1、【阅读理解】 As a young boy, I sometimes traveled the country roads with my dad. He was a rural mail carrier, and on Saturdays he would ask me to go with him. Driving through the countryside was always an adventure: There were animals to see, people to visit, and chocolate cookies if you knew where to sto
2、p, and Dad did.In the spring, Dad delivered boxes full of baby chickens, and when I was a boy it was such fun to stick your fingers through one of the holes of the boxes and let the baby birds peck on your fingers.On Dads final day of work, it took him well into the evening to complete his rounds be
3、cause at least one member from each family was waiting at their mailboxes to thank him for his friendship and his years of service.“Two hundred and nineteen mailboxes on my route，” he used to say, “and a story at every one.” One lady had no mailbox, so Dad took the mail in to her every day because s
4、he was nearly blind. Once inside, he read her mail and helped her pay her bills.Mailboxes were sometimes used for things other than mail. One note left in a mailbox read, “Nat, take these eggs to Marian; shes baking a cake and doesnt have any eggs.” Mailboxes might be buried in the snow, or broken,
5、or lying on the ground, but the mail was always delivered. On cold days Dad might find one of his customers waiting for him with a cup of hot chocolate. A young girl wrote letters but had no stamps, so she left a few buttons on the envelope in the mailbox; Dad paid for the stamps. One businessman us
6、ed to leave large amounts of cash in his mailbox for Dad to take to the bank. Once, the amount came to $32,000.A dozen years ago, when I traveled back to my hometown on the sad occasion of Dads death, the mailboxes along the way reminded me of some of his stories. I thought I knew them all, but that
7、 wasnt the case.As I drove home, I noticed two lamp poles, one on each side of the street. When my dad was around, those poles supported wooden boxes about four feet off the ground. One box was painted green, and the other was red, and each had a long narrow hole at the top with white lettering: SAN
8、TA CLAUS, NORTH POLE. For years children had dropped letters to Santa through those holes.I made a turn at the corner and drove past the post office and across the railroad tracks to our house. Mom and I were sitting at the kitchen table when I heard footsteps. There, at the door, stood Frank Townse
9、nd, Dads postmaster and great friend for many years. So we all sat down at the table and began to tell stories.At one point Frank looked at me with tears in his eyes. “What are we going to do about the letters this Christmas？”he asked.“The letters？”“I guess you never knew.”“Knew what？”“Remember, whe
10、n you were a kid and you used to put your letters to Santa in those green and red boxes on Main Street? It was your dad who answered all those letters every year.”I just sat there with tears in my eyes. It wasnt hard for me to imagine Dad sitting at the old oak table in our basement reading those le
11、tters and answering each one. I have since spoken with several of the people who received Christmas letters during their childhood, and they told me how amazed they were that Santa had known so much about their homes and families.For me, just knowing that story about my father was the gift of a life
12、time.1. It can be inferred from the passage that the writer regarded his travels with Dad as _.A. great chances to help other people B. happy occasions to play with baby chickensC. exciting experiences with a lot of funD. good opportunities to enjoy chocolate cookies 2. The writer provides the detai
13、l about the businessman to show that _.A. Dad had a strong sense of duty B. Dad was an honest and reliable manC. Dad had a strong sense of honor D. Dad was a kind and generous man3. According to the passage, which of the following impressed the writer most?A. Dad read letters for a blind lady for ye
14、ars. B. Dad paid for the stamps for a young girl.C. Dad delivered some eggs to Marian.D. Dad answered childrens Christmas letters every year.4. The method the writer uses to develop Paragraph 4 is _.A. offering analyses B. providing explanationsC. giving examples D. making comparisons4. What surpris
