（一）

A

Keeping the brain active by working later in life may be an effective way to ward off Alzheimer’s disease， research suggests.

Researchers studied data from 1，320 dementia （癡呆） patients， including 382 men. They found that for the men， continuing to work late in life helped keep the brain active enough to delay dementia taking place.

The study was carried out by the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London. Around 700，000 people in the UK currently have dementia and experts have estimated that by 2051， the number could stand at 1.7 million. It is estimated that the condition already costs the UK economy 17 billion a year.

Dementia is caused by the mass loss of cells in the brain， and experts believe one way to guard against it is to build up as many connections between cells as possible by being mentally active throughout life. This is known as a “cognitive （認知的） reserve （儲備）.”

There is evidence to suggest that a good education is associated with a reduced dementia risk.

And the latest study suggests there can also be a positive effect of mental stimulation （刺激） continued into our later years. Those people who retired late developed Alzheimer’s at a later stage than those who decided not to work on. One more year of employment was associated with around a six week later stage of the beginning of the dementia.

Researcher Dr John Powell said， “The possibility that a person’s cognitive reserve could still be changed later in life adds weight to the ‘use it or lose it’ concept where keeping active later in life has important health benefits， including reducing dementia risk.”

The researchers also admit that the nature of retirement is changing， and that for some people it may now be as effective as work.

1. What is the best title of this passage？

A. Keep the Brain Active.B. A Study on Dementia.

C. Brain Connections.D. Keep Working to Avoid Dementia.

2. What does the underlined part mean in Paragraph 1？

A. Turn off.B. Get off.C. Keep off.D. Take off.

3. How many people have dementia in the UK nowadays according to this passage？

A. 1，320.B. 700，000.C. 2051.D. 1，700，000.

4. We can infer from the passage that if a man keeps active later in life， he will ___ .

A. be healthierB. live longer

C. have dementiaD. lose more cells in the brain

B

You may complain that there are too many tests on the way to the college entrance examination， but an increasing number of students want to take one more. That is the Scholastic Aptitude Test， or SAT， an American test for students who intend to apply for college admission.

Nearly every college in America accepts the SAT or Subject Tests as a part of its admissions process.

The SAT reasoning test （SAT1） is a measure of the critical （評判的） thinking skills you’ll need for academic success in college. The SAT1 includes three sections： writing， critical reading and math.

The SAT subject tests （SAT2） are designed to measure your knowledge and skills in particular subject areas. The SAT2 falls into five general subject areas： literature， US history， world history， math， science （biology， chemistry and physics） and languages.

However， not all SAT test takers want to apply to American universities. Some simply regard the SAT as a challenge.

Some hope to study in an American university， where more opportunities are available to get cutting-edge （前沿的） knowledge in this area. Others want to see how well they will do when faced up with plenty of pressure and also to evaluate their level by an American standard. Besides， the SAT makes school life more meaningful and well-balanced.

Most Chinese students have to have their SAT tests in May and June in Hong Kong right now because of the lack of agencies in mainland China.

It’s suggested that the reading section is a bit hard， but the math is a piece of cake for Chinese students. What they should do more wisely is to try harder to prepare for them. Survival of the fittest （適者生存） is true both in America and China. That is something learnt beyond the SAT itself.

5. The SAT reasoning test includes the followings except ___ .

A. writingB. critical readingC. mathD. science

6. According to the passage， which one of the following statements is TRUE ？

A. The SAT reasoning test covers particular subject areas.

B. The SAT subject tests cover the critical thinking skills.

C. All SAT test takers want to apply to American universities.

D. Most Chinese students can not have their SAT tests in mainland China.

7. What’s one of the advantages to study in an American university ？

A. It is a challenge for students to adapt to the life in America.

B. It provides access to the students with the latest knowledge.

C. The students can learn something beyond the SAT itself.

D. The students can face plenty of stress easily.

8. Which of the following parts is the easiest one for Chinese students in SAT？

A. Math.B. Reading.C. History.D. Literature.

C

The first breath-taking pictures of the earth taken from space showed it as a solid ball covered by brown land masses and blue-green oceans. We had never seen the earth from that distance before. To us， it appeared as though the earth had always looked that way and always would. Scientists now know， however， that the surface of the earth is not as permanent as we had thought.

