III 阅读（共两节，满分40分）

第一节阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）         阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡卷上将该项涂黑。

Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I take great pleasure in formally welcoming you and Madam Liu to Buckingham Palace on the occasion of your State Visit to the United Kingdom. You are certainly no stranger to the United Kingdom. This will be your second visit this year, and I also met Your Excellency when you visited as Vice-President in 2001.

It is now almost twenty years since I visited China. Since then China’s development has caught the world’s attention and admiration. It matters to all of us what kind of country China’s people will build, what role they will play in the world of the twenty-first century, and how this will be sensed by others.

China’s growth brings with it difficult challenges for you and your government, but also great opportunities. During her visit in September, the Princess Royal saw both the flagship cities of Beijing and Shanghai and the efforts of government and non-governmental organizations to reduce poverty in rural areas of Anhui and Gansu. I am delighted that China was able to join discussions earlier this year on poverty relief in Africa, sharing with the global community your own remarkable experience in this area.

In those twenty years, the world has changed too. When I visited China in 1986, we had no inkling that the Cold War was so close to its end and we knew little then of the significance of global warming. Now we are able to work together and in the international community to solve problems of environmental protection and sustainable (可持续的) development ...

May I now ask all our guests to raise their glasses and drink a toast:

To His Excellency the President of the People’s Republic of China and Madam Liu and the Chinese people.

1. The speech was most probably given in _________.

A. 1986          B. 1995             C. 2001             D. 2005

2. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

A. The hostess cares much about China’s development.

B. China is faced with both difficult challenges and opportunities.

C. China attended the discussion earlier that year whose topic was how to relieve poverty in rural areas of Anhui and Gansu.

D. China used his own successful experiences to help African people to reduce poverty.

3. The underlined word “inkling” means ____________.

A. slight knowledge              B. suggestion         C. impression         D. doubt

4. The paragraphs which are left out probably talk about ___________.

A. the history of the two countries

B. things they disagree with each other

C. what the partnership between the countries is like today

D. development of the two countries

5. Which of the following best summarizes the tone of the speech?

A. Formal.                 B. Excited.                   C. Casual.                    D. Personal.

Breathe, wave and smile. Along with more than 300 other seniors, I marched into the stadium on the afternoon of May 10. The audience burst into deafening cheers. The huge stadium shook with all the whistling and clapping.

It was as if a Hollywood superstar had walked on stage. And indeed, every single senior that day was a star of the moment. Each deserved it. The seniors had been preparing for four years for this once-in-a-lifetime moment—the commencement(毕业典礼).

Seated, I waited anxiously for the opening address. As a foreign exchange student, I was not able to receive a diploma. However, I still had the wonderful feeling of being part of things. Like the other graduates, I was dressed in marron cap and gown(方帽长袍).

Our principal, Mr. Glover, delivered a short, warm greeting. The US national anthem followed and then, hands on chests, a solemn Pledge of Allegiance(对美国的忠孝宣誓).

Students who had excelled academically gave farewell speeches. The tears in some eyes convinced me that many had deep feelings about the occasion. It was as the class motto says, “Life brings us tears, smiles and memories. The tears dry; the smiles fade; but the memories last forever.”

Then came the core (核心) of the commencement. Hundreds of names were announced. Each graduate walked across the stage to receive his or her diploma from the principal. From the different cheers each graduate got, we had the funny sense that it was a kind of competition of who could cheer the loudest.

To be honest, the presentation of diplomas got boring. A girl sitting next to me even started yawning. But it wasn’t boring for those receiving the diploma: they would treasure the moment the principal placed the sacred brown document in their hands for the rest of their lives.

A new page in the book of that person’s life had turned. They were glimpsing their futures: futures of challenge, hardship, perhaps loneliness too, which would take all of their courage.

1.What’s the article mainly about?

2.Which of the following statements about the author is FALSE?

3.The right order of the following events is_____________.

a. Diplomas were presented to graduates. 

b. Students gave farewell speeches.

c. The US national anthem was played.

d. The principal gave a short, warm speech.

e. Seniors went into the stadium.

4.From the text, we can conclude that_______.

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1. All the following are the advantages of a Routemaster EXCEPT ____.

  A. being newly produced            B. a fully trained driver

  C. a PA system                    D. carrying up to 70 guests

2. If you are having a birthday party with 71 guests, what kind of vehicle will you hire?

  A. A Routemaster.                  B. A Double Decker bus.

  C. A Single Decker bus.             D. A horse-tram.

3.We can learn from the passage that ____.

