52. A. Largely B. Generally C. Gradually D. Probably

53. A. extra B. average C. total D. limited

54. A. repeatedly B. nearly C. immediately D. anxiously

55. A. According to B. In relation to C. In addition to D. Because of

第三部分 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，并在答题卡该项涂黑。

A

Tt was a village in India. The people were poor . However, they were not unhappy. After all , their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries.

Then one day, some visitors from the city arrived . They told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frog’s legs. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own, and so they wanted to buy frogs from other places.

This seemed like money for nothing . There were millions of frogs in the fields around, and they were no use to the villagers. All they had to do was catch them . Agreement was reached, and the children were sent into the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over the money. For the first time ,the people were able to dream of a better future. But the dream didn’t last long.

The change was hardly noticed at first ,but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well. More worrying was that the children fell ill more often ,and ,there seemed to be more insects around lately.

The villagers decided that they couldn’t just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak. They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides (杀虫剂)and medicines. Soon there was no money left .

Then the people realized what was happening.Tt was the frog .They hadn’t been useless. They had been doing an important job-eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed , the insects were increasing more rapidly. They were damaging the crops and spreading diseases.

Now, the people are still poor .But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs. These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning.

56. From Paragragh 1 we learn that the villagers.

A.worked very hard for centuries

B.dreamed of having a better life

C.were poor but somewhat content

D.lived a different life from their forefathers

57.Why did the villagers agree to sell frogs?

A.The frogs were easy money.

B.They needed money to buy visitors.

C.They wanted to please the visitors.

D.The frogs made too much noise.

58.What might be the cause of the children’s sickness?

A.The crops didn’t do well.

B.There were too many insects.

C.The visitors brought in diseases.

D.The pesticides were overused.

59.What can we infer from the last sentence of the text?

A.Happiness comes from peaceful life in the country.

B.Health is more important than money.

C.The harmony between man and nature is important.

D.Good old days will never be forgotten.

B

I hated dinner parties .But I decided to give them another shot because I’m in London. And my friend Mallery invited me . And because dinner parties in London are very different from those in New York, “I’m having a dinner party ” means : “I’m booking a table for 12 at a restaurant yocan’t afford ang we’ll be sharing the cheque evenly , no matter what yoeat.” Wors , in Manhattan there is always someone who leaves before the bill arrives. They’ll throw down cash, half of what they owe, and then people like me, who don’t drink, end up paying even more . But if try to use the same trick , the hostess will shout; “Where are yogoing ?” And it’s not like I can say I have somewhere to go : everyone knows I have nowhere to go.

But in London, dinner patise are in people’s homes . Not only that, the guests are an interesting mix .The last time I went to one , the guests were from France , India ,Denmark and Nigeria; it was like a gathering at the United Nations . In New York ,the mix is less striking . It’s like a gathering at Bloomingdat=le’s , a well-known de partment store.

For New Yorkers, talking ,talking about other parts of the world means Brooklyn and Queens in New Yorkers.But at Mallery’s ,when I side that I had been to Myanmar recently, peo ple knew where it was , In New Yorkers people would think it was a usual culb.

60.What does the word “shot” in Paragraph I pro baly mean?