阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中选出最佳选项。

A

Canadian Alice Munro won the 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature for her stories of the struggles，loves and tragedies of women in small­town Canada that made her what the award­giving committee called the “master of the contemporary short story”.

“Some critics consider her a Canadian Chekhov.” the Swedish Academy said in announcing the award on its website，comparing Munro to the 19th­century Russian short story writer.

The 82­year­old Munro said it was“surprising and wonderful” to receive the award.“I am confused by all the attention and affection that has been coming my way，”she said in a statement.“I hope it encourages further interest in all Canadian writers.I also hope that this brings further recognition to the short story form.”

Despite the honor and attention it would bring to her work，Munro told CBC News that the award would not change the decision she announced earlier this year to retire from writing.

Munro's strong point was to introduce into her stories a richness of plot and depth of detail usually more characteristic of novels.The characters in her stories are often girls and women who lead seemingly ordinary lives but struggle with difficulties ranging from abuse and unpleasant marriages to repressed(受压抑的)love and the damage of aging.

Born in 1931 in Wingham，a small town in the region of southwestern Ontario that serves as the setting for many of her stories，Munro started writing in her teens and has published more than a dozen short­story  collections over the years.Munro's works include Lives of Girls and Women in 1971，Runaway in 2004 and Too Much Happiness five years later.Her story The Bear Came over the Mountain was adapted for the Oscar­nominated(奥斯卡提名的)film Away from Her，directed by Sarah Polley.Munro also won the Man Booker International Prize in 2009，and has won the Giller Prize—a top literary award in Canada twice.

语篇解读：加拿大短篇小说作家艾丽丝•门罗以女性题材作品赢得了2013年的诺贝尔文学奖。

26.What can we learn from Alice Munro's short stories?

A.She used to be a struggling woman.

B.She is concerned about struggling women.

C.They encourage women to fight for their rights.

D.They focus on different aspects of society.

解析：推理判断题。分析文章第一段和第五段的内容可知，艾丽丝•门罗的小说描述的都是处于困境中的女性，由此可知她十分关心这些女性。

答案：B

27.Why do some critics consider Alice Munro a Canadian Chekhov?

A.She learned a lot from Chekhov.

B.She introduced Chekhov to Canada.

C.She has a similar writing style to Chekhov.

D.She is as good a short story writer as Chekhov.

解析：推理判断题。分析文章第二段可知，有些评论家把艾丽丝•门罗成加拿大的契科夫，说明她的短篇小说的造诣不亚于契科夫。

答案：D

28.What does Alice Munro decide to do in the future?

A.Continue writing.  B.Stop writing.

C.Direct films.       D.Promote Canadian literature.

解析：细节理解题。从文章第四段可知，尽管获得了诺贝尔文学奖，但艾丽丝•门罗门罗还是决定要退休、搁笔。

答案：B

29.Which short story of Alice Munro was adapted for a film?

A.Lives of Girls and Women.

B.Run away.

C.Too Much Happiness.

D.The Bear Came over the Mountain.

解析：细节理解题。从文章最后一段可知，The Bear Came over Mountain被改编成了电影。

答案：D

30.How many times has Alice Munro won a prize?

A.Two.     B.Three.     C.Four.  D.Five.

解析：细节理解题。从文章最后一段可知，艾丽丝•门罗在获得诺贝尔奖之前已经有三次获奖，由此可知她一共获奖四次。

答案：C

B

Cambridge has overtaken Oxford as the leading UK university according to an authoritative guide published recently.

It comes top of 113 universities for 35 of the 46 subjects for which it is ranked, compared with five for Oxford.

Cambridge is also the highest performing university for entry grades, facilities and graduate prospects (前途).

Oxford has dropped behind Cambridge — for the first time since 2001— partly because Cambridge has counted the facilities provided by individual colleges for the first time.Also Oxford is third for student satisfaction.

The guide rates Imperial College London, as third best followed by the London School of Economics and then St.Andrews, a university in Scotland which is the highest rating for student satisfaction.

The league table (名次表) judges each university on nine measures.The factors taken into account are: exam results, student satisfaction, research records, student staff ratios, entry standards, graduate prospects, dropout (辍学学生) rates, spending on academic services and funding for other facilities.

