49 , because he knew Maggie would never be able to say 50 . So when his hoof had finally healed, Mr. Dotson came home early one afternoon to set him free. 31. A. asked
B. advised
C. told
D. meant D. freed 32. A. lost B. injured C. escaped
33. A. weak 34. A. threatened 35. A. Before 36. A. gently 37. A. house 38. A. row 39. A. stole
40. A. absorbed 41. A. ingredient 42. A. freezing 43. A. could 44. A. turned up
45. A. persistence 46. A. appetite 47. A. except
B. sick B. scratched B. Since B. slightly
B. garage
B. mouthful B. grabbed B. engaged
B. label B. warm B. would B. turned on B. recognition B. security
B. without
C. tired C. witnessed C. While
C. toughly
C. woods
C. handful C. threw
C. satisfied
C. restriction C. hot
C. should
C. turned off C. sequence
C. awareness
D. frightened D. approached D. As D. voluntarily D. backyard D. basket D. kept D. interested D. bandage D. normal D. might
D. turned out
D. sacrifice D. trust D. until
C. after 48. A. beauty 49. A. therefore 50. A. goodbye
B. bridge
B. thus
C. bond D. bitterness
C. still D. though
D. apology
B. good night C. hello
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，从每篇短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
I vividly remember walking back to my house after collecting the afternoon mails. I saw a credit card statement, another credit card statement and our bank statements. I was in that moment that I felt a deep tension.
I realized that even though I had married a man who I absolutely loved and adored, I really didn’t have a clear sense of how he handled money and how the two of us were going to combine our different approaches to handling money in our marriage. I was more organized and detailed, but he was more of a laid-back type. I knew that getting on the same financial page was a key factor in creating a successful marriage and financial future.
I asked my husband if he would be willing to set up a time each week to talk about our finances and develop a plan for getting rid of our credit card debt. My husband said he would be willing to do this. Admittedly, he was skeptical — but willing.
We came to refer to our weekly meetings as our Financial Dates. We didn’t really have a clue as to what we were doing. All we knew was that we needed to give our finances serious attention. Some Dates were filled with tense conversations. Other Dates were filled with laughter, joy and creativity. However, we kept showing up for our Dates and we never gave up. What started out as a means for survival became a powerful connecting thread in our relationship. Something shifted within us.
Instead of our finances becoming a source of divisive tension that pulled us apart, they became the glue that held us together as we became a unified team.
I still recall the day that we excitedly crossed off our last credit card payment on the chart we had created. We had finally arrived. We were free. We had been given wings to fly.
Now, whenever I feel huge stress I ask myself, ―How am I contributing to what is happening
right now?‖ This gives me the ultimate power to take action. Even though my husband and I don’t have any guarantee against future challenges, I am left with something deep within that is unshakable and that can never be taken away — the memory of our past successes and the power to integrate (整合) these lessons in my day-to-day life.
51. Why did the author feel nervous when collecting the afternoon mails? A. She was not sure about her marriage. B. She didn’t know how to handle money. C. She could feel the pressure of the huge debt. D. She was reminded of the quarrels in the family.
52. Which word can replace the underlined word ―laid-back‖ in the second paragraph? A. relaxed. B. skeptical. C. lazy. D. confident. 53. What can we learn from the Financial Dates? A. They showed the couple clear direction at first. B. They left the couple nothing but deep sadness. C. They were once interrupted but quickly continued. D. They strengthened the couple’s relationship at last.
54. We can infer that when faced with stress the author will _______. A. try to change the situation C. get power from the memory
B
There are roughly 55 million single women in the US, many of them fashionable, sexy and smart, with their finger on the pulse of life. But when that certain finger is ringless, even the most self-confident finger fears the shame and blame of disappointed family during a visit home. The holidays are known to cause stress to scores of single women in the pains of ―The Panic Years‖, who call the annual visit-and-interrogation (审讯) the ―Thanksgiving Third Degree‖. Now some women have admitted to buying fake, cheap ―engagement rings‖ just to prevent parents and other overly-critical family members from delivering ridicule and judgment over their single status.
It may sound like a slippery slope towards avoidance issues and other psychological problems, but if it quiets them long enough without you getting questioned about why your boyfriend of three
B. focus on what contributes to it D. feel free to do what she likes
years hasn’t proposed yet, it could be well worth the $30 investment. Sometimes it’s completely soul-pressing when you come home for the holidays empty-handed—literally (准确地)—watching your family members’ faces show disappointment that you’re back another year without any engagement ring.
Heather, a 31-year-old lawyer from New York, was well on her way to being both unhitched and unhinged(神经错乱), thanks to her mother’s persistent request about marriage. She feared that the constant blaming could destroy not just her own wise judgment, but threaten her long-time relationship with her boyfriend, Tony, who was regularly interrogated about his intentions from his would-be mother-in-law. Well aware that showing up without a ring for the holidays would ruin the mood of the entire weekend, she became very resourceful.
―I got a fake ring for $30 just to shut her up,‖ she said. ―It actually worked and it turned into a really great visit!‖ Just three months later, Heather had a real ring to show off. Tony proposed on their own timetable on Valentine’s Day and her mother was never the wiser. 55. From the passage some single women buy fake rings _______. A. to keep away from blame from parents B. to save money for their future marriage C. being vain to show their beautiful fingers D. to check how others evaluate them
56. Some single women fear their holidays because _______. A. they can’t find suitable partners
B. their parents aren’t satisfied with their casual attitude C. their parents blame them for just not wearing rings D. they will be questioned for being single 57. What caused Heather to be resourceful?
A. Not wanting to spend stressful weekends home. B. Thinking of how to make weekends meaningful. C. Having many resources to enjoy the weekends. D. Getting help from her parents on weekends.
58. What can be implied from ― it turned into a really great visit‖? A. Heather wasn’t afraid of visiting her parents.
B. Heather managed to make her parents happy. C. Heather found visiting her parents more enjoyable. D. Heather wore a fake ring confirming her engagement.
C
It’s clear that with unprecedented (空前的) pressure on our natural resources and our climate, the world economy needs to ―green up‖. The shift to a green economy represents one of the biggest business opportunities in decades. Already, the global low-carbon market is worth more than ￡3 trillion, and is set to reach ￡4 trillion by 2015 as more economies invest in low-carbon technologies.
And we need to focus on green growth because the price of inaction is too high. Business is constantly looking for ways to become more efficient and the competitive gains for British companies’ efficient use of resources such as water, energy and materials are enormous, with potential savings of about ￡23 billion a year. We do not underestimate the challenges that we face in moving to a green economy. We often take our natural resources for granted but these are not inexhaustible, and demand is increasing. This is an economic issue, it’s a development issue, and it requires global action.
Next month, I’m joining leaders in business, government and civil society from all over the world at the Rio+ 20 Earth Summit in Brazil. I’ll be calling for an absolute commitment from my international colleagues to inclusive (广泛的) green growth as the path to shared prosperity. Governments need to create the framework for the private sector（部门）to act. We want an agreement to develop sustainable development goals that meet the linked challenges of food, energy and water security.
At home, we’re providing support to companies that are changing the way they do business. Our Green Economy Council brings together government, businesses and the third sector to help us create the right way to enable action from everyone — from government, businesses and consumers. We in the government want to create an effective basis for the green economy, with policies that are helping growth and giving businesses the certainty to plan and invest.
A strong green economy will generate the investment and innovation (创新) to transform our products and services and capture new markets, though the case for green investment and green growth is compelling (有吸引力的), as we rebuild the British economy. To my mind, there is no