1、阅读理解。Feeling blue about the world ? “Cheer up，” says science writer Matt Ridley.“The world has never been a better place to live in，and it will keep on getting better both for humans and for nature.”Ridley calls himself a rational optimistrational，because hes carefully weighed the evidence optimisti
2、c，because that evidence shows human progress to be both unavoidable and good. And this is what hes set out to prove from a unique point of view in his most recent book The Rational Optimist. He views mankind as a grand enterprise that，on the whole，has done little but progress for 100, 000 years.He b
3、acks his findings with hard facts gathered through years of research.Heres how he explains his views.1)Shopping fuels inventionIt is reported that there are more than ten billion different products for sale in London alone.Even allowing for the many people who still live in poverty，our own generatio
4、n has access to more nutritious food，more convenient transport，bigger houses，better cars，and of course，more pounds and dollars than any who lived before us .This will continue as long as we use these things to make other things.The more we specialize and exchange，the better off well be.2) Brilliant
5、advancesOne reason we are richer，healthier，taller，cleverer，longerlived and freer than ever before is that the four most basic human needsfood，clothing，fuel and shelterhave grown a lot cheaper.Take one example.In 1800 a candle providing one hours light cost six hours work.In the 1880s the same light
6、from an oil lamp took 15 minutes work to pay for.In 1950 it was eight seconds.Today its half second.3) Lets not kill ourselves for climate changeMitigating(减轻) climate change could prove just as damaging to human welfare as climate change itself.A child that dies from indoor smoke in a village，where
7、 the use of fassilfuel(化石燃料) electricity is forbidden by wellmeaning members of green political movements trying to save the world，is just as great a tragedy as a child that dies in a flood caused by climate change.If climaic change proves to be mild，but cutting carbon causes real pain，we may well f
8、ind that we have stopped a nosebleed by putting a tourniquet(止血带) around our necks.人类的进步是无法阻挡的，是令人乐观。在理性的乐观主义者一书中，作者阐述了自己对于生活中的乐观现象，并且对于购物这样普通的日常行为所带来的积极影响都做了详尽的分析和描述。1What is the theme of Ridleys most recent book?AWeakness of human nature.BConcern about climate change.CImportance of practical think
9、ing.DOptimism about human progress.答案：D。理解判断题。从第二段的前两句话中，反复提到一个关键词“optimistic”以及信息句“because that evidence shows.”；另外，“this is what hes set out to prove.”一句也正好清楚的表明了作者在本书中所以阐述的正是这个话题，正是与选项D的说法是一致的，即：人类的进步总是不可避免的。2How does Ridley look at shopping?AIt encourages the creation of things.BIt results in sh
10、ortage of goods.CIt demands more fossil fuels.DIt causes a poverty problem.答案：A。细节判断题。从“Shopping fuels invention”一段正是反映了Ridley的观点：购物能够激发创造发明。选项A与之相吻合。3The candle and lamp example is used to show that _.Aoil lamps give off more light than candlesBshortening working time brings about a happier lifeCad
11、vanced technology helps to produce better candlesDincreased production rate leads to lower cost of goods答案：D。细节判断题。根据Brilliant advances 一段中的“Take one example”一句很明显的确定为：作者拿蜡烛与灯的比较与变化正是为了前面他所提到的看法，故与选项D的说法是一致的。4What does the last sentence of the passage imply?ACutting carbon is necessary in spite of t
12、he huge cost.BOverreaction to climate change may be dangerous.CPeoples health is closely related to climate change.DCareless medical treatment may cause great pain.答案：B。推理判断题。根据最后一句话中的“cutting carbon causes real pain”可以排除选项A与C的说法，因为它们大相径庭；而根据“putting. around our necks”一句可以表明选项D中“careless”一词运用不当，是不符合
13、语境的。故只有选项B是最正确的。完型填空。阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从以下题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。夹叙夹议型完形填空 I hadnt even got a chance to enter the store before an African American woman approached me and asked if I would help her return an item (商品). The item she had _1_ was intended for her daughter, but she had already received a s
