第三部分 阅读理解(共两节，满分60分)

第一节 (共15小题;每小题3分，满分45分)

A

Some people will do just about anything to save money. And I am one of them. Take my family’s last vacation. It was my six-year-old son’s winter break form school, and we were heading home from Fort Lauderdale after a weeklong trip. The flight was overbooked, and Delta, the airline, offered us $400 per person in credits to give up our seats and leave the next day. I had meetings in New York，So I had to get back. But that didn't mean my husband and my son couldn't stay. I took my nine-month-old and took off for home.

The next day, my husband and son were offered more credits to take an even later flight. Yes, I encouraged—okay, ordered—them to wait it out at the airport, to "earn" more Delta Dollars. Our total take: $1,600. Not bad, huh?

Now some people may think I'm a bad mother and not such a great wife either. But as a big-time bargain hunter, I know the value of a dollar. And these days, a good deal is something few of us can afford to pass up.

I've made living looking for the best deals and exposing (揭露) the worst tricks. I have been the consumer reporter of NBC's Today show for over a decade. I have written a couple of books including one titled Tricks of the Trade: A Consumer Survival Guide. And I really do what I believe in.

I tell you this because there is no shame in getting your money’s worth. I’m also tightfisted when it comes to shoes, clothes for my children, and expensive restaurants. But I wouldn't hesitate to spend on a good haircut. It keeps its shape longer, and it's the first thing people notice. And I will also spend on a classic piece of furniture. Quality lasts.

56. Why did Delta give the author's family credits?

A. They took a later flight. B. They had early bookings.

C. Their flight had been delayed. D. Their flight had been cancelled.

57. What can we learn about the author?

A. She rarely misses a good deal. B. She seldom makes a compromise.

C. She is very strict with her children. D. She is interested in cheap products.

58. What does the author do?

A. She's a teacher. B. She's a housewife.

C. She's a media person. D. She's a businesswoman.

59. What does the author want to tell us?

A. How to expose bad tricks. B. How to reserve airline seats.

C. How to spend money wisely. D. How to make a business deal.

B

They baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital. She is quiet but alert (警觉). Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it. She stares at it carefully. A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another, this time with the spots differently spaced. As the cards change from one to the other, her gaze(凝视) starts to lose its focus — until a third, with three black spots, is presented. Her gaze returns: she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card. Can she tell that the number two is different from three, just 24 hours after coming into the world?

Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment, but with three spots shown before two, shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes. Perhaps it is just the newness? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects (a comb, a key, an orange and so on), changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves. Could it be the pattern that two things make, as opposed to three? No again. Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three, or three to two. The effect even crosses between senses. Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two; likewise (同样地) when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.

60. The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby’s__.

A. sense of hearing B. sense of sight C. sense of touch D. sense of smell

61. Babies are sensitive to the change in______.

A. the size of cards B. the colour of pictures

C. the shape of patterns D. the number of objects

62. Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?

A. To reduce the difficulty of the experiment. B. To see how babies recognize sounds.

C. To carry their experiment further. D. To keep the babies’ interest.

63. Where does this text probably come from?

A. Science fiction. B. Children’s literature. C. An advertisement. D. A science report.

C

It happened to me recently. I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father and how it had changed my views of our President. A friend I was talking to agreed with me that it was, in his words, “a brilliantly (精彩地)written book”. However, he then went on to talk about Mr. Obama in a way which suggested he had no idea of his background at all. I sensed that I was talking to a book liar.

And it seems that my friend is not the only one. Approximately two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven’t. In the World Book Day’s “Report on Guilty Secrets”, Dreams From My Father is at number 9. The report lists ten books, and various authors, which people have lied about reading, and as I’m not one to lie too often (I’d hate to be caught out), I’ll admit here and now that I haven’t read the entire top ten. But I am pleased to say that, unlike 42 percent of people, I have read the book at number one, George Orwell’s 1984. I think it’s really brilliant.

The World Book Day report also has some other interesting information in it. It says that many people lie about having read Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoevsky (I haven’t read him, but haven’t lied about it either) and Herman Melville.

Asked why they lied, the most common reason was to “impress” someone they were speaking to. This could be tricky if the conversation became more in–depth!

But when asked which authors they actually enjoy, people named J. K. Rowling, John Grisham, Sophie Kinsella (ah, the big sellers, in other words). Forty-two percent of people asked admitted they turned to the back of the book to read the end before finishing the story (I’ll come clean: I do this and am astonished that 58 percent said they had never done so).

64. How did the author find his friend a book liar?

A. By judging his manner of speaking. B. By looking into his background.

C. By mentioning a famous name. D. By discussing the book itself.

65. Which of the following is a “guilty secret” according to the World Book Day report?

A. Charles Dickens is very low on the top-ten list. B. 42% of people pretended to have read 1984.

C. The author admitted having read 9 books. D. Dreams From My Father is hardly read.

66. By lying about reading, a person hopes to .

A. control the conversation B. appear knowledgeable

C. learn about the book D. make more friends

67. What is the author’s attitude to 58% of readers?

A. Favorable. B. Uncaring C. Doubtful D. Friendly

D

The National Gallery

Description:

The National Gallery is the British national art museum built on the north side of Trafalgar Square in London. It houses a diverse collection of more than 2,300 examples of European art ranging from 13th-century religious paintings to more modern ones by Renoir and Van Gogh. The older collections of the gallery are reached through the main entrance while the more modern works in the East Wing are most easily reached from Trafalgar Square by a ground floor entrance

Layout:

The modern Sainsbury Wing on the western side of the building houses 13th- to 15th-century paintings, and artists include Duccio, Uccello, Van Eyck, Lippi, Mantegna, Botticelli and Memling.

The main West Wing houses 16th-century paintings, and artists include Leonardo da Vinci, Cranach, Michelangelo, Raphael, Bruegel, Bronzino, Titan and Veronese.

The North Wing houses 17th-century paintings, and artists include Caravaggio, Rubens, Poussin, Van Dyck, Velazquez, Claude and Vermeer.

The East Wing houses 18th- to early 20th-century paintings, and artists include Canaletto, Goya, Turner, Constable, Renoir and Van Gogh.

Opening Hours:

The Gallery is open every day from 10am to 6pm (Fridays 10am to 9pm) and is free, but charges apply to some special exhibitions.

Getting There:

Nearest underground stations: Charing Cross (2-minute walk), Leicester Square (3-minute walk), Embankment (7-minute walk), and Piccadilly Circus (8-minute walk).

68. In which century’s collection can you see religious paintings?

A. The 13th. B. The 17th. C. The 18th. D. The 20th.

69. Where are Leonardo da Vinci’s works shown?

A. In the East Wing. B. In the main West Wing.

C. In the Sainsbury Wing. D. In the North Wing.

70. Which underground station is closest to the National Gallery?

A. Piccadilly Circus. B. Leicester Square. C. Embankment. D. Charing Cross.