第三部分 阅读理解

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，判断所给句子的正误或选出最佳选项，并用铅笔把答题卡上对应题号的答案标号涂黑。

A

500 years ago, potatoes grew in South America. They were an important food for the people there. In other places of the world, people didn‟t know about potatoes.

The Spanish went to South America in the 1500s. They learned of potatoes and took some back to Spain. By 1570, white potatoes were growing in some places of Spain.

From Spain, the potato traveled to France. In France, people were afraid to eat this new vegetable. They thought it was not good for their health. The king of France wanted the French people to eat potatoes. He even gave them to people at his palace. But for many years, the French still didn‟t like to eat potatoes.

In 1586, an Englishman Sir Francis was in South America. There he picked up some potatoes and took them back for his animals.

From England, the potato traveled to Ireland (爱尔兰). The potato grew well in Ireland, and soon it became an important food for the people there.

In the early 1700s, Irish people brought the potato to North America. By 1750, many people in North America were growing and eating potatoes.

根据短文内容，判断以下句子的正（A）误（B）。

( )46. People in other places of the world knew little about potatoes 500 years ago.

( )47. The Spanish grew potatoes before 1570.

( )48. The French didn‟t like eating potatoes at first.

( )49. The potato traveled to Ireland from France.

( )50. The people in North America have grown potatoes for more than 250 years.

B

Deserts do not stay the same size. Sometimes they grow bigger. Sometimes they get smaller. The world‟s biggest dessert, the Sahara, is in Africa. Right now, the Sahara desert is growing fast.

Why is the Sahara growing? In some places, people farm too much. In other places, animals eat all the grass. Or, people cut down the trees. This makes the soil weak. Weak soil lets the desert grow.

Why is it a problem? People can not grow food in the desert. People can not build houses, hospitals, or schools in the desert. So, people must leave their homes. They must live somewhere else.

What can people do? They can plant trees. They can also farm less. These things make the soil stronger. Maybe the Sahara will stop growing. It‟s a big problem. Many people must work together to solve it.

( )51. The Sahara is growing. Which of these things is not a reason？

A. Building homes

B. Farming too much

C. Cutting down trees.

( )52. What do we know about deserts?

A. Their size never changes.

B. They are caused by people.

C. They can make trouble for people.

( )53. Planting trees can __________.

A. make the soil weaker

B. help people farm less

C. be good for the soil

( )54. Stopping the growing desert ___________.

A. is easy

B. needs a lot of people

C. is not a big problem ( )55. Which of the following is true?

A. Deserts always stay the same size.

B. the world‟s biggest dessert is in Asia.

C. We should plant more trees to make the soil stronger.

C

Dick was born in a poor family. His father had a small boat and went fishing in the morning and sold the fish in the market in the afternoon. Then he bought some food for his family. When winter came, they were often hungry. One morning the hungry man fell into the river and wasn‟t found. Dick‟s mother left her three-year-old son without saying good-bye. His aunt had to look after him.

Twenty years passed. Dick became a tall, strong man. He found work in a farm. He worked hard and wanted to get more money. He often went to see his aunt with some nice presents. The woman was very happy but one day she died in a traffic accident. The young man was very sad. After he buried her, he decided to buy a beautiful tombstone for her. He went to town and came in a shop, but all the tombstones were too expensive. He asked, “Do you sell an old tombstone, sir?” “Yes, we do, sir,” answered the shopkeeper. “Is it as expensive as the new one?”

“No, it‟s much cheaper,” said the man. “But another name was engraved (刻) on it.” “It doesn‟t matter,” said Dick. “My aunt couldn‟t read.”

( ) 56. As _______, the family were hungry.

A. Dick‟s father could catch little fish in winter

B. Dick‟s father was often ill in winter

C. Dick‟s father had to look after him in winter

D. no food was sold in winter

( )57. The woman had to look after Dick because _________.

A. she was his aunt

B. his father died

C. she was kind-hearted

D. the boy loved her

( )58. Dick wanted to get more money to _________.

A. marry a wife

B. give his aunt nice presents

C. buy a farm

D. build a house

（）59. Dick often went to see his aunt because _________.

A. she felt lonely

B. she was often ill