SECTION Ⅲ Reading Comprehension
(40 minutes)
Part A
Directions:
Read the following three texts. Answer thequestions on each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWERSHEET 1.
Text 1
Researchers at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California found that a 12-minutebedside visit with a dog can help ease anxiety levels by 24 percent in heartfailure patients, compared to a 10 percent drop when patients had a visit froma human volunteer, and no drop in patients who had no visit.
Resultsof the 76-patient study were presented last week at the American HeartAssociation’s annual Scientific Sessions in Dallas, Texas. The study was fundedby the Pet Care Trust Foundation, a non-profit organization which promoteshuman-animal interaction and bonding. In the stud-y, effects of dog andvolunteer visits were compared with those of volunteers only, and with patientswho had no visits and remained at rest. Heart pressures were monitored andpatients were asked to answer a list of anxiety assessment questions before andafter the visits. Although critical pressure measures also decreased,suggesting improved cardiac function, the most marked response was seen inanxiety levels.
“The first thing you noticeis that the patient’s facial expression changes to a smile and the stress ofthe world seems to be lifted off their shoulders,” study author Kathy Colesaid. Feelings of depression and helplessness are common among heart patients,Cole said, and just three nights in a hospital is enough to make some patientsfeel anxious and unsettled. During the visit, the furry friend is allowed tolie on the bed next to the patient with its head within two feet of thepatient’s. Most patients petted the dog, while others engaged human volunteersin conversation about the dog.
Dogsused in the study are specially trained animal-assisted therapy dogs thatundergo a series of trainings, evaluations and certifications to qualify astherapy dogs. Dog breeds varied. Researchers used everything from Bernesemountain dogs to small schnauzers. However, a dog doesn’t have to be speciallytrained to have a calming effect on its human counterparts. In fact, the animaldoesn’t even have to be a dog in order to help. “As long as the animal hasmeaning to the patient, or a relationship with the patient, it can help calmthe patient,” Cole said.
46. We learn from the text that heart patients benefit most fromvisits ____.
[A] by a volunteer with a dog [B]by a volunteer on his own
[C] by a well-trained dog alone [D]by a non-profit organization
47. The study shows that, for heart patients ____.
[A] their anxiety is reduced if they stay longer in hospital
[B] their contact with animals improves their condition
[C] their heart pressure decreases if they remain at rest
[D] their recovery relies on contact with animals
48. According to Cole, the change of patients’ facial expressionindicates that ____
[A] they are happy with the experiment
[B] they are psychologically comforted
[C] their hospitalization may be shortened
[D] their heart function is returning to normal
49. Cole believes that dogs are helpful to the patients if ____.
[A] they are limited to certain breeds [B] they are specially trained ones
[C] they have meaning to them [D]they stay with them all day
50. This report focuses on ____.
[A] the healing power of animals
[B] the treatment of heart disease
[C] the relationship between dogs and humans
[D] the promotion of human-animal interaction
Text 2
In many respects, Katsura Okiyama is a typical Japanese woman in her 20s. Sheenjoys spending time with her friends and loves Disney. But, less typically,she is a writer. And, quite exceptionally, her medium is a cell phone.
In Japan, not only are people reading novels on their cell phones; they’re alsowriting novels with them—uploading SMS-length chapters to specialist websiteswhere they are in turn downloaded to the phones of millions of readers. Themost popular are printed as books and sell in the hundreds of thousands. Inbook form, K, Okiyama’s first cell-phone novel, is 235 pages long. “I think Iwas writing 20 pages in two hours per day at the most, and it took me almost amonth,” she says.
Although she was used to writing around 100 text messages daily, Okiyama never expectedthat thumbing her keypad would enable her to become one of the country * s hotnew writers. "I had never written a story,” she says. “I never had theidea of how a real novel should be, so that might be why I could do it.”
“Cell-phone novels arecreated and consumed by a generation of young people in Japan that demands tobe heard,” says John Possman, an entertainment consultant. “It is truly popculture. It has also become big business, shaking up a publishing industrywhose sales have been declining for a decade.”