14、imilar one. The lady _2_ to exchange the item for something else in the store but she was told she needed an ID or the deal could not take place. I went to the _3_ with the woman so she could use my ID.The sales associate immediately started accusing her of asking the first _4_ person she saw to hel
15、p her. Although that was _5_， I didnt understand why it mattered. After all, not everyone is given the opportunity to _6_ an ID in this country. Then, we asked to speak with a manager, who explained that there was no _7_ to return the item without a receipt and then went on to say the woman could no
16、t _8_ she purchased the item. “ If I, a young white female, were to enter the store and request you to make an exchange without a receipt, I would not be _9_ the privilegeas I have proof from the past，” I said. He must have realized at that moment what he had done, because he _10_ to exchange the it
17、em.There are many valuable lessons in the story. The first is to help a stranger in need. I _11_ when the woman asked for my help, but _12_ in my head I asked myself, “Why not? What valid _13_ do I actually have？” I had none, so I helped her. The second lesson is not to judge a book by its _14_. The
18、 woman looked poor, but she _15_ the same treatment as anyone else did.1A.purchased BshownClost Dmended 2. Amanaged BwantedCrefused Dpromised 3. Acounter BdepartmentCmarket Dwindow 4. Afair BfamiliarCimpossible Drandom 5. Awrong BtrueCreasonable Dmeaningful 6. Aleave BpayCfind Dobtain 7. Arequest Bp
19、laceCway Dneed 8. Aanswer BproveCsupport Dadmit 9. Aordered BaskedCdenied Dgiven 10. Aagreed BpreparedCfailed Dremembered 11. Astruggled BwonderedChesitated Dnodded 12. Atotally BgraduallyChardly Dquickly 13. Afeelings BgoalsCreasons Dideas 14. Adesign BcoverCcontent Dprice 15. Adeserved BrequiredCr
20、eceived Dappreciated B【要点综述】 作者通过讲述在商店里帮助一位顾客的故事，说明了两个道理：第一，做人应该有一副热心肠；第二，人无论贫富，都是平等的，都应享受同等的待遇。 1A根据第二段中“she purchased the item.”可知，她买的这件商品本来是为女儿买的。2B因为女儿已经有了类似的东西，所以这位女士想换一件另外的商品。 manage to do sth是“成功做了某事”的意思。3A作者决定帮助这位女士，于是和她一起走到商店的柜台处。4D参见下题的解析。5B这位女士并不认识作者，所以属于随机行为。售货员的话符合事实。 6D在这个国家，毕竟不是所有的人都有
21、机会获得身份证的。 7C下文“then went on to say the woman could notshe purchased the item.”说明经理要设置退换商品的门槛。经理解释说即使有了身份证，如果没有收据的话，也是没有办法退换商品的。8B接着上面的话，经理顺水推舟说这位女士不能证明该商品是在这个店里买的。 9C“我”将不会被拒绝拥有这项特权。10A从语境可知，经理意识到自己的言行不当，因此同意换商品。 11C根据句中but后面的内容可知，作者在那位女士请求帮助时，一开始也犹豫过。12D但作者很快调整心态，扪心自问：“为什么不帮她，我有不帮她的正当理由吗？” 13C参见上题的
22、解析。14B从下文可知，这位女士看起来非常穷，售货员和经理的无礼行为可能与此有关。作者想要表达的是：我们不应该以貌取人(不能通过书的封皮确定一本书的质量)。 15A这位女士虽然看起来很穷，但她有资格和别人享受同等的待遇。阅读下列短文, 从给的四个选项 (A、B、C和D) 中, 选出最佳选项。People who enjoy a dream-filled sleep are better at recalling information and making links between facts when waking. But recharging with a shallow (小睡) o
23、ffers no such mental improvement, the research suggests. The results of the study added to the growing body of evidence that Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep is very important to the brains ability to form strong memories.An average nights rest includes four or five spells of REM sleep, but these burs
24、ts tend to be lengthier towards the end of the night. This means adults getting less than the recommended seven to eight hours a night - and therefore inadequate REM sleep - may be damaging their minds ability to memorize: Although REM sleep is not classified as a type of deep sleep, it is only reac
25、hed after the brain has passed through deep sleep stages.In the recent study, participants were shown groups of three words - such as “cookie”, “heart”, and “sixteen”-and asked to find another word that can be associated with all three words. They were tested once in the morning and then given the s
26、ame task again in the afternoon. In between, some were allowed a nap with REM sleep, some a nap without REM sleep, while the others had a quiet rest period. The quiet rest and non-REM sleep groups didnt improve, but the REM sleep group improved on their morning performance by an average of almost 40
27、 per cent. Dr Sara Mednick, a sleep researcher at the University of California who led the study, believes the formation of connections between previously unassociated information in the brain occurs during REM sleep. People woken while their closed eyes made rapid movements recalled much more color
