英语阅读理解专题
-
阅读理解专题
There
are
many
shops
in
Singapore
where
customers
still
bargain,
although
prices
are
clearly
shown
on the goods. There is nothing out of the ordinary
in haggling; some shopkeepers expect
you to and will be surprised if
you accept their prices immediately. We
know that the prices in
some stores are
a bit higher than those in Change Alley, but we
also realize that to keep a store like
Robinson's is by no means cheap.
Besides, in such places we shop in air-condition
(
空调
) comfort.
For
all these, we pay a little extra.
It
is
not
always
true
to
say
that
things
in
Change
Alley
cost
less.
I
once
bought
a
Czechoslo-
vakian glass
butter-dish from Robinson's for a little under two
dollars. I then went on to Change
Alley
and just by chance saw an article of the same
shape, design and size, in one of the shops. I
then asked about its price, and was
surprised when the man demanded more than four
dollars for it.
article and
his reply was shockingly rude
(
粗鲁
). I opened my bag,
showed him my receipt, stared
at him
and walked out of his shop.
A buyer in
England expects to find the price of goods clearly
shown, or, to be told exactly what
the
price is. He knows this is the lowest price that
will be accepted. If he thinks the price is beyond
what
he
can
afford,
he
shrugs
(
耸耸
)
his
shoulders
and
walks
away.
He
does
not
attempt
to
bargain with the
shopkeeper. Even if he showed annoyance or
surprise, he would expect to be to
that
if the price was unacceptable, he should try
elsewhere.
1. The underlined word
A. accepting the prices immediately
B. fixing the right cost for some goods
C. arguing about the price of something
D. paying extra for comfortable
shopping
2. We can learn from the text
that Robinson’s is a store which sells
A. expensive goods
B. air-
conditioners
C. Czechoslovakian goods
D. goods at a
bargain price
3. The writer asked about
the price of a glass butter-dish in Change Alley
because he wanted to
________.
A. buy it at a lower price
B.
change his dish for something else
C.
find out if the shop assistant is polite
D. compare the prices of the dish in
two stores
4. Which of the following
words best describes tile feeling of a British
customer when
his shoulders and walks
away
A. Frightened.
B. Worded.
C. Annoyed.
D.
Disappointed.
5. What would probably
happen if a customer does bargain with a
shopkeeper in England?
A.
The customer would be advised to shop in other
stores.
B. The customer
would get the goods at a lower price.
C. They would discuss and then reach an
agreement.
D. They would
quarrel about the price of the goods.
答案：
1. C 2. A 3. A 4. D 5. A
Some people argue that the pressure on
international sportsmen and sportswomen kills the
essence of sport ---- the pursuit of
personal excellence. Children kick a football
around for fun.
When they get older and
play for local school teams, they become
competitive but they still enjoy
playing. The individual representing
his country cannot afford to think about enjoying
himself, he
has
to
think
only
about
winning.
He
is
responsible
for
entire
nation's
hopes,
dreams
and
reputation.
A
good example is the football World Cup. Football
is third world's most important sport.
Winning
the
World
Cup
is
perhaps
the
summit
of
international
sporting
success.
Mention
Argentina to someone and the chances
are that he' 11 think of football. In a sense,
winning the
World Cup put Argentina on
the map.
Sports fans and supporters get quite
unreasonable about the World Cup. People in
England
felt
that
their
country
was
somehow
important
after
they
won
in
1966.
Last
year
thousands
of
Scots
sold
their
cars,
and
even
their
houses,
and
spent
all
their
money
traveling
to
Argentina,
where the finals were played.
So, am I arguing that
international competition kills the idea of sport?
Certainly not! Do the
Argentinean
really believe that because eleven of their men
proved the most skillful at football,
their nation is in every way better
than all others? Not really. But it's nice to know
that you won
and that in one way at
least your country is the best.
1. What
is the author' s main purpose in the passage?
A.
To explain the role of sport.
B. To compare
Scotland with Argentina.
C. To show that Argentina
is better than all others.
D. To prove that football
is the world' s most important sport.
2. In the second paragraph, the word
A.
award
B. summary
C. highest
point
D. mountain top
3. According
to the passage, Argentina is world-famous because
of its ______________.
A. obvious position on the
map
B. successes in the football World Cup
C.
excellence at most important sports
D. large number
of sports fans and supporters
4.
According to the passage, if a sportsman only
thinks about winning, he will _____________.
A.
fail to succeed
B. lose
enjoyment
C. be successful
D. be unreasonable
5. What
is the author's attitude towards international
games?
A. Nations that meet on a
football field are unlikely to meet on a
battlefield.
B. Nations that win the
football World Cup are regarded as best in all
aspects.
C. Nations that win in
international games prove the best on the sports
field at least.
D. Nations that give
much attention to international competitions are
world-famous in many ways.
