英语阅读习题
-
英语阅读（
1
）
书面作业
I
Read each of the following
paragraphs and decide what the topic is. Then
decide on the general statement (the
main idea) the author makes about the
topic.
10*3
（
30
分）
1.
What exactly is a network? In the world of
computers, a network simply means two
or more computers linked together in
some way. This allows people in different places
to
communicate
with
each
other
and
to
share
data
and
resources.
For
example,
a
school
or an office might have a big central computer,
called a server. It stores various
programs and files. If someone on the
network, using another computer, wants to use
one of the files on the server, his
or her computer would retrieve that
file from
the
server.
Topic:
Main idea:
2. Forests are not just important for
timber. A forest acts like a giant sponge,
absorbing
rainfall
and
preventing
it
from
running
away
into
rivers.
It
then
releases
the
water
slowly
by
evaporation
from
its
leaves.
This
helps
to
stabilize
the
rainfall
of
areas
downwind
from
the
forest.
Forest
cover
also
prevents
the
soil
being
eroded
(worn
away) and silting up
rivers and lakes. By holding back the water, the
forest prevents
disastrous flooding
further downstream.
Topic:
Main idea:
3. Whenever you hear a
sound, find out where it comes from and what
causes it. We
make sounds by making
things move to-and-fro. This to-and-fro movement
is called
vibration. It means moving up
and down or forwards and backwards very fast.
These
vibrations cause the air to
vibrate. This makes sound waves.
Topic:
Main idea:
II. Guess the meaning of
the words according to the context.
(20
分
)10*2
1.
Whales
are
enormous
animals.
You
can
not
imagine
how
big
some
whales
are.
A. huge
B.
funny
C. strong
2.
Alcohol is
somewhat
addictive
, so be
careful when you take it.
Don
’
t take too
much.
A. poisonous
B. habit-forming
C. healthful
3
．
I
usually
browse
through the
newspapers when I have my breakfast.
A. read quickly
B. read
seriously
C. read carefully
4
．
There has been
a
boom
in exports this year;
the increase is tremendous
A. fall
B. growth
C. mistake
5
．
He is very
lean
and thus weak, compared
with other girls in the class.
A.
pretty
B. ugly
C. thin
6.
Famous for her
big smile, she has a cheerful
disposition
.
A.
method
B.
disposal
C. character
7.
She is very
grumpy
when her tooth aches. Yesterday, her
tooth ached again,
and she quarreled
with her friend over a very unimportant thing.
A. excited
B. careful
C. bad-tempered
8.
With
reluctance
the boy went to see a doctor
with his father.
A. Impatiently
B. Unwillingly
C. Immediately
9.
The woman
teacher
’
s
melodious
voice attracted the
students
’
attention.
A. melancholy
B. interesting
C. pleasant
10.
Don’t
judge a man by the
company
he keeps, sometimes
he may have friends
who are very
different from him.
A. organization
B. business firm
C. friends
III
Reading Comprehension: (50
分
)
10*5
Passage One
How
did
computing
machines
begin
and
develop?
The
answer
to
this
question
is
fairly clear. The first computing
machine, in use more than 5 000 years ago, was the
fingers and hands of people. But this
useful and natural computing machine was not
equal to keeping track of all the
numbers that people needed from time to time.
People
needed bigger numbers than hands
could show; and they needed to be able to store
and remember numbers, without always
keeping their fingers in certain positions.
So other ideas and devices
appeared.
The next idea
was to use small stones or shells, seeds or beads,
to count with.
Then a person could talk
about some large number (of chickens in a flock or
sheep in
a herd) as
number.
However,
people
found
it
troublesome
to
count
only
in
units,
one
by
one.
So,
very
early, in ancient Egypt, another idea appeared.
This was the idea of choosing a
new
unit equal to 10 of the old units. Clearly, this
idea comes from the fact that a man
has
10 fingers; and so a person could talk about the
number 76 by referring to all the
fingers of seven men and six more
fingers on one more man.
In
order to handle numbers in the form of a set of
counted things, it is helpful to
have a
fixed place in which to lay them out. Such a place
may be a smooth piece of
ground,
a
flat
piece
of
stone,
or
a
board.
It
is
helpful
to
arrange
lines
to
mark
off
places
－
one place
for units, another place for tens, a third place
for tens of tens (or
hundreds), and so
on.
But
it is
not
very
convenient to
use a board:
among other reasons, often when
you move the board, the counters fall
off. So why not use a frame with little sticks,
put holes through the counters, and
string them as beads on the sticks in the frame?
This simple invention makes a widely
useful machine for figuring, the abacus. It is
still the most common computing machine
and is used all over the world.
In ancient times another really
important idea was
noticed
－
the idea of zero,
the
number of none, or nothing. It
names a place on the board of counters that is
empty of
counters. Without this idea,
no good computing machine can be made.