C

　　Reading, unlike speaking, is a young activity to some degree. Humans have been speaking in some form for hundreds of thousands of years; we are born with the ability to acquire speech. The earliest writing, however, came only 6,000 years ago, and every act of reading remains a version of what my son is learning: identifying letters and words, use much the same of brain as we use to identify trees, cars, animals and telephone boxes.

　　It’s not only letters and words that we process as objects. Texts themselves, so far as our brain is concerned, are physical landscapes. So it is not surprising that we respond differently to words printed on a page compared to words appearing on a screen.

For her new book, Words Onscreen: The Fate Of Reading in a Digital World, professor Naomi Baron conducted a survey of reading preference among over 300 universities across the world. When given a choice between media ranging from printouts to smart phones, laptops, desktops and e-readers, 92% of the respondents replied that it was hard copy that best allowed them to concentrate.

　　This isn’t a result likely to surprise many editors, or anyone else who works closely with text. While writing this article, I gathered my thoughts through a version of the same principle: having collected and checked my notes onscreen, I printed said notes, wrote all over the resulting printout, argued with myself in the margins, placed marks next to key points and then draw my own clear conclusion.

　　Across three experiments in 2013, researchers Pam Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer compared the effectiveness of students taking hand-notes versus typing onto laptops. Their conclusion: the relative slowness of writing by hand demands heavier mental lifting, forcing students to sum up rather than to quote, therefore tending to increase the students ability of understanding, applying, and memorizing.

　　In other words, reading from paper is good—at least as far as the brain is concerned. Moreover, the handwriting itself can be significant. In a 2012 study at Indiana University, professor Karin James tested five-year-old children who didn’t know how to read or write by asking them to reproduce a letter or a shape in one of the three ways: typed on to the computer, drawn on a blank sheet, or copied over dotted lines. When the children were drawing freehand, their brain had the similar activities to adults’ reading and writing. The other two methods showed no such brain activities. Similar effects have been found in other tests, suggesting not only a close link between reading and writing, but that the experience of reading itself differs between letters learned through handwriting and those learned through typing. A conclusion was drawn that handwriting tends to lift up our brain more than the placeless, weightless scrolling of words on screen.

　　However, there is also a scientific recognition that many of the screen’s advantages—search, boundless and bottomless capacity, links and leaps and seamless navigation—are either unhelpful or destructive when it comes to certain kinds of reading and writing.

　　Above all, it seems to me, we must give up the concept that there is only one way of reading, or that technology and paper can never be put together. We’re lucky enough to have more opportunities to make our choice.

　　50. What does the writer probably mean by saying “Reading is a young activity” in Paragraph 1?

　　A. Reading is an activity for children

　　B. Reading develops your brain into being young

　　C. Reading came into being just recently

　　D. Reading was applied by humans later than speaking

　　51. According to the passage, reading from paper does not mean reading from ________.

　　A. hard copy B. printouts C. iPhone D. journals

　　52. Reading from paper is more helpful for concentrating because ________.

　　A. it is a young activity to a degree B. it involves more brain activities than its opponents

　　C. it demands more physical lifting D. it has boundless and bottomless search capacity

　　53. The 2012 study at Indiana in Paragraph 6 was intended to ________.

　　A. deny the three experiments by Pam Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer

　　B. offer a more convincing evidence of the writer’s point of view

　　C. show how powerful our children’s reading capacity can be

　　D. echo or support the survey conducted by professor Naomi Baron

　　54. The writer’s attitude towards handwriting can be best described as ________.

　　A. tolerant B. negative C. neutral D. positive

　　D

　　She was working on some history essay. Her books were open on the desk, and she had an A4 pad there and some pencils ready for taking notes.

　　As I watched, she sat back on her chair, and she took up her history book. But much as she tried to read it, and much as she tried to concentrate, her eyes kept glancing up at those old photographs. There were a photograph of me on my own and a photograph of the two of us together. There was also a photo of when Eggy was small and when I was only a baby—maybe I had even just been born. And she was holding me, with Dad’s help, while Mom looked on, rather nervously, as if worried that Eggy might drop me on my head. Then there were photos of her and me, both of us getting bigger and older. And she was always three years ahead of me, always my big sister, and I was always her naughty little brother, driving her nuts and getting her on her nerves.

　　There was a photograph of all of us too, of me and Eggy and Mum and Dad, all standing there together, smiling at the new camera.