答案：
1. A 2.C
3.B
4.B
5.C
At the first sight the planet Mars does
not appear very welcome to any kind of life. It
has
very little oxygen and water, the
temperature at night is below -50°
C and
winds of 100 miles per
hour cause
severe dust storms. However, the surface of the
planet seems to show that water flowed
across it some time in the past, and it
is believed that there is enough ice at the poles
to cover the
planet with water if it
melts. Although there is no life on the Mars now,
some scientists think that
there may
have been some form of life long time ago. At that
time, the planet had active volcanoes;
the atmosphere was thicker and warmer;
and there was water. In fact, in some ways the
Mars may
have been similar to the
Earth, where life exists.
Some
people
believe
that
the
Mars
could
support
life
in
the
future
if
the
right
conditions
were produced.
The first step would be to warm the planet using
certain gases which trap the Sun's
heat
in the planet's atmosphere. With warmth, water and
carbon dioxide(
二氧化碳
), simple
plants
could
begin
to
grow.
These
plants
could
slowly
make
the
Mars
more
suitable
for
living.
It
is
estimated that the whole process might
take between 100,000 and 200,000 years. In the
meantime,
people could begin to live on
the planet in special closed environments. They
would provide a lot
of useful
information about conditions on the Mars and the
problems connected with living there.
1.
Some
scientists
think
there
may
have
been
life
on
the
Mars
in
the
past
because
_______________.
A. there is no life there now
B. there is a large amount
of water at the poles
C.
the Mars may be able to support life in the future
D. conditions may have been
similar to those on the Earth
2. There
could be life on the Mars in the future
if________________.
A.
it supported life in the past
B. certain gases are used to cool the
planet
C. the
atmosphere can be heated enough to grow simple
plants
D. the planet's
volcanoes become as active as they were in the
past
3. People may be able to live on
the Mars _________________.
A. within the next 200,000 years
B. only 200,000 years from
now
C. only 150,000
years from now
D. as soon as
the planet becomes cool enough
4. The
author's attitude towards the possibility of life
on the Mars in the future is ____________.
A. doubtful
B.
positive
C.
negative
D. uninterested
5. Which is the best title for this
passage?
A. The Possibility of Life on
the Mars
B. Future Conditions on the
Mars
C. The Mars and the Earth
D. A Study of the Climate of the Mars
答案：
1.
D 2. C 3. A 4. B 4. A
Passage One
Sport is not only physically
challenging, but it can also be mentally
challenging. Criticism
from coaches,
parents, and other teammates, as well as pressure
to win can create an excessive
amount
of
anxiety
or
stress
for
young
athletes
(
运动员
).
Stress
can
be
physical,
emotional,
or
psychological and
research has indicated that it can lead to
burnout. Burnout has been described as
dropping or quitting of an activity
that was at one time enjoyable.
The
early years of development are critical years for
learning about oneself. The sport setting
is one where valuable experiences can
take place. Young athletes can, for example, learn
how to
cooperate with others, make
friends, and gain other social skills that will be
used throughout their
lives.
Coaches
and
parents
should
be
aware,
at
all
times,
that
their
feedback
to
youngsters
can
greatly affect their children.
Youngsters may take their parents' and coaches'
criticisms to heart and
find a
flaw(
缺陷
) in themselves.
Coaches and parents should also be
cautious that youth sport participation does not
become
work
for
children. The
outcome
of
the
game
should
not
be
more
important
than
the
process
of
learning
the
sport
and
other
life
lessons.
In
today's
youth
sport
setting,
young
athletes
may
be
worrying
more about who will win instead of enjoying
themselves and the sport.
Following a
game many parents and coaches focus on the outcome
and find fault with youngsters'
performances.
Positive
reinforcement
should
be
provided
regardless
of
the
outcome.
Research
indicates that positive reinforcement
motivates and has a greater effect on learning
than criticism.
Again, criticism can
create high levels of stress, which can lead to
burnout
1. An effective way to prevent
the burnout of young athletes
is___________________.
A. to reduce their mental
stress
B. to increase their sense of success
C.
to make sports less competitive
D. to make sports more
challenging
2. According to the passage
sport is positive for young people in
that___________________.
A. it can help them learn
mom about society
B. it enables them to find
flaws in themselves
C. it can provide them with
valuable experiences
D. it teaches them how to
set realistic goals for themselves
3.
Many coaches and parents are in the habit of
criticizing young athletes________________.
A.
believing that criticism is beneficial for their
early development
B. without realizing
criticism may destroy their self-confidence
C.
in order to make them remember life's lessons
D.
so as to put more pressure on them
4.
According the passage parents and coaches
should__________________.
A. pay more attention to
letting children enjoy sports
B. help children to win every game
C.
train children to cope with stress
D. enable children to
understand the positive aspect of sports
5. The author's purpose in writing the
passage is __________________.
A. to teach young athletes
how to avoid burnout
B. to persuade young
children not to worry about criticism
C. to stress
the importance of positive reinforcement to
children
D. to discuss the skill of combining
criticism with encouragement
答案：
1. A 2. C 3. B 4. A 5. C
Most cities and/or states
in the U. S. collect a sales tax on almost
everything you buy. You must
ask when
you move into a new community how much the local
sales tax is, and what items are
and
are not taxable. Both taxable items and the amount
of tax vary considerably from place, from
one of two percent in some places up to
eight or ten in others. The New York City sales
tax, for
examples, is currently 8%, so
if you buy a pair of $$ 40 shoes you will actually
have to pay $$ 43.20.
