B
It happened to me recently. I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father and how it had changed my views of our President. A friend I was talking to agreed with me that it was, in his words, “a brilliantly written book”. However, he then went on to talk about Mr. Obama in a way which suggested he had no idea of his background at all. I sensed that I was talking to a book liar.
And it seems that my friend is not the only one. Approximately two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven’t. In the World Book Day’s “Report on Guilty Secrets”, Dreams From My Father is at number 9. The report lists ten books, and various authors, which people have lied about reading, and as I’m not one to lie too often (I’d hate to be caught out), I’ll admit here and now that I haven’t read the entire top ten. But I am pleased to say that, unlike 42 percent of people, I have read the book at number one, George Orwell’s 1984. I think it’s really brilliant.
The World Book Day report also has some other interesting information in it. It says that many people lie about having read Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoevsky (I haven’t read him, but haven’t lied about it either) and Herman Melville.
Asked why they lied, the most common reason was to “impress” someone they were speaking to. This could be tricky if the conversation became more in–depth!
But when asked which authors they actually enjoy, people named J. K. Rowling, John Grisham, Sophie Kinsella (ah, the big sellers, in other words). Forty-two percent of people asked admitted they turned to the back of the book to read the end before finishing the story (I’ll come clean: I do this and am astonished that 58 percent said they had never done so).
1.What is the meaning of the underlined word “liar”?
A. A person who hates books.
B. A person who tells lies.
C. A person who loves reading.
D. A person who is honest with everything.
2.From the second paragraph we can know _____.
A. only 42 percent of people have read George Orwell’s 1984
B. two thirds of people haven’t read a book.
C. “Dreams From My Father” is listed the first of the top ten books
D. the writer haven’t read all of the top ten books
3.Why does a person lie about books?
A. Because they want to appear learned.
B. Because they want to attract others’ attention.
C. Because they do so out of habit.
D. Because they want to play tricks on others.
4.Which of the following statement is right?
A. The writer often leaves a book unfinished.
B. The writer was once caught out for telling lies.
C. The writer often reads the end of a book first before finishing the story.
D. The writer likes Barack Obama from the very beginning.
5.What do you think of the author?
A. Thoughtful and talkative.
B. Smart and helpful.
C. knowledgeable and experienced.
D. Wise and honest.
A
While reading a story on 20-somethings complaining about how the economy is ruining their life plans, I couldn't help but think the 20-somethings sound like a bunch of spoiled children who grow up expecting everything to be easy for them. As a 20-something myself, I certainly share their disappointment –my husband and I probably won't be able to buy a house until we're in our forties, and we two are burdened by student loans. But why should it be different? Being young people in America, shouldn't they take up all of the challenges and opportunities that this country offers?
Consider some of these views shared in the story: Jennifer, 29, owner of a two-bedroom apartment with her husband, worries that she won't be able to have children for at least a decade because they can't afford to buy a house yet.
I read that, and I thought what planet she is living on where you need to own a house in order to have kids? Has she ever visited a developing country, or even downtown areas in this one? Home ownership is a luxury（奢华）, not a fertility requirement.
A 26-year-old man in the story is disappointed that he can't afford to get a Ph. D. in literature. Well, that sounds a bit like expressing disappointment that no one will pay you to write poetry on the beach in Thailand for five years.
Yes, it's sad that these young people feel so lost. But I think the problem is their extremely high expectations, not economic reality. Beth Kobliner, author of Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties, says that she thinks people's expectations grow up when their wealth appears to be increasing. Their parents probably see their home values rise along with their investments. "So we have people who have grown up in an environment where people have great expectations of what living well means," says Kobliner.
This recession（经济衰退） will certainly play a role in forcing those expectations into more realistic group. In the meantime, it seems much better for our mental health to focus on being grateful—for our one-bedroom apartments, for living in modern cities, or perhaps just for being able to eat three meals a day—than on longing for some kind of luxurious life.
1.In the passage, the writer mainly talked about _____.
A. young people’s high expectations result in their disappointment
B. the 20-somethings' high expectations and ambitions
C. the poor living conditions of the 20-somethings
D. the necessity of receiving high education
2.In the writer’s opinion, what is the reason for young people’s dissatisfaction?
A. The declining economy.
B. Their high expectations.
C. Poor living conditions.
D. Their constant failure.
3.What are some young people complaining about?
A. They are complaining their aims are hard to achieve.
B. They are complaining their parents can’t give them a good education.
C. They are complaining they can’t afford to travel abroad.
D. They are complaining poor economic condition is ruining their life.
4.How can we describe the writer?
A. Lost and disappointed. B. Passive and stressed.
C. Determined and helpful. D. Positive and grateful.
5.The passage is developed mainly by ________.
