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，从每题所给的四个选项 (A、B、C和D) 中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Consider yourself warned. Sunday is April Fools’ Day, a day when you are encouraged to pull pranks on loved ones, co-workers, acquaintances, and even that one guy at the bus stop. It's an odd tradition, but how did it get started? What’s the history of April Fools’ Day, anyway? Nobody is completely sure about the origin of this. However the urban legend experts at Snopes.com say that most experts give credit to Pope Gregory XIII, who, in the 1500s, gave the world the Gregorian calendar.
In 1562, the Gregorian calendar moved the first day of the year from April 1 to January 1. Word did eventually get around, but some people were a bit slow to hear the news. These folks continued celebrating the New Year on April 1, unaware that they were now three months behind the times. These “April fools” were tricked by those in the know. The tradition eventually made its way to the USA.
And it’s still going strong. Over the past week, Web searches on “April fools day jokes” and “April fools day pranks” have more than doubled, and related lookups for “easy April fools day pranks” and “April fools day jokes for work” also dramatically increase. Lookups for “impossible April fools day word searches” are up 200%.
But really, there is no way to be certain you’ll escape trickery, because on April 1, even corporations are out to trick you. In 1998, Burger King tricked its customers by releasing “the left-handed Whopper(左撇子巨无霸汉堡)”. In 1957, the BBC reported Swiss farmers were harvesting spaghetti from trees. And in 1996, Taco Bell, a famous food company in the United States, published advertisements in major newspapers announcing that the company had purchased the Liberty Bell and renamed it the Taco Liberty Bell. Oh, my god, what fun!
56. Which of the following is close in meaning to the underlined phrase in the first paragraph?
A. play tricks on B. take advantage of C. have games with D. tell jokes about
57. What does the second paragraph mainly talk about?
A. When the Gregorian calendar came into being.
B. Why they changed the day of the New Year.
C. How the odd tradition got started in 1562.
D. How the tradition passed on to the United States.
58. The examples of some large companies fooling people show that ______.
A. even large companies have to cheat people on April Fools’ Day
B. it is not easy to escape from being tricked on April Fools’ Day
C. some large companies may just act as foolishly as April fools
D. large companies can make profits by fooling people on April Fools’ Day
59. From the passage we can learn that ______.
A. you can’t make fun of strangers on April Fools' Day
B. people will never know the real origin of April Fools’ Day
C. some experts know the real origin of April Fools’ Day
D. the tradition of April Fools' Day is even more popular today
B
Good afternoon, everybody! It’s my great honor to be here to talk to you. When it comes to Taobao and Alipay, everyone knows them. So, today I’d like you to know about Alibaba Group with big companies including Taobao and Alipay. Alibaba Group is a privately owned Hangzhou-based group of Internet-based e-commerce businesses including business-to-business online websites, online sales, payment services and other online services.
In 2012, the two companies together handled $170 billion in sales, more than competitors eBay and Amazon. The consumer-to-consumer service Taobao, similar to eBay, is one of the 20 most-visited websites globally. Alibaba Group's sites account for over 60% of the parcels delivered in China. Alipay, an online payment service, accounts for roughly half of all online payment transactions(转移交易) within China.
The founder Mayun( Jack Ma) chose “Alibaba” as his company’s name, because everyone knows the story Alibaba and 40 Thieves. Alibaba was a kind, smart businessman who generously helped the whole village. Alibaba group opens doors for companies of small-to-medium sizes. MaYun was right and now when people mention Alibaba, the first thing they think of is this company rather than the old story. Everyone knows it is the common interests Alibaba shares that always encourage every individual to try their best for greater achievements. Our next plan is to help small companies and firms to solve marketing, management and financial problems through the development of information technology.
Our goal is to provide the best service to our customers and to improve teamwork by sharing resources together and taking responsibility together. There is no doubt that our team needs to face challenges and catch every opportunity. Let’s also keep in mind that confidence, honesty, positive attitude, sense of efficiency(效率) and enthusiasm are what we need to keep things going. Let’s work together for a better tomorrow.
