阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从1-15各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

In a small village, there lived a potter(陶工) who had a donkey. Every day his donkey would carry soil from the ___1___ to his house. Since the field was quite far off, the potter would ___2___ under a tree midway, tying(拴) his donkey nearby.

One day, the potter __3__ to take the rope with which he tied the donkey every day. When he reached the __4__, he became worried and didn’t know what to do. At that time, a saint(圣人) __5__ to be passing by. When the potter told the saint what his __6__ was, he said, “Take the __7__ to the place where you tie him every day. __8__ to tie him using an imaginary rope. He won’t run away.” The potter did what the saint had said.

When he woke up, to his __9__ and relief, he found the donkey standing in the __10__ place. But to his frustration, when he prepared to leave for __11__, the donkey did not move. __12__, the potter saw the wise saint again and told him about the donkey’s __13__ behavior. The saint said, “Go and pretend to untie the rope.” The potter __14__ the saint’s advice.

Now the donkey was ready to leave for home. The potter thanked the wise saint and went home __15__ his donkey.

1. A. factory      B. garden           C. field             D. village

2. A. stand        B. rest             C. sing             D. dance

3. A. forgot       B. decided          C. expected         D. agreed

4. A. stone        B. tree             C. bridge           D. house

5. A. failed        B. attempted        C. happened        D. managed

6. A. animal       B. plant            C. problem         D. result

7. A. bird         B. flower           C. donkey          D. rope

8. A. Believe      B. Learn            C. Wish           D. Pretend

9. A. surprise      B. disappointment    C. anger           D. regret

10. A. similar      B. special           C. same           D. wrong

11. A. field        B. school           C. home           D. hospital

12. A. Quickly     B. Luckily           C. Unfortunately    D. Badly

13. A. funny       B. foolish           C. proper          D. strange

14. A offered       B. followed         C. refused         D. received

15. A. happily      B. sadly            C. seriously        D. casually

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。

Christopher Thomas, 27, was a writer by night and a teacher by day when he noticed he was always tired and was losing weight fast. Diagnosed with diabetes(糖尿病), Thomas would need to inject himself with insulin(胰岛素) three times a day for the rest of his life or risk nerve damage, blindness, and even death. And if that weren't bad enough, he had no health insurance.

After a month of feeling upset, Thomas decided he'd better find a way to fight back. He left Canton, Michigan for New York, got a job waiting tables, nicknamed himself the Diabetic Rockstar , and created diabeticrockstar.com, a free online community for diabetics and their loved ones—a place where over 1,100 people share personal stories, information, and resources.

    Jason Swencki’s son, Kody, was diagnosed with type diabetes at six. Father and son visit the online children's forums(论坛) together most evenings. "Kody gets so excited, writing to kids from all over," says Swencki, one of the site's volunteers. "They know what he's going through, so he doesn't feel alone."

Kody is anything but alone: Diabetes is now the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, with 24 million diagnosed cases. And more people are being diagnosed at younger ages.

    These days, Thomas's main focus is his charity（慈善机构）, Fight It, which provides medicines and supplies to people—225 to date—who can't afford a diabetic's huge expenses. Fight-it.org has raised about $23,000—in products and in cash. In May, Thomas will hold the first annual Diabetic Rockstar Festival in the Caribbean.

    Even with a staff of 22 volunteers, Thomas often devotes up to 50 hours a week to his cause, while still doing his full-time job waiting tables. "Of the diabetes charities out there, most are putting money into finding a cure," says Bentley Gubar,  one of Rockstar's original members. "But Christopher is the only person I know saying people need help now."