However, for the first time students are able to customize the table by setting their own priorities.The guide allows users to weigh the significance they put on factors such as student satisfaction, entry standards or the ratio between staff and students.

Cambridge and Oxford, Britain's oldest universities and among the world's most prestigious academic institutions, have long, competed friendly for the top place to study.

Oxford is slightly older than Cambridge, but they share a traditional college structure and both have a reputation for producing the country's political, economic and cultural leaders.

31.What's the text mainly about?

A.Cambridge, the highest performing university.

B.Cambridge, top of 113 universities.

C.Oxford, dropping behind Cambridge.

D.Cambridge beating Oxford in UK university list.

解析：主旨大意题。文章第一段点明了本文的主题，主要介绍了在一份最新公布的英国大学指南中，剑桥大学自2001年以来首次超过牛津大学，在英国高校综合排名中位居第一。文章主要把两个大学进行了比较，故不选B而选D。

答案：D

32.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A.Being ranked the highest performing university, Cambridge has topped the list of 113 universities in the UK for 35 of the 46 subjects.

B.The university league table is dominated by Cambridge University followed by Oxford University, the London School of Economics and Imperial College London.

C.Oxford has dropped behind mainly because Cambridge has counted the facilities provided by individual colleges.

D.Cambridge has the highest rating for student satisfaction.

解析：细节理解题。从第五段知，大学的排名是：Cambridge，Oxford，Imperial College London，London School of Economics，St.Andrews，故B项错误;从第四段第一句Oxford has dropped behind Cambridge—for the first time since 2001—partly because Cambridge has counted the facilities provided by individual colleges for the first time.可知C项中的mainly错误;从第五段可知，St.Andrews是最令学生满意的学校，故D项错误;从文章第一段和第二段可知A项正确。

答案：A

33.The underlined word “customize” in Paragraph 7 probably means “________”.

A.make  B.place

C.put    D.exchange

解析：词义猜测题。从第七段第二句话可知，这份指南允许学生们自己权衡哪项重要，哪项不重要。该词所在句子的意思是：第一次学生们能够根据自己的意愿制作表格，故customize的意思是make。

答案：A

34.Which of the following is not included in the nine measures of the league table?

A.The ratio between staff and students.

B.Entry standards.

C.Performing qualification.

D.Spending on academic services.

解析：细节理解题。从第六段可知，这9项因素：exam results，student satisfaction，research records，student­staff ratios，entry standards，graduate prospects，dropout rates，spending on academic services and funding for other facilities.只有C不包括在内。

答案：C

35.It can be inferred from the last two paragraphs that________.

A.Cambridge and Oxford are both prestigious institutions

B.Cambridge and Oxford are ranked the first two best universities in the world

C.Cambridge and Oxford are Britain's oldest universities, with Cambridge slightly older

D.Oxford has a better reputation for producing better graduates

解析：推理判断题。从最后一段第一句话可知，牛津的历史更长一些，故C项错误;从倒数第二段可知，牛津和剑桥是世界上很优秀的大学，但未说在世界上的排名，故B项错误;从最后一句话可知，这两个学校都因为培养出了政治、经济和文化领导人而享有盛誉，故D项错误;从最后两段可知，尽管剑桥排名优先，牛津的历史久一些，但这两个大学都很优秀。故选A。

答案：A

C

I have always lived in India，and was recently traveling from Mumbai to Jaipur for work.Arriving at the airport early and without much else to do.I decided to check out the gift shop there.As I walked around the store，I saw two American women having a nap in a chair outside.It looked as if they had been at the airport for hours，and I couldn't help doing something to help ease their wait.

I looked around the store for a while，and ended up buying a medium­sized stuffed toy which looked like the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants.I asked the owner of the shop for a note and a pen and wrote，“When you get up if this makes you smile，it would mean the world to me.Have a good trip and an awesome experience.”    I walked quietly towards the two women and placed the toy and the note next to them.Not wanting to surprise or wake them，I tried to be as slow and quiet as possible，but in my attempt to flee the scene，one of them woke up and caught me in the act.At first when she looked at me，I worried maybe she thought I was a thief! But when she looked at the toy and the note，she brightened up，as if this was the best thing anyone had ever done for her.“Is this for me，sir?”she asked in surprise.I gave her a huge smile and nodded.