  A. the buses can only be hired through the Internet

  B. London United Busways has a history of more than 200 years

  C. all the passengers on the Private Hire vehicles should be seated

  D. London United Busways provides matches and concerts throughout the year 

4. Where is the text most likely to be found?

  A. In a local newspaper.            B. In a traffic handbook

  C. In a magazine.                 D. On a website.

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

       Recently I gave my adult students homework．It was to "go to someone you love and tell them you love them．It has to be someone you have   25   said those words to before or at least haven't   26   those words with for a long time．"

       Since most of the men were over 35 and were raised in the   27   of men that were taught    28   feelings is not "manly", this was very   29   homework for some．

       In our next   30   , I asked if someone wanted to share his story with us．I fully   31  one of the women to volunteer, as was   32   the case, but on this evening one of the men raised his hand．As he   33   out of his chair （all 1．85 metres of him）, he began by saying, "Dennis, I was quite   34   with you last week when you gave us this homework．   35   were you to tell me to do something that personal? But as I began driving home my heart started talking to me, telling me that I knew   36   who I needed to say 'I love you' to．"

       "My father and I had a severe   37   five years ago, and since then we had  38  seeing each other unless we had to at Christmas．But even then, we hardly   39   to each other．So last Tuesday I drove to my parents' house after work and said, "Dad, I just    40  to tell you that I love you. '"

       "Dad reached out and    41    me and said, 'I love you too, son, but I've never been able to say it．' Two days after my visit, my dad had a heart attack and I don't know if he will  42    it．So, I'm here to tell all of you that my    43    in this is: Don't wait to do the things    44    it is too late．Take the time to do what you need to do and do it now!"

1.A．ever                                  B．always      C．never     D．even

2.A．said                                   B．shared       C．talked       D．discussed

3.A．year                                  B．occasion    C．period      D．generation

4.A．explaining                         B．hurting     C．devoting   D．expressing

5.A．interesting                         B．threateningC．inspiring   D．exciting

6.A．class                                  B．term      C．holiday     D．week

7.A．asked                                B．disliked     C．advised     D．expected

8.A．usually                              B．probably   C．not        D．seldom

9.A．sat                                    B．rose       C．stood      D．struggle

10.A．bored                              B．amused     C．curious     D．angry

11.A．How                                B．Why      C．Who      D．What

12.A．exactly                            B．fully      C．directly     D．simply

13.A．condition                         B．discussion C．disagreement   D．experiment

14.A．hated                               B．avoided     C．reduced    D．continued

15.A．spoke                              B．smiled      C．looked      D．turned

16.A．dropped in                       B．ran across  C．came over D．came across

17.A．touched                           B．tested      C．inspired    D．hugged

18.A．get                                  B．make     C．deserve     D．overcome

19.A．sense                               B．point     C．thought     D．message

20.A．until                                B．when       C．before      D．as

More than three years after moving from Australia to this remote part of England, we are still learning how things are done here.

Not too long after we arrived and unpacked, we were invited for “a drink on Sunday morning” by a retired couple nearby. We got there about noon, to find the living-room crowded — lots of chat and discussions, and in all a very jolly occasion.

Trouble was, there was no food — no self-respecting Australian would regard a tray of crisps as food. In Sydney, when you are invited for a drink any time after midday on a Sunday, you know you will be fed as well as watered and you plan accordingly. Meaning the hardworked little woman makes no plans to cook lunch because you are eating out.

By one-fifteen my stomach was sending up “please explain” to me. Even the crisps had gone. There was nothing we could do except wait, and wonder if the hostess was going to perform some magic and feed us fashionably late. Then, as quickly as if word had spread that there was free beer at the local pub, the room emptied. By one-forty-five there were only a few guests left, so we decided to go home. Tinned soup for lunch that day because the little woman was not really interested in real cooking for us.

A few weeks ago we were invited out for “supper” and the hostess suggested 8:15. Ah, we thought greedily, “this is going to be the real thing.”

We dressed with some care — I putting on a dark suit — and arrived on time. My wife looked pretty good, I thought — a little black dress and so on. But when we walked in I had a terrible feeling we had got the night wrong because the hostess was dressed in a daytime kind of way and the husband was in jeans and an open-neck shirt. But no, we were greeted and shown into the sitting-room.

After a drink I looked around and saw that this was indeed a superior cottage because it had a (more or less) separate dining-room. But there were no signs of a table-setting. Not again! I thought. Were we meant to eat before we came? I decided that in future my wife and I would always carry a chocolate bar. About 9:28 our hostess went out of the room, saying something about food. Ten minutes later she returned and asked us to follow. We were led out to the kitchen. There on the table were country style plates and a huge bowl of soup, rough bread and all the makings of a simple meal. And that is what it was. In other words we had not read the signals right when we were invited for “supper”. If they want you to come to dinner, they say so, and you know that means dark suits and so on. If they mean supper, they say it, and you get fed in the kitchen.

1．When the author and his wife were invited out for “a drink on Sunday morning”, they thought _________.

A. they would be the only people there

B. they would be given lunch as well

C. they would be taken to a restaurant for lunch

D. they would be asked to take some food with them

2．The “party” had been going on for about an hour and three quarters when _________.

A. the hostess decided to feed her guests

B. everyone had tinned soup for lunch

C. most of the guests went to lunch at the pub

D. the author realized he would go home hungry

3．When invited out for “supper” a few weeks later, the writer _________.

A. expected to be served a proper dinner

B. arrived on the wrong evening

C. interpreted the invitation correctly this time

D. realized there was no dining-room in the cottage

4．As the evening wore on, the writer became aware that _________.

A. no one used their dining-rooms in the countryside

B. he should have had a meal before going out

C. “supper” meant a simple, informal meal

D. he should, in future, eat only chocolate in the evening