NEW YORK— Picking a Christmas tree takes most people a few minutes, or a couple of hours if they head for the woods. Dave Murbach needs 11 months.
Almost every day of every year, Murbach’s thoughts turn to vision of a perfectly shaped evergreen tree that will take everyone's breath away.
Murbach is the man responsible for finding the towering tree that makes more attractive Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center each Christmas season.
“I'm always looking for a tree,” the center's chief gardener says. “I look for it even when I go to the beach in the summer. It' s like a homework assignment hanging over your head.”
And if he gets it wrong, there's nothing hiding it.
“Every day it's up, 400,000 people go by, and 2.5 million people watch the lighting celebration on television,”he says.
This year’s tree, a 74-foot Nomy spruce (云杉) from Richfield, Ohio, flown to New York on the world's largest cargo plane, was lighted on December 2.
The arrival of the tree leads in the Christmas season in New York — a tradition dating back to 1931, when the workers building Rockefeller Center put up a small tree with ornaments (裝飾品).
The search for the next year's tree starts soon after the old tree is chopped up for wood chips and horse-jumping logs.
Murbach has three standards: The tree must be at least 65 feet high, at least 35 feet across and leaves dense (密集的) enough not to see through.
That's not as simple as it sounds. Though forests are full of evergreens, few get enough sunlight or space to fill out. And branches in snow regions often break under the weight, making trees unbalanced.
Back at the office, he sorts through hundreds of letters from people offering their trees, many addressed simply to “Mr. Christmas Tree Man.”
Though there was occasional anxiety attack and sleepless night, Murbach knows the effect the tree has on people: “It's for bringing people together, attempting to bring together people you love. That's what I hope it sets off.” But Murbach says he's always too worn out to celebrate Christmas.
1. Which is the correct order of the events in the passage?
a. Murbach’s thoughts turn to a perfectly shaped tree.
b. 2.5 million people watch the Christmas tree.
c. The tree is flown to New York.
d. It was lighted on December 2.
e. The tree is chopped up.
f. Murbach searches for the tree.
A. a, b, c, d, e, f B. c, d, b, f, e, a
C. c, d, e, b, a, f D. a, f, c, d, b, e
2. Murbach spends a lot of time that are exhibited in Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center each Christmas season.
A. taking care of Christmas trees
B. deciding on the perfect evergreens
C. sorting the letters from people
D. deciding the TV programs
3. Why does Murbach take his job seriously?
A. Because he wants everyone to be happy with his choice.
B. Because he hopes to make everybody unable to breathe.
C. Because he enjoys showing off.
D. Because he wishes to attract people's attention to himself.
4. According to Murbach' s standard of trees, the best tree must_______ .
A. be evergreen
B. have lots of space between their branches
C. be tall enough not to see through
D. be equally balanced
5. What kind of person do you think Murbach is?
A. A person always ignoring his family.
B. A person full of love.
C. A person devoted to his work.
D. A person with great anxiety.
1.D
2.B
3.A
4.D
5.C
【解析】
試題分析：本文敘述了Murbach對(duì)于工作的認(rèn)真的態(tài)度，他為了曼哈頓的洛克菲勒中心展覽的常青樹，他花費(fèi)了11個(gè)月的時(shí)間來(lái)尋找。他想要每一個(gè)人都對(duì)他的選擇滿意。
1.細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第二段Almost every day of every year, Murbach’s thoughts turn to vision of a perfectly shaped evergreen tree that will take everyone's breath away.可知應(yīng)選a,故排除BC；根據(jù)第三段Murbach is the man responsible for finding the towering tree他去尋找樹，應(yīng)該排除A，故選D。
2.細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)Dave Murbach needs 11 months. Murbach花費(fèi)了很長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間挑選常青樹，故選B。
3.細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)Murbach’s thoughts turn to vision of a perfectly shaped evergreen tree that will take everyone's breath away.他希望每個(gè)人都滿意他的選擇，故選A。
4.細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)And branches in snow regions often break under the weight, making trees unbalanced.
最好的樹就是均衡發(fā)展，故選D。
5.細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)短文的內(nèi)容可知Murbach 對(duì)工作很忠誠(chéng)的，故選C。
考點(diǎn)：故事類短文閱讀。
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第二部分：閱讀理解（共25小題。第一節(jié)每小題2分，第二節(jié)每小題1分；滿分45分）
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A
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“China is a job market,” said Professor Chou, professor of East Asian Studies at Princeton University. “Twenty years ago, only those interested in Chinese literature would study Chinese language. Now all professors have opened up.”
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A. more American students’ seeking higher education in China
B. the pace of change in China during the past few years
C. founding a research organization based in New York
D. expending and transforming its higher educational facilities
43.What is the main idea of this text?
A. American Students are looking for destination.
B. American students are interested in Chinese culture.
C. Britain continues to be the leading destination.
D. China grows as study hotspot for U.S. students.
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The elevators (電梯) at Seven World Trade Center, which is under construction in New York, use a system that groups people traveling to nearby floors into the same elevator, thus saving elevator stops. People who work in the building will enter it by swiping (刷) ID cards that will tell the elevators their floor, readouts will then tell them which elevator to use. The building also has windows with a coating that blocks heat while letting in light.
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| A．“Green roofs” that cool or heat buildings |
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Good Genes Mean Long Life
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| D．The study suggested that most people have genes that could lengthen their lives. |
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| B．modern science will be able to find more longevity genes |
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| D．scientists can make new genes that will allow longer life |
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| A．money is not as valuable as it was in the past |
| B．changes have taken place in both the appearance and the concept of banks |
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As the world watched the twin towers of the World Trade Center come under attack, a common phrase was repeated:” It looks like a movie.”
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【小題1】What is the main subject of the newspaper article?
| A．The relationship between the Sept. 11 attack and Hollywood films. |
| B．The effect of the Sept. 11 attack and Hollywood films. |
| C．The response Hollywood made to the Sept. 11 attack. |
| D．The result of Hollywood films showing violence and disasters. |
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| B．Hollywood stopped making films showing terrorism and disasters after the Sept. 11 attack. |
| C．“Swordfish” was not allowed to be shown after the Sept. 11 attack. |
| D．The World Trade Center was destroyed because no superman came to save I t. |
| A．Hollywood is a film making center making films of violence and disasters. |
| B．too many Hollywood films showing terrorism and disasters resulted in the Sept. 11 attack. |
| C．people who were used to the Hollywood films were not shocked at the Sept. 11 attack. |
| D．in fact, the Sept. 11 attack had nothing to do with Hollywood films. |
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