第二部分：阅读理解（第一节20小题，第二节5小题；每小题2分，满分50分）
第一节：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， 并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。
A
When you are little, the whole world feels like a big playground. I was living in Conyers, Georgia the summer it all happened. I was a second grader, but my best friend Stephanie was only in the first grade. Both of our parents were at work and most of the time they let us go our own way.

It was a hot afternoon and we decided to have an adventure in Stephanie's basement. As I opened the basement door, before us lay the biggest room, full of amazing things like guns, dolls, and old clothes. I ran downstairs, and spotted red steel can. It was paint. I looked beyond it and there lay even more paint in bright colors like purple, orange, blue and green.

"Stephanie, I just found us a project for the day. Get some paintbrushes. We are fixing to paint. "She screamed with excitement as I told her of my secret plans and immediately we got to work. We gathered all the brushes we could find and moved all of our materials to my yard. There on the road in front of my house, we painted bit stripes (条纹) of colors across the pavement (人行道). Stripe by stripe, our colors turned into a beautiful rainbow. It was fantastic!

The sun was starting to sink. I saw a car in the distance and jumped up as I recognized the car. It was my mother. I couldn't wait to show her my masterpiece. The car pulled slowly into the driveway and from the look on my mother's face, I could tell that I was in deep trouble.

My mother shut the car door and walked towards me. Her eyes glaring, she shouted, "What in the world were you thinking? I understood when you made castles out of leaves, and climbed the neighbors' trees, but this! Come inside right now!" I stood there glaring hack at her for a minute, angry because she had insulted (侮辱) my art.

"Now go clean it up!" Mother and I began cleaning the road. Tears ran down my cheeks as I saw my beautiful rainbow turn into black cement.

Though years have now passed, I still wonder where my rainbow has gone. I wonder if, maybe when I get older, I can find my rainbow and never have to brush it away. I guess we all need sort of rainbow to brighten our lives from time to time and to keep our hopes and dreams colorful.

41.What did the writer want to do when his mother came home?
A.To introduce Stephanie to her.
B.To prevent her from seeing his painting.
C.To put the materials back in the yard.
D.To show his artwork to her.
42.In his mother's eyes, the writer________.
A.was a born artist
B.always caused trouble
C.was a problem solver
D.worked very hard
43.The underlined word "rainbow" in the last paragraph refers to ________.
A.the rainbow in the sky
B.the stripes on the pavement
C.something imaginative and fun
D.important lessons learned in childhood
44.It can be learned from the passage that parents should ________.
A.encourage children to paint
B.value friendship among children
C.discover the hidden talent in children
D.protect rather than destroy children's dreams

B
University accommodation (住所) offices

Many university accommodation offices have their own list of registered landlords (房东). Others also provide information on accommodation agencies and other housing organization. The advantage of using your university accommodation is that you can get support if you have a problem. The disadvantage is that they are unlikely to have enough registered landlords to houses all their students.

Property papers: Loot and Renting

Loot is an important source (来源) of information about private housing for co-renters. The offers are from private landlords, agencies and individuals looking for other co-renters. They also have a website: www.loot.com. The advantage of using Loot is that there are some excellent bargains. The disadvantage is that there is no quality control over the offers.
Renting is another useful paper. The offers in this paper are mainly from accommodation agencies. Their website is at www.renting.co.uk.

Accommodation agencies

The majority of rented accommodation in London is probably advertised through accommodation agencies. The advantage of using accommodation agencies is that you will have access to a large number of accommodations. A good agent will listen to your requirements and can save you time in looking for the right accommodation. The disadvantage is that they will make a range of charges to potential renters.

Noticeboards

Around the universities you will find a number of noticeboards where offers of accommodation will be posted. These will either be from landlords or from students. Some universities will also have online noticeboards where students can advertise to other students. Advertisements from students can be an excellent way to find accommodation. however, advertisements from landlords can be problematic.

Word of mouth

Some of the best housing in London is never advertised but is passed on from one group of students to another by word of mouth. It might be that you can find out about good offers from final year students. however, don’t suppose that just because you have found out about housing from a friend it is necessarily going to be better than that found through any other source.

Family

Faced with the very high rents charged in London, some students and their parents will consider buying as an alternative. In some cases this might be a good choice.

45. What is the advantage of using Loot?
A.It has more offers from accommodation agencies than Renting.
B.It gives you personal information about other co-renters.
C.Their website is designed mainly for students.
D.there are some good bargains.
46. A good agent can help you ________.
A.know more people
B.find cheap accommodation
C.get the right accommodation quickly
D.get free information about most accommodations
47. The information passed on by word of mouth is important because________.
A.it is better than that found through any other source
B.it helps you find some of the best housing never advertised
C.the final year students always offer better information
D.the landlords have little valuable information
48. For students going to London for the first time, which of the following provides the most reliable information?
A.University accommodation offices. B.Loot and Renting
C.Noticeboards. D.Family.