This
makes
paying
and
getting
correct
change
much
more
difficult
(not
to
mention
making
everything more expensive). We say in
America that only two things in life are
unavoidable: one is
death and the other
taxes.
Another
thing
that
makes
money
exchanges
more
complicated
is
tipping.
The
Chinese
people
have
happily
put
an
end
to
tipping,
but
Westerners
are
still
plagued
with
this
indignity.
Waiters and
waitresses, cab drivers, hotel bellboys, barbers
and hairdressers and all sorts of other
people must be tipped. Their employers
give them low wages because it is expected that
you, the
customer, will make up the
difference. If you don't, the service person can't
earn a living. Tipping
also varies from
place to place, generally in the area of 15% of
your bill (before taxes), but again
you
should ask local residents whom to tip and how
much.
There
is
another
kind
of
tipping
as
well.
You
are
generally
expected
to
give
something
(either cash or a bottle of whisky) to
the mailman and to your building
You
should discuss this also with neighbors and
colleagues.
1. The main idea of this
passage is ______________.
A. shopping and tipping
B. sales and shopping
C. sales taxes and tipping
D. sales taxes and people
2.
According to the passage, if you buy a pair of $$
50 shoes in the New York City, you pay extra
____________as sales tax.
A.
$$4.5
B. $$4
C. $$5
D. $$5.5
3.
Usually, cab drivers _________________.
A. get high wages from the employer
B. get great
benefits from the employer
C. get low
wages from the employer
D. get high bonus from the employer
4. According to the
passage, which of the following statements is
true?
A. The Chinese people have
to pay tips in western countries.
B.
The westerners don't have to pay high tips in
their own country.
C. Barbers,
hotel bellboys and all sorts of other people can
earn a living if they are not tipped.
D. Tipping varies from place to place,
generally in the area of 20% of your bill.
5. Usually, taxable items and the
amount of tax _________________.
A.
have no difference from place to place in the U.
S.
B. are over 15% in the U. S.
C. have been put an end in the U. S.
D. vary from place to place in the U.
S.
答案：
1. C
2.
B 3. C 4. A 5. D
In
1993, New York State ordered stores to charge a
deposit on beverage (
饮料
)
containers.
Within a year, consumers
had returned millions of aluminum cans and glass
and plastic bottles.
Plenty
of
companies
were
eager
to
accept
the
aluminum
and
glass
as
raw
materials
for
new
products,
but
be-
cause
few
could
figure
out
what
to
do
with
the
plastic,
much
of
it
would
be
buried in
landfills(
垃圾填埋场
). The
problem was not limited to New York.
Unfortunately, there
were too few uses
for second hand plastic.
Today, one out of five plastic soda
bottles is recycled in the United States. The
reason for
the change is that now there
are dozens of companies across the country buying
discarded plastic
soda bottles and
turning them in- to fence posts, paint brushes,
etc.
As
the
New
York
experience
shows,
recycling
involves
more
than
simply
separating
valuable
materials
from
the
rest
of
the
rubbish.
A
discard
re-
mains
a
discard
until
somebody
figures out how to
give it a second life--and until economic
arrangements exist to give that second
life
value.
Without
ad-
equate
markets
to
absorb
materials
collected
for
recycling,
throwaways
actually depress prices for used
materials.
Shrinking landfill space, and rising
costs for burying and burning rubbish are forcing
local
governments to look more closely
at recycling. In many areas, the East Coast
especially, recycling
is already the
least expensive waste management option. For every
ton of waste recycled, a city
avoids
paying for its disposal, which, in parts of New
York, amounts to savings of more than $$100
per
ton.
Recycling
also
stimulates
the
local
economy
by
creating
jobs
and
trims
the
pollution
control and energy
costs of industries that make recycled products by
giving them a more refined
raw
material.
46. What
regulation was issued by New York State concerning
beverage containers?
A.
Beverage
companies
should
be
responsible
for
collecting
and
reusing
discarded
plastic
soda bottles.
B. Throwaways should be collected by
the state for recycling.
C. A fee should
be charged on used containers for recycling.
D. Consumers had to pay for beverage
containers and could get their
money
back on returning
them.
47.
The returned plastic bottles in New York used
to_______________.
A. end up
somewhere underground
B. be turned into raw
materials
C. have a second life value
D. be separated from other rubbish
48. The key problem in dealing with
returned plastic beverage containers
is______________.
A. to sell them at a
profitable price
B. how to turn them into
useful things
C. how to reduce their recycling costs
D.
to lower the prices for used materials
49. Recycling has become the first
choice for the disposal of rubbish
because______________.
A. local governments find
it easy to manage
B. recycling has great
appeal for the jobless
C. recycling causes little
pollution
D. other methods are more expensive
50. It can be concluded
from the passage that__________________.
