中考阅读理解： 第一章 概述
“阅读理解”是指阅读所给的文字材料，掌握它的主要内容并理解其含义。实际上，“阅读理解”是通过认识语言形式与结构而获取文字信息的过程。
阅读是英语学习的重要组成部分。阅读理解能力的高低直接影响着听、说、写等各方面能力的形成和发展。因此，各省、市都把阅读理解题作为中考英语必考的最重要的题型之一，并且越来越重视对阅读理解能力的考查：阅读量逐渐增多，知识面逐步拓宽，难度系数逐年加大。
(1)“阅读理解”的具体要求
《九年义务教育全日制初级中学英语教学大纲》对“读”的要求如下：①能预习课文，初步理解课文大意。②学会查词典，能借助词典阅读难度相当于课文的材料，并理解其大意。③能独立阅读所学语言知识范围内的材料，生词率不超过3%。三年制和四年制的阅读速度分别是每分钟40-50和50-60个单词，理解正确率达到70%。
阅读能力强的标志不仅指阅读速度快，而且还要求理解率高。具体体现在如下几个方面：①掌握所读材料的大意，以及用以说明主旨和大意的事实和细节。②既能理解具体的事实，也能理解抽象的概念。③既能理解字面意思，也能理解深层含义(包括作者的态度、意图及倾向等)。④既能理解某一句话、某一段落的意义，也能理解全篇的逻辑关系，并能据此进行推理和判断。⑤既能根据材料所提供的信息解决问题，也能结合必备的常识(包括生活常识和相关的其他学科知识等)去理解和处理题目设置的疑难问题。
由于考试过程中不允许考生查字典，因此，要想解答好阅读理解题必须做到以下两点：①掌握相当的词汇量。词汇不过关，处处是难关。平常要多背诵一些基础词汇、词组、习惯短语等。教材中出现的重要句型也必须牢记。这样就能为顺利阅读提供强有力的保障。同时在记忆词汇时，要注意单词的词性及一词多义现象，这样对阅读中碰到的生词的推断会有一定的帮助。②加强“听、说、读、写、译”五项基本技能的训练，创造良好的语境。通过多听、多说、多读、多写、多译，逐步培养语感，提高综合运用语言知识的能力，为阅读能力的提高奠定坚实的基础。
(2)“阅读理解”的题型特点
“阅读理解”是集语法、词汇、逻辑推理、背景知识于一体，测试语言综合能力的题目。它主要用来考查学生综合运用英语语言知识的能力，不仅考查阅读速度，而且重点考查理解能力。
阅读理解题分为阅读材料(短文)和理解运用两部分，其命题形式主要有四种：①选择正确答案；②判断正误；③完成句子；④回答问题。为了便于阅卷，中考采用的命题形式以前两种为主。实际上，阅读理解题无论以哪种形式出现，都是一个问题的不同形式的反映，出发点都是针对短文具体内容理解程度的，即正确答案必须符合原文意思，符合语法规范，语句通顺，符合逻辑合情合理。
(3)“阅读理解”的考查内容
作为一种综合性很强的试题类型，“阅读理解”的考查内容有如下几个方面：
①考查短文的主旨和大意。包括对文章大意、主题的理解，对作者意图或文章中人物观点的理解，以及能从短文内容中推断出结论和作者的弦外之音等。
②考查短文的细节和事实。包括事实识别、有关数字方面的计算或识图、排列顺序等。
③考查短文中词语的意思或句子的含义。这些词句一般不只是体现其表层意义，而往往具有深层涵义。要求考生能利用阅读材料中的信息，结合上下文来判断其特定意义，或者根据句子的语法关系分析、挖掘其涵义。这就要求考生具备必要的语言知识、相关学科的常识及一定的分析和推断能力。
④考查拟选题目的能力。这是对考生概括能力的检测，难度稍大。因为短文标题的拟定不但取决于阅读材料的内容，而且还受标题特点的影响。一般地，英语短文标题的特点有：省略冠词、be动词或作定语用的人称代词，且多以短语或简单句出现。选择标题的一般原则是：一是要切题，即能概括出全文的主旨；二是要简洁，即文字要简单明了。
(4)“阅读理解”的题型设置
阅读理解是通过语篇对学生综合运用语言能力进行考查的题型。研究近几年的中考阅读理解试题，我们发现，阅读理解题的难度并不是很大，主要以确认短文的事实和细节为主。但是随着新课程标准的实施，对学生高层阅读能力方面的要求已有所增加。比如，在高考英语中常用的逻辑推理、词句理解和归纳全文主旨大意等难度较大的题目也逐渐纳入中考英语考查之列。
从考查形式上来看，“阅读理解”的题型主要分为两大类：客观试题和主观试题。
① 客观试题
客观试题一般包括选择题和正误判断题。题目的设计方式是：在短文、图文或图表材料后给出若干个不完整的句子，或者根据短文材料内容提出若干个问题，要求考生在正确理解材料的基础上，判断句子的正误或者从所给的四个备选项中选出一个正确答案。考虑到阅卷上的方便，中考阅读理解题大多以这种方式来命制的。例如：
I
A four-year-old girl is lying in the arms of a doctor. She has just lost her mother. Her pink clothes are full of blood and her eyes look at something only she can see.
Every day we see pictures like this on our televisions. We see Iraqi (伊拉克的) children begging for food and water from American and British soldiers as they move through towns and cities towards the capital, Baghdad (巴格达). We see these children following parents, carrying bags of almost the same size as their small bodies as they escape from their homes in Baghdad.
They show just some of the young lives that have been turned upside down by ongoing war and the terrible price paid by Iraqi children.
“Dad, why are the Americans fighting against us? Are we going to be killed?” asks the son f Abu Singar, an Iraqi engineer. Abu finds it hard to explain this war to his eight-year-old son.
He tries to make him feel safe by saying, “The bombs (炸弹) are far away from us. The Americans are fighting the soldiers. We’re going to be all right.” Even though Abu knows it isn’t always true, little else can be done. In Baghdad, parents give their children sleeping pills to try and let them escape from the sound of bombs. And all the schools are closed.
Now things are worse, and the ongoing war makes it impossible to count the number who are hungry, sick, hurt or even dead.
根据短文内容，选择正确答案。
1.What happens to the children in Iraq because of the war?
A. The children will get better than before.
B. The children beg for food and water from American and British soldiers.
C. The children in Iraq go away from their homes in Baghdad.
D. The children live a most terrible life.
2.What does the word “ongoing” mean in Chinese?
A. 正在进行的 B. 非正义的 C. 未授权的 D. 影响恶劣的
3.The father doesn’t tell the true thing to his child because ______.
A. he wants to make his child not feel dangerous
B. he and his child are afraid to lose each other in the war
C. he doesn’t want his child to believe American soldiers
D. he will lose his country and his home
4.The war in Iraq tells us that ________.
A. the Iraqi people in the war are much hungrier and worse
B. we should help the Iraqi people build their country again
C. nothing can be done except fighting
D. both A and B
5.What would be the best title (标题) for the report?
A. Iraqi children during the War
B. Sickness, Death in Iraq
C. America and England Fight against Iraq
D. A Girl in the War in Iraq
(选自2003年重庆市中考试题)
(Keys: 1.D 2.A 3.A 4.D 5.A)
II
Here is a page from a magazine named Future. Read the following information about things that may happen in ten years. And then do the exercise below.
A.
Cars will run on solar power (太阳能) or electricity and will be much cleaner. They will be much safer. For example, if you are too close to another car or if you are driving dangerously, your car will slow down by itself.
B.
Because there won’t be any spare land, new cities will have to be built in the sea. Some cities on water will have two levels (层). People will live on the upper level; the lower level will be used for traffic, shops and factories.
C.
Biotechnology (生物技术) will make food better and healthier. Plants that are not affected (影响) by insects or illnesses will be developed. The taste of fruit and vegetables will be better and food will be kept longer.
D.
New technology will be used to make TVs that are only 5cm thick. They will have pictures that are as clear as photos. Electrical appliances (家用电器) will be quieter and will be controlled by computer. They will also use 50% less power.
E.
Many new ways to cure (治愈) illnesses will be successful using products of genetic engineering (基因产品). Cures will be found for the flu and the common cold. However, some new illnesses will appear.
判断下列句子是否符合短文内容，符合的用“T”表示，不符合的用“F”表示。
1.Cars using solar power or electricity will cause fewer accidents and less pollution.
2.People will be able to live in the new cities in the sea.
3.Biotechnology will help divide food into two groups: better food and healthier food.
4.Electrical appliances will save 50% of power because they are controlled by computers.
5.Genetic engineering can help doctors to cure illnesses.
6.The information above is about the history of the development of modern science.
(选自2003年上海市中考试题)
(Keys: 1.T 2.T 3.F 4.F 5.T 6.F)
② 主观试题
在中考英语试卷中，主观试题出现得虽然不是很普遍，但它反映了英语新课程标准的精神。与客观试题相比，主观试题更能检测出学生的真实英语水平，不少省市开始对这种题型有所涉及，且有逐渐增加之势。
主观试题通常包括以下几种命题方式：
a. 填空题
所谓“填空题”，就是在短文或图文材料后，给出若干个句子或一段经过改写的短文或对话，并且在句子、短文或对话中留有若干空格，要求在每个空格中填入一个或几个单词，使句子、短文或对话所表达的意思与原来所给材料内容保持一致。例如：
I
Most people have jobs. They go to work nearly every day. Some people are lucky. Either they have very interesting jobs or they make a lot of money. Most people are not so lucky. Either their jobs are not very interesting or they don’t make much money.
The most interesting jobs are often the most difficult. People take a long time to learn how to do them. Doctors study for at least six years after finishing school.
Some young people have interesting and high-pay jobs. Many young players do their work successfully. Football and tennis stars are usually under 35 Years old. Older people usually cannot play these sports very well. They cannot move fast enough. Golf, however is a good sport for older people. Many golf players are quite old, but they can play it successfully.
Most people work until they are 60 or 65 years old. Then they retire (退休) and have a lot of free time. Some people never retire though. These people usually have very interesting jobs. Writers, artists, scientists and actors (演员) usually work until they die. Their work is their life.
根据短文内容，完成下列句子，每空一词。
1.Some ______ people have interesting or high-pay jobs, _____ most people don’t have such good luck.
2.Some jobs ______ a long time to learn because they are ______.
3.Young players can _____very fast, so many of them play these _____ like football and tennis very ______.
4.Golf is a good sport for ______ people.
5.Most people keep _____ until the age of 60 or 65. but writers, artists, scientists and actors can work all their _______.
(选自2003年吉林省中考试题)
(Keys: 1.lucky, while/but 2. take, difficult/hard 3.move/run, sports/games, well/successfully 4.old/older 5.working, lives)
II
School education is very important and useful. The students both learn knowledge and get an education. Yet, no one can learn everything from school. The scientists，such as Edison，Newton，Galileo and Einstein, didn’t learn everything from school. They learned a lot of knowledge outside school or in practice by themselves. A teacher, even he knows a lot, can’t teach his students everything.
The teacher’s job is to show his students how to learn, how to read and how to think. A good teacher with rich experience in teaching can teach his students the methods(= ways)of study. Through these methods the students are able to learn and get a lot of things by themselves.
Usually it is very easy for the students to remember some knowledge, but it is very difficult to use it for problems. If a teacher really shows the students the ability of how to use knowledge, it means the teacher has learned lots of knowledge by himself (or herself). The success in learning shows he or she knows how to study.
(A)根据短文内容选择最佳答案。
1.From this passage we know ________.
A. the students are taught everything at school
B. a teacher can't teach the students everything
C. school is really not important and useful
D. Edison learned lots of knowledge at school
2. A teacher's job is ________.
A. to help the students with their lessons
B. to teach the students everything
C. to show the students how to study by themselves
D. to tell them the way to study
3. Choose the right order of this passage.
a. How important are the study methods for students？
b. What does the teacher’s experience of success in study mean？
c. Where should the students study？
d. What is the job of a teacher？
A. c, a, b, d B. b, c, a, d C. c, b, d, a D. c, d, a, b
4. Which of the following is right？
A. If we know how to learn，we can get a lot of knowledge.
B. We can learn everything from our teachers.
C. The writer tells us that practice is more important for the students than learning.
D. It is the only job for the students to learn knowledge.
5. Which of the following is the best title(标题)？
A. A real job for teachers
B. Study in and outside school
C. Practice—the only way of learning
D. How to learn knowledge
(B)根据短文大意及空格提示的第一个字母，把单词拼写完整，使句子正确。
Most things can not be e (6)without f (7), but reading can. While we are sitting a (8)in our houses, we can t (9)around the whole world, and we can u (10)lots of things. We can talk with the persons hundreds of years ago. Though we may be not i (11), we can become the friends of g (12)men. Only books can give us these p (13). If you can not enjoy them, you are a p (14)person. If you enjoy them most, you will be the h (15)person in the world. (选自2002年四川省中考试题)
(Keys: 1—5 BCDAA 6. enjoyed 7. friends 8. alone 9. travel 10. understand 11. important 12. great 13. pleasures 14. poor 15. happiest)
b. 问答题
所谓“问答题”，就是在短文、图文或图表材料后给出若干个问题，要求考生根据所给材料信息写出正确的答语。答句可以使用完整的句子，也可以使用能体现问题答案的省略句。例如：
Nearly every parent says that we never grow up. In fact, we are maybe 16 or 17 years old. In their eyes, we are always little ones and always do wrong things. For example, when I need to stay at home, alone, they always worry about me and my life without them.
Most parents always think that they have offered the best things they can to make their children live in a comfortable world. They buy their children pretty clothes, cool shoes, strange but expensive school things, and always a thousand-Yuan-cost bike. They think that they have done everything they can to their dear little children. In return, they only want their little boy to give them good results in the examinations
But why their little babies still can’t understand them? Why? Does it mean that they still want more material (物质的)things? No. As a matter of fact, what they want is a true family. What does a true family mean? I think it means a place where we can hide ourselves from the outside cold world. From here, we can get warmth, we can get consolation(安慰), and we can get happiness. And one important thing is that we should be stronger and more confident(自信的) in the outside world because we know that we have a family.
So I think that parents should save their money and sit down to talk with their child to let them know that they have a true family, so the child and his parents could understand each other more and more. Then, no boy will be regarded as a little boy.
阅读短文, 回答问题。
1. What are always like in our parents’ eyes?
___________________________________________________________________
2. What do parents expect of us when they give us so much?
___________________________________________________________________
3. Do children want a true family? What does a true family mean?
___________________________________________________________________
4. How can parents no longer regard us as little children?
___________________________________________________________________
(选自2003年扬州市中考试题)
(Keys: 1. In their eyes, we are always little ones (children) and always do wrong things. 2. They only want us to give them good results in the examinations/exam. 或Good results in the examinations/exam. 3. Yes. I think it means a place where we can hide ourselves from the outside cold world. 或Yes. It is a place from where we can get warmth, we can get consolation, and we can get happiness. 4. They can talk with us and we can understand each other more and more.)
c. 其他
随着中学英语考试的不断发展，阅读理解传统的命题方式不断地暴露出它的局限性。为了迎合素质教育的要求，在近几年的中考英语试题中，出现了一些既考查知识又考查能力，而且形式新颖的“阅读理解”试题类型。例如：
I
Most people in Britain live in small family groups. More than a quarter of houses in Britain have only got one person in them. Some of these are old people but some are people of twenty to thirty who choose to live alone. 35% of houses have two people in them, and another 17% have three people. 15% have four people in them, and the other homes have five or more…
1. According to the passage，which of the diagrams is right.
(节选自浙江丽水市2002年中考试题)
(Keys: 1. A)
分析：本篇阅读材料采用了文字叙述与数字图形相结合的方式，形式新颖，别具一格。尤其值得称道的是，该小题将文字阅读与数学坐标进行有效结合，很好地体现了不同学科间知识的相互渗透，符合当今素质教育的发展和要求，是非常值得借鉴的，也是未来命题的趋势之一。
III 阅读下面的短文，把A—E五个句子填入文中空缺处(50— 54)，使短文内容完整正确，然后完成第55题。
Plants are important living things. Life could not go on if there were no plants.
50 But animals and men can't make food from them. 51 Men live on plants and animals too. So animals and men need plants to live. 52 If you look carefully at the plants around you, you will find there are many kinds of plants. 53 Most plants are green. Some plants have many small leaves; others have only a few large leaves. 54 They are different in shapes(形状)and colors.
Except having different shapes and colors, leaves are also different in other ways. Some leaves have short stalks(叶柄)while others have long ones, some others have no stalks at all.
A. That is why we find there are so many plants around us.
B. There are many kinds of leaves.
C. Animals get their food by eating plants and other animals.
D. This is because plants can make food from air，water，and sunlight.
E. Some plants are large while others are small.
55. Which is the best title(题目)for this passage? (略)
(节选自河北省2002年中考试题)
(Keys: 50—54 D C A E B)
分析：从表面上来看，这道阅读理解题只是将五个备选句子填入短文中的空缺处。然而，考生只有在透彻理解短文的基础上，弄清上下文之间的关系，才能做出正确的选择。其命题实质上就是在语篇中考查学生上下文衔接的能力。
IV 阅读下面的短文，根据所给语境，按要求完成下面的题目。
Fresh (淡的)water is very important to people, animals, and plants. (82)If there is no water, we all could not live.
Many places in the world need more fresh water.(83)Every country is trying to find ways to turn salt water into fresh water.
In some places,(84)the sun is not hot enough, or it doesn't shine every day.
In such places, (85)heating (加热), ways, sea water, used, can, other, be, of. These ways cost more money, but they work faster than the sun. By boiling(煮沸)sea water with high heat, a lot of fresh water can be made quickly.
(86)但加热不是用海水制淡水的唯一方法。Other ways are tried. One way is freezing(冷冻). The fresh part of salt water freezes first. To get fresh water, the bits of ice are taken out.
(87)哪种方法最佳？The one that gives the most water for the least money. It may be a different way for each place.
A. 将82处的复合句改写成简单句。 82._________________________
B. 将83、84两处的英文翻译成汉语。 83. _______________ 84. _______________
C. 将85处斜体部分的单词组成一个句子。 85. _________________________
D. 将86、87两处的汉语译成英文。 86. _________________________
87. _________________________
(节选自湖北鄂州市2002年中考试题)
(Keys: 82. We all couldn't live without water. 83. 各个国家都在设法寻找用海水制淡水的方法。(各个国家都在设法寻找将海水转化为淡水的方法。) 84. 太阳光热不很充足，或者不是每天都有阳光。 85. Other ways of heating seawater can be used. 86. But heating isn't the only way to get fresh water from salt water. (or…to turn salt water into fresh water) 87. Which way is the best?)
分析：看上去这是一道阅读理解题，其实它是一篇集阅读、词法、句法、翻译于一体的综合性题目，是对考生读、写、译综合水平的检测。此题充分体现了语言的综合性、应用性等特点，具有很强的创新性和导向性。
从考查内容上来看，“阅读理解”题目的设疑方式主要有以下几种：
a. 查找事实、细节型
这类题目主要包括事实识别、有关计算、识图、排列顺序等。一般地，这类题目可以直接从短文中找到可用的信息。这些问题一般都涉及到文章的“5W”，即 who(人物)，when(时间)，where(地点)， what(事件)，why(原因)，how(方式)等。题目设计大多直截了当。只要通读全文，注意文中所述的重要事实或细节，就可以做出正确解答。以图表材料命制的题目更是如此。例如：
03’年山东省烟台市中考“阅读理解”短文(D)中有下面这样一段话：
He/She should have an interest in making pizza. More importantly, he/she should have work experience in a restaurant.
针对这段文字，文后设有这样一道题：
The ad (广告) tells us that ____________________.
A. the assistant must be a man. B. the assistant must have once worked in a restaurant.
C. Pucci Pizza has branches all over China. D. Pucci Pizza is not in Taichung.
【分析】本小题选项B的意思是“要招聘的这个人必须曾在饭馆工作过”。即要具有一定
的从事餐饮业的经验。这与原文中叙述的事实“More importantly, he/she should have work experience in a restaurant.”相比较，形式上虽不大一样，但其内涵却完全相同。如果考生准确地理解了短文中的这句话，问题即可迎刃而解。
又如03’年广东省中考“阅读理解”短文(C)篇中有这样一句话：
In the past, there were forests all around Lake Ponkapog, so the rainwater was clean.
短文后的题目是：
In the past Lake Ponkapog was surrounded by ________. A. fish B. rain C. birds D. forests
【分析】题目所要问的是“Lake Ponkapog四周过去被什么东西所环绕？” 而阅读材料中已用There be句型表达出了这层意思，句式不同，却有异曲同工之妙。
b. 理解词句或句子含义型
结合具体的语境，正确理解单词、词组或句子在阅读材料中的确切含义，是阅读理解能力的一个重要方面。有些词句，虽然未曾学过，但可通过上下文语境推测其含义，有些词虽然不是生词，但在具体的语言环境中已被赋予了特定的、新的含义。例如：
03’年广东省中考“阅读理解”短文(C)中有这样一道题涉及猜测词义：
Now there are many houses around the lake. People often use chemicals in their gardens. They use other chemicals inside their houses for cleaning or killing insects (昆虫). There are also many businessmen. Businessmen use chemicals in their machines or shops.
短文后的第66小题是：
“Chemicals” in the story means ______. A. 化学家 B. 污染品 C. 药品 D. 化学制品
【分析】单从“People often use chemicals in their gardens.”这句话是不大容易猜测出该词的意思的。然而这个词在这个段落中接连出现了三次。第一次是说人们常在花园里使用它，第二次人们在清理房间或杀死昆虫时在屋子里使用它，第三次是说商人们还将其用于机器或在车间中使用。由此，A项和B项明显是错误的。C项具有较大的迷惑性，不过根据“Businessmen use chemicals in their machines or shops.”可知它是不恰当的。
c. 逻辑推理型
这类题目的答案在原文中是不能直接找到的，必须抓住文中相关信息，顺藤摸瓜，进行有理有据的分析、归纳和推理，才能找出答案。有时需要透彻理解作者的双关语和弦外之音等。
(a)根据常识推断
很多短文所设计的题目往往与其它方面的常识相关联，有时需结合或根据已有的常识做出判断。比如解答科学小品文的题目可能要用到物理或化学方面的知识，解答跟自然科学有关的题目可能要用到地理、生物方面的知识等。靠这些知识的帮助，往往能快速做出解答，至少可以更加准确地理解短文。例如：
One day we invited some friends to dinner. When it was about six o’clock, my wife found that we had little bread. So she asked our five-year-old daughter, Kathy, to buy some.
One day, Kathy’s parents invited some friends to ________.
A. have breakfast B. have lunch C. have supper D. have a party
【分析】由文中“One day we invited some friends to dinner.”一句可知，主人要宴请客人吃饭，所以D项(聚会)不合文意，先予以排除。但是在早(breakfast)，午(lunch)，晚(supper)三餐中，却未明确指出到底请客人吃哪一顿饭。英语中对“dinner”一词的解释是：main meal of the day, whether eaten at midday or in the evening. 这样可以将A项排除。至于是B还是C，仍然不能确定。再看下文中的“When it was about six o’clock…”，显然，快六点了，主人尚未准备就绪。根据生活常识，这里的无疑是下午六点钟，再结合“一日三餐”这一常识，他们请客人吃的只能是晚饭，所以可以推断出正确答案是C。
(b)根据计算判断
有些题目需根据短文的意思进行数字运算。中考的“阅读理解”中的数据推算并不要求高深的数学知识。在有关数据推算的试题中，根据短文所提供的数据进行必要的运算时，所涉及的数学知识一般都比较简单，关键在于准确理解原文的含义。例如：
03’年安徽芜湖中考“阅读理解”短文(D)中有这样一道题涉及数据运算：
If the population of Beijing grows to fifteen million by 2008, how many people will probably be able to speak English? About _________.
A. 15,000,000 B. 4,500,000 C. 3,000,000 D. 1,500,000
阅读材料中的原文是：
In five years the percentage (比例) of Beijing residents who can speak English will be raised to around 30 percent from 15 percent now.
【分析】原文中提到：五年之后，会说英语的北京居民的比例将会由现在的15%提升到30%。试卷所提的问题是：如果到2008年北京的人口达到15,000,000，会说英语的人将会有多少？尽管短文中没有提到这个数据，但根据题意不难推算15,000,000×30%=4,500,000
所以答案为B。
(c)根据逻辑关系推断
根据短文中的基本事实、故事情节发展的逻辑关系(如时间、因果、条件、比较、转折、让步等，)进行深层的理解，并在此基础上进行题目的理解。在逻辑判断题中，这部分题目是比较难做的。例如：
We are in the computer age. We often see computers at work. They are especially usefully in automatic control, data processing (数据处理) and solving complicated problems. And they are finding their way into the home. The part played by computers is becoming even more important with each passing day.
More and clever computers will continue to appear. They will run faster, have more functions and work much more skillfully. They will take over more tasks from us, helping to change the face of our world. Some people even think that sooner or later computers will replace us.
However…
Which of the following will best continue the third paragraph?
A. Computers will soon stop developing. B. Many people like computers very much.
C. Computers are as cleverer as man. D. I do not think computers will replace us completely.
【分析】显然，本文采用了对比的方式来表达自己对电脑的看法。前面描写了计算机的优点，但作者用however一词预示自己将引出相反的观点，故答案为D。
d. 归纳主旨型
这类题目要求考生在理解全文大意的基础上，对短文做出总结或概括性的评价。这种题目要求考生不仅能确切把握文中的事实和细节，而且更要透彻理解短文主旨。有的时候还要求对作者写作的意图、观点进行剖析，甚至推测作者的语气、态度等。在表现形式上常采用下列句式：
From the story, we can say/see _________.
According to (根据) the passage, we know that ____________.
The title (标题) of the passage / can be _______________.
The writer tells us _________.
From the story we can see ／learn__________.
The main idea of this passage is ___________.
What is this passage about？
请看下面的例文：
Have you ever heard your own voice? “Of course,” you say.
Has anyone else ever heard your voice? Again you say, “Of course.”
But that’s not quite true. Nobody else has ever heard your voice—the way you hear it. When you talk, you set up sound waves (声波). The air outside your head carries the sound waves to your outer ears. But, of course, the sound of your voice begins inside your head. The bones (骨头) of your head pick up the sound waves, too. They carry the sound waves straight to your inner(里面的) ears. You get the sound from the outside and the inside too. Other people get just the sound waves from the outside. That’s why they don’t hear your voice the way you do.
1. Sound travels in the form (形式) of __________.
A. bones B. air C. waves D. voice
2. The sound of your voice begins ________.
A. inside your head B. outside your head
C. in your inner ears D. in your outer ears
3. When you talk, other people hear your voice _______.
A. through the bones of your head B. from the outside
C. from the inside D. all of the above
4. The phrase “pick up” here means ________.
A. to raise B. to get C. to choose D. to pull
5. The passage is mainly about _________.
A.waves in the air
B. the way you hear your own voice
C. voice gets around far and wide
D. the different ways you and others hear your voice
(选自2003年扬州市中考试题)
【分析】这篇阅读材料所讲的是我们每个人都熟悉的事。答案分别是：1.C 2. A 3. B 4.B 5. D。
下面我们就来着重分析一下考查归纳主旨的第5小题。通读全文，我们知道短文的大意是：别人听到我们声音的方式与我们自己听到的方式是不同的。周围的空气将我们说话时发出的声波传送到外耳。由于声音是从头的内部发出来的，我们自己的头骨也受到声波的振动，并直接将声波传送到内耳里。这也就是说，我们自己是从外部和内部两处同时听到声音的。而别人则不然，他们只是从外部接收到我们发出的声波。根据短文提供的以上信息，不难看出，这篇短文的主旨是“自己和别人听到自己声音的方式是不同的”。所以答案为D。
此外，在中考英语试题中，还常出现“图形理解”这种形式的题目。这类题材的阅读材料主要考查考生对图表的分析和理解能力。牵涉的范围很广，如商店、公共场所的招牌，车站、飞机场的时刻表以及广告、报刊的片断等。请看下面的一段例文：
Look at the following train timetable. According to the information in the timetable and complete the sentences with the right words.
1.The first train to London on a Saturday leaves Leeds at ________to seven.
2.The nine ten train runs only on ________.
3.The trains at six forty-five and ________arrive in London before ten o'clock.
4.There are _______ trains to London every Monday morning.
5.The ten thirty train on a Saturday is a very ______one.
(选自2002年全国中学生英语能力竞赛初三组试题)
【分析】解答图表题，要仔细阅读表格中的内容，尤其是有关表格的说明。表格类阅读材料一般都直观地表达出所要传递的信息。考生只要能看懂各个项目的意义，即可找出所设问题的答案。这类材料一般不涉及难度太大的题目，只是在航班、列车等时刻表等材料中，经常出现利用出发时刻(Departure)和到达时刻(Arrival)来计算路途中所需的时间等题目。
1. a quarter。这由表格中的第一个时间0545可知。
2. Saturdays。The nine ten train就是指的是九点十分的火车，从表格中找到0910，往上可以查到CF和S，根据下面的图示可知S指的就是星期六，即Saturdays。
3. seven twenty-five。在表格中，我们可明显看到首发的两班车 (到达分别时间是：0908和0945)都是在十点钟前到达目的地，而第三班车则是在1014这一时间到达的。
4. four。从表格中不难找到含有MF字符的三趟火车，再加上0945从LEEDS出发的那一班正好是四趟。其余两趟只有星期天才发车。
5. slow。The ten thirty train on a Saturday这趟火车是表格中的倒数第二个，它的发车时间后面有一个c，根据下面的注解，这个字符是换车(change at Doncaster)之意，那么怎么样才能知道它是慢车呢？原来，我们只有通过计算它的发车时间和到站时间(1030，1456)才能得到答案，这趟车途中所用时间是四小时十六分，然后再与其它车次所用的时间进行比较，就会发现它是最慢的。
(5)“阅读理解”的解题技巧与策略
①“阅读理解”的解题步骤与思路点拨
a. 浏览问题，通读全文。做阅读理解题之前，首先要匆匆读一下短文后面的题目，然后带着这些问题去阅读所给的材料，获取文中的各种信息。带着问题阅读可以做到有的放矢，增加目的性，从而避免在不必要的信息上浪费时间。同时，带着问题阅读，可缩小阅读的范围，更便于捕捉关键的信息。通读时可边读边用铅笔做些标记，把有关的人物、事件、时间、地点、起因 (即5个W：who，what，when， where，why) 划出来。例如：逢人物就圈起来，看完短文数一数，有几个圈就是几个人，一目了然。
通读全文时，尤其要注意短文首段或每一自然段的首句。在记叙文中，这往往是交待某一事件发生的时间、地点或相关人物的；在其它类型的文章中，也往往是反映作者观点或写作意图的关键句子。文章最后一段往往是总括全文的，是事件的结局或作者表达的态度、意图、目的等。特别是短文的末尾一句，往往起着画龙点睛的作用。命题者也常常就这一句设置一个题目，而且往往是难度较大的题。这样一来便容易抓住中心，为下一步准确、快速地解题打下良好的基础。
b. 解答问题，选定答案。浏览全文，获取了文中的主要信息之后，就可以一边认真阅读题目，一边细心答题了。首先，要弄懂题干的内容和要求，然后到文中去找相应的信息。不管是哪一种形式的阅读理解题，其涉及的内容都会在文中直接或间接地体现出来。对那些很明显就能在短文中找到依据的题目，要一锤定音。其次，依照题目和找到的信息，进行推理判断。推理和判断时，一定要依据文中信息，做到有理有据，而且要细致入微，丝毫马虎不得。如果遇到的题目很难或无法根据所给材料做出明确的判断，这时，要统观全文，在理解文字表面意思的基础上进行深入分析、推理，找到解决问题的突破口，然后结合文章主题和有关常识进行思考，从而可以推断出正确答案。如果遇到百思不得其解的问题，可暂时将其搁置一旁，等做完其它题目之后，然后再回头来推敲这些悬而未决的题目。
值得一提的是，虽然有时候在选项里会出现原文中的某些语句，但它们往往是迷惑项，与答案的选定根本不相干。因此，越是这样的选项，越要引起注意，看看是否与所提的问题有联系，是否还有更贴近文章原意的选项，以免误选。
c. 力求稳妥，复核检查。在完成了全部的题目之后，还必须快速地、有针对性地重读一遍短文，特别是要留意与题目相关的文字。对于选择题，看一看所选择的答案是不是最佳答案；对填词题或问答题，看一看所填入的单词或所作回答是否与文中有关内容相符，书写是否正确。这是最后一步，也是非常重要的一步，不能疏忽。一旦发现前后矛盾、遗漏要点等错误，要立即纠正。
②“阅读理解”中考应试指南
a. 保持良好的精神状态。良好的精神状态对于考场上的考生来说非常重要。因为只有在心理放松的情况下，考生的精力才能够集中，思维才会敏捷，从而才能将自己的真实水平发挥出来。
b. 抓住中心句。阅读短文之前，先看短文是否有标题。若有，应给予高度重视。因为标题是文章主题的高度凝聚，它能给我们启发和想象，有利于加深对短文的理解，从而提高做题效率。另外，在没有标题的情况下，应充分重视短文的首、尾句。因为大多数文章都是按照“总---分---总”的结构布局的。据统计，英语中有60%-90%的主题句位于段首和段尾，短文的其它文字往往是对这些中心句的解释和说明。
c. 克服不良习惯，提高阅读速度。由于考试的时间有限，在保证不出偏差的前提下，一定要尽可能地提高阅读速度。倘若能注意克服以下不良习惯，就可以大大提高阅读速度：①心读。考场上不能出声阅读，于是有的考生就在心里读，有时考生的嘴唇也在动。这是非常不好的习惯，一定要下决心克服。因为这样做会直接制约着阅读速度的提高；②回视(指重新阅读上文)。阅读中的回视是一种无效劳动，所以应一口气把文章读完，尽量不要回视。这坏习惯是慢慢形成的，不是一朝一夕就能克服掉的。在平时的学习中就应当引起注意并加以克服；③一个词一个词地看。阅读时，视线应从左向右跳跃式移动，着重扫描意群，同时注意意群中的重要单词，以寻求主要的语言信息。可将冠词、系动词、助动词及不定式符号等小品词一扫而过，不可一词不漏地全部都看一遍；④只读不记。正确的做法是：一边阅读一边用笔记下或标出那些与文后所设问题有关的信息。这样，在做题时就用不着重新查阅短文，至少不用一句一句地再寻找那些隐约有印象的信息，从而可以节省一些时间。
d. 判断要有依据，推理要顺乎作者的意图。对于推理性或评价性之类的阅读理解题目，在材料中一般是找不到现成答案的，必须通读全篇，对所获信息加以筛选、提炼、推断，对作者的思想倾向，对文中提及的人物或事件可能产生的结局等，加以综合考虑才能得出正确结论。对这种题，不能以偏概全，不能“只见树木，不见森林”，不能以个人的想法代替作者的意图。
e. 遇到生词时，一定要沉着、冷静。中考英语试题中，一般是不会盲目地出现生词的，但不排除出现影响答题的生词，同时也可能出现猜测生词的题目，因为猜测词义也是阅读能力的体现，当然也在考查范围之列。遇到这种题目，只要理解了全篇材料的大部分内容，弄清了上、下文之间的内在联系，判断出它在文中可能存在的含义是不难的。中考中常用的猜测词义的方法有：
(a) 根据上、下文进行猜测。这是最重要，也是最常用的方法。有些生词可以通过上下文的相关信息，或根据同位语，修饰语等猜测词义。例如：
The people who survived the earthquake cried bitterly over the bodies of their relatives.