60. Which of the following is Not True about Alibaba Group?
A. Its headquarters (总部) is in Hangzhou city.
B. It manages e-commerce businesses.
C. Taobao and Alipay are two of its companies.
D. It’s an online customer service centre.
61. Alibaba Group is successful judging from the fact that ______.
A. it defeated most of the competitors B. eBay and Amazon were its competitors
C. it is one of the 20 most-visited websites D. It’s won 60% of the parcel delivery in China
62. Why did Ma Yun name his company as Alibaba?
A. All kids love the story Alibaba and 40 Thieves.
B. The character Alibaba was a famous businessman.
C. He wanted his company to keep the Alibaba spirit alive.
D. He wanted more people to know the old story about Alibaba.
63. We can infer from the passage that ______.
A. doing business on the Internet is never easy
B. Alibaba group wants its members to be more devoted
C. small companies and firms would get inspired by the speech
D. some cooperators of Alibaba group need more opportunities
C
It was Saturday morning. I heard loud noises of moving furniture in the next room. I could almost feel the excitement of John who was soon going to get a room of his own. I remember my own feelings when I was 13. I knew how much he longed for his right to privacy (私人空间) when he was sharing a room with his younger brother, Robot. He said, “Mum, Can I please have a room of my own? I could use Jeff’s. He won’t mind.”
It was true that Jeff had graduated from college and flown from the nest. But would he mind? The room was the place where I told him a thousand stories and we had a thousand talks. As close as we were, though, the time came when Jeff needed a door between us. His life was spreading into areas that had less to do with family. I no longer could-or should-know everything about him.
It turned out that getting Jeff’s permission was easy. He said, “Of course, Mum, it would be selfish of me to hold on to it.” Then his voice softened, “Mum, I won’t be living at home again-you know that.” Behind his glasses, his eyes were lit with all the love. There were no door closed here-they had all opened up again.
As John and I were cleaning the room, I fixed my eyes on Jeff’s things around me and could almost touch the little boy I knew was gone forever. I looked at the room and, in my heart, I let it go. To hold on would be, as Jeff said, selfish. Now it was time for John, shouldering through the door, his eyes bright with promise of independence, to disappear behind the door. It was time for letting go to happen again.
64. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. John was moving to live with his brother. B. John was eager to get a room of his own.
C. Jeff volunteered to give his room to John. D. Jeff refused to let his brother have his room.
65. The underlined sentence in the second paragraph probably means “______”.
A. Jeff finally flew out of the house B. Jeff would have less to do with his family
C. Jeff needed his right to privacy D. Jeff got tired of those familiar stories
66. How did the author feel about her children’s sense of independence?
A. Delighted. B. Jealous. C. Confused. D. Embarrassed.
67. It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
A. the children did not like to live with adults
B. all her three kids made the author feel depressed
C. none of the members in the family thought the same way
D. the author loved and missed the time together with her kids
D
The news that Zhou Hao chose to drop out from Beijing University and transfer to a technical college raised a heated discussion among high school students. The following are some of the students’ views.
Fan Xianjie: I support Zhou’s choice. Zhou went to Beijing University because of the pressure from his parents and teachers, who ignored his interests. Now he has made his own choice to drop out and do what he really wants to do. His bravery deserves our respect and understanding.
Dan Jinyu: I do respect Zhou’s decision. But If I were him, I would definitely have followed my heart at the very beginning, because dropping out and then learning something new wastes a lot of time. Zhou has now got what he wanted. But not everyone is as brave as him. So we should think twice and try our best to reach our goals when making decisions.
Luo Jiayin: Zhou’s surprising choice is mostly because of his parents’ ignorance toward his interests in the first place. Parents should give their kids more freedom to choose what their kids really want instead of what they think is right.
Luo Zhouhai: Zhou is brave to pursue his dream and has the right to choose a major that he is really interested in. Nowadays, there are still many people who value famous universities’ diplomas more than a person’s actual skills. As our society develops, this situation will change and more and more Zhou Haos will appear.
Zhao Chengyi: This incident should make all the universities in China reflect on themselves. Why did Zhou choose to transfer to a technical college? Apart from his own personal reasons, Beijing University’s lack of options in its subjects also contributed to the drop-out. To prevent such things from happening in future, universities should pay more attention to students’ voices.
Tao Ruyi: I think Zhou Hao might not have made a sensible decision. He must have made great efforts to get admitted to Beijing University. It was a pity that he dropped out.
68. How many students totally supported Zhou’s dropping out?
A. Two. B. Four C. Five D. Six
69. What can we infer from Zhao Chengyi’s words?
A. It was Zhou Hao’s parents that were to blame for the incident.
B. It was wrong for Zhou Hao to drop out from Beijing University.
C. Universities should think of more options in their subjects for their students.
D. Beijing University should try to bring out students’ potential to learn more.
70. The author’s attitude towards Zhou’s incident is _____.
A. supportive B. negative C. critical D. unmentioned
71. What do you think is the best title for this passage?
A. Kids’ interests should be greatly valued
B. Different opinions about Zhou’s incident
C. Zhou’s incident shocked the college students
D. Zhou’s bravery deserves respect and understanding