A. rubbish is a potential
remedy for the shortage of raw materials
B. local governments in the
U.S. can expect big profits from recycling
C. recycling is to be
recommended both economically and environmentally
D. landfills will still be
widely used for waste disposal
答案
1. D 2. A
3. B 4. D
5. C
Crime
in
the
cities
has
had
more
publicity(
宣扬
)than
crime
in
the
suburbs,
but
in
recent
years many of the
suburbs have found their crime rates increasing
faster than those of the cities.
One crime prevention aid is
the Neighborhood Watch Program started five years
ago and is
sponsored by the National
Sheriffs' Association. The aim is to get people to
watch out for their
neighbors.
They
are
asked
to
be
alert
for
any
unusual
activity,
such
as
strangers
who
may
be
bringing
since
out
of
a
house
to
an
unfamiliar
waiting
vehicle.
Vandalism(
破坏行为
)is
also
a
target of
the program. Children are matchless likely to run
around with spray cans if they know
that neighbors are alert and that they
will probably be caught.
The programmer should fit the specific
neighborhood and be done with the knowledge and
cooperation of the sheriff's office and
the police department. So far, 2 300 programs have
been set
up
with
at
least
one
in
every
state
in
the
union.
In
some
cases,
neighborhood
block
clubs
have
been established to give is
instructions. A National Neighborhood Watch
Program has been set up,
including one
and one-half to seven million citizens at a
federal government cost of 5 cents to 22
cents per person. The national office
supplies Sheriffs and local office departments
with program
materials,
crime
prevention
literature,
and
ideas
on
making
homes
more
secure.
Statistics
show
that this system works
and is working better all the time.
1. Which of the following is TRUE
according to the passage?
A. There has
been as much crime in the cities as in the
suburbs.
B. Crime increase at the
same rate in both the cities and the suburbs.
C. Crime rates increase more slowly in
the cities than in the suburbs.
D.
There have been higher crime rates in the suburbs
than in the cities.
2. Which of the
following activities is NOT affected by the
Neighborhood Watch Program?
A.
Neighbors quarrel with each other.
B.
Strangers take things out of a house.
C.
Children run everywhere with spray cans.
D. Vandals walk around the
neighborhood.
3. What is the purpose of
the Neighborhood Watch Program?
A. To replace
the sheriff' and policeman's duties.
B. To get the
people together so they can become better friends.
C.
To make people less suspicious of their neighbors.
D.
To decrease the neighborhood crime rate.
4. How far has the program gone?
A. The federal government
assists in financing a National Neighborhood Watch
Program.
B. Many
thousands of neighborhoods have organized them.
C. It costs the government
between 22 and 25 cents per person.
D. Some states haven't become involved
yet.
5.
The
national
office
contributes
a
lot
to
Neighborhood
Watch
Program
including
all
the
following actions
except________________.
A. providing program materials to local
office departments
B. supplying crime prevention
literature
C.
spreading preventive ideas in order to make
neighborhood more secure
D. setting up clubs to give
instructions
答案
1. C 2. A
3. D 4. A
5.
D
Passage One
In
only
two
decades
Asian
American
have
become
the
fastest-growing
US
minority.
As
their children began moving up through
the nation's schools, it became clear that a new
class of
academic
achievers
was
emerging.
Their
achievements
are
reflected
in
the
nation's
best
universities, where mathematics,
science and engineering departments have taken on
a decidedly
Asian character. This
special liking for mathematics and science is
partly explained by the fact that
Asian-American
students
who
began
their
education
abroad
arrived
in
the
U.
S.
with
a
solid
grounding
in mathematics but little or no knowledge of
English. They are also influenced by the
promise of a good job after college.
Asians feel there will be less unfair treatment in
areas like
mathematics
and
science
because
they
will
be
judged
more
immediate
in
something
like
engineering than with an arts degree.
Most
Asian-American
students
owe
their
success
to
the
influence
of
parents
who
are
determined that their
children take full advantage of what the American
educational system has to
offer. An
effective measure of parental attention is
homework. Asian parents spend more time with
their
children
than
American
parents
do,
and
it
helps.
Many
researchers
also
believe
there
is
something
in
Asian
culture
that
breeds
success,
such
as
ideals
that
stress
family
values
and
emphasize education.
Both explanations for
academic success worry Asian-Americans because of
fears that they
feed a typical racial
image. Many can remember when Chinese, Japanese
and Filipino immigrants
were the
victims of social isolation. Indeed, it was not
until 1952 that laws were laid down giving
all Asian immigrants the right to
citizenship.
1. While
making tremendous achievements at college, Asian-
American students__________.
A. feel they are mistreated because of
limited knowledge of English
B. are afraid that their academic
successes bear a strong Asian character
C. still worry about unfair
treatment in society
D.
generally feel it a shame to have to depend on
their parents
2. What are
the major factors that determine the success of
Asian Americans?
A. A solid
foundation in basic mathematics and Asian culture.
B. Hard work and intelligence.
C. Hard help and a limited knowledge of
English.
D. Asian culture and the
American educational system.
3. Few
Asian-American students major in human sciences
mainly because_______________.
A.
their English is not good enough
B.
they are afraid they might meet with unfair
judgment in these areas
C. there is a
wide difference between Asian and Western cultures
D. they know little about American
culture and society
4. Why do the two
A. They are afraid that they would
again be isolated from American society in
general.