【分析】一般来说，中考“阅读理解”题中的“词义猜测”，并不要求考生根据构词法去分析单词的词义，而是要求考生根据文中的有关信息对生词的词义进行推断性的猜测。联系上下文，不难看出：这些人的亲属死了，他们在哭，显然他们在地震中“survive”了。这个词不就是“幸存”之意吗？可见，这种词义猜测也是建立在对上下文的正确理解之上的。又如：
The pupils assembled in front of the school hall. They came together to listen to the headmaster announce the result of the sports meeting.
【分析】下文中的短语came together意思是“聚到一起”，由此可以推断出学生们是“聚集到”学校大厅里听运动会的结果的。故该词的意思是“聚集”。
请再看下面这个例子：
…This is because people become so hungry at noon that they eat too much for lunch. This will gain weight (增加体重) instead of losing it. You will lose more weight if you reduce your other meals.
The word “reduce” in the last sentence means ________.
A. 增加 B. 减少 C. 放弃 D. 享用 (节选自南京市中考试题)
【分析】上文说：人们中午太饿，吃得太多，故身体增重。如果你“reduce”其它二顿饭，就会减轻体重。根据逻辑分析，若“少吃”就能减轻体重，若“放弃”，人就会挨饿，故答案为B。
(b) 利用构词法进行猜测。英语的构词法大致可分为派生、转化和合成等。例如：
Man differs from most from all the other animals in their ability to learn and use languages.
【分析】不难发现，本句中的生词differ跟different是同根词，搭配也是from，其前有man，其后有animals，根据这些信息可以断定动词differ此处有“和……不相同”、“与……存在差别”之意。
这里要特别强调一点，大部分阅读题目在设计过程中，已充分考虑到了生词对答题的影响。对于那些对答题无关紧要的生词，如人名、地名、产品商标名称或影视剧目名称等，一般是不加注汉语的，只要能推断出那些生词的类别就可以了，不必弄清其准确含义。对于那些一时难以断定其意思又不妨碍理解的生词，大可不必理会。
另外，熟词新义也是应当引起重视的。英语词语往往具有一词多义，在不同的场合它所表达的意思就不一定相同。如果仅仅用它的主要或常用的词义来理解一篇文章，就可能产生误解，或者根本无法了解作者的意图。如果一时间想不起该词的其它含义，可根据上下文来判断该词的词义。特别是那些关键词，必须仔细推敲。
③ 解题的注意事项
a. 忌不带问题进行阅读。读短文之前，应首先把所给材料后面的题目浏览一遍，然后带着这些问题进行阅读。一边阅读一边选出考查表层理解题目的答案，这样不仅可以增加目的性，而且可以在一定程度上提高做题效率。
b. 忌草率行事。在设计题目时，命题者往往在四个选项中设置一个似是而非的答案。该选项的干扰性很强，一不留神就可能被迷惑。正确的做法是：对意义接近，似是而非的备选答案，要进行认真分析、细心比较，找出它们的不同之处。然后再结合短文内容进行旁敲侧击，找到解决问题的切入点，这样就能去伪存真，正确答案自然就会水落石出。
c. 忌凭主观印象。在阅读所给材料之后，个别题目有时可以凭借生活常识找到答案，但绝大多数试题则不然。这就要求考生必须忠实于原文来选定答案，避开自身的生活经验、经历和已有的知识等主观因素的干扰。
d. 忌书写潦草。在没有读完材料时，有的考生就匆忙作答。等到读完全文，才发现前面的答案是错误的，于是再作改动。结果卷面被弄得非常不整洁，看上去一片狼籍，字迹难以辨认，以致于影响了自己的考试成绩。在解答主观性阅读理解试题时，尤其要注意这一点。
e. 忌随意改动答案。在检查时，如果怀疑某个答案的正确性，这时一定要慎之又慎，不要轻意改动。一般地，解答“阅读理解”题时，考试已进行了一段时间，大脑可能有些疲劳。稍有不慎就可能会把本来选对的题目改错。一般地，同学们要相信自己的第一感觉，不可轻易改动答案。如果真要改动，一定要找到充分的依据。
f. 正确对待生词。在阅读材料中，往往有些生词或词语不给出注解。主要有三种情况：(1)地名、人名。在句子中用大写字母开头的词往往是人名或地名。这就要求从单词本身及文章内容来推断大概的意思，翻译出来的意思是否准确并不太重要。(2)通过构词法而得出的另外一个词。这就要抓住词根，利用构词法知识进行词义猜测。(3)有的生词需要利用上、下文中的相关信息，或根据同位语、修饰词，或根据前后词汇之间的关系判断词性、词义。在阅读中遇到生词并不可怕，但是要注意从整体上理解句子，千万别老是盯着生词不放，以免影响阅读速度。有些给出注解的生词，再次或多次出现时，不会注解多次，要留心记住汉语意思，以免造成下一步的阅读障碍。
近几年的中考英语阅读材料，涉及的学科知识多而且新，对学生能力的考查更加全面。因此，同学们一定要扎扎实实地学好各科知识。知识面越宽，思维就越活跃，考虑问题就越周全，解决问题的能力就越强。抽样调查分析表明，中考英语试卷中的“阅读理解”失分点除了考生没有理解透彻短文外，还有以下几个问题应引起同学们注意：
a. 注意题干中的“infer”(推断)这个单词。如果题干中出现了这个单词，一般来说应该首先排除选项中的那些在文章中出现过的句子。因为题目中要求从文章中推断出某一结论，那就说明这一结论不是短文中存在的。
b. 注意题干中的“title”(标题)这个单词。这样的题目是要求考生为短文选择标题的。一般地，标题的选择要遵循“精、准、全”这个三字原则。“精”是指要用精炼的语言概括出文章的中心；“准”是指选择的标题要能将作者的观点或思想准确地表达出来；“全”是指标题的选择应该排除那些片面的选项，选取包含短文主要内容及作者要表达的观点的选项。
c. 注意选项中的多选项。很多学生只要一见到有“Both A and B”，“All the above”之类的选项，往往就不假思索地选上了，还以为上了“双保险”，肯定不会错。事实上并非全都如此，遇到这类题目更需要细心分析，认真推敲，否则很可能会上当。请看下面的这段话：
Sleep puzzles science. Scientists and doctors would rather talk about why one can’t fall asleep. They are not sure what causes sleep.
Questions:
Sleep puzzles scientists because they are not certain ___________.
A. why one can’t fall asleep B. why one wakes up
C. both A and B D. what causes sleep
【分析】从短文中可以明显看出科学家宁愿谈论人们睡不着的原因，说明他们对这个问题是有把握的。D为正确答案。而不少考生迷信“双保险”，将C项当作答案，做出错误的选择。
第2章 中考真题透视
研究近几年全国各省市中考英语试题，我们发现“阅读理解”题呈现出这样几个特点：①题材新颖，原汁原味，趣味性强；②贴近生活实际，极具可读性；③反映社会热点，富于时代气息；④题目设计巧妙，匠心独运；⑤考查能力综合化；⑥选材广泛，信息量大。所涉及内容包罗万象，不仅涉及生活百科，自然科学，而且也触及天文地理，异域风情等。
兵法有云：知彼知己，百战不殆。下面就从2003年全国重点省市中考英语试题中精选出具有代表性、权威性的试题，并辅之以解题思路点拨。相信将对同学们决胜中考大有裨益。
(1)“选择填空”式
Passage 1
In the summer of 1978 an English man named Steven was driving his tractor through a field of wheat when he discovered something strange. Some of his wheat was lying on the ground. The flattened wheat formed(形成)a circle about six meters across . Around this circle were four smaller circles of flattened wheat.
Three years later a farmer who lived nearby discovered almost the same circles in one of his fields. These circles were larger—nearly 15 meters across . That same year , another English farmer discovered three circles of flattened wheat on his land—one large circle between two small circles. During the following years, farmers in England found circles in their fields more and more often.
The circles are called “crop circles” because they usually appear in fields of wheat or corn. The wheat in the circles lies on the ground but is never broken; it keeps on growing, and the farmers can later harvest it. Farmers always discover the crop circles in the morning, so the circles probably form at night. They appear only in the months from May to September. What causes the crop circles?
At first, people thought that some kids were making them as a joke, or that farmers were making them to attract tourists.(In fact, in 1991, two men said they made the circles themselves, but many scientists don’t believe them.) People tried to copy them: They tried to make circles exactly like the ones the farmers had found. They couldn’t do it. They couldn’t enter a field of wheat without leaving tracks, and they couldn’t flatten the wheat without breaking it.
Several times people reported seeing stranger objects near the fields where crop circles later appeared. Many people believe that these crop circles are the messages sent by living things from outer space(外层空间)or the marks left by their spaceships.
Scientists who have studied the crop circles try to find out what causes them. In the summer of 1990 some scientists spent three weeks in the part of England where many circles have appeared. They had all the latest high-tech equipment(最新高科技设备). The equipment—worth 1.8 million dollars—got nothing. But one night, as the scientists were watching a field, crop circles formed in the field behind them, which were quite different from the others. The scientists had neither seen nor heard anything.
When Steven discovered the crop circles on his land in 1978, he said, “It was just like something that had landed in the field from the air and gone back up again. I don’t know what to make of these things.”
Crop circles have appeared in England, Japan, the United States and Russia. Experts from all over the world have studied them, and they say what Steven said: They don’t know what to make of these things.
1. Which picture is probably the one formed in the field behind the scientists?
2. “Flattened wheat” means ___________.
A. broken wheat B. lying wheat
C. harvested wheat D. growing wheat
3. The passage is mainly about something ___________ .
A. that is done by living things from outer space
B. that cannot be solved but found all around the world
C. that cannot be made clear or understood
D. that is discovered and copied by the farmers
(选自2003年北京西城区试题)
【解题思路点拨】这篇阅读材料属于难度较大的拉档题，介绍了“庄稼圆圈”这个尚未揭开的世界之谜。1978年，一位名叫Steven的英国农民在麦田里发现倒伏的小麦形成的一个直径6米的大圆圈，而且在它的周围还环绕着四个小圆。后来，其它农民陆续发现类似情况，只不过圆的大小和分布不同而已。据目击者称，“庄稼圆圈”通常在6月至9月份出现，且在早上被发现。更让人感到惊讶的是，倒伏的小麦并未折断，还在继续生长。有人猜测这是外星人所为，或许是他们的飞船留下的痕迹。后来，在日本、美国和俄罗斯等国家也发现了“庄稼圆圈”。科学家们使用最新的设备进行了跟踪调查和研究，结果一无所获。
1. A。解答此题，必须依次弄清田地里留下的圆圈的形状。1978年发现的是中间有一个直径约为6米的大圆，周围分布着4个小些的圆。即如图B中的样子。三年后另一农民发现的几个直径约为15米的大圆，他们几乎差不多大，即如图D所示的那样。就在同一年，又有一个农民发现三个圆，一个大些，另两个小，大圆在小圆的中间，如图C所示。而科学家身后的圆圈与别的都不同，由此可以找到答案A。
2. B。只有真正理解短文所述的内容之后，才能判断出短语“Flattened wheat”的确切意思。实际上，文中第三自然段中“The wheat in the circles lies on the ground but is never broken; it keeps on growing, and the farmers can later harvest it.”一句已对此短语的意思有所暗示。由这几句话，可知小麦既不是折断了的，也不是在生长的，更不是已收获的小麦。
3. C。短文中提到很多人相信这是外星人所为 (Many people believe that these crop circles are the messages sent by living things from outer space or the marks left by their spaceships.)，但是他们并没有证据。因此A项不对。虽然很多地方都发现过“庄稼圆圈”，但并不是在全世界都有，短文中列举了三个国家。故B项不对。短文中提到有的农民声称是他们干的，但也予以了否定。由此，C项是最佳答案。通盘考虑全篇的意思，人们不懂得为什么麦田里会出现这种现象，科学家们也没有弄清原因。短文的最后一段说的也是这个意思。
Passage 2 Winter is dangerous because it’s so difficult to know what is going to happen and accidents take place so easily. Fog can be waiting to meet you over the top of a hill. Ice might be hiding under the melting (融化) snow, waiting ahead (前面) to send you off the road. The car coming to you may suddenly slip across the road.
Rule Number One for driving on icy roads is to drive smoothly (平稳地). Sudden movements can make a car very difficult to control. So every time you either start or stop your car, increase or reduce your speed, you must be as gentle and slow as possible. Suppose you are driving with a full cup of hot coffee on the seat next to you. Drive so that you wouldn’t spill (溅) it.
Rule Number Two is to pay attention to what might happen. The more ice there is, the further down the road you have to look. Test how long it takes to gently stop your car. Remember that you may be driving more quickly than you think. Generally, allow twice of your usual stopping distance when the road is wet, three times this distance on snow, and even more on ice. Try to stay in control of your car at all time and you will not get into trouble. (选自2003年上海市试题)
1.The writer tries to _____ in this passage.
A. show his dislikes about bad winter weather B.give information about winter weather
C.ask people not to drive in winter D.advise people about safe driving in winter
2.People can _____ after reading this passage.
A. find out about the weather B.get some information on driving lessons
C.learn about better driving D.decide which is the best season for traveling
3.According to the passage, the writer thinks that _______.
A. people should not drive in the snow
B.
drivers should think more about problems in winter driving
C. people drive too fast in winter
D. winter drivers should stop their cars less
4.In the passage he writer talks about a cup of coffee ______.
A. to show how important smooth movements are
B. to ask the drivers to bring some soft drinks with them
C. to tell the drivers to be more relaxed
D. to show how it an be spilled
5.Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Traffic accidents take place easily in winter.
B. Fog and melting snow often cause car accidents.
C. The stopping distance on ice is as long as the usual one.
D. In winter you should drive your car with great care.
6.Which traffic sign shows the main idea of the passage?
【解题思路点拨】这篇说明文的大体意思是：由于受山顶上弥漫的大雾或者融雪下面的冰等等因素的影响，冬季是易发生事故的危险季节。为了行驶安全，要遵循两个原则：一是平稳驾驶。加速或煞车时，动作要尽可能地轻缓一些。二是提防可能会发生的任何事情。路面上的雪越多，就应该把视线放得更远些。当路面出现潮湿，有雪、冰等情况时，将车停下来所需要的时间是不同的。随时准备控制车辆的运行，驾驶员就不会遇到麻烦。
1.D.根据文中的“Rule Number One for driving on icy roads is…”和“Rule Number Two is to pay attention to…”这两句句不难看出，短文的主要内容是就如何在冬季安全驾驶这一问题，向司机们提出的两点建议。故答案为D。
2.C.考虑到安全问题，作者提出了在各种恶劣天气条件下开车的注意事项。读完本文后，人们自然可以更好地驾驶自己的汽车了。所以答案是C。
3.B.由短文所讲述的内容可知，作者教给人们如何在冰雪上谨慎驾驶及如何平稳地煞车。由此，可以将A、C、D三项予以排除。本题的答案亦可直接从“Rule Number Two is to pay attention to what might happen.”一句中判断出来。
4.A.作者在短文中说到平稳驾驶时，让人们启动、停车或加速、减速时，动作要轻缓。并举了一个例子，即在座位上放一杯热咖啡，以溅不出来咖啡为宜。用这个例子借以告诉人们平稳驾驶的重要性。
5.C.A、B两项的意思在短文的首段可以找到。由短文大意可知，冬季是交通事故容易发生的季节，因此冬季开车应格外小心，故D项也是正确的。实际上，由“Generally, allow twice of your usual stopping distance when the road is wet, three times this distance on snow, and even more on ice.”可以排除C项。另外，通过常识，也可以判断C项(煞车后，车在冰上向前滑行的距离与在平常路面上是一样的)是明显错误的。
6.B.短文主要是讲如何在冰雪天气里安全驾驶的。由此可将C项(前方有交通事故，减速慢行)和D项(前方修路，谨慎驾驶)筛选掉。而文中也没有提及A项(前方有雾，减速慢行)所表达的意思。故答案非B莫属。
Passage 3
Four men who would become fathers were in a hospital waiting room while their wives were in labor (分娩). The nurse arrived and proudly said to the first man, “Congratulations, sir. You’re the father of twins!”
“What a coincidence (巧合)! I work for the Minnesota Twins Baseball teams!”
Later the nurse returned and congratulated the second father on the birth of his triplets (三胞胎).
“Wow! That’s unbelievable! I work for the 3M Company.”
An hour later, the nurse returned to congratulate the third man on the birth of his quadruplets (四胞胎). Surprised, he only could answer, “I don’t believe it! I work for the Four Seasons Hotel!”
After this, everyone turned to the fourth man who had just fainted (晕). The nurse ran fast to his side. As he slowly came to himself, they could hear him speak in a very low voice over and over, “I should never have taken that job at 7-Eleven. I should never have taken that job at 7-Eleven. I should never have taken that job at 7-Eleven.”
1.Why were the fathers there?
A. They were waiting for their wives. B. They were seeing doctors.
C. They were waiting for their babies to be born. D. They were working at men nurses there.
2.Which of the following is true about the third man?
A. He thought the nurse made a mistake. B. He was very surprised at the nurse’s words.
C. He didn’t want to have these babies. D. He should never have worked at 7-Eleven.
3.Why did the fourth man faint when he heard what the nurse told the third man?
A. Hew was afraid of having so many babies. B. He was seriously ill.
C. He was too excited. D. He was very glad to have 7 babies.
4.At least how many babies would be born according to the story?
A. 9. B. 10. C. 11. D. 14. (选自2003年湖北省黄石市试题)
【解题思路点拨】这个趣味短篇讲述了这样一件事：四个男子在产房外等待各自的妻子生孩
子。结果，在the Minnesota Twins棒球队效力的男人的妻子生下了一对双胞胎。在the 3M Company上班的男人的妻子生下了三胞胎。而在四季旅馆工作的男人的妻子生下了四胞胎。听到护士的介绍之后，那个在7-Eleven公司做事的男人晕了过去。原来，联想到前三人的工作单位和他们的妻子所生孩子的数目，第四个人生怕自己的妻子生下七个孩子。等他苏醒过来之后，不住地唠叨，“我真不该在7-Eleven上班。”读罢全文，让人捧腹大笑。
1.C。短文首句的意思是“在一所医院的候诊室里，四个即将做爸爸的男人等待着各自的妻子分娩(孩子的降生)。”所以答案是C。
2.B。“Surprised, he only could answer…”一句是解题的依据。因为这个人在四季旅馆工作，D项明显是错误的；此人的话语中也没有体现C项的意思；综合考虑上面两个人的经历，及“I don’t believe it! I work for the Four Seasons Hotel!”可知A项也不能入选。
3.A。如果是很高兴拥有七个孩子的话，第四个人就不至于说出“I should never have taken that job at 7-Eleven.”这句话。这个人是在听到第三则消息的时候才晕倒的，并不是病得厉害。由“As he slowly came to himself…”(苏醒过来)也可以将B项排除。根据这个人再三重复的那句话，不难推测出他是害怕拥有那些么多的孩子。
4.B。根据前面三个人的经历，第四个人便依次类推，认为自己的妻子会生下七个孩子。如果事情真的巧合的话，也许会是这样。但依据生活常识，这个人的妻子至少会生下一个妻子，算上已经降生的九个孩子，总共是十个。所以答案非D莫属。本题是一道考查学生推断能力的好题目，但选项设计不够合理，通读全文就会很容易排除前三个选项。所以如果将四个选项设计成：A. 9. B. 10. C. 11. D. 16. 这样会增加题目的迷惑性，更能考查学生的逻辑推理能力。
Passage 4 It is sometimes said that the English are polite people. This can make life difficult for foreigners. Suppose a foreign boy asks an English girl to go out with him and she says, “If I finish my work, I’ll meet you in the cafe at 7 o’clock.” Is she saying “ yes ” or “ no ” to his invitation?
In grammatical terms, she is using the conditional structure. By using the conditional, speakers of English can avoid giving a “yes ” or “no ” answer to a question. It enables people to be diplomatic. If the girl doesn’t want to go out with the boy, she won’t turn up at the cafe. She will let him understand she is still working. If she wants to go out with him, but doesn’t want to appear too easy to catch, she has achieved that with her reply. But in this case, as she uses the first conditional that shows probability; she is quite likely to turn up at the cafe. Being polite can make life very difficult!
The conditional is often used by people in the news—politicians, for example—who wish to avoid speaking out their ideas. This is very important if they are on their way to discuss an agreement. No one wants to give away his or her points before he or she starts. A government spokesman might say to a group of workers, “If we could pay you more, we would.” The use of the conditional here makes room for argument although the speaker is using the second conditional form, which shows improbability. So it is unlikely the workers will get their rise.
“If ” is a small word, which appears often in the English language. It can show politeness, reported speech and conditionals such as the First -- probability -- if I can come to your party, I will; the Second -- improbability -- if I saw you tomorrow, I’d give you the book; and the Third -- impossibility (meaning it is too late to change something that has happened) -- if you have told me, I would have helped you.
注：conditional structure 表示条件的句式 avoid 避免 diplomatic 婉转的
achieve 达到 politician 政客
1. The using of the conditional can make a speech _________.
A. clearer B. Quicker C. more polite D. more exciting
2. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. Language used in the news should make room to argue.
B. Usually English girls are not easy to catch.
C. English people never speak out their ideas in public.
D. The word “if” can show different meanings.
3. In the passage, “If we could pay you more, we would.” probably means __________.
A. the workers will make more money B. the spokesman doesn’t give any promise
C. the spokesman keeps his word D. the workers’ problems aren’t difficult
4. This passage is mainly talking about _________.
A. the conditional in communication B. how to invite a girl in Britain
C. British people and their life D. some language points in daily English
(选自2003年北京海淀区试题)
【解题思路点拨】这篇夹叙夹议的小品文难度颇大。短文就条件句在人际交往中的运用这一内容展开。在日常生活中，英国人是很讲礼貌的，他们通常使用表示条件的句式，以便使说出的话更委婉些。条件句的使用固然能使双方都不失体面，但它实际上非但不能使谈话的内容更加清楚，而且使得生活变得困难起来。条件句通常为政客所用，这样可以给他们的谈话留有商量的余地。文章最后讲到“if”这个词的众多含义，它不仅表示委婉和可能性，还能表示不大可能，甚至表示不可能。
1.C。短文首句就说英国人很有礼貌。在接下来的第二自然段中，作者举例说明了英国人使用条件句的目的，那就是为了使自己的谈话委婉些。考虑到“…as she uses the first conditional that shows probability.”和“Being polite can make life very difficult!”这两句话的含义，可知条件句的使用并不能使谈话的内容更加清楚。恰恰相反，它使得生活变得困难起来。由此，迷惑性较大的A项可予以排除。
2. D。由短文第三自然段所举的例子，可以推断出作者对政客们的这种做法是持否定态度的，所以选项A是错误的。选项B仅仅从短文中举的一个例子就得出结论，未免太片面了些。而C项所讲的意思以偏概全，也是不合文意的。短文第四自然段详细说明了if一词的不同含义，它不仅仅可以表示礼貌，用在间接引语中，而且也可以表示可能性、不大可能，或者不可能。故D项是正确的。
3. B。由“The use of the conditional here makes room for argument although the speaker is using the second conditional form, which shows improbability.”这句话，可以看出条件句的使用给政客们所说的话留有商量的余地。换句话说，政客们表面上好像答应了工人们的请求，实际上并没有给出什么承诺。因此，只有B才是正确的答案。
4. A。短文从一个英国女孩被邀请时的答语，说到政客们的所谓许诺。我们从中不难看出短
文的主旨，那就是条件句在日常交际中的运用。不言而喻，答案非A莫属。
Passage 5
Do you know why different animals or pests (昆虫) have their special colors? Colors in them seem to be used mainly to protect themselves.
Some birds like eating locusts (蝗虫), but birds cannot easily catch them. Why? It is because locusts change their colors together with the change of the colors of crops. When crops are green, locusts look green. But as the harvest time comes, locusts change to the same brown color as crops have. Some other pests with different colors from plants are easily found and eaten by others. So they have to hide themselves for lives and appear only at night.
If you study the animal life, you’ll find the main use of coloring is to protect themselves. Bears, lions and other animals move quietly through forests. They cannot be easily seen by hunters (猎人). This is because they have the colors much like the trees.
Have you ever noticed an even stranger act? A kind of fish in the sea can send out a kind of very black liquid (液体)when it faces danger. While the liquid spreads over (散开), its enemies (敌人)cannot find it. And it immediately swims away. So it has lived up to now though it is not strong at all.
1.From the passage we learn that locusts________.
A. are small animals B. are easily found by birds
C. are dangerous to their enemies D. change their colors to protect themselves
2.How can pests with different colors from plants keep out of danger?
A. They run away quickly. B. They have the colors much like their enemies.
C. They hide themselves by day and appear at night. D. They have to move quietly.
3.Bears and lions can keep safe because _________.
A. they have the colors much like the trees B. they move quietly
C. they like brown and gray colors D. they live in forests
4.Why can the kind of fish live up to now?
A. Because it is very and strong.
B. Because the liquid it sends out can help it escape from its enemies.
C. Because the liquid it sends out can kill its enemies.D. Because it swims faster than any other fish.
5.Which is the best title for this passage?
A. The Change of Colors for Animals and Pests B. Colors of Different Animals and Pests
C. The Main Use of Colors for Animals and Pests D. Some Animals and Pests
(选自2003年河北省试题)
【解题思路点拨】这是一篇科技小品文。其主要内容是：许多昆虫的颜色十分奇特，其主要用途是用来保护自己。蝗虫身体的颜色随庄稼颜色的改变而做相应变化，这样就不易被捕食它们的鸟儿发现。有的动物与周围的植物颜色差别很明显，容易被捕食者察觉，只好夜间出来活动。更奇特的是，有一种鱼，在遇到危险时，会喷射出黑色液体，以掩护自己逃走。
1.D。短文第二自然段一开始讲述的是蝗虫随庄稼颜色的改变而改变自身的颜色。联系“…but birds cannot easily catch them.”这句话即可得出答案。
2. C。本题所设的问题是：与周围植物颜色差别明显的昆虫如何逃避危险？第二自然段最后的“So they have to hide themselves for lives and appear only at night.”这句话是答案的出处。
3. A。这也是一道考查表层理解能力的题目。由第三自然段最后的“This is because they have the colors much like the trees.”这句话可以找到答案。
4.B.根据“While the liquid spreads over, its enemies cannot find it. And it immediately swims away.”这两句话可知，这种鱼喷射出黑色液体的目的是让对方看不清自己，然后乘势逃走。另外，由“…its enemies cannot find it.”可知，这种液体并不是用来杀伤对手的。所以答案是B。
5.C.根据短文的叙述和列举的例子，显然可以看出它主要讲的是不同昆虫和动物身上的颜色的用途。换句话说，该短文是关于动物是如何用颜色来保护自己的。而A项中说的动物身上颜色的改变，B项中讲的不同动物身上的颜色，这两项虽然也是短文表达的意思，但并不能概括作者向我们表达的主要意思。故不可入选。
Passage 6
It’s important to learn about protecting our environment. Here is a 5R rule for us:
1. Reduce
If you want to reduce waste, you should use things wisely (明智地). A large number of trees are being cut down to make paper. If everyone uses a little paper carelessly and throw it out, soon we would not have any trees left. Other things are also being wasted, and people don’t know what to do with the waste in big cities. So it is necessary to reduce the waste.
2.Reuse
You should always think of reusing the usable things before throwing them out. Give your clothes you do not use or the ones which too small to the poor. In a family, you may pass on such clothes to younger brothers or sisters.
3.Recycle
Bottles, cans (罐子) and paper can easily be recycled. By doing so we save lots of time and money. For example, coke cans are sent to a factory, where they are smashed flat (压平) and melted (融化) and the metal things are made for new coke cans.
4.Recover
When you buy a box of apples, there may be few rotten (腐烂的) apples, you have two choices: one is to throw the whole apples away, or you could cut off the rotten parts and use the good parts. In this way, you are recovering the eatable parts of food.
5.Repair
If one of the begs of your table is broken, you can repair it. If you want to change for better ones, it is better for you to sell the old things or give them to other people who can use them after doing some repair. It is true that North America is a “throw-away” society, but the time has come to change our way of life so that we can protect our environment. Every one of us should try our best.
1.The “Reduce” rule mainly requires (要求) us _______.
A. to use things wisely B. to cut down many trees
C. to use a lot of paper D. to throw away your old clothes
2.What’s the right order (顺序) of recycling coke cans?
a. collect the used cans b. melt them
c. smash them flat d. send them to a factory
A. a b c d B. a d c b C. d b c a D. c a b d
3.The “Recover” rule mainly requires us _______.
A. to throw waste things away B. to cover waste things with earth
C. to get back the useful parts D. to throw the whole things away
5.Which is the best way to do with your broken tables?
