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第三部分 阅读理解（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）
请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A，B，C，D 四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Britons stranded（搁浅）at sea or in flooded homes could find a real-life prince riding to their rescue. Prince William announced on Monday that he is to train to be a full-time pilot with the Royal Air Force's Search and Rescue Force (SARF).
William, who is currently a Lieutenant（中尉）in the Army's Household Cavalry Regiment（皇家骑兵团）, will transfer to the RAF and begin an 18-month training course in January 2009.
If successful, he will become a fully operational Search and Rescue pilot in 2010, flying Sea King helicopters at one of the six SARF units based in Britain.
"The time I spent with the RAF earlier this year made me realize how much I love flying," the prince, who spent two weeks with a SARF team while on work experience in 2005, said in a statement.
"Joining Search and Rescue is a perfect opportunity for me to serve in the Forces operationally, while contributing to a vital part of the country's Emergency Services."
It means he will follow a similar career to that of his uncle, Prince Andrew, who was a Sea King helicopter pilot during the 1982 Falklands war.
The Search and Rescue teams' main duty is to recover RAF personnel but in peacetime they mainly respond to civilian emergencies, dealing with more than 1,000 calls a year.
The units deal with incidents ranging from helping those trapped by sudden major floods to rescuing people lost while out walking on hills
William, who has spent the last year on secondment（借调）to the various branches of the military to prepare for his future role as head of the armed forces, received his RAF wings （飞行勋章）following a four-month stint（持续的工作）with the service earlier this year.
However, his time with the RAF was clouded when the Defense Ministry was forced to fend off (挡开) criticism for allowing the prince to fly military helicopters to a bachelor party for his cousin and to the family home of his girlfriend Kate Middleton.
1. Prince William wanted to be a full-time pilot because _______.
A. he liked flying
B. he would like to do something in the country’s Emergency Services
C. many Britons were in danger at sea waiting for rescue
D. he had much experience in flying
2 According to the passage, _______
A. the Falklands war broke out in 2005
B. Prince William served in the Army’s Household Cavalry Regiment in 1982
C. Prince Andrew is serving in SARF now
D. William would finish his training course in June 2010
3 The author’s opinion on William’s joining RAF is _______.
A. enthusiastic B. doubtful C. negative D. pessimistic
4. What is the purpose of the author by mentioning what the prince had done before in the last
paragraph?
A. The author wants to say that Prince William pays much attention to his family and friends
B. The author suggests that the Defense Ministry was criticized when William flew for his
private business
C. William had a hard time when he went against his leaders
D.The author has the worry that Prince William is likely to get the Defense Ministry into
trouble again.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
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Terry Herbert, 55, of Staffordshire, the UK, has used a metal detector (探测器)for the past 18 years to look for treasure. He’d never found anything especially valuable. But on July 5, he made a very important discovery, which also changed the way the British look at history. In a field near his home, Herbert found a huge number of ancient artifacts. The finding was announced on September 24.
Archaeologists(考古学家) are surprised by the size of the discovery. There are more than 1,300 pieces. The discovery is much bigger than any other from the Anglo-saxon era(盎格鲁撒克逊时代)，said Roger Bland of the British Museum. Bland said some experts think treasures of this kind must have belonged to a king but they couldn’t be certain.
The artifacts are thought to date from between AD 675 and AD 725, a time that is sometimes called the Dark Ages. The time was marked by frequent fighting. The gold in the collection weighs 5 kilograms. It suggests that England at the time was richer than historians thought.
Why were the gold and silver treasures buried? Archaeologists believe it could have been to hide them from enemies, a common practice at the time.
The findings could become one of Britain’s top archaeological finds. So far, experts have looked at 1,345 pieces and there are still more to come. It may take a year to look at the whole finding.
Herbert found the treasure while he was searching in a friend’s field over five days in July. He said his discovery was more fun than winning the lottery. “This is what treasure hunters dream of, finding stuff like this. The great amount there is just unbelievable,” he said.
1、Terry Herbert used a metal detector to search for treasure because .
A、he had researched the area and was sure there was treasure there.
B、he was very interested in British history.
C、he wanted to be an archeologist
D、he enjoyed searching for treasure
2、Herbert’s discovery is very important because .
A、the treasure he found belongs to an ancient English king.
B、the treasure has changed people’s understanding of early English history.
C、the treasure is proving a big help to the British economy.
D、it is the find that many British treasure hunters have been hoping for years.
3、On the basis of the article, which of the following is TRUE?
A、It might take three years for scientists to look through all of the treasure.
B、Ancient English people buried treasure in the fields for future use.
C、At the time England was a more violent and religious land than historians thought.
D、Herbert prefers the fun of treasure hunting over the money he will earn for his discovery.
4、Which of the following headlines best sums up the article?
A、British treasure hunter makes big find. B、Scientists find out about the dark ages.
C、How to find treasures using a metal detector. D、Archeologists win big lottery prize.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
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BUKHANNON, West Virginia—Two rescue teams slowly moved along a two-mile path on Monday night to the site of a coal mine explosion that trapped 13 miners, who had not been heard from since the early morning accident.
