第三部分：阅读理解(共15小题;每小题2分，满分30分)

请认真阅读下列短文, 从短文后各题所给的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

Homonym: a word that has the same spelling and the same pronunciation as another world, but a different meaning

Same spelling, different meaning

Imagine, then a situation where two words are spelt and pronounced exactly the same way, but have completely different meanings. Welcome to the world of homonyms. Take, for example, the word ‘fail’ ? it can be a kind of festival, and adjective to describe the color of your hair or how you should play a game.

Don’t take it literally

So how do you know which meaning someone is referring to? ? You don’t, except by the context. Obviously, if someone asks you to ‘give them a hand’, they don’t want you to remove what is at the end of your arm.

What’s in a name?

Sometimes even the context doesn’t help much ? the result can be amusing. These sentences play with the double meaning of a noun:

I used to be a banker, but I lost interest.

Have you heard about the cross-eyed teacher who couldn’t control his pupils?

A small boy swallowed some coins and had to go to hospital. When his grandmother phoned to ask how he was, the nurse said: ‘No change yet’.

More ambiguity

And these examples play with the different meanings of a verb:

I wondered why the ball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.

No one knew she had a dental implant until it came out in a conversation.

A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.

Double trouble

And sometimes a word can be a noun and a verb, but have different meanings. Can you work this one out?

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

If you like these homonyms, you will be pleased to know that English has plenty more!

Explanations of jokes in the text

I used to be banker, but I lost interest. (I became bored with the job / I lost money)

Have you heard about the cross-eyed teacher who couldn’t control his pupils? (students / parts of his eyes)

A small boy swallowed some coins and had to go to hospital. When his grandmother phoned to ask how he was, the nurse said: ‘No change yet’. (no difference in the situation / no money)

I wondered why the ball was getting bigger. Then it hit me. (the ball hit me / I suddenly realized)

No one knew she had a dental implant until it came out in a conversation. (became known / fell out)

A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat. (can’t be better / difficult to mix with a fork)

Time flies like an arrow. (time goes quickly) Fruit flies like a banana. (insects enjoy eating fuit.) 56. Which of the following statements about homonyms is NOT true?

A. They share the same spellings regardless of meanings.

B. We can’t know their meanings without context.

C. We may still feel confused even with context.

D. Their ambiguity brings great trouble to our life.

57. The “beat” in the sentence “A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat, making for a satisfying breakfast.” has a similar meaning to _____.

A. The rain was beating down on the tin roof.

B. Taking the bus sure beats walking.

C. The doctor could feel no pulse beating.

D. You’ve been working too hard, you look dead beat.

B

We might think we know which colours do what. The idea that red wakes us up or blue calms us down is deeply rooted in Western culture. But do they really change our behaviour in the ways that we assume?

When it comes to scientific research, the results are mixed and at times contested. Some studies have found that people do better on cognitive tasks when faced with red rather than blue or green; others show the opposite. The idea is that if you repeatedly have a particular experience surrounded by a certain colour, then you eventually begin to associate that colour with the way you were feeling or behaving. A school career spent reading your teacher’s red writing circling your mistakes forever makes you link red with danger. Blue meanwhile is more likely to be associated with calmer situations like marvelling at a big blue expanse of sky.

Of course there will always be exceptions --- the comment from the teacher saying “well done” is also written in red. It is true that people do make different associations with different colours, but whether this translates into behaving in a certain way or succeeding at a particular task is a different question.

In 2009 researchers tried to clarify the situation. They sat their participants at computer screens coloured blue, red or “neutral” and tested them on various tasks. With a red screen people did better on tasks requiring attention to detail, but when the screen was blue they did better on creative tasks. In practice this might be tricky. In a classroom you might want to think creatively some of the time and pay attention to detail at others.

However, when another team tried to repeat the study with a larger group of people in 2014, the effect of colour disappeared. The initial study consisted of just 69 people. In this new, bigger study, of 263 volunteers, background colour made no difference.

So colours might well have an effect, but so far those effects have been difficult to demonstrate consistently and sometimes don’t seem to exist at all.

58. What’s the major function of the first paragraph?

A. To present a widely held view

B. To raise a question of behavior change

C. To introduce the theme of the passage

D. To summarize the whole passage

59. The author mentions the exception in Paragraph 3 in order to show _____.

A. there are exceptions to every rule

B. people tend to associate colors with behaviors

C. colors don’t necessarily mean particular behaviors

D. colors do matter to those who desire success

60. It can be concluded from the results of the studies in 2009 and 2014 that _____.

A. the research findings are practical in indoor decoration

B. solid evidence is inadequate to prove how colors affect us

C. a larger study may help confirm colors’ effects on our behaviors

D. walls should be painted different colors depending on different tasks