1. Which of the following is true of Christopher Thomas?

A.  He needs to go to the doctor every day.

B.  He studies the leading cause of diabetes

C.  He has a positive attitude to this disease.

D.  He encourages diabetics by writing articles.

2. Diabeitcrockstar.com was created for _________.

   A. diabetics to communicate          B. volunteers to find jobs

   C. children to amuse themselves       D. rock stars to share resources.

3. According to the text, Kody ______.

A. feel lonely because of his illness

B. benefits from diabeticrockstar.com

C. helps create the online kid’s forums

D. writes children’s stories online

4. What can we learn about Fight It?

A. It helps the diabetics in financial difficulties.

B. It organizes parties for volunteer once a year.

C. It offers less expensive medicine to diabetics.

D. It owns a well-known medical website.

5. The last paragraph suggests that Thomas ______.

A. works full-time in a diabetes charity      B. employs 22 people for his website

C. helps diabetics in his own way           D. ties to find a cure for diabetes

Britain and Ireland

　　The British Isles is made up of two large islands: One is called Ireland and the other __16  . Britain, or Great Britain, is the larger of these two islands, and it is17  into three parts: Scotland, Wales and England.

　　The United Kingdom is that 18   of the British Isles ruled over by the Queen. It is made up of Scotland, Wales and England, that is, the  19   of Britain, and also about one sixth of Ireland, the Northern part. The  20  of Ireland is self-governing. The  21  name of the United Kingdom is  22   “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”.

　23  is larger and richer than Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and has the largest  24   of the United Kingdom, so people often use the 25  “England” and “English” when they  26   “Britain” and “British”. This sometimes makes the Scots and the Welsh a little 27  . The Scots in particular are very  28  of their separate nationality. The Welsh too do not regard   29  as English, and have a culture and even a   30 of their own.

　　Ireland became part of the United Kingdom in 1801, but for forty years the “Irish  31   ” was the greatest headache of the United Kingdom.  32  , Ireland is divided into two: Northern Ireland still  33 to the United Kingdom, and in 1922 the rest of Ireland   34   to found an Irish Free State, later called Eire and now the Republic of Ireland.

　　The Republic of Ireland does not regard itself as part of Britain, and is not now even a supporter of the Commonwealth of Nations (英联邦). Unlike the major Commonwealth countries it did not lift a finger to   35 British in the Second World War and now wants the whole of Ireland to be a republic.

1.A. Wales       B. Britain         C. England        D. Scotland

2.A. divided      B. cut            C. broken          D. separated

3.A. piece        B. island          C. country         D. part

4.A. south        B. north          C. part            D. whole

5.A. smaller      B. larger          C. rest             D. island

6.A. correct      B. true            C. full             D. complete

7.A. also         B. therefore       C. likely           D. perhaps

8.A. The UK      B. The British isles  C. Great Britain    D. England

9.A. colleges      B. officials         C. cities           D. population

10.A. words       B. names           C. spellings        D. pronunciations

11.A. call         B. forget           C. speak           D. write

12.A. angry       B. difficult          C. tired           D. lonely

13.A. proud       B. fond            C. full             D. kind

14. A. it           B. Wales           C. them            D. themselves

15.A. capital      B. language         C. history          D. programs

16.A. Country     B. Question         C. Disease          D. Republic

17.A. At last      B. So              C. Meanwhile       D. Also

18.A. returns      B. belongs          C. gets             D. speaks

19.A. hoped       B. refused          C. broke away       D. used

20.A. feel         B. touch            C. fight             D. help

Christopher Thomas, 27, was a writer by night and a teacher by day when he noticed he was always tired and was losing weight fast. Diagnosed with diabetes(糖尿病), Thomas would need to inject himself with insulin(胰岛素) three times a day for the rest of his life or risk nerve damage, blindness, and even death. And if that weren't bad enough, he had no health insurance.

After a month of feeling upset, Thomas decided he'd better find a way to fight back. He left Canton, Michigan for New York, got a job waiting tables, nicknamed himself the Diabetic Rockstar, and created diabeticrockstar.com, a free online community for diabetics and their loved ones—a place where over 1,100 people share personal stories, information, and resources.

    Jason Swencki’s son, Kody, was diagnosed with type diabetes at six. Father and son visit the online children's forums(论坛) together most evenings. "Kody gets so excited, writing to kids from all over," says Swencki, one of the site's volunteers. "They know what he's going through, so he doesn't feel alone."