A. Throwing them away. B. Requiring them.
C. Selling them. D. Putting them away.
(选自2003年湖北省黄冈市试题)
【解题思路点拨】对生存在地球上的人类来说，保护环境是非常重要的。这篇短文贴近生活，富有时代气息。全文详细介绍了“5R”方法的具体内容和做法。对增强青少年学生的环保意识具有十分重要的意义。
1.A.显然，这道题是关于“Reduce”的。根据这段话的首句“If you want to reduce waste, you should use things wisely (明智地).”可知答案是A。
2.B.题目的要求是，根据回收易拉罐的程序，选出正确的顺序。那么回收易拉罐的具体步骤是什么呢？根据“Recycle”这部分的内容，我们可以知道：首先要将易拉罐送到工厂去，然后在那儿将其压平、融化，最后再制成新的易拉罐。联系生活常识，可知在将易拉罐送往工厂之前，是由人专门将其收集到一起的。因此，正确的顺序应该是：收集旧的易拉罐---送到工厂---压平---融化。显然答案非B莫属。
3.C.“Recover”这部分的主要意思是说：如果食物存在部分变质的情况，要及早采取措施，扔掉已经坏掉的部分，保留可以吃的部分。根据这层意思，可知C为正确答案。
4.B.本题难度不大，可以从短文中直接找出答案。答案就在“If one of the begs of your table is broken, you can repair it.”一句中。
Passage 7
To: President Bush, the White House
From: Saddam Hussein, in Baghdad
Dear President Bush,
Well, you sure ruined (毁掉) my birthday…. OK, you won, and your prize is Iraq. Are you ready
for it? I don’t think so. Truth is, I hope you fail.
Yes, Iraq was the way it was, in part, because I was the way I was---and I was a bad boy. But what you’re seeing now is that I was the way I was, in part, because Iraq was what it is---a very difficult place to rule (统治) without an iron fist (铁拳). You see, I know the Iraq people didn’t want me. And you will soon find they don’t want you. The big question here has always been: Do they want each other? Can Kurds, Shiite and Sunnis (库尔德人，会叶派，逊尼派) find a way to live together without an iron fist holding them together?
If you want to build a self-governing (自治的)country here, you had better understand that “shock and awe (威慑)” is not just for war-making. It’s an everyday tool for running this place. Your powerlessness (无能为力)will make people more afraid than your power.
Mr. Bush, I know you are wondering why I didn’t do more to keep away from the war, which ended my political (政治的) life. What in the world was I thinking? Who was I listening to? The answer is: I was listening to myself. Don’t make my mistakes.
1.Who do you think is the real writer of the letter?
A. Kurds. B. Saddam. C. A news reporter. D. Bush
2.What ended Saddam’s political life according to the letter?
A.That he didn’t do more to keep away from the war. B.That Iraq was what it is.
C.That Kurds, Shiite and Sunnis found a way to live together.
D.That Iraq was a very difficult place to rule without an iron fist.
3.What advice (建议) does Saddam give to Bush if Bush wants to build a self-governing country?
A.Bush should know “Shock and awe” is not just for war making. B.The Iraq people want Bush.
C.Bush was only listening to himself. D.Let Iraq be the way it was.
4.The last sentence of the letter “Don’t make my mistakes” suggests (暗示)that _______.
A. Bush should not do as Saddam did B. Saddam was correct
C. Bush is right D. Saddam was a bad boy
(选自2003年湖北省黄石市试题)
【解题思路点拨】这是一篇与时事紧密相连的书信体阅读材料。信中，“萨达姆”向布什总统分析了伊拉克国内的现状，诉说自己在政治上的苦恼，并告诫布什不要重蹈他的覆辙。
1.C。本小题尤其具有迷惑性。由书信开始的“To: President Bush, the White House”、“From: Saddam Hussein, in Baghdad”，好像很容易就能得出结论：这是萨达姆写给布什的一封信。然而，在审题时，一定要特别注意并理解题干中的“real”(真正的)一词，再结合实际，萨达姆这么强硬的人怎能推心置腹地与势不两立的布什谈自己的真心话呢？由此，可推测这很可能是某一新闻记者以萨达姆的口吻分析伊拉克战争前后的局势。
2.A。根据“萨达姆”的分析，导致他的政治生涯结束的根本原因是，他没有让伊拉克人民摆脱战争的苦难。答案即在短文末段的“Mr. Bush, I know you are wondering why I didn’t do more to keep away from the war, which ended my political life.”这一句话之中。
3.A。本题源自于“If you want to build a self-governing country here, you had better understand that “shock and awe” is not just for war-making.”一句，答案非常明显。
4.A。在分析了伊拉克国内政局和自己从政的失误之后，“萨达姆”给布什提出了一点忠告，即“Don’t make my mistakes”(不要重蹈我的覆辙)。答案显然是A。
中考真题透视(2)“回答问题”式
Passage 1
“Tom? Are you in bed yet?” called Mrs. White. There was no answer. Mrs. White put down her book and went to her 14-year-old son’s room. Tom was sitting in front of a bright computer screen on which a motorbike was running fast.
“Oh, Tom. You’re still playing on that computer. You must stop now, it’s half past eleven. If you don’t go to bed soon, you’ll be very tired tomorrow.” Said Mrs. White.
“But I’ve nearly won the game.” Said Tom to Mrs. White. She could see the excitement (激动) on his face. She sat down beside him.
“You’re always playing on the computer. You spend more time on this machine than on your homework.”
Today more and more families have computers. Parents hope computers can help their children improve their study at school. But, many of their children use computers to play games, to watch videos, instead of studying. We often see that computer game houses are crowded with people, especially young boys. They spend a lot of money competing with the computerized machines. The more they lose, the more they want to win. The result is that they don’t want to work or study.
In some other countries, even scientists hate computers. They say computers cause millions of people to lose their jobs or cause them a lot of trouble. Computer game addiction (瘾) is a serious problem in social life. Something has to be done to solve the problem.
1.What was Tom doing on that late night?
___________________________________
2.How did Mrs. White feel when she saw her son was playing late?
___________________________________
3.What do parents think computers can do to their children?
___________________________________
4.Does the writer agree to spend much money on computer games?
___________________________________
5.Why do some scientists hate computers?
___________________________________ (选自2003年福建省三明市试题)
【解题思路点拨】短文作者由Tom深夜玩电脑游戏这则故事写起，并由此引发感想：父母亲给孩子购买电脑，本希望能帮助孩子学好功课。结果却适得其反，许多孩子玩游戏、看录像，以致于荒废了学业。有些国家的科学家认为电脑让很多人失业，并使他们陷入了困境。电脑实在是可恨可憎的罪魁祸首。短文最后说，玩游戏上瘾成了社会生活中的一个严重问题，到了非解决不可的地步了。
1. He was playing computer games. 根据“Oh, Tom. You’re still playing on that computer.”、 “Tom was sitting in front of a bright computer screen on which a motorbike was running fast.”
和“But I’ve nearly won the game.”这三句话可知答案。
2.She felt very worried. 短文并没有直接告诉我们答案，但是通过Mrs. White所说的话语，尤其是“You spend more time on this machine than on your homework.”这一句可以推断：她担心儿子的功课会受影响。显然，其心情当然是十分焦虑不安的。
3. They think that computers can help their children improve their study at school. 本小题属于表层理解题，答案可直接在倒数第二段的开头处找到。
4.No, he doesn’t. 作者说，我们经常看出游戏厅里挤满了人，特别是少年儿童。他们花很多钱与电脑游戏比赛。输得越多，就越想赢。以至于造成了不想学习的恶果。由作者的这番话，我们是不难看出作者对花钱玩游戏这一行为的态度的。
5. Because they say computers cause millions of people to lose their jobs or cause them a lot of trouble. 显然，文章最后一段的“They say computers cause millions of people to lose their jobs or cause them a lot of trouble. Computer game addiction (瘾) is a serious problem in social life.”这几句话是该题答案的出处。
Passage 2
Kate Holmes was visiting a friend, old Mrs. Sydney. Mrs. Sydney had known Kate all her life. She liked to tell Kate about mysteries (神秘故事) and see whether Kate could solve them.
“You are very good at solving mysteries,” she said to Kate, “but some day I’ll fool you! Maybe I’ll be able to fool you today. Did I ever tell you the story of the Unknown Brother?”
Kate said no and listened. She liked Mrs. Sydney’s stories.
“Well,” Mrs. Sydney said, “Jed Wright was my friend when I was a child. He ran away from home when he was very young and lived for years by doing all kinds of jobs. Finally, in 1927, he went to Michigan, where he found a copper mine (铜矿). He bought the land and ran the mine and became a very rich man. ”
“Jed never married. His parents had died years before, and his only relative was a brother.
“One day Jed knew he was dying. He sent for a good friend, Dan Cole, who had worked for him for years. ”
“Jed gave Dan two envelopes, ‘This one is for you,’ he said, ‘and please give the other one to my brother Alf. He is … while he was speaking, Jed died. ”
“There were his dying wishes in Dan’s envelope. It gave him Jed’s mine and house. The envelope for Alf had some money and business papers in it. Dan and Alf were each to get about half of Jed’s fortune (财富). They would both be rich. ”
“Dan had never seen Alf. He had only two clues (线索). One was an old photo that showed Alf and Jed. But it was taken on their tenth birthday, fifty years ago. The other clue was a post card from Alf. I had no address. It has been mailed in Boston the month before Jed died. ”
“Dan went to Boston. He put an advertisement in the newspaper. It said there was good news for Alf Wright. It told where Dan was staying. ”
“The next day, more than a hundred men came to Dan’s hotel. They all said they were Alf Wright. But though he had never seen Alf, Dan was able to pick him out right away.”
When Mrs. Sydney finished her story, she smiled.
“All right, Kate,” she said. “How did he know Alf?”
Kate smiled too. “That’s easy,” she said. “You told me how. The clue was the photo.”
“Yes, it was,” said Mrs. Sydney. “But it was taken when Alf and Jed were boys. How could that help?”
“You said it was taken when both boys were ten years old, so they were…”
Kate gave Mrs. Sydney the answer and she had to admit that Kate Holmes had won again.
根据短文内容回答下列问题，每个小题不得超过5个单词。
1.What made Jed Wright a rich man?
The ______ made him very rich.
2.What was in the envelope for Dan?
___________________________
3.Did Dan do what Jed asked him to do?
___________________________
4.What helped Dan to find Alf?
____________________ and the advertisement.
5.What was Kate’s answer to the mystery?
Kate said, “…so they were _______”.
6.Were they brothers or friends?
Kate and Mrs. Sydney were friends; Jed and Alf were brothers; Jed and _______________.
(选自2003年上海市试题)
【解题思路点拨】由于这篇机智故事篇幅较长，其难度也较大。故事的梗概是：Mrs. Sydney 与Kate是好朋友，她喜欢给Kate讲一些神秘故事。聪明的Kate总是能够回答故事中的问题。有一次，Mrs. Sydney想难为一下Kate，就给她讲了这样一则故事：Jed自幼父母双亡，独自一个出去闯荡，后来发现并开采了一座铜矿，随即成为一名很有钱的人。很多年之后的一天，年事已高的Jed快要辞世的时候留下了遗嘱。他将自己的财产一分为二，一半给自己的好朋友Dan，另一半给自己唯一的亲人-----弟弟Alf。可是没等说出自己弟弟的地址，Jed就闭上了眼睛。而Dan并不认识Alf，也不知道他住在什么地方。他只好凭借着一张Jed和Alf兄弟二人小时候的照片和一张前不久Alf寄来的一张明信片去寻找Alf……
1.copper mine. 关于Jed发家致富的原因，Mrs. Sydney在故事的第一段中交待得非常明白。“…he went to Michigan, where he found a copper mine. He bought the land and ran the mine and became a very rich man.”，根据这几句话，显然可知是铜矿让他发了财。
2.There were Ted’s dying wishes. 答案就在“There were his dying wishes in Dan’s envelope. It gave him Jed’s mine and house.”这两个句子中。
3.Yes, he did. 读罢全文，很容易知道Dan遵照遗嘱，利用明信片和老照片这两条线索，来到Boston，最后找到了Alf，完成了Jed托付给自己的任务。所以答案是肯定的。
4.The photo, the postcard. Dan从前不久Alf寄来的明信片上得知Alf住在Boston；接着他张贴广告把所有名字叫做Alf Wright的人招来；最后利用照片所提供的重要信息找到了Alf。显然，这三者对Dan找到Alf起着十分重要的作用，缺一不可。题目中已将advertisement给出，故此得出答案。
5.…twins/twin brothers. 这道题目颇有难度，不仅考查了考生的理解能力，也考查了考生的智力水平和推理判断能力。从“One was an old photo that showed Alf and Jed. But it was taken on their tenth birthday, fifty years ago.”提供的信息中，可知Alf和Jed在过十岁生日时的照片，兄弟俩是同岁，即可推断他们一定是孪生兄弟以及Alf现在的年龄是六十岁。这也正是Dan从那么多人中分辨出来Alf的唯一依据。
6.…Dan/ Mrs. Sydney were friends. 短文的开头交待了Kate与Mrs. Sydney是好朋友。在Mrs. Sydney的故事中，“…and please give the other one to my brother Alf.”也说明了Jed和Alf是兄弟关系。那么Jed还能与谁有朋友或兄弟关系呢？根据“He sent for a good friend, Dan Cole, who had worked for him for years.”，可知Dan与Jed是朋友关系。又由Mrs. Sydney说的“Jed Wright was my friend when I was a child.”这句话可知Jed与Dan或Mrs. Sydney也是朋友关系。由此可得答案。
Passage 3
The way that people allover the world watch films has changed these years. People don’t just go to the films any more. They take the films home! The VCR (录相机), has made this possible, and it has helped change people’s lives.
VCRs make it possible for us to watch films at home instead of the cinema. People can just go to a video store near their houses, rent (租) one or more films for a day or a weekend, and watch them in their own homes. They cost just a few dollars each day. May different films are on videotape, from exciting films to interesting plays.
Watching a film at home can be very easy, and a lot cheaper. VCR owners can make snacks (零食) and sit back and enjoy a film with family and friends. They can stop the film to make more snacks, answer the phone, or take care of the baby. There are no lines to stand in, no tickets to buy, and no uncomfortable (不舒服的) cinema seats.
1.What has changed people’s way of watching films?
___________________________________________
2.How do people usually get videotapes to watch films at home?
___________________________________________
3.Is it expensive to rent videotape for one day?
___________________________________________
4.What does the writer prefer, watching video films at home or seeing films at the cinema?
___________________________________________ (选自2003年辽宁省试题)
【解题思路点拨】这是一篇时尚生活短文。随着电子技术的飞速发展。当今的人们足不出户就可以利用VCR在家里看电影了。在家中看电影既轻松又实惠。你只需到附近的音像店租一些喜欢的电影，和家人或朋友一起舒舒服服地欣赏。
1. (The) VCR (s). 文章第一段说，现在人们用不着再去电影院，只需把电影片带回家就可以看到自己喜爱的电影了。是什么东西让这成为现实了呢？“The VCR, has made this possible…”和“VCRs make it possible for us to watch films at home instead of the cinema”这两句说出了答案。
2.To rent videotapes/films. 本题答案源自“People can just go to a video store near their houses, rent (租) one or more films for a day or a weekend…”这句话中。
3.No, it isn’t. 根据“They cost just a few dollars each day.”这句话，可知答案应该是否定的。
5. Watching video films at home. 本题的答案是不能在短文中直接找到的。仔细揣摩最后一段作者描述的在家里看电影的场景，不难体会出作者的艳羡之情。由此，可以得出“更喜欢在家里看电影”这一结论。
Passage 4
I’m Joan Croft. I have to say that I came into nursing by chance. I didn’t really like my first job, which was office work. It was all right—but that’s just about all you can say about it. I stayed in the same place with the same people around me all day and every day. Then I became a singer, which I enjoyed very much, but after a while the singing group broke up (解散) and I had to start looking for something else.
Some girls have wanted to be nurses ever since they were children, but it never entered my head until I saw an advertisement in a paper. I wrote in and thought, “Oh, well, I’ll give it a try.” One thing I liked about it was going away from home.
The training itself is very interesting and most of it is just on the wards (病房), so that you very quickly begin nursing real patients.
I lived in the nurses’ home when I arrived and I had my own room, which was very nice.
I like nursing more than I ever thought I would. I’ll always carry on nursing. I’ve got a boyfriend who is a doctor, so I hope to get married sometime, but wherever I live there’s sure to be a hospital in the place and there’s always a job for a nurse.
1.What was John’s first job?
_____________________
2.Why didn’t Joan like her first job?
____________________________
3.Why didn’t Joan go on with her second job?
____________________________________
4.How did Joan find out the information about the nursing job?
___________________________________
5.What was Joan’s plan for the future?
______________________________ (选自2003年江西省试题)
【解题思路点拨】这是Joan Croft的一篇自述。由于不喜欢自己的第一份工作，Joan Croft后来做了一名歌手。可因为歌舞团不久解散了，她只好另谋职业。小时候从未想过要当护士的Joan 因为偶然的一次机会成了一名护士，并且从此喜欢上了这一职业。
1.It was office work. 短文开头的第三句“I didn’t really like my first job, which was office work.”即是答案的依据。
2.Because she didn’t like staying in the same place with the same people around her all day and every day. /Because she was fed up with it. Joan为什么不喜欢自己的第一份职业呢？由“…but that’s just about all you can say about it. I stayed in the same place with the same people around me all day and every day.”这句话不难看出，一天到晚和周围的那些老面孔的人呆在同一个地方，且天天如此，她感到厌倦了。
3.Because the singing group broke up. 短文首段的最末一句说明了Joan没有继续她的第二份工作的原因---“…the singing group broke up (解散) and I had to start looking for something else.”(歌舞团解散了)。
4.She found an advertisement in a paper. 显然，“…but it never entered my head until I saw an advertisement in a paper.”这句话是答案的出处。
5.She hoped to get married sometime and went on her nursing job. 短文的最后一段交待了Joan未来的计划-----在某个时候结婚，并且继续从事护士这一职业。如果不仔细审读，很可能将其中的一个要点遗漏。另外，还要注意该问题是一般过去时的句子，不可受短文中句子时态的影响。由此考生也应接受教训：做这一类题目的时候，不可简单地将材料中的句子照搬照抄，一定要读透题目，然后再考虑答案。
Passage 5
On October 12, 1989, some Chinese scientists were working at the computers to look for the invention they needed. Suddenly they saw something bright crossing the computers’ screens, and there was so much! At the same moment the computers were working much slower. To find out what was happening they stopped their work to check some parts of the computers. Much to their surprise, they found out that most of their stored information was cleared up by computer viruses (病毒)! What was worse, all these computers had been infected (感染) by computer viruses.
It is said that the computer viruses were made by a group of young men who all had good education. They made the viruses just to show their intelligence (才能). These kinds of computer viruses are called Jerusalem Viruses. These viruses can stay in computers for a long time. When the time comes they ill attack the computers by slowing down the function (功能), damaging (破坏) their normal programs or even clearing up all the information.
We now come to know that Jerusalem Viruses often attack computers on Friday so they are also called “Friday Viruses” and that they are spreading (传播) to a lot of computers. Among the countries that suffered (遭受) computer viruses are Britain, Australia, Switzerland, the United States of America, and some other countries. But till now, how to clean up the terrible viruses is still a problem.
1.What did the Chinese scientists find out when they checked the computers?
_________________________________________________.
2.Why did the group of young men make the computer viruses?
_________________________________________________.
3.The computer viruses will damage the normal programs, won’t they?
_________________________________________________.
4.Why are these computer viruses called “Friday Viruses”?
_________________________________________________.
5.What’s the best title of this passage?
______________________________________________. (选自2003年山东省菏泽市试题)
【解题思路点拨】这是一篇关于电脑病毒的阅读材料。1989年10月，中国的一些科学家在电脑上发现了病毒。据说，这种名叫“Jerusalem Viruses”的电脑病毒是由一些受过良好教育的年轻人研制的。它通常在星期五发作。电脑病毒的危害非常大，传播速度快。很多国家饱受电脑病毒之苦。目前还没有有效的办法清除这种病毒。
1.They found out that most of their stored information was cleaned up by computer viruses. 通读全文，就会发现答案即在第一自然段的“Much to their surprise, they found out that most of their stored information was cleared up by computer viruses!”这一句话之中。
2.They made the viruses just to show their intelligence. 第二自然段的大体意思是，电脑病毒是一群受过良好教育的年轻人制造的。他们制造这种病毒的目的只是为了显示他们的聪明才智。答案就是段落中的原文。本小题属于表层理解题。
3.Yes, they will. 第二自然段最后说，当这种病毒袭击电脑时，会削弱其功能，破坏其正常程序，甚至会清除所有信息。所以这个问题的答案应当是肯定的。
4.Because they often attack computers on Fridays. 文中最后一段中的“… Viruses often attack computers on Friday so they are also called ‘Friday Viruses’…”这句话即是答案的出处。
5.Computer Viruses. 本阅读材料是围绕“电脑病毒”展开的。第一自然段讲述的是科学家发现了电脑病毒；第二自然段主要说明了病毒的危害；第三自然段讲述了电脑病毒发作的时间和危及的国家。因此，用“电脑病毒”作标题是很恰当的。
中考真题透视(3)“判断正误”式
Passage 1
Do you remember your dreams? Do people have the same dreams? Why do we dream? There are many questions about dreams. We dream during the REM (rapid (快的) eye movement) stage (阶段) of sleep. We have about five periods of REM sleep during the night. The first REM cycle (周期) lasts about 10 minutes. As the night goes on, the REM cycle gets longer. By early morning, the REM cycle can last up to 90 minutes. Usually, it is in this last REM cycle that we remember our dreams.
Dreams change as people age. People may have several dreams each night. Some are like films and usually in color. They come to us over and over again. That may be because the dreamer is worrying about something and trying to find the answer. Sometimes we wake up with a good feeling from a dream. But often we can’t remember the dreams clearly.
It is reported that too much dreaming is bad for our health. The more we sleep, the longer we dream. The mind is hard at work. That is why we may have a long sleep and still feel tired when we wake up.
1.We dream during the REM stage of sleep.
2.Children aged eight or nine have the same dreams as people aged thirty.
3.All the dreams are usually in color like films.
4.The longer we dream, the better we sleep.
5.The passage above is talking about dreaming. (选自2003年黑龙江省试题)
【解题思路点拨】做梦是人人都经历过的事情。本文向我们讲述了梦的五个REM周期。“日有所思，夜有所梦”。人们通常记不清楚自己梦中的情景。不过在黎明时分，即最后一个REM周期，梦中的事情往往在醒来之后仍然可以历历在目。人做梦时，神经系统尚在活动。短文最后得出结论：做梦太多有损于身体健康。
1.T.由短文第一段中的“We dream during the REM (rapid (快的) eye movement) stage (阶段) of sleep.”可以判断该句是正确的。
2.F.短文第二段首句“Dreams change as people age.”的意思是说，“梦因人的年龄不同而存在差异”。由此可知这句话是不正确的。
3.F.第二段很清楚地说明了“有些梦就像电影一样”(Some are like films …)这层意思。据此，这句话显然是错误的。
4.F.文章最后说，“睡觉的时间越多，做梦的时间就越长”，而“太多的梦对人体健康是不害的”。这句话的意思与原文背道而驰，所以是错误的。
5.T.非常明显，本文的三个自然段都是围绕着“梦”这一话题而写的。因此，这个句子是正确的。
Passage 2
Tom, an 11-year-old boy, was ill. He had got a cough. His mother was worried and took him to see a doctor. The doctor looked over Tom carefully and said, “Tom, nothing serious”. Then he gave him some medicine. These are the words on the instruction of the cough medicine.
Instruction
Take three times a day after meals
Dose (剂量): Grown-ups: 2 spoons each time
Children: 8-14 yrs. One spoon, 4-7 yrs. 1/2 spoon
Not for children below the age of 4 years
Notes: 1.Store in a cold place
2.Using before Oct. 2004
Tel & Fax: 021-
1.Tom should take three spoons in a day.
2.Tom had better have his meals before he takes the medicine.
3.The medicine can be kept in a fridge.
4.Children aged five can’t take this medicine.
5.From this instruction we know Tom can go on using the left medicine after Oct. 2004.
(选自2003年新疆生产建设兵团试题)
【解题思路点拨】能读懂日常生活中的一些常见英文标志和说明，是初中学生所必须达到的一项能力。在这则咳嗽药说明书中，涉及了药品的服用量，适宜人群及贮存和使用期限等。
1.T.本题看似简单，实则需要细心推算才能判断答案。药品说明第一句话是说这种药每天服用三次。前文中说Tom是一个十一岁的孩子，根据说明中的“Children: 8-14 yrs. One spoon, 4-7 yrs. 1/2 spoon”这一句提供的信息，可知他每次只能一调羹。所以，Tom每天应当服用三调羹。
2.T.由“Take three times a day after meals”这句话，可知此药须在饭后服用，故Tom服药前最好吃些东西。
3.T.“Store in a cold place”是解题的依据。
4.F.这句话的意思是说“五岁的孩子不能服用这种药”。而说明中明明有“四至七岁的小孩每次服用1/2调羹”(4-7 yrs. 1/2 spoon)。因此，这个句子是错误的。
5.F。根据“Using before Oct. 2004”一句可知，本药品的有效期是截止到2004年10月，不难判断出所给句子是错误的。
Passage 3
Dear sir,
Just over six months ago, I saw an advertisement in a morning newspaper for a set of the complete works (全集) of William Shakespeare. Your company offered this set at a low price: 15pounds and 50 pence. I had wanted a set of Shakespeare’s plays and poems for some time, so I sent for them.
Two weeks later, the books arrived, together with a set of the works of Charles Dickens that I had not wanted. So I returned the Dickens’ books to you. Two more weeks passed. Then there arrived a second set of books and a set of the plays of Moliere, in French. I do not read French, and they were not useful at all, so I wrote to you.
You did not answer that letter. Instead you sent me a bill for 42 pounds and a set of the plays of Schiller, in German. I have no room for any more books, and I have no time to read them all.
Please send no more books, no more bills and no more angry letters for payment. Just send one large truck and take all the books away, leaving me only with the one set of the works of Shakespeare for which I have paid.
Yours,
Simon Walker
1.The advertisement in the morning paper was for a set of the complete works of William Shakespeare.
2.Mr Walker wanted to order Dickens’ books.
3.Two weeks later, he got the works of Schiller.
4.The company wanted Simon to pay for all the books.
5.Mr. Walker told them to take away all the books except Shakespeare’s books.
(选自2003年徐州市试题)
【解题思路点拨】这是一位名叫Simon Walker的读者写给某公司的一封信。Simon 半年前从这家公司邮购了一套莎士比亚全集。可当他收到书时，还发现了一套自己并没有订购的狄更斯作品，于是就退了回去。不想，几天后又收到了莎士比亚的另一套作品集以及狄更斯的作品和莫里哀的剧本。Simon 十分生气，就写信向公司说明情况。然而，Simon不但没有得到回复，反而又收到公司的账单和一套席勒的剧本。
1.T.该句出自于书信的第一句话“…I saw an advertisement in a morning newspaper for a set of the complete works (全集) of William Shakespeare.”。
2.F.从信的首段可以看出，作者想邮购的书籍是莎士比亚全集。根据第二段首句的“…together with a set of the works of Charles Dickens which I had not wanted.”也可以判断出这句话是错误的。
3.F.书信第二段中说到这样一件事：Simon将狄更斯作品退还公司，可两天后收到是莎士比亚的另一套作品集，狄更斯的作品和莫里哀的剧本。这句话所述说的内容是：Simon给公司写信反映情况之后，又收到的另一套书，而不是自己订购的。
4.T.仔细理解书信倒数第二自然段中的“Instead you sent me a bill for 42 pounds and a set of the plays of Schiller, in German.”这句话，显然可知这是公司在向Simon索要书款。
5.T.考虑整篇书信的内容，可知Simon只想购买莎士比亚全集，其余的书籍不是法文版，就是德文版，他看不懂，也没有时间看。实际上，仅凭书信末段也可以做出正确判断。
中考真题透视(4)“完成句子”式
Passage 1
Mr. Scott worked in a middle school. He read a lot. He taught well and could answer all the questions his students asked. And they liked him very much. One Sunday morning, when he was dressing his little son, Jimmy, the boy suddenly asked, “May I ask you a question, Dad?” “Of course you can,” answered Mr. Scott. “Are you sure that you can answer it?” “Certainly.” “Well,” said Jimmy, “Are there any holes in your socks?” “Holes?” Mr. Scott said in surprise. “It’s impossible.” “Look at them carefully, or you’ll be wrong!” Mr. Scott took off his socks and looked at them carefully but didn’t find anything wrong.
“No, there’s no hole in them,” said Mr. Scott. “I bought them only last week.” “How can you put your feet into them, then?” Little Jimmy said with a smile. At first Mr. Scott didn’t know what to say. After a while he began to laugh with a red face.
根据短文意思，将下列句子补充完整。每空一词。
1.Mr. Scott was a _________ in a school.
2.His son was very _______, so he couldn’t dress himself.
3.Mr. Scott ______ to find if there were holes in his socks.
4.In the end Mr. Scott _______that his son had played a joke on him.
5.From Jimmy’s joke we can say that he was a _______ boy.
(选自2003年广东省肇庆市试题)
【解题思路点拨】这篇小短文的大意是：Mr. Scott是一名中学教师。一天，正当他给儿子穿衣服时，儿子Jimmy问他“你的袜子上有一个洞吗？”这个问题。Mr. Scott感到莫名其妙。他脱下自己上周刚买的新袜子，仔细地看了看，根本没有发现任何问题。令他没有想到的是，儿子微笑着对他说：“没有洞，那么你是怎么样把脚放进去的呢？”
1.teacher。由短文开头的两句话就可以得出答案。
2.young。从Mr. Scott给儿子穿衣服这件事上来看，可以判断出他的儿子年龄很小，还不会穿衣服。所以答案为young。注意不可误将little作为答案，因为这个词并不指年龄小。
3.tried/wanted。这个小题的答案源自于“Mr. Scott took off his socks and looked at them carefully but didn’t find anything wrong.”这句话之中。
4.understood/knew/learned/learnt。根据短文所述的内容，不难看出这是儿子给Mr. Scott开的一个玩笑。联系短文末尾的“After a while he began to laugh with a red face.”这句话，就可以得出答案。
5.clever/bright/naughty/lovely/ cute。从这个孩子说的“How can you put your feet into them, then?”这句话，可以看出Jimmy是非常聪明、可爱的。开父亲的玩笑，说明他很淘气。这由Jimmy 的两次问话“May I ask you a question, Dad?”和“Are you sure that you can answer it?”也可以看出来儿童活泼可爱的天性。答案只要符合这几层意思都是正确的。
Passage 2
There are many colors in nature. But do you know if a color has weight? I think you’ll say “no”. But I am afraid you are wrong. If you don’t believe, you may do a small experiment.
First, put two objects (物体) with the same weight into two boxes. Then cover the box. Third, wrap one box with a red piece of paper, the other with a white piece of paper. OK. Now hold the boxes with your hand one by one. It is certain that you will think the red one is a little heavier.
Why do you think so? A scientist found that different colors have different weight in a man’s mind. So he did man tests and at last he got the result. That is to say, every color has its own weight in our mind and their order is the same. The heaviest color is red, then blue, green, orange, yellow and white.
The scientist told us that colors also have smell. Can you smell the color? Of course not. Then why did the scientist say so? That is because every color stands for (代表) a kind of light with a certain wavelength. It reaches our brain through sense organs (感觉器官).
According to this discovery, scientists say that people accept (接受) the colors they like, and refuse the colors they hate. So your body and mind will be healthy by using the colors you like. Or you’ll be nervous or even get ill. For example, if you stay in a room with red windows, wallpapers and furniture for two hours, you’ll feel you have been there for four hours. But if the room is blue, you’ll feel you have been there for only and hour. Another example, if a person walks out of a red room and into a blue room, his temperature will fall. That means our body temperature will change with different colors.
根据短文意思，将下列句子补充完整。
1.If you want to know if a color has weight, you can do a small experiment. First, __________. Second, _____________. Third, wrap one box with a red piece of paper, the other with a white piece. Then, holding the boxes with your hand one by one, you may get the result.
2.In a man’s mind, the heaviest color is ________, then ____________.
3.The scientist told us that colors have not only _________ but also __________.
4.If a person walks out of a green room into a ________room or a ________, his body temperature will rise.
5.If you stay in a room with red windows, wallpapers and furniture for two hours, you’ll feel you’ve been there for four hours because ___________________________________________.
