三、阅读理解(共15小题;每小题2分，计30分)

　　阅读下列内容，从每小题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出一个最佳答案。

　　A

　　Think of the animal world. and a group of colorful wild animals will spring to mind: a parrot's rainbow feathers or the showy scales of sea fish. But, many mammals(哺乳动物) on the planet come in only two colors: black and white. Spend some time exploring what science has discovered about these animals' appearances, and you' ll see that basic black and white isn't so basic at all.

　　31. According to the passage, which of the following sentences is TRUE?

　　A. The panda's white parts help it hide against snow.

　　B. Both white spots and white stripes help skunks kill their victims.

　　C. Zebras with wider stripes are less attractive to flies.

　　D. Scientists have already known all the secrets about the stripes.

　　32. What does the underlined word "vulnerable" mean?

　　A. Being easily landed. B. Being easily attracted. C. Being easily discovered. D. Being easily attacked.

　　33. Which could be the best title of the passage?

　　A. Why Animal Stripes Come in Different Shapes B. Why So Many Animals Wear Black-and-White Coats

　　C. How Wild Animals Protect Themselves from Enemies

　　D. How Black and White Become Basic Colors in Animal World

　　B

　　I saved the grain carefully and finally had enough to plant. I built a wall around my garden to keep the wild goats away.

　　Then when my crop bore its fruit, the birds discovered it. The birds were not afraid of my dog at all. I shot them but as soon as I walked away. they returned. At last, I killed some birds and hung them among the crop, hoping they would serve as the scarecrows, which turned out to be successful. By harvest time. I had nearly two bushels of rice and two and a half bushels of wheat.

　　With my new grain to store, I found a new problem. The fine grain ran through my baskets. It took me nearly two months to form and dry two ugly pots- one for rice and one for wheat.

　　Next I formed a clay oven and made some other tools from hard wood and cloth to bake bread. I made and baked bread in my oven. I spent the third year on the island in farming and baking.

　　Soon after that. I began to think of my days sailing in a tidy boat with Xury. I wished to have a boat and explore the island by sea.

　　I tried to turn over the ship's boat that I had seen washed up, but failed. I was still determined to have a boat. So I chose a strong tree and spent weeks cutting it down. Then it took me months to turn it from tree to boat.

　　When it was time to launch, I realized I had made my boat too far from the nearest stream. The boat was far too heavy for me to move. I tried bringing the water to the boat instead of the boat to the water. I soon saw it would take me twenty years of constant labor.

　　I celebrated my fourth year on the island with two boats, but I was no closer to a sea journey.

　　----Taken from The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe

　　34. Paragraph 2 mainly tells us .

　　A. how much rice and wheat I harvested B. how many tools I made to bake bread

　　C. how I protected my crop from the birds D. how I kept the wild goats away from my crop

　　35. What does "a new problem" in Paragraph 3 refer to?

　　A. How to plant grain. B. How to make pots. C. How to store grain. D. How to fix the baskets.

　　36. By the last sentence "I was no closer to a sea journey", the writer means .

　　A. I was getting closer and closer to the sea B. I was getting farther and farther from the sea

　　C. it was possible for me to have a sea journey in my boats

　　D. it was still impossible for me to explore the island by sea

　　37. What can we infer(推断) from the passage?

　　A. I managed to turn over the ships boat. B. I spent months bringing the boat to the nearest stream.

　　C. I tried to solve the problems with my courage and wisdom.

　　D. I spent the third year on the island in farming and baking.

　　C

　　This spring, the town of Oso saw twice the usual rainfall. When the sun finally shone, LoAnna and Kris's three older kids ran outside. Inside, LoAnna nursed their four-month-old Kristian. Suddenly LoAnna heard a loud noise. She rushed outside in time to see a half-mile-wide mud and sand thundering down the hill toward them, knocking over hundreds of trees.

　　Mudslide(泥流)!

　　LoAnna gathered everyone into the bedroom farthest from the falling hill side and waited.

　　Kris got a call from LoAnna, He hurriedly drove home.

　　Highway 530 was covered with thick sand, fallen trees. Kris had to run home.

　　The mud came up to his knees. Suddenly he heard a woman screaming for help. He pulled through mud, over pieces of houses to the source of the cries.

　　At first, he saw an arm reaching up through the debris. There, a woman, buried under pieces of walls. furniture, and trees. was holding a baby. Finally, he freed the baby. By this time, other citizens had come.

