B

The Harp Seal is one of nature’s most beautiful and appealing (吸引人的) creatures. Many years ago it was hunted for its fur. Hunting Harp Seals is now illegal.

The seals spend the summer months migrating (迁徙) in large groups. Harp Seals close their nostrils (鼻孔) and earholes when diving in water, but have to surface frequently to breathe. Their favourite place to rest is on the top of icebergs.

The female Harp Seal gives birth in February or March and feeds her pups for 14-18 days. Baby Harp Seals begin to lose their white fur at around six to eight weeks of age. As an adult, the Harp Seal has brown skin. At birth, Harp Seals weigh 12kg but can weigh up to 130kg as adults. Harp Seals eat small fish, shrimps and krill. However, they are able to switch from one food to another depending on what they can get as food. Males have a lifespan of 29 years while females usually live for longer than 30 years.

Since the Canadian Government introduced laws to protect the seal pups from hunters, their numbers have increased to more than one million. Now every year, thousands of tourists flock to the pack ice to witness the wonderful sight of new pups born in spring.

55. What is the passage mainly about?    

A. Hunting Harp Seals is illegal.

B. Protecting Harp Seals.

C. Harp Seals.    

D. Lifespan of Harp Seals.

56. An adult Harp Seal could be described as being ___________.    

A. brown in colour and weighing 12kg

B. brown in colour and weighing 130kg

C. white in colour and weighing 12kg    

D. white in colour and weighing 130kg

57. According to the passage which of the following statements is TRUE?    

A. Adult Harp Seals only eat shrimp.

B. Adult Harp Seals eat different food at different times.

C. Adult Harp Seals prefer to eat krill. 

D. Adult Harp Seals catch small fish to feed their young.

第Ⅱ卷 （非选择题，共45分）

第四部分：书面表达（共两节，满分45分）

单词拼写（共5小题，每小题1分，满分5分）

76.Abraham Lincon a____slavery in the United states.76.         

77.It’s rude to laugh at people with_______.（残疾）Rather we should try out best to give them a hand.77.         

78.Her mother usually a____her on the piano.78.         

79.She is not really crying; she is only acting to gain your________（同情）.79.         

80.The child was a___________by his mother at the age of 5.  80   

第二部分:英语知识运用（共两节；满分35分）

第一节：语法和词汇知识（共15小题，每小题1分，满分15分）

21-------- Our team has won the first prize in the English speech contest.

  ------- ________________!

A. Wish you success                B. All the best

C. Congratulations                 D. Good luck to you

Knowing office rules— whether _______ or not—is critical, especially for young job seekers.

   A. written  B. writing    C. being written        D. having been written

Willie has complained to the sales manager about the PC he bought _____ screen exploded for no reason.

   A. which                       B. where               C. whose                     D. when

A new college guide in the United States compares educational requirements in seven subjects. These include math, science, writing and United States history or government. The other subjects are economics, foreign language and literature.

The free online guide is from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. The council is a nonprofit group that supports liberal arts education.

Its president, Anne Neal, says these areas of knowledge are needed to succeed in a twenty-first century society and an increasingly connected world. Yet she told VOA’s Faiza Elmasry it was surprising how many students can graduate with, in her words, a “thin education.”

Forty-two of the one hundred colleges and universities surveyed received the lowest marks. This meant they required two or fewer of the seven subjects. Five schools received a top grade for requiring six subjects. These were Brooklyn College in New York City, Texas A&M, the University of Texas-Austin, West Point and the University of Arkansas.

Robert Costrell is a professor of education reform and economics at the University of Arkansas. He says many, if not all, of the top American colleges once had a core curriculum —a set of courses required for all students.

But over the years, many have dropped these requirements. Or they have watered them down, Professor Costrell says, into what became known as distribution requirements. This system lets a student choose from a number of different courses to satisfy a requirement.

ROBERT COSTRELL: “And in many cases these courses went too far, I would say, towards the fluffy treatment of serious material, and students could satisfy their requirement by taking such courses.”

Professor Costrell says schools should not only re-examine what they teach. They should also measure what students have learned — for example, through some form of examinations or papers.

A new report this week from the College Board showed that college prices continue to rise. But Anne Neal from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni says higher prices do not guarantee a better general education. In fact, the group found that the higher the tuition, the more likely that students have to develop their own general education.

The college guide is on the Web at whatwilltheylearn.com. Anne Neal says her group is surveying more colleges. The hope, she says, is to discover what college graduates have really learned, and how ready they are to compete in the global marketplace.

67. Where does the passage probably come from?

A. A scientific fiction.                       B. A research newspaper.  

C. A fashion magazine.                      D. An entertainment newspaper.

68. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni does all the following EXCEPT _________.

A. support liberal arts education

B. concern itself with education in America

C. devote time to helping improve college education

D. make money by helping with college education

69. The words “watered them down” underlined in Paragraph 6 most likely mean “_______.”

A. reduced required courses                  B. improved required courses

C. increased required courses                 D. developed required courses

70. In this passage, the new college guide mainly tells its readers that American colleges  should ______.

A. meet the requirements of the new century

B. reduce the number of required courses

C. have different standards on required courses

D. cut down on their tuitions

写作（满分30分）

     假设你是李华，今年暑假欲参加英语短期培训班。你在报纸上看到下面的广告并将疑问标记在广告上。请用英语给英国房东写一封120-150词的信，简要介绍你的情况并就你的疑问提出询问。

It’s a common scene now in Chile that families cry helplessly over ______ is left of their homes.

A. what       B. which         C. there         D. it

It is reported that some wild animals were found ____ in a big cave in the mountain.

A. to hide dead    B. hidden dead   C. hiding dead            D. hidden death

27. I find it astonishing that she _____ treat you like this in public.

   A. should                             B. must               C. may                        D. would