C

Don’t we all know a “Happy Meal” when we see one - the famous boxed meal that includes a hamburger, a kid - sized portion of fries, a side of fruits and milk, served with a toy that’s extremely popular with children who love to collect them?

But collectors of these little toys will soon be in for a surprise. For the book lovers though, there is some good news. McDonalds will replace the plastic toys with books. However, each of these books will mainly pass on nutritional messages.

Do you know that McDonalds has been marketing the boxed kid’s meal since 1979? Happy Meals are extremely popular with kids, especially for its collectible toys, when you consider that over 1.3 billion of these packages are sold each year! These packages have been very controversial. Health supporters believe that drawing kids to these meals with toys is a clever way of promoting unhealthy food choices. They see it as an advertising strategy of “catching its customers young” - a move that has paid off very well for the fast food company.

Child development experts say that food habits get formed in children by age six and continue through to their adult life. Fatty and sugary foods such as those served in McDonalds’ Happy Meals are believed to play a big role in growing health problems such as obesity and diabetes. Public healthcare costs have gone up and untold amounts of money have been spent in caring for obesity and other health problems. In 2010, the State of California tried to ban toys in Happy Meals. But it was strongly opposed by some as being heavy - handed, and the ban was thrown out by the government.

While some people believe that McDonalds, with its large following of children, can create a powerful message through the books, others believe its actions are contradictory. Anyway, the company is trying to spread the message of nutrition while it is serving food that it is anything but healthy.

36. Books will be added into Happy Meals to _______.

A. encourage more kids to read books

B.introduce the history of McDonalds

C. have kids learn more about nutrition

D. help young kids learn to read and write

37. We can learn from Paragraph 4 that Happy Meals ______.

A. make child development experts worried

B. cannot be seen in the State of California

C. have just appeared in America

D.are not harmful to adults

38. In the author’s opinion, Happy Meals _________.

A. bring much fun to children

B. are no good to children’s health

C. are popular with young and old

D.teach children a lot about nutrition

39. How is the passage organized?

A. Topic - Argument - Explanation

B. Opinion - Discussion - Description

C. Main idea - Comparison - Supporting examples

D. Introduction - Supporting examples - Conclusion

40. The author’s purpose of writing the passage is most likely to _______.

A. discuss    B. advertise     C. entertain     D. introduce

D

How frustrating is it when a pipe bursts, and you have to wait hours for a worker to come and replace or repair it? How about standing helplessly on the side of the road with a flat tire (爆胎)? Or when your little kid’s plastic train breaks apart?

Researchers at the CIDETEC Centre for Electrochemical Technologies in San Sebastian, Spain, may have just created a quick fix for all of these headaches. They created a polymer (聚合物) called “Terminator”, which can bind itself back together even after being sliced (切成薄片).

Natural polymers are everywhere. They make up the shells that protect small sea creatures such as lobsters and shrimps. They’re in the silk blouse your grandmother so loves and the DNA that makes you, well, you. In nature, many polymers heal themselves when broken or sliced. Think of your skin when you have a small cut - as the two sides of the cut bind back together, you can see a self - healing polymer in action.

Synthetic (合成的), or man - made, polymers are just as common. Scientists started creating nylon and synthetic rubber to make up for the shortage of silk and rubber during World War Ⅱ. PVC, polyester and many forms of plastic soon followed. As much as synthetic polymers imitate natural polymers, they’ve always lacked one important feature, the ability to heal themselves - until now.

“Terminator” is the first man - made self - healing polymer, the Spanish scientists report in the Sept. 13 issue of the journal Materials Horizon.

In the research lab, the researchers cut the polymer in half with a knife. Then they made the two halves touch each other and allowed them to stand at room - temperature, without applying any pressure.

“Terminator” started self - healing within an hour. It was ninety - seven percent healed within two hours, and completely joined together after twenty - two hours. Once it had repaired itself, the scientists were able to pull it by hand, with no breaks or tears.