B. People would think that
Asian students rely on their parents for success.
C. Asian-Americans would be a threat to
other minorities.
D. American academic
achievements have taken on too strong at Asian
character.
5. The author's tone in this
passage is___________________.
A.
sympathetic
B. doubtful
C. critical
D.
objective
答案
1. C 2. A 3. B
4. A 5. D
For
an
increasing
number
of
students
at
American
universities,
old
is
suddenly
in.
The
reason is
obvious: the graying of America means jobs.
Coupled with the aging of the baby-boom
generation,
a
longer
life
span
means
that
the
nation's
elderly
population
is
bound
to
expand
significantly over the next 50 years.
By 2050, 25 percent of all Americans will be older
than 65,
up from 14 percent in 1995.
The change poses profound questions for government
and society, of
course. But it also
creates career opportunities in medicine and
health professions and in law and
business
as
well.
addition
to
the
doctors,
we're
going
to
need
more
sociologists,
biologists,
urban
planners
and
specialized
lawyers,
says
Professor
Edward
Schneider
of
the
University
of
Southern
California's (USC. School of
Gerontology(
老年学
).
Lawyers can
specialize in
nursing-home
abuse
and
age
discrimination(
歧视
).
Businessmen
see
huge
opportunities
in
the
eider
market because the baby boomers, 74 million
strong, are likely to be the wealthiest group of
retirees in human history.
say, an MBA or law degree will have a
license to print money,
Margarita Santos is a 21-year-old
senior at USC. She began college as a biology
major but
found she was
she
liked it. She says,
1.
A.
America has suddenly become a nation o5 old people
B. gerontology has suddenly become
popular
C. more elderly professors are found on
American campuses
D. American colleges have
realized the need of enrolling older students
2. With the aging of
America, lawyers can benefit__________________.
A.
from the adoption of the
B. from rendering special
services to the elderly
C. by enriching their
professional knowledge
D. by winning the trust of
the elderly to promote their own interests
3. Why can businessmen make
money in the emerging elder market?
A.
Retirees are more generous in spending money.
B. They can employ more gerontologists.
C. The elderly possess an enormous
purchasing power.
D. There are more
elderly people working than before.
4.
Who can make big money in the new century
according to the passage?
A. Retirees who are
business-minded.
B. The volunteer workers in
retirement homes.
C. College graduates with
an MBA or law degree.
D. Professionals with a
good knowledge of gerontology.
5.
It
can
be
seen
from
the
passage
that
the
expansion
of
America's
elderly
population______________.
A.
will provide good job opportunities in many areas
B. will impose an unbearable burden on
society
C. may lead to nursing-home
abuse and age discrimination
D. will
create new fields of study in universities
答案
1. B 2. A 3. A 4. D 5. A
Normally a student must
attend a certain number of courses in order to
graduate, and each
course
which
he
attends
gives
him
a
credit
which
he
may
count
towards
a
degree.
In
many
American universities
the total work for a degree consists of thirty-six
courses each lasting for one
semester.
A typical course consists of three classes per
week for fifteen weeks; while attending a
university
a
student
will
probably
attend
four
or
five
courses
during
each
semester.
Normally
a
student would expect to take four years
attending two semesters each year. It is possible
to spread
to
period
of
work
for
the degree
over
a
longer
period. It
is
also
possible
for a
student
to
move
between one university
and another during his degree course, though this
is not in fact done as a
regular
practice.
For every
course that he follows a student is given a grade,
which is re- corded and available
for
the student to show to prospective employers. All
this imposes a constant pressure and strain of
work, but in spite of this some
students still find time for great activity in
student affairs. Elections
to positions
in student organizations arouse much enthusiasm.
The effective work of maintaining
discipline is usually performed by
students who advise the academic authorities. Any
student who
is thought to have broken
the rules, for example, by cheating, has to appear
before a student court.
With the
enormous numbers of students, the operation of the
system does involve a certain amount
of
activity. A student who has held one of these
positions of authority is much respected and it
will
be of benefit to him later in his
career.
1. Normally a
student would at least attend _______________
classes each week.
A. 36
B. 12
C.
20
D. 16
2.
According to the first paragraph an American
student is allowed______________.
A.
to live in a different university
B.
to take a particular course in a different
university
C. to live at home and
drive to classes
D. to get two degrees
from two different universities
3.
American university students are usually under
pressure of work because________________.
A.
their academic performance will affect their
future careers
B. they are heavily involved in student
affairs
C. they have to observe university
discipline
D. they want to run for positions of
authority
4.
Some
students
are
enthusiastic
for
positions
in
student
organizations
probably
because
____________.
A. they hate
the constant pressure and strain of their study
B. they will then be able to stay
longer in the university
C. such
positions help them get better jobs
D.
such positions are usually well paid
5.
The student organizations seem to be effective
in__________________.
A. dealing with
the academic affairs of the university
B.
ensuring that the students observe university
regulations
C. evaluating students'
performance by bringing them before a court
D. keeping up the students' enthusiasm
for social activities
答案
1. B 2. B 3. A
4. C 5. B
Looking
back
on
my
childhood,
I
am
convinced
that
naturalists
are
born
and
not
made.
