II 閱讀(共兩節(jié)，滿分50分)

第—節(jié)閱讀理解(共20小題；每小題2分，滿分40分)

閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的A、B、C和D項(xiàng)中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)，并在答題卡上將該項(xiàng)涂黑。

A.

Every one of the gymnasts who went to NationalQualifiers(國家冠軍賽資格賽)showedup with that goal in mind. Everyone gave it their all.

And I hate admitting it, but I was anexception. I did not do my best. Not for the ribbon exercise, not for the clubexercise. Knowing that I could have reached a little further to catch myribbon, focused a little more so the stick wouldn’t slip through my fingers,tried a little harder to clean up those errors, but I didn’t, still bothers me.

   After my disappointing competition, I tried my bestto keep my eyes dry. But soon tears burned the edges of my eyes, and as Iblinked, the first tear rolled down my cheek. Even though I angrily wiped mytears away before she looked at me, the evidence of my self-pity sessionpresented itself clearly in the form of dirty makeup and reddened eyes.

My mom hated to see me cry, especiallybecause I had no right or reason to. I had messed up—that wasn’t anyone’s faultbut mine—and crying wouldn’t help at all. “Why are you crying, Amanda?” sheasked, perhaps more pointedly(尖刻地)than intended, but I heard the concern in her voice. Unable to form all theemotions into words, I just looked away and avoided her questions.

“Tell me now why you’re crying.” Her voicethis time wasn’t as gentle as it was before; it was filled with frustration andimpatience. “Why are you crying?” she whispered again, but this time her voicewas shaky and flooded with pain. This was the first time I’d ever seen my momcry; my mom, who was always so strong and was there to encourage me through theroughest times, was now crying, and I was the reason for it. Finding my voice,I tentatively(嘗試性地) asked, “Why areyou crying?”

She looked at me and answered exactly what Iwas afraid to hear, “I hate to see you hurting yourself.” So it was my fault. Ihad put those tears in her eyes. I had filled her with pain, with helplessnessand with sadness.

I’ll never forget her pained expression. Itforced me to realize how shortsighted and close-minded I’d been. I decided thatno matter what, I will never lose myself to regret.

26. Why did Amanda feel regret after the competition?

   A. Because she wasn’t admitted to the club.

   B. Because she dropped her ribbon suddenly.

   C. Because she broke the rule of the competition.

   D. Because she didn’t try her best to compete.

27. What did Amanda try to hide on the way back?

   A. Her silenttears.         B. Thedisappointing scores.

   C. Her dirtymakeup.       D. The evidence of failure.

28. Which words reflect the change of the mother’s emotions?

   A. Painful—impatient—concerned.    B.Concerned—frustrated—painful.

   C. Satisfied—painful—frustrated.      D.Frustrated—angry—painful.

29. What did Amanda determine to do?

   A. Never cry in face of hermom.      B. Never compete as a gymnast.

   C. Never involve herself inself-pity.   D. Never make up before games.

30. The best title of the passage is probably “_________”.

   A. My painful experience as a gymnast  

B. The tears I wiped away for my mother

   C. The fiercest competition I lost

   D. The worst thing I ever felt: regret

B

Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge’snew son will be named George Alexander Louis, the royal family says. Astatement from William and Catherine’s settlement Kensington Palace said thebaby, third in line to the throne(王位), would be known as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge.

On Wednesday the royal couple took their sonto Catherine’s parents’ house in Berkshire,following a half-hour visit by the Queen. All three names had been among thefavourites listed by British bookmakers and the announcement was relativelyquick by royal standards. It took a month for the name of Prince Charles, theheir to the throne, to be announced, and a week for  William, hiseldest son.

George has been the name of six British kings.The last, George VI, was the father of Queen Elizabeth II and reigned from1936 to 1952. Alexandra, the female form of Alexander, is one of the Queen’smiddle names and was also the name of the Queen mate of King Edward VII at thestart of the last century. Louis is one of William’s middle names and was thegiven name of Prince Charles’s tutor and great-uncle Louis Mountbatten, who wasmurdered by the IRA in 1979.

The choice of name, relatively short by royalstandards, does not necessarily mean the baby will eventually become KingGeorge VII. The Queen’s father was named Albert, but chose to be crowned asGeorge VI.

“It’s interesting that they chose to go withjust three names,” historian Suzannah Lipscomb told Sky News. “It’s almost asif the royal family is coming down with ordinary people, who tend to have fewermiddle names than monarchs(君主).It is a name that none can find any problems with. George itself can’t beshortened in any obvious offensive way. They’ve probably gone for somethingthat is safe.”

31. Which of the following statements can best sum up the passage ?

A. New royal baby was named George AlexanderLouis

B. The royal couple gave birth to theireldest son.

C. The choice of name was interesting andcomplicated.

D. The new baby was the third in line to thethrone .

32. From the passage we can know the father of the new royal baby is ____.

A.Catherine        BGeorge.         C.Charles          D. William

33. Which of the following is True based on the whole passage ?

A. Prince Charles was the third heir to theBritish throne.

B. George Alexander Louis was the third heirto the British throne.

C. The announcement of the new loyal baby’sname is slow by royal standards.

D. All three names, George Alexander Louis,were unpopular with British bookmakers.

34. The underlined word “reign” in paragraph 3 probably refers to ______

A.resign         B.boom         C.govern        D. retire

35. From what Suzannah Lipscomb told Sky News, we can infer in Britain _____

A. the name of an ordinary person is simplebut meaningful.

B. George itself can't be simplified in anyobvious offensive way.

C. a monarch or a prince has usually morenames in the middle than the ordinary people.

D. a person with more middle names must be amonarch or a prince .