It is widely known that any English conversation begins with The Weather.Such a fixation with the weather finds expression in Dr.Johnson’s famous comment that“When two English meet，their first talk is of weather.”Though Johnson’s observation is as accurate now as it was over two hundred years ago，most commentators fail to come up with a convincing explanation for this English weather?speak.

Bill Bryson，for example，concludes that，as the English weather is not at all exciting，the obsession with it can hardly be understood.He argues that“To an outsider，the most striking thing about the English weather is that there is not very much of it.” Simply，the reason is that the unusual and unpredictable weather is almost unknown in the British Isles.

Jeremy Paxman，however，disagrees with Bryson，arguing that the English weather is by nature attractive.Bryson is wrong，he says，because the English preference for the weather has nothing to do with the natural phenomena.“The interest is less in the phenomena themselves，but in uncertainty.”According to him，the weather in England is very changeable and uncertain and it attracts the English as well as the outsider.

Bryson and Paxman stand for common misconceptions about the weather?speak among the English.Both commentators，somehow，are missing the point.The English weather conversation is not really about the weather at all.English weather?speak is a system of signs，which is developed to help the speakers overcome the natural reserve and actually talk to each other.Everyone knows conversations starting with weather?speak are not requests for weather data.Rather，they are routine greetings，conversation starters or the blank “fillers”．In other words，English weather?speak is a means of social bonding.

1.The author mentions Dr.Johnson’s comment to show that________.

A．most commentators agree with Dr.Johnson

B．Dr.Johnson is famous for his weather observation

C．the comment was accurate two hundred years ago

D．English conversations usually start with the weather

2.What does the underlined word “obsession” most probably refer to?

A．A social trend.

B．An emotional state.

C．A historical concept.

D．An unknown phenomenon.

3.According to the passage，Jeremy Paxman believes that________.

A．Bill Bryson has little knowledge of the weather

B．there is nothing special about the English weather

C．the English weather attracts people to the British Isles

D．English people talk about the weather for its uncertainty

4.What is the author’s main purpose of writing the passage?

A．To explain what English weather?speak is about.

B．To analyse misconceptions about the English weather.

C．To find fault with both Bill Bryson and Jeremy Paxman.

D．To convince people that the English weather is changeable.

(2013·高考山东卷，D)Sparrow is a fast?food chain with 200 restaurants.Some years ago，the group to which Sparrow belonged was taken over by another company.Although Sparrow showed no sign of declining，the chain was generally in an unhealthy state.With more and more fast?food concepts reaching the market，the Sparrow menu had to struggle for attention.And to make matters worse，its new owner had no plans to give it the funds it required.

Sparrow failed to grow for another two years，until a new CEO，Carl Pearson，decided to build up its market share.He did a survey，which showed that consumers who already used Sparrow restaurants were extremely positive about the chain，while customers of other fast?food chains were unwilling to turn away from them.Sparrow had to develop a new promotional campaign.

Pearson faced a battle over the future of the Sparrow brand.The chain’s owner now favored rebranding Sparrow as Marcy’s restaurants.Pearson resisted，arguing for an advertising campaign designed to convince customers that visits to Sparrow restaurants were fun.Such an attempt to establish a positive relationship between a company and the general public was unusual for that time.Pearson strongly believed that numbers were the key to success，rather than customers’ spending power.Finally，the owner accepted his idea.

The campaign itself changed the traditional advertising style of the fast?food industry.The TV ads of Sparrow focused on entertainment and featured original songs performed by a variety of stars.Instead of showing the superiority of a specific product，the intention was to put Sparrow in the hearts of potential customers.

Pearson also made other decisions which he believed would contribute to the new Sparrow image.For example，he offered to lower the rent of any restaurants which achieved a certain increase in their turnover(营业额)．

These efforts paid off，and Sparrow soon became one of the most successful fast?food chains in the regions where it operated.

1.Which was one of the problems Sparrow faced before Pearson became CEO?

A．The number of its customers was declining.

B．Its customers found the food unhealthy.

C．It was in need of financial support.

D．Most of its restaurants were closed.

2.What does the underlined word“them”in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Customers of Sparrow restaurants.

B．Sparrow restaurants.

C．Customers of other fast?food chains.

D．Other fast?food chains.

3.For what purpose did Pearson start the advertising campaign?

A．To build a good relationship with the public.

B．To stress the unusual tradition of Sparrow.

C．To learn about customers’spending power.

D．To meet the challenge from Marcy’s restaurants.

