第三部分：阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分，满分40分)

阅读下列短文，从每篇短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A

I went through a training program and became a literacy volunteer (扫盲志愿者) last summer. The training I received, though excellent, did not tell me how it was to work with a real student, however. When I began to discover what other people’s lives were like because they could not read, I realized the true importance of reading.

My first student Marie was a 44-year-old single mother of three. In the first lesson, I found out she walked two miles to the nearest supermarket twice a week because she didn’t know which bus to take. When I told her I would get her a bus schedule, she told me it would not help because she could not read it. She said she also had difficulty once she got to the supermarket because she couldn’t always remember what she needed. Since she did not know words, she could not write out a shopping list. Also, she could only recognize items by sight , so if the product had a different label (标识), she would not recognize it as the product she wanted.

As we worked together, learning how to read built Marie’s self-confidence, which encouraged her to continue in her studies. She began to make rapid progress and was even able to take the bus to the supermarket. After this successful trip, she reported how self-confident she felt. At the end of the program, she began helping her youngest son, Tony, a shy first grader, with his reading. She sat with him before he went to sleep and together they would read bedtime stor ies. When his eyes became wide with excitement as she read, pride was written all over her face, and she began to see how her own hard work in learning to read paid off. As she described this experience, I was proud of myself as well. I found that helping Marie to build her self-confidence was more rewarding than anything I had ever done before.

As a literacy volunteer, I learned a great deal about teaching and helping others. In fact, I may have learned more from the experience than Marie did.

51. What did the author do last summer?

A. She helped someone to learn to read.

B. She worked in the supermarket.

C. She gave single mothers the help they needed.

D. She went to a training program to help a literacy volunteer.

52. Why didn’t Marie go to the supermarket by bus at first?

A. Because she liked to walk to the supermarket.

B. Because she lived far away from the bus stop.

C. Because she couldn’t find the right bus.

D. Because she couldn’t afford the bus ticket.

53. How did Marie use to find the goods she wanted in the supermarket?

A. She knew where the goods were in the supermarket.

B. She asked others to take her to the right place.

C. She remembered the names of the goods.

D. She managed to find the goods by their looks.

54. Which of the following statements is TRUE about Marie?

A. Marie was able to read stories with the help of her son.

B. Marie could do things she had not been able to do before.

C. Marie decided to continue her studies in school.

D. Marie paid for her own lessons.

B

In Canada and the United States, there is a new group of children called “satellite kids”, who live in one place but whose parents live in another place.

Asians are immigrating to Canada and the United States in larger numbers than ever before. Most Asians immigrate because they believe that they can give their children a better education in the West. In Asia, especially in China, Japan, and Korea, it is difficult to go to university. Students must first pass the strict national examination. However, in Canada and the United States, it is easy to go to university, and anyone who wants to go can go. As a result, Asian parents decide to leave their countries so that their children can go to university.

The problem is that when Asians arrive, they discover that finding a job and making money are more difficult in the West than in the East. Also, they find that they are very lonely, and that they miss their homes. Because of these two reasons, most Asian parents decide to go back to work while their children study in the West. Therefore, these children become “satellite kids”, and most of their parents do not know how sad it is to be a “satellite kid”.

Only until now are Canadians and Americans discovering the “satellite kid” problem. Because these children do not speak English and because their parents are not there to take care of them, they are often absent from school. To be a “satellite kid” means to grow up in a country where you know you are different and where you cannot make friends because you do not speak English well. Also, it means to grow up lonely, because your parents are elsewhere. What these “satellite kids” will probably say to their parents is that it is better to have parents around than to have a university education.

55. Some Asian parents send their kids abroad because _______ _.

A. they hope their children may easily find a job there

B. the kids want to improve their English and make foreign friends

C. all foreign universities are better than the ones in their own countries

D. the kids may not be accepted by universities in their own countries

56. “Satellite kids” refer to Asian kids ________.

A. without patents B. with university education

C. living abroad alone D. speaking no English

57. Some Asian immigrant children become “satellite kids” because their parents ________.

A. want to leave their own country B. return to their countries to work

C. want them to go to university D. want them to be independent

58. What can be inferred from the passage?

A. Parents want better education for their kids.

B. Parents feel lonely and miss their families.

C. Kids in foreign countries alone are badly in need of care from family.

D. Canadians and Americans begin to notice the “satellite kids” problem.