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第三部分：阅读理解（共两节，40分）
第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，共30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Your car is a necessary part of your life. You use it every day. Of course, you want to hold on to it so you make sure it has the latest alarm and immobilizer(汽车防盗器). But despite all these, cars like yours are still stolen every day. In fact, in this country, one car is stolen almost every minute! And if your car is stolen, you only have a 50:50 chance of seeing it again.
Each year, car crime costs nearly ￡3 billion. Of course, if you’re insured, you won’t lose out, or will you? Firstly, you will have to pay extra insurance later on, and then you may not be offered the full amount by the agent. You will probably have to hire a car and you will also lose the value of the contents and accessories(配件) in the car.
Now comes the solution. An RAC Trackstar system, hidden in one of 47 possible secret locations(位置) in your car, is the key of our system. If your car is stolen, radio signals are sent at twenty-second intervals from the car to the RAC Trackstar National Control Center via a satellite network. Then a computer gives the vehicle’s exact location, speed and direction.
The RAC Trackstar National Control Center, which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, will immediately inform the police in the area where the car is located. Because the police receive information every twenty seconds, they will always know the vehicle’s location. Once the thief has been arrested, your car will be returned to you.
RAC Trackstar is unique in being able to provide the National Control Center with details of the exact location of your car, its speed and direction. And speed is the key to successful recovery of a stolen vehicle. RAC Trackstar Control will immediately tell the police if you report your car stolen and under the 24-hour Guardian Option. It will also tell you if your car has been stolen. RAC Trackstar’s constant updates mean the police are kept informed of the car’s location. All these greatly improve your chances of seeing your car again.
56. If your car is stolen, you will have to _____.
A. hire a new car
B. pay more insurance
C. buy a RAC Trackstar system
D. inform the National Cont rol Center
57. The Trackstar system can tell the police _____.
A. where the car is B. how the car is stolen
C. who the thief is D. what brand the car is
58. The underlined word “It” in the last paragraph refers to ______.
A. the local police station B. the Guardian Option
C. the insurance company D. the RAC Trackstar Control
59. According to the passage, people with RAC Trackstar ______.
A. are more likely to get the stolen cars back
B. have less chance of being in an accident
C. seldom get their vehicles damaged
D. automatically find directions
B
Hunger is the greatest motive for the inexperienced cook. But many people are now worried that we are producing a generation without the slightest idea of how to cook—a generation that is frightened to cook. I have just received a handout from Focus on Food, which is running a competition to get children back into the kitchen. Has television cooking become a replacement for the real thing? Is this an age where famous professional cooks have turned cooking into a sort of show, with dishes far too difficult for the beginner to copy?
I decided to ask my oldest daughter, Miranda, for her opinion. Are children learning enough about the importance of good cooking? Do they know cooking is a basic life skill? Sociology and other “new” subjects are all very well, but without the ability to cook, or to understand the pleasure and principles of good food and its relationship to good health, are we really preparing them for adult life?
Miranda started her cooking at the age of nine, when she decided to enter the Sainsbury’s Future Cook competition. She was motivated by a different kind of greed: the first prize—a trip to Disney World.
The problem, from the parental point of view, was that if she made it through to the regional(区域性的) finals, she would have to cook her meal in front of the judges. Some 30,000 children entered and she made it through as the youngest regional finalist. Now she had to learn to cook. Her hands were not even big enough to hold the knife and slice the onions. Six Saturdays running we ate the same lunch—Mozzarella meatballs in fresh tomato juice and blueberry.
First, she cooked by my side, then alone with timings and instructions. Finally, she went alone against the clock. The kitchen looked like a battlefield, but she had gained victory. The tiny be-capped figure then stood in an unknown Bristol hotel, looking like a professional who had been at the stove for years. She didn’t win, but she came home with ￡50 and the most valuable part of them all: confidence.
60. The competition run by Focus on Food is intended for _________.
A. children B. parents C. teachers D. chefs
61. Why does the writer think cooking is so important?
A. It is an easy way to keep healthy. B. It helps develop relationships.
C. It is a necessary skill for life. D. It can save a lot of money.
62. The writer’s family had the same lunch on six Saturdays because __________.
A. the family stuck to healthy food B. Miranda had to practise cooking
C. the dish was the family’s only food D. the dish was Miranda’s favorite meal
63. What did Miranda gain from the competition?
A. A trip to Disney World. B. Support from friends.
C. A medal for the winner. D. Belief in herself.
C
Small seating in the economy-class(经济舱) sections of airplanes is not just uncomfortable but potentially life-threatening. Space has become so tight that passengers cannot protect themselves in the event of a crash.