Individual voices are hard to find, however. As dictated by the medium, the language ofcellphone novels is simple and peppered with emoticons—signs that representvarious attitudes or emotions. Dialogue and description are scarce. Subjectmatter is always the same. Typically, a heroine loses her first love and thenlater struggles to find love again.
“The stories are often toldin the first person and lack diversity,” agrees Possman. But that hasn’t been aproblem with consumers yet. “Why don’t you write a novel and move me?” read oneangry schoolgirl’s recent online post, in response to a fierce opponent ofcell-phone novels. So far, Japan’s literary establishment hasn’t come up withan answer.
51. In Japan, cell-phone writers ____.
[A] upload their stories bit by bit to websites
[B] pay to have their novels printed as books
[C] spend almost one month to finish a novel
[D] send SMS-length texts to readers’ phones
52. According to Katsura Okiyama, she is able to write because ____
[A] she has an insight into literature [B] she has training in storytelling
[C] she is skilled in text messaging [D]she is free from literary rules
53. According to John Possman, the Japanese publishing industry ____.
[A] is pushed forward by the pop culture
[B] is strengthened by cell-phone novels
[C] has been shrinking for many years
[D] has been creating a generation of young readers
54. We learn from the text that cell-phone novels ____.
[A] feature moving dialogues [B]have different writing styles
[C] lack variety in subject matter [D]encourage readers to read others
55. It can be inferred that Japan’s literary establishment can’t ____.
[A] settle the dispute between the two sides
[B] compete with cell-phone novels
[C] adapt to the new technologies
[D] change their writing styles
Text 3
Too many people fear failure. Some of us let it keep us from trying new things,telling ourselves we’d be no good at it. Some limit our goals to only what wefeel absolutely sure we can accomplish. Others among us try something once andwhen it doesn’t work out, we decide that course is not for us.
That’s unfortunate because, according to many top scientists, failure is nothing tofear. Not only is it inevitable, they say, it is even an indispensable ally.“In the research lab,” says John Po-lanyi, the Nobel prize-winning chemist,“failure is a good thing. If everything you try is very successful, it means you’replaying it safe; you’re not out on the edge. Failure means that you’relearning. To ask a scientist whether he has experienced failure is like askingan artist whether he has ever made a sketch. The answer is, ‘a million times.’ Thatis the price of success.”
Failureis not the opposite of success. It’s more like an ingredient. In Hollywood,thousands of ideas for new TV shows are pitched each year, but only a selectfew get to the screen, let alone survive their first season. In real life,misses outnumber hits whenever people try something new.
NinaSpencer, a motivational speaker and author of Getting Passion out of YourProfession, likes to remind audiences that whenever we try a new skill, we gothrough four stages. “There’s the point when you don’t know about the skill,and because you don’t know about it, you’re no good at it. Eventually, you cometo know about the skill, but you’re incompetent to perform it. Then, as long asyou think carefully and go slowly, you can do it. Eventually, it becomes sopracticed, it’s easy.” The secret is not to give up at stage two.
In short, the seeds of success almost always flourish best in the well-turned soilof failure. As Charles Kettering, inventor of the modem electric ignitionsystem for cars and the holder of nearly 200 patents, once said, “failures,repeated failures, are finger-posts on the road to achievements— one failsforward towards success.”
56. According to John Polany, a seemingly all-time successful personmay in fact ____.
[A] be very adventurous [B]be very competitive
[C] be very sensitive [D]be very cautious
57. The Hollywood example is used to show that to succeed you should____.
[A] avoid mistakes [B]live with failures
[C] avoid competition [D]live with new ideas
58. When it comes to trying new things, people should know it isnatural that ____.
[A] success results from trial and error [B] they might miss something important
[C] success requires safety guarantees [D] they will hit more than they miss
59. According to Nina Spencer, the key to acquiring a new skill liesin ____.
[A] practice [B]persistence [C]competence [D] performance
60. The writer of the text wants to tell people not to ____.
[A] be frightened by failure [B],repeat the same failure
[C] underestimate failure [D]be misled by failure
Part B
Directions:
Read the texts from a magazine’s LETTERSsection in which five people wrote about education. For questions: 61 to 65,match the name of each person to one. of the statements (A to G) given below.Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.
