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，从每篇短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。（www.sczsxx.com）

A

　　“I see you’ve got a bit of water on your coat,” said the man at the petrol station. “Is it raining out there?””No, it’s pretty nice,” I replied, checking my sleeve. “Oh, right. A pony(马驹) bit me earlier.”

　　As it happened, the bite was virtually painless: more the kind of small bite you might get from a naughty child. The pony responsible was queuing up for some ice cream in the car park near Haytor, and perhaps thought I’d jumped in ahead of him.

　　The reason why the ponies here are naughty is that Haytor is a tourist-heavy area and tourists are constantly feeding the ponies foods, despite sighs asking them not to. By feeding the ponies, tourists increase the risk of them getting hit by a car, and make them harder to gather during the area’s annual pony drift(迁移).

　　The purpose of a pony drift is to gather them up so their health can be checked, the baby ones can be stooped from feeding on their mother’s milk, and those who’ve gone beyond their limited area can be returned to their correct area. Some of them are also later sold, in order to limit the number of ponies according to the rules set by Natural England.

　　Three weeks ago, I witnessed a small near-disaster a few mils west of here. While walking, I noticed a pony roll over on his back. “Hello!” I said to him, assuming he was just rolling for fun, but he was very still and, as I got closer, I saw him kicking his legs in the air and breathing heavily. I began to properly worry about him. Fortunately, I managed to get in touch with a Dartmoor’s Livestock Protection officer and send her a photo. The officer immediately sent a local farmer out to check on the pony. The pony had actually been trapped between two rocks. The farmer freed him, and he began to run happily around again.

　　Dartmoor has 1,000 or so ponies, who play a critical role in creating the diversity of species in this area. Many people are working hard to preserve these ponies, and trying to come up with plans to find a sustainable(可持续的) future for one of Dartmoor’s most financially-troubled elements.

　　51. Why are tourists asked not to feed the ponies?

　　A. To protect the tourists from being bitten

　　B. To keep the ponies off the petrol station

　　C. To avoid putting the ponies in danger

　　D. To prevent the ponies from fighting

　　52. One of the purposes of the annual pony drift is ______________.

　　A. to feed baby ponies on milk

　　B. to control the number of ponies

　　C. to expand the habitat for ponies

　　D. to sell the ponies at a good price

　　53. What as the author’s first reaction when he saw a pony roll on its back?

　　A. He freed it from the trap

　　B. He called a protection officer

　　C. He worried about it very much

　　D. He thought of it as being naughty

　　54. What does the author imply about the preservation of Dartmoor’s ponies?

　　A. It lacks people’s involvement.

　　B. It costs a large amount of money

　　C. It will affect tourism in Dartmoor.

　　D. It has caused an imbalance of species

B

　　Just consider something as simple as sleep. Its position presents its own challenges. The main question is whether you want your arms inside or outside the sleeping bag. If you leave your arms out, they float free in zero gravity, often giving a sleeping astronaut the look of a funny ballet(芭蕾) dancer. “I’m an inside guy,” Mike Hopkins says, who returned from a six-month tour on the International Space Station. “I like to be wrapped up.”

　　 On the station, the ordinary becomes strange. The exercise bike for the American astronauts has no handlebars. It also has no seat. With no gravity, it’s just as easy to

D

　　Hilversum is a medium-sized city between the major cities of Amsterdam and Utrecht in the Gooi area of North Holland, the Netherlands. Unlike most of the Netherlands,Hilversum is actually in a hilly area with the soil mostly consisting of sand,Once called the Garden of Amsterdam,it still attracts travelers to come over to cycle and walk through the surrounding forests. They visit it for

　　a relaxing day off from the urban madness.For Dutch people, Hilversum is all about textile

　　（纺织） and media industries,and modern architecture.

　　    In history, Hilversum was largely an agricultural area.Daily life was marked by farming, sheep raising and wool production.A railway link to Amsterdam in 1874 attracted rich tradersfrom Amsterdam to Hilversum.They built themselves large villas(别墅)in the wooded surroundings of the town.One of the families moving in was the Brenninkmeijers,currently the wealthiest family of the Netherlands.They moved in after big success in the textile industry and aided a substantial textile industry in Netherlands.But the textile boom lasted only several decades.The last factory closed in the 1960s.

　　The change to a media economy started in 1920,when the Nederlandse Seintoestellen Fabriek(NSF) Established a radio factory in Hilversum.Most radio stations settled in the large villas in the leafy areas of the town.Televison

E

　　Science has a lot of uses. It can uncover laws of nature, cure diseseases, make bombs, and help bridges to stand up. Indeed science is so good at what it does that there’s always a temptation(诱惑) to drag it into problems where it may not be helpful. David Brooks, author of The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character,and Achievement, appears to be the latest in a long line of writers who have failed to resist the temptation.

　　Brooks gained fame for several books. His latest book The Social Animal, however, is more ambitious and serious than his earlier books. It is an attempt to deal with a set of weighty topics. The book focuses on big questions: What has science revealed about human nature? What are the sources of character? And why are some people happy and successful while others aren’t?

　　To answer these questions, Brooks surveys a wide range of disciplines（）. Considering this, you might expect the book to be a dry recitation of facts. But Brooks has structured his book in an unorthodox(非常规的), and perhaps unfortunate, way. Instead of introduciing scientific theories, he tells a story, within which he tries to make his points, perhaps in order to keep the reader’s attention.So as Harold and Erica, the hero and heroine in his story, live through childhood, we hear about the science of child development and as they begin to date we hear about the theory of sexual attraction. Brooks carries this through to the death of one of his characters.

　　On the whole,Brooks’s story is acceptalbe if uninspired. As one would expect, his writing is mostly clear and, to be fair, some chapters stand out above the rest. I enjoyed, for instance, the chapter in which Harold discovers how to think on his own. While Harold and Erica are certainly not strong or memorable characters, the more serious problems with The Social Animal lie eslewhere. These problems partly involve Brooks’s attempt to translate his tale into science.

　　67. The author mentions the functions of science at the beginning of the passage to__________.

　　A. illustrate where science can be applied

　　B. demonstrate the value of Brooks’s new book

　　C. remind the reader of the importance of science

　　D. explain why many writers use science in their works

　　68. According to the author, which of the following could be a strength of the book?

　　A. Its strong basis.

　　B. Its convincing points.

　　C. Its clear writing.

　　D. Its memorable characters.

　　69. What is the author’s general attitude towards the book?

　　A. Contradictory.

　　B. Supportive.

　　C . Cautious.

　　D. Critical.

　　70. What is the author likely to write about after the last paragraph?

　　A. Problems with the book.

　　B. Brooks’s life experience.

　　C. Death of the characters.

　　D. Brooks’s translation skills.

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