Scientists explain that the surface of our planet is always moving. Continents move on the earth like huge ships at sea. They float on pieces of the earth’s outer skin. New outer skin is created as melted rock is pushed up from below the ocean floor. Old outer skin is destroyed as it rolls down into the hot area and melts again.

Only since the 1960s have scientists really begun to understand that the planet earth is a great living machine. Some experts have said this new understanding is one of the most important revolutions （改革） in scientific thought. The revolution is based on the work of scientists who study the movement of the continents—a science called “plate tectonics”.

The modern story of plate tectonics begins with the German scientist Alfred Wegener. Before World War I， Wegener argued that the continents had moved and were still moving. He said the idea first occurred to him when he observed that the coastlines of South America and Africa could fit together like two pieces of a puzzle （拼圖）. He said that the two continents might have been one and then separated apart.

Wegener was not the first person to wonder about the shape of the continents. About 500 years ago， explorers thought about it when they made the first maps of Americas. The explorers noted the east coast of North America and South America would fit almost exactly into the west coast of Europe and South Africa. What the explorers did not do， but Wegener did， was to study the idea that the continents move.

9. What does the writer mainly tell us in the passage？

A. The first breath-taking pictures of the earth taken from space.

B. Human’s recognition of the earth’s surface.

C. The German scientist Alfred Wegener.

D. The early explorers’ discovery.

10. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage？

A. We didn’t see the earth from far away until we saw the pictures taken in space.

B. People in ancient times thought that the surface of the earth was moving.

C. Alfred Wegener was not the first person to study the idea that the continents move.

D. The coastlines of India and Africa fit together.

11. The underlined phrase in Paragraph 3 “plate tectonics” means “___”.

A. study of constructionB. study of great machines

C. study of scientific revolutionD. study of continents’ moves

12. What did the explorers find？

A. The coast of South America and North Africa could fit together.

B. The coast of North America and Africa could fit together.

C. The east coast of North America and the west coast of Europe could fit together.

D. The coast of North America and India could fit together.

D

June 9th， 2009—Canada： For those of you who have been following this story， the third suspect （嫌疑犯） in the Canadian Cat Mutilation case has been caught. On June 8th， after just under a year of searching， the “Find Matt Campaign” received information that would comfort many. Now known as Matthew Kaczorowski， 21 years old， this cat mutilator （殘害人） was picked up by the police from the street of Vancouver.

In June 2008， three young men took a young cat， named “Kensington” after the area of town from where she was taken， from the street to a house. They began to cruelly treat and mutilate it to death， videotaping the attack. Two of the suspects， recognized as 21-year-old Jesse Champlain Power and 24-year-old Anthony Ryan Wennekers， were arrested shortly after the incident. Neither helped the police in an effort to find the third suspect， at the time known only as “Matt”.

In June 2008， Katie set up the “Find Matt Campaign”， with the goals of raising public awareness about animal cruelty and having as many eyes as possible 1ook for Matt.

“I don’t think Matt would have been caught had it not been for Katie Woodward’s information，” said Detective Gordon Scott， one of the arresting officers.

Kaczorowski faces the charges of animal cruelty， theft under $5，000 and possession of property taken by crime， but one charge remains absent： that of animal cruelty. According to Canadian law， this kind of crime must be charged within six months.

The case is now before the courts.

While finding Matt is a big step in the right direction of this case， it is not over. It remains that Kensington’s guardian （監(jiān)護人） has not yet come forward. It is important that her guardian speak out to reduce the possibility of the charges being dropped.