　　After saving the woman, Kris moved on. He was still a mile from home. Ahead lay two fallen houses. He heard a moan. Stepping toward the house, Kris nearly killed himself in the mud. An older man was trapped in house debris. He was twice Kriss weight. He'd have to wait for more help.

　　Just then, Kris heard another man moaning from the second house. Kris pulled away some pieces of the house, but the man was buried too deeply for him.

　　Hearing helicopter(直升飞机) on the roof, Kris climbed up, met a member of the search-and-rescue team and led him to the first man. Then he headed back and kept digging until he could turn the second man over. After the rest of the team arrived, Kris moved on to find his family.

　　Kris finally reached home. It was flooded, but the mud had stopped just shy of the house. His truck was gone, as were LoAnna and the others. He checked cars and houses nearby for survivors, then ran to the command center.

　　Not long after he arrived, he saw his truck coming down the road. LoAnna jumped out.

　　Kris was praised by the Red Cross for his heroics.

　　38. The purpose of the first two paragraphs is to .

　　A. create an unusual setting of the story B. introduce the central idea of the story

　　C. describe a turning point of the story D. review the main character of the story

　　39. Which of the following is the correct order of the story?

　　a. Kris found a man buried too deeply for him. b. Kris heard a woman screaming for help.

　　c. Kris led a rescue member to save the older man. d. Kris found LoAnna, kids and his truck gone.

　　e. Kris was nearly killed in the mud.

　　A. beacd B. badec C. aecbd D. aedbc

　　40. Which of the following sentences is TRUE?

　　A. Kris saved three persons in all. B. Kris saved the baby by himself.

　　C. Kris pulled the first man out of mud. D. Kris found some survivors near his house.

　　41. Which sentence best shows the central theme in the text?

　　A. Kris got a call from LoAnna. B. He was still a mile from home.

　　C. He saw his truck coming down the road. D. Kris was praised by the Red Cross for his heroics.

　　D

　　“Growing up, Einstein saw his father struggle to support the family and move the family for different jobs, Einstein had to move between schools and it was challenging for him to catch up with his new class.”

　　This story about the struggles(f +)of famous scientists can't be found in your science textbook, but a new study suggested maybe it should be.

　　In the study, 402 9th- and 10th-grade students from four New York City high schools in low-income areas were divided into three groups. The students read some 800-word stories about Albert Einstein and Marie Curie. The control group read a regular science textbook description about their great achievements. Another group read about the scientists' personal struggles, like Einstein's running away from Nazi Germany. The third group read about the scientists' intellectual struggles, as they tried different experiments--- and failed.

　　As it turned out. the students who had read about scientists' struggles, whether personal or intellectual, had higher grades than students who had read about achievements. Those who weren’t getting good grades to begin with gained the most. Those in the control group not only didn't see a grade increase, they had lower grades than the grading before the study began.

　　“We think that struggle stories showed scientists' weaknesses.” the researchers write, “which creates a sense of connection between the students and scientists. And that may make it easier for students to see them as role models.”

　　“When kids think Einstein is a talent who is untouchable, then they believe they will never get there, "said lead researcher Xiaodong Lin-Siegler, PhD.

　　If we want to educate a future generation of great scientists, we can start by changing the way we talk about the great scientists of the past. An 800-word story about scientists’ failures, not just their achievements, in science textbooks will make it happen.

　　42. What does the article mainly talk about?

　　A. Learning about struggles of scientists may help students succeed in science.

　　B. Reading stories of scientists' achievements will help educate future scientists.

　　C. Science textbooks should describe scientists failures instead of their achievements.

　　D. Stories of scientists' struggles may make students see scientists as being untouchable.

　　43. From Paragraph 4, we can know that .

　　A. those good at science achieved most from this exercise

　　B. the control group had lower grades than the other two groups

　　C. the students' grades in the control group remained the same

　　D. the students in the third group had the highest grades

　　44. What's the main idea for Paragraphs 5 and 6?

　　A. Findings of the study B. Explanations from the researchers

　　C. Process of the stud D. Suggestions from the researchers

　　45. In the study, which of the following would the third group probably read?

　　A. Einstein won many awards in his life, including the 1921 Nobel Prize in physics.

　　B. Going to college was hard for Curie because at that time women were not allowed to attend school. So, Curie had to study at secret classes.

　　C. By the time she reached college, Curie was able to understand five languages that top scientists spoke at that time.

　　D. Often working hour after hour and day after day. Curie devoted herself to solving challenging problems and learning from her mistakes.