15、ed the children most when they received letters in reply from Santa Claus every year?A. Santa Claus lived alone in the cold North Pole.B. Santa Claus answered all their letters every year.C. Santa Claus had unique mailboxes for the children.D. Santa Claus had so much information about their families
16、.5. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?A. The Mail B. Christmas LettersC. Special Mailboxes D. Memorable Travels【要点综述】这是一篇感人的叙述亲情的文章，在这里，父亲是一个乡村送信人，这么多年来他都无私地为219个信箱服务，一直到他退休。但让作者没有料到的是，父亲还在每年圣诞节的时候扮演着圣诞老人的角色，默默地回复着孩子们写给圣诞老人的信。1. C推理判断题。从全文第一段提到的always an adventure: There were
17、animals to see知，作者认为与父亲一起去乡下送信是一件惬意的事情，因为在路上碰到的事情令人激动不已，所以选C项。2. B推理判断题。从文章第四段One businessman used to leavethe amount came to $32,000.知，商人认为父亲是一个诚实且值得信赖的人，所以他才会这么相信他，让他把数目很多的钱送往银行，由此知B项为最佳答案。3. D细节理解题。从文章最后几段可以看出，作者没有想到的是，父亲竟然还曾扮演过圣诞老人的角色，给孩子们回信，这大大出乎他的意料。这也可以从倒数第二段I just sat there with tears in my
18、eyes.可以看出，我对父亲的这种行为感到非常吃惊和感动，由此选D项。4. C文章结构题。从第四段知，作者在这里举到了几个事例，如帮人送鸡蛋，帮小姑娘支付邮票，甚至帮一个商人去存钱等等，这些都是例子，所以该段举了很多事例来说明父亲平凡中的“伟大”，故选C项。59. D推理判断题。从倒数第二段and they told me how amazed they were that推断知，当时小朋友们对于圣诞老人居然这么了解他们的家庭生活感到非常吃惊，所以答案选D项。5. A主旨大意题。从全文知，本文作者主要讲述了自己的父亲，一个平凡中显现伟大的送信人的故事，所以用A项能较好地概括全文中心，这里用Th
19、e Mail来突出父亲的工作和他的敬业，故A项最佳。 阅读理解，Why laughter mattersAlthough most people believe that laughter is one of the natures great treatments for a whole range of mental and physical diseases, it is still a serious scientific subject that researchers are trying to figure out.“Laughter above all else is a so
20、cial thing，” says Baltimore neuroscientist, Robert Provine, who has studied laughter for decades. “All laughter groups laugh hahaha basically the same way. Whether you speak Mandarin, French or English, everyone will understand laughter. There is a pattern generator(发生器) in our brain that produces t
21、his sound.”Laughing is our first way of communicating. Babies laugh long before they speak. No one teaches them how to laugh. They just do. People may laugh at a prank(恶作剧) on April Fools Day. But surprisingly, only 10 to 15 percent of laughter is the result of someone making a joke. Laughter is mos
22、tly about social responses rather than to a joke. Deaf people laugh without hearing and people on cell phones laugh without seeing, showing that laughter isnt dependent on single sense but on social interactions.And laughter is not just a thing of people. Chimps tickle(挠痒) each other and even laugh
23、when another chimp pretends to tickle them.Jaak Panksepp, a Bowling Green University Psychology professor, studies rats that laugh when he tickles them. It turns out rats love to be tickledthey return again and again to the hands of researchers tickling them.By studying rats, scientists can figure o
24、ut whats going on in the brain during laughter. Northwestern University biomedical engineering professor, Jeffrey Burgdorf has found that laughter in rats produces a chemical that acts as an antidepressant(抗抑郁药). He thinks the same thing probably happens in humans, too. This would give doctors a new
25、 chemical target to develop drugs that can fight depression.Even so, laughter itself has not been proved to be the best medicine, experts say. Margaret Stuber, a professor at University of California, studied whether laugher helped patients. She found that distraction(分心) and mood improvement helped
26、, but she could not find a benefit of laughter alone.“No study has shown that laughter produces a direct health benefit，” Provine said, largely because its hard to separate laughter from just feeling good. But he thinks it doesnt really matter, “Isnt the fact that laughter feels good when you do it
27、enough？”1The most important finding of Robert Provines research is that _Alaughter makes a person feel goodBlaughter depends on different sensesClaughter is a quality people are born withDlaughter is a social response shared by all creatures2According to the passage, scientists studied rats in order