13. What does the passage mainly talk about？

A. A cat was killed cruelly in Canada. B. A Canadian cat mutilator was caught.

C. People pay attention to animal protection. D. No crimes can escape from being charged.

14. Which of the following is in the correct order according to the time when the events happened？

a. Matt was caught by the police.

b. “Find Matt Campaign” was set up.

c. Jesse and Anthony were soon arrested.

d. Three young men mutilated a cat to death.

e. Katie got the information about the third suspect.

A. b，e，a，d，cB. e，a，d，c，bC. d，c，b，e，aD. a，d，b，e，c

15. Which one of the charges does Matt certainly have to face？

A. Stealing less than $5，000.B. His possession of property.

C. The crime of animal cruelty.D. A six-month imprisonment.

16. What can we infer from the passage ？

A. Catching Matt was easy for the police.

B. Very few people care about Matt’s case.

C. Katie started the “Find Matt Campaign” to protect animals.

D. The final result of the case depends on the cat’s guardian.

E

The only living man in the world to be struck by lightning seven times is former Shenandoah park ranger Roy C. Sullivan， the human lightning-conductor of Virginia. His attraction for lightning began in 1942 （lost big toenail） and was resumed （繼續(xù)） in July 1969 （lost eyebrows）， in July 1970 （left shoulder burned）， on April 16th， 1972 （set hair on fire） and on August 7th， 1973. On that day as he was driving alone， a bolt came out of a small， low-lying cloud， hit him on the head through his hat， set his hair on fire again， knocked him 10 feet out of his car， went through both legs， and knocked his left shoe off. He had to pour water over his head to cool off. Then， on June 5th， 1976， he was struck again for the sixth time， his ankle injured. When he was struck for the seventh time on June 25th， 1977， while fishing， he was sent to Waynesboro Hospital with chest and stomach burns. He can offer no explanation for his magnetism （磁性）， but he has donated his lightning-burnt Ranger hats to some of the Guinness World Records Exhibit Halls.

17. The underlined word “bolt” means ___ .

A. a big branch of treeB. a piece of dark cloud

C. a flash of lightning with thunderD. a kind of bird

18. Every time Sullivan was struck that ___ .

A. he was driving a carB. he was sent to hospital

C. he was hurt one way or anotherD. he was seriously injured

19. From the passage we can know that ___ .

A. Sullivan never wore a hat

B. Sullivan always wore a hat to protect himself from lightning

C. Sullivan collected other people’s hats

D. Sullivan often wore a hat when he went out

20. If Sullivan should be struck again， ___ .

A. the result is difficult to tellB. he would be sent to hospital

C. he would certainly dieD. he wouldn’t be injured

（二）

A

（2010湖南卷）閱讀短文，并按照題目要求用英語回答問題。

Secret Santas

[1] On Christmas morning， Linda wakes up， and tries to imagine the wide-eyed surprise of children in another household as they unwrap the presents she carefully chose for them. Linda has never met the children， but that’s all part of the joy of giving as secret Santas， she says.

[2] “It’s an amazing feeling to buy gifts on an anonymous （匿名的） basis，” says Linda. “It brings a whole new meaning to the holidays.”

[3] Linda and Tony are an American couple living in Toronto， Canada， and Linda did charitable work as a member of the American Women’s Club of Toronto. As the name suggests， members are US citizens living in Toronto， who join together for fellowship and community service.

[4] To find her “adopted” family， Linda goes to the local schools and requests a wish list for a family that’s struggling to survive. Last year she helped a single mother with three children. The mother works as a cleaning lady in a nursing home.

[5] “The list is always heartbreaking. They have an opportunity to ask for anything and do just the opposite， asking for basic clothes or simple toys，” she says. “We always buy the kids a new winter coat， hats， and gloves.” She also buys gifts for the parents.

