（2012 海淀一模）A
London, Uk Imperial College London（帝国理工学院）and University College London are very famous. London is also going through big changes with the coming Olympic Games. You need to pay about $20,600 a year.
Boston, USA You probably know of Harvard University and MIT. They are in Buston. Studying at these two universities is expensive: about $50,000 a year. With the help of scholarship(奖学金), the fee is about $39,600 a year.
Vienna,Austria The city is home to Austria‘s two highest-ranked universities: the University of Vienna and the Vienna University of Technology. For students looking for rich culture, Vienna is a good choice. The average fee is about $4,300 a year .
Melbourne,Australia Melbourne now is Australia‘s number one has world-class universities, like the University of Melbourne, a high quality of life and good climate.
47. You need to pay a year to study in London. A. $20,600 B. $50,000 C. $4,300 D. $39,600 48. If you look for rich culture, you may choose . A. Imperial College London B. Harvard University C. the University of Vienna D. the University of Melboume 49. The University of Melbourne is in . A. UK B. USA C. Australia D. Austria （2012 海淀一模）B ―Will you give my kite a lift?‖ asked my nephew to his sister. Lucy took it up and threw it into the air, but her brother didn‘t pay attention and ran off, so the kite fell down. ―Try again, children,‖ I said. Lucy once more took up the kite. But Jone ran off so suddenly that the kite flew out of her hand and it fell flat as before. ―Try again,‖ said I. They did, and with more care, but a side wind came suddenly. As Lucy let go the kite, it was blown against some bushes and the tail was caught. Meanwhile, I went to the kite‘s assistance and set the tail free from the bushes. I told them to find a more open area and then try again. We found an open area. I threw the kite up as John ran off. It rose up and promised a high flight. But John was so pleased that he stopped short to look upward. The string becam loose. The kite shook and came down to the ground. ―I won‘t try anymore. The kite won‘t fly.‖ said he angrily, I replied, ―A few disappointment are not
supposed to discourage us. And now try again.‖ And he tried and succeeded, for the kite was carried upward in the breeze as lightly as a feather. He was very excited to enjoy the sight. John began to roll up the string slowly. ―Shall we come out tomorrow and try again?‖ I smiled, ―Yes, dear children. I wish to teach you the value of keeping trying. Whenever you fail, remember --- TRY AGAIN !‖ 50. How many times did they fly the kite ? A. Five B. Four C. Three D. Six 51. How did John feel when he finally flew the kite up ? A. Angry B. Hopeful C. Excited D. Worried 52. The write wants to tell us . A. the ways of flying kites B. the pleasure of flying kites C. the cost of making mistakes D. the importance of keeping trying （2012 海淀一模）C There‘s a lot of focus on trans fats（反式脂肪）these days. We read about it in the news, and there's talk of passing laws against trans fats. We are bombarded with the word. Unfortunately, most people don‘t know what trans fats truly are and why they are so bad for us. A lol of food production companies want to get your dollars by printing “Trans Fat Free, on their label (标签)。Sadly ，they may not be telling the truth. So what is a trans fat really? A trans fat is a liquid (液体） that is turned into a fat solid. Although there is a very small amount of natural trans fats in meal and dairy products. most of them are created by adding hydrogen to liquid fat. Food-makers do this because it makes the product last longer on the shelf. Have you ever wondered why cookies can still be crispy and tasty'' after six months to a year on a gtore shelf? It‘s because of trans fats. Trans fats are typically found in things like donuts, French fries, cookies, microwavc popcorn, and potato chips. Why are trans fats bad for you? Trans fats raise the bad cholesterol (胆固醇) in your body and lower the good cholesterol that the body needs. Fatly foods do cause overweight. Trans fats build up in the body and block blood flow to the heart. People whose diet contains a high percentage of trans fats are at risk of heart disease and stroke. Why can the food-makers label trans fat free when it isn‘t? Because of the way the nutrition labeling laws work, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has allowed that if a food has less than 0. 5 grams per serving ( 一份) it can be classified as trans fat free. Read the label and you may discover that the package actually contains 6 servings, and if you just ate three of them, you might have eaten 1?49 grams of trans fats. Besides, in most fast food restaurants, ingredient and nutrition information are not listed. You may be shocked if you know what you are eating. An article in Men‘s Health magazine pointed that in KFC, hydrogenated ( 氢化的) oils appeared 91 times among the ingredient(分配) from the menu list. How do you really know if there are trans fats in the food you are eating? One way to truly understand what you are eating is to read the label. Another is to understand your ingredients. Anything on the label that says hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated, even if the package says,“Trans Fat Free‖,has trans fat in it. You had better not buy that product. Make a different choice,a choicc for your health. 53. The expression“are bombarded with‖ in Paragraph 1 probably
means . A. are tired of C. arc connected with
B. hear much of D. know clearly about
