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第二部分  阅读理解(共两节，满分40分)
第一节  (共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
    阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
A
    While beach vacations may be a great way to take your mind off work，lakes surrounded by mountains make for an even grander experience．If you are looking for some peace on your vacation，we have some recommendations for you in the Caucasus(高加索)．
Lake Sevan
    Lake Sevan is situated in the central part of Armenia，in the Gegharkunik province．It is the largest lake in Armenia，located 6,200ft above sea level．Along the lake shore，there are various accommodations such as resorts and hotels with plenty of activities to partake in such as windsurfing，swimming and sunbathing．While there，do not forget to visit one of the famous cultural monuments，the Sevanavank Monastery，and it offers a great view of the lake as well．
Lake Paravani
    Lake Paravani，located at 6,801ft above sea level，is in the south of Georgia，near the Javakheti plateau．At this level，altitude sickness can occur and it is a good idea to be prepared to adapt to it properly，or bring medication for altitude sickness．Being a volcanic lake makes for a more interesting experience．The lake is best known for fishing．Do not come home during the winter months when the lake freezes．
Lake Cildir
    Lake Cildir is located in the Ardahan province，East Turkey，near the borders of Georgia and Armenia．It is the second largest freshwater lake of Eastern Turkey，and many tourists are not aware of this beautiful attraction．Lake Cildir is surrounded by mountains of the Caucasus．The lake freezes during late November．If the winter is not extremely cold，you can try some lake activities like ice skating and ice fishing．
Lake Van
    Lake Van is the must visit of all lakes in this list．The largest lake in Turkey，Lake Van is located on the eastern shore of Turkey and is also the most accessible lake here．It’s situated at 5，380ft above sea level，and unique to lakes around the world，the water is high in salt content．
2 1．If you want to visit some historic sites during your travel by a lake，you can go to        .
  A．Lake Cildir    B．Lake Parvani
  C．Lake Sevan    D．Lake Van
22．What is special about Lake Van?
  A．Its water is high in salt．
  B．It is a volcanic lake．
  C．It is globally the largest lake．
  D．It is surrounded by mountains．
23．What challenge are travelers most likely to face while visiting Lake Paravani?
  A．Lack of medicine．    B．Volcano eruptions．
  C．Altitude sickness．     D．Low temperature all the year．
24．Which destinations would be attractive to a fishing lover?
  A．Lake Sevan and Lake Paravani．
  B．Lake Pravani and Lake Cildir．
  C．Lake Cildir and Lake Van．
  D．Lake Sevan and Lake Van．
B
    In the latest beauty craze(狂热)sweeping social media in China，women--and even some men--are boasting that they are paper thin，by posting photographs of their waists behind a vertical(垂直)piece of A4 paper．To qualify，the waist must be entirely hidden by the paper．A piece of A4 paper is 8．3 by ll．7 inches，roughly the size of a sheet of American letter paper．
    With the A4 Waist，the trend is attracting hundreds of photographs and thousands of comments on Weibo and other social media networks like Weixin or WeChat．Being abnormally thin is a widespread standard of beauty for women，one that has been criticized as an unhealthy ideal of female attractiveness．
    The tiny waist has a long tradition in China，going back at least to King Ling of Chu，who ruled from 540 to 529 B．C．Many in China know the passage from the Book of Han，the history of the Western Han Dynasty：“The King of Chu loved a narrow waist．Many people at court starved to death．’’
    Several commentators have found the A4 trend disturbing．In a telephone interview，He Xiaobin，senior fashion features editor at the Chinese edition of GQ magazine，said，“I find it completely stupid．Everybody has a different frame and body shape．Using a single size to define all human beings and thinking you have created a new standard is foolish．’’The A4 waist challenge annoyed him，saying that it allows certain people to gain bragging rights，while leaving others in depression．
    Luckily，some who do not qualify are turning to humor for comfort．Can they substitute a different paper size，such as A3，which is 11.7 inches across? Or measure a body part besides the waist?
25．What do we know about the latest beauty craze?
  A．Women with A4 waists are considered beauties．
  B．The love for slim waist is a new modern trend．
  C．A4 waist is an old standard of being slim in China．
  D．It is a new method to help people go on a diet．
26．According to He Xiaobin，showing A4 waist in social media is       .
  A．traditional    B．challenging
  C．disturbing    D．instructive
27．According to the last paragraph，some who don’t have A4 waists take the craze as a      .
A．1ie    B．joke    C．dream    D．target
C
    Long before the scientific world became concerned about the impacts of introducing nonnative species，a total of l00 starlings(八哥)were released in New York City’s Central Park．Eugene Schieffelin was a Shakespeare lover who wanted to bring to America as manv birds as possible mentioned by the Bard in his poems．He imported 60 starlings and released them on a March day in Central Park．A year later，he introduced an additional 40 birds．
    Within 50 years，they had spread to every state，and today they number an estimated 200 million．In San Diego County，the starling seems at home in both urban and agricultural environments，frequently feeding on the ground，where it probes lawns and fields for insects，worms and snails．
     Nesting begins in March and peaks in May when the young birds join large flocks in places like Lake Henshaw，dairy farms or Ramona Grasslands．They frequently take over the nest of other birds，and they don’t seem particular，having been observed nesting in many kinds of trees．
    In addition to competing with native species for food and nesting locations，there have been estimates that starlings cause at least MYM800 million in crop damage annually．Much of the damage they cause is the result of their concentrations．Massive flocks of birds are, though beautiful，can be destructive，even dangerous to aircraft，with more than 800 incidents reported by the Federal Aviation Administration．
    Despite their bad press，the starling is popular with bird—watchers and also the Shakespeare lovers，who often refer to the starling probably because the bird is quite an imitator．It can imitate the calls of up to 20 other species，including hawks，robins and flickers．
    Love him or hate him，Schieffelin’s release of 100 European starlings had a lasting impact in the United States．He had no idea that he also proved the famous words of Shakespeare．“What’s done cannot be undone．’’
28．What made Eugene Schieffelin introduce starlings into New York City?
  A．The descriptions in Shakespeare’s poems．
  B．The intention to protect local environment．
  C．The scientists’concern about the worsening environment．
  D．The park visitors’curiosity about a new bird species．
29．We can infer from the passage that       .
  A．the starling’s arrival has benefited the local farming
  B．bird lovers have provided them with abundant food source
  C．the starling is not so aggressive as the local bird species
  D．the starling is highly adaptable to the local environment
30．As for the local eco—system，the gathering of a large number of birds in a location can be    ．
    A．amazing    B．disastrous    C．impressive   D．disgusting
31．“What’s done cannot be undone’’at the end of the passage can be best explained as     “    ”
    A．The early bird catches the worm    B．Spilt water can’t be gathered up
    C．Time and tide wait for no man      D．Curiosity killed the cat
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