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。
　　Many people will remember the flight of the space shuttle（航天飞机）challenger，in June，1983. The achievement of Sally Ride，America’s first woman astronaut to fly into space，made this flight especially memorable. Students from two Camden, New Jersey, high schools, however, are probably to remember Norma rather than Sally whenever they think about the flight.
　　Norma didn’t travel alone. She brought about 100 companions along with her. Norma was an ant，a queen ant who，with her subject，made up the first ant colony（群体）to travel into space. The ants were part of a science experiment designed by students to test the effects of weightlessness on insects.
　　The equipment designed by the students for their colony functioned perfectly throughout the long space trip. The young scientists and their teachers were very sad to find that their insect astronauts had all died at some point before the container was returned to the school and opened. The problem didn’t occur in space，but on the ground after challenger had landed. The container remained in the desert for nearly a week before the ant colony was moved. The hot，dry desert air dried out the colony’s container and the ants died from lack of moisture（水分）.
　　The project was termed success because it did provide useful information. Students will continue their efforts to pinpoint（精确找到）what went wrong. They will try to prevent the same difficulties from reoccurring on future missions. They don’t want to be discouraged either by the demise of the ants or by the $ 10,000 shuttle fare they will have to pay to send the next colony of ants into space.
51．What does the passage mainly tell us？
A．Sally Ride，America’s first woman astronaut.
B．How to keep ants alive in space.
C．How to make equipment for insects in space.
D．An experiment with ants in space.
52．According to the passage, we know that the underlined word“demise”is another word for“_____”.
A．death 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　B．colony
C．insect　　　　　　　　　　　　　　D．moisture
53．We don’t think the project was a failure. This is because_____.
A．everything went as smoothly as expected
B．the students had pinpointed exactly the reason
C．something important had been learned
D．the students had succeeded in the experiment
54．We can conclude that ants _____ on the next space trip.
A．will have to be kept alive in a container full of water
B．will have to be sent into space with the first woman astronaut
C．should be put into a container where there is enough food
D．should be put into a container which is not too dry

　 As we know, Human beings each have unique brains. The brain is of the greatest importance to the body. It is the boss of the body．Your eyes，ears，nose，and skin tell your brain what is going on around you．Other parts of your body tell your brain what is going on inside of you．Your brain takes in the signals．It tells your body what to do with them．When you touch fire，your skin tells your brain that your finger is too hot．Your brain tells you to move your finger．All these happen very fast．Your brain also controls your breathing，blinking，and heartbeat．It controls your feelings and thoughts too．

　　Humans have the most developed brain of all animals．Yet it is not the largest brain．The human brain weighs three pounds．The brain of an elephant weighs 11 pounds．So the largest brain is not always the best brain．In people，a larger brain does not mean a clever person．

What is the main idea of this passage?

　  A．The human brain works very fast．

 B．The largest brain is not always the best brain．

　　C．The brain controls the body．

　　D．The best brain is the largest brain．

What happens after the brain takes in the signals from the body?

　A．The brain grows faster and larger． B．The brain tells the body what to do．

　C．The body becomes more developed．D．We don't know．

What does “the boss of the body” mean?

　　A．The signals．            B．The most developed body part．

　　C．The main part of the body.  D．The centre of the body．

Which brain is the most developed?

　　A．The largest brain．　　　　　　　B．The human brain．

　　C．The smaller brain．　　　　　　　D．Not too big brain．

What are the things that the human brain does?

　　A．Takes in signals．　　　　　　　B．Controls breathing．

　　C．Controls feelings and thoughts．　D．A，B and C．

As you are probably aware, the latest job markets news isn’t good: Unemployment is still more than 9 percent, and new job growth has fallen close to zero. That’s bad for the economy, of course. And it may be especially discouraging if you happen to be looking for a job or hoping to change careers right now. But it actually shouldn’t matter to you nearly as much as you think.

　　That’s because job growth numbers don’t matter to job hunters as much as job turnover data. After all, existing jobs open up every day due to promotions, resignations, terminations, and retirements. (Yes, people are retiring even in this economy.) In both good times and bad, turnover creates more openings than economic growth does. Even in June of 2007, when the economy was still humming along, job growth was only 132,000, while turnover was 4.7 million!

　　And as it turns out, even today — with job growth near zero — over 4 million job hunters are being hired every month.

　　I don’t mean to imply that overall job growth doesn’t have an impact on one’s ability to land a job. It’s true that if total employment were higher, it would mean more jobs for all of us to choose from (and compete for). And it’s true that there are currently more people applying for each available job opening, regardless of whether it’s a new one or not.

　　But what often distinguishes those who land jobs from those who don’t is their ability to stay motivated. They’re willing to do the hard work of identifying their valuable skills; be creative about where and how to look; learn how to present themselves to potential employers; and keep going, even after repeated rejections. The Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that 2.7 million people who wanted and were available for work hadn’t looked within the last four weeks and were no longer even classified as unemployed.

　　So don’t let the headlines fool you into giving up. Four million people get hired every month in the U.S. You can be one of them.