【解题思路点拨】这是一篇有关颜色的科普小品文。实验表明，在人的感觉中，颜色不仅具有重量，而且还有气味。更为有趣的是，不同的颜色对人的心情、健康还有影响呢。
1.First, put two objects with the same weight into two boxes, second, cover the box。通读第二自然段，很容易理解该实验的四个步骤：首先是将两个重量相同的物体分别放进盒子里。然后将盒子盖上。接下来用一张红色纸将其中的一只盒子包上，另一只盒子用白色的纸。最后是将这两个盒子放在手中掂一掂。由此可得答案。
2.red, blue, green, orange, yellow and white。在人的意识中，不同颜色的重量是不同的。这是一位科学家在经过多次实验得出的结论。第三自然段最末一句即是实验结果，也正是这个题目的答案。
3.weight, smell。本小题出自第三自然段中的“A scientist found that different colors have different weight in a man’s mind.”一句和第四自然段首句的“The scientist told us that colors also have smell.”这句话中。要注意理解试题中的关联词not only …but also (不仅……而且……)。
4.blue, red。这是一道较深层次的理解题目，必须认真审读文章末尾所给出的例子。这个例子是：如果一个人从一个用红色装饰的房间里出来，进入一个蓝色房间，他的体温将会下降。由此，我们可以联想到生活常识，红色属于暖色，蓝色属于冷色。而题目说的是这个人的体温上升了，显然他是从一个用冷色装饰的房间到了一个由暖色装饰的房间。由此就可找到答案。
5. So your body and mind will be healthy by using the colors you like. Or you’ll be nervous or even get ill.。这道题的难度颇大。该试题就是关于短文最后一段讲的例子的：如果在一个红色窗子，红色壁纸和红色家具的房间里呆上两个小时，感觉就像是四个小时一样。表面上看，这其中的原因并没有提及。认真思考实验的结果和“…different colors have different weight in a man’s mind.”，“It reaches our brain through sense organs.”，“That is because every color stands for (代表) a kind of light with a certain wavelength.”以及“So your body and mind will be healthy by using the colors you like. Or you’ll be nervous or even get ill.”这几句话可知。人的体温和意识是随着颜色的不同而改变的。即是答案So your body and mind will be healthy by using the colors you like. Or you’ll be nervous or even get ill.。
Passage 3
Clem Quinn was always interested in flying. When he was five, he tried to fly by jumping off the garden shed (小棚) with a golf umbrella, but when he was in his twenties he didn’t become a pilot (飞行员), he became a taxi driver. Then 20 years ago he did a parachute (跳伞) jump and loved it. He thought that being a taxi driver in London was a lot more dangerous than jumping out of plane, so he moved to the country to learn parachute jumping and sky-diving. He says:
“I love sky-diving because the world looks so good—blue sky, green fields, white clouds. You float (漂浮) through the air; It’s like floating in water. You can see forever, all the way to the French coast (海岸). The scenery is beautiful. You can forget all your worries. People think it is dangerous but it’s very safe. Football is much more dangerous. Footballers often have accidents. When did you last hear of a skydiving accident? Next July I’m going to do a skydive with 100 people from six planes. That’s a record. I’m never going to give up. I’m going to jump of planes until I’m an old man.”
根据短文意思，将下列句子补充完整。每空一词。
1.What job did he do when he was in his twenties?
When he was in his twenties, he didn’t become a pilot, he _____a taxi ______.
2.Why does he like the sport?
He loves the sport because he loves ________the scenery in the ________.
3.What’s the record according to the passage?
There are a ________ people and _______ planes taking part in the sky dive.
(选自2003年湖北省黄冈市试题)
【解题思路点拨】这是一篇关于跳伞运动员Clem Quinn的故事。Clem Quinn从小就对飞行很感兴趣，可他二十我岁时并没有成为一名飞行员，而是成为了一名出租车司机。不过二十年前他迷恋上跳伞。Clem Quinn说他喜爱跳伞不仅仅是这项运动更安全，而且还可以从中享受到大自然的景色，那种感觉真是美不胜收。
1.became, driver.非常明显，这道题考查的是文中的原话。不过，根据题意，答案也可以是drove, instead。
2.enjoying (watching), sky. “他为什么喜欢跳伞这一个运动项目呢？” 从“I love sky-diving because the world looks so good---blue sky, green fields, white clouds.”和“The scenery is beautiful.”这两句话中，不难看出他喜爱欣赏(观看)空中的美景。
3.hundred, six. 答案就在“Next July I’m going to do a skydive with 100 people from six planes.”一句中。做题时，要注意将文中的阿拉伯数字改用英语单词表达。
值得注意的是，除了“完成句子”式之外，有些省市还采用“短文改写填空”的形式来考查学生的阅读理解能力。这是比较难的一种命题形式。它要求考生必须牢固掌握所学的知识，弄清楚文章的大意，而且还要具备较强的概括能力。
“短文改写填空”型阅读理解题的解答技巧是：首先，通读全文，对文章的大意有个初步的了解。同时找出文章中的关键句，在有限的时间内迅速抓住文章的要点。然后，纵览缩写后的短文，在了解其大意的同时，确定所要填写的内容，即词语或短语是否与已知文段中的相一致。填写时，一定要仔细。比如，有的属于固定搭配，有的句子是文中原句的同义句，这些只要稍加注意，就可避免出错。同时还要注意动词时态、人称、名词单复数是否有误，首字母是否大写，句子的主谓搭配是不是合理等。最后，将改写后的文章再通读一遍。看看改写后的短文是否流畅，语句是否通顺。同时还要照顾到原文，看改写后的短文是否与原文意思相符合。 请看下面的例文：
My grandfather was a teacher. He was the headmaster of a school for boys between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. I know that he was a kind man because when I was young (and he was old.), he gave me presents, and sat me on his knees(膝盖), and told me stories. But I believe(相信)the boys at his school were afraid of him.
At school, when he walked into a room full of noisy boys, they stopped talking at once. When he looked at a boy with a certain(某种) look in his eyes, that boy was red in the face，and looked down at his shoes. If a boy brought him poor, careless work, my grandfather picked up the boy's book and threw it across the room, shouting, “Do it all again, and bring it back first thing in the morning!” If the boy was late, or if he forgot to bring his work, he had to do it again, and again, and yet again. My grandfather never forgot.
At school, he was very different from the man I saw day by day in his own home.
根据短文内容改写，每个空格只限填写一个单词。
When I was young, I studied at a 1 school. We were all 2 thirteen and eighteen. Our headmaster was 3 old man. He was kind, but all of 4 were afraid of him. For example, we were playing, talking and laughing 5 he came in, at once, the classroom became quiet. If a boy didn't 6 his homework well or carefully, he would be very 7, and asked the boy to do it again and 8. But his 9 told he never did things 10 that at home. (选自2003年吉林省试题)
【解题思路点拨】这篇短文的主要意思是：祖父是某男子学校的校长。在我的眼里，他是一位和蔼可亲的人。不过，在学校里，学生们都怕他。每当他走进教室，喧哗声就会马上停止。如果哪位同学作业不认真，他就会把作业本扔出去，叫嚷着让他重做……
1.boys'。答案就在短文的第一句话之中。但要注意词形的转换，这里要用名词所有格形式。
2.between。文章第一句中的“…of a school for boys between the ages of thirteen and eighteen.”是答案的依据。
3.an。这个小题比较简单，用不着联系短文内容，仅凭语法知识就能解答。old以元音音素开头，所以填写不定冠词an。
4.us。由“But I believe the boys at his school were afraid of him.”可知孩子们都害怕他。短文是以第一人称的口吻写的，而改写的短文则是以学生们的身份写的。弄清了这一点，此空即能做出。
5.when。短文第二自然段开头的那句话同样是一个以when引导的时间状语从句。
6.do／finish。 由“If a boy brought him poor, careless work…”这句话，不难联想到是学生没有认真做(完成)作业。
7.angry。由“If a boy brought him poor, careless work, my grandfather would pick up the boy's book and throw it across the room，shouting…”这句话可知，如果某个男孩没有很好地完成作业，祖父就会把那位学生的书本扔到外面，并大声训斥他重做。显然，祖父是因为生气了才这么做的。
8.again。由“If the boy was late, or if he forgot to bring the work, he would have to do it again, and again, and yet again.”这句话可以确定此空要填写again一词。
9.grandson。原文是从the headmaster的孙子的角度，写爷爷在学校与在家里的不同表现的，联系第一自然段和“At school, he was very different from the man I saw day by day in his own home.”这句话，可知填写grandson是最恰当的。
10.like。通常全文，可知作者想表达的意思是“祖父在学校里的表现与在家中的表现截然不同”。换言之，则是“祖父在学校的表现从来都不象在家中的样子”。由此可以得出这里要填介词like (像……一样)。
第3章 实战演练
阅读理解材料浩如烟海，中考英语复习，时间短，任务重。为了能让同学们脱离题海，更加省时省力地提高自己的阅读理解能力，我们特意选编了一些题材新颖、质量上乘的阅读材料。这些材料内容丰富，趣味性强，无论是在设计上，还是在难度上，都与中考英语试题相当。“会当凌绝顶，一览众山小”。完成这些短文及题目之后，再做中考阅读理解题，就一定能驾轻就熟，游刃有余。
Section I 缤纷自然篇
Passage 1
We know that many animals do not stay in one place. Birds, fish and other animals move from one place to another at a certain time. They move for different reasons: most of them move to find food more easily, but others move to get away from places that are too crowded.
When cold weather comes, many birds move to warmer places to find food. Some fishes give birth in warm water and move to cold water to feed. The most famous migration (迁移) is probably the migration of fish, which is called “salmon”. This fish is born in fresh water but it travels many miles to salt water. There it spends its life. When it is old, it returns to its birthplace in fresh water. Then it gives birth and dies. In northern Europe, there is a kind of mouse. They leave their mountain homes when they become too crowded. They move down to the low land. Sometimes they move all the way to the seaside, and many of them are killed when they fall into the sea.
Recently (近来), scientists have studied the migration of a kind of lobster (龙虾). Every year,
when the season of the bad weather arrives, the lobsters get into a long line and start to walk
across the floor of the ocean. Nobody knows why they do this, and nobody knows where they go.
So, sometimes we know why humans and animals move from one place to another, but at other
times we don’t. Maybe living things just like to travel.
1.Most animals move from one place to another at a certain time to _______.
A.give birth B. enjoy warmer weather
C. find food more easily D. find beautiful places
2.The fish called “salmon” spends a long time in ______.
A. salt water B. rivers C. fresh water D. its birthplace
3.The mice in northern Europe move when _______.
A. they give birth B. the place gets too crowded
C. the weather is bad D. they haven’t enough food
4.The lobsters move ________.
A. to the fresh water B. at a certain time C. to the undersea D. to find more food
5.What is the main idea of the passage?
A.Animals move to find food more easily.
B.The migration of the fish called “salmon” is the most famous migration.
C.Living things move from one place to another because they like to travel.
D. Sometimes we know why and how living things move from one place to another, but sometimes we don’t.
Passage 2
If you look at the sky one night and see something moving and shining that you have never seen before, it might be a comet (彗星).
A comet sometimes looks like a star. Like a planet, a comet has no light of its own. It shines from the sunlight it reflects (反射). Like the earth, a comet goes round the sun, but on a much longer path (轨道) than the earth travels.
If a comet isn’t a star, what is it then?
Some scientists think that a large part of a comet is water frozen into pieces of ice and mixed with iron and rock dust and perhaps a few big pieces of rock. When sunshine melts (融化) the ice in the comet, great clouds of gas go trailing after it. These clouds, together with the dust, form a long tail.
Many people perhaps have seen a comet. However no one knows how many comets there are. There may be millions of comets, but only a few come close enough for us to see.
An Englishman named Edmund Halley, who lived from 1656 to 1742, found out a lot about the paths that comets take through the sky. Some comets move out of our sight and never come back. Others keep coming back at regular times. A big comet that keeps coming back was named after Halley because he was the one who worked out when it would come back again. Maybe you have ever seen Halley’s Comets because the last time it came close to the sun and the earth was in the year 1986. Then people all over the world were outside at night to look at it. You will probably be able to see Halley’s Comets when it comes near the earth again.
1.A comet is like ________.
A. sun B. moon C. sunlight D. the earth
2.A large part of a comet is ______.
A.water and rock B. water frozen into pieces of ice and mixed with iron
C. ice, iron and rock dust D. only a few big pieces of rock
3.Maybe many people _______.
A. haven’t seen any comets B. have seen all comets
C. have seen a comet at daytime D. have seen a comet
4.Some comets keep coming back ________.
A. at any time B. at noon C. at regular times D. at daytime
5.Halley’s Comets came back _____.
A. in 1990 B. in 1980 C. in 1986 D. in 1989
Passage 3
Do you know something about tree rings (年轮)? Do you know they can tell us what the weather was like, sometimes even hundreds of years ago?
A tree will grow well in a climate (气候)with lots of sunshine and rainfall. And little sunshine or rainfall will limit (限制)the growth of climate by studying the tree rings. For example, to find out the weather of ten years ago, count the rings of a tree from the outside to the inside. If the tenth ring is far from the eleventh ring, then we’re sure that it was sunny and rainy most of that year. If it is near to the eleventh ring, then the climate that year was bad.
Tree rings are important not only for studying the history of weather but also for studying the history of man. Many centuries ago there lived a lot of people at a place in New Mexico. But now you can find only sand there—no trees and no people. What happened?
A scientist studied the rings of dead trees there. He found that the people had to leave because they had cut down all the trees to make fires and buildings. As all the trees had gone, the people there had to move.
1._____ in good climate.
A. Tree rings grow far from each other B. Tree rings become thinner
C. Trees don’t need sunshine or rainfall D. People can cut down most of the trees
2.The scientists are interested in studying tree rings because tree rings can tell ______.
A.whether a tree was strong or not B. whether people took good care of the trees or not
C. whether the climate was good or not D. how old the trees were
3.If you want to find out the weather of twenty years ago, you should study _______.
A. the twentieth ring B. the tenth ring
C. the nineteenth ring D. the twenty-first ring
4.Why did people usually live in places with lots of trees?
A.Trees could tell the change of the weather
B.Trees brought lots of sunshine and rain
C.Trees could make weather not too hot or too cold
D.Trees could be used for burning and for building house
5.The people had to leave the place in New Mexico because _______.
A.had weather stopped the growth of trees
B.they no longer had water and the land became sand
C.they didn’t have enough trees for burning
D.there was too much rain there
Passage 4
All our food comes from the soil (土壤). Some of us eat meat, but animals live on plants. If these were no plants, we should have no animals and meat. So the soil is necessary for life.
The top of ground is usually covered with grass or other plants. Plants grow in soil, which has a dark color. This dark soil is humus, dead leaves, dead plants and animal waste make it, but this takes a long time. When the humus has been made, plants can grow well in it.
All soil needs food. If we don’t give it any, the plants will be weak. Animals waste is the best food for the soil, but chemical fertilizers (化肥) are also very useful. The same crop should not be grown in the same place every year; it is better to have a different crop. A change of crop and the use of a good fertilizer will keep the land in good condition.
When the soil is dry, the wind blows it away. Sometimes heavy rain carries the humus down to a river. People should grow more and more trees and grass to stop wind from carrying the humus away. It takes hundreds of years to make humus, and so we must save every bit of it. Without soil, where can we grow food?
1.From the text, we know people live on _______.
A. animal B. plant C. meat D. soil
2.The word “humus” means _____ in Chinese.
A.微生物 B.土壤 C.腐殖土 D.粘土
3.We should _______ to keep the soil.
A. give more fertilizers B. kill more animals
C. make more humus D. grow more trees and grass
4.We should save every bit of humus, because ______.
A.it takes a long time to make humus
B.the more humus in the soil, the better plants grow
C.the chemical fertilizers are expensive
D.A and B
5.The best title of this text should be ______.
A.Soil is necessary to people
B.The same crop can’t be grown in the same place every year
C.Soil’s food is chemical fertilizers
D.Humus is hard to make
Passage 5
In the sea there are many islands. In its warm waters there are some little ones. We call them “coral Islands”.
A coral island is very nice to look at. It looks like a ring of land (一圈陆地) with trees, grass, and flowers on it. One part of the ring is open to the water. There is a little round lake inside the island.
If you look into this lake, you will see beautiful coral. You say think they are flowers. If you look at a piece of coral, you will see many little holes in it. In each of these holes a very small sea animal has lived. These sea animals make the coral.
They began to build under the water. Year after year, the coral grew higher and higher. At last it grew out of the water.
Then the sea brought it small trees and something else. After some years, these things changed into earth. Sometimes the wind brought seeds (种子) to this earth. Sometimes birds flew over it and brought seeds to the island.
The little seeds grew. In a few years there were plants all over the island. In a few more years there were trees growing there.
So you see, these islands were built little by little. The workers were very small. Do they not teach us a lesson? Can you think what the lesson is?
1.In the sea ________.
A. there are coral islands in all places B. there are some coral islands
C. the water is always warm D. we can see many flowers
2.A coral island looks like __________.
A. a round cake B. trees, grass and flowers
C. a ring of land D. a round lake
3.There are _______ in the holes in corals.
A. flowers B. little corals C. grass D. sea animals
4.How did seeds of trees, grass and flowers come to the coral islands? ________
A.The wind and birds brought them to the coral islands
B.Only the wind brought them there
C.People brought them there
D.Fishes brought them there
5.From the story we learn that ___________.
A.small workers can’t do big things
B.only big workers can do big things
C.small workers can do big things if they work hard work and work a long time
D.all small things can do big things
Passage 6
When some plates of the earth move suddenly, an earthquake happens. Many earthquakes begin under the sea. Earthquakes may happen anywhere on the earth. They often happen near the mountains.
During an earthquake, the shakings make rocks rise suddenly and even crack (断裂) open. Houses fall, people are killed or hurt, and sometimes the whole villages or cities are destroyed.
Can we do something to keep ourselves safe from earthquakes? Scientists have studied earthquakes and make maps that show the “earthquake belts”. In areas (地区) in these belts, it’s possible for earthquakes to happen. In these areas we should build strong houses to fight against earthquakes.
In the future, scientists will be able to tell when and where an earthquake will be before they happen. They can also tell people what to do and how to do it.
1.A large number of earthquakes often happens ________.
A. in the area B. on land C. at night D. next to mountains
2.The reason for an earthquake is _______.
A.the result of rock plate sudden movement
B.that there are so many plates on the earth
C.that the sea is too deep
D.rocks’ cracking open
3.A map showing the earthquake belts will tell people ______.
A.what kind of houses to build
B.what kind of houses can stay up in an earthquake
C.where earthquake may happen
D.how to keep themselves safe during an earthquake
4.In the future we’ll be no longer so afraid of earthquakes ______.
A.with the help of scientists’ exact prediction (预报)
B.because of a map showing the “earthquake belts”
C.because we can guess the date and place of earthquakes
D.as scientists know what to do and how to do it
5.Choose the best title fro the passage.
A.An Earthquake B. A Scientist and an Earthquake
C. How to Fight Against Earthquake D. Earthquakes Today and Tomorrow
Passage 7
It seems to us that the earth stands quite still (静止的). But it is really moving all the time. It turns around a make-believe line through its center. We call this make-believe line the earth’s axis (地轴). The two ends of the earth’s axis are called its poles (极). The earth travels twenty-four hours around its axis once.
We look at the sun and say it “travels” across the sky, but the sun doesn’t really do so. The turning of the earth makes us feel as if the sun were moving across the sky. We can’t see that the earth is moving because everything else on the earth is turning with us. As the earth turns around every twenty-four hours, first one half faces the sun and then the other half. When our half of the earth is facing the sun, we say it is “day”. When our half is away from the sun, we say it is “night”. It is the turning of the earth that tells us when to go to bed and when to get up.
1.The meaning of “a make-believe line” is “a line that ______”.
A. is called pole B. we can’t see
C. anyone can see D. we can make and believe
2.It takes the earth ______ to turn around its axis once.
A. a week B. a month C. 12 hours D. 24 hours
3.Usually we say, “The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.” In fact, the sun _______.
A. does not move B. is moving all the time
C. moves sometimes D. is too heavy to move
4.We can’t see the earth moving because _________.
A. the earth stands still B. everything on the earth is moving with us
C. the earth is smaller than the sun D. the earth goes only at night
5.When our part of the earth turns away from the sun we have “______”, and when our part faces the sun we have “_____”.
A.day; night B. day; day C. night; day D. night; night
Passage 8
We know the mosquito very well. Mosquitoes fly everywhere. They can be found almost all over the world, and there are more than 2,500 kinds of them.
No one likes the mosquito. But the mosquito may decide that she loves you. She? Yes, she. It’s true that male mosquito doesn’t bite (咬)and only the female mosquito bites because she needs blood to lay eggs. She is always looking for things or people she wants to bite. If she likes what she finds, she bites. But if she doesn’t like your blood, she will turn to someone else for more delicious blood. Next time a mosquito bites you, just remember you are chosen. You’re different from the others!
If the mosquito likes you, she lands on your body without letting you know. She bites you so quickly and quietly that you may not feel anything different. After she bites, you will have an itch (痒) on your body because she puts something from her mouth together with your blood. By the time the itching begins, and she has flown away.
And then what happens? Well, after her delicious dinner, the mosquito feels tired. She just wants to find a place to have a good rest. There, on a leaf or a wall, she begins to lay eggs, hundreds of eggs.
1.“Mosquito” means _______ in Chinese.
A.苍蝇 B.蜻蜓 C. 跳蚤 D.蚊子
2.We know mosquitoes very well because ___________.
A. they can be found easily B. they fly here and there
C. there are many kinds of them D. they can fly
3.If the mosquito doesn’t bite you, it will ________.
A. get angry with you B. be afraid of you
C. make a lot of noise D. choose another one
4.The mosquito bites you _________.
A. when you’re asleep B. because you have choose it
C. too quickly to let you know D. but doesn’t like you
5.Which of the following sentences is wrong?
A. The itching begins after the mosquito bites you . B. You feel terrible when the mosquito bites you.
C. Mosquitoes use blood to lay eggs. D. All the mosquitoes don’t like to bite people for blood.
Passage 9
We’ve talked about snails (蜗牛) and their slow move. But much of the time snails don’t move at all. They are in their shells (壳) —sleeping.
Hot sun will dry out a snail’s body. So at the least sign of hot sun, a snail draws its body into his shell. A snail will die in a heavy rain. So when it rains, a snail does the same thing, too. A snail can sleep for as long as it needs to. It spends all the winter months in its shell, asleep.
In the spring the snail wakes up. Its body, about three inches long, comes out from the shell. When hungry, the snail looks for food. Its eyes, at the end of the top feelers (触角), are very weak. But its sense (感觉) of smell is very strong. It helps the snail to find food and the new greens.
A snail’s mouth is no bigger than the point of a pin (大头针). Yet it has 256,000 teeth! The teeth are very small, and you can’t see them. If you put a snail in a hard paper box, it will eat its way out! And if a snail wears out its teeth, it will grow new ones.
1.A snail _________.
A.moves more slowly at night B.has thousands of feet
C.doesn’t move at all D.sleeps much of the time
2.In the sentence “A snail draws its body into its shell”, the word “draw” means _____.
A. to make with a pencil B. to push C. to pull D. to move away
3.From the story, we know _________.
A. a snail’s shell is very thin B. a snail can’t see well
C. a snail’s nose is quite short D. a snail’s body changes in different seasons
4.A snail goes to sleep when _____.
A. it feels hungry B. it is put into a paper box
C. spring is coming D. it rains heavily
5.Which of the following is wrong?
A.In winter the snail doesn’t eat or move. B.A snail doesn’t like living under the sun.
C.The snail’s teeth can’t be worn out. D.The snail’s nose helps to find food.
Passage 10
Jupiter’s Moons and How They Travel
The many moons of Jupiter travel around the planet in different directions (方向).
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. Over the years, scientists have found that Jupiter has its own small solar system. Earth has one moon. Jupiter has at least sixteen and probably more.
Since there are so many moons, scientists began to number them. The numerals(numbers)tell the sequence, or order, in which the moons were found. They were slower to name the moons. All of Jupiter’s moons now have a name as well as a number.
The first five moons to be discovered are known as the “inner moons”. But they are not the closest to the planet. The closest is only 127,600 kilometers away from Jupiter. All the inner moons circle the planet in counter-clockwise direction, that is, opposite of the hands of a clock.
Jupiter’s middle group of moons are at least 11,100,000 kilometers from the planet. They also move in a counter-clockwise motion (moving). The four farthest moons are at least 20,700,000 kilometers away. These are called “outer moons”. They circle in a clockwise motion.
How many more moons do you think will be discovered？
1.What does “solar system” in this article mean？______
A. 银河系 B. 宇宙空间 C. 流星雨 D. 太阳系
2.Things that travel in the same direction as the hands of a clock are said to be traveling in a______.
A. clockwise direction B. counter-clockwise direction
C. same direction D. different direction
3.Jupiter’s _____group of moons travel in a clockwise direction.
A. planets B. inner C. middle D. outer
4.The numbers given to Jupiter’s moons tell ______.
A. the order in which they were discovered B. the order in which they travel
C. the order of their distance from Jupiter D. the order of names
5.According to the passage，which of the following statements is true？
A. None of Jupiter’s moons have names. B. Most of Jupiter's moons circle clockwise.
C. Jupiter's inner moons were discovered first. D. Jupiter is the nearest planet to the earth.
6.How far away are the middle group of moons from Jupiter？
A. It’s not mentioned. B. 11,100,000 kilometers away.
C. 127,600 kilometers away. D. 20,700,000 kilometers away.
Passage 11
WHY IS THE SUN IMPORTANT？
The sun is a huge, hot, bright star. It is important because without it there would be no life on Earth. The sun gives us light and heat.
All living things need light and heat from the sun to live. Plants need light and heat to grow. They use the light from the sun to make food. We cannot make our own food, but plants can. All the food we eat comes from plants in a food chain(链)which starts with the sun. For example,
Animals need sunlight, too. Just like us, their food comes from a food chain which begins with the sun and the plants.
sun→ leaf→ caterpillar(毛虫)→bird
sun→ seaweed(海藻)→small fish→ whale(鲸)
Sunlight means we can see during the day. If there was no sun, it would be dark all the time. Even when the sky is cloudy, the sunlight is very strong and it shines through the clouds.
1.Which words tell us what the sun is like？
A. Huge. B. Hot. C. Bright. D. All above.
2.What are the two main things the sun gives us？
A. Light and heat. B. Heat and eggs. C. Corn and light. D. Wheat and bread.
3.Why can we still see during the day when the sky is cloudy？
A. Because we can see all day and all night.
B. Because the sun can't give us light all day long.
C. Because the sunlight can shine through the clouds.
D. Because we can't see at night.
4.All the food we eat comes from ______. And it starts with the _____.
A. plants; earth B. a food chain; sun
C. food; sun D. plants; star
5.In what way do you think the sun cannot be harmful(有害的)？
A. The sun can do harm to your eyes and skin.
B. It can make rivers too dry.
C. Without it there would be no life on Earth.
D. Hot sun on dry land can cause fires.
Passage 12
Most animals only have animals of a different kind for food. But sometimes two kinds of animals come together in a partnership (伙伴关系) which is good for them. You may have noticed some birds on the backs of sheep. This is not because they want a ride, but because they find easy food in the parasites (寄生虫) on sheep. The sheep let the birds do so because they can stop the parasites from troubling them. So though they can do with it by themselves, they can do better together with each other.
Sometimes an animal has a plant partner. The relationship develops until the two partners cannot do without each other. This is so in corals of the sea. Inside their bodies they have very small plants, which act as “cleaners”, taking the useless things from the coral and giving oxygen in return. That is what the animal needs to live. If the plants are killed, or are even kept from receiving light so that they cannot live as usual, the corals will die.
1.Some birds like to sit on a sheep because ________.
A. they can eat its parasites B. they enjoy traveling with the sheep
C. they can’t live without its parasites D. they want to find the warm place
2.The underlined word “they” in the first paragraph means _________.
A. birds and parasites B. birds and sheep
C. parasites and sheep D. birds, parasites and sheep
3.We learn from the passage that corals need plants for _______.
A. friends B. light C. food D. oxygen
4.The Chinese for the word “oxygen” is _________.
A. 氧气 B. 空气 C. 废气 D.二氧化碳
5.What is the second paragraph mainly about?
