第三部分： 阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分，满分40分)

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

A

George has stolen some money.The police had caught him and he had been put in prison.Now his trial was about to begin, and he felt sure that he would be found guilty and sent to prison for a long time.

Then he discovered that an old friend of his was one of the jury at his trial.Of course, he didn’t tell anybody, but he managed to see his friend secretly one day.He said to him, “Jim, I know that the jury will find me guilty of having stolen the money.I cannot hope to be found not guilty of taking it—that would be too much to expect.But I should be grateful to you for the rest of my life if you could persuade the other members of the jury to add a strong recommendation for mercy(从轻量刑 )to their statement that they consider me guilty.”

“Well, George,” answered Jim, “I shall certainly try to do what I can for you as an old friend, but of course I cannot promise anything.The other eleven people on the jury look terribly strong—minded to me.”

George said that he would quite understand if Jim was not able to do anything for him, and thanked him warmly for agreeing to help.

The trial went on, and at last the time came for the jury to decide whether George was guilty or not.It took them five hours, but in the end they found George guilty, with a strong recommendation for mercy.

Of course, George was very pleased, but he didn’t have a chance to see Jim for some time after the trial.At last, however, Jim visited him in prison, and George thanked him warmly and asked him how he had managed to persuade the other members of the jury to recommendation mercy.

“Well, George,” Jim answered, as I thought, those eleven men were very difficult to persuade, but I managed it in the end by tiring them out.Do you know, those fools had all wanted to find you not guilty!”

56.Which phrase best defines a “jury”?

A.A person who works in a court.

B.A policeman.

C.A judge.

D.A group of people who decide if someone on trial is guilty or not guilty.

57.According to the passage George wanted his friend Jim ___ .

A.to help him run away from prison

B.to believe he was not guilty

C.to make others believe that he was guilty

D.to make the jury ask for less punishment for George.

58.Jim couldn’t promise anything.Why?

A.He thought George was guilty.

B.George’s case was too serious.

C.The other members might not listen to his recommendation.

D.He didn’t want to help George.

59.Why did George feel pleased about the decision?

A.He thought he deserved the punishment.

B.Jim did what he had promised.

C.He would be set free immediately.

D.The punishment was less severe than expected.

B

If there is any single factor that makes for success in living, it is the ability to profit by defeat.Every success I know have achieved because the person was able to analyze defeat and actually profit by it in his next undertaking.Confuse defeat with failure, and you are doomed (注定) indeed to failure.For it isn’t defeat that makes you fail: it is your own refusal to see in defeat the guide and encouragement to success.

Defeats are nothing to be ashamed of.They are routine incidents in the life of every man who achieves success.But defeat is a dead loss unless you face it without humiliation, analyze(分析) it and leave why you have failed.Defeat, in other words, can help to cure its own cause.Not only does defeat prepare us for success, but nothing can arouse within us such a compelling desire to succeed.If you let a baby grasp a rod and try to pull it away, he will hold more and more tightly until his whole weight is suspended.It is the same reaction as should give you new and greater strength every time you are defeated.If you exploit the power which defeats give, you can accomplish with it far more than you are capable of.

60.The person who is able to analyze his defeat is likely ___ .

A.to be more capable of doing things

B.to be a successor

C.to be ashamed of his defeat

D.to know himself better

61.Defeat is valuable because ___ .

A.it makes you a better thinker

B.it forces you to face it without humiliation

C.it provides the guide to achievement.

D.It enables you to analyze events successfully

62.It is implied in the passage that ___ .

A.the author thinks there is only one factor which makes for success in living

B.defeat necessarily leads to success

C.people often confuse defeat with failure

D.we must face defeat courageously

63.What is the author’s attitude towards defeat?

A.One of being ashamed.

B.One of being interested.

C.One of being discouraged.

D.One of being hopeful.

64.The word “humiliation” (in Para.2) could best be replaced by which of the following?

A.being encouraged.         B.being confused

C.being ashamed             D.being defeated

C

Desert plants fall into two sorts according to the way they deal with the problem of surviving drought.There are the drought—avoiders—those which persist(存留) only as seeds, ready to spring up when it rains, to flower quickly and produce another crop of seeds, and to die again.There are also the drought—resisters—those which have evolved various methods for strong water, locating underground water, or reducing their need for water by such devices as shedding their leaves.The drought—resisters are perennials(多年生植物),they manage to live from one rainy season to another, slowly growing bigger and bigger.Of these, the succulents(肉质的) is a small but interesting fraction(小部分).They may store water in their leaves, in their stems, or in underground containers.

In the American deserts the best—known succulents are the cacti(仙人掌).They come in a wide range of sizes, from 50—foot tall giant saguaros(树形仙人掌) to tiny round cacti about the size of a thumb—nail.They take thick, cylindrical(圆柱体的) or even spherical forms, thereby exposing a minimum of evaporating surface to the air and light.They are leafless, except in youth, and then the leaves are small.Typically their surfaces are spiny, discouraging thirsty animals, and channeled like an accordion(手风琴), so the fleshy stem may expand quickly when the plant drinks and contract slowly as it uses up the water.The root system is widespread and shallow, with good reason; only about 3 per cent of the rain that falls on the desert penetrates to any significant depth into soil.

65.The passage classifies(将……分类) the desert plants according to

___ .

A.the ways they take to deal with the typical climatic condition in desert

B.their shape

C.how they use water

D.when they produce their seeds

66.According to the passage, some desert plants drop their leaves ___ .

A.because the temperature is too high

B.so that the plants can evaporate less water

C.because they are drought resisters

D.so that the plants can store more water

67.What interests the author most when he or she mentions succulents is that ___ .

A.they take thick cylindrical or even spherical shape

B.they are best—known in America

C.they have many ways of containing water

D.some of them can be very tiny

68.The passage gives us an impression that ___ .

A.the desert plants are shaped in a way as if them were designed by somebody on purpose

B.more water is needed in desert so that more desert plants can grow there

C.more lands will be turned into desert if we do not try harder to save water in our daily life

D.the cacti are the most famous desert plants in America