第二部分  阅读理解 (共两节，满分40分)

第一节  (共15小题;每小题2分，满分30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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A

Every Wednesday, I go to Cantata Adult Life Services, a local retirement community in Brookfield, Illinois, US, with my classmates to do community service.

After my very first visit to Cantata, my life changed forever. That may sound a bit dramatic, but volunteering with the elderly has changed my views on life.

Our visits last about an hour, and we bring 25-30 students every time. We play board games and cards with the residents while we’re there.

You can watch all the movies and TV shows you want about “life back then”, but nothing compares to talking to the people who were actually there. Just hearing their stories has touched me in a way I never thought possible.

Whether it was talking to 98-year-old “Hurricane Hilda” about her glory days as a roller skater or chatting with Lou about the times she danced with a famous actor, I was completely attracted by every single memory the residents wanted to share with me.

Even the residents who don’t have amazing memories make the experience satisfying . I remember visiting Mrs Robinson. She couldn’t recall much about her past, but she told me she’d never forget how kind I was just to listen to her “rambling (漫谈)”. It made me realize that it’s the little things that make life worth living. That’s something I won’t forget anytime soon.

If there’s one thing I’ve realized in my three years of visiting Cantata, it’s that presence – just being there – means more than anything to many of the residents. And despite how busy our lives are, there’s always time to make someone’s day.

For me, it feels great to be a source of happiness, a smile on a bad day or a listening ear for old memories. And at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.

It’s easy to feel like you don’t have anything in common with the elderly – especially when you’re a teenager. But that’s not true at all.

I hate to be overly clichéd (陈词滥调的) here, but age really is just a number. As young adults, it’s important for us to realize this sooner rather than later. We can learn a lot from the elderly, and they can often benefit from teenagers too.

21. What do the volunteers do according to the passage?

A. They share everything with the residents.

B. They play board games and cards with the residents.

C. They watch the residents play games.

D. They buy gifts for the residents.

22. According to the writer, what is the most important thing that volunteers can do for the          elderly?

A. Playing with them.           B. Benefiting from them.

C. Helping them.               D. Being there with them.

23. What does the writer want to tell us by writing this passage ?

A. We don’t have anything in common with the elderly.

B. Age is just a number.

C. It is important to help the elderly.

D. Young adults and the elderly can benefit from each other.

B

The new high-speed railway line between Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur self-governing region, and Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province, has cut train travel time by half to less than 12 hours.

The dramatic improvement will benefit many families planning reunions for Spring Festival.

"For the first time, I feel home is not that far away after all," said Liang Shaofu as he boarded a high-speed train in Urumqi with six members of his family.

The 35-year-old left Lanzhou to set up a dry fruit business in Xinjiang eight years ago, and he has now settled in Urumqi.

The 1,776-km line, which passes through Qinghai province and is the country's first high-speed railway to be built in a high-altitude region, came into service on Dec 26.

"We normally drive home for Spring Festival to avoid the difficulties of buying seven train tickets for the whole family during the peak season," Liang said. "Driving can be very tiring and dangerous sometimes, so one year we even decided not to go back to Lanzhou simply to avoid the trip.

More than 600,000 passengers traveled on the line during its first month, and the Urumqi Railway Bureau said the introduction of high-speed services will ease transport pressure during the Spring Festival peak season.

The existing usual railway line could no longer support Xinjiang's development. All passenger trains will gradually shift to the new link, leaving the old one to be used for goods. As a result, Xinjiang's annual goods ability could reach 200 million metric tons from the current 70 million.

The line passes through areas that experience high winds, and it also crosses parts of the deserted Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the bone-dry sands of the Gobi Desert.

The project could help China to promote its high-speed railway technology abroad, said Ma Xizhang, director of the Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway project's management department in Xinjiang.

24. How long did it take to go from Urumqi to Lanzhou by the usual train before?

A. about 12 hours.     B. About 6 hours.

C. About 18 hours.   D. About 24 hours.

25. What’s the main advantage of the new high-speed railway?

A. It takes more time to go to Urumqi to Lanzhou.

B. It will be more convenient for people all over the country to Xinjiang.

C. All the people in Lanzhou can return home on festivals.

D. It helps to improve Xinjiang’s development.

26. From the passage we can learn _______.

A. Xinjiang’s annual goods ability can increase nearly four times

B. the new railway technology may help more railway lines to be built abroad

C. the high-speed railway lines can’t be built across the bone-dry sands

D. the old railway lines can only carry goods now

27. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. The new high-speed railway line is good for all people to go home.

B. The new high-speed railway line benefits businessmen to carry goods.

C. Taking the new train is safer than driving home from Urumqi to Lanzhou.

D. Businessmen seldom went home for Spring Festival before.