Although we were all
brought up in the same way, my brothers and
sisters soon abandoned their
pressed
flowers and insects. Unlike them, I had no ear for
music and languages. I was not an early
reader and I could not do mental
arithmetic.
Before World
War I we spent our summer holidays in Hungary. I
have only the dim memory
of
the
house
we
lived
in,
of
my
room
and
my
toys.
Nor
do
I
recall
clearly
the
large
family
of
grand-
parents,
aunts,
uncles
and
cousins
who
gathered
next
door.
But
I
do
have
a
crystal-clear
memory of the
dogs, the farm animals, the local birds and, above
all, the insects.
I
am
a
naturalist,
not
a
scientist.
I
have
a
strong
love
of
the
natural
world,
and
my
enthusiasm has led me into varied
investigations. I love discussing my favorite
topics and enjoy
burning
the
midnight
oil
while
reading
about
other people's
observations
and
discoveries.
Then
something hap- pens that brings these
observations together in my conscious mind.
Suddenly you
fancy you see the answer
to the riddle (
谜
), because
it all seems to fit together. This has resulted in
my publishing 300 papers and books,
which some might honor with the title of
scientific research.
But
curiosity, a keen eye, a good memory and enjoyment
of the animal and plant world do
not
make
a
scientist;
one
of
the
outstanding
and
essential
qualities
required
is
self-
discipline,
a
quality 1
lack. A scientist requires not only self-
discipline but hard training, determination and a
goal. A scientist, up to a point, can
be made. A naturalist is born. If you can combine
the two, you
get the best of both
worlds.
1. The first
paragraph tells us that the author_______________.
A. was born to a naturalist's family
B.
lost his hearing when he was a child
C. didn't like
his brothers and sisters
D. was interested in
flowers and insects in his childhood
2. The author can't remember his
relatives clearly because ______________.
A.
he didn't live very long with them
B.
he was fully occupied with observing nature
C. he was too young when he lived with
them
D. the family was extremely
large
3. It can be inferred
from the passage that the author was
_______________.
A. no more than a born
naturalist
B.
a naturalist but not a scientist
C. a scientist
as well as a naturalist
D. first of all
a scientist
4.
The
author
says
that
he
is
a
naturalist
rather
than
a
scientist
probably
because
he
thinks
he___________.
A. lacks some of the
qualities required of a scientist
B.
has a great deal of trouble doing mental
arithmetic
C. just reads about other people's
observations and discoveries
D.
comes up with solutions in a most natural way
5. According to the author,
a born naturalist should first of all be
______________.
A. full of ambition
B. full of enthusiasm
C. knowledgeable
D. self-disciplined
答案
1. D 2. B 3. A 4. A 5. B
Unit 1
Passage 4
In
the same way that a child must be able to move his
arms and legs before he can learn to
walk, the child must physiologically be
capable of producing and experiencing particular
emotions
before these emotions can be
modified through learning. Psychologists have
found that there are
two
basic
processes
by
which
learning
takes
place.
One
kind
of
learning
is
called
conditioning''. This occurs
when one event or stimulus is consistently paired
with or followed by, a
re-
ward
or
punishment.
It
is
through
classical
conditioning
that
a
child
learns
to
associates
his
mother's face and voice with happiness
and love, for he learns that this person provides
food and
comfort. Negative emotions are
learned in a similar fashion.
The
second kind of learning is called
learns
to
do
things
that
produce
rewards
in
his
environment
and
learns
not
to
do
things
that
produce
punishments.
For
example,
if
a
mother
always
attends
to
her
baby
when
he
cries
and
cuddles
him until he is quiet, she may teach him that if
he cries he will get attention from mother.
Thus, the baby will learn to increase
his crying in order to have his mother more.
Every day, we grow and have
new experiences. We constantly learn by reading,
watching
television, interacting with
other people, and so forth. This learning affects
our emotions. Why is it
that we learn
to like some people and dislike others? If a
person is nice to us, cares about us, we
learn to associate this person with
positive feelings, such as joy, happiness, and
friendliness. On
the other hand, if a
person is mean to us, does not care about us, and
even deliberately does things
to
harm
us,
we
learn
to
associate
this
person
with
negative
feelings,
such
as
unhappiness,
discomfort, and
anger.
16. The author's main purpose in
writing the passage is to____________.
A.
teach children how to learn to produce and
experience certain emotions
B.
give the general reader an account of two basic
kinds of learning
C. give parents
some advice on how to modify their children's
emotions through learning
D. discuss
with psychologists how positive and negative
feelings are produced
17. If your jokes
often find a ready echo in a person, you will
learn through ______________that
telling
jokes
to
this
person
is
fun,
and
you
will
try
with
greater
efforts
to
be
humorous
in
his
presence.
A. classical conditioning
B.
neither of them
C. operant conditioning
D. some other sorts of
conditioning
18. If a child
is bitten or startled several times by a dog, he
may learn to associate furry animals
with pain or startle and thus develop a
fear of furry animals. This is a typical example
of learning
through____________.