A. Some animals and plants cannot live without each other.
B. Some animals and plants cannot develop their friendship easily.
C. Some plants eat each other.
D. Some animals live better together.
实战演练答案详解 缤纷自然篇
Passage 1
【答案与解析】这篇短文讲述了某些生物的迁移这一自然现象，并分析了迁移的原因。科学家们最近又研究了龙虾海底成群结队迁移的现象。它们选择在每年天气不好的季节里进行迁移，其中的原因及迁移的目的，科学家尚未弄清楚。
1.C.起初一看，四个选项好像都在文中叙述过，但仔细分析题干中的“most animals”这一关键词语，便可排除其它选项。在第一段最后一句中可找到答案的出处。
2.A。有关“salmon”的情况在第二自然段中作了叙述。这种鱼出生在淡水中，后不到咸水地区居住，在那里度过一生中绝大部分时光。到老了以后又回到它出生之时的淡水之中。仔细分析题干中的“spend a long life”和短文中的关键句“There it spends its life.”便可断定答案为A。
3.B。“they leave their mountain homes when they become too crowded.”一句是答案的出处。
4.B。该题答案的出处是文章的第三自然段。文中说，龙虾是在海底成群结队游动的时间是每年天气不好的季节，目的及它们到哪里去谁也不知道，余项与文章叙述不符。
5.D。文中第二自然段叙述了“salmon”和北欧的一种老鼠迁移方向和原因；第三自然段叙述了龙虾的游动情况，但原因不知道。最后一段开头一句正是对本文主题的概括。
Passage 2
【答案与解析】本文向我们介绍了有关彗星方面的知识。与地球一样，彗星也是绕太阳旋转的，它本身不发光，靠反射太阳的光而发亮。短文中还介绍了彗星的成因，它拖着的长尾巴是如何形成的以及著名的哈雷彗星名字的由来。
1.D。“Like the earth, a comet goes round the sun, but…”是判断本题的根据。
2.C。根据“…is water frozen into pieces of ice and mixed with iron and rock dust and perhaps a few big pieces of rock.”这句话即能得出答案。
3.D。由第五段的首句“Many people perhaps have seen a comet.”可知。
4.C。“Some comets move out of our sight and never come back. Others keep coming back at regular times.”一句是答案的出处。
5.C。哈雷彗星每七十六年才能看到一次。再结合“…the last time it came close to the sun and the earth was in the year 1986.”这句话的意思，即可得到答案。
Passage 3
【答案与解析】这篇短文介绍的是有关植物年轮方面的小知识。由于树木的生长要受到阳光、降水等方面的影响，从一棵树上的年轮分布情况上，可以推断出树木所生长地方以前的气候状况。年轮不仅对科学家研究地球上的气候环境有非常重要的参考价值，而且更为有趣的是，它还能帮助科学家们研究人类的历史呢。
1.A。“If the tenth ring is far from the eleventh ring, then we’re sure that it was sunny and rainy most of that year.”一句即是答案所在。
2.C。文章第一段“Do you know they can tell us what the weather was like…”和第三段的首句“Tree rings are important not only for studying the history of weather…”都有所暗示。
3.A。答案就在 “…to find out the weather of ten years ago, count the rings of a tree from the outside to the inside. If the tenth ring is far from the eleventh ring…”一句中。
4.D。短文最后一段说，人们建房做饭都离不开树木。人所居住的周围环境中如果没有了树木，那么人也就迁移了。所以答案为D。
5.B。根据最后两段所叙述的内容，再联系植物对人类的重要作用，则不难得出答案。
Passage 4
【答案与解析】土壤是人类赖以生存的自然条件之一。没有了土壤或者是土壤受到了较为严重的破坏，就会直接危及到人类的生存。本文在阐述土壤的成因、特性和重要性之后，呼吁大家都要保护土壤。
1.D。综合考虑第一段的意思，唯有D才是最恰当的选项。
2.C。根据“This dark soil is humus, dead leaves, dead plants and animal waste make it, but this takes a long time.”一句所述，可推知这是一种由落叶、枯萎的植物以及动物的粪便在长时间的腐烂后所产生的一种东西。由此不难得出答案为C。
3.D。答案就在“People should grow more and more trees and grass to stop wind from carrying the humus away.”这一句话之中。
4.D。由“When the humus has been made, plants can grow well in it.”和“It takes hundreds of years to make humus,”这两句话所表达的意思，可知答案只能是D。
5.A。本文就是说明土壤对人类的重要性的。事实上，文章结尾的那句话已经点明主旨。
Passage 5
【答案与解析】在大海的温水区域，我们常常可以发现一些珊瑚岛。本文向我们描述了珊瑚岛形成的自然过程。文章最后，作者有感而发，以问句结束全文，发人深思，耐人寻味。
1.B。文章第一段就是讲的“在海中较暖和的水域，常有一些珊瑚岛”这一事实。A显然是不对的。
2.C。根据“A coral island is very nice to look at. It looks like a ring of land with trees, grass, and flowers on it.”这句话不难得出答案。
3.D。答案即在“In each of these holes a very small sea animal has lived. These sea animals make the coral.”一句中。
4.A。倒数第三段中的“Sometimes birds flew over it and brought seeds to the island.”这句话对此有明确的说明。
5.C。由这一小小的自然现象，作者联想到工作在平凡岗位上的工人们，寓意非常深刻。作者的思想感情由最后一段作者的议论可以体会到。
Passage 6
【答案与解析】地震是地球上对人类生存构成威胁的最严重的自然灾害之一。科学家们经过研究，发现了地震活动最频繁的地方。生活在地震带地方的人们可以采取适当的措施减少其危害。也许，将来科学家们能在地震之前预测出发生的地点和时间。
1.D。第一节最后的一句话是本题答案的出处。答案题时，尤其要注意该句中的often一词。
2.B。短文的“When some plates of the earth move suddenly, an earthquake happens”这一句明确告诉我们：地球板块突然移动时，就导致地震的发生。选项A 不是地震的成因，而是地震产生的结果。这从“…the shakings make rocks rise suddenly and even crack open”一句中可以看出。
3.C。地震带(earthquake belts)是可能发生地震的地方。这由第三段的中间几句所描述的内容可知。
4.A。将来科学家能预测出地震发生的时间和地点。有了这种精确的预报，人们当然不会再对地震那么恐惧了。
5.A。短文主要围绕地震的成因、危害以及对未来科学家们从事地震研究的展望，向我们介绍了地震方面的知识。故选项A为最佳答案。
Passage 7
【答案与解析】这是一篇介绍地球的自转、公转以及昼夜的交替等自然现象的成因的短文。借助地理学知识，是不难理解的。
1.B。根据句子的意思及地理课上学到的知识，可知地球绕其中心旋转的那条线叫做地轴。这是一条假想的、看不见的东西。故答案是B。
2.D。根据“The earth travels twenty-four hours around its axis once.”这个句子可直接选出正确答案。事实上，确切地说，地球自转一周所用的时间是23时48分46秒。
3.A。答案就在“… but the sun doesn’t really do so. The turning of the earth makes us feel as if the sun were moving across the sky.”这两句话中。选项D迷惑性较大，但是这利用由地理知识来排除。
4.B。这是表层理解题，很明显答案在“…because everything else on the earth is turning with us”一句中。
5.C。只要理解了“When our half of the earth is facing the sun, we say it is ‘day’. When our half is away from the sun, we say it is ‘night’.”这句话中face的意思，即它在此处用作动词(意思是“对着；面向”)，答案即可迎刃而解。
Passage 8
【答案与解析】这篇短文告诉我们：雌蚊子吸过人的血之后，就会找一个地方去休息一下，然后在叶子或墙上产下许多的卵。蚊子吮吸人的血液令人讨厌，但它对人血还很挑剔呢。有的人，让它叮咬，它还不干呢。如果下一次蚊子叮了你，那说明你与众不同，倍受蚊子青睐。
1.D。“吸血”和“会飞”是mosquitoes的两个主要特征。根据这两个特点，联系生活常识，即可选定答案。另外，读罢全文之后，也能将其余选项予以排除。
2.B。“We know the mosquito very well. Mosquitoes fly everywhere.”一句是答案的出处。
3.D。答案就在“But if she doesn’t like your blood, she will turn to someone else for more delicious blood.”这句话之中。
4.C。答案的依据是“…she lands on your body without letting you know. She bites you so quickly and quietly that you may not feel anything different.”一句。
5. B。其余三项在文中都有明确的说明。根据上面那个小题的内容，B项明显是错误的。
Passage 9
【答案与解析】这篇短文向我们介绍了蜗牛的生活习性。无论是烈日当空，还是大雨滂沱，蜗牛都会像整个冬季一样，呆在壳里睡觉。春天来临的时候，蜗牛就拖着三英寸长的身体从壳里钻出来，靠它那灵敏的触角觅食。别看它的嘴比大头针尖大不了多少，却长着25万多颗牙齿呢！
1.D。根据开头的“But much of the time snails don’t move at all. They are in their shells ----sleeping.”这句话，显然只有D是正确答案。
2.C。本题属熟词新义。由“Hot sun will dry out a snail’s body. So at the least sign of hot sun, a snail draws its body into his shell.”一句的意思，尤其是要仔细考虑关键词“into”对猜测词义的辅助作用，可知蜗牛一旦碰到炙热的太阳，就会把身体蜷缩进壳里。
3.B。答案即是“Its eyes, at the end of the top feelers are very weak.”这句话。
4.D。关键要理解好“So when it rains, a snail does the same thing, too.”这句话中的“the same thing”的意思。事实上，由“In the spring the snail wakes up. … comes out from the shell.”和“…in a hard paper box, it will eat its way out!”是很容易排除B、C和A的。
5.C。根据短文最后一句话“And if a snail wears out its teeth, it will grow new ones.”，可以判断C项是明显的错误。
Passage 10
【答案与解析】这是一篇关于宇宙知识的科普短文。在太阳系中，木星是最大的一颗行星。围绕其旋转的卫星有很多。科学家们首先发现的是离它较近的五颗名叫“内部月亮”的卫星，它们是以逆时针方向绕其旋转的。木星的不计其数的中间月亮团也是以逆时针方向绕其旋转的。但它的最近的四个“外部月亮”却是以顺时针方向绕其旋转的。
1. 选D。文中介绍Jupiter(木星)是最大的行星，地球只有一个月亮，而木星至少有16个，甚至更多。由此可见，solar system即为太阳系，木星同地球一样都是太阳系中的行星。
2. 选A。“clockwise direction”指“顺时针方向”。文中对“counter-clockwise direction”的解释是“opposite of the hands of a clock”，即“逆时针方向”。
3. 选D。最远的四个月亮称为“outer moons”，它们以顺时针方向转。
4. 选A。由文中“The numerals(numbers)tell the sequence, or order, in which the moons were found.”这句话可知。
5. 选C。统观全文，可知选项A、B不符合文意，根据常识判断，选项D也不正确。再由环绕木星旋转的月亮团以依次发现的时间为序，由此推理可得出“the inner moons were discovered first”。
6. 选B。在文中可找到“Jupiter's middle group of moons are at least 11,100,000 kilometers from the planet.”。根据这一句话的意思，便可得知此题答案为B。
Passage 11
【答案与解析】本题以实例说明了太阳对地球上各种生物的重大作用。文中介绍说：太阳是一个巨大的火球，它发出的光和热对于地球上的生物有着非常重要的意义。万物生长靠太阳。动物与人类的食物都来自起始于太阳的食物链。
1.D。答案就在短文首句的“ The sun is a huge, hot, bright star.”之中，其中包含的三个形容词正是本题的答案。
2.A.短文首段末句和第二段的首句“The sun gives us light and heat. All living things need light and heat from the sun to live.”是解答该题目的重要依据。
3.C.本小题属于表层理解题。答案显然在“If there was no sun，it would be dark all the time. Even when the sky is cloudy, the sunlight is very strong and it shines through the clouds.”一句中。
4.B.本小题同样属于表层理解题。“All the food we eat comes from plants in a food chain(链)which starts with the sun.”这句话是问题的出处。此句是定语从句，要仔细阅读才能正确理解。
5.C.根据“It is important because without it there would be no life on Earth.”和“If there was no sun, it would be dark all the time.”这两句话，可很容易将其余三个选项排除。
Passage 12
【答案与解析】自然界中里的事情总是那么的奇妙。很多动物都以不同种类的动物作为自己的食物，有时两种动物还具有伙伴关系呢。有些动物也以植物作为伙伴。比如：海洋生物珊瑚的体内有一种很小的植物。这些植物消耗珊瑚身体内无用的东西，并释放出氧气。而这些氧气又是珊瑚生存所必需的。
1.A.本题属于表层理解题。答案即在“This is not because they want a ride, but because they find easy food in the parasites (寄生虫) on sheep.”一句之中。
2.B.前文中的“The sheep let the birds do so because they can stop the parasites from troubling them.”的意思是说“绵羊让鸟儿落在自己身上，因为鸟儿可以将它们身上的寄生虫吃掉。”；另一句“So though they can do with it by themselves…”的意思是说“尽管它们自己也能对付寄生虫……”。综合上面两句话的意思，再结合“…they can do better together with each other.”这一句话，即得答案。
3.D.显然，根据“…taking the useless things from the coral and giving oxygen in return. That is what the animal needs to live.”这两句话可知，珊瑚需要植物提供的氧气才能生存下去。
4.D.联系生物学常识，氧气是各种生物赖以生存所必需的，所以由此可以推测出该词的意思是“氧气”。
5.A.根据这一自然段的内容，珊瑚和它们体内的植物具有相互依存的关系。因此，答案非A莫属。选项D迷惑性较大。因为这一自然段主要说明了珊瑚与体内植物的关系，它们在一块生存得很好。但选项D意思是“一些动物在一起生存得更好。”只要注意“动物”和“植物”这两个字眼，即可将此项排除。
Section II 趣味幽默篇
Passage 13
Henry was an office worker in a big city. He worked very hard and enjoyed traveling in his holidays.
He usually went to the seaside, but one year he saw an advertisement in a newspaper. “Enjoy country life. Spend a few weeks at West Hill Farm. Good food. Fresh air. Horse riding. Walking. Fishing. Cheap and interesting.”
“This sounds a good idea,” he thought. “I’ll spend a month at West Hill Farm. I think I can enjoy horse riding, walking and fishing. They’ll make a change from sitting by the seaside and swimming.”
He wrote to the farmer. In the letter he said that he would like to spend all of July there. Then on the first of July, he left for West Hill Farm.
But four days later, he returned home.
“What was wrong with West Hill Farm?” his best friend, Ed, asked him. “Didn’t you enjoy country life?”
“Country life was very good,” Henry said. “But there was another problem.”
“Oh. What?”
“Well,” he said, “the first day I was there a sheep died, and we had roast mutton for dinner.”
“What's wrong with that?” Ed asked. “Fresh meat is the best.”
“I know, but on the second day a cow died, and we had roast beef for dinner.”
“Lucky you!”
“You don't understand,” Henry said. “On the third day a pig died and we had roast pork for dinner.”
“A different meat every day,” Ed said loudly, “ and you are complaining!”
“Let me finish,” Henry said. “On the fourth day the farmer died, and I didn't dare (敢)stay for dinner!”
1.How did Henry find out about the farm?
A. He saw it in a newspaper advertisement. B. His best friend told him.
C. He wrote to the farmer. D. Maybe he learned it from the radio.
2. Henry came back home several days later because ______________.
A. he didn't like the country life at all B. the farmer wasn’t friendly to him
C. his holiday was over D. he thought he might have to eat the farmer
3. “…and you are complaining!”, the word “complain” means __________.
A.夸奖 B.说三道四 C.抱怨 D.故弄玄虚
4.Which of the following sentences is true?
A. Ed could eat a different kind of meat every day.
B. Henry thought he could enjoy a change.
C. Henry couldn't think of anything else to do, so he went to the farm.
D. The farmer died because of the bad meat he ate.
5.Which is the best title for the passage?
A. What a beautiful farm! B. Have a good time. C.A short holiday D. Henry and the farmer.
Passage 14
After returning from her round trip, the angry woman stood outside the ticket office of the station. “The railway owes me 12 pounds,” she said to Harry Jenks, the young man working at the office.” You sold me a ticket for May 22nd, but there was no ship from Jersey that night. So my daughter and I had to stay in a hotel. It cost me 12 pounds.”
Harry was worried. He remembered selling the woman a return ticket. “Come into the office, Madam,” he said politely. “I’ll just check the Jersey timetable for May 22nd.”
The woman and her little girl followed him inside. She was quite right, as Harry soon discovered. There was no sailing on May 22nd. How could he have made such a careless mistake? He shouldn’t have sold her a ticket for that day. Wondering what to do, he smiled at the child. “You look sun burnt,” he said to her. “Did you have a nice holiday in Jersey?”
“Yes,” she answered, shyly. “The beach was lovely. And I can swim too!”
“That’s fine,” said Harry. “My little girl can’t swim a bit yet. Of course, she’s only three…”
“I’m four,” the child said proudly. “I’ll be four and a half.”
Harry turned to the mother. “I remember your ticket, Madam,” he said. “But you didn’t get one for your daughter, did you?”
“Er, well…” the woman looked at the child. “I mean…she hasn’t started school yet, she’s only four.”
“A four-year-old child must have a ticket, Madam. A child’s return ticket to Jersey costs …let me see… 13.50 pounds. The law is the law, but since the mistake is mine….”
The woman stood up, took the child’s hand and left the office.
1. The woman was angry because __________.
A. she couldn’t use the ticket for her round trip
B. she had to return home a day earlier than she had planned
C. she spent more money than she had expected
D. Harry had sold her a ticket to Jersey where there was no sailing
2. Harry was worried __________.
A.the woman was angry with him
B.he had not done his work carefully
C.the Jersey timetable was wrong
D.the little girl didn’t have a return ticket
3. Harry started talking to the little girl ___________.
A.because he was in trouble and did not know what to do
B.because he had a little girl about the same age as this girl
C.because he wanted to be friendly to the little girl who looked so nice
D.when he suddenly realized that he could find a way out from the little girl
4. When Harry said, “The law is the law, but since the mistake was mine…” he meant that ____.
A.they must follow it without other choice, even though the mistake was his
B.he had to be strict with the woman because of the law, although he didn’t want to
C.the woman had to pay him 1.50 pounds and the railway would pay her for the hotel
D.she should pay 1.50 pounds, but he had made a mistake, she could go without paying
5. The woman left the office without saying anything because _______________.
A.she wanted to go home and get money for the child’s ticket
B.she was so angry that she didn’t want to have anything more to do with the young man
C.she was moved (感动) by Harry’s kindness
D.she knew she would have to pay the railway if she insisted (坚持)
Passage 15
Three travelers, Allan, Carl and Paul were sitting on the chairs in a train station. They were waiting for a train that was very late.
To pass the time, they began talking to each other.
At first, they talked about the weather and their work. Then Paul said, "Tell me—what would you most like to do if your doctor tell you that you have only three months to live?"
The other two men thought about this for a while, then Carl spoke.
“Well,” he said, “if I have only three months to live, I’ll take all my money out of the bank and go to foreign countries for holidays with my best friend, Erik. I'd like to travel to the places in the world as many as possible. And I'll stay at the best hotels and then eat the best food. I think I'll have a wonderful time.”
“That's very interesting.” Paul said.
With these words, he turned to the other man, saying, “And what about you?”
“I'll tell you a secret,” Allan said. “I always want to be a racing driver. So if I have only three months to live, the first thing I'd like to do is to sell my house. With the money I’ll buy the fastest car in the world. Maybe I can enter all the big motor races.”
Then he laughed, "I might even end up (以……而告终) world champion.”
“Now it's your turn,” Allan went on, “If your doctor tell you the bad news, what would you most like to do?”
“Oh,” said Paul with a smile. “I’ll go and see another doctor.”
1.The three men were talking _____________.
A. in the post office B. in the waiting room
C. on the train D. on the chairs
2.The man called ________ answered the question first.
A. Carl B. Allan C. Erik D. Paul
3.The men began to talk about the weather and the work because they __________.
A. didn't know anything new B. wanted to pass the time quickly
C. had nothing to do D. were very interested in each other's work
4."I might even end up world champion." Here the word "champion" means ________in Chinese.
A.名人 B.赛车手 C.大款 D.冠军
5.Which sentence is right according to the passage?
A. The train didn't arrive on time.
B. Paul wanted to buy a racing car very much.
C. Allan was the second man to answer the question.
D. Carl didn't like traveling at all.
Passage 16
An English traveler found himself in Norway with only enough money to buy the ticket for his journey back home. As he knew that it would take him only two days to get to England, he decided that he could easily spend the time without food. So he bought a ticket and got on the ship. The man closed his ears to the sound of the lunch bell. When dinnertime came, he didn’t go to dinning room, saying that he was not feeling very well.
The next morning he still didn’t have breakfast and at lunchtime he again stayed in his room. But at dinnertime he was so hungry that he went to the dinning room and ate everything the waiter put in front of him. He got ready for the quarrel.
“Bring me the bill,” he said. “The bill, sir?” said the waiter in surprise. “There isn’t any bill. On our ship meals are included (包括) in the money for the ticket,” said the waiter.
1.The story happened _______.
A. in England B. on a ship from Norway to England
C. in Norway D. on a ship from England to Norway
2.Why didn’t the traveler go to the dinning room first?
A.Because he had no money
B.Because he didn’t feel very well
C.Because he didn’t want to eat anything
D.Because he didn’t hear the sound of the bell
3.The traveler went to the dinning room to eat something because _______.
A.his friend had given him some money
B.the waiter had asked him to change his mind
C.he learned that there was no bill on the ship
D.he was too hungry
4.How many meals did the traveler have on the ship?
A. Only one B. Two C. Three D. None
5.After the traveler finished eating, ________.
A.he had a quarrel with waiter over the bill
B.he drank a lot
C.he asked the waiter to bring him the change(零钱)
D.he came to know that travelers on the ship had free meals
Passage 17 A farmer had a cow. He took very good care of this cow and one day when it was ill, he was
very worried. He telephoned the vet.
“What’s the problem?” The vet asked him when he arrived.
“My cow's ill,” the farmer said. “I don’t know what's the matter with her. She’s lying down and won’t eat. She's making a strange noise.”
The vet looked over the cow. "She's certainly ill," he said, "and she needs to take some very strong medicine."
He took a bottle out of his box, put two pills into his hand and said, "Give her these. The pills should make her better."
“How should I give them to her?” the farmer asked.
The vet gave him a tube (管子)and said, "Put this tube in her mouth, then put the pills in the tube and blow. That'll make it."
The next day the vet came to the farm again. The farmer was sitting outside his house and looked more worried.
“How's your cow?” the vet asked.
“No change,” the farmer said, “and I’m feeling very strange myself.”
“Oh?” the vet said, "Why?"
“I did what you said,” the farmer answered. “I put the tube in the cow's mouth and then put two pills down it.”
“And?” the vet asked.
“The cow blew first,” the farmer said.
1.In the story, the vet must be _________.
A. the farmer's friend B. a milk factory
C. a hospital for cows D. a doctor for animals
2.The farmer asked the vet for help when his cow _______
A. couldn't lie down B. didn't eat the pills
C. couldn't make any noise D. was ill
3.What medicine did the vet give the farmer?
A. Bottle of pills. B. A long tube.
C. Two pills. D. A small box.
4.The vet taught the farmer how _________.
A. to blow the tube B. to make the cow take the pills
C. to take the medicine D. to put the tube in his mouth
5.Which of the following is true?
A. The farmer ate the pills himself.
B. The cow got better after taking the medicine.
C. The vet came to help farmer change the cow the next day.
D. The farmer waited for the vet outside his house the next day.
Passage 18
Several years ago, a television reporter was talking to three of the most important people in America. One was a very rich banker, another owned one of the largest companies in the world, and the third owned many buildings in the center of New York.
The reporter was talking to them about being important.
“How do we know if someone is really important?” the reporter asked the banker.
The banker thought for a few moments and then said, “I think anybody who is invited to the Whiter House to meet the President of the United States is really important.”
The reporter then turned to the owner of the very large company. “Do you agree with that?” she asked.
The man shook his head, “No. I think the President invites a lot of people to the White House. You’d only be important if while you were visiting the President, there was a telephone call from the president of another country, and the President of the US said he was too busy to answer it.”
The reporter turned to the third man. “Do you think so?”
“No, I don’t.” he said. “I don’t think that makes the visitor important. That makes the President important.”
“Then what would make the visitor important?” the reporter and the other two men asked.
“Oh, I think if the visitor to the White House was talking to the President and the phone rang, and the President picked up the receiver, listened and then said, ‘it’s for you.’”
1.This story happened in _______.
A. England B. America C. Japan D. Australia
2.There are _______ in this passage.
A. two men and two women B. three men and one woman
C. three women and one man D. four women
3.The banker thought _______.
A.he was really important because he was a rich banker
B.the visitor to the White House was really important
C.the visitor who met the President of the United States
D. the reporter was really important
4.The owner of the very large company thought _______.
A.she was really important because she owned one of the largest companies
B.the banker was really important
C.the owner of many buildings in the center of New York was really important
D. the visitor would be really important if while he was visiting the President, the President would not answer any telephone call
5.The owner of many buildings thought _______.
A.he was really important because he owned many buildings in the center of New York
B.the owner of the very large company was really important
C.the visitor was really important if he talking to the President and the President received a telephone call for the visitor
D.the person who worked in the White House was really important
Passage 19
Three men traveling on a train began a conversation about the world's greatest wonders.
“In my opinion,” the first man said, “the Egyptian pyramids are the world's greatest wonder. Although they were built thousands of years ago, they are still standing. And remember: the people who built them had only simple tools. They did not have the kind of machinery that builders and engineers have today.”
“I agree that the pyramids in Egypt are wonderful,” the second man said, “but I do not think they are the greatest wonder. I believe computers are more wonderful than the pyramids. They have taken people to the moon and brought them back safely. In seconds，they carry out mathematical calculations that would take a person a hundred years to do.”
He turned to the third man and asked, “What do you think is the greatest wonder in the world？”
The third man thought for a long time，and then he said, “Well，I agree that the pyramids are wonderful, and I agree that computers are wonderful, too. However，in my opinion, the most wonderful thing in the world is this thermos.”
And he took a thermos out of his bag and held it up.
The other two men were very surprised. “A thermos？”they exclaimed. “But that's a simple thing.”
“Oh, no，it's not, ”the third man said. “In the winter you put in a hot drink and it stays hot. In the summer you put in a cold drink and it stays cold. How does the thermos know whether it's winter or summer？”
1.The underlined word “thermos” means in Chinese “ _____ ”.
A.电冰箱 B.洗衣机 C.电风扇 D.保温瓶
2.The three men could not agree on what the world's greatest wonder was because _____.
A. they could not think of anything very wonderful B. they all had different ideas
C. they could not prove that their opinions were right D. the journey ended too soon
3.The first man thought the pyramids were the most wonderful things in the world because _____.
A. they were very beautiful B. they were Egyptian
C. they had been built with very simple tools D. they could do mathematical calculations
4.The third man thought a thermos was the most wonderful thing in the world because _____.
A. it lasted longer than the pyramids B. it cost less than a computer
C. he thought it knew whether it was winter or summer
D. the other two men were surprised when he told them about it
5.The third man was not very clever because _____.
A. he could not think of anything to say B. he did not understand how a thermos works
C. he did not think the pyramids were wonderful D. he did not know anything about computers
Passage 20
An old man was going home late one night with his horse and cart after a day's hard work. When he was not far from his house, the light on the cart went out. He tried but could not mend it.
He was near his home, and so he went along the road without a light. When a policeman saw this, he stopped the old carter.
"Where's your light?" asked the policeman. "No one may take a cart along a road at night without a light. You know that. You've broken the law.
"I had a light," said the old man, "but it has just gone out."
"I don't believe that story," said the policeman. He took out a book and got ready to write. "What's your name and where do you live?" he asked.
"Please don't take my name," said the old man. "My house is just there. You can see it from here. I had a light nearly the whole way. I haven't come far without a light."
"You came all the way without a light. What's your name?"
The carter quickly took the policeman's hand and put it down on the top of the light. The light was still hot, and burnt the policeman's hand. He jumped and he was very angry.
"Now, what do you think?" said the carter. "Did I come all the way without a light?"
1.In the passage "Cart" is ___________.
A. something like a car B. something like a light
C. something pulled by a horse D. something with a light
2.The old man drove home ___________.
A. on the back of his horse B. late one night
C. very late every night D. with a policeman
3.Where did the policeman stop the old man?
A. Near his home. B. At the traffic lights.
C. Under a road light. D. Far from his house.
4.The cart was stopped by the policeman because ________.
A. the old man didn't have a light
B. the policeman didn't believe the old man's words
C. the old man did not want to tell his name
D. the old man's light wasn't on
5..How did the old man make the policeman believe (相信) his words?
A. He made the policeman touch the light.
B. He jumped and shouted angrily.
C. He made the policeman angry.
D. He burnt the policeman's hands.
Passage 21
Ellen Parker was worried about her health. She could not walk very quickly and it was difficult for her to climb stars. She was soon out of breath (气喘吁吁).
“I suppose I had better go to the doctor,” she thought.
She went to the doctor and told him her problem.
“I’m not surprised at all,” he said. “It’s obvious what your problem is.”
He looked her over then gave her some advice.
“If you don’t do what I say, Mrs. Parker,” he said, “you will have a heart attack. It could kill you.”
Ellen Parker was very worried as she left the doctor’s. She knew that she had to take his advice but that it would not be easy and it would take time.
The next day she went shopping. The first shop she went into was a butcher’s shop (肉铺).
“I’d like ten pounds of steak (牛排), please,” she said.
“Certainly, madam,” the butcher replied and went into the cold room and found a large piece of steak. He brought the huge piece of meat back into the shop and put it on the scale (天平).
“That’s just under ten pounds,” he said.
“That big enough,” Mrs. Parker said.
The butcher worked out the price.
“At $4.99 a pound that will be $49.50, please. Would you like me to cut it up into smaller pieces for you?”
“Oh, I don’t want to buy the meat,” Mrs. Parker said.
“If you don’t want to buy it,” the butcher replied angrily, “why did you ask me to get it for you?”
“My doctor told me that I am over-weight and I have to lose ten pounds. I wanted to see what ten pounds of meat looked like.”
1. Why did Ellen Parker visit the doctor?
A. She had had a heart attack. B. She had a problem with her health.
C. She was unhappy about her weight. D. She could not sleep well.
2. What did the doctor advise her to do?
A. To lose weight. B. To eat more meat.
C. To come and see him again. D. To look after her heart.
3. Why did Ellen Parker ask for ten pounds of steak?
A. She wanted to buy some for dinner. B. She wanted to lose weight.
C. Her doctor had told her to eat steak.
D. She wanted to see what ten pounds of meat looked like.
4. What was Ellen Parker's real problem?
A. She ate too much steak. B. She weighed too much.
C. The doctor did not know. D. She could not walk very quickly.
5. What did the doctor think might happen to Ellen?
A. She might put on more weight. B. She might stop eating too much.
C. She might have a heart attack. D. She might go to another doctor.
Passage 22
(In court (法庭), the judge asks the boy named Henry some questions.)
Judge: Can you tell us how the accident happened?
Henry: Yes, sir. The farmer drove very fast when I met with him. His car knocked me down and hurt my arm.
Judge: (To the farmer) Was that right?
Farmer: No, sir. But it rained heavily and I couldn’t drive fast.
Judge: So you don’t think you knocked him down?
Farmer: Yes, I did. But I didn’t see him mending his bike in the middle of the road.
Judge: Well. Did you send him to a hospital?
Farmer: Yes. But the doctor said there was nothing serious to him.
Judge: (To Henry) Do you agree with him?
Henry: Yes, sir. But my left arm often hurts and I can't lift it at all.
Judge: Could you show us how you can lift it now?
Henry: Sure. (Slowly the boy lifts his arm below his nose.)
Judge: Poor boy! And how high could you lift it before the accident?
Henry: Oh, I could lift it very high like this. (Holding his left arm up over his head)
Judge: But I don't think there's something wrong with your arm.
Henry: I...I...So it is. But my lawyer (律师) tells me to do so.
根据上面的对话，在短文的空白处填写一个适当的词，使短文内容与对话意思相符。
It happened on a (1)_________ day. A boy named Henry was (2)_________ his bike on the road while a farmer's (3)______ knocked him down. The farmer sent him to a hospital and the doctor said nothing (4)________ happened to the boy. But his parents hoped the boy could be paid more (5)_________ for it. They asked for a lawyer's (6)_______ .The lawyer taught the boy (7)______ to say in court. Henry told the judge his arm hurt and that he couldn't (8)________ it up. The judge asked him to show it to him. He could lift it below his nose. The judge asked him how (9)_______ he could lift it before the accident. The boy (10)___________ what the lawyer said and lifted it over his head!