[6] Last year Linda asked the mother for a second wish list—one that didn’t include the basics. “Every child should have a Christmas that sticks with them for a lifetime.” She purchased iPods for the two older children and a video game system for the youngest. “I have learned a very valuable lesson in all of this，” says Linda. “Pay attention to what’s going on in your own backyard — no matter where you live.”

[7] The joy of giving as secret Santas is much sweeter when the gift is anonymous.

1. What reaction does Linda imagine the children will have？ （No more than 5 words）

2. Why did Linda join the American Women’s Club of Toronto？ （No more than 10 words）

3. Why did Linda ask for a second wish list？ （No more than 15 words）

4. What kind of people does “secret Santas” in the passage refer to？ （No more than 12 words）

B

（2009天津卷）閱讀短文，并按照題目要求用英語回答問題。

[1] Almost everybody in America will spend a part of his or her life behind a shopping cart （購物手推車）. They will， in a lifetime， push the chrome-plated contraptions many miles. But few will know—or even think to ask—who it was that invented them.

[2] Sylvan N. Goldman invented the shopping cart in 1937. At that time he was in the supermarket business. Every day he would see shoppers lugging （吃力地攜帶） groceries around in baskets they had to carry.

[3] One day Goldman suddenly had the idea of putting baskets on wheels. The wheeled baskets would make shopping much easier for his customers， and would help to attract more business.

[4] On June 4， 1937， Goldman’s first carts were ready for use in his market. He was terribly excited on the morning of that day as customers began arriving. He couldn’t wait to see them using his invention.

[5] But Goldman was disappointed. Most shoppers gave the carts a long look， but hardly anybody would give them a try.

[6] After a while， Goldman decided to ask customers why they weren’t using his carts. “Don’t you think this arm is strong enough to carry a shopping basket？” one shopper replied.

[7] But Goldman wasn’t beaten yet. He knew his carts would be a great success if only he could persuade people to give them a try. To this end， Goldman hired a group of people to push carts around his market and pretend they were shopping！ Seeing this， the real customers gradually began copying the phony （假冒的） customers.

[8] As Goldman had hoped， the carts were soon attracting larger and larger numbers of customers to his market. But not only did more people come—those who came bought more. With larger， easier-to-handle baskets， customers unconsciously bought a greater number of items than before.

[9]Today’s shopping carts are five times larger than Goldman’s original model. Perhaps that’s one reason Americans today spend more than five times as much money on food each year as they did before 1937—before the coming of the shopping cart.

5. The underlined words “chrome-plate contraptions” in Paragraph 1 refer to ______. （No more than 3 words）

6. What was the purpose of Goldman’s invention？ （No more than 10 words）

7. Why was Goldman disappointed at first？ （No more than 10 words）

8. Why did Goldman hire people to push carts around his market？ （No more than 10 words）

9. What do you think of Goldman？ Please give your reasons. （No more than 20 words）

C

（2009山東卷）閱讀短文，并按照題目要求用英語回答問題。

[1] Hello. It is one of first words we learn as babies， yet it’s one of the last ones we think to use as adults. That’s unfortunate， because saying hello is more than just saying hello—it is recognition of another’s worth. How might the world change—how might we change—if we mastered this word ？ To find out， I spent one month saying hello to every person I met. Here’s what I’ve learned.

[2] It can boost （促進） productivity. In one of the few studies ever done on this subject， Allan Allday， an assistant professor of special education at Oklahoma State University， had middle school teachers greet their students individually each morning. This exchange of greetings raised the kids’ productivity. School went from impersonal to personal， and that resulted in more class participation and better grades.

[3] Environments influence friendliness. One study found that people in the city were less likely to shake hands with a stranger than those in the countryside. And， researchers say， pleasant environments generally encourage more smiles and hellos than unpleasant ones. My experience was similar. Whatever the reason， my urban hellos were answered far less often than my rural ones. Similarly， people in vacation spots， like the Jersey Shore， were far friendlier than those hurrying to work downtown.