A. classical conditioning
B. both of them
C. operant
conditioning
D.
neither of them
19. In the third
paragraph, the author is_____________.
A. discussing how we grow and have new
experiences every day
B.
talking about learning to modify emotions through
operant conditioning
C.
concentrating on learning by reading, watching
television, interacting with people, and so on
D. using examples to
further illustrate learning through classical
conditioning
20. In the following
paragraphs the author will most probably go on to
discuss______________.
A. definitions
of positive feelings and negative feelings
B. the third kind of learning
C.
further examples of learning through operant
conditioning
D. none of the above
参考答案
Passage 4
16.B 17. C 18.A 19. D 20.C
Unit 2
Passage 1
The
view
over
a
valley
of
a
tiny
village
with
thatched
(
草盖的
)
roof
cottages
around
a
church;
a driver through a narrow village street lined
with thatched cottages painted pink or white:
the sight over the rolling hills of a
pretty collection of thatched farm buildings --
these are still
common sights in parts
of England. Most people will agree that the
thatched roof is an essential
part of
the attraction of the English countryside.
Thatching is in fact the
oldest of all the building crafts practiced in the
British Isles
(
英伦诸
岛
). Although
thatch has always been used for cottage and farm
buildings, it was once used for
castles
and churches, too.
Thatching
is
a
solitary
(
英伦诸岛
)
craft,
which
often
runs
in
families.
The
craft
of
thatching as it is practiced today has
changed very little since the Middle Ages. Over
800 full-time
thatchers are employed in
England and Wales today,
maintaining
and
renewing the old roofs as
well as thatching newer houses. Many
property owners choose thatch not only for its
beauty but
because they know it will
keep them cool in summer and warm in winter.
In fact, if we look at
developing countries, over half the world lives
under thatch, but they
all do it
different ways. People in developing countries are
often reluctant to go back to traditional
materials and would prefer modem
buildings. However, they may lack the money to
allow them to
import
the
necessary
materials.
Their
temporary
mud
huts
with
thatched
roofs
of
wild
grasses
often only last six months. Thatch
which has been done the British way lasts from
twenty to sixty
years, and is an
effective defense against the heat.
1. Which of the following remains a
unique feature of the English countryside?
A.
Narrow streets lined with pink or while houses.
B.
Rolling hills with pretty farm buildings.
C.
Cottages with thatched roofs.
D.
Churches with cottages around them.
2.
What do we know about thatching as a craft?
A.
It is a collective activity.
13) It is
practiced on farms all over England.
C. It is quite
different from what it used to be.
D. It is in
most cases handed down among family members.
3. Thatched houses are
still preferred because of________________.
A.
their style and comfort
B. their
durability
C. their easy maintenance
D.
their cheap and ready-made materials
4. People in developing countries also
live under thatch because ______________.
A.
thatched cottages are a big tourist attraction
B.
thatched roof houses are the cheapest
C. thatch is an
effective defense against the heat
D. they like
thatched louses better than other buildings
5. We can learn from the
passage that __________________.
A. thatched
cottages in England have been passed down from
ancient times
B. thatching is a building craft first
creates by the English
C. the English people have
a special liking for thatched houses
D. most
thatched cottages in England are located on
hillsides
参考答案
Passage 1
1. C
2. D
3. A
4. B
5. A
Unit 3
Passage 1
You are a German living in
Berlin. One day you're walking down in a street
minding your
own business, when
suddenly a stranger approaches with a smile on his
face. After stopping you,
he holds a
small electronic device close to his face and
speaks slowly into it, saying, in English:
the police; or, (c) Listen
closely for the device to say, in German:
ich Sauerkraut kaufen kann?
The most appropriate response would be
(c). because the person in front of you is only a
tourist trying to enjoy himself. The
device is said to be the world's first portable
translator ----- a
hand-held
microcomputer that at the same time converts one
spoken language into another. The
four-
pound,
battery-operated
product
is
called
the
V
oice,
and
it
is
the
creation
of
Advanced
Products and
Technologies, an American electronic company. When
the Voice is introduced in the
United
States
in
late
April
-----
at
a
price
of
$$1,500
--
it
will
be
capable
of
converting
spoken
English into Italian,
German, French and Spanish. The product comes with
separate cartridges
(
盒
式存贮器
) for each
of the four languages, which can be changed when
the user travels from one
country
to
another.
The
item
will
be
sold
in
Europe
soon
after
the
U.S.
introduction,
with
cartridges that convert
Italian, German, French and Spanish into English.
The voice uses a microchip
(
微型集成块
) and artificial
intelligence to translate languages. It
is started by voice command and
produces voice output through a built-in speaker.
When the user
makes a statement or asks
a question, the V
oice immediately
repeats what has been said in another
language.
1. The
stranger holding the V
oice seems to
be____________.
A.
asking for some information
B. greeting the
German
C. amusing
himself
D. practicing
his German
2. The German
sentence
A.
B.
C.
D.
3. The word
A. the person
who speaks to the device B. a component part of
the V
oice
C. the person who
speaks German
D. the speech
produced by the Voice
4.
Which of the following is NOT TRUE?
A.