54. Which of the following is true according to the passage? A.Trans fats can make food last long and keep people fit. B.Food-makers use trans fans because they make food delicious. C.Tte amount of trans fats in food is clearly written on the label. D.Trans fats can be found in the food with package saying trans fatr free. 55. What can be the best title for the parage? A.Danger of Eating Trans Fats Food B.Truths arnl Facts about Trans Fats C.Buy Trans Fats Free Products Now! D.Don’t eat in Fast Food Restaurants! （2012 海淀一模）D The ― halo effect‖is a classic finding in social psychology. It is the idea that general evaluations (评价〉about a person (e. g. she is likeable) influence judgments about their specific traits (品质）(e. g. she is intelligent). Hollywood stars give the perfect example. Bccause. they are often attractive and likeable, we naturally consider they are also intelligent, friendly and so on. That is, sometimes, not true. In the 1970s, well-known social psychologist Richard Nisbelt set out to prove the fact that we actually pay little attention to our thought processes in general， especially to the halo effect. Nisbelt wanted to examine the way students made judgements about teachers. They had been divided into two groups to watch two different videos of the same teacher, who happened to have a strong Indian accent. One group watched the teacher answer a series of questions in an extremely warm and friendly manner. The second group saw exactly the same person answer exactly the same questions in a cold and distant manner. In one the teacher appeared to like teaching and students, and in the other he came across as someone powerful who didn't like teaching at all. After each group of students watched the videos they were asked to evaluate the teacher on physical appearance, mannerisms and even his accent (mannerisms were kept the same across both videos). The same as the halo effect infers, students who saw the ―warm" one evaluated him more attractive, his mannerisms more likeable and even his accent as more pleasing. This was unsurprising as it baeked up the ideas on the halo effect. At the same time, for those who had seen the other video, the result was just the wrong way around. The surprise is that students had no clue why they gave one teacher higher evaluations. Most said that how much they liked the teacher had not influenced their evaluation of his individual traits at all. The halo effecl is fascinating and now well-known in the business world. For
exarnple, books that have ―Harvard Classics‖written on the front can ask twice the pricc of the exact same book without it. The same is true in the fashion industry. So the next time you consider buying a pair of designer jeans or decide whether you like someone , ask yourself whether the halo effect is operating. Are you really evaluating the traits of the person? This simple check could save you wasting your money or refusing a loyal friend. Or perhaps，even if yon do check, you will still never know. 56. Why does the author mention Hollywood stars in the first paragraph? A.To help us to evaluate others. B.To explain what the halo cffect is. C.To show us the background of the story. D.To tell US Hollywood stars arc not truly friendly. 57. Which one do you think is NOT an example of the halo effect? A. You make friends with the people who have good judgments. B. You prefer to buy the products advertised by a movie star C. You pay more for a simple T-shirt with a famous designer‘s name on it. D. You believe your teachers are intelligent because they appear likeable. 58. What can we learn from the passage? A.People can do nothing to avoid the halo effect. B.People use the halo effect widely in the business world. C.People often wonder how the halo effect works before shopping. D. People sometimes don't realize the halo effect when they make judgments. 59. The passage is mainly about ____________ A.the causc of the halo effect B.the development of the haloeffect C.the evaluation of the halo effect D.the influence of the halo effect 六、阅读理解（共 26 分，每小题 2 分） 阅读下面的四篇短文，根据短文内容，从短文后各题所给的 A、B、C、D 四 个选项中，选择最佳选项。 （2012 丰台二模）A Do you have a pet? What would you like to have, a dog, a cat or a bowl of fish? In the US, nearly 73 million families have at least one pet. The table shows the total number (in millions) of some of the most popular pets in the US.
47. Which pet is the most popular in the US families? A. Fish. A. 78 million. A. The 1st place. B. Cats. C. Dogs. D. Birds D. 8 million. D. The 4th place. 48. How many American families keep horses as a pet? B. 16 million. B. The 2nd place. C. 13 million. C. The 3rd place. 49. Which place do dogs take in the popularity (普遍性) of pets?
（2012 丰台二模）B ―You know, these cups bring to mind a story I heard,‖ Mary said to her friends in her home. She poured some tea. There were four of them and there were four completely different cups on the table. ―I heard there was a teacher who took all his students for tea. They were surprised that all the cups on the table were different. They all took a cup and started drinking their tea, each looking at the cups of the others. The teacher said: ―Do you notice your behavior? You are all looking at each other‘s teacup and some of you even envy (羡慕) the finer cups of others. ―I put the different cups here on purpose. Life is like this tea. You all have the same thing in your cups – tea. And yet you cannot truly enjoy it in your envy of another‘s cup. You forget to enjoy your own life when you envy someone else‘s life. So now, taste your own tea. Does it matter from which cup it came from?‖ Mary finished telling her story and her friends all sat in silence for a while, enjoying their tea. And it really did not matter one bit from which teacup they drank. 209 w
50.Mary used _____ to invite her friends to tea. A. four same cups C. many same cups A. told them a story C. enjoyed her tea A. discussed its meaning C. seemed to realize its lesson B. four different cups D. many different cups B. continued making tea D. brought out more teacups B. asked for more tea D. left her house silently