Charles Swecker:
Thank you for getting it right in your articles on how to make a better student.As.an educator, I’m sure I speak for others in saying parents who encouragelearning: at home ultimately have kids who perform at a higher level in class.School systems have been: trying to get that message out for years. Imagine,excellent teachers working with students who have a drive and desire to learn.What a perfect world!
Sandy Simonson:
The students you pictured have positive attitudes; they expect to work hard ontheir own. Consequently, the effort they put in produces positive results. Butmy sons are different. They, see their parents read. They were read to at home.We’ve encouraged and praised the genuine efforts they’ve made. But the bottomline for my sons is that until something fires them up from within, they are contentto do as little work as possible.
Bridget Boyle:
Parents should do these things to make their child a better student: turn off thetelevision. Fill every room with books. Play, read, travel, and then read somemore with your kids. If reading becomes the primary form of entertainment inthe home, youngsters will turn to books. It was my pleasure to catch themreading on their own. Killing our television was the best thing we ever did.
Deborah Curtin:
Your report provided a glimpse into the life of young geniuses, but nobody madethese kids better students. Each one can obviously grasp any task. Each, couldhave been left in a box with a book and would have ended up self-taught. Youdid, however, confirm my belief that most teachers are only capable ofcommunicating information to ready-made A students. Of course, there are a fewgood teachers, but they cannot overcome the defective system we have.
Alan Holman:
I don’t think that the success of students really depends on marks. I justfinished writing my second average-length stage play, which is going to beproduced at my high school. And I’m also playing a part in Hamlet. Despite allthese really great things, my marks in school are really bad. I pay moreattention to my hobbies than to school, and it’s actually getting me somewhere.So marks aren’t everything.