Meanwhile, at a nearby church, more than 250 family members and friends gathered, waiting for updates（最新报道）on the rescuers’ progress.The miners were trapped at about 6:30 and many families weren’t informed of the accident until about 10 a.m-more than three hours after it happened. “It’s very upsetting, but you’ve got to be patient, I guess,” said John Helms, whose brother, Terry, was trapped in the mine.
The trapped miners were about 260 feet underground and about 10,000 feet from the Sago Mine’s entrance, said Roger Nicholson, general counsel from International Coal Group.At a late night news conference, Nicholson said one team had advanced about 4, 800 feet in the four hours since entering the mine just before 6 p.m. Another team entered the mine about 30 minutes later.
He said the crew was very experienced, with some members having worked underground for30 to 35 years. The miners were equipped with about one hour of breathable oxygen each. The company has not released the names of the miners.
The teams test the air about every 500 feet, and have to disconnect （remove） the power to the phones they use to communicate with the surface before doing that. “ We don’t want to be energizing anything if it’s in an atmosphere with burnable gases,” Kips said.The cause of the explosion was not immediately known. High levels of carbon monoxide were detected shortly after the explosion, which delayed rescue efforts, but those levels have since subsided（减退）, authorities said.
1. According to the passage, we can infer that ________.A. all the miners who were trapped underground were still alive
B. communication with the trapped miners was cut offC. the two rescue teams entered the mine at the same time
D. the rescue started as soon as the accident happened2. If the first team advanced at an average speed, they could dig about _______ per hour.
A. 1,000 feet B. 2,400 feet C. 1,200feet D. 4,800feet3. Where can the passage be seen?
A. In a magazine. B. In a newspaper.C. In a science book.. D. On an advertisement.
4. Which of the following shows the position where the miners were trapped?
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
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Among the more colorful characters of Leadville’s golden age were H.A.W. Tabor and his
second wife, Elizabeth McCourt, better known as "Baby Doe". Their history is fast becoming one of the legends of the Old West. Horace Austin Warner Tabor was a school teacher in Vermont. With his first wife and two children he left Vermont by covered wagon in 1855 to homestead in Kansas. Perhaps he did not find farming to his liking, or perhaps he was attracted by rumors of fortunes to be made in Colorado mines. At any rate, a few years later he moved west to the small Colorado mining camp known as California Gulch, which he later renamed Leadville when he became its leading citizen. "A large amount of lead is sure to be found here." he said.
As it turned out, it was silver, not lead, that was to make Leadville’s fortune and wealth. Tabor knew little about mining himself, so he opened a general store, which sold everything from boots to salt, flour, and tobacco. It was his custom to "grubstake" prospective（预期的） miners, in other words, to supply them with food and supplies, or"grub", while they looked for ore（矿石）, in return for which he would get a share in the mine if one was discovered. He did this for a number of years, but no one that he aided ever found anything of value.
Finally one day in the year 1878, so the story goes, two miners came in and asked for "grub". Tabor had decided to quit supplying it because he had lost too much money that way. These were persistent（坚持的）, however, and Tabor was too busy to argue with them. "Oh help yourself. One more time won’t make any difference," He said and went on selling shoes and hats to other customers. The two miners took $17 worth of supplies, in return for which they gave Tabor a one-third interest in their findings. They picked a barren place on the mountainside and began to dig. After nine days they struck a rich vein of silver. Tabor bought the shares of the other two men, and so the mine belonged to him alone. This mine, known as the "Pittsburgh Mine," made $1,300, 000 for Tabor in return for his $17 investment.
Later Tabor bought the Matchless Mine on another barren hillside just outside the town for $117,000.This turned out to be even more abundant than the Pittsburgh, producing $35 000 worth of silver per day at one time. Leadville grew. Tabor became its first mayor, and later became the governor of the state.
1. The word "grubstake" in paragraph 2 means __________ .
A. to supply miners with food and supplies
B. to open a general store
C. to do one’s contribution to the development of the mine
D. to supply miners with food and supplies and in return get a share in the mine, if one
was discovered
2. The underlying（潜在的）reason for Tabor’s successful life career is __________.
A. purely accidental
B. based on the analysis of miner’s being very poor and their possibility of discovering profitable mining site
C. through the help from his second wife
D. he planned well and accomplished targets step by step
3. If this passage is the first part of an article, who might be introduced in the following part?
A. Tabor’s life. B. Tabor’s second wife, Elizabeth McCourt.
C. Other colorful characters. D. Tabor’s other careers.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
Meanwhile, at a nearby church, more than 250 family members and friends gathered, waiting for updates（最新报道）on the rescuers’ progress.
The teams test the air about every 500 feet, and have to disconnect （remove） the power to the phones they use to communicate with the surface before doing that. “ We don’t want to be energizing anything if it’s in an atmosphere with burnable gases,” Kips said.
假如你是刘芳，你的美国笔友Bob在网上见到下面的漫画，向你询问其含义。请用英语写一封120-150词的e-mail，内容如下：1．简要描述漫画；2．解读该生放弃高考的可能原因3．谈谈你个人的观点。