第三部分：阅读理解(共15小题;每小题2分，满分30分)

A

Having returned from her round trip， the angry woman stood outside the ticket office of the station. “The railway owes me ￡12，” she said to Harry Jenks， the young man working at the office . “You sold me a ticket for May 22nd， but there was no ship from Jersey that night. So my daughter and I had to stay in a hotel. It cost me ￡12.”

Harry was worried. He remembered selling the woman a return ticket. “Come into the office， Madam，” he said politely. “I’ll just check the Jerseytimetable for May 22nd.”

The woman and her little girl followed him inside. She was quite right， as Harry soon discovered. There was no sailing on May 22nd. How could he have made such a careless mistake? He shouldn’t have sold her a ticket for that day. Wondering what to do， he smiled at the child. “You look sun burnt，” he said to her. “Did you have a nice holiday in Jersey?”

“Yes，” she answered， shyly. “The beach was lovely. And I can swim too!”

“That’s fine，” said Harry. “My little girl can’t swim a bit yet .Of course， she’s only three…”

“I’m four，” the child said proudly. “I’ll be four and a half.”

Harry turned to the mother. “I remember your ticket， Madam，” he said. “But you didn’t get one for your daughter， did you?”

“Er， well—” the woman looked at the child. “I mean… she hasn’t started school yet. She’s only four.”

“A four-year-old child must have a ticket， Madam. A child’s return ticket to Jersey costs …let me see…￡13.50. So if the railway pays your hotel， you will owe ￡1.50. The law is the law， but since the fault was mine…”

The woman stood up， took the child’s hand and left the office.

56.Harry was worried because ___　　 .

A.the woman was angry with him

B.he had not done his work properly

C.the Jersey timetable was wrong

D.　 the little girl didn’t have a return ticket

57.Harry started talking to the little girl　　 .

A.because he was in difficulty and did not know what to do

B.because he had a little girl about the same age as this girl

C.because he wanted to be friendly to the little girl who looked so nice

D.when he suddenly realized that he could find a way out from the little girl

58. The woman left the office without saying anything because　　 .

A.she wanted to go home and get money for the child’s ticket

B.she was so angry that she didn’t want to have anything more to do with the young man

C.she was moved by Harry’s kindness

D.she knew she would have to pay the railway if she insisted

59.　 How did the woman feel when she left the office?

A. angry　　B. peaceful　　C. happy　　D. nervous

B

Today， roller skating is easy and fun. But a long time ago， it wasn‘t easy at all. Before 1750， the idea of skating didn‘t exist. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin‘s work was making musical instruments. In his spare time he liked to play the violin. Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer.

One day Merlin received an invitation to attend a fancy dress ball (化装舞会). He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near， Merlin began to think how to make a grand entrance at the party. He had an idea. He thought he would ge

t a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.

Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally， he decided to put two wheels under each other. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin.

On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was astonished to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly， he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror， breaking to pieces. Nobody forgot Merlin‘s grand entrance for a long time!

60. The text is mainly about ____.

A. a strange man　　B. an unusual party

C. how roller skating began　　D. how people enjoyed themselves in the 18th century

61. People thought Merlin was a dreamer because he ____.

A. often gave others surprises　　B. was a gifted musician

C. invented the roller skates　　D. was full of imagination

62. Merlin put wheels under his shoes in order to ____.

A. impress the party guests　　B. arrive at the party dinner

C. test his invention　　D. show his skill in walking on wheels

63. What is the main point the writer is trying to make in the last paragraph?

A. The roller skates needed further improvement.　　B. The party guests took Merlin for a fool.

C. Merlin succeeded beyond expectation.　　D. Merlin got himself into trouble.

C

In many developed countries， especially in the United States， racism(种族主义) was widespread in the early part of the twentieth century. Many African Americans were not given equal opportunities in education or employment. Marian Anderson (1897～1993) was an African American woman who gained fame as a concert singer in this climate of racism. She was born in Philadelphia and sang in church choirs during her childhood. When she applied for admission to a local music school in 1917， she was turned down because she was black. Unable to attend music school， she began her career as a singer for church gatherings. In 1929， she went to Europe to study voice and spent several years performing there. Her voice was widely praised throughout Europe. Then she returned to the US in 1935 and became a top concert singer after performing at Town Hall in New York City.