Now match the name of each person (61 to 65) to the appropriate statement.
Note: there are two extra statements.
Statements
61. Charles Swecker [A]Grades cannot fully reflect the whole picture of a student.
62. Sandy Simonson [B]Try your best to make your children habitual readers.
63. Bridget Boyle [C]Tolerant parents are sure to shape successful children.
64. Deborah Curtin [D] Parents’ encouragement helps to improve children’s performanceat school.
65. Alan Holman [E]Schooling is very different from educating.
[F]Good students are actually not made but born.
[G]Students cannot become better at school unless they are self-driven.
【答案速查】
46~50 A B B C A
51~55 A D C C A
56~60 D B A B A
61~65 D G B F A
【答案解析】
Part A
Text 1
46.【答案】A
【题型】细节题
【出处】题目问的是“从文中可知，心脏病患者从以下哪个当中获益最大?”从第一段中“..with a dog...anxiety levels by 24 per-cent in a heart...”可知，研究者发现带着狗一起看病人，会使病人的焦虑感降低24%。因此带着狗看病人对患者最有好处，故选A。
47.【答案】B
【题型】推理题
【出处】此题与第一题有相近之处。题目问的是“研究表明，对于心脏病患者来说______。”从第一段内容“... with a dog... anxiety levels by 24 percent in a heart ...”可知和动物的接触对心脏病人有好处，故选B。
48.【答案】B
【题型】推理题
【出处】题目问的是“根据Cole的说法，病人表情的变化说明哪一点?”前两段详细陈述了带着狗去看病人的好处，第三段第一句就提到病人表情的变化，可以推断，在与动物接触之后，病人的心理压力变小，故选B。
49.【答案】C
【题型】细节题
【出处】题目问的是“Cole认为狗对于病人有帮助，其条件是______。”从文章最后一句“As long as a doghas meaning to the patient ... calm the patient.”可知，任何动物只要对于病人有意义，都有助于其病情的恢复，狗当然也不例外，故选C。
50.【答案】A
【题型】概述题
【出处】题目问的是“本文主要阐述了______?”整篇文章主要讲述了一项研究的结果，即带着动物看病人对于患者有很大好处，故选A。
参考译文
加州大学洛杉矶分校医疗中心的研究人员发现，带着狗拜访心脏病患者12分钟可以降低病人24%的焦虑感，相比之下，人单独来看望病人可以降低病人 10%的焦虑感，没有探访者的病人的焦虑感不会降低。
对76名病人进行的研究结果在上周德克萨斯州达拉斯市举办的美国心脏协会年度会议上展示出来。这项研究由宠物信托基金会赞助，此基金会为非盈利性组织，其宗旨是促进人类与动物的互动，加强两者之间的联系。此研究将带着狗一起去看望病人的效果与仅有人去探病的效果以及没有探访者自己休息的病人康复结果相对比。监控病人的心理压力并且在探访者来之前和离开之后询问病人一些问题，评估病人的焦虑感程度。尽管临界的压力值也有所降低，表明心脏功能有所改善，但是最突出的反应是焦虑水平的变化。
“最先注意到的是病人的表情变成了笑脸，他们的压力似乎都得以释放。”研究人员Kathy Cole说道，“心脏病患者很容易出现沮丧和绝望感，只要在医院住三个晚上就足以让病人感到焦虑不安。在拜访当中，这些毛茸茸的朋友可以躺在病人旁边，头离病人的头只有两英尺远。大部分的病人会拍拍宠物狗的头，有些病人会和探访者一起谈论宠物狗。”
研究中用的狗是经过特殊训练的协助治疗的狗，它们都经过一系列的训练、评估和认证以认定它们具备成为辅助治疗构的资格。狗的种类各不相同。研究人员使用了各种各样的狗，包括伯尔尼山地狗和小髯狗。但是，狗不需要经过特殊训练也可以给人类带来平静。事实上，狗以外的其他动物也可以对病人有帮助作用。“只要那个动物对病人有意义，或者和病人有一定的关系，都可以让病人心安。”Cole这样说。
Text 2
51.【答案】
【题型】细节题
【出处】题目问的是“在日本，手机小说作家______?”文章第二段“... uploadingSMS-length chapters to specialist ...”介绍了日本读者通过短信的形式把手机小说上传到专门的网站上，然后被网友下载，因此是一点点的把故事上传到网上。故选A。
