C．is an interesting thing                    D．needs a lot of thoughts

2.The underlined phrase “veer off” in the second paragraph probably means _________.

A．set out to do the same job                 B．change the former course

C．compare two different things              D．dream of getting an easy job

3.Nowadays it is common for one to _________.

A．change his job often                     B．do the same job all his life

C．find a few good jobs at a time              D．live without a job for many years

4.All of the following are the tools on profession offered by websites EXCEPT _________.

A．tests and information                    B．training courses

C．employer’s phone numbers              D．instructions on resume

Contrary to many people believe, highly intelligent children are not necessarily certain to achieve academic success. In fact, so-called gifted students may fail to do well because they are unusually smart. Ensuring that a gifted child reaches his or her potential requires an understanding of what can go wrong and how to satisfy the unusual learning requirements of extremely bright young people.
One common problem gifted kids face is that they, and those around them, place too much importance on being smart. Such an emphasis can encourage a belief that bright people do not have to work hard to do well. Although smart kids may not need to work hard in the lower grades, when the work is easy, they may struggle and perform poorly when the work gets harder because they do not make the effort to learn. If the academic achievement of highly intelligent children remains below average for an extended period, many teachers will fail to recognize their potential. As a result, such students may not get the encouragement they need, further depressing their desire to learn. They may fall far behind in their schoolwork and even develop behavior problems.
IQ is just one element among many in the recipe for success—Children develop well or struggle in school for a host of reasons apart from IQ. These include motivation and persistence, social competence, and the support of family, educators and friends.
Because highly gifted children solve the most varied thought problems faster and more thoroughly than those with more average talents do, they need additional intellectual stimulation while they wait for the rest of the kids to learn the basics. Two central approaches are used to satisfy the educational needs of such children: acceleration and enrichment. Acceleration means studying material that is part of the standard subjects for older students. Enrichment involves learning information that falls outside the usual subjects.
A child might skip one or more grades as a way of accelerating in school. But being with older children for the entire school day—and perhaps for grade-based extracurricular activities such as sports—can make a child feel inferior in every filed outside of academics. One very bright fourth-grader who had skipped two grades remained far ahead of his classmates intellectually, but as his classmates reached adolescence, his social and other shortcomings became painfully apparent. While acceleration is not an option, or not a good one, enrichment can be. After all, school is not a race but an adventure in learning. As such, the goal is not finishing first but absorbing as much knowledge as possible in the time assigned. Thus, providing opportunities for a child to study topics outside the regular subjects can be at least as valuable as pushing him or her through the required material faster.
【小题1】What is the basic reason for the low academic achievement of highly intelligent children?

A．Skipping one of more grades and studying together with older children.

B．Learning the same material in the standard subjects for older students.

C．Learning information that is not included in the regular subjects.

D．Learning how to read with fluency even in their pre-school days.

A．He is in favor of enrichment rather than acceleration.

B．He is in favor of acceleration rather than enrichment.

C．He speaks highly of both enrichment and acceleration.

D．He thinks neither enrichment nor acceleration is a good choice.

A. Set a Good Example for Your Kids

B. Build Your Kids’ Work Skills

C. Place Time Limits on Leisure Activities

D. Talk about the Future on a Regular Basis

E. Help Kids Develop Strategies of dealing with different things

F. Help Your Kids Figure Out Who They Are

G. Build Your Kids’ Sense of Responsibility

How Can a Parent Help?

Mothers and fathers can do a lot to ensure a safe landing in early adulthood for their kids. Even if a job’s starting salary seems too small to satisfy an emerging adult’s need for rapid content, the transition from school to work can be less of a setback if the start-up adult is ready for the move. Here are a few measures, drawn from my book Ready or Not, Here Life Comes, which parents can take to prevent what I call “work-life unreadiness.”

1._________You can start this process when they are 11 or 12. Regularly review their emerging strengths and weaknesses with them and work together on any shortcomings, like difficulty in communicating well or cooperating. Also, identify the kinds of interests they keep coming back to, as these offer clues to the careers that will fit them best.

2.________Kids need a range of real role models. Have regular dinner-table discussions about people the family knows and how they got where they are. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of your own career and encourage your kids to form some ideas about their own future. When asked what they want to do, they should be discouraged from saying “I have no idea.” They can change their minds 200 times, but having only a foggy view of the future is of little good.

3._______Teachers are responsible for teaching kids how to learn; parents should be responsible for teaching them how to work. Assign responsibilities around the house and make sure homework deadlines are met. Encourage teenagers to take a part-time job. Kids need plenty of practice developing effective organizational skills, such as managing time and setting priorities(优先).

4._________Playing video games encourages immediate content（满足）. And hours of watching TV shows with canned laughter only teaches kids to process information in a passive way. At the same time, listening through earphones to the songs for a long time encourages kids to stay inside instead of participating in other outdoor activities. All these activities can prevent the growth of children’s communication and thinking skills and make it difficult for kids to develop the kind of sustained (持续的) concentration they will need for most jobs.

5._________They should know how to deal with setbacks, stresses and feelings of inadequacy. They should also learn how to solve problems and resolve conflicts, ways to brainstorm and think critically. Discussions at home can help kids practice doing these things and help them apply these skills to everyday life situations.

What about the son or daughter who is grown but seems to be struggling and wandering aimlessly through early adulthood? Parents still have a major role to play, but now it is more delicate. Most of all, these new adults must feel that they are respected and supported by a family that appreciates them.