The V
oice is an invention of an
electronics company.
B. The Voice is
a hand-held translator.
C. The Voice is
a new product in wide use.
D. The
V
oice is mainly a microcomputer.
5. The V
oice can
translate________________.
A. from German
into any of the other four languages mentioned
B. from and into English by using the
same cartridge
C. between any two of the
above-mentioned languages
D. from
English into any of the other four languages or
the other way round
Passage 2
Real
policemen,
both
in
Britain
and
in
the
United
States,
hardly
recognize
any
resemblance between
their lives and what they see about themselves on
TV.
The
first
difference
is
that
a
policeman's
real
life
revolves
round
the
law.
Most
of
his
training is in criminal law. He has to
know exactly what actions are crimes and what
evidence can
be used to prove them in
court. He has to know nearly as much law as a
professional lawyer.
Most
television
crime
drama
is
about
finding
the
criminal.
As
soon
as
he
is
arrested,
the
story is over.
In real life, finding criminals is seldom much of
a problem. Except in very serious
cases
like
murders
and
terrorist
attacks
where
-----
failure
to
produce
results
will
affect
the
reputation
of
the
police
-----
little
effort
is
spent
on
searching.
The
police
have
an
elaborate
machinery which
eventually shows up most wanted men. Having made
an arrest, a detective really
starts
to
work.
He
has
to
prove
his
case
in
court
and
to
do
that
he
often
has
to
gather
a
lot
of
evidence. He will spend
most of his working rife typing millions of words
on thousands of forms
about hundreds of
people who arc guilty of crimes.
A
third
big
difference
between
the
drama
detective
and
the
real
one
is
the
unpleasant
moral
twilight
in
which
the
real
one
lives.
Detectives
are
subject
to
two
opposing
pressures:
first
as
members
of
a
police
force
they
always
have
to
behave
with
absolute
legality;
secondly,
as
expensive public servants
they have to get results. They can hardly ever do
both. Most of the time
some of them
have to break the rules in small ways.
6. It is essential for a policeman to
be trained in criminal law so that he can
_____________.
A. arrest criminals in the street
B.
justify his arrests in court
C.
know as much law as a professional lawyer
D. justify himself on TV
7.
Only
when
very
serious
cases
like
murders
and
terrorist
attacks
occur,
will
the
police
____________.
A. show up their elaborate machinery
B. fail to produce results
C.
spend a lot of effort in finding the criminals
D. pay attention to their reputation
8.
A. the most dangerous
criminals
B. most of the witnesses
wanted
C. the majority of those
the police are searching for
D.
the men the police are most interested in
arresting
9. The real
detective lives in an unpleasant moral twilight
because he ______________.
A. is an
expensive public servant
B. often feels
rather depressed
C. is obliged
to break the law in order to preserve it
D. must always behave with absolute
legality
10. Which of the
following statements is true according to this
passage?
A. In real life, finding
criminals is one of the policemen's greatest
problems.
B. The
detective's work is over once the arrest has been
done.
C. The
policeman spends a great deal of time finding
evidence to support his arrests.
D. The policeman devotes most of his
working life to searching for criminals.
Passage 4
In
recent years many
countries of the
world have been faced with the problem of how to
make their workers more productive.
Some experts claim the answer is to make jobs more
varied.
But
do
more
varied
jobs
lead
to
greater
productivity?
There
is
evidence
to
suggest
that
while
variety
certainly
makes
the
worker's
life
more
enjoyable,
it
does
not
actually
make
him
work
harder. As far as
increasing productivity is concerned, then variety
is not an important factor.
Other experts feel that
giving the worker freedom to do his job in his own
way is important
and there is no doubt
that this is true. The problem is that this kind
of freedom cannot easily be
given in
the modem factory with its complicated machinery
which must be used in a fixed way.
Thus
while freedom of choice may be important, there is
usually very little that can be done to
create it. Another important
consideration is how much each worker contributes
to the product he
is making. In most
factories the worker sees only one small part of
the product. Some car factories
are now
experimenting with having many small production
lines rather than one large one, so that
each worker contributes more to the
production of the cars on his line, It would seem
that not only
is
degree
of
worker
contribution
an
important
factor,
therefore,
but
it
is
also
one
we
can
do
something about.
To
what
extent
does
more
money
lead
to
greater
productivity?
The
workers
themselves
certainly think
this important. But perhaps they want more money
only because the work they do
is so
boring. Money just lets them enjoy their spare
time more. A similar argument may explain
demands for shorter working hours.
Perhaps if we succeed in making their jobs more
interesting,
they will neither want
more money, nor will shorter working hours be so
important to them.
16.
Which of these possible factors leading to greater
productivity is not true?
A. To make jobs
more varied.
B. To give the worker
freedom to do his job in his own way.
C.
Degree of work contribution.
D. Demands
for longer working hours.
17. Why
workers want more money?
A. Because
their jobs are too boring.
B. In order to enjoy more
spare time.
C. To make their jobs more
interesting. D. To demand shorter working hours.
18.
The
last
sentence
in
this
passage
means
that
if
we
succeed
in
making
workers'
jobs
more
interesting______________.