52.【答案】
【题型】细节题
【出处】题目问的是“Katsura Okiyama认为她能够写小说主要是因为______?”根据文章第三段最后一句话“I never had theidea of how a real novel should be, so that might be why I could do it.”可知，她认为自己成功的出版小说的原因，恰恰是她自己从未想过真正小说的样子，即她没有受到传统文学的影响。故选D。
53.【答案】
【题型】推断题
【出处】题目问的是“根据John Possman可知，日本出版社______?”由文章第四段“shaking up apublishing industry whose sales have been declining for a decade.”可知出版业的销量在不断地减少，故选C。
54.【答案】
【题型】推断题
【出处】题目问的是“根据文章可知手机小说______。”从文章最后一段的第一句可知，手机小说通常用第一人称描述并缺乏多样性，故选C。
55.【答案】
【题型】推理题
【出处】题目问的是“从文中可推断日本的文学界不能______。”文章最后一段中，有女学生在网上提出来“Why don’t youwrite a novel and move me?”你为什么不写本感动我的小说?文学界没有给出回应，没有解决他们与手机小说读者直接的争端，故选A。
参考译文
从很多角度来看，Katsura Okiyama是一个典型的20多岁的日本女性。她喜欢和朋友一起而且喜欢迪士尼乐园。但是，与众不同的地方是，她是一名作家。而且更特别的是，她的写作工具是手机。
在日本，人们不仅仅用手机看小说，而且也用手机写小说―上传短信长度的章节到专门的网站上，然后又被数百万手机用户下载到手机上。最流行的会出版成书，销量可达几十万册。Katsura Okiyama第一部以书的形式出版的手机小说长达235页。“我觉得我每天在两个小时内最多写大概20页，我几乎用了一个月时间写这本书。”她说道。
尽管她以前习惯于每天写大概100条短信，但她从未想过用拇指打字让她有机会成为作家。“我从未写过小说，”她说，“我从未想过真正的小说应该是什么样的，可能这也是我成功的原因吧。”
“手机小说在日本被那些渴望被倾听的年轻一代日本人创造并消费。”娱乐顾问John Possman这样说，“它是真正的流行文化，已经成为了一项大产业，使得梢量已经连续十年下降的出版行业不得不作出调整。”
但是，个体的声音很难被听到。媒体认为手机小说的语言简单并且充满了表情图像——代表不同的态度和情感的符号。对话和描述过于稀少，小说的主题总是爱情。典型的情节就是女主角失去初恋，后来努力地重新获得一份爱情。
“这些故事通常用第一人称描述并且缺乏多样性。”Possman这样认为。但是这一点对于读者来说并不是一个问题。“你为什么不写本感动我的小说呢?"一名愤怒的女学生在网上贴出这样的信息，这是她对激烈反对手机小说的人的一个回应。目前为止，日本的文学界还没有给出答案。
Text 3
56.【答案】D
【题型】推理题
【出处】题目问的是”根据John Polanyi可知，一个看起来一直成功的人实际上可能______。”根据文章第二段“If everything youtry is very successful, it means that you are playing it safe”来看，John Polanyi认为在实验室里如果从没有失败过脱明我们打的是安全牌，没有去冒险。因此一个看起来似乎很成功的人，其实是一个不敢于冒险的人，也就是一个太谨慎小心的人，故选D。
57.【答案】B
【题型】推理题
【出处】题目问的是“好莱坞的例子说明要成功，你应该______。”第三段第三句以好莱坞为例，每年在好莱坞都会有几千个节目创意，但是只有一小部分能够被搬上荧屏。这说明大部分的创意都会失败，因此想取得成功，失败是必不可少的，故选B。
58.【答案】A
【题型】推理题
【出处】题目问的是“当开始尝试新事物的时候，人们应该意识到______是自然的。”从文章内容来看，失败是不可避免的经历，同时也是成功的盟友，在尝试新事物的时候要反复试验，坚持不懈，故选A。
59.【答案】B
【题型】细节题
【出处】题目问的是“根据Nina Spencer所说可知：获得新技能的关键在于______。”按照Nina的观点，尝试新事物的时候要分四个阶段，“the secret is notto give up at stage two.”最重要的秘诀就是在第二阶段的时候不能放弃，故选B。
60.【答案】A
【题型】概述题
【出处】题目问的是“本文作者想告诉人们不要______。”从文章内容来看，作者不断通过各种例子和名人的告诫提醒读者，失败并不可怕，失败在成功的道理上是不可避免的，我们不能惧怕失败，逃避失败。故选A。
参考译文