51. Mary _____ while her friends were drinking the tea.
52. After the story, Mary‘s friends _____.
（2012 丰台二模）C Gao Defu, 10, is a student in a primary school in a small village in Guizhou. He used to go hungry or have only an ear of corn for lunch at noon. But now, Gao and his classmates have better food and vegetable dishes for free every day, thanks to the free lunch program. The program was started by Deng Fei, a journalist at the Phoenix Weekly (《凤凰 周刊》). Early this year, Deng met Xiao Yu, a primary school teacher from Guizhou, and was told that students in Xiao‘s school didn‘t have lunch to eat. Instead, they drank water to lessen their hunger. Deeply shocked, Deng decided to do something for kids in the poor areas. He posted a message on his microblog (微博) saying he wanted to build a canteen at Xiao‘s school. The message soon got the support and attention of tens of thousands of people around the country. In March, some 500 reporters, along with a dozen news organizations and charity funds (慈善基金), finally set up the free lunch program. Local teachers and foundation workers calculated that one lunch for one child costs 3 yuan. People can donate for a meal, a month‘s worth of meals, or a year‘s worth of meals for children on the Internet by going to https://www.doczj.com/doc/bc7143112.html, /. According to the China Development Research Foundation( 基 金 会 ), there are about 23 million resident students (住宿生) in central and western rural areas. Many of them come from poor families and can‘t afford nutritious lunches. Now, schools with kids that can‘t afford lunch can apply for help through the free lunch program‘s official
website. In half a year, the program has raised more than 16 million yuan, providing free lunches for poor students in 77 schools. 53. The free lunch program was started by _____. A. a student in a primary school C. a primary school teacher A. giving a lesson C. making the feeling of hunger smaller B. a journalist at the Phoenix Weekly D. 500 reporters and some charity funds B. stopping the feeling of thirst D. stopping the feeling of hunger
54. In Paragraph 2, the word ―lessen‖ best means _____ in the context.
55. Which of the following statements is NOT true? A. Many of the 23 million resident students can‘t afford nutritious lunches. B. In poor areas, each child needs just three yuan for a lunch. C. More than 16 million yuan reached the free lunch program soon. D. A poor student can go to a special site on the Internet for free lunches. （2012 丰台二模）D Heredity is not the only thing that influences our color. Where we live and how we live after we are born are important too. Our skin color depends to a great extent on how much sunshine we get. During the cold winter months, people keep themselves covered. A group of light-colored people will all seem to be pretty much the same color in these months. But when summer arrives and they go to the b eaches, some will tan darkly, some will tan lightly and a few will not tan at all. Each one has inherited a different ability to tan. Centuries ago, most of the people in Europe were peasants and had to work in the fields all day. Noblemen, on the other hand, did not have to work. They stayed indoors and remained pale. You could always tell a nobleman from a peasant because the peasant had a tan. During the Industrial Revolution things changed. Farmers left their fields and went to work in factories, mines, and mills. Working for long hours in dingy-lit factories and mines made their skins pale. Wealthy people, however, could afford to travel to sunny countries. They had the leisure to lie around on the beaches and get a tan. Having a tan became a sign of wealth. In Western Europe and North America pale skin is no longer desirable. Instead of bleaching themselves white with lemon juice, many women spend their time under a
sunlamp. The desire for a quick tan has led to the invention of pills and lotion (乳液) that darken the skin artificially without exposure to sunlight. These pills and lotions can be bought by anyone at any drugstore. A rich man can spend hundreds of dollars on a vacation in the sunny West India and get his suntan there. But his lowest-paid clerk can have what looks like the same tan out of a bottle of a few cents. So there are three answers to the question "Where does our color come from?" It comes from the genes we inherit. It comes from the conditions in which we live. And it can come from a bottle that we buy at the drugstore on the corner. 364 w 56. What can we infer from the passage? A. In Western Europe and North America pale skin is no longer desirable. B. In the past, English peasants had the same tan as the noblemen. C. The more we lie on the beach, the more tanned our skins get. D. At one time people needed a tan skin to show they were wealthy. 57. What does the word ―tan‖ in Paragraph 2 best mean? A. Getting thirsty. brown. 58. How many different ways do western people use to give their skin a tan? A. Two. B. Three. C. Four. D. Five. 59. What is the passage mainly about? A. Our skin color depends on how much sunshine we get. B. Our skin color changes with the conditions in which we live. C. Our skin color depends on where and how we live besides heredity. D. People‘s attitude towards their skin color changes with time and people. B. Getting tired. C. Getting hot. D. Getting
（2012 西城二模）A Natural Wonders of the World
The Deepest Lake in the World Lake Baikal in Russia is the deepest lake in the world. It is 1,637 meters deep. It is also the largest freshwater lake in the world.
The Biggest Lake in the World The biggest lake in the world is the Caspian Sea. It has a surface area of 371,000 square kilometers. The Caspian Sea is salty, about 1/3 as salty as seawater.
The Hottest Desert in the World The hottest desert in the world is the Sahara Desert. In 1922, scientists recorded a record high temperature of 58 °C. Though it‘s hot there during the day, it sometimes freezes at night.
The Largest Volcano (火山) in the World The largest volcano in the world is Mauna Loa in Hawaii. It is about 17, 000 meters high from the bottom to the top. Mauna Loa is much larger than Mt. Everest but most of Mauna Loa is underwater.
47. Which is the biggest lake in the world? A. Lake Baikal. A. 17, 000 meters. A. hot B. Caspian Sea. B. 371, 000 meters. B. warm C. Sahara. C. 1, 922 meters. C. freezing D. Mauna Loa. D. 1, 637 meters. D. Cool 48. How high is the largest volcano in the world? 49. Sometimes, it‘s ______ at night in Sahara Desert.
（2012 西城二模）B
Teenager Callie Rogers was ―jumping and screaming‖ when she realized she had become the National Lottery‘s ( 彩 票 ) youngest ever millionaire ( 百 万 富 翁 ). The 16-year-old, from Cockermouth, Cumbria, described the moment when she realized that she had won the ￡ 1,875,000 prize on Saturday. Callie told reporters at the meeting organized by the lottery that she was dog-sitting for a friend when the draw (抽奖) took place. She said she rushed home to check the numbers — 1, 10, 17, 23, 29, and 35 — which were based on her family birthdays. Callie was one of eight winners sharing the ￡ 15,000,000 prize. And she said she was looking forward to taking her first holiday in Australia. She said: ―Hopefully I will help my family have a better life.‖ But Callie, who left school in December last year, said becoming a millionaire would mean a different future. She said she was going to go traveling for two years, and then would like to become a social worker. One of the first things she hopes to buy is a new computer for her mother. Callie, who will be 17 in December, is going to treat herself as well, and said she wanted to buy a Peugeot 206 when she learnt to drive. She said: ―My brother also wants a motorbike and my sister wants a piano.‖ Callie had been working since leaving school at a number of jobs, as a shop assistant, a waitress, and at the Community Center, and she was happy to take a break. 50. What prize did Callie win? A. ￡ 1,875,000. B. ￡ 15,000,000. C. A holiday in Australia. D. A Peugeot 206.
51. Callie chose the lottery numbers according to ______. A. her telephone number B. her family birthdays C. the ages of her family D. her friends‘ birthdays 52. What will Callie probably do after winning the prize? A. She will go traveling for a year. B. She will continue her education. C. She will buy a new computer for her grandmother. D. She will buy the gifts that her brother and sister want.
（2012 西城二模）C
Of the many kinds of vegetables grown all over the world, which remains the favorite of both the young and old? The potato, of course. Perhaps you know them as ―taters‖, ―spuds‖, or ―Idahoes‖. But it‘s no matter, a potato by any other name is still a potato—the world's most widely grown vegetable. As a matter of fact, if you are a normal potato eater, you will eat at least a hundred pounds of them each year. That's only a tiny part of the total grown every year, however. Worldwide, the potato harvest (收获) every year is over six billion bags, with each bag having a hundred pounds of spuds, some of them as large as four pounds each. In the United States, farmers fill about four hundred million bags a year. That may seem like a lot of taters, but it leaves us in third place among world potato growers. Farmers in Poland (波兰) dig up just over 800 million bags a year, while the Russians lead the world with nearly 1.5 billion bags. People eat potatoes in many ways — baked (烘烤), mashed (捣成糊状), and roasted, to name just three. However, in the United States most potatoes are eaten in the form of French fries. One fast-food chain alone sells more than $1 billion worth of fries each year. No wonder, then, that the company pays close attention to the way its fries are prepared. Before any fry makes it to the people who eat at this popular restaurant, it must pass many separate tests. Fail any one and the French fry is thrown away. To start with, only a certain kind of Idaho potato is used to make fries. They have less water than other kinds. Once cut into ―shoestring‖ shapes, the potatoes are partly fried in secret oils, sprayed (喷洒) with liquid sugar to brown them, steam dried at high heat, and then quickly frozen for shipment to each restaurant. Before shipping, though, every shoestring is measured (测量). Forty percent of the fries must be between two and three inches long. Another forty percent has to be over three inches. What about the twenty percent that is left? Well, a few short fries in a bag are okay, it seems. So, now that you realize the huge size and value of the potato crop, you can understand why most people agree that this part of the food industry is no ―small potatoes.‖ 53. According to the passage, which country has the largest harvest of potatoes？ A. America. B. Russia. C. Poland. D. France. 54. What can be known about Americans and French fries? A. Americans like to eat French fries at home. B. Americans care about French fries‘ size and shape.
C. Americans eat French fries less than mashed potatoes. D. Americans prefer potatoes to be cooked in this way. 55. What is the main idea of this passage? A. Potatoes are known by many names. B. The way of making French fries is interesting. C. The potato is an important vegetable in America. D. The various names of potatoes have a long history.
（2012 西城二模）D
What does the word ―patent (专利权) ‖ mean to you? Does it interest you? If it does, stop and think a moment about some of the commonplace things that you use every day: the telephone, radio, television, and the thousands of other things that enrich our lives today, were once only ideas in the minds of men. If it had not been possible to patent their ideas, so as to protect them from being copied, these inventions might never have been fully developed to serve human beings. If there were no patent protection there would be little encouragement to invent, for once the secrets of an invention became known, those who did not experience the inventor's risks and expenses(花费) might well fill the market with their copies of his product and steal much of the benefit (益处) of his efforts. The most basic values in the U. S. patent system came from England. During the rule of Queen Elizabeth I in England, the growing technology was furthered by the giving of exclusive privileges (独家特权) to people who had invented new processes (程序) or tools—a step that did much to encourage creativity. Later, an important value was added: society had everything to gain and nothing to lose by giving exclusive privileges to an inventor, because a patent for an invention was given for something new that society never had before. George Washington signed the first patent law on April 10, 1790, and less than four months later, the first patent was given to a man named Samuel Hopkins for a chemical process, an improved method in soap making. In 1936, the Patent Office became a separate department and it has grown into an organization of over 2,500 people who every week deal with more than 1,600 patent applications, and of those, give more than 1,000. A patent may be given for any new and useful process, machine, or planning method. The patent system has also helped to improve the pay of the American worker to an unexpected level; he can produce and earn more by using computers or adding machines, two important patented inventions. Patented inventions also help keep prices down by encouraging competition. Our patent laws, like the Constitution from which they grew, have stood the test of time. They have encouraged creative processes, brought great benefits to society as a whole, and enabled American technology to outstrip that of the rest of the modern world. 56. From the passage, what can we learn about inventors? A. They make a lot of money.
B. They fight against copiers. C. They have a lot of experience. D. They put effort into inventions. 57. Why were inventors given exclusive privileges? A. Because their inventions made leaders happy. B. Because their creativity is very important. C. Because their inventions could enlarge society. D. Because they were the smartest people in society. 58. According to the passage, the patent system is good for America because ______. A. it helps more workers get jobs B. it provides a first-class service C. it produces less expensive things D. it helps inventors find markets 59. What is the meaning of “outstrip” in the last paragraph? A. be better than B. catch up with C. make better use of D. cost more than （2012 顺义二模） A People love oranges as they are sweet and juicy. They are in sections so it‘s easy to eat them. Some oranges don‘t have any seeds. Some have a thick skin and some have a thin skin. The orange tree is very beautiful. It has a lot of shiny green leaves. The small white flowers smell very sweet. An orange tree has flowers and fruits at the same time. There were orange trees forty hundred years ago. The oranges were very small, not like the ones today. The earliest orange trees probably came from China. Many different kinds of oranges are raised there today. Farmers in other parts of Asia and the Middle East learned to raise oranges from the Chinese. Then they taught Europeans. The Spanish planted orange trees in the New World (North and South America) and took them to Florida first. ―Orange‖ is both a fruit and a color. The color of oranges is so beautiful that in English we use the name of the fruit for its color. 47. Why do people like eating oranges? A. No seeds. B. Its thin skin. C. Its color is beautiful. D. Sweet and juicy. 48. When did people start to find the orange trees ? _____ years ago. A. 40 B. 400 C. 4,000 D. 40,000 49. The earliest orange trees probably came from ______. A. China. B. Europe. C. The Middle East. D. North and South America. （2012 顺义二模） B Alex Centre Hotel Youth Hotel Holiday It‘s 300 meters away from the centre square. It has many modern and large rooms. It also has a business centre, meeting rooms, a car park and several restaurants. It provides more than a hundred rooms. The rooms are not big but clean. No noise can be heard from the streets. There is an outdoor barbecue that everyone loves. It‘s built in a beautiful valley. You can have your own house with a small garden. The restaurant in it has delicious food and all kinds of wine, ready for you in the evening, but
Village Fishermen’s Home
it may cost much. It‘s built by the sea. You don‘t need to spend much staying here. Walking along the beach, you can see many fish. You can go fishing on the boat, too. Of course, you can enjoy seafood with your friends in the restaurant. It‘s great for its value. It is lying at the foot of the mountain. It provides basic conditions, but the rooms are clean and big enough for a dance. It has a nice swimming pool. It‘s on an island. It is famous for its wonderful natural views, nice rooms and its service. Staying here can make your trip a pleasant one.
Holiday Inn Karin’s Hotel
请阅读以下个人信息，并按他们的需求找到匹配的酒店。 50. Mr. & Mrs. Smith live in a noisy street. They are going to the beach for a weekend. They dream of eating seafood by the sea and spending a quiet night. They also hope the hotel rooms are not so expensive. A. Holiday Inn B. Holiday Village C. Fishermen‘s Home D. Alex Centre Hotel 51. Jack is a businessman. He‘s going to organize a meeting for business. He is looking for a modern hotel with good service in the centre of the city. A. Holiday Inn B. Holiday Village C. Fishermen‘s Home D. Alex Centre Hotel 52. Jim and Susan plan a trip after their wedding. They want to choose a hotel with natural environment, comfortable rooms and good service. They don‘t like going swimming or fishing. A. Holiday Inn B. Karin‘s Hotel C. Holiday Village D. Fishermen‘s Home
（2012 顺义二模） C A desert is a very dry land where there is hardly any rain. In the day, it can be so hot that you could fry an egg on the ground. But during the night it is sometimes so cold that water would turn into ice. Many desserts are covered in sand. But some have mountains, rocks, or lakes that have dried up in the heat. The Great American Dessert has cliffs (悬崖) that have been made into amazing and beautiful shapes by the wind. The Sahara Desert in Africa is mostly sand. The Australian Desert has red sand. Sometimes it does not rain for a whole year in the desert. But there is water deep under the ground and some plants have roots that go very deep to find it. Other plants have roots that spread out a long way so they can suck up the rain as soon as it falls. One desert plant is the cactus, which has long, spreading roots. The cactus stores water inside its hard skin. This skin protects it from heat and cold. Camels are a bit like cactus plants! They store water, too—inside their bodies. They have special fur which protects them from the sun during the day and keeps them warm at night. Some other animals live in deserts, too. They have to be very good at seeing and hearing because most of them only come out at night. This is why many desert animals have extra big eyes or ears. A desert fox has bigger ears than a normal fox. A gerbil (沙鼠)has huge eye, so that it can see
at night. It stays cool in the day by staying underground, like most desert animals. Some people live in the desert but they always make their homes near an oasis. An oasis is where water comes from an underground river. Near an oasis, people can grow lots of plants and keep animals. Life is hard in the desert, for people, animals and plants. But desert people like to live there. 53.A desert is very dry because__________. A. it is sandy B. there is so little rain C. the wind is strong D. there is no water deep under the ground 54. What does the underlined phrase ―suck up‖ mean_________? A. 围堵 B. 讨好 C. 释放 D. 吸收 55.Which of the following is true? A. All the deserts are covered in sand. B. Camels have special fur to store water. C. People in the desert usually fry eggs on the ground. D. Desert people like to live in the desert though life is hard. （2012 顺义二模） D Napoga is a 12-year-old girl in Ghana (加纳), Africa. It is hard for her family to get clean water. Every morning, she leaves home at half past five to get clean water for her family in a village far away. It takes her six hours to get enough clean water for daily cooking and drinking. She has no time to go to school or to play with her friends. Millions of people in the world are like Napoga. They can‘t get enough clean water to keep healthy. Earth Day is April 22. But on all other days, we must also remember it. The water we use is the most important natural resource on the earth. Water covers 70% of the earth‘s surface. But most of that is sea water. We can‘t use it for very many things. Fresh water covers only 1% of the earth‘s surface. You probably feel lucky that your life isn‘t as hard as Napoga‘s. But that doesn‘t mean you don‘t have to worry about water. We all face serious water problems. One of them is water pollution. All kinds of things from cars, factories, farms and homes make our rivers, lakes, and oceans dirty. Polluted water is very bad for people to drink. And dirty water is bad for fish, too. Now, 34% of all kinds of fish are dying out. How do cars and factories make our water dirty? First, they pollute the air. Then, when it rains, the rain water comes down and makes our drinking water dirty. Dirty rain, called acid rain (酸雨), is also bad for plants, animals and buildings. Scientists say that in 30 years, more than half of the people in the world won‘t have enough clean water. We have to learn how to save more water for ourselves and our children. Here is some advice for saving water: ●Turn off the water while you brush your teeth. You can save as much as 450 liters each month. ●Leaky taps (漏水的龙头) waste a lot of water. Fix them right away! ●You can easily cut your 10-minute showers in half—and you‘ll be just as clean. ●When you wash dishes, don‘t let the water run.
●Only wash clothes when you have a lot to wash. If your washing machine isn‘t full, you‘re wasting water! 56. Every morning Napoga went to get clean water _______. A. without going to school B. before she went to school C. after she finished school D. after she played with her friends 57. On the earth, _______. A. there is 71% of fresh water B. we don‘t need to worry about water C. there is very little water for our living D. sea water is widely used than fresh water 58. Acid rain _______. A. is only bad for living things B. can be produced in factories C. doesn‘t do harm to people, but it‘s bad for plants, animals and buildings D. doesn‘t just do harm to human beings but to animals, plants and buildings 59. What‘s the main idea of the passage? A. It‘s time to take care of the water we use. B. Water is the most important natural resource on the earth. C. Something must be done to prevent water form being polluted. D. Clean water means much to human beings and living things around us. （2012 石景山二模）A Mrs. Chang, a new teacher at Park School, wants to know her students in Class 5, Grade 3. Here are the introductions of some of the students.
Names
Kelly Susan Nicole
Introductions
Kelly has to go to cram school from 6:20 p.m. to 8:20 p.m. Because Susan lives too far away, she usually comes to school late. Nicole is a good student who does well on tests and helps others solve math questions.
Jane Tom Jordan May Mark Carol
Jane likes to do housework at home and helps clean the classroom. Tom never goes to school on time and seldom finishes homework. He likes sports a lot and usually plays basketball in the park right after school. May is friendly and likes to help people. Mark does well on tests, but he is shy and doesn‘t like to help his classmates. She is Mrs. Chang‘s best assistant that will do everything for her!
47. Who likes sports a lot? A. Jordan. B. Susan. C. Carol. D. Jane. 48. What does Jane like to do? A. To go to school late. C. To play basketball in the park. 49. Who does well on tests? B. To help clean the classroom. D. To help others solve math questions.
A. Kelly and Tom. C. May and Mark.
B. Nicole and Jordan. D. Nicole and Mark. （2012 石景山二模）B
For Sparky, school was all but impossible. He failed every subject in the eighth grade. He didn‘t do much better in sports. Although he played for the school‘s golf team, he lost the only important match of the season. Sparky was a loser. He, his classmates…everyone knew it. Sparky never asked a classmate to go out in high school. He was too afraid of being refused. However, one thing was important to Sparky – drawing. He was proud of his artwork. Of course, no one else appreciated it. In his senior year of high school, he sent some cartoons to the editors of the Yearbook. Although the cartoons were turned down, Sparky was so confident about his ability that he decided to become an artist. After completing high school, he wrote a letter to Walt Disney Studios. He was told to send some samples of his artwork, and the subject for a cartoon was suggested. Sparky spent a great deal of time on it. Finally, the reply came from Disney Studios. He had been rejected（拒绝）once again. Another loss for the loser. So Sparky decided to write his own autobiography（自传）in cartoons. He described his childhood – a little boy loser and underachiever. The cartoon character would soon become famous worldwide. For Sparky, the boy who had little success in school and whose work was rejected again and again was Charles Schulz. He created the Peanuts comic strip（连环漫画）and little cartoon character – Charlie Brown. 50. We can know that Sparky was ________ from the first paragraph. A. a top student B. an artist C. a good player D. a failure
51. Sparky never asked a classmate to go out because he ______. A. had never been invited C. didn‘t want to be refused B. didn‘t like making friends D. was afraid of making mistakes
52. What‘s Sparky‘s success according to the passage? A. He was good at golf playing. B. He wrote a letter to Walt Disney Studios. C. He drew some cartoons for the Yearbook. D. His Peanuts comic strip became world famous. （2012 石景山二模）C To err is human. To blame（责备） the other guy is even more human. Common sense is not all that common. Why tell the truth when you can come up with a good excuse? These three popular misquotes（戏谑的引语）are meant to be jokes, and yet they tell us a lot about human nature. To err, or to make mistakes, is indeed a part of being human, but it seems that most people don‘t want to accept the responsibility for the problem. Perhaps it is the natural
thing to do. The original quote about human nature went like this: ―To err is human, to forgive, divine（神圣的）.‖ This saying mirrors an ideal: People should be forgiving of others‘ mistakes. Instead, we tend to do the opposite – find someone else to pass the blame on to. However, taking responsibility for something that went wrong is a mark of great maturity（成熟）. Common sense is what we call clear thought. Having common sense means having a good general plan that will make things work well, and it also means staying with the plan. Common sense tells you that you take an umbrella out into a rainstorm, but you leave the umbrella home when you hear a weather forecast for sunshine. Common sense does not seem to be common for large companies, because there are so many things going on that one person cannot be in charge of everything. People say that in a large company, ―the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.‖ And what is wrong with a society that thinks that making up a good excuse is like creating a work of art? One of the common problems with making excuses is that people, especially young people, get the idea that it‘s okay not to be totally honest all the time. There is a corollary（直接推 论）to that: if a good excuse is ―good‖ even if it isn‘t honest, then where is the place of the truth? 53. Which of the following is NOT based on common sense? A. A secretary works to a timetable. B. A company‘s next move follows a good plan. C. A girl goes out with an umbrella in stormy weather. D. A man tries to manage everything in a large company. 54. What can we infer from the last paragraph according to the writer? A. A good excuse is the same as honesty. B. Inventing a good excuse needs creative ideas. C. Unpleasant truth is better than a good excuse. D. Making a good excuse is sometimes a better idea. 55. What would be the best title for this passage? A. A Mirror of Human Nature B. To Blame or to Forgive C. A Mark of Maturity D. Truth or Excuse （2012 石景山二模）D When students and parents are asked to grade subjects according to their importance, the arts are usually at the bottom of the list. Music is nice, people seem to say, but not important. Too often it is only viewed as entertainment, but certainly not an education priority（优先）. This view is shortsighted. In fact, music education is very important for all students. Music tells us who we are. Because music is an expression of the beings who create it, it shows their thinking and values, as well as the social environment it came from. Rock music represents a lifestyle just as surely as does a Schubert song. The jazz influence that George Gershwin and other musicians introduced into their music is obviously American because it came
from American musical traditions. Music expresses our character and values. It gives us identity （身份，特性）as a society. Music provides a kind of perception（感知）that cannot be acquired any other way. Science can explain how the sun rises and sets. The arts can express the emotive（情感的）meaning of the same thing. We need every possible way to discover and respond to our world for one simple but powerful reason: No one way can get it all. The arts are forms of thought as powerful in what they communicate as mathematical and scientific symbols. They are ways we human beings ―talk‖ to each other. They are the language through which we express our fears, our hungers, our discoveries, our hopes. The arts are ways we give form to our ideas and imagination so that they can be shared with others. When we do not give children an important way of expressing themselves such as music, we take away from them the meanings that music expresses. Science and technology do not tell us what it means to be human. The arts do. Music is an important way we express human suffering, celebration, the value of peace and love. So music education is far more necessary than people seem to realize. 56. What can we learn from Paragraph 1? A. Students regard music as a way of entertainment. B. Students disagree with their parents on education. C. Students take music as an important subject. D. Students prefer the arts to science. 57. In Paragraph 2, the writer uses jazz as an example to____________. A. compare it with rock music B. show music identifies a society C. introduce American musical traditions D. prove music influences people‘s lifestyles 58. According to the passage, the arts and science____________. A. explain the world in different ways B. explain different facts of the world C. express people‘s feelings in different ways D. explain what it means to be human differently 59. What is the main idea of the passage? A. Music education is worth more attention. B. Music should be of top education priority. C. Music is really a good communication tool. D. Music education makes students more imaginative. （2012 石景山一模）A .
Future Plan
Thomas I’m not very sure what I will be doing in ten years from now. Maybe a cook or a film director?
But I can tell you what I’ll be doing next week – having a birthday party with friends. Emma There is one thing I really want to do and that is to travel around the world. Hopefully I will be living somewhere different in ten years, like Australia, or even Japan – who knows? I’d like to be a teacher and I’ll probably be teaching English. Ken When I was little I always said I wanted to be a doctor and that hasn’t changed. I will study medicine after I finish school. It will be a lot of hard work, but it’s my dream. So in ten years I hope I will either be working in a hospital or as a doctor with my own surgery. Mary I’m not really sure about the future. I’m interested in the environment, so maybe I’ll probably be working as a scientist and help develop energy or something like that. 47. Who will have a birthday party with friends next week? A. Emma. A. A teacher. B. Ken. B. A cook. C. Thomas. C. A doctor. D. Mary. D. A scientist. 48. What would Emma like to be in the future? 49. What’s Ken’s dream? A. To live somewhere different. C. To help develop energy. B. To travel around the world. D. To study medicine in the future. （2012 石景山一模）B What do you want to be when you grow up? A teacher? A doctor? How about an ice-cream taster? Yes, there really is a job where you can get paid to taste ice cream. Just ask John Harrison, an “Official Taste Tester” for the past 2l years. Harrison’s job has been responsible for approving（批 准）large numbers of the sweet ice cream – as well as for developing over 15 flavors（味道）. Some people think that it would be easy to do this job; after all, you just have to like ice cream, right? No – there’s more to the job than that, says Harrison, who has a degree in chemistry. He points out that a dairy or food-science degree would be very useful to someone wanting a job in this “cool field”. In a typical morning on the job, Harrison tastes and grades 60 ice-cream samples. He lets the ice cream warm up to about 12oF. Harrison explains, “You get more flavor from warmer ice cream, which is why some kids like to stir it, creating ice-cream soup.” While the ice cream warms up, Harrison looks over the samples and grades each one on its appearance. “Tasting begins with the eyes,” he explains. He checks to see if the ice cream is attractive and asks himself, “Does the prod uct have the colour expected from that flavor?” Next
it’s time to taste! Continuing to think up new ideas, try out new flavors and test samples from so many kinds of ice cream each day keeps Harrison busy but happy – working at one cool job. 50. What is John Harrison’s job? A. An officer. C. A chemist. A. To just like ice cream. B. An ice-cream taster. D. An ice-cream producer. B. To find out new flavors each day.
51. According to John Harrison, what is useful to get a job in “cool field”?
C. To have new ideas every day.
A. He smells it. C. He tastes its flavor.
D. To have a degree in food-science.
B. He lets it warm up. D. He examines its colour.
52. What does Harrison do first when testing ice cream?
（2012 石景山一模）C Even though global warming may have made the weather more mild, many animals are still hibernating（冬眠）. It’s too bad that humans can’t hibernate. In fact we almost did. Apparently, at times in the past, farmers in France liked a semi-state of human hibernation. So writes Graham Robb, a British scholar who has studied the sleeping habits of the French farmers. As soon as the weather turned cold, people all over the France shut themselves away and practiced the forgotten art of doing nothing at all for months. In line with this, Jeff Warren, a producer at CBC Radio’s The Current, tells us that the way we sleep has changed since the invention of lighting. When historians began studying texts of the Middle Ages, they noticed something referred to as “first sleep”, which was not clarified, though. Now scientists are telling us our ancestors most likely slept in separate periods. The business of eight hours’ continuous sleep is a modern invention. In the past, without the artificial light, humans went to sleep when it became dark and then woke themselves up around midnight. The late night period was known as “The Watch”. It was when people actually kept watch against wild animals, although many of them simply moved around or visited family and neighbors. According to some sleep researchers, a short of insomnia 失眠） midnight is not a disorder. （ at It is normal. Humans can experience another state of consciousness（清醒状态）around their sleeping, which happens in the brief period before we fall asleep or wake ourselves in the morning. This period can be a creative time for some people. Playing with your sleep rhythms（节奏）can be dangerous, as worry may set in. Medical science doesn’t help much in this case. It offers us medicines for a full night’s continuous sleep, which sounds natural; however, according to Warren’s theory, it is really the opposite of what we need. 53. The late night was called “The Watch” because it was a time for people ______.