28、 to find _Aif they can laugh Bif they like laughingCwhat laughter in rats produces Dhow rats react while being tickled3What can we learn from the passage?APatients will recover if they laugh enough.BLaughter is a means of communication as well as a language.CA new medicine has been developed based o
29、n the laughter research.DScientists can know what is happening in a human brain when he laughs.4Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?A. B.C. D.CP: Central pointP: PointSp: Subpoint(次要点) C: Conclusion【要点综述】“笑”既是人类也是动物的一种交际行为，多数人认为“笑”是治疗身体疾病和心理疾病的有效方式之一。“笑”是否与健康有直接的联系，尚无科学定论，但是，“笑
30、”能使你身心愉悦，这毕竟是一件好事。1A推理判断题。根据最后一段“Isnt the fact that laughter feels good when you do it enough？”可知A项正确。2C事实细节题。根据第六段“laughter in rats produces a chemical that acts as an antidepressant(抗抑郁药)”可知。故C项正确。3B事实细节题。根据第二段“All laughter groups laughhahaha basically the same way.”以及第三段“Laughing is our first way
31、 of communicating.”可知，“笑”既是一种交际方式也是一种所有物种都能理解的语言。故B项正确。4D篇章结构题。文章第一节首先提出话题：尽管“笑”被认为是治疗身体疾病和心理疾病的方式之一，但是它仍旧是研究者们试图想弄明白的一个严肃的科研项目；接着文章从两个方面来论述主观点：(1)“笑”是人类的行为：Laughter above all else is a social thingLaughing is our first way of communicating；(2)“笑”也是动物的行为：And laughter is not just a thing of people；最后
32、得出结论：“笑”是否与健康有直接的联系尚无科学定论，但是，“笑”能使人身心愉悦，这毕竟是一件好事。综上可知D项正确。阅读理解。How Room Designs Affect Our Work and Feelings Architects have long had the feeling that the places we live in can affect our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. But now scientists are giving this feeling an empirical（经验的，实证的） basis. They a
33、re discovering how to design spaces that promote creativity, keep people focused and lead to relaxation. Researches show that aspects of the physical environment can influence creativity. In 2007, Joan Meyers-Levy at the University of Minnesota, reported that the height of a rooms ceiling affects ho
34、w people think. Her research indicates that higher ceilings encourage people to think more freely, which may lead them to make more abstract connections. Low ceilings, on the other hand, may inspire a more detailed outlook. In additions to ceiling height, the view afforded by a building may influenc
35、e an occupants ability to concentrate. Nancy Wells and her colleagues at Cornell University found in their study that kids who experienced the greatest increase in greenness as a result of a family move made the most gains on a standard test of attention. Using nature to improve focus of attention o
36、ught to pay off academically, and it seems to, according to a study led by C. Kenneth Tanner, head of the School Design & Planning Laboratory at the University of Georgia. Tanner and his team found that students in classrooms with unblocked views of at least 50 feet outside the window had higher sco
37、res on tests of vocabulary, language arts and maths than did students whose classrooms primarily overlooked roads and parking lots. Recent study on room lighting design suggests than dim（暗淡的） light helps people to loosen up. If that is true generally, keeping the light low during dinner or at partie
38、s could increase relaxation. Researchers of Harvard Medical School also discovered that furniture with rounded edges could help visitors relax. So far scientists have focused mainly on public buildings. We have a very limited number of studies, so were almost looking at the problem through a straw（吸
39、管）, architect David Allison says. How do you take answers to very specific questions and make broad, generalized use of them? Thats what were all struggling with. ( ) 1. What does Joan Meyers-Levy focus on in her research? A. Light. B. Ceilings. C. Windows. D. Furniture. ( ) 2. The passage tells us
40、that _. A. the shape of furniture may affect peoples feelings B. lower ceilings may help improve students creativity C. children in a dim classroom may improve their grades D. students in rooms with unblocked views may feel relaxed ( ) 3. The underlined sentence in the last paragraph probably means
41、that _. A. the problem is not approached step by step B. the researches so far have faults in themselves C. the problem is too difficult for researchers to detect D. research in this area is not enough to make generalized patterns ( ) 4. Which of the following shows the organization of the passage?