太多人害怕失败。我们很多人都因为怕失败而不敢尝试新事物，总是告诉自己我们不拉长这些新事物。有些人把自己的目标仅仅局限在自己擅长做的事情上。还有一些人尝试一下新事物，如果失败的话，就认定自己不适合这条路。
这真是一种不幸。从很多优秀科学家的观点来看，失败没有什么可怕的。他们认为失败不仅仅是不可避免的而且是一个不可或缺的盟友。诺贝尔化学奖获得者John Polanyi说：“在实验室里失败是一件好事。如果你实验的每个东西都是成功的，那就说明你在打安全牌，你没有去冒险。失败说明你在学习。问一个科学家有没有失败过就像是问艺术家有没有画草图一样。答案是‘无数次’，这就是成功的代价。”
失败不是成功的反面而更像是成功的组成部分。在好莱坞每年都会有数千个新的电视节目的创意被推出，但是只有最优秀的一部分才有机会被搬上荧屏，更不用说在第一季中成功的生存下来了。在现实生活中，在尝试新事物时失败的次数要高于成功的次数。
Nina Spencer是一名励志演讲家和Getting Passion outof Your Profession的作者。她喜欢提醒听众，每当我们尝试新技能的时候，都会经历四个阶段。“开始是你不了解这个技能，因为不了解，所以不擅长。最后你会了解这个技能，但是没有能力去做。接下来，只要你认真思考，你就可以运用这个技能。最后，由于实践次数很多，做起来也变得容易了。”诀窍就在于：在第二阶段时不要放弃。
总而言之，成功的种子总是在失败的土壤中茁壮成长。正如现代汽车电子点火系统的发明者和200项专利持有者Charles Kettering曾经所说的：“失败，反复的失败，是成功路上的指示牌——每一次失败都是向成功的一次靠近。”
Part B
61.【答案】 D
【题型】主旨题
【解析】第一段Charles Swecker认为“ ... parents whoencourage learning at home ... have kids ... a higher level in class.”可知，鼓励孩子学习的家长，会把孩子变成一个更好的学生，故选D。
62. 【答案】G
【题型】主旨题
【解析】第二段Sandy Simonson以自己的孩子为例“ ... untilsomething fires them up from within ... as little as possible.”说明如果孩子没有内在学习的动力和热情，就会在学习方面偷懒，不愿意付出努力，故选G。
63.【答案】 B
【题型】主旨题
【解析】第三段Bridget Boyle的建议是“turn off thetelevision, fill every room with books把电视关掉，每个房间里都摆满书”，经常陪孩子一起读书，因此他提倡让孩子养成读书的习惯，故选B。
64. 【答案】F
【题型】主旨题
【解析】第四段Deborah Curtin认为“ ... the life ofyoung genius, but nobody made these kids better student”可知文章当中的小天才们都很优秀，但是他们不是被任何人培养出来的天才，而是天生就有学习的动力，因此他们是天生的学习者，故选F。
65. 【答案】A
【题型】主旨题
【解析】第五段Alan Holman认为自己虽然考试分数很差，但是自己会写剧本而且会演戏，因此分数并没有那么重要;而且“marks aren’t everything.”分数并非代表一切，故选A。
参考译文
Charles Swecker:
感谢你在文章当中提到了正确的培养更好的学生的方法。作为一名教育工作者，我肯定可以代表其他人这样说：在家被父母鼓励学习的孩子在班里的表现会更好。学校一直都在努力让大家明白这一点。想象一下，优秀的老师加上有学习动力和学习渴望的学生。这是一个多完美的世界!
Sandy Simonson:
你所描述的学生有积极的态度;他们愿意靠自己努力学习。因此他们付出的努力会有良好的成效。但是我的儿子却难以做到这点。他们看父母读书，听父母读书。我们鼓励并且赞扬他们付出的真实努力。但是最关键的是，我儿子会满足于尽可能地少去努力，直到有什么引发了他们的热情，带给他们动力。
Bridget Boyle:
父母应该这样做，以便让孩子成为更好的学生：关掉电视;在房间里摆满书。玩耍，阅读，旅行然后再和孩子一起多读书。如果阅读成为他们在家最主要的娱乐方式，孩子们会爱上书。看到他们自己在看书，我感到开心。关掉电视是我们做过最好的一件事。
Deborah Curtin:
你的报告让我们对小天才们的生活有所了解，但是没有人把这些孩子变成优秀学生。很明显，他们任何一个人都可以完成任何任务;每一个人都可以单独和一箱子书呆在一起然后自学。不过，你确实让我更加相信我的理念：大部分的老师只能向天生的尖子生传达信息。当然了，也有一些优秀的老师，不过他们也无法克服我们体制的缺陷。
Alan Holman:
我不认为学生的成功取决于分数。我刚刚完成我第二部长度适中的舞台剧剧本，并且将会在我的高中演出。我也在《哈姆雷特》当中扮演一个角色。除了这些很棒的成绩，我的考试分数真的很差。我把更多的注意力放在兴趣上而不是学校，通过这样做，我其实已经在取得一定的成功。所以，分数不代表一切。