4.The TV ads of Sparrow ________.

A．changed people’s views on pop stars

B．amused the public with original songs

C．focused on the superiority of its products

D．influenced the eating habits of the audience

5.What was Pearson’s achievement as a CEO?

A．He managed to pay off Sparrow’s debts.

B．He made Sparrow much more competitive.

C．He helped Sparrow take over a company.

D．He improved the welfare of Sparrow employees.

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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

On October 16th 1987, southern Britain was hit by a hurricane, the worst storm to hit Britain since 1703.

Twenty years later, Britain is remembering the disaster known as The Great Storm. 15 million trees across the area were uprooted by the wind, and a wet autumn had made the ground very muddy (泥泞的).

The falling trees caused damage to buildings and vehicles, and blocked roads and railway lines, forcing everyone, from adults to schoolchildren to stay at home.

There were also blackouts across the area, as power lines were damaged by falling trees and flying debris (残骸). People used candles and flashlights (手电) for light, and gas stoves and open fires to cook food.

The storm lasted for 4 hours, and killed 18 lives. The bad weather caused so much damage mostly because of the fact that most people were completely unprepared, and be-cause many weather forecasters didn’t think it could cause a problem.

Earlier that week, weather forecasts had predicted severe (严重的) weather, but forecasters thought it would miss Britain and only affect the English Channel. A well-known weatherman, Michael Fish, ever said that the storm wouldn’t happen, though in fact he was talking about a hurricane in Florida at that time.

The unusual storm caused more than ￡1billion in dam-age, and hundreds of people were injured.

Could the same thing happen today in Britain? Well, as a result of climate change many people think that sudden and severe weather changes are more likely. However, technology has improved, and satellites give us a much more accurate(精确的)picture of future weather. If another Great Storm comes along, the British public will probably be warned earlier and have more time to prepare!

56. The bad weather in 1987 in Britain caused a lot of damage because ______.

A. it caused a great flood                    B. most people were not prepared

C. it happened in the summer                            D. there was no weather forecast

57. Which of the following was NOT one of the effects of The Great Storm?

A. There were a number of deaths and injuries.   B. The electricity went out.

C. It hit Florida first.                                D. Roads and railway lines were blocked.

58. One week before The Great Storm, weather forecasts ______.

A. could not predict severe weather at all

B. had predicted the severe weather, but some weather forecasters thought it would miss Britain

C. showed that the terrible storm would not hit the English Channel

D. showed that The Great Storm would affect both England and Florida

59. We learn from the last paragraph that ______.

A. this kind of bad weather will not happen in Britain again

B. bad weather will happen more frequently in Britain now

C. people will be better prepared if there is bad weather in Britain now

D. bad weather may be stopped with the development of technology

　 Welcome to one of the largest collections of footwear in the world that will make you green with envy. Here at the Footwear Museum you can see exhibits（展品）from all over the world. You can find out about shoes worn by everyone from the Ancient Egyptians to pop stars.

60. The underlined word “celebrity” in Room 1 may refer to “__________”.

　 A. pop stars　　　　　　 B. famous persons　　　　　　 C. queens　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. presidents

61. All exhibits in each room __________.

　 A. share the same subject

　 B. have the same shape

C. are made of the same material

D. belong to the same social class

62We can learn from the text that __________.

　 A. The oldest exhibits in Room 1 were made in the 1950s.

B. Room 2 is the most visited place in the museum.

C. Room 3 has a less variety of exhibits than the other two.

D. Researchers come to the Footwear Library for information.

63. The purpose of the text is to get more people to __________.

　 A. do research　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. design shoes

　 C. visit the museum　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. follow pop stars

Early in the 18th century, Captain Cook, a famous explorer of Australia, unexpectedly caught sight of an unusual animal during his first visit to Australia. The animal had a large mouse like head and jumped along on its large legs. To his great surprise, the unusual animal carried its young in a special pocket of flesh. Captain Cook pointed to the animal which was eating grass in the distance and asked his native guide what the animal was referred to. The guide seemed not to know that he was pointing at and finally said “Kang-a-roo”, but their requests were met with puzzled looks of the native people. Before long they got to discover that the native guide who made the answer to Cook’s question really meant, “I don’t know what you pointing at. “ Funny enough, the name “ Kang-a-roo”, stuck and it is still in use today.

1.Which of the following sentences best expresses the main idea?

2.When the native guide said “Kang-a-roo ”, he really meant “ ______”

3.We can infer from this passage ______.