　　There I was. And there we were. And nothing would ever bring us back or make us whole again. I felt so sad again—but I wouldn’t give in to it. I was on a mission, like they say, and I had to see it through. I had to settle the unfinished business. I had to forgive and be forgiven. I couldn’t let Eggy go through the rest of her life remembering those last words she’d ever said to me, just before I stormed out to get run over by a truck.

　　“You’ll be sorry one day when I am dead!” I said to her.

　　“No, I won’t be!” she’d shouted after me, “I’ll be glad!”

　　And then I’d never come back.

　　“Eggy,” I said, “Eggy, it’s Harry. I am here, right by you. Right here. But don’t be afraid. It’s OK, Eggy, I am a ghost now, that’s all. But it’s OK, it’s nothing to be frightened of. I am not going to haunt you for ever. I just came back to work things out with you, to say I am sorry. Can you hear me, Eggy? Do you know I am here?” But she looked back down at her history book, reached out and turned a page over. And she didn’t know that I was standing right behind her, so close that I could reach out and touch her.

“I am touching your shoulder, Eggy. Can you feel my hand? Can you? It’s me, Harry. Don’t be afraid. I am just touching your shoulder, that’s all.”

　　But she went on reading the history book, and then paused, and took up one of the pencils, and made a few notes about Henry the Eighth and all the wives he once had and why he had them.

　　“Eggy, —it’s me.”

　　“Eggy…”

　　Nothing.

　　She looked up from her book, daydreaming maybe, like you do in the middle of your homework. Her eyes fell on the photos of her and me at my fourth birthday party. My getting ready to blow out all the candles. Her getting ready to help me in case I ran out of air.

　　“Oh, Harry,” she said. “Oh, Harry.” And she reached out and touched the photo, just like it was flesh and blood but not just____________.

　　I saw the pencil on the desk. I remembered the leaf on the tree, Jelly’s Parker, and Arthur with the fruit machine. I could do it. I knew I could. I had to. I focused my thoughts on the pencil, all of them, every part of me. I tried to shine my thoughts upon it as if they were the beam of a torch.

　　“Please,” I thought, “please, please, please…”

　　55. How many photographs do you think there are on Eggy’s desk at least?

　　A. 4 B. 5 C. 6 D. 7

　　56. The unfinished business mentioned in Paragraph 4 probably means ______.

　　A. having more photos taken with Eggy B. expressing his being sorry to Eggy

　　C. saying good-bye to Eggy D. returning the school things to Eggy

　　57. Which of the following ways of writing impresses you most in the story?

　　A. Giving a definition B. Giving an example

　　C. Repeated words D. Making a comparison

　　58. Which of the following can be put in the blank in the story?

　　A. paper and chemicals B. tears and laughter C. life and death D. trial and error

　　59. It can be inferred from the passage that at the end of the story Harry probably will_______.

　　A. “write” something B. “take away” the pencil

　　C. “steal” the pencil D. “break off” the pencil angrily

　　60. What might be the best title for the passage?

　　A. A Trustworthy Brother B. An Unforgettable Accident

　　C. A Regular Guest D. A Special Mission

　　第二節(jié)：下面文章中有5個(gè)段落需要添加小標(biāo)題(第61～65題)。請(qǐng)從以下選項(xiàng)(A、B、C、D、E和F)中選出適合各段落的小標(biāo)題，并在答題紙上將相應(yīng)選項(xiàng)的標(biāo)號(hào)涂黑。選項(xiàng)中有一項(xiàng)是多余選項(xiàng)。

　　A. Enjoy meeting new people.

　　B. Live in the moment.

　　C. Expect the unexpected.

　　D. Appreciate the life you have.

　　E. Relax and Have Fun.

　　F. Respect other cultures.

　　Traveling has many benefits. It’s no wonder that so many people love to travel and some even consider traveling as part of their routine lifestyle. Perhaps the reasons for people from all walks of life, both old and young, enjoying traveling are as follows:

　　61. __________ You never know what is going to happen when you are traveling. When you are an inexperienced traveler, you are immediately thrown into a situation where you do not always know what to do. It’s easy to become anxious when you don’t know what is coming up next, but just be patient and let things unfold. Flights will be delayed, or you might not know where your next meal is coming from. Be prepared financially for unexpected things, because you will probably spend more money than you planned on.

　　62. __________ Experienced travelers learn very quickly to adapt to new situations and environments. It may be easy to forget that you are there to relax and enjoy yourself. Relaxation is one of the top benefits of travel. Just enjoy wherever you are, and take things in as they happen. You will learn unexpected things that way. So, you might as well relax wherever you are, and have a good time, especially when things do not go as planned.