A．facts and descriptions
B．comparison and persuasion
C．examples and explanation
D．figures and conclusion
Just the sounds of the 1960 movie thriller Psycho may be enough to get your heart racing. Even when we may not be aware of it, 1. (hear ) music can affect our bodies as 2. ( good)as our minds. But are the physiological effects of music unique 3. one culture or are they more general?
4. (find )out the answer, researchers enlisted 40 Canadians from downtown Montreal and 40 Pygmies from the Congo rainforest. All the volunteers 5. ( listen) to musical clips from the movies Star Wars and Schindler's List, and to music from Pygmy culture.
As the 6. ( participate)listened, the researchers observed their 7. ( emotion) reactions, as well as changes in heart rate, breathing rate and palm-sweat production. The two groups disagreed about whether a particular musical selection was happy or sad. But they all had similar levels of arousal.
These findings suggest that some aspects of how we react to music are universal, rather 8. strictly cultural.
The study 9. (publish )in the journal Frontiers in Psychology last month. It showed fundamental acoustical（音响的） features seem to be responsible for the similar responses of the Canadians and the Congolese Pygmies.
Does that finding mean that science can help create the world's most 10. (universe )catching pop song?
Late one night, a thief crept into a wealthy merchant’s
house. He was a young thief, without . In fact, this was his first professional appearance. So he had planned everything .
All went marvelously well at first. He found, as he expected , an open window and got into the room . But, stepping his way through the room, he stubbed (碰到) his bare toe against a table leg. Choking back a cry of , terrified of waking the merchant, he hit himself the forehead and called himself a fool. He had forgot to bring a light.
In the darkness, however , he was able to see an oil lamp on the table, and it, then he gave a of relief. As he picked up the lamp, a small spider came out from under its .
“Thank you for saving my life,” said the spider. “Before he went to bed, the merchant set this lamp down on top of me so I couldn’t . If you hadn’t come along, I wouldn’t have lasted the night; indeed, I’d have extremely uncomfortable situation for a long time.”
“You have saved a life and shown , ”the spider went on, although the impatient thief said he had not intended to do so. “Better yet, you have done so without the least thought or hope of . You have gained more merits (优点) than you could possibly imagine.”
“But you’re only a spider,” said the thief.
“And you’re only a .” said the spider. “My dear friend, when you understand that life is life, whether on eight or two , you will have understood much. Your deed, in any case, has got rid of the bad things from your heart. Go from here with a fresh spirit. And good luck to you.”
The thief did so and never thought to again.
1.A.money B. experience C. parents D. ambition
2.A. hurriedly B. calmly C. actively D. carefully
3.A. easily B. comfortably C. skillfully D. eventually
4.A. furnished B. cozy C. dark D. bright
5.A. excitement B. delight C. surprise D. pain
6.A. on B. in C. to D. at
7.A. hid B. stole C. lit D. took
8.A. sigh B. sign C. signal D. applause
9.A. cap B. cover C. base D. top
10.A. adapt B. resist C. survive D. escape
11.A. sympathy B. curiosity C. care D. honesty
12.A. dignity B. reward C. profit D. award
13.A. spider B. merchant C. man D. thief
14.A. legs B. hands C. heads D. arms
15.A. escape B. flee C. return D. steal
第二节、书面表达(满分25分）
假设你是王磊，最近， 你的笔友David沉迷于网络小说， 难以自拔， 他向你求助， 请按下列要点给对方写一封信：
1. 阐述网络小说的危害；
2. 提出建议和解决办法；
3. 表达信心。
词数：120词左右。可以适当增加细节，是行文连贯；
第一节短文填词（共10小题;每小题1分,满分10分）.
A few years ago, I drove to a gas station. It was a fine day, I was feeling good. As I walked into the station to pay for the gas, the attendant said to me: “You don’t look well” That completely took me by ___1.___, I told him I had never felt 2. （well）. Without hesitation he told me I looked terribly bad and my skin appeared yellow.
When I left the gas station, 3. (feel) a little uneasy, I pulled over to the side of road and look at my face in the mirror. How did I feel? Was everything all right? Had I __4.___ up a rare disease? Had I had hepatitis（肝炎）?
The next time I drove into the gas station, I figured out what 5. (happen). The place had recently been painted a bright yellow, the light 6. (reflect) off the walls made someone inside look as __7._ they had hepatitis. I wondered how many folks had reacted the way I did. I had let one short conversation with a total stranger 8. (change) my attitude for an entire day. He told me I looked sick, and before long, I was actually feeling sick. That single negative observation had a profound effect 9. the way I felt and acted.
A little while later I saw how funny the incident was. I wonder how many other people that the man had told were ill 10. he realized that the gas station had a paint job.