Kody is anything but alone: Diabetes is now the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, with 24 million diagnosed cases. And more people are being diagnosed at younger ages.

    These days, Thomas's main focus is his charity（慈善机构）, Fight It, which provides medicines and supplies to people—225 to date—who can't afford a diabetic's huge expenses. Fight-it.org has raised about $23,000—in products and in cash. In May, Thomas will hold the first annual Diabetic Rockstar Festival in the Caribbean.

    Even with a staff of 22 volunteers, Thomas often devotes up to 50 hours a week to his cause, while still doing his full-time job waiting tables. "Of the diabetes charities out there, most are putting money into finding a cure," says Bentley Gubar, one of Rockstar's original members. "But Christopher is the only person I know saying people need help now."

1.Which of the following is true of Christopher Thomas?

A. He needs to go to the doctor every day.

B. He studies the leading cause of diabetes

C. He has a positive attitude to this disease.

D. He encourages diabetics by writing articles.

2.Diabeitcrockstar.com was created for _________.

A. diabetics to communicate          B. volunteers to find jobs

C. children to amuse themselves       D. rock stars to share resources.

3.According to the text, Kody ______.

A. feel lonely because of his illness

B. benefits from diabeticrockstar.com

C. helps create the online kid’s forums

D. writes children’s stories online

4.What can we learn about Fight It?

A. It helps the diabetics in financial difficulties.

B. It organizes parties for volunteer once a year.

C. It offers less expensive medicine to diabetics.

D. It owns a well-known medical website.

5.The last paragraph suggests that Thomas ______.

A. works full-time in a diabetes charity      

B. employs 22 people for his website

C. helps diabetics in his own way          

D. ties to find a cure for diabetes

My family and I lived across the street from Southway Park since I was four years old. Then just last year the city put a chain link fence around the park and started bulldozing(用推土机推平)the trees and grass to make way for a new apartment complex. When I saw the fence and bulldozers, I asked myself，“Why don't they just leave it alone？”

Looking back, I think what sentenced the park to oblivion(被遗忘)was the drought(旱灾)we had about four years ago. Up until then, Southway Park was a nice green park with plenty of trees and a public swimming pool. My friends and I rollerskated on the sidewalks, climbed the trees, and swam in the pool all the years I was growing up. The park was almost like my own yard. Then the summer I was fifteen the drought came and things changed.

There had been almost no rain at all that year. The city stopped watering the park grass. Within a few weeks I found myself living across the street from a huge brown desert. Leaves fell off the park trees, and pretty soon the trees started dying, too. Next, the park swimming pool was closed. The city cut down on the work force that kept the park, and pretty soon it just got too ugly and dirty to enjoy anymore.

As the drought lasted into the fall, the park got worse every month. The rubbish piled up or blew across the brown grass. Soon the only people in the park were beggars and other people down on their luck. People said drugs were being sold or traded there now. The park had gotten scary, and my mother told us kids not to go there anymore.

The drought finally ended and things seemed to get back to normal, that is, everything but the park. It had gotten into such bad shape that the city just let it stay that way. Then about six months ago I heard that the city was going to“redevelop”certain worn­out areas of the city. It turned out that the city had planned to get rid of the park, sell the land and let someone build rows of apartment buildings on it.

The chain­link fencing and the bulldozers did their work. Now we live across the street from six rows of apartment buildings. Each of them is three units high and stretches a block in each direction. The neighborhood has changed without the park. The streets I used to play in are jammed with cars now. Things will never be the same again. Sometimes_I_wonder,_though,_what_changes_another_drought_would_make_in_the_way_things_are_today.

1.How did the writer feel when he saw the fence and bulldozers?

2.Why was the writer told not to go to the park by his mother?

3.According to the writer, what eventually brought about the disappearance of the park?

4.The last sentence of the passage implies that if another drought came，________.