Section II 趣味幽默篇 答案与解析
Passage 13
【答案与解析】假日里，亨利喜欢到海边去旅游。有一次，他想去西山农场享受一下田园风光，并计划在那儿度过一个月的时间。可是令人惊奇的是，才去四天之后他就回来了。当朋友问起其中的缘由时，亨利说道：第一天，农场里死了一只羊，晚餐时美美地吃了一顿烤羊肉；第二天农场死了一头牛，又吃了一顿烧牛肉；第三天农场死了一头猪，结果又吃了一顿烤猪肉。可是，到了第四天，农场主死了，我不敢再留下来吃饭了。
1.A。第二段的首句“…but one year he saw an advertisement in a newspaper.”即是答案的出处。
2.C。本题考查根据语境进行分析判断的能力。由上下文，显然可知这是报纸上的一则广告信息。
3.B。本题考查通过上下文对词汇的推测能力。根据亨利的叙述可得出此答案。
4. B。这由“A different meat every day, and you are complaining!”一句可知。
5. C。本来打算要在乡村农场过一个暑假，结果四天之后就回来了。这能不是个短暂的假期吗？用此作标题既切合题意，又具有幽默的味道。
Passage 14
【答案与解析】这篇短文的大致情节是：一位妇女向车站售票员索要12英镑，原因是：由于售票员工作的疏忽，买给这位妇女的票是5月22日的，那天并没有轮船出航。这位妇女和自己的女儿只好在旅馆住了一宿，花去了12英镑。可是当售票员和这位妇女攀谈时，得知她四岁的女儿没有买票，而儿童票价是13.5英镑。结果，这位妇女非但没有得到12英镑的补偿，反而欠车站1.5英镑。
1.C.这是一道辨认事实细节题。粗看D似乎应该是此题的答案，但仔细辨认一下就不难发现短文中确定指出五月二十二日那天没有去Jersey的轮船，可是当读完the women所说的话后，你就会清楚地知道她生气的主要原因是她多花了一宿住旅店的钱。
2.B.仔细阅读短文的二、三段就可以知道是因为Harry没做好工作，5月22日晚上在Jersey无船的。
3.A.短文中的这句“Wondering what to do, he smiled at the child.”是解答该题的依据。
4.D.根据上下文对事情和年轻的售票员思想过程的叙述，可知这句话的意思是：按规定那妇女要付小孩的票钱，但售票员也有错。因此，他希望互相不追究，所以正确答案为D。
5.D.从最后年轻人的那段话，及那位妇女一句话都没说，站起来，牵起小女孩的手就离开了票房这一事实，可以推理出那妇女的思想过程，即如果她要坚持让票房赔她一晚住宿营费的话，那么车站也可以按规定要她补买小女孩的票，这样她就会多付1.5英镑，因此，她也就不再坚持了。
Passage 15
【答案与解析】这篇幽默故事讲的是：三个人在谈论“如果大夫告知你还能活三个月的时间，你最想做什么？”这个问题。其中一个人说他将从银行取出所有的钱和朋友一块去度假，并尽可能多地旅游一些地方。另一个人说他将买掉自己的房子，买一辆好车，做一名赛车手。也许能有机会参加汽车大赛。第三个人说，如果大夫告诉他这个坏消息，他将再去看一个医生。
1.B.根据题意，这三个人在火车站等火车，当然是在候车室。
2.A.答案就在“The other two men thought about this for a while, then Carl spoke.”这句话中。
3.B.短文第二句即是本题的答案。
4.D.由Allan说的话，可推测出D为最佳答案。
5.C.“With these words, he turned to the other man, saying, ‘And what about you?’”这句话以及后边的回答是解答本题的关键之所在。
Passage 16
【答案与解析】本文的故事情节是：一位英国人到挪威旅游。回家的时候发现自己身上的钱只能够买一张票的。想到只需两天就能回到家，他决定这期间就不吃东西了。到开饭的时候，他就一个人呆在船舱里，就这样一直挨到第二天下午。可到了吃晚饭时，他饿得实在受不了了，于是决定挨揍一顿也要去吃。然而，等他吃完饭向服务员要账单时，服务员说这条船上的用餐是免费的，因为用餐费已包括中船票中了。
1.B。文章开头两句是本题的答案之所在。
2.A。根据“…with only enough money to buy the ticket for his journey back home.”和“…decided that he could easily spend the time without food.”可知。
3.D。由题意可知，这位旅客饿得受不了，于是就去了餐厅。
4.A。前文说这位旅客只消两天就能回到英国。第一天没有吃东西，第二天的早、午饭也没吃。待吃了这顿晚饭明天就可以到家了。所以他只吃了一顿饭。
5.D。“There isn’t any bill. On our ship meals are included (包括) in the money for the ticket.”即是本题答案的出处。
Passage 17
【答案与解析】这篇令人忍俊不禁的幽默的主要内容是：一个农夫的牛病倒了。兽医给了他一些药和一根管子，并告诉他怎么样用这根管子给牛喂药。第二天，兽医再次到农场时发现那位农夫坐在家门口，一脸的焦虑不安。原来他的牛病情并没有好转。他说自己按照兽医的嘱咐做了，可当他将管子插入牛的嘴里，并放进两粒药丸，正想吹气时，牛却先吹了一口气。
1.D。根据短文内容，很容易推测出该词的汉语意思是“兽医”。答案当然是D。
2.D。由“She’s lying down and won’t eat. She's making a strange noise.”可以排除A和B。C显然不对。
3.C。“He took a bottle out of his box, put two pills into his hand…”一句是答案的出处。
4.B。 由“How should I give them to her?”这句话可知。
5.A.根据短文最后一句话，不难想象，没等农夫吹气，牛先吹了一口气，将药丸吹到了农夫的嘴里。
Passage 18
【答案与解析】短文的梗概是：一名电视台记者向三个很富有的人问了这样一个问题：如何判断一个人是不是重要人物。银行家认为凡被邀请到白宫与美国总统会见的人都是重要人物。拥有世界上最大公司的那个人却不赞同。他说被邀请去白宫的人太多了。但如果正当你与总统谈话时，另一个国家的总统来了电话，美国总统说他太忙了，不能接电话。这才说明你确实是重要人物。然而第三个人却认为这只能衬托美国总统的地位。他说如果正当来访者与美国总统谈话时电话铃响了，美国总统拿起电话听了听，然后对来访者说，“找你的。”这个人是最重要的人物。
1.B。答案即是短文首段的第一句“Several years ago, a television reporter was talking to three of the most important people in America.”。
2.A。记者和那三个重要人物，共二男二女。关于男女性别可在下文中说话人的话语中可以看出来。
3.C。由“I think anybody who is invited to the Whiter House to meet the President of the United States is really important”这句可知。
4.D。同上题一样，本题也属表层理解题。答案就在“You’d only be important if while you were visiting the President, there was a telephone call from the president of another country, and the President of the US said he was too busy to answer it.”中。
5.C。文章最后一段即是本小题答案之所在。
Passage 19
【答案与解析】三个人在谈论世界上伟大的奇观。其中的一个人认为修建于几千年前的金字塔是最让人叹服的世界奇迹。其理由是：当时只有简单的原始工具，并没有我们现代化的设备和技艺精湛的工程师。第二个人则认为电子计算机金字塔更为奇妙。因为在它们的控制下人类已经登上月球并安全返回，并且计算机的运算速度实在惊人。第三个人的观点非常独特，他认为暖水瓶是最让人不可思议的发明。其他两个对他的话感到十分诧异。问其原因时，那人却说：冬天，把热水倒进去，它就能保温；夏天把冷饮倒进去时，它就能保持冰凉。它怎么知道是夏天还是冬天？”
1.D.最后一段：“冬天往里装热饮料，它能保温；夏天往里装冷饮料，它能保冷。”由此可猜测出thermos意为“保温瓶”。本题选D正确。
2.B.通读全文可知，对于“世界上最大的奇迹是什么”这一问题各有各自的观点，故本题选B正确。
3.C.第二段后两句即本题答案出处。本题选C正确。
4.C.本题选C正确，由短文最后一段可得出此答案。
5.B.从最后一段可知，第三个人对于保温瓶保温的原理不懂。故本题选B正确。
Passage 20
【答案与解析】一个老头夜里驾车回家，就要到家时车灯突然熄灭了。警察发现未亮，就说他一路上无灯驾驶，并要记下他的名字。无论老头怎么样解释，警察就是不相信。最后机智的老头迅速地把警察的手按到仍然烫热的车灯上……
1.C。本题属表层理解题。由短文首句中的“with his horse and cart”不难找到答案。
2.B。答案就在短文开头的“An old man was going home late one night with his horse and cart after a day's hard work.”一句中。
3.A。短文第二段首句即是答案的出处。
4.C。该小题的答案可从第三自然段警察的话语中找到，第二段的最后两句也对此题有所暗示。
5.D。本小题有一定的难度，但根据“The carter quickly took the policeman's hand and put it down on the top of the light.”一句可以把迷惑性较大的选项A予以排除，故答案非D莫属。
Passage 21
【答案与解析】这篇幽默故事的大意是：Ellen Parker由于身体虚弱去看医生，医生建议她减肥。Ellen Parker听从了医生的建议，却进了一家卖肉的商店并向店主要了10磅重的一块牛排。当店主要她付钱时，她却说自己并不想卖肉，只是想看看10磅肉到底有多大一块。至此，我们知道Ellen Parker到肉店去的目的并非买肉，而是想要弄明白自己如果减掉10磅肉的话，到底需要减下多大一块。
1. B。这是一道信息归纳题。根据文章首段的“Ellen Parker was worried about her health. She could not walk very quickly and it was difficult for her to climb stairs. She was soon out of breath.”不难看出Ellen Parker“爬楼困难、气喘吁吁”。由此，我们得出“Ellen Parker 的健康有问题”这一结论。
2. A。这是一道逻辑推理题，需要把上下文所涉及到的信息连贯起来综合考虑。Ellen Parker去看医生时，医生给她提了一些建议。医生的建议是什么样的呢？文章并没有指明，而是让考生自己去体会。只是在短文的最后一段中有这样一句话“My doctor told me that I am overweight and have to lose ten pounds. I wanted to see what ten pounds of flesh looked like.”从Ellen Parker说的这几句话中，我们才知道她体重超常，医生建议让她减肥，故答案为A。
3. D。这是一道细节理解题。答案源自短文最后一段的“I wanted to see what ten pounds of flesh looked like.”一句中。Ellen Parker到肉店去并非是为了买肉，而是要看看10磅肉究竟有多大一块。
4. B。这也是一道逻辑推理题。文章第一段提到Ellen Parker的身体很虚弱，最后点明医生让她减肥10磅。据此，我们可以推断出她所有的健康问题皆由身体肥胖所致。
5. C。这是一道细节理解题。医生给Ellen Parker提出建议后，紧接着警告说：“If you don't do what I say，you will have a heart attack.It could kill you.”。所以，假如Ellen Parker不听医生的劝告，就有患心脏病的危险。
Passage 22
【答案与解析】这是法庭法官与农夫、亨利的一组对话。原告亨利状告农夫撞伤了他的胳膊，想让农夫多赔偿他一些钱。尽管大夫说他的胳膊没有什么大毛病，但亨利坚持说胳膊疼得抬不起来了。聪明的法官让亨利将胳膊举给他看一看，亨利便把胳膊举到鼻子下面的位置。法官接着问他出事前能将胳膊举多高。于是亨利将手臂高高地举过了头顶。
1. rainy。从农夫的话语中可以看出，事故发生在一个下雨天。应当填写rainy。
2. mending。由农夫所说的“But I didn't see him mending his bike in the middle of the road.”这句话可知Henry正在修理自行车。
3. car。根据 “His car knocked me down and hurt my arm.”这句话可以证实，农夫的汽车把Henry撞倒了。
4. serious。由“But the doctor said there was nothing serious to him.”这句话来看，此处应当填写serious才符合题意。
5. money。Henry的父母让他假装胳膊举不起来，自然是想让农夫多赔偿一些钱。
6. help。Henry的父母想不出好主意，自然要向律师求助。所以答案为help。
7. what。律师想让他的当事人胜诉，当然要教给Henry在法庭上怎么说。
8. lift。从“Slowly the boy lifts his arm below his nose.”这句话可以看出，Henry说他的胳膊只能举到鼻子下面。
9. high。从下文Henry把手臂举过头顶这件事来看，法官在问他能把手臂举多高。
10. forget。Henry不知道这是法官的圈套，忘记律师告诉他说的话，把手臂举过了头。所以，这里应填forget。
Section III 科学小品篇
Passage 23
Researchers (研究者) have announced (宣布) the result of two studies on the health effects of the drug aspirin (阿斯匹林). One study shows aspirin can sharply reduce the chance that a healthy, older man will suffer from a heart attack (心脏病).
The study offered two new results from earlier findings. It said taking one aspirin pill every other day helped only healthy men over the age of fifty. It also said aspirin gave the greatest protection against heart attacks to men with low blood cholesterol (胆固醇) levels.
Earlier in the United States began a major aspirin study in the early 1980s. It included 22,000 healthy men doctors. All were between the ages of forty and eighty-four. More than 11,000 of the doctors took a harmless pill that contained no drug. The men did not know which kind of pill they were taking.
The doctors who took aspirin suffered 44% fewer heart attacks than those taking the harmless pill. 139 men who took aspirin suffered from heart attacks. Ten of them died. 239 men who did not take aspirin suffered from heart attacks. Twenty-six of them died.
The researchers said the doctors’ study provides clear proof that taking aspirin can prevent a first heart attack in healthy, older men. They said, however, the result does not mean every man over the age of fifty should take aspirin. They said aspirin couldn’t help men who do not eat healthy foods, who smoke cigarettes and who are fat. The researchers said men who think they would be helped by taking aspirin should talk with their doctors first.
1.The passage tells us that the new use of aspirin is ______.
A.to treat heart disease B. to reduce pain while one suffers from a heart attack
C. to help old people to be more healthy D. to reduce the chance of a heart attack in old men
2.Aspirin can help those who ______.
A work as doctors B. are under 40 years old
C. are fat and smoke cigarettes D. are older and healthy
3.At last the researchers advised us to take aspirin ______.
A.with care B. as much as we like C. every day D. only considering the age
4.From the experiment we can conclude that about _____ of people who suffered from heart attacks without aspirin died.
A. 7% B. 11% C. 19% D. 44%
Passage 24
It seems to be strange to you there is a blind spot (盲点)on the eyes. Here is an interesting experiment (实验) that can make something disappear, when one eye is open.
Make a card about the size of a postcard and write two English letters L and R on it, L on the left and R on the right. First, hold the card about 80 cm away and you see both the letters. Then close your right eye and look at the letter R only with your left eye. And now, as you move the card slowly towards you, you’ll find the letter L disappearing. But if you move the card nearer to your face, the letter will be seen again. Now do the same experiment with your left eye closed, you’ll find the letter R disappearing.
Why does the letter disappear? It is because there is a blind spot on the eye. When the image (影像) of the letter falls on the blind spot, it won’t be seen. That is why either of the letters disappears.
1.The writer of the passage thinks that _____ there is a blind spot on the eye.
A. few people know B. no one knows C. most people know D. all the people know
2. The word “disappear” in the passage means ________ in Chinese.
A. 驱散 B. 消散 C. 消失 D. 遗失
3. You fail to see the letter L in the experiment because ___________.
A. your eyes are poor B. its image falls on the blind spot
D. your left eye is not open C. you move it close to your eye
4. In which order (顺序) should you do the experiment?
①Hold the card ②Move the card nearer ③Close your right eye
④Write two English letters ⑤Look at the letter R ⑥Make a card
A. ④⑥①②③⑤ B. ①③⑥④⑤② C. ⑥①④③②⑤ D. ⑥④①③⑤②
5. The passage mainly (主要) tells us _______.
A. how to find the blind spot B. an interesting experiment
C. where the blind spot is D. there is blind spot on the eye
Passage 25
Different weather makes people feel different. It influences (影响) health, intelligence (智力) and feelings.
In August, it is very hot and wet in the southern part of the United States. People there have heart trouble and other kinds of health problems during this month. In the Northeast and the Middle West, it is very hot at some times and every cold at other times. People in these states have more heart trouble after the weather changes in February or March.
The weather can also influence intelligence. For example, in a 1983 report by scientists, IQ (智商) of a group students were very high when a very strong wind came, but after the strong wind, their IQ was 10% below. The wind can help people have more intelligence. Very hot weather, on the other hand (另一方面), can make it lower. Students in many schools of the United States often get worse on exams in the hot months of the year (July and August).
Weather also has a strong influence on people’s feelings. Winter may be a bad time for thin people. They usually feel cold during these months. They might feel unhappy during cold weather. But fat people may have a hard time in hot summer. At about 18C, people become stronger.
Low air pressure (气压) may make people forgetful. People leave more bags on buses and in shops on low-pressure days. There are a “good weather” for word and health. People feel best at a temperature of about 18 centigrade (摄氏度).
Are you feeling sad, tired, forgetful, or unhappy today? It may be the weather’s problem.
1.____ can have a bad effect (作用) on health.
A. Hot and wet weather B. Good weather C. Warm weather D. High intelligence
2.People may have more intelligence when _____ comes.
A. a rain B. very hot weather C. a strong wind D. low air pressure
3.Low air pressure may make people _______.
A. forgetful B. sad C. angry D. tired
4.In “good weather” of 18 centigrade, _______.
A. people are very forgetful B. people can’t do their work well
C. thin people feel cold D. people are in better health
5.The writer wants to tell us that _______.
A.hot and cold weather influences all people in the same way
B.weather influences people’s lives C.IQ never changes during weather changes
D.There is a good kind of weather for people’s work and health
Passage 26
Now satellites are helping to forecast(预报)the weather. They are in space, and they can reach any part of the world. The satellites take pictures of the atmosphere (大气), because this is where the weather forms (形成). They send these pictures to the weather stations. So meteorologists (气象学家) can see the weather of any part of the world. From the pictures, the scientists can often say how the weather will change.
Today, nearly five hundred weather stations in sixty countries receive satellite pictures.When they receive new pictures, the meteorologists compare them with earlier ones. Perhaps they may find that the clouds have changed during the last few hours. This may mean that the weather on the ground may soon change, too. In their next weather forecast, the meteorologists can say this.
So the weather satellites are a great help to the meteorologists. Before satellites were invented, the scientists could forecast the weather for about 24or 48 hours. Now they can make good forecasts for three or five days. Soon, perhaps, they may be able to forecast the weather for a week or more ahead (提前).
1.Satellites travel __________.
A. in space B. above space C. above the ground D. in the atmosphere
2.Why do we use the weather satellites to take pictures of the atmosphere？Because _______.
A. clouds form there B. the weather forms there
C. the weather satellites can do it easily D. the pictures can forecast the weather
3.Meteorologists forecast the weather _______.
A.without studying satellite pictures B. before they receive satellite pictures
C. when they have received satellite pictures
D. after they have compared the new satellite pictures with the earlier ones
4.Maybe we'll soon be able to forecast the weather for _________.
A. one day B. two days C. five days D. seven days or even longer
5.The main idea of this passage is that satellites are now used in __________.
A. taking pictures of the earth B. receiving pictures of the atmosphere
C. weather forecasting D. doing other work in many ways
Passage 27
Paragraph 1
Scientists have learned a lot about the kinds of people need. They say that there are several kinds of food that people should eat every day, they are: (1) green and yellow vegetables of all kinds; (2) citrus (柑桔) fruits and tomatoes; (3) potatoes and other fruits and vegetables; 94) meat of all kinds, fish and eggs; (5) milk and foods made from milk; (6) bread or cereal (谷类), rice is also in this kind of food; (7) butter, or something like butter.
Paragraph 2
People in different countries and different places of the world eat different kinds of things. Foods are cooked and eaten in many different kinds of ways. People in different countries eat at different times of the day. In some places people eat once or twice a day; in other countries people eat three or four times a day. Scientists say that none of the differences is really important. It doesn’t matter whether foods are eaten raw or cooked, canned (罐装的) or frozen (冷冻的). It doesn’t matter if a person eats dinner at 4 o’clock in the afternoon or at eleven o’clock at night. The important thing is what you eat every day.
Paragraph 3
There are two problems, then, in feeding the large number of people on the earth. The first is to find some way to feed the world’s population so that no one is hungry. The second is to make sure that people everywhere have the right kinds of food to make them grow to be strong and healthy.
1.According to(依据)the scientists，which of the following groups of food is the healthiest for your lunch？
A. Chicken, apples, cereal and cabbages. B. Potatoes, carrots, rice and bread.
C. Oranges, bananas, fish and tomatoes. D. Beef, pork, fish and milk,
2.It is important for people to eat ______.
A.three times a day B. dinner at twelve o'clock
C. cooked food all the time D. something from each of the seven kinds of food every day
3.People in different countries and different places of the world ____ .
A. have the right kinds of food to eat B. cook their food in the same way
C. have their meals at the same time D. eat food in different ways
4.Which of the following is not true？
A. People in some places don't have enough to eat. B. There are too many people in the world.
C. One of the problems is that no one is hungry.
D. The scientists are trying to make people grow to be strong and healthy.
5.If there is Paragraph (段落) 4, what do you think is going to be talked about？
A. When people eat their lunch. B. What to do with the two problems.
C. How to cook food in different ways. D. Why people eat different kinds of food.
Passage 28
What do Napoleon, Clinton and Wang Nan have in common? They are all left-handed.
Today, about 15% of the number of people is left-handed. But why are people left-handed? The answer is the way the brain (大脑) works. The brain has two halves---- the right half controls the left side of the body, and the left controls the right side of the body. So right-handed people have a strong left-brain and left-handed people have a strong right brain.
The two halves of he brain are about the same size. But each side controls different things. The left side controls language, math and logical (逻辑的). When you remember new words, or when you put things in order, you use your left side.
The right side of the brain controls your love of art, colors and music. It is also good at recognizing (识别) faces.
This does not mean that all artists are left-handed and all accountants (会计) are right-handed. Some right-handers have a strong right brain, and some left-handers have a strong left-brain.
1.The phrase “in common” in the first sentence means ______.
A. the same B. different C. strange D. interesting
2.People who are right-handed or left-handed are mostly decided by ______.
A. their parents B. their minds C. the way the brain works D. the way the head works
3.Each side of the brain ______.
A. likes music and math B. controls different things C. controls the same thing D. has two halves
4.When you are singing, you are using your _____.
A. logic thinking B. heart C. left brain D. right brain
Passage 29
Before you use your new microwave oven, read the instructions carefully. Each oven has its own control panel (控制板), but most microwave ovens operate in a similar way. Look at the control panel shown here. It shows the time at the top of the panel. Under the time are the different functions(功能).You can press (按) Defrost, Cook, Clock, or Power. You can also warm food by pressing Reheat Times.
Under the functions are the numbers. These numbers are shown as on telephone, from zero through nine. You can press the numbers to set the cooking time in seconds or minutes. Under the numbers are Start and Clear.
A
microwave oven will automatically (自动的) cook on HIGH
(power level 10) unless you enter a lower power level. Suppose (假设)you
want to cook a serving of broccoli for two minutes and forty-five seconds on
MEDIUM power (level 5). First, press the numbers 2, 4 and 5 (two minutes,
forty-five seconds). Then press Power. Next, press the number 5. At last, press
Start to begin cooking. If you make a mistake, press Clear. This will clear the
display and allow you to start over again.
阅读短文，然后根据其内容回答下列问题。
1.What is the main idea of the passage?
______________________________
2.What functions does a microwave oven have?
______________________________
3.How would you cook green beans for two minutes and thirty seconds at power level 7?
___________________________________________________________________
4.What is the last function you press each time you set the controls?
______________________________
5.What does “Clear” allow you to do when you press it?
______________________________
Passage 30
No one knows why we sleep, but it’s certain that we need to. People who are prevented from sleeping begin to suffer obvious effects after a few days—they think less clearly, and they fall asleep during the working hours.
There are no rules about sleep. Generally speaking, grown-ups sleep about 7 and a half hours each night and probably more than 60 percent get between seven and eight hours. But perhaps eight percent are quite happy with 5 hours or less, and four percent or so find that they want ten hours or more. If you feel all right, you’re probably getting enough sleep. The important thing is not to worry how much other people get—their needs may be different. Exercise doesn’t seem to increase the need for sleep—office workers, for example, sleep for about as long as people doing physically active work.
Children sleep more than grown-ups—perhaps 14 to 18 hours soon after birth, going down to grown-up levels by early teenage (青少年). Sleep patterns also tend (倾向) to be different in the old people, who may sleep less at night than they did when younger, find sleep getting more broken, and often make it a rule to sleep during the daytime.
1.Some people can’t think clearly because _______.
A. they have bad memory B. they feel sleepy during the working hours
C. they don’t have enough sleep D. they are certain to be kept from going to bed
2.Whether you have got enough sleep is judged (判断) by _______.
A.how many hours you have slept B. how many hours you need to sleep
C. if you do exercise and physical work D. if you feel fresh energetic
3.According to the passage, a boy of 14 years old sleeps _____.
A.as long hours as a grown-up B.much longer hours than a grown-up
C.for 14 hours each night D.for less than 8 hours each night
4.Which of the following is True?
A.All grown-ups much have at least eight-hour sleep.
B.Most of grown-ups sleep for seven or eight hours.
C.Quite a few people need only 5 hours or less for them to sleep.
D.No grown-ups sleep more than ten hours.
Passage 31
Some people want to be sent into space after their death, others want to lie deep under the sea. But most people want to go into the freezer (冷藏库). These are believers in cryogenics (低温冷冻学).
Now some diseases can't be cured, but they may be cured sometime in the future. So some people hope that their bodies can be frozen after they die. When a cure is found，warm up his or her body, bring it back to life and take the cure. Once the body is frozen, it is kept in liquid nitrogen(液态氮)at a temperature of 328 degrees below zero.
Now around a thousand people are going to take cryogenic treatment (处理), though most scientists say it won't work. If we freeze huge creatures(生物)like humans, every one of their cells(细胞)will be broken. Can they be brought back to life in the future？
阅读短文，然后根据其内容回答下列问题。
1.Where do most people hope that their bodies are kept after their death？
___________________________________
2.Why do they want the world to keep their bodies well？
3.How do scientists usually keep a dead man's body？
4.How many people are going to take cryogenic treatment after they die？
5.Can a man who died of cancer come back to life in the future if his body is frozen？Why？
Section III 科普小品篇答案与解析
Passage 23 【答案与解析】本文介绍了科学家对阿斯匹林的研究成果。实验表明，阿斯匹林可以预防或削弱老年人患心脏病的危险，但实际的效果和服用者的饮食有一定的关系。研究人员说，服用可药品要遵医嘱。
1. D。短文首段的末句“…sharply reduce the chance that a healthy, older man will suffer from a heart attack.”即是本题答案的出处.
2.D。注意“…reduce the chance that a healthy, older man will suffer from a heart attack .”本句中的healthy, older这两个词，即可得出答案。
3.A。文章最后一段是说，尽管的这种新用途对病人很有帮助，但患者在使用时必须格外小心，一定要严遵医嘱。
4. B。根据“239 men who did not take aspirin suffered from heart attacks. Twenty-six of them died.”一句中的239和26这两个数字即可算出。
Passage 24 【答案与解析】这篇科普说明文通过一个简易的小实验，证实了人的眼睛里有一个盲点。当外界物体的影像落在盲点上时，人就看不见该物体了。
1.A。仔细品读文章首句的意思，可知答案只能是A。
2.C。“…But if you move the card nearer to your face, the letter will be seen again”，由这几个句子的意思可知字母L在眼睛中消失了。注意消失和消散的区别。
3.B。答案在“When the image of the letter falls on the blind spot, it won’t be seen.”中。
4.D。根据第二段的意思可知，此实验的顺序是：先制作一张卡片—在上面写上两个字母—拿起卡片—闭上右眼—看到字母R—让卡片离眼睛再近些。故答案是D。
5.D。通篇考虑短文，可知D为最佳答案。这由文首一句及“…It is because there is a blind spot on the eye.”也可得出。
Passage 25 【答案与解析】这篇短文告诉我们的是：天气的冷热干湿对人体健康有很大的影响。比如心脏病高发区所在地往往是严寒或酷热。大风或炎热天气里，人的智商会降低。瘦人怕冷天，而炎炎夏日对胖人又不利。此外，低气压还能导致健忘。
1.A。根据文章第二自然段的描述可知，冷湿天气对人的健康是有害的。
2.C。第三段的首句“The weather can also influence intelligence”说的就是这个意思。
3.A。本题属表层理解题。答案就在“Low air pressure may make people forgetful.”中。
4.D。由“People feel best at a temperature of about 18 centigrade.”一句可知。
5.B。根据文章最后的“Are you feeling sad, tired, forgetful, or unhappy today? It may be the
weather’s problem.”这一句，我们可以推测出作者的写作意图。
Passage 26 【答案与解析】这篇阅读材料向我们介绍了气象卫星在预报天气中所发挥的重要作用。如今，许多国家的气象站都是在接收到卫星云图后，由气象学家进行研究分析，然后预报天气的。在卫星的帮助下，人们可以预测未来三五天或更长时间内的天气状况。
1.A。本题属表层理解题。短文首句即是答案之所在。
2.D。“From the pictures，the scientists can often say how the weather will change.”是该小题答案的出处。
3.D。答案就在“the meteorologists compare them with earlier ones. Perhaps they may find that the clouds have changed during the last few hours. This may mean that the weather on the ground may soon change, too.”中。
4.D。文章结尾的“Soon, perhaps, they may be able to forecast the weather for a week or more ahead.”这句即是答案之所在。
5.C。短文首句即点明了主旨。
Passage 27 【答案与解析】这篇短文分为三个落：第一段列举了科学家研究了人们每天要吃的食物；第二段讲述了不同国家的人们饮食习惯和饮食结构等各方面有很大差异。但这些对人来说都没不是很重要的，重要的是每天吃什么。第三段阐述了两个问题：如何解决世界人口的吃饭问题，既要吃饱，又要吃得健康。
1.A。本题属表层理解题。由第一段科学家建议七大类食品可知答案非A莫属。
2.D。由“The important thing is what you eat every day.”及第一段的内容可知D是正确答案。而根据第二段可知A、B、C皆为错误的。
3.D。第二段开头的“People in different countries and different places of the world eat different kinds of things. Foods are cooked and eaten in many different kinds of ways.”这两句是解答本题的关键。
4.C。根据第三段所讲的内容，C项显然是错误的。
5. B。A、C和D都是在上文刚刚谈论过的，又根据第三段“There are two problems, then, in feeding the large number of people on the earth.”所提的两个问题，可以推知下文可能要谈论
如何解决这两个问题。故答案为B。
Passage 28 【答案与解析】该短文的大意是：百分之十五的人习惯于使用左手进行工作。这是因为大脑的工作方式造成的。人的两个大脑半球大小相差无几，但各有分工。左半球掌管语言、数学和逻辑等；右半球则控制艺术、颜色和音乐等。惯用左手的人，他们的大脑左半球相比右脑更发达些。不过这也不是绝对的。
1.A。本小题有一定的难度，但考虑到短文首句的后的“They are all left-handed”一句还是可以推测出来正确答案的。
2.C。“The answer is the way the brain works.”，本句是解答该题的关键。
3.B。第三段是本题答案之所在。
4. D。“唱歌”属于艺术类，根据“The right side of the brain controls your love of art, colors and
music.”这句话，显然可知答案为D。
Passage 29 【答案与解析】这篇科学说明文浅显的文字，介绍了微波炉的构造并详细讲述了它的操作使用方法。
1.It tells us how to use a new microwave oven。由文首的“Before you use your new microwave oven, read the instructions carefully”，可以得到本文的主旨是“讲述微波炉的使用方法”。2.Defrost, cook or warm food。短文末句的 “Under the time are the different functions (功能).You can press (按) Defrost, Cook, Clock, or Power. You can also warm food by pressing Reheat Times.”这句话是答案的出处。
3.First, press the number 2, 3, and 0. Then press Power. Next press the number 7. Finally press Start to begin cooking. 由短文中的“Suppose (假设)you want to cook a serving of broccoli for two minutes and forty-five seconds on MEDIUM power (level 5). First, press the numbers 2, 4 and 5 (two minutes, forty-five seconds). Then press Power. Next, press the number 5.”可以知道若是需要两分钟四十秒的时间来做菜的话，则是这样来操作。由此可知要是做豆角的话，需要用时两分钟三十秒，则应按2，3，0这三个钮。再根据前面的说明，可不难找到答案。
4. Start. 由“Under the numbers are and Clear.”和“At last, press Start to begin cooking.”可知这是答案的出处。
5.It will clear the display and allow you to start over again. 这是文章最后讲的一层意思，答案即在“If you make a mistake, press Clear. This will clear the display and allow you to start over again.”一句中。
Passage 30 【答案与解析】睡觉要占去人一生三分之一左右的时间。人为什么要睡觉？这个问题一直使人们，包括科学家在内，都困惑不解。本文向读者介绍了不同年龄层次的人们，睡眠的需求也不尽相同。
1.C.A、B两个答案是睡眠的结果而不是导致人们思维不清的主要原因，故不能选，D也不能说明原因。由第二段我们知道，睡眠不足是引起人们思维混乱的根本原因。
2.B.短文的第二段有交待：60%以上的成年人大约睡7-8小时。
3.D.判断人们是否得到足够的睡眠不是根据睡眠时间的长短而是人们是否精神焕发地去从事一天的工作与学习。
4.A.14岁的孩子属于early teenage. 他们的睡眠时间与成年人相同。故答案为A。
Passage 31
【答案与解析】这篇小品文的意思是：有很多人希望死后被送进冷藏库，将尸体保存在零下320度的液态氮中。等将来医疗条件允许，可以治愈时，再解冻，接受治疗，就可以死回生了。尽管科学家们对此想法表示怀疑，仍有一千多人打算接受低温处理。
1.In the freezer. 答案就在“But most people want to go into the freezer.”这句话中。但要注意most一词方能正确解答。
2.They hope that they can come back to life one day. “…When a cure is found, warm up his or her body，bring it back to life and take the cure.”是答题的依据。
3.They usually keep it in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of 328 degrees below zero. 显然，答案出自“Once the body is frozen, it is kept in liquid nitrogen(液态氮)at a temperature of 328 degrees below zero.”这句话中。
4.Around 1000 people. 本题属表层理解题。由“Now around a thousand people are going to take cryogenic treatment(处理)，though most scientists say it won't work.”可知，
5.No，he can't. “…Because every one of his cells will be broken.” “…it won't work. If we freeze huge creatures(生物)like humans, every one of their cells(细胞)will be broken.”是答案的出处。
Section IV 社会文化篇
Passage 32
For most people, the word “fashion” means “clothes”. But people may ask the question, “What clothes are in fashion?” And they use the adjective (形容词) “fashionable” in the same way: “She was wearing a fashionable color.”
But of course there are fashions in many things, not only in clothes. There are fashions in holidays, in restaurants, in films and books. There are even fashions in school subjects, jobs…and in languages.
Fashions change as time goes. If you look at pictures of people or things from the past, you will see that fashions have always changed. An English house of 1750 was different from his grandson in 1860.
Today fashions change very quickly. Some of this is natural (自然的). We hear about things much more quickly than in the past. Newspapers, radios, telephones and television send information from one country to another in a few hours.
New fashions mean that people will buy new things, so you see there is money in fashion.
1.From this passage we know that “fashion” means _________.
A. clothes B. many things C. most of the popular things D. everything
2.Which of the following things is fashionable today?
A. Surfing on the Internet B. Having a family dinner on New Year’s Day
C. Learning to sing songs on the radio D. Doing morning exercises at school.
3.Today fashions change very quickly because _______.
A.People read newspapers every day B. radios send information from one country to another
C. new things that people like are often shown on TV
D. people quickly learn what is happening in the world
4.“There is money in fashion.” means ________.
A. clothes are expensive B. money comes from fashion
C. people like new things D. there are no fashions without money
Passage 33
First Frenchman: I once heard someone shout, "Look out," I put my head out of a window and a basin (盆) of water fell on me. It seems that "Look out" may mean "don‘t look out."