[4] It’s a form of universal health insurance. It’s impossible to say hello without smiling. And smiling has been shown to lower blood pressure， relieve stress and boost happiness. Apparently， a smile creates a similar effect in the recipient （接受者）.

[5] So maybe we can make the world a better place by . After a month of doing it. I feel lighter and more connected and I have a better sense of well-being.

10. What does the author say about the adults according to Paragraph 1？ （No more than 8 words）

11. Which sentence in the text is the closest in meaning to the following one？

Teacher and students got friendlier so that the students became more active in learning and scored higher in tests.

12. Fill in the blank in Paragraph 5 with proper words. （No more than 5 words）

13. List three effects of smiling on health according to the text. （No more than 8 words）

① ② ③

14. Translate the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 into Chinese.

D

A Poet Is in His Words

[1] The writings of William Shakespeare are today little read by young people in Britian. His young readership is limited to those who choose to study literature at university.

[2] Still， in British schools， to study the poet， and when something is made compulsory， usually the result is boredom， complaint or both. Shakespeare， Charles Dickens， Jane Austen-for many of the young， reading them can seem like being forced to eat medicine， especially when people are at an age when they are beginning to discover themselves and wanting to claim their independence.

[3] This was my experience of the classics at school. But when I reached my late teenage years， I had a change of heart. Like every other young person since the dawn of time， the world confused me. I wanted answers， so I turned to books to find them.

[4] I went on to take a PhD in literature and have taught the subject in universities in Britain and China. I have never regretted it. There is something in literature that people want， even if they don’t read books.

[5] You see this in the popularity of TV and movie adaptations （電影改編） of great works， the recent film version of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice being a case in point. These popular adaptations may help increase people’s interest in the classic.

[6] Reading a simplified Romeo and Juliet may perhaps lead to a reading of Shakespeare’s actual play. If that is the case then I welcome the trend. But do not make the mistake of thinking that it is the same thing. Shakespeare is a poet and his greatness is in his language. Reading someone else’s rewriting of his work is like peeling （剝皮） a banana， throwing away the fruit， and eating the skin. Take on the original. It really is worth the effort.

15. What’s the suitable title of the passage？ （No more than 5 words）

16. Fill in the blank in Paragraph 2 with proper words. （No more than 5 words）

17. What did the anthor do when he was confused by the world？ （No more than 10 words）

18. What do popular TV and movie adaptations of great works bring about？ （No more than 8 words）

19. What does the underlined word “It” in Paragraph 6 refer to？ （No more than 8 words）

E

[1] People today， in all this new world of technology， have lost sight of what a true friendship is. So， though I own my best friend Jenny， I thought I would help the world out a little and explain what real， true friends are.

[2] Friends don’t have to be exactly the same. They have similarities but . The key to opening up the world of friendship is not only to expand on similarities but to accept each other’s faults， because you can’t ever judge your friend.

[3] Friends have to argue！ No one likes to but it is necessary. Because if you agree on everything， you may become a yes-man in your friends’ eyes.

[4] You have to be comfortable together. Otherwise， you just aren’t going to click. If you feel uneasy around the person then something isn’t quite right.

[5] Friends love unconditionally. They have their little angry moments but what’s done is done and all is forgiven and forgotten. Why let something that happened in the past ruin the happiness you could have in the future？

[6] Believe in love at first sight because there is the same thing happening in friendship. Some people think that you have to know someone really well to become good friends. Trust me， it’s not true.

[7] These are only a few of the basics. Just remember， friends are forever. But only if you keep it that way. Don’t disrespect your friends， love them instead.

20. What is the best title of the passage？ （No more than 5 words）

21. What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 5 mean？ （No more than 18 words）

22. Please fill in the blank in Paragraph 2 with proper words. （No more than 7 words）

23. Please list three of the writer’s viewpoints on friendship. （No more than 10 words）

① ② ③

24. How to make friendship last forever according to Paragraph 7？ （No more than 12 words）