III.阅读理解（共20小题，每小题1.5分，满分30分）
A
When Paul was a boy growing up in Utah, he happened to live near a copper smelter(炼铜厂), and the chemicals that poured out had made a wasteland out of what used to be a beautiful forest. One day a young visitor looked at this wasteland and called it an awful area. Paul knocked him down. From then on, something happened inside him.
Years later Paul was back in the area, and he went to the smelter office. He asked if they had any plans or if they would let him try to bring the trees back. The answer from that big industry was “No.”
Paul then went to college to study the science of plants. Unfortunately, his teachers said there weren't any birds or squirrels to spread the seeds. It would be a waste of his life to try to do it. Everyone knew that, he was told. Even if he was knowledgeable as he had expected, he wouldn’t get his idea accepted.
Paul later got married and had some kids. But his dream would not die. And then one night he did what he could with what he had. As Samuel Johnson wrote, “It is common to overlook what is near by keeping the eye fixed on something remote. Attainable good is often ignored by minds busied in wide ranges.” Under the cover of darkness, he went secretly into the wasteland and started planting.
And every week, he made his secret journey into the wasteland and planted trees and grass. For fifteen years he did this against the plain common sense. Slowly rabbits appeared. Later, as there was legal pressure to clean up the environment, the company actually hired Paul to do what he was already doing. Now the place is fourteen thousand acres of trees and grass and bushes, and Paul has received almost every environmental award Utah has. It took him until his hair turned white, but he managed to keep that impossible vow he made to himself as a child.
46. When Paul was a boy, _____.
A. he had decided never to leave his hometown
B. the economy of Utah depended wholly on the copper smelter
C. no laws were made to protect the environment against pollution
D. he had determined to stop the copper smelter polluting the area
47. Why did Paul go to college to study the science of plants?
A. He wanted to find out the best way to save the area himself.
B. He was interested in planting trees since he was young.
C. He wanted to get more knowledgeable people to help him.
D. He thought his knowledge would make his advice more persuasive.
48.  What does the underlined phrase “the plain common sense” probably refer to?
A. That it was impossible for trees to grow on the wasteland.
B. That his normal work and life would be greatly affected.
C. That no one would like to join him in the efforts.
D. That he had to keep everything he did secret.
49. The message of the passage is that _____.
A. action speaks louder than words
B. perseverance(持之以恒) will work wonders
C. God helps those who help themselves
D. many hands make light work

The huge Florida wetland known as the Everglades is a slow-moving river 80 kilometres wide but only a few centimeters deep. People call the Everglades a “river of grass” because sawgrass covers most of it. Sawgrass is not really grass. It is a plant that has leaves edged with tiny sharp teeth that can easily cut through clothes—and skin!
Travel in the Everglades is difficult. You cannot walk through shallow water because the sawgrass will cut you. The water is too shallow for regular boats. So, we use an airboat. An airboat is a flat, open boat. Like an airplane, it has a big propeller to move it. The propeller is fixed on the rear of the boat. It makes a tremendous noise, but it does the job. The boat skims along the water’s surface. Although we can still get lost in an airboat, at least we are above the alligators(短吻鳄).
While hundreds of different kinds of animals live in the Everglades, the most famous is surely the alligator. Once endangered, alligators are now protected within Everglades National Park. Visitors are likely to see them both on land and in water.
For a long time, dangers have threatened the Everglades. Around 1900, some people felt this precious wetland should be drained (排干). They said it was just a big swamp and not good for anything. In the 1920s, there was a land boom in Florida. People wanted to build homes everywhere, including in the Everglades. They built canals, levees (防洪堤) , and other water systems that stopped the rivers flowing into the Everglades. Factories were built near rivers that flowed into the wetland. These factories dumped poisonous waste that damaged the Everglades ecosystem.
? People are now working to preserve the Everglades National Park for the future. Right now, one big problem is the paperbark tree. This tree is an invader from Australia.
Paperbark trees soak up a lot of water. In the early 1900s, people brought them to Florida because they thought they would help drain the Everglades. However, the invaders adapted too well. Paperbark trees have taken over hundreds of thousands of acres of the Everglades and killed other trees. Scientists are cutting down these invaders or spraying them with herbicides (除草剂) to kill them. ?
【小题1】Which helps to explain why it is difficult to travel in Everglades?