Second Frenchman: Once I was on a ship and heard the captain (船长) shout, "All hands on deck," I put my hands on the deck and someone walked on them.
Third Frenchman: I once visited an English friend early in the morning and the maid who came to the door and said, "He’s not up yet. Come back in half an hour," When I went again for him, she said, "He‘s not down yet."
"If he’s not up and he’s not down, where is he?" I asked.
She said, "He’s still in bed. When I say ‘He’s not up ’ I mean ‘he has not yet got up’. When I say ‘He’s not down ’ I mean ‘he has not yet come downstairs,’"
1."Look out" here means “ _______”.
A. put your head out of the window and look B. Take care
C. I’m going to pour the water D. Help me
2."All hands on deck" means “ _______ ”.
A.All the sailors gather ( 集合 )on deck B. Give your hands to me
C.Put your right hand and left hand on deck D. Shake your hands with me
3.When the maid said, “He’s not up yet.” She meant that _______ .
A. he has not grown up yet B. he has not yet got up
C. he has not woke up yet D. he has not yet come upstairs
4.When the third Frenchman went back, the English friend _______ .
A. was washing his face B. was having his breakfast
C. was still in an upstairs room D. was reading a newspaper
5.Which do you think is the best title for this article?
A. Three Frenchmen and their English Friends B. The English Language
C. Three French Stories D. What a Language!
Passage 34
Newspapers are very important in our daily life. Many people begin their day by reading the paper. In this way they learn what is going on in the world. Sometimes, however, they didn‘t have the time to read the news carefully and must be pleased with a quick look at the front page. At other times they may be in such a hurry that they have time only to have a quick look at the headlines (标题).
There are newspapers to please every reader. In big cities there are many types with several different editions every day. In some towns there are fewer newspapers and perhaps only one edition each day. In some places the paper is printed weekly.
Most papers have several editions, especially on Sundays when the edition is larger than usual. There are besides the front page with the most important news, the sports news, the amusement (娱乐) page, a business page and so on.
1.People read newspaper to _______.
A. learn about the most important news B. be pleased
C. get some information D. learn about whatever they want
2.Reading the headlines, people can know _______.
A. what the passages are about B. what is going on
C. about the most important news D. about sports
3.In big cities newspapers are usually printed _______.
A. daily B. weekly C. monthly D. yearly
4.Most papers have _______ on Sundays than usual.
A. more types B. more pages C. less types D. less pages
5.If you want to see a film, you’d better read _______ in a newspaper.
A. the business page B. the front page
C. the sports page D. the amusement page
Passage 35
This dictionary tells you about English words and how to use them in reading, writing and speaking English. It not only gives the meaning of words, it can also help you with spelling, word building, grammar and pronunciation.
To use your dictionary correctly, you need to understand how the dictionary works. At the front of the book, you will find some exercises to help you make the most use of your dictionary.
If you look up the word “colour”, you will find two spellings for this word. “Colour” is used in British English, while “color” is used in American English. When such a thing happens, the dictionary shows it with the word “BrE” for British English and “AmE” for American English.
The dictionary also helps you pronounce words correctly. It uses a special alphabet (特殊字母表) to show pronunciation. If you turn to the inside back face, you will see all the phonetic letters (音标) with some words to show you how they are pronounced. Just have a look this page when you’re not sure how to say a word.
The most important reason for using a dictionary is to find out the meaning of a word—its DEFINITION.
In this dictionary, the definitions have been written using only 2000 words. This means that the definitions of even the most difficult words are simply explained (简单解释) and easy to understand.
When a word has more than one meaning, read all the meanings until you find the one that correctly tells the use of the word you are looking for.
Most of the words in this dictionary can be used by people in all parts of the world.
1.This dictionary cannot help you with _____.
A. singing B. grammar C. spelling D. pronunciation
2. ____of the words in the dictionary have two spellings.
A. All B. One C. Few D. Some
3.The AmE spelling of the Chinese word “颜色”in this dictionary is______.
A. colour B. collar C. color D. corner
4.The phonetic alphabet helps you each word correctly.
A. understand B. write C. say D. know
5.The Chinese meaning of “definition” here is ______.
A. 词性 B. 词条 C. 词义 D. 词库
6.How many words are there in this dictionary？_________.
A. Two thousand B. One thousand C. One hundred D. We don’t know
7.The dictionary explains ______.
A. some of the difficult words B. all the words in a simple way
C. all the easy words D. the words of two meanings
Passage 36
The Winter Olympics is also called the White Olympics. At this time, many colorful stamps are published (发行) to mark (标志) the great Games. The first stamps marking the opening came out on January 25, 1932 in the United States for the 3rd White Olympics. From then on, publishing stamps during the White Olympics became a rule(规定).
During the 4th Winter Olympic Games a group of stamps were published in Germany in November 1936. The five rings of Olympics were drawn on the front of the sportswear. It was the first time that the rings appeared on the stamps of the White Olympics.
In the 1950’s, the stamps of this kind became more colorful. When the White Olympics came, the host countries (东道主) as well as the non-host countries published stamps to mark those Games. China also published four stamps in February 1980, when the Chinese sportsmen began to take part in the White Olympics.
Japan is the only Asian country that has ever held the White Olympics. Altogether 14, 500 million stamps were sold to collect money for this sports meeting.
Different kinds of sports were drawn on these small stamps. People can enjoy the beauty of the wonderful movements of some sportsmen.
1.The White Olympics and the Winter Olympics _______.
A. are the same thing B. are different games
C. are not held in winter D. are held in summer
2.The world made it a rule to publish stamps to mark the great world Games ______.
A. after the year 1936 B. after the 3rd Winter Olympics
C. before the 3rd White Olympics D. before the year 1932
3.The Winter Olympics is held once ________.
A. every two years B. every three years C. every four years D. every five years
4.Which of the following is true?
A.Only the host countries can publish stamps to mark those Games.
B.Only the non-host countries can publish stamps to mark those Games.
C.All the countries can publish stamps to mark those Games.
D.Japan can’t publish stamps to mark those Games.
5.What may appear on the stamps of the White Olympics?
A. Basketball. B. Table tennis. C. Football. D. Skating.
Passage 37
In 1998, World Cup Football Match held in France took up a new rule. Instead of the usual black and white ball, a colorful ball was used in the game. The new ball was made up of 32 pieces of three colors: red, blue and white. Interestingly enough, the French national flag happened to be in three colors, too. Besides, 32 teams took part in the coming World Cup. But early football was made up of eight pieces of leather. As time went by, more pieces of leather were used, from 12 pieces to 18 to 26 and then to 32 now.
About three million such new footballs were made. And then some players were playing the new ball in their training. The makers have warned the goalkeeper that the new ball flies in a direct line at a fast speed.
After trying the ball for some time, a footballer said that the ball was quite different from the traditional (传统的) black and white one, and that the goalkeeper would find it harder to catch them. Another footballer said that there would be more goals. “For the player on the ground, the new ball is easier to control as it flies. A good player can shoot in more goals,” he said.
1.What was the new rule in the 1998 World Cup Football Match?
A.The new ball made up of 32 pieces of three colors was used.
B.The flags of the teams were in three colors. C.Only 32 teams took part in the game.
D.The white and black football was used instead.
2.What is the color of the French national flag?
A.Black and white. B. Red and black. C. Blue, red and white D. Black, white and red.
3.Which of the following sentences is not true?
A.Early footballs were made up of eight pieces of leather in two colors.
B.Eighteen pieces of leather were once used to make a football.
C.Footballers often used the black and white balls in the past.
D.The football made up of twelve pieces of leather was just used by twelve teams.
4.It is not easy for the goalkeepers to catch the new footballs, because ______.
A.they are not as big as the old ones B.they fly at a fast speed
C.they are made up of more pieces of leather than the old ones
D.the goalkeepers haven’t tried the new football
5.What’s the best title for this passage?
A. Football of New Kind B. 98 World Cup Football Match
C. Goalkeepers and Players D. Three-color Flag of France
Passage 38
Most people have flown kites or have seen one or ride and dip in a strong spring wind. Not so many people know that kites were first made in China thousands of years ago. The ancient (古代的) Chinese were making and flying kites even before they were writing.
A long time ago, the Chinese made kites to use in wars. They would fly these war kites in the dark. The kites were fixed so that they made strange sounds. Men who were at war with them would hear these sounds and run away. The thought those sounds were made by gods in the sky.
The ancient Chinese also flew kites to bring good luck and to make their crops grow rich and tall. Sometimes they tied long strings (绳子) and hooks (钩) to their kites. Then they would fly the kites over water, letting the hooks hang down to catch fish.
The Chinese use sticks, strings and paper for their kites. Some of these kites look like animals or trees. Others look like birds or houses.
1.The main idea of the first paragraph is that _______.
A.kites were first made in China B.most of us have flown or seen one
C.the ancient Chinese were making kites before they were writing
D.the ancient Chinese were good at making kites
2.In ancient China kites could be used for _______.
A.catching fish B. helping people fly C. watering the crops D. helping people walk in the dark
3.The ancient Chinese used kites in wars because the kites ______.
A. could bring good luck B. looked like animals C. could help them win a war D. could fly high
4.The Chinese usually use ______ for their kites.
A.sticks, strings and grass B. strings, hair and wood
C. paper, strings and sticks D. paper, ropes and hooks
5.What is the best title of this passage?
A. Lucky Kites B. Strange Kites C. Beautiful Kites D. Chinese Kites
Passage 39
Shanghai: Car rentals (出租) are becoming more and more popular as an inexpensive way of taking to roads. Business people, foreign and families alike are making good use of the growing industry (工业).
The first car rental company opened in Shanghai in 1992 and now 12 car rental players are in the game, with more than 11,500 cars in their books.
The largest player-Shanghai Basher Tourism Car Rental Center offers a wide variety of choices—deluxe sedans, minivans, station wagons, coaches. Santana sedans are the big favorite.
Companies can attract (吸引) enough customers (消费者) for 70 percent of their cars every month. This figure (数字) shoots up during holiday seasons like National Day, Labor Day and New Year’s Day, with some recording 100 % rental.
The main market force rests in the growing population of white-collar employees (白领雇员), who can afford the new service, said Zhuang Yu, marketing manager of Shanghai Angel Car Rental Co.
1.The words “deluxe sedans,” “minivans” and “station wagons” used in the text refer to(指)_____.
A. cars in the making B. car rental firms C. cars for rent D. car makers
2. Which of the following statements is true according to the text?
A. 70% of the cars can be rented out on holiday.
B. 70% of the customers are white-collar employees.
C. More firms are open for service during holiday seasons.
D. Some firms rent out all their cars during holiday seasons.
3. Shanghai’s car rental industry is growing so fast mainly due to_________.
A. better cars supplied by producers B. fast service offered by car rental firms
C. the increasing number of white-collar employees
D. people’s growing interest in traveling during holidays
Passage 40
The cost of medical care in the United States is very high. More time and money that doctors spend on their medical education is probably one reason for this problem.
A visit to a doctor’s office costs from 15 to 50 dollars. It is almost impossible for people to pay for the medical care they need. Many people in the United States think that doctors are overpaid. Most doctors, however, disagree. They say that they were required (要求) to study medicine for a long time. Tuition for many years of medical education costs a lot of money. Doctors say that it is necessary for most medical students to borrow money from bank to pay their tuition. Because their money must be repaid to the bank, young doctors need to receive a lot of money for their work. So, they charge (收费) people high prices for medical care.
Therefore, it is possible that the high cost of medical care in America is unnecessary, because high tuition is one cause of high costs. One way to lower costs would be to have medical schools that are free or have low tuition.
1.The word “tuition” in the passage probably refers to ____.
A. teaching the students B. studying the courses C. payment for education D. living at school
2.The reason for the high medical cost told in the passage is that _________.
A.tuition in medical schools is high B. the price of medicine is high
C. doctors are overpaid D. doctors must pay money to the banks
3.One way to lower the cost of medical care would be ____ .
A. not to see a doctor B. to pay doctors less money
C. to let medical students have free or partly free medical education
D. to forbid doctors to ask their patients for too much money
4.The main idea of the article is that ____ .
A. a visit to a doctor’s office may cost as much as $15 to $50 in the United States
B. the cost of medical care is the main reason for the high costs in the United States
C. medical care in the United States costs a lot of money because doctors want to be rich
D. the high cost of tuition in medical schools is one reason for the high cost of medical care in America
5.The cost of medical care in the United States is very high. What does the writer think about it?
A. He agrees that doctors are overpaid.
B. He thinks it a big problem and suggests a way to settle it.
C. He doesn't think the medical students should borrow money from banks.
D. He doesn't think it necessary for the medical students to study for a long time.
Passage 41
You will have a lot of reading to do in this grade this year. You can do more of it in less time if you learn to read rapidly.
Perhaps you have been told about some habits (习惯) which keep a person from reading fast and have been strongly asked to break those habits which you might have.
Do you still have any of these bad habits? Check yourself by answering “yes” or “no” to these questions.
(1) Do you move your lips (嘴唇) when reading silently?
(2) Do you point to words with your finger as you read?
(3) Do you move your head from side to side as you read?
(4) Do you read one word at a time?
If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, start at once to break the habit. If you move your lips, hold your fingers over them, or hold a piece of paper between your lips while you are reading. Then if your lips move, your will know it and can stop them.
If you point to words, hold the two sides of your book, one side with your left hand, the other side with your right hand. Then you won’t have a free finger to use in pointing while reading. If you move your head, place your chin (下巴) in one hand and hold your head still (静止不动的).
If you read no more than one or two three words at a time, you need to work very hard in learning to take in (吸收) more words at each glance (一瞥) as your eyes travel across the lines of words.
Even if you do rather fast now, you can learn to read even faster. As you probably have been told, the se of fast reading is to take in whole groups of words at each glance. Read in thought groups and force (迫使) your eyes along the lines of words at fast as you can make them go. Anyone who practices doing these things will be able to read faster.
1.You may hold your fingers over your lips while reading so as ________.
A. to tell others to be silent B. to feel whether your lips move or not
C. to hold a piece of paper between them D. to keep yourself from talking to others
2.When you read, _________.
A. don’t keep your head still B. don’t hold your books with your hands
C. don’t stand up near a desk D. don’t use your finger to point to words
3.If you learn to read fast, _______
A. you can read more in less time B. you can write faster
C. you can understand better D. you can read less in more time
4.You must _____ those habits that we are talking about in this reading.
A. remember B. have C. get rid of (改掉) D. keep
5.This reading mainly about _______.
A. the way of reading fast B. the importance of fast reading
C. the bad habits in reading D. how to speak quickly
Section IV 社会文化篇答案与解析
Passage 32 【答案与解析】本文从“时尚”这个字眼谈起，说到和“时尚”有关的社会生活方方面的事情。时尚随着时代的改变而变化。尤其是在现代，时尚变化之迅速令人慨叹。短文最后说，新的时尚出现意味人们要购买一些新潮的东西。因些，时尚总是与金钱相伴而生的。
1.C。由首段的几句话可以推测出fashion有“时尚”、“流行”之意。故答案以C为最佳。
2.A。根据前面几段所述，可知时尚即是新近的。选项A意为“网上冲浪”，与其它几个选项相比，显然要时髦得多。故为正确答案。
3.D。答案源自“We hear about things much more quickly than in the past. Newspapers, radios, telephones and television send information from one country to another in a few hours.”一句中。
4.D。文后的这句“New fashions mean that people will buy new things, so you see there is money in fashion.”是本题的重要依据。
Passage 33
【答案与解析】习语是最让英语学习者感到头疼的东西。本文讲述了三个法国人曲解英语习语的经历，读后让人忍俊不禁。第一个法国人误将“Look out!”理解为“向外看”(实际意义是“当心！”)；第二个法国人将“All hands on deck”误认为是“把手放到甲板上”的意思(实际上该短语的意思是“所有海员到甲板上集合”)；第三名法国人对那位女仆话语中的“up”和“down”弄得昏了头，以致于闹了个“If he’s not up and he’s not down, where is he?”的笑话。
1.B.由英语知识或根据“I put my head out of a window and a basin of water fell on me. It seems that ‘Look out’ may mean ‘don’t look out.’”可知。
2.A.根据整体意思及“…and someone walked on them.”可知这是集合的口令。
3.B.文中“When I say ‘He’s not up ’, I mean ‘he has not yet got up’.”一句已经说得很明白。
4.C.“…I mean ‘he has not yet come downstairs,’”这句话是解题的关键。
5.D.整篇文章讲了三个由于对英语不很精通而误解以致于闹了笑话的故事。行文间流露出作者对英语这门语言的“不可望文生义”发出了感叹。选D既合题意又具有极强的幽默味道。
Passage 34
【答案与解析】在日常生活中，报纸起着十分重要的作用。通过翻阅报纸，人们可以了解天下大事。由于城市、小镇、农村之间存在着差别，每个地方出版发行的报纸是不相同的。报纸大多都有好几个版面，尤其是周末版，里面的内容包罗万象，可以满足不同层次人们的需要。
1.D。本题看似简单，实则复杂，须阅读完全文后方能解答得出。前三个选项都有断章取义之嫌。
2.A。读了标题可基本了解该短文的大概内容。A为最恰当的答案。
3.A。答案即在“In big cities there are many types with several different editions every day.”中。
4.B。根据“especially on Sundays when the edition is larger than usual.”这一句话可推测出B为正确答案。要注意on Sundays这个短语，否则可能会误选A。
5.D。由短文最后的“There are besides the front page with the most important news, the sports news, the amusement page, a business page and so on.”这句话，可知电影属于娱乐这一范畴。
Passage 35
【答案与解析】这篇短文可能是一本英文词典的“序言”，介绍了这本词典的用途和使用方法。另外，该文中还着重提到了American English和British English在拼写上存在的差异。
1.A.通过短文第一段的第一个句子，几乎不费力气就能选出正确答案。
2.D.此题需要仔细推敲第二段文字，通过理解段意(如果熟悉英文词典或懂得一些英文词典的使用常识则可以直接进行选择)和推敲四个选项的词语意思而确定。All和One都属于“走极端”的选项，不能入选；Few本义是“几乎没有”，不符合文意，只有D项正确。
3.C.答案在第三段。文中“while ‘color’ is used in American English.”已给出明确答案。
4.C.通过文中“We use a special alphabet(特殊字母表)to show pronunciation.”一句判断。关键词是“pronunciation(发音)”，清楚这个词的意思，我们无疑会选择 C。
5.C.应重点参考5—6段。实际上，第五段中已有“to find out the meaning of a word—its DEFINITION.”。“meaning of a word”中没有生词，那么，选择对应的汉语“词义”岂不易如反掌！
6.D.要读完全文后，才能确认。因为文中提到的数字只有一个“2000”，但它决不是词典的收词数，而是用来“简单解释”词义的用词数。文中并没有提及词典的“收词量”，因此，答案应该是D。
7.B.答案就在“This means that the definitions of even the most difficult words are simply explained(简单解释)and easy to understand.”一句中。选B最为恰当。
Passage 36
【答案与解析】1932年第三届冬季奥动会在美国举办时，第一枚纪念冬季奥运会开幕的邮票诞生了。从此，每当举办冬季奥运会时，为其发行邮票成了一个不成文的规定。1936年第四届冬季奥运会在德国举办时，五环标志首次在冬季奥运会的邮票出现。在十九世纪五十年代，为冬季奥运会发行的邮票更加丰富多彩了。中国也为纪念首次参加冬季奥运会发行了邮票。值得一提的是，日本是唯一的一个曾举办过冬季奥运会的亚洲国家。为了给运动会集资，当时发行了一千多亿张邮票。
1.A。本题属表层理解题。答案即是短文第一句话。
2.B。答案源自“The first stamps marking the opening came out on January 25, 1932 in the United States for the 3rd White Olympics.”一句中。
3.C。根据“…on January 25, 1932 in the United States for the 3rd White Olympics.”这句话可知第三届奥运会是1932年举行的，再由“During the 4th Winter Olympic Games a group of stamps were published in Germany in November 1936.”可知第四届奥运会是年举行的。由此可以推测出奥运会是每四年举行一次的。答案为C。
4.C。“the host countries as well as the non-host countries published stamps to mark those Games.”一句和下面的几句是答案的出处。
5.D。短文最后一段是答案之所在。
Passage 37
【答案与解析】这篇短文的大意是：1998年在法国举行的世界杯足球赛实行了新的规则。比赛中使用红、白、黄三色相间的球。这种球由32块皮革缝制而成，十分凑巧的是，当时正好有32支球队参赛。足球制造商在此之前提醒守门员，说这种球沿直线飞行，速度极快。试用一段时间之后，球员发现这种球与传统的黑白相间的二色球有很大不同。这种球更容易控制，但守门员很难抓到，在一场球赛中有可能进更多的球。
1.A。根据短文开头的三个句子并注意理解instead of 的意思，可得]出答案。
2.C。“Interestingly enough, the French national flag happens to be in three colors, too. Besides, 32 teams will take part in the coming World Cup.”一句是解题之关键。
3.D。由第一段的介绍，我们了解到足球在历史上曾经用过黑白两色球，且由8、12、18、26块皮制成。 所以选项A、B、C皆是正确的。文中并没有说由2块皮制成的球恰好被十二支球队首先使用。所以D是错误的。
4.B。“The makers have warned the goalkeeper would find it harder to catch them.”是本题答案所在。
5.A。全文围绕这种由32块皮制成的红、白、蓝相间的新式足球作了详细的介绍，故答案非A莫属。
Passage 38
【答案与解析】风筝是古代中国人发明的，有着几千年悠久的历史，甚至比文字出现得还要早。起初，人们将风筝用于战争中，是用来吓唬敌方的。古代中国人还希望放风筝能给来年带来好运，或者预示庄稼获得好的收成。有趣的是，他们有时还在风筝上拴上长线和鱼钩，在水上钓鱼呢。
1. A。第一段的大意是说大多数人对风筝都有不陌生，但知道风筝是在中国诞生的人就比较少了。其它选项虽然意思不错，但并不是主题句。故答案是A。
2. A。文中并没有提及D所述情况。选项C干扰性较强，但由“…to bring good luck and to make their crops grow rich and tall.”一句可知古代中国人只是把风筝信奉为丰收的象征，并不是用以浇灌庄稼。接下来的一句是说风筝可用来钓鱼，即是选项A。
3. C。古代的中国人将这种特制的用于战争的风筝会发出奇怪的声响，敌方以为他们有神灵相助，于是闻风而逃，不战自败。答案为C。而迷惑性较大的A项是古人在农业生产方面的一种精神寄托，与战争没有任何关系。
4. C。“The Chinese use sticks, strings and paper for their kites.”一句是本题的出处。
5. D。通篇文章都是在讲述中国历史上有关风筝的趣闻，所以D项最能准确地表述文章的大意。
Passage 39
【答案与解析】这篇短文围绕“汽车出租业在上海越来越流行”展开。第二、三、四段对这一消费热点作了进一步的说明，第五段则对导致这一现象的原因作了分析。
1. C。本题考查通过上下文对词汇的推测能力。解题的关键是准确理解 “Shanghai Basher Tourism Car Rental Center a wide variety of choices…”中的choices。在出租车公司中，这些车是供人们选择的，显然应是供出租用的。
2. D。本题考查考生快速捕捉文章细节事实的能力。解此题可用排除法，对所给选项进行逐一筛选。由第四段可知A是错误，B选项提出的论断在文章中并没有提到，C选项中的论述似乎很合情理，但仍属文章中没有提到的。
3. C。本题考查根据语境进行分析判断的能力。做本题的关键是理解第五段中的“The major market force rests in the growing population of white-collar employees…”中的rest in短语，要想理解这一短语，必须分析上下文之间的逻辑关系。由下文中的“who can afford the new service可知，the major market force”应是“the growing population of white-collar employees”的产物。
Passage 40
【答案与解析】在美国，很多人都认为医生的收入过高。人们每去一次诊所，都要花去15-50美元，几乎支付不起这么昂贵的医疗保险费用。但是大多数医生却不这么认为，他们说在医学校就读要用好几年的时间，需要支付相当数目的学习费用。学生交纳的学费多半来自银行的贷款，他们不得不提高医疗保险的费用，以偿还债务。看来，如果想要降低医疗保险费用，必须从医学校着手解决，实行低收费或者是免费。
1.C。由上下文及“Tuition for many years of medical education costs a lot of money.”一句，可不难推测该词意为“学费”。故答案为C。
2.A。“…because high tuition is one cause of high costs.”是答案的出处。
3.C。短文结尾一句即是本题答案之所在。
4.D。作者在本文开头就已指出这一点。
5.A。根据整篇文章的意思和“Many people in the United States think that doctors are overpaid. Most doctors, however, disagree.”这一句可以断定作者是持这一观点的。
Passage 41
【答案与解析】阅读速度的提高是很多学生遇到的一个难题。本文首先列举了一些影响快速阅读的坏习惯，并提出了矫正的方法。读完这篇很有实用价值的短文之后，相信你会受益匪浅。
1.B。作者说“把手指放在嘴唇上”，目的是感觉一下嘴唇是否在动了。故答案是B。
2.D.根据文中的介绍，不难看出选项D是阅读中的坏习惯。
3.A.读得速度快了，自然可以在较少的时间内阅读到更多的东西。
4.C.通读全文，显然作者并不是要我们记住这些阅读中的坏习惯，而是要我们改正之。
5.C.本文详细阐述了阅读中常见的四个坏习惯，并介绍了克服的方法。根据这一主旨，正确答案为C也就不难得出了。
Section V 人物事件篇
Passage 42
Bill Clinton took office (就职)on January 20,1993 and became the 42nd U.S. President (总统). He is the first U.S. president who was born after World War II. He is also one of the youngest of all U.S. presidents.
Clinton was born in a poor family. Three months before he was born, his father, William Blats, died. When he was small, his mother remarried (再婚) Norger Clinton, so the boy‘s family name was changed.
In the summer of 1963, Clinton was asked to visit the city of Washington. During his visit, he met President Kennedy in the White House. At that time, he wanted to become a president, and now he is!
1. Clinton became the 42nd U.S. president when he was______.
A. thirty B. about forty C. forty-seven D.37years old
2. Clinton’s father died______.
A. after 1946 B. before Clinton was born C. before World War II D. when Clinton was young
3. Why was the boy‘s name changed?
A.Because he became a president B.Because his family was very poor
C. Because his father was dead D. Because his mother remarried Norger Clinton
4. In 1963 Clinton came to the city of Washington___.
A. to take part in an exam B. for his holidays C. for a visit D. to have a meeting with Kennedy
5. Which one of the following is Not right?
A.Everybody can visit the president in the White House
B. All the U.S. presidents work in the White Horse
C.Clinton wanted to become a president after he saw President Kennedy
D. The White House is in the city of Washington
Passage 43
EVERYTHING has two sides. One side of SARS is already clear. It is a deadly disease, which causes fear. There were 2,601 cases (病例) recorded on the Chinese mainland on April 24, according to government report. 115 people have died and numbers keep rising.
But, there is another side.
SARS is a reminder (提醒) of how fragile life can be. Suddenly, it’s not just the old people who are thinking about death. Everyone now realizes there might not always be a tomorrow.
Wang Xinying, a student in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province came into contact (接触) with a suspected (疑似) SARS patient in mid-April. He was told to stay at home for at least two weeks. “Watching TV about more and more SARS patients dying, I never knew that death could be so close. Life is valuable (珍贵的) and I’m going to treasure (珍惜) every single day,” he said.
SARS teaches people to be grateful, both for their own lives and for others. Doctors and nurses, for example, have to spend all their time with infected (被感染的) patients. As a result, more than one fifth of SARS cases in China are medical workers.
Xu Bing, a student of Beijing No. 5 Middle School wants to be a doctor in the future. “Although they certainly know the dangers, doctors and nurses kept working hard on saving people’s lives. I’m deeply moved by what they have done. I think they are real heroes.” he said.
SARS also teaches sympathy (同情). The past few weeks have been terrible for Chinese people. But there are far worse things than SARS in this world, such as war, earthquakes and robberies. Think of the Iraqis, who have been living terrible lives for 20 years. Think of how the Americans felt on 9.11.
And finally, SARS offers the chances to grow. All different kinds of people and the governments are joining together to work in this difficult time. When this passes, China and its people will have learned great lessons.
1.What does “Everyone now realizes there might not always be a tomorrow” mean?
It means life is easy to _____ and we must ______ our life.
2.How long was Wang Xinying told to stay at home?
He was told to stay at home for about _______ a _______.
3.Why can medical workers be easily infected?
Because they have to be with infected patients _______ and _______.
4.What do we learn in the difficult time?
We learn nothing is difficult if we ___________.
Passage 44
Marco Polo was born in Venice in 1254. He was the most famous westerner to visit Asia during the middle Ages. He wrote a book about his travels. In his book he wrote all the things he saw and heard. Many people read the book but few believed what Marco Polo said. He spoke of strange people and places that nobody knew about at that time.
As a young man, Marco Polo decided to travel together with his father. It took them more than three years to travel to China. He became the Chinese emperor’s friend. He learned the Chinese language when he traveled around and talked to many people. Before he reached the age of thirty he was made a Chinese official.
After nearly seventeen years in the east, Marco and his father prepared to return home. When they finally arrived in Venice, their family and friends were surprised to see them again. They had been away for almost 25years.
1. What made Marco Polo famous during the middle Ages?
A. His travel to America. B. His travel in the west. C. His travel in Asia. D. His visit to Venice.
2. What did Marco Polo write about in his book?
A. How he traveled to China with his father. B. Something too difficult for people to understand.
C. Some strange people and places D. Something that had been known to people for many years.
3. Marco Polo worked as a Chinese official in ________.
A. 1254 B. 1284 C. 1271 D. 1279
4. Which of the following is the right order during Marco’s travel?
a. traveled with his father b. was made a Chinese official
c. wrote a book about his travel d. became Chinese emperor’s friend
e. returned to Venice
A. c-a-d-b-e B. c-a-b-d-e C. a-b-d-e-c D. a-d-b-e-c
Passage 45
Typhoons (台风) in the northern part of the world have girls’ names. Sometimes they have very beautiful names. Rose is a pretty name but there was nothing pretty about Typhoon Rose. It was the worst typhoon to hit Hong Kong in ten years.
It began to rain in the morning of Monday, August 16th, 1971. At ten o’clock in the morning, Typhoon Rose was still 130 miles away but already the wind was blowing people’s umbrella away. The wind became stronger and stronger. The typhoon shelters (避风港) were soon full of boats. Ships that were too big to go inside the shelters put down more anchors (锚). Some very big shops went out to sea. It is safer for a big shop to be at sea in a typhoon because it cannot be blown onto rocks. Kai Tak Airport closed. No planes were able to take off or land. At 9:00 in the evening, all the lights went out.
No one slept well that night. It is difficult to sleep in such bad weather.
In Typhoon Rose, more than one hundred people died. 229 people were hurt and 66 of these had to go to hospital. 1500 lost their homes. The people of Hong Kong will not quickly forget Typhoon Rose!
1.What’s true according to the passage?
A.Typhoons all over the world have girls’ names.
B.Typhoons with pretty names are usually beautiful.
C.Typhoon Rose only hit Hong Kong.
D.For ten years, people in Hong Kong haven’t seen a worse typhoon than Typhoon Rose.
2.What’s the possible result of Typhoon Rose?
A.Lots of big shops were blown onto rocks.
B.More than two hundred people lost their lives and many more lost their homes.
C.People didn’t sleep well in such bad weather.
D.People turned off the lights at 9:00 in the evening.
3.The people of Hong Kong will not quickly forget Typhoon Rose because ____________.
A.it caused the terrible losses B. they didn’t sleep well that night
C. Typhoon Rose wasn’t as pretty as its name
D. they couldn’t find their ships after the typhoon
4.Some big shops didn’t go inside the shelters because _______.
A. they had more anchors B. it is safer outside
C. they were out at sea and they weren’t fast enough to reach the shelters
when Typhoon Rose came
D. it was too expensive for big shops to go inside the shelters
5.This passage is mainly about ______.
A. the names of typhoons B. typhoons in Hong King C. Typhoon Rose D. the typhoons
Passage 46
There was once a man called Mr. Flowers, and flowers were his only joy in life. He spent all his free time in one of his four glass-houses and grew flowers of every color, with long and difficult names, for competitions (比赛). He tried to grow a rose of a new color to win the silver cup (银杯) for the Rose of the Year.