The researchers say this breakthrough will allow them to create stronger sealants (密封剂), paints, adhesives (黏合剂) and more. This could eventually lead to self - repairing pipes, bicycle tires and Barbie dolls, among a million other possibilities.

41. By asking a series of questions in Paragraph 1, the author mainly intends to show _______.

A. the difficulties of repairing household items

B. the unpleasant experiences in everyday life

C. the shortcomings of some man-made polymers

D. the poor quality of plastic products

42. Which of the following is TRUE of polymers?

A. All natural polymers can heal themselves.

B. Natural polymers can be found in silk and skin.

C. Synthetic polymers are used only in a limited way.

D. Synthetic polymers are made from natural polymers.

43. What do we know about “Terminator”?

A. It is made up of two parts.

B. It heals itself completely in several hours.

C. It can repair itself under normal conditions.

D. It must be pulled apart soon after self-healing.

44. The last paragraph mainly discusses ________.

A. the safety of “Terminator”

B. the various uses of “Terminator”

C. the raw materials of “Terminator”

D. the characteristics of “Terminator”

45. What would be the best title for this passage?

A. Uses of synthetic polymers rediscovered

B. Natural polymers are not easy to imitate

C. First self - healing polymer created in Spanish lab

D. “Terminator” may be a new treatment for headaches

第二节 信息匹配(共5小题;每小题2分，满分10分)

阅读下列应用文及相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。请在答题卷上将对应题号的相应选项字母涂黑。

请阅读某书店各书架的相关信息：

A. Section One: Do-It-Yourself Section --- On these shelves customers can find the latest manuals on how to do everything from building a computer to constructing your own home.

B. Section Two: Sports & Leisure Section --- Stocks a large range of the latest books on your favorite sporting teams and events. Pick up the perfect Father's Day present here.

C. Section Three: Humor Section --- A great selection of joke books, funny stories and wonderful real life adventures that are sure to keep the reader laughing for days.

D. Section Four: Business & Finance --- Students, business people or anyone interested in the world of commerce are certain to find the book they are after here. We have special subsection for international trade and e-commerce.

E. Section Five: Biography --- Find out about the lives of your favorite sports stars, singers, actors and other famous people from today and the past. Learn what they had to go through to become successful and the effect it had on their lives.

F. Section Six: Education --- Has a huge range of textbooks and supplementary material covering all the major high school and university subjects. Buyers showing their student cards receive a 15% discount on all purchases from this section.

阅读下列关于各书籍的信息，匹配书籍与其所应放置的书架：

46. The Delighted Eye --- by Prof. John Nash --- The 1994 Nobel Prize Winner for Economics, whose ideas have influenced a generation of the world's greatest economic minds, tells his life story: growing up in a small town in America, becoming one of America's most influential mathematicians and his battles with mental illness.

47. Mother Tongue: The English Language --- by Bill Bryson --- Bryson's book is a journey through the history and different aspects of the English language, one that is both informative and hugely entertaining. As with most of Bryson's books, fun comes before facts and readers will be left with a smile on their faces.

48. Into Thin Air --- by John Krakauer --- is a riveting first-hand account of a disastrous race to the top of Mount Everest. In March 1996, Outside magazine sent veteran journalist and experienced climber John Krakauer to join the team led by the famous Everest guide Rob Hall. Despite the expertise of Hall and the other leaders, by the end of the race eight people were dead.

49. Ready Made: How to Make (Almost) Everything --- by Shoshanna Berger and Grace Hawthorne --- beautifully written with great factual information. The theme behind this book is re-use, re-claim, re-cycle and there are many detailed easy-to-do projects for the reader to try such as making a photo frame from a book cover or a pot for your plants from plastic shopping bags.

50. The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron --- by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind --- As the title suggests the authors cover the rise of the American electricity company to become one of the 10 richest companies in the world and its spectacular fall into dishonor and bankruptcy. A perfect guide on what not to do in business.