1.The author tends to believe that high unemployment rate ______?

A.deprives many people of job opportunities.

B.prevents many people from changing careers.

C.should not stop people from looking for a job.

D.does not mean the U.S. economy is worsening.

2.Where do most job openings come from?

A.Job growth

B.Job turnover

C.Improved economy

D.Business expansion

3.What does the author say about overall job growth?

A.It doesn’t have much effect on individual job seekers.

B.It increases people’s confidence in the economy.

C.It gives a ray of hope to the unemployed.

D.It doesn’t mean greater job security for the employed.

4.What is the key to landing a job according to the author?

A.Education

B.Intelligence

C.Persistence

D.Experience

5.What do we learn from the passage about the unemployment figures in the US?

A.They clearly indicate how healthy the economy is.

B.They provide the public with the latest information.

C.They warn of the structural problems in the economy.

D.They exclude those who have stopped looking for a job.

Do you suppose Darwin, one of the greatest scientists of all time, really did fools experiments? Or did he do experiments that were so simple and basic that other people just thought they were foolish?

　　Sometimes, people think they already know the answer to a question or the solution (解决办法) to a problem. Sometimes, they really do know an answer or a solution, but without thinking they are important.

　　Charles Darwin didn’t settle for (满足于) just thinking he knew something. And, he believed all things could be important however simple they seemed to be.

　　Suppose you drop sheets of paper that are of exactly the same size and shape. If you drop them at the same time in the same place, they will fall in the same way. Now make one of the sheets of paper into a tight (紧的) little ball and let it drop along with the other sheets. What happens? You have done an experiment that is so simple that you might think it couldn’t be worth anything.

　　But this simple experiment is important. It explains part of our present-day understandings of physics, ideas that were worked out long ago by Galileo and Newton. And these understandings set aside some of ancient Greek physics.

Scientist sometimes stops to look at very simple things and to think very hard about them. Even the simplest idea, which we might think is foolish, can shake the foundations of science.

1. The passage tells us that Charles Darwin ____.

　　A. was a great English scientist

　　B. always liked doing the experiments that others thought difficult

　　C. thought even the simplest thing was important

　　D. didn’t get well with others

2. The phrase “set aside” most probably means____ .

　　A. throw away      B. store up

　　C. put to use        D. realize

3. The author of the passage tries to ________.

　　A. convince us that Charles Darwin, Galileo and Newton are the greatest scientists in the world

　　B. draw the conclusion that basic sciences are simple things

　　C. prove that two sheets of paper, with the same size and shape, will fall at the same speed

　　D. draw our attention to everyday happenings around us

4Which of the following is TRUE?

　　A. Darwin really did fools experiments.

　　B. According to some people Darwin did foolish experiments.

　　C. It is believed by all the people that things could be important though they seemed to be simple.

　　D. Galileo and Newton worked out ancient Greek physics.

C
A white-haired old gentleman steps out of his car, bag in hand and coat over his arm, he has called from the office to say that he is on the way. His wife is preparing supper. He can see the light shining inside his own front door. He looks forward to a fire and hot milk. It is a cold night. A few seconds later he is lying on the icy ground in a pool of his own blood.
　　It doesn't happen very often, but it does happen in the capital city of the United States. It is more likely to happen in the near-deserted city center at night. What happened to him could happen to any of us.
　　Senator Stennis, who is 71 , got out of his white Buick at 7:40 p.m. outside his home at 3609 Cumberland Street. Two youths said, "Get out! Money, please." He followed the order. He handed over his wallet containing several cards, a gold watch and the only money he had in his pockets—twenty-five cents. The youths also said, "Now we're going to shoot you anyway." Anyway they did. One bullet(子弹) hit him in the leg and struck the bone. The other entered his chest just below the upper pocket of his suit. It narrowly missed his heart.
　　Strangely he made it across a ten-meter distance, up eight steps and along twenty more feet of stone path. His wife met him at the door, and saw two men running. The senator told her to call the police and the doctor.
　　The senator is a powerful political figure, but it is unlikely that the two young men knew who he was. More likely the reason for the killing was that he had only no more than a quarter of dollar - not enough for two cups of coffee.
49 According to the passage,_______.
　　A. such a mugging(行凶抢劫) might have happened to anyone
　　B. the mugging happened on a cold evening in a senator's home
　　C. the senator was killed because he was an important politician
　　D. the mugging might not have happened if the senator was young and strong
50. Having robbed the senator, the two young men _______.
　　A. pulled him into a pool 　　 B. shot two bullets into his body
　　C. hit out at him hard 　　　　D. carried him away
51. The two young men were angry by the fact that _______.
　　A. the senator attempted to cheat them
　　B. they failed to get the senator's expensive car
　　C. the senator didn't die in their hands
　　D. the mugging didn't bring them what they had expected
52 Which of the following statements is not true?
　　A. A near-deserted city center at night is a dangerous place.
　　B. People should always carry some money with them.
　　C. Though seriously wounded, the senator managed to get home on his own.
　　D. The senator's wife met the two men and recognized them.