28、ful and detailed dreams than people woken during other stages of sleep.1. According to the passage, to have a good memory, a person had better _ at night. A. sleep four to five hours at most B. sleep as much as possible C. sleep with four or five periods of REM D. have a shallow sleep答案解析：答案为C。本题为细节
29、题。由第二段 “An average nights rest includes four or five spells of REM sleep This means adults getting less than the recommended seven to eight hours a night - and therefore inadequate REM sleep - may be damaging their minds ability to memorize:”可知，REM 睡眠包括四个或者五个阶段，如果成年人睡眠少于七到八个小时，会伤害大脑的记忆力，故答案为C。2. If
30、you dont sleep seven to eight hours at night very often, _. A. you will tend to have longer periods of REM B. your strong memories might be ruined C. you will have an adequate REM sleep D. your mind can form strong memories答案解析：答案为B。本题为细节题。结合上题的分析可知，如果睡眠少于七到八个小时，记忆力会受到伤害。故答案为B。3. The third paragragh
31、 is mainly about _ of the most recent study. A. the process B. the results C. the participants D. the content答案解析：答案为A。通读第三段可知，本段是关于研究的过程。故答案为A。4. What is the authors purpose in writing the passage? A. To explain the imortance of REM sleep to ones memories B. To persuade readers to sleep seven to ei
32、ght hours at night. C. To discuss the relationship between sleep and memories D. To introduce the new study on sleep and memories答案解析：答案为D。本题考查作者的写作目的。本文第一段引入了REM 睡眠对人的记忆力的影响，第二段对其进行了具体介绍，第三段介绍了研究的过程，最后一段对REM 睡眠作出了进一步的解释，故答案为D，介绍一项睡眠和记忆的新研究。阅读下列短文, 从给的四个选项 (A、B、C和D) 中, 选出最佳选项。(2013辽宁，D)“Indeed，” Geo
33、rge Washington wrote in his diary in 1785, “some kind of fly, or bug, had begun to eat the leaves before I left home.” But the father of America was not the father of bug. When Washington wrote that, Englishmen had been referring to insects as bugs for more than a century, and Americans had already
34、created lightningbug(萤火虫). But the English were soon to stop using the bugs in their language, leaving it to the Americans to call a bug a bug in nineteenth and twentieth centuries.The American bug could also be a person, referring to someone who was crazy about a particular activity. Although fan b
35、ecame the usual term, sports fans used to be called racing bugs, baseball bugs, and the like.Or the bug could be a small machine or object, for example, a bugshaped car. The bug could also be a burglar alarm, from which comes the expression to bug, that is, “to install (安装) an alarm”. Now it means a
36、 small piece of equipment that people use for listening secretly to others conversations. Since the 1840s, to bug has long meant “to cheat”， and since the 1940s it has been annoying.We also know the bug as a flaw in a computer program or other design. That meaning dates back to the time of Thomas Ed
37、ison. In 1878 he explained bugs as “little problems and difficulties” that required months of study and labor to overcome in developing a successful product. In 1889 it was recorded that Edison “had been up the two previous nights discovering a bug in his invented record player.”文章大意：本文主要说的是“bug”一词的
38、起源，不同含义和发展。9We learn from Paragraph 1 that _.AAmericans had difficulty in learning to use the word bugBGeorge Washington was the first person to call an insect a bugCthe word bug was still popularly used in England in the nineteenth centuryDboth Englishmen and Americans used the word bug in the eigh
39、teenth century答案：D推理判断题。从第一段的George Washington wrote in his diary in 1785和But the father of America was not the father of bug. When Washington wrote that, Englishmen had .可知D项为正确答案。10What does the word “flaw” in the last paragraph probably mean?AExplanation. BFinding.COrigin. DFault.答案：D词义猜测题。从第四段的I
40、n 1878 he explained bugs as “little problems and difficulties”可知答案。11The passage is mainly concerned with _.Athe misunderstanding of the word bugBthe development of the word bugCthe public views of the word bugDthe special characteristics of the word bug答案：B主旨大意题。纵观全文可知，本文主要说的是“bug”一词的使用时间以及发展，故B项为本题答案。