A report on a long distance flight from the doctors of Vienna stated that only 10% in economy class could adopt the recommended brace position on the plane’s safety tips in case of emergency, and they were the smallest of the group. And 30% of their fellow passengers traveling in first class could adopt the position, which is internationally recognized as improving the chances of survival in the event of a crash. The authors of the report are now calling for greater space between seat rows to increase safety.
A spokesman for British Airways (BA), which is responsible for safety on all British planes, opposed the idea that small seating was a threat（威胁） to passengers. “We don’t think it is a safety matter,” he said, “We have high safety standards and all UK aircraft meet them.” In the past month, both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic introduced sleeper seats, stressing the outstanding comfort in the front of the planes. But that space gained is space lost in economy.
Until recently, economy class was at least “bearable”—with an 86-centimeter seat. Scheduled Airlines such as BA and KLM gave passengers enough leg room and comfortable seats. But the arrival of new, weight-saving seats caused economy class to take a turn for the worse. Extra rows have been put into the plane, with the result that the average seat now is 79 centimetres. Singapore Airlines has become the latest carrier to narrow down its seats. It announced free wine for economy passengers last September, but at the same time reduced leg room by 8 centimetres.
Economy class on Scheduled Airlines is now often little better than economy on Qatar Airways. Some Qatar Airways even offer the chance to upgrade—at a price—to seats which, at 89-91 centimetres, are roomier than those of most Scheduled Airlines.
64. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Scheduled Airlines produced new comfortable seats for economy class.
B. Doctors from Vienna said less space between seats could cause danger.
C. Spokesman for BA declared that narrow seat space was a threat.
D. Qatar Airways offered larger seats with no more charge.
65. What might be the author’s attitude towards reducing the space of economy seats?
A. Neutral. B. Sceptical. C. Supportive. D. Disapproving.
66. Where does the passage most probably come from?
A. A biography. B. A book review. C. A magazine. D. A realistic novel.
D
According to game maker Hasbro, approximately 750 million people have played the well-known game Monopoly since it was invented in the 1930s. Charles Darrow is typically credited as the inventor of the world’s most famous board game. However, he likely originated his version of Monopoly from one of several other games similarly involving house buying and selling that were already in existence before the 1930s when he got his patent (专利) for the game.
A probable reason that Darrow’s Monopoly became the hugely successful game that still exists today is that he took a great approach to producing it. Other similar games existed, but they had no board or regulation pieces. With the help of his wife and son，who decorated the sets with details, Darrow personally created the pieces and boards that became the first Monopoly game sets. His extra work in creating the entire environment that players needed gave his game something extra that other variations did not have.
Darrow had success in selling his games in various parts of the country. Several Philly area stores were the first to carry his game and sell it in large quantities. However, Darrow had difficulty selling his game to the major game producer of the time, Parker Brothers. He was told that his game was too complex and had fundamental errors in its design that would limit its appeal. Eventually, the continued sales he managed on his own forced Parker Brothers to reassess the worth of his game. In the end, the company agreed to produce the game and shortly afterwards it became the bestselling game in the country.
That success turned Charles Darrow into a millionaire, which is the heavy irony. Darrow initially began work on Monopoly to help support himself and his family following the financial troubles tied to the stock market crash of 1929. Thus, Charles Darrow became a millionaire by producing a game that allows “regular” people to feel like they are buying and selling real homes and land like millionaires.
67. What made Darrow’s Monopoly different from other similar games?
A. The way of avoiding financial troubles.
B. The safe environment created for players.
C. The buying and selling of real homes and land.
D. The specific pieces and a playing board in each set.
68. The author suggests in Paragraph 3 that ______.
A. Monopoly was initially too complex to play
B. Darrow failed to make expected profit in Philly
C. certain errors in Monopoly limited its attraction
D. some people once doubted Monopoly would be popular
69. What does the underlined word “irony” in the last paragraph mean?
A. financial gain B. unexpected result C. marketing plan D. unsatisfying reward
70. What is the passage mainly about?
A. The difficulties in Darrow’s life. B. The comparison of some board games.
C. The way to the success of Darrow’s game.
D. The business management of Parker Brothers.