Mr. Flowers’ glass-houses were very near to a middle school. Boys of around thirteen of age were often tempted (引诱) to throw a stone or two at one of Mr. Flowers’ glass-houses. So Mr. Flowers did his best to be in or near his glass-houses at the beginning and end of the school day.
But it was not always possible to be on watch at those times. Mr. Flowers had tried in many ways to protect his glass, but nothing that he had done had been useful. He had been to school to report to the headmaster; but this had not done any good. He had tried to drive away the boys that threw stones into his garden; but the boys could run faster than he could, and they laughed at him from far away. He had even picked up all the stones that he could find around his garden, so that the boys would have nothing to throw; but they soon found others.
At last Mr. Flowers had a good idea. He put up a large notice (布告) made of good, strong wood, some meters away from the glass-houses. On it he had written the words: DO NOT THROW STONES AT THIS NOTICE. After this, Mr. Flowers had no further trouble; the boys were much more tempted to throw stones at the notice than at the glass-houses.
1.It was Mr. Flowers’ hope to ________.
A.build glass-houses in his free time B.grow the Rose of the Year in a silver cup
C.win a silver cup for growing a rose of a new color
D.grow a rose with the longest name
2.Boys were often tempted to ________.
A.throw stones at Mr. Flowers’ glass-house B.throw stones at Mr. Flowers from their school
C.be in or near by Mr. Flowers’ glass-houses D.play with Mr. Flowers near his glass-houses
3.Mr. Flowers stayed in or near by his glass-houses _______.
A.at times when school-boys were walking near them
B.all the school day when there were no boys about
C.where he could not be seen by the boys passing
D.in his free time at the beginning and end of the school day
4.Mr. Flowers had tried to ______ to protect his glass.
A. be on watch in his free time B. ask the headmaster for help
C. pick up all the stones around his garden D. do all the above
5.Mr. Flowers’ good idea was to ______.
A.write some words on the glass B.put up a large notice to cover his glass-houses
C.give the boys something else to throw stones at D.send for policemen
Passage 47
People often say, “Children can’t do math problem, it’s because parents can’t do their children’s homework.” Here’s an example to show what I mean.
The other day my daughter brought home her math homework. “I have to subtract (减) 179 from 202,” she said.
“It’s quite easy,” I said. “You put the 202 over the 179.”
“But we need a 10 here. Where is the 10?”
“I don’t know where the 10 is. Let’s just subtract 179 from 202. Nine from two is three. You carry one and add it to seven. Eight from zero is two. The answer is 23.”
“We can’t do it that way. We have to use the 10.”
“Well, I’m going to call your teacher to see how she subtracts 179 from 202.”
Over the telephone, I said that I was having a bit of trouble with the homework she had given to my daughter. The teacher said, “In the right-hand column (栏) we have units of one. The two in that column counts for two ones. The zero in the center counts for zero tens. The two in the left-hand column counts for hundreds. Are you clear?” But I didn’t think I was clear.
I hung up and found my way to the medicine box. My head was now hurting. I started putting pills of medicine into my mouth. “How many did you take?” my wife asked. “I took one and then I took another…I know one and one was two, but don’t ask me what it is now.”
1.The daughter wanted ______ the other day.
A. to give her father a lesson B. to show how difficult math was
C. her father to phone her teacher D. her father to help her with her homework
2.Which of the following sentences is not true?
A.The father had a different way to do the math problem.
B.The father couldn’t do his daughter’s homework.
C.The daughter couldn’t understand her father’s way.
D.The daughter had some trouble doing the math problem.
3.From what the teacher said, we know that the word “units” means ______ here.
A. whole numbers less than 10 B. whole things
C. groups of lessons D. the smallest numbers
4.What the teacher said made the father _________.
A. angry B. worried C. sad D. tired
5.Can you guess what would happen next in the story?
A.The father would go to school and begin to learn math.
B.The father would become very ill and have to take more medicine.
C.The father would never do his daughter’s math problems again.
D.The father would go to the school and fight with the teacher.
Passage 48
Almost everyone likes dogs, and almost everyone likes to read about dogs. I have a friend. He has a big police dog with the name Jack. Police dogs are very clever. Every Sunday afternoon my friend takes Jack for a long walk in the park. Jack likes these long walks very much.
One Sunday afternoon a young man came to visit my friend. He stayed a long time. He talked and talked. Soon it was time for my friend to take Jack for a walk. But the visitor still stayed. Jack became much worried. He walked around the room several times and then sat down in front of the visitor and looked at him. But the visitor paid no attention (注意)to Jack. He went on talking. At last Jack got angry. He went out of the room and came back a few minutes later. He sat down again in front of the visitor, but this time he took the visitor’s cap in his mouth.
1. The young visitor stayed a long time in my friend‘s house, didn’t he?
A. Yes, he was. B. Yes, he did. C. No, he wasn’t. D. No, he didn’t.
2. Jack became worried because _______ .
A. he wanted to go out for a walk B. he wanted to play with him
C. he didn’t know the young man D. he wanted to eat something
3. Jack sat down in front of the visitor because he wanted _____.
A. the visitor to talk with him B. to join the talk
C. to show the visitor how clever he was D. the visitor to leave the house soon
4. The visitor went on talking and ______.
A. he paid no attention to his cap B. he didn’t like Jack
C. he didn’t know that his cap was taken away by Jack D. he paid no attention to Jack
5. At last Jack took ______ in his mouth.
A. food B. nothing C. the visitor’s cap D. the visitor’s bag
Passage 49
Watson won his most important game and became Southern Chess Master (大师) in 1977. He was given the silver cup.
“It isn’t rightly mine,” he said, when he was holding the cup.” “It was won two years ago when I was on holiday in…”
“A family was staying at my hotel at that time. Mrs. Prig, the mother, was told that I played chess; and she begged me to give her young son a game. ‘He’s only ten.’ she said, ‘I’ve been told that he plays quite well.’
“Well, as you can guess, I wasn’t too happy. A player likes the opponent (对手) to play as well as he does. But it was holiday time and I agreed to play. We placed the board (棋盘) in the garden. The game began. I hoped it would be quick----and so it was.
“Isoon knew that David Prig was no learner. After ten minutes his sister came outside and began to play tennis against a wall. The boy seemed to lose interest in our game. He moved a piece (棋子) without care. I gave my attention to the board.
“ Call me when you are ready, Mr. Watson,” he said.
When I was ready? I looked up. He had gone off to play with his sister. I studied the board, and found I was driven into corner. So it went on with David: a quick move, then tennis, back to the board, then back to his sister. My difficult condition became impossible to change. I was beaten. Oh, so easily, by a ten-year-old chess player. He was the winner── in twenty-eight minutes.
“David Prig, a name to remember. I had a chance to use his game today, and it won this cup for me. To him, of course, it is only one of a hundred, or perhaps a thousand, winning games.”
1. When Mr. Watson said, “It isn‘t rightly mine. It was won …”, he meant _____two years before.
A. he had played chess with a little boy for twenty-eight minutes
B. he had had a chance to take part in an important game
C. he had learned how to play chess from a child
D. he had learned a good game from a child
2. Before the game, Mr. Watson was quite sure that _________.
A. the boy played as well as he did B. he would be Southern Chess Master two years later
C. he could win the game easily D. the boy would win the game quickly
3. Why did David play tennis while he was playing chess with Watson?
Because he __________.
A. had no interest in playing chess with adults (成年人) B. was not good at playing chess
C. liked playing tennis much better than playing chess
D. played chess much better than Watson
4. From the story, we know that __________.
A. David Prig was the real winner B. Mr. Watson was the real winner
C. neither of them was the real winner D. both of them were the real winners
5. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Sometimes young children can beat adults in playing chess.
B. Watson thought he could win the game quickly, and so he did.
C. Watson learned something from David and won the silver cup.
D. Watson would never forget the name of the boy.
Passage 50
阅读下面短文，把A—E五个句子填入文中空缺处，使短文内容完整正确。
In the 13th century, the famous Italian traveler, Marco Polo, traveled a long way to China. During his stay in China, he saw many wonderful things. One of the things he discovered was that the Chinese used paper money. In western countries, people did not use paper money until the 15th century. (1)____
A Chinese man called Cai Lun invented paper almost 2,000 years ago. He made it from wood. (2)____ He then put these pieces of paper together and made them into a book.
(3)____ We use a lot of paper every day. If we keep on wasting so much paper, there will not be any trees left on the earth.If there are no trees, there will be no paper. Every day, people throw away about 2,800tons of paper. It takes 17 trees to make one ton of paper. This means that we are cutting nearly 48,000 trees every day.
Since it takes more than 10years for a tree to grow, we must start using less paper now. If we don't, we will not have enough time to grow more trees to take the place of those we use for paper.
(4)____ We can use both sides of every piece of paper, especially when we are making notes. We can choose drinks in bottles instead of those in paper packets. We can also use cotton handkerchiefs(手帕)and not paper ones. When we go shopping, we can use fewer paper bags. If the shop assistant does give us a paper bag, we can save it and reuse it later.
(5)____ If we all think carefully, we can help protect trees. But we should do it now, before it is too late.
A. Now paper still comes from trees. B. Everyone can help to save paper.
C. However, people in China began to use paper money in the 7th century.
D. He took the wood from trees and made it into paper.
E. So how can we save paper？
Passage 51
On November 18th, 1908, three men went up in a balloon. They started early in London. The headman was Auguste Gaudron, and the other two men were Tannar and Maitland. They had a big balloon, and they were ready for a long way.
Soon they heard the sea below them. They were carrying the usual rope , and it was hanging down from the basket of the balloon. At the end of the rope they had tied a metal box. This could hold water. Or it could be empty. So they were able to change its weight. They were also carrying some bags of sand.
After the sun rose, the balloon went higher. It went up to 3,000 meters, and the air was very cold. The water in the balloon became ice. Snow fell past the men’s basket, and they could see more snow on the ground. There was also some snow on the balloon, and that made it very heavy. It began to go down towards the ground. The men tried to throw out some more sand; but it was hard. They tried to break the icy sand with their knives, but it was not easy. The work was slow and they were still falling; so they had to drop some whole bags of sand. One of them fell on an icy lake below and made a black hole in the ice.
At last they pulled the box into the basket. It was still snowing; so they climbed to get away from the snow. They rose to 5,100 meters! Everything became icy. They were so cold that they decided to land. They came down in Poland heavily but safely. They had traveled 1,797 kilometers from London!
1.Three men flew in a balloon _________.
A. more than a century ago B. to visit Poland C. for nearly 1,800 kilometers D. to another city
2.The metal box was used for _______.
A. changing weight B. carrying ropes of the basket
C. keeping drinking water D. carrying the bags of sand
3.When the balloon went up higher, ________.
A.they saw the sun go down B. the temperature of the balloon began to fall
C. they could see a black hole on the ground D. they made a hole in the basket with their knives
4.The balloon landed __________.
A. in a foreign country B. on a lake C. in London D. on the sea
5.The three men had to land because _______.
A.they were very hungry B. they had not enough sand
C. they pulled the box into the basket D. they felt too cold
Passage 52
In a small village in England about 150 years ago, a mail coach (邮车) was standing on the street. Around the coach many people were talking to one another about it.
Mail coach did not come to that village so often in those days. People had to pay a lot of money to get a letter. The person who sent the letter did not have to pay. The person who got the letter had to pay the postage (邮资).
“Here’s a letter for Miss Alice Brown,” said the mailman. Everyone turned to a girl of about eighteen who was standing by the coach. “I’m Alice Brown,” she said in a low voice. The mailman gave her the letter.
Alice looked at the envelope for a minute, and then handed it back to the mailman.
“I’m sorry I can’t take it,” she said. “I don’t have enough money to pay the postage.”
The people standing around were very sorry for the girl. They were silent for a while. Then a gentleman came up to the mailman and paid the postage for Alice’s letter.
When the gentleman gave her the letter, she said with a smile, “Oh, thank you very much, sir. This letter is from the young man I’m going to marry. His name is Tom. He went to London to look for work. He has to get enough money for our marriage (结婚). I’ve waited a long time for this letter, but now don’t need it. I don’t have to open the envelope because there is nothing inside.”
“Really?” the gentleman said in surprise. “How do you know that?” “He told me that he would put some signs on the envelope. Look, sir, this cross in the corner means that he is well, and this circle means he has found work. That’s very good news.”
The gentleman was Sir Rowland Hill. He did not forget Alice and her letter.
“The postage to be paid by the receiver has to be changed,” he said to himself. He thought and thought for many years. At last he had a good plan.
“The postage has to be much lower,” he said. “What about a penny (便士) for a letter? And the person who sends the letter pays the postage. He has to buy a stamp and put it on the envelope.”
“A good idea!” people said when they heard of his plan.
The Government decided to adopt (采纳) the plan. The first postage stamp was put out in 1840. It was called the “Penny Black”. It had a picture of the Queen on it.
1.The first postage stamp was made ________.
A. in England B. in America C. by Alice D. in 1910
2.The girl handed the letter back to the mailman because ______.
A.she did not know whose letter it was
B.the letter had already told her what she wanted to know
C.she could not pay the postage
D.the gentleman promised to pay the postage for her
3.When the girl returned the letter to the mailman _____.
A.the people around her felt sorry for her B.the people thought that the girl was too poor
C.none of them wanted to pay the postage for her D.the people was angry with the girl
4.Alice knew how Tom was getting from the signs on the envelope because ______.
A.Tom had told her what the signs meant before leaving for London
B.Alice was clever and could guess the meaning of the signs
C.Alice had put the signs on the envelope herself
D.Tom had put the signs as Alice had told him to
5.The idea of using stamps was found by ______.
A. the government B. Sir Rowland Hill C. Alice Brown D. Tom
Section V 人物故事篇答案详解
Passage 42
【答案与解析】这是一篇关于美国总统克林顿的人物传记。克林顿是二战后美国的第一任总统，他是美国最年轻的总统之一。克林顿出生于一个贫苦的家庭，其父早亡，后随继父改姓克林顿。克林顿被邀参观华盛顿市期间，在白宫受到总统肯尼迪接见，当时就有做总统的想法。
1.C.根据“He is the first U.S. president who was born after World War II.”这一句话，可知克林顿是在第二次世界大战之后出生的。故可推知答案为C。
2.B.本题属细节理解题。“Three months before he was born, his father ,William Blats, died.”是答案的出处。
3.D.本题同样也是细节理解题。答案就在第二段的末句中。
4.B.短文末段的首句已交代提非常清楚。
5.C.文章的最后一句话是解答本题的关键。
Passage 43
【解题思路点拨】这是一篇以SARS为话题的阅读材料。文章作者告诉我们：SARS这种致命的疾病让人们清醒地认识到生命是多么的脆弱，每个人都要好好珍惜生命中的每一天。SARS给人们带来的启示是：我们大家要感谢那些置个人安危于不顾的医务工作者；人人都应当有点同情心；团结协作才能共度难关。
1.lose, love/treasure。短文第三自然段的意思是说，SARS的流行提醒人们：生命是脆弱的。突然间的死亡不只是老年人所面临的。现在每个人都意识到明天不总是有的。也就是说，“生命是很容易失去的，我们大家都应当热爱(珍惜)生命。”
2.half, month。本小题所提的问题是“王信英被告知在家里呆大约多长时间？” “He was told to stay at home for at least two weeks.”一句中的“at least two weeks”(至少两个星期)即是答案。但在解题时，要注意抓住两个空格中间的冠词a，从而可以联想到由其构成的时间状语，否则就会不知所措。
3.day, night。根据“Doctors and nurses, for example, have to spend all their time with infected patients.”中的可以联想到医生和护士们日日夜夜地 (day and night)与SARS病人在一起。故可得答案。本题也应从连词“and”入手，联系题中信息方能找出答案。
4.join/work, together。短文最后一段说，在SARS严重威胁人们生命健康的这一段时间里，不同国家的人和政府携手合作，终于战胜了SARS。文中的“All different kinds of people and the governments are joining together to work in this difficult time.”这句话对答案有暗示作用。
Passage 44
【答案与解析】本文是关于马可·波罗的小故事。中世纪，马可·波罗跟随父亲来到中国。他在中国生活了十多年，为中西文化交流做出了很大贡献。
1.C。文首的这句“Marco Polo was born in Venice in 1254. He was the most famous westerner to visit Asia during the Middle Ages.”即是答案的出处。
2.C。本题属表层理解题。答案就在短文开头一段的最后一句话中。
3.B。根据“Before he reached the age of thirty he was made a Chinese official.”这句话及文首的1254年即可推算出他被任命为中国古代官员时的年代。
4. A。本文的时间线索非常清晰。首先根据最末一段的“When they finally arrived in Venice,…”可排除C和D，然后由第二段所述的情况即可轻易将干扰项B筛选掉。
Passage 45
【答案与解析】短文描写了一九七一年台风Rose袭击香港的情景。Rose来临之前，狂风肆虐，避风港内停满了船只，机场关闭，供电线路也切断了。台风Rose过后，造成了大量的人员伤亡，损失巨大，在香港人心里留下了深深的伤痕。
1.D。短文首段的末句即是答案的依据。
2.C。第三段的这两句话就是答案的出处。
3.A。短文在列举了台风Rose所造成的巨大损失后，又说“The people of Hong Kong will not quickly forget Typhoon Rose!”。显然，他们不能忘记的原因是台风Rose所带来的损失之惨重。
4.B。本题的答案就在“It is safer for a big shop to be at sea in a typhoon because it cannot be blown onto rocks.”一句中。
5.C。整篇短文都是介绍台风在香港登陆前后的经过以及它所造成的损失。故答案非C莫属。
Passage 46
【答案与解析】Mr. Flowers嗜花如命，他种花的暖房位于一所学校附近。一些男孩子经常朝他种花的暖房上扔石块。尽管他绞尽脑汁，想尽了一切办法，都无济于事。最后Mr. Flowers想出了一个高招。他挂起了一块结实的布告牌，上面写着“请不要朝布告牌扔石块”。孩子们的兴趣于是转向了这块木牌，Mr. Flowers自此高枕无忧了。
1.C。“…to win the silver cup for the Rose of the Year.”一句中，不定式在句中作目的状语，也是Mr. Flowers的愿望之所在。
2.A。第二段前两句有明确的说明。
3.D。“So Mr. Flowers did his best to be in or near his glass-houses at the beginning and end of the school day.”是该题的出处。
4.D。为了保护自己的玻璃房子不受损坏，想尽了各种方法。选项A、B、C所述内容均在文中有明确的阐述。
5. C。由最后一段，特别是其中的关键词large, good, strong以及布告上的DO NOT THROW STONES AT THIS NOTICE, 可知他制作布告牌的真正目的不是要它对孩子们起警示作用，而是利用孩子们的心理让其当作他们投掷的靶子。
Passage 47
【答案与解析】作者向我们讲述了很多人都可能遇到的一个问题：父母往往回答不上来小孩子问的一些非常简单的数学问题。文中作者的女儿向他询问怎样计算二百零二减去一百七十九这道题。结果，他的女儿不但弄不懂他的解释，而且他还无法解释清楚女儿提出的问题。他只好向女儿的老师求助，而自己被老师的解释搞得天昏脑胀……
1.D。细读第二段，再联系父女俩的谈话即可得出答案。
2.B。根据“but I didn’t think I was clear.”以及“I took one and then I took another…I know one and one was two, but don’t ask me what it is now.”可知B项是错误的。
3.A。根据短文内容， 那位老师所说的“”她的意思是说“个位上的数字是几就表示几个一”，当然应是小于1的数。
4.D。由“My head was now hurting.”这句话，可知“父亲”听了老师的解释后没有生气、焦虑或悲伤，而是头昏脑胀，疲惫之至。
5. C。选项A是不现实的，而选项C、D更是荒诞离奇。体会一下文末一段“父亲”的举动，就可以想起他是一种什么样的心情。
Passage 48
【答案与解析】差不多人人都喜欢狗这种动物。作者在这篇短文中给我们讲了一个十分有趣的故事：Jack，一条聪明伶俐的警犬。每逢星期天下午都要与主人一同去公园散步。可是有一次，家里来了客人，与主人攀谈起来，没完没了。到了Jack去散步的时间，那个人还是说个不停。Jack在房间内转了几圈就坐在这位客人面前，可这个人仍然滔滔不绝地谈笑。Jack这 回可真生气了，它干脆叼着这个人的帽子，坐在他的面前。
1.B。短文的第二段的第二个句子是答案的出处。
2.A。“Soon it was time for my friend to take Jack for a walk. But the visitor still stayed. Jack became much worried.”是解答该题的重要依据。
3.D。仔细考虑全文的整体意思，则不难得出答案。
4.D。答案即是“But the visitor paid no attention to Jack.”这句话。
5. C。本题属表层理解题，短文末尾的“He sat down again in front of the visitor, but this time he took the visitor’s cap in his mouth.”这句话即是答案。
Passage 49
【答案与解析】这是一篇读后让人惊叹不已的故事。象棋大师Watson在旅馆时遇到了一个孩子。孩子的母亲请求Watson与儿子下一盘棋。Watson很不情愿地答应了。然而下棋过程中，那个孩子漫不经心地，还不时地跑出去和姐姐打网球。让Watson考虑之后再叫他。Watson后来处于僵局，最终也未能挽回。一个年仅十岁的孩子在二十八分钟里就胜了他。他非常佩服。后来，Watson用这个孩子的棋路获得了一个银杯。作者最后的“I had a chance to use his game today, and it won this cup for me. To him, of course, it is only one of a hundred, or perhaps a thousand, winning games.”这句话可以让人体会到Watson的心情，发人深思。
1.D。本题需综合考虑下文所回忆的那局输掉的棋方找到答案。
2.C。由作者在“I wasn’t too happy. A player likes the opponent to play as well as he does.”一句中所流露出的感情以及“But it was holiday time and I agreed to play.”等句子的暗示可判断作者根本没有把这个小孩子放在眼中。不难得出正确的答案。
3.D。那小男孩即便是在“a quick move, then tennis, back to the board, then back to his sister.”这种情况下还是赢得了这局棋。这说明他的水平是明显高于对方的。
4.A。本题难度稍大，但根据作者所表达的情感及“I had a chance to use his game today, and it won this cup for me.”一句可知A是最佳答案。
5.B。由“I was beaten.… He was the winner--- in twenty-eight minutes.”等句子，可明显看出B是错误的。
Passage 50
【答案与解析】这篇阅读材料时间跨度较大，内容较为复杂。短文先从马可·波罗发现中国使用纸币谈起，然后说到蔡伦发明造纸术。第三自然段谈到现在中国存在着严重浪费纸张的现状，并对中国森林资源的日益匮乏深感忧虑。第四自然段则说到了一些节约用纸的具体做法。短文最后呼吁大家认真反思，从现在做起，保护有限的森林资源。
1.C。根据上文的意思，二者之间显然是一种转折关系。故选C。
2.D。上一句“He made it from wood.”和下文的“He then put these pieces of paper…”是解答本题的关键。
3.A。选项D承接上文，另外下面的“…there will not be any trees left on the earth.”也对本题的解答起一定的暗示作用。
4.E。第一张纸的两面都要使用，这显然是谈节约用纸的方法。故答案为E。
5.B。由上面一段说的意思，再联系下面的几句话，即可得出答案。
Passage 51
【答案与解析】这是发生在历史上的一则历险小故事。1908年12月，三个人乘坐气球从伦敦出发，进行了一次长途旅行。为了能有效地控制气球的重量，他们在气球下方挂了一个能盛水的金属盒子，还事先携带了沙子。随着气球的升高，气球上面结满了冰，于是引起了一系列的麻烦。历尽千难万险，总算化险为夷。可当气球升至五千多米的高空时，他们实在无法忍受严寒，结果在波兰安全降落。
1.C。由首句的1908年可知A项有误。另外，这三个人打算从伦敦出发乘气球作长距离旅行，由于天气状况不好，只好在波兰(Poland)着陆。行程达1,797公里，将近1,800公里。
2.A. 根据“This could hold water. Or it could be empty. So they were able to change its weight.”可知，金属盒里盛的水是并非是饮用水，而是用来改变气球重量的。文中还说他们同时也带了几袋沙子来调节气球的重量。
3.B.根据“It went up to 3,000 meters, and the air was very cold.”或地理常识可断定B为最佳答案。
4.A.如果气球降落在湖上或海上，那将是很危险的，联系“They came down in Poland heavily but safely”，可知A是最佳答案。
5.D.答案源自最后一段中的“They were so cold that they decided to land.”一句。
Passage 52
【答案与解析】这是一篇关于付资邮票起源的历史小故事。故事发生在一百多年前的英国。当时的情况是，写信人不用付邮资，收信人在收到信件时才付邮资，且邮资十分昂贵。一位小姐收到男友的来信，看了看信封又交给了邮差。她说自己付不起钱。这时一位名叫Sir Rowland Hill的绅士替她付了钱。接下来，这位小姐便给大家讲了自己不拆开信的缘由和一个很感动人的故事。Sir Rowland Hill.从这件事上很受启发。他决定改变这种状况。后来政府采纳了Sir Rowland Hill.的建议，于是世界上第一枚付资邮票从些便产生了。
1. A。文末“The first postage stamp was put out in 1840.”一句只是讲了第一枚邮票是1840年发行的，并未说出发明人是谁。考虑到故事发生在150年前的英国，故唯有A才符合题意。
2. B。姑娘将信递给邮差发生在Sir Rowland Hill帮她付邮资之前，故选项D不对。根据姑娘所做的解释，答案显然非B莫属。
3. A。答案就在“The people standing around were very sorry for the girl.”之中。
4. A。由“He told me that he would put some signs on the envelope.”一句及下面的说明，不难想象这是在小伙子离开伦敦时就告诉过姑娘的。
5. B。Sir Rowland Hill从姑娘所讲的故事中受到启发，决定改变一下由收信人付费的方式。选项A有较大的迷惑性，但考虑到“The Government decided to adopt the plan.”可予以排除。
Section VI 日常生活篇
Passage 53
For many people the subject of hiccups (嗝) is a joke, but for Harry Mendes, a fifteen-year-old schoolboy from Birmingham, it was something quite different.
His hiccups began one Sunday lunchtime and continued day and night for two weeks. After the first week, Harry's parents took him to hospital, but it took another week for the doctors to cure his attack.
Harry, who is now back at school, described what happened to him.
“When I began to hiccup, I drank a glass of water but that didn't do any good. That evening I had hiccups every four seconds. We tried everything to stop them. I held my breath and drank cold drinks. My father even tried to give me a shock but that didn't work either.”
After a week of sleepless nights, he went to hospital. The doctors took an X-ray of his chest but they couldn't find anything wrong.
“They gave me some medicine and my hiccups slowed down, but it was another week before the medicine worked completely and my hiccups stopped.”
Harry was very lucky. The world record holder is the American farmer Charles Osborne, who hiccupped for sixty-eight years. He stopped in 1990 at last, but nobody knows why.
1.Harry's hiccups lasted ____.
A. a week B. fourteen days C. twenty-eight days D. one month
2.His hiccups started after he ____.
A. drank a glass of water B. went to hospital
C. ate an Indian meal D. finished his homework
3.His parents decided to take him to hospital when he ____.
A. hiccupped for four seconds B. held his breath
C. hiccupped at night D. couldn't stop hiccupping
4.His hiccups completely stopped one week after the doctor ____.
A. gave him some medicine B. took an X-ray of his chest
C. gave him a shock D. let him drink cold drinks
5.What does “shock” in this passage mean？
A. 震惊 B. 休克 C. 喷嚏 D. 哈欠
Passage 54
For several years, Americans have enjoyed tele shopping --- watching TV and buying things by phone. Now tele-shopping is starting in Europe (欧洲). In a number of European countries, people can turn on their TVs and shop for clothes, food, toys and many other things.
Tele shopping is becoming popular in Sweden, for example. The biggest Swedish company sells different kind of things on TV in 15 European countries, and in one year it made $100 million. In France there are two about $20 million a year to buy things through those channels.
In Germany, until last year tele-shopping was only possible on one channel for 1 hour every day. Then the government (政府) allowed more tele-shopping. Other channels can open for tele-business, including (包括) the largest American tele-shopping company and a 24—hour tele- shopping company. German businesses are hoping this new tele shopping will help them sell more things.
Some people like tele-shopping because it allows them to do their shopping without leaving their homes. With all the problems of traffic in the cities, this is an important reason. But at the same time, other Europeans do not like this new way of shopping. They call tele-shopping “Junk (垃圾) on the air”. Many Europeans usually worry about the quality (质量) of the things for sale on TV. Good quality is important to them, and they believe they cannot be sure about the quality of the things on TV.
The need for high quality means that European tele-shopping companies will have to be different from the American companies. They will have to be more careful about the quality of the things they sell. They will also have to work harder to sell things that the buyers cannot touch or see in person.
1.Teleshopping is ______ in Europe.
A. not popular B. growing C. not possible D. cheap
2.People like tele-shopping because it is _____.
A. very interesting B. cheaper C. easier D. more popular
3.Some Europeans don’t like tele-shopping because they ______.
A. don’t like to buy things B. don’t watch TV
C. believe the things on TV are expensive D. think the things sold on TV are bad quality
4.In Germany, tele-shopping may _______.
A. help businessmen get more money B. keep the shops open longer
C. have fewer buyers D. bring better TV programs
5.The best title of this passage is _______.
A. American Tele-shopping B. Tele-shopping Companies
C. Tele-shopping in Europe D. Tele shopping—Junk on the air
Passage 55
Hundreds of years ago, life was harder than it is today. People didn’t have modern machines. There was no modern medicine, either.
Life today has brought new problems. One of the biggest is pollution. Water pollution has made our rivers and lakes dirty. It kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us talk louder and become angry more easily. Air pollution is the most serious kind of pollution to all living things in the world.
Cars, planes and factories all pollute our air every day. Sometimes the polluted air is so thick that it is like a quilt (被状物) over a city. This kind of quilt is called smog.
Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. Factories must now clean their water before it is thrown away, and they mustn’t let dirty smoke go into the air.
We need to do many other things. We can put waste things in the dustbin and do not throw them on the ground. We can go to work by bus with our friends in the same car. If there are fewer people driving, there will be less pollution.
Rules are not enough. Every person must help to fight pollution.
1.Hundreds of years ago, life was much harder than it is today because _______.
A. there were not modern machines B. there was no modern medicine
C. both A and B D. there were not many people
2.______ is the biggest pollution in today’s life.
A. Water pollution B. Air pollution C. Noise pollution D. Pollution
3.The most serious kind of pollution is ________.
A. noise pollution B. air pollution C. water pollution D. A, B and C
4.Factories must clean their water ________.
A. before they are thrown away B. when they are thrown away
C. after it is thrown away D. before it is thrown away
5.From the passage, we know that _______.
A.a few years ago, there was no smog at all
B.today people don’t have to talk to each other loudly
C.we can drink water from the polluted rivers and lakes
D.people are making rules in order to (为了)fight pollution
Passage 56
Building a house costs quite a lot of money. Suppose you plan to build a house. Your first step will be to find a right piece of land. Your choice (选择) will depend on many different things. You will probably try to find a sunny place, with pleasant surroundings (环境) near shops and bus stops, not too far from your friends and the place where you work.
Next you will find a good builder, and together with the builder you will work out a plan. The builder will draw the plan. It will show the number of rooms, their position and size, and other parts, which must be noticed, such as windows, doors, and electric outlets. The builder will work out how much money is needed to build your house .He will work out the cost of the wood, bricks, the glass, and everything else that must be used in building the house. Later on, when he starts to build, this estimate (预算) must be corrected and revised (修订).His estimate is based on existing prices, but prices of such things may change, and many other things may happen between the time when he makes the estimate and the time when he builds the house.
When the builder gives his estimate, you may wish to change your plan. (You may also wish to change your builder, if his estimate is too high!) You may find that the house you wanted at first costs too much, or that you can spend a little more and add something to your plan. The builder's estimate depends on the plan, but the final plan depends on the builder's estimate.
1.The best title of this passage is ___________.
A. Building a House Costs Much Money B. Estimate Is Important
C. Planning a House D. Depend on the Builder
2.The first thing for a person to build a house is _________.
A. to get as much money as possible B. to find a suitable piece of land
C. to work out a plan D. to make an estimate
3.The phrase “draw a plan” in this passage means _________.
A. making a picture of a building or a room B. making a plan
C. working out a plan D. pulling a picