四、阅读理解(共15小题，每题3分，共45分)

　　阅读下列短文，然后根据短文的内容从每小题的四个选项中选出最佳的一项。

　　A

　　On Christmas Eve-- the night before Christmas Day-- children all over Britain put a stocking at the end of their beds before they go to sleep. Their parents usually tell them that Father Christmas will come during the night.

　　Father Christmas is very kind and hearted. He lands on the top of each house and climbs down the chimney and out of the fireplace. Then he fills each of the stockings with Christmas presents.

　　Of course, Father Christmas isn't real. In Jim and Kate's house," Father Christmas" is really Mr.Green. Mr. Green doesn't climb down the chimney. He waits until the children are asleep. Then he quietly goes into their bedrooms and fills their stockings with small presents. When they were very young,Mr Green sometimes wore a red coat. But he doesn't do that now. The children are no longer young,and they know who "Father Christmas" really is. But they still put their stockings at the end of their beds.

　　36. Christmas Eve is__________.

　　A. the night of Christmas Day

　　B. the evening of Christmas Day

　　C. Christmas Day

　　D. the night before Christmas Day

　　37. When the children were very young,__________.

　　A. they didn't know who Father Christmas was

　　B. they knew that Father Christmas wasn't real

　　C. they thought their father was Father Christmas

　　D. they knew who put the presents into their stockings

　　38. When the children are older,they__________.

　　A. know that Father Christmas is real

　　B. ask their mother to fill their stockings with presents

　　C. know that Father Christmas is really their father

　　D. know that Father Christmas is really their friend

　　B

　　Now satellites are helping to forecast(预报) the weather. From space,they can see any part of the earth. These satellites take pictures of the atmosphere (大气), because this is where the weather forms. These pictures are sent to weather stations on earth. Meteorologists (气象学家)can see the weather of any part of the world. From the pictures, the scientists can often see how the weather will change.

　　Today, nearly five hundred weather stations in sixty countries receive satellite pictures. When they receive new pictures, the meteorologists compare them with earlier ones. Perhaps they may find that the clouds have changed during the last few hours. This may mean that the weather on the ground may soon change, too. In their next weather forecast, the meteorologists can report this.

　　So weather satellites are a great help to the meteorologists. Before satellites were invented, the scientists could forecast the weather for about 24 or 48 hours. Now they can make good forecasts for three or five days. Soon,perhaps,they may be able to forecast the weather for a week or more ahead.

　　39. Satellites travel__________.

　　A. in space

　　B. in the atmosphere

　　C. above the ground

　　D. above space

　　40. Why do we use the weather satellites to take pictures of the atmosphere? Because__________.

　　A. the weather satellites can do it easily

　　B. clouds form there

　　C. the weather forms there

　　D. the pictures can forecast the weather

　　41. Meteorologists forecast the weather__________.

　　A. when they have received satellite pictures

　　B. after they have compared new satellite pictures with earlier ones

　　C. before they receive satellite pictures

　　D. during they study of satellite pictures

　　42. The main idea of this passage is that satellites are now used in__________.

　　A. taking pictures of the atmosphere

　　B. receiving pictures of the atmosphere

　　C. doing many other types of work

　　D. weather forecasting

　　C

　　In almost every big university in the United States, football is a favourite sport. American football is different. Players sometimes kick the ball, but they also throw the ball and run with it. They try to take it to the other end of the field. They have four chances to move the ball ten yards(码). They can carry it or they can throw it. If they move the ball ten yards, they can try to move it another ten yards.

　　If they move it to the end of the field, they receive six points.

　　It is difficult to move the ball. Eleven men on the other team try to stop the man with the ball. If he does not move the ball ten yards, his team kicks the ball to the other team.

　　Each university wants its own team to win. Many thousands of people come to watch. They all shout for their favourite team.

　　Cheerleaders come on the field to help the people cheer more. They dance and jump while they shout.

　　Each team plays ten or eleven games each season.

　　The season begins in September and ends in November. If a team is very good,it may play another game after the season ends. The best teams play again on January !, the first day of the New Year.

　　Many people go to see these games and many others watch them on TV.

　　43. The passage talks about__________.

　　A. football

　　B. how to play football

　　C. American sports

　　D. American football

　　44. Why is it difficult to move the ball? Because__________.

　　A. ten yards is a long way

　　B. the other team tries to stop the ball being moved ten yards

　　C. the playing field is very large

　　D. eleven men have to catch the ball one by one

　　45. If they. __________ ,the teams will play on January 1.

　　A. receive six points

　　B. play eleven games in the season

　　C. are one of the best teams

　　D. move the ball to the end of the field

　　46. Many people come to watch football and they want their team to win. Which of the following is not their act?

　　A. Jumping.

　　B. Dancing.

　　C. Crying.

　　D. Shouting.

　　D

　　Mexico's neighbours are the United States to the north and Guatemala and Belize to the south.

　　Mexico is about one quarter of the size of the United States. Mexico has more than ninety million people. The language of Mexico is Spanish. This makes Mexico the world's largest Spanish-speaking country.

　　Mexico City is the capital and largest city of Mexico. The city is also above the sea level very high. It is 7,349 feet (2,240 metres). This makes it one of the highest capital cities in the world.

　　The population, of Mexico City grows bigger every day. About thirty million people live there. It has more people than any other city in the world, even more than Tokyo.

　　Mexico also has its specialities. Many of the foods we eat started in Mexico. Foods like beans,maize, avocados, tomatoes, peanuts, chili peppers, vanilla, and chocolate come from Mexico. Mexico is also famous for its cactus (仙人掌) plants. Mexico has more kinds of cactus than any other country.

　　47. Mexico is __________ the USA.

　　A. to the south of

　　B. on the north of

　　C. a part of

　　D. as large as

　　48. Which of the following is NOT true?

　　A. Mexico City is the capital of Mexico.

　　B. The population of Mexico City is 30,000,000.

　　C. Tokyo is one of the cities with the largest population.

　　D. Mexico City is the highest city in the world.

　　49. Tomatoes were originally (最新) grown in__________.

　　A. America

　　B. Spain

　　C. Tokyo

　　D. Mexico

　　50. The best title of the passage is

　　A. Mexico City

　　B. Mexico's plants

　　C. Mexico

　　D. Mexico's population