Racism again affected Anderson in 1939. When it was arranged for her to sing at Constitution Hall in Washington， DC， the Daughters of the American Revolution opposed it because of her color. She sang instead at the Lincoln Memorial for over 75， 000 people. In 1955， Anderson became the first black soloist to sing in the Metropolitan Opera of New York City. The famous conductor Toscanini praised her voice as “heard only once in a hundred years”. She was a US delegate to the United Nations in 1958 and won the UN peace prize in 1977

. Anderson eventually triumphed over racism.

64.According to this passage， what did Marian Anderson do between 1917 and 1929?

A.She studied at a music school.　　B.She sang at Town Hall in New York.

C. She sang for religious activities.　　D.She studied voice in Europe.

65.Toscanini thought that Marian Anderson ________.

A.was seldom heard by people　　B.sang occasionally in public

C.sang only once in many years　　D.had a very rare voice

66.Anderson‘s beautiful voice was first recognized ________.

A.at the Lincoln Memorial　　B.in Europe

C.in Washington， DC　　D.at the United Nations

67.This passage shows that Anderson finally defeated racism in the US by ________.

A.protesting(抗议) to the government

B.appealing呼吁() to the United Nations

C.working hard to perfect her art

D.demonstrating(示威) in the streets

D

Wind， water， fire and ice—these powerful natural forces have shaped the land of America in the past. They are still changing it today.

The Colorado River slowly cut down through stone to make the Grand Canyon (大峡谷).

Long ago， ice sheets cut Yosemite Valley and the Great Lakes， and glaciers (冰川) are still on the move in Alaska.

Wind and rain storm hit the land from time to time. Fires sometimes burn down forests and destroy the homes of wild animals: This happened in YellowstonePark in 1988.

Dead volcanic (火山的) mountains such as Haleakala on Maui and Carter Lakein Oregon are beautiful to look at. But there are several active volcanoes in the US，especially along the Pacific Coast. There are also many earthquakes in this area. Scientists can do nothing to control earthquakes or volcanoes. This was shown clearly on May 18， 1980. At 8:32 that morning， Mount St Helens in Washington state broke out. The top of the mountain was blown off.

Over 60 people—campers， scientists， journalists， forest workers—were killed. Hundreds of square miles of forests were knocked down. In towns over 100 miles away， day suddenly became night. An ash cloud hid the sun for many hours. Towns and fields in Washington， Oregon， and Idaho were covered with dirty gray ash.

Scientists knew that Mr St Helens might erupt (爆发) soon. But no one could say when. And no one expected the terrible strength of the eruption. Many people were surprised and unready. Harry R. Truman， 84， owned a small hotel in Mt St Helens. Scientists had asked people to move away because the volcano was becoming dangerous.

But Harry Truman would not leave his home. Now it is covered with many feet of dirty ash. A small cross stands above the place where Harry probably died. Perhaps it is better that he did not see the destruction of Mt St Helens， the once beautiful lake， and the forests.

But slowly， life is returning to the dead area around the mountain. Grass and small plants are beginning to grow again. Deer and birds have been seen. The land will never be the same as it once was. Perhaps Mt St Helens will erupt again. But this is all part of nature‘s pattern of change， and man has little power to control it.

68.Which would be the best title for the passage?

A.The Power of Nature

B.Volcano‘s Beauty and Danger

C.Wind， Water， Fire and Ice

D.Natural Force Shapes Beautiful Land for America

69.After the eruption of volcano， what makes the sky turn dark?

A.The smoke.　　B.The clouds.　　C.The ash.　　D.The fog.