42、CP: Central Point P: Point SP: Sub-point（次要点） C: Conclusion 64.B。 细节理解题。根据第二段内容可知Joan Meyers-Levy focus on ceilings. 65.A。 细节判断题。根据文中内容可知B,C和D均是错误的。 66.D。 句意猜测题。根据划线句子后面的一句话可以知道该题的正确答案为:D。 67.C。 考查文章结构。注意解题技巧。第一段为总要点，最后一段为结论，要点123共同服务于结论，重要的是要点二又包含了两个次要点。综上分析可知答案为:C。 完形填空。阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项A、
43、B、C和D中，选出最佳答案。 When I first came to the USA, I made friends with a neighbor who used to live only two blocks away from my street. We used to visit each other and go out together sometimes. This friend taught me a lot about American 1 ,but in some cases I had to learn the 2 way, because we didnt have
44、 enough time together for me to learn all about American culture from him. One day this same friend invited me to a party. It wasnt a(n) 3 party, only some kind of informal get-together. Since it was 4 time, we had a cookout, 5 most of his American friends and relatives were known to me, but there w
45、ere others I had never met before. It was the most 6 party for me when I noticed that everybody was wearing jeans and simple T-shirts for the day, 7 I arrived in proper dress with my shoes and my hair all fixed for a fancy party. It was hard to explain my embarrassment(窘迫)to the other 8 .When one of
46、 them turned around and said, “What nice clothes! Whats the occasion?” I felt my 9 burning hot. I didnt 10 at all. If she knew how 11 I already felt, she wouldnt have said that to me. Maybe she didnt 12 to make me feel uncomfortable, but my reaction had to do with the way I already felt. Many times
47、I thought of going home and 13 but I knew they would 14 .It would be even 15 for me because I knew they would quickly think that I felt out of 16 .So I wanted to pretend that I was 17 . I have already realized their 18 are different from mine. They care less about formality(形式) 19 it is a special oc
48、casion, like a 20 or a very formal invitation.( ) 1. A. art B. culture C. history D. people提示:由文章第一段可知，朋友教作者了解学习了许多美国文化，而不是“艺术、历史和种族”。答案:B( ) 2. A. easy B. simple C. hard D. different提示:在一些情况下通过艰难的方式我才了解到美国的文化，本题的干扰是different。答案:C( ) 3. A. real B. pleasant C. usual D. evening提示:后面提到“这只是某种非正式的聚会”，因为这
49、不是真正的party。pleasant 令人愉快的；usual 通常的；自然也不属于evening party。答案:A( ) 4. A. summer B. dark C. cold D. autumn提示:下文提到cookout意为“在外面野餐”，也提到其余人都穿牛仔服和T恤衫，故只有 “summer” 才合文意。答案:A( ) 5. A. which B. when C. where D. as提示:这里where引导表地点的定语从句，修饰cookout,意为“在那里他的大多数美国朋友和亲戚我都认识”；when表时间，而which和as均可充当从句的主语。答案:C( ) 6. A. ex
50、citing B. surprising C. embarrassing D. enjoyable提示:人人穿牛仔服和T恤衫而我穿正统的套服，头发梳成适合化装舞会的发型，与众不同，自然是“令人窘迫的(embarrassing)”。答案:C( ) 7. A. as B. while C. when D. and提示:while在此表对比，意为“然而”。答案:B( ) 8. A. guests B. friends C. neighbors D. Americans提示:本题可采用排除法。Americans、neighbors均可排除，而朋友只有一个，故friends也可排除。答案:A( ) 9.
51、 A. heart B. body C. face D. hand提示:遇到窘迫的事时常感到脸发烫，心跳加快。答案:C( ) 10. A. repeat B. answer C. laugh D. say提示:repeat重复，laugh大笑，say是及物动词,要带宾语。answer最恰当，“我没有回答”。答案:B( ) 11. A. nice B. happy C. bad D. lucky提示:根据文意可知，如果她知道我多么难受，她是不会对我说这话的。答案:C( ) 12. A. mean B. expect C. wish D. prepare提示:expect to do, wish
52、to do想干某事。该句的意思是:也许她并非有意使我感到不舒服。答案:A( ) 13. A. changing B. crying C. sleeping D. dancing提示:由于与众不同，因此想回家换衣服。答案:A( ) 14. A. mind B. notice C. watch D. care提示:也许其余人并不在意“我”穿什么衣服，但一旦离开，倒会使他(她)们注意到这回事。答案:B( ) 15. A. worse B. luckier C. better D. easier提示:若人人注意我，这会使我更难受。答案:A( ) 16. A. order B. breath C. pl
53、ace D. mind提示:out of order出故障；out of breath上气不接下气；out of mind不正常；out of place不合适。答案:C( ) 17. A. OK B. sad C. angry D. well提示:sad, angry不和文意，well作形容词是指身体好、健康，故A项最佳。答案:A( ) 18. A. lives B. customs C. parties D. beliefs提示:本文谈文化或习惯的不同。答案:B( ) 19. A. unless B. if C. as long as D. since提示:除非正式场合，否则美国人不太关心形式。答案:A( ) 20. A. party B. picnic C. meeting D. wedding提示:wedding属于正式场合，meeting可指非正式的聚会、相遇。答案:D完形填空阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从120各题所给的四个选项A、B、C和D中，选出最佳答案。