She was so delighted.For a minute，it didn't feel like we were strangers anymore.I shook hands with her，and her_smile_made_my_day.I walked away with nothing but admiration and gratitude from her，and came to feel that，even though we were from different places，she was just like me.

语篇解读：小小善举可以给他人和自己带来美好心情。

36.The author went to the gift shop to________.

A.buy some gifts      B.kill time

C.have a rest         D.meet someone

解析：推理判断题。根据文章第一段Arriving at the airport early and without much else to do，I decided to check out the gift shop there可知，作者逛礼品店是为了打发时间。

答案：B

37.What can we learn about the author from the passage?

A.He flied from Mumbai to Jaipur to have a holiday.

B.He wanted to play a joke on the two American women.

C.He bought a medium­sized stuffed toy at the gift shop.

D.He left the gift shop quietly without being found at last.

解析：细节理解题。根据文章第二段第一句话可以确定答案选C。

答案：C

38.Which of the following best describes the author?

A.Kind and considerate.     B.Brave and strong.

C.Proud and honest.        D.Serious and boring.

解析：推理判断题。根据文章第一段I couldn't help doing something to help ease their wait可以看出作者很友好;根据下文作者为那两位女士留言和送礼物可以看出作者很细心。

答案：A

39.What does the underlined sentence “her smile made my day” in the last paragraph probably mean?

A.Her smile surprised me.   B.Her smile interested me.

C.Her smile was very sweet.  D.Her smile made me happy.

解析：词义猜测题。根据纸条上的留言以及整篇文章的内容来看，作者是真心想帮助机场的那两位女士，由此可以推出，那位女士的微笑让作者觉得很开心。

答案：D

40.What can be the best title for the passage?

A.A thief caught in the act at the airport

B.Two sleeping American women at the airport

C.A gift for two sleeping strangers at the airport

D.A cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants

解析：主旨大意题。文章主要讲述了作者在机场给两位素昧平生的美国女士送礼物的故事。

答案：C

D

I had my first job at a local diner called the Buttercup Bakery when I was 22.I worked there for seven years and learned so many lessons，especially from a fellow waitress.

Helen was in her 60s and had red hair and incredible self­respect，something I was lacking.I looked up to Helen because she was doing what she loved—serving people—and nobody did it better.She made everyone smile and feel good，customers and co­workers alike.

Being a waitress changed my life.One of my regular customers was Fred Hasbrook，an electronics salesman.He always ate an omelet(煎蛋卷)，and when I saw him walking toward the diner，I tried to have it on his table as soon as he sat down.

Thanks to the newfound confidence I picked up from Helen，I dreamed of having my own restaurant.But when I called my parents to ask for a loan，they said，“We just don't have the money.”

The next day，Fred saw me and asked，“What's wrong，sunshine?You're not smiling today.”I shared my dream with him and said，“Fred，I know I can do more if somebody would just have faith in me.”

He walked over to some of the other diner regulars and the next day handed me checks totaling $50,000­along with a note that I have to this day.It reads，“The only collateral(抵押物)on this loan is my trust in your honesty as a person.Good people with a dream should have the opportunity to make that dream come true.”

I took the checks to Merrill Lynch­the first time I had ever entered a brokerage house(经纪行)—where the money was invested for me.I continued working at the Buttercup，making plans for the restaurant I would open.My investments soured，though，and I lost the money.

I found myself thinking about what it would be like to be a stockbroker(股票经纪人).After great careful consideration，I decided to apply for a job at Merrill Lynch.Even though I had no experience，I was hired and ended up becoming a pretty good broker.Eventually I paid back Fred and my customers the $50,000，plus 14 percent annual interest.Five years later，I was able to open my own firm.

41.What does the second paragraph mainly tell us?

A.Helen should have a restaurant of her own.

B.Helen was really a very good waitress.

C.The writer had to learn from Helen.

D.The writer respected Helen.