E
Just days after the January 4 premiere (首映) of Hollywood blockbuster Avatar in China, the box offices across the country had gone beyond 100 million yuan (around $14.7 million), thanks to the enthusiasm of huge number of Chinese movie fans. China Film Group Corp. Estimates are that the total box office may finally reach 500 million yuan.
Though almost every movie theater in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai gives Avatar top billing（最优先的档期）, with as many as 20 show times a day, Chinese audience still find it tough to get a ticket. In Beijing, the Wanda Movie Theater in Shijingshan, the first IMAX theater in Asia, is the first choice for Avatar moviegoers. The theater shows the 3D IMAX version of Avatar five times a day, and tickets are generally sold out a day in advance.
In Shanghai, to get an IMAX ticket for Avatar can mean waiting in freezing weather all night for a show three days later. Shanghai local media reported that on Friday, around 500 people were queuing for tickets at 8 a.m. in front of the downtown Peace Cinema, including some who had waited for 12 hours. Movie fans came equipped with quilts, wooden stools and snacks, in a scene reminding of that at train ticket windows before the New Year, when huge numbers of Chinese travel to be with family.
For the 3D version of Avatar, ticket prices varied for different theaters and time slots(场次), ranging from 60 yuan to 120 yuan. Meanwhile, illegal tickets traders asked as much as 600 yuan for the IMAX version in Shanghai. The Peace Cinema is planning to raise the ticket price for the IMAX version to as much as 200 yuan from the current 150 yuan from Jan. 14 for some time slots.
A report by the People's Daily owes the difficulty in getting tickets partly to the lack of 3D screens in China. There are only 11 IMAX commercial theaters in nine cities across China. Because of this, people are traveling long distances to see the movie. In southern China, the IMAX-equipped Dongguan Wanda theater has seen a huge coming of people from Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Wednesday afternoon, due to a technical breakdown of the system, the movie was stopped for an hour, and the sound didn't come together with the picture. In the end, the general manager of the theater had to beg forgiveness on his knees twice to lessen the angry audience who drove a long way to see the movie. The theater had to pay back each audience member the full ticket price as well as 200 yuan for traffic expenses.
The world-wide gross（总收入） for "Avatar" is now at $1.335 billion, second only to the $1.843 billion pulled in by "Titanic," another film directed by Cameron. But how long will 'Avatar' manage to hold its death grip around the number one spot?
57. The behavior of movie fans in Shanghai shows that __________.

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
A
A Chinese graduate’s record – setting $8,888,888 donation to his school at Yale University has caused wide debate at home.
The donation will primarily help build the new SOM campus, while part of it will provide scholarship support for the International Relations Program at Yale's new Jackson Institute of Global Affairs, as well as fund(资助) a variety of China-related activities at the university.
Some asked why Zhang Lei, who graduated from Yale less than 10 years ago, chose an overseas institution rather than Renmin University, his alma mater (母校), for the donation. But a larger group of online users voiced support for Zhang's move and said there is still room for improvement regarding management of universities in China.
"We should look at this news from an international standpoint," said Chi Fulin, professor and president of China Institute for Development and Reform. Chi said although Yale gets the money,  the donation will also benefit China.
"It will promote more Sino-US exchange programs, and more Chinese will be involved in these exchanges." He said that China also has received a lot of support and funding from overseas donors, and Zhang's move should be regarded with "respect, understanding and encouragement".
In terms of cultural and educational exchanges between China and the US, a larger part of financial aid comes from non – government organizations. "China should also try to attract more donations through such channels in the future," he said.
Zhang said Yale changed his life and taught him the spirit of giving. "Yale has been helping China for more than 100 years. he said, “Many Chinese leaders were educated at Yale. But the relationship has been one-way for too long and I want to help change that."
Zhang, who graduated from the Yale School of Management in 2002, worked for the Yale Investments Office. In 2005, Zhang founded Hillhouse Capital Management Ltd, a Beijing-based investment fund that manages $2.5 billion.
56．Zhang Lei contributed such a large sum of money to Yale just         .
A．to relieve the situation that Yale was lacking in money
B．to pay Yale back for the free education he received
C．to help change the pattern of the one – way assistance
D．to promote the relationship between China and the US
57．What’s the writer’s attitude towards Zhang Lei’s donation to Yale?
A．objective  B．supportive C．opposed    D．unconcerned
58．From the passage, we can see professor Chi Fulin argues that         .
A．more Chinese should be involved in donating money to US
B．the behavior of Zhang Lei is respectable and deserves praise
C．government organizations matter much in exchange programs
D．universities in China should take management more seriously
59．As for Zhang Lei,          .
A．his generosity made him world – famous overnight
B．his company mainly serves the Yale Investments Office
C．Yale shaped his life and taught him the spirit of giving
D．he considers Yale his preference to Renmiu University
60．Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A．Act of Kindness set a record
B．Individual donation makes a difference
C．A new page for Sino – US relationship
D．Donation to Yale caused debate

Low-Cost Gifts for Mother's Day
Gift No. I
Offer to be your mother's health friend. Promise to be there for any and all doctor's visits
whether a disease or a regular medical check-up. Most mothers always say "no need," another set of eyes and ears is always a good idea at a doctor's visit. The best part ? This one is free.
Gift No. 2
Help your mother organize all of her medical records, which include the test results and medical information. Put them all in one place. Be sure to make a list of all of her medicines and what times she takes them. "Having all this information in one place could end up saving your mother's life," Dr. Marie Savard said.
Gift No. 3
Enough sleep is connected to general health conditions. "Buy your mother cotton sheets and comfortable pillows to encourage better sleep," Savard said. "We know that good sleep is very important to our health."
Gift No. 4
Some gift companies such as Presents for Purpose allow you to pay it forward this Mother's Day by picking gifts in which 10 percent of the price you pay goes to a charity (慈善机构) Gift givers can choose from a wide variety of useful but inexpensive things -many of which are "green" - and then choose a meaningful charity from a list. When your mother gets the gift, she will be told that she has helped the chosen charity.
【小题1】What are you advised to do for your mother at doctor's visits?