　　63. __________ Being in new countries and around strangers all the time can be stressful and make you uncomfortable. But you should have faith that most people you meet will be pleasant to deal with. Your attitude is the most important thing when you meet new people. You may not be able to understand them, but you will gain the most if you just show them respect as human beings. Learn how to enjoy being around new people and don’t be afraid to talk to them.

　　64. __________ Most people are used to doing the same routine in their lives. We get used to our jobs, our friends, and our usual places that we go for fun. Traveling takes you away from all that but it makes you feel more alive. You learn to trust your instincts in a new situation and allow yourself to just appreciate each moment for what it is. You see things you have never seen before. When you learn to be in the moment of right now, you are more aware of everything going on around you.

　　65. __________ When you travel outside of your world, you will notice right away the cultural differences. People might dress differently. They might communicate in a language you don’t know and their lives may appear to be so unfamiliar to you. Here you learn to respect who people are. You see them and acknowledge that they live in a world apart from you. It makes you think about the world on a bigger scale. It makes you more aware of some of the ways that other people struggle in their lives.

　　非選擇題部分(共40分)

　　第三部分：寫作(共兩節(jié)，滿分40分)

　　第一節(jié): 短文改錯(cuò)(共10小題;每小題1分，滿分10分)

　　下面短文中共有10處語言錯(cuò)誤。請(qǐng)?jiān)谟绣e(cuò)誤的地方增加、刪除或修改某個(gè)單詞。

　　增加：在缺詞處增加一個(gè)漏字符號(hào)(∧)，并在其下面寫出該加的詞。

　　刪除：把多余的詞用斜線(\)劃掉。

　　修改：在錯(cuò)的詞下劃一橫線，并在該詞下面寫出修改后的詞。

　　注意：1. 每處錯(cuò)誤及其修改均僅限一詞;

　　2. 只允許修改10處，多者(從第11處起)不計(jì)分。

On the first day of her new job, Alice arrived in a quarter to nine. She took the lift to the eleventh floor, and the secretary showed her where her desk and her computer was. She talked to the man seating near her, but he was not friendly. Then, a boss came in, giving her a pile of report. To her surprise，he was not the man had interviewed her. He introduced him as Tim. She tried to finish the work that day, so everything was confusing. After work, she left the office and returned back to the lift. On the tenth floor, she met John, who had interviewed her. “Alice, I thought you were starting with us this morning.’’ He said. “My god!” she sudden realized，“I was in the right office all day!”

　　第二節(jié)：書面表達(dá) (滿分30分)

　　你報(bào)名參加了你校的英語演講比賽，你抽到的演講主題是：A problem is a chance for you to do your best.請(qǐng)按下列要求用英語準(zhǔn)備一篇詞數(shù)為120左右的演講稿。

　　要求：1. 談?wù)勀銓?duì)這句話的理解。

　　2. 用一個(gè)具體事例說明你的觀點(diǎn)。

　　注意：開頭、結(jié)尾已經(jīng)寫好，不計(jì)入字?jǐn)?shù).

　　Good morning, everyone! It’s my great honor to give you a speech. My topic today is “ A problem is a chance for you to do your best.”

　　That’s all! Thank you for listening!

　　參考答案

　　一 、單項(xiàng)填空(共20小題;每小題0.5分，滿分10分)

　　1—5 CABBA 6—10 DDCBD 11—15 ABCAC 16—20 CDADC

　　二、 完形填空(共20小題;每小題1分，滿分20分)

　　21—25 ABDBC 26—30ADCCA 31—35 AADBD 36—40 BACBC

　　三、 閱讀理解(第一節(jié)20小題，第二節(jié)5小題;每小題2分，滿分50分)

　　41—45 BCADC 46—49 CADB 50—54 DCBBD 55—60 DBCAAD

　　61—65 CEABF

　　四、 短文改錯(cuò)(共10小題;每小題1分，滿分10分)

　　

　　五、書面表達(dá)

　　Life is a mystery and we will never know what is in store for us. But one thing is for sure: it’s inevitable to meet and conquer problems. For us, my fellows, it’s problems encountered that give us the chance to grow and to learn.

Making a speech used to be a big problem for me. With strong accent and terrible pronunciation, I used to fail in speech competitions for numerous times. In spite of this, I didn’t hold back! On the contrary, I consider it a best chance for me to do my best to improve myself. I recorded my speech, listened to it and corrected my pronunciation. Solution found and problems settled, I’m now full of confidence to stand here to address my best speech to you all!

　　My dear friends, don’t be tired of problems, but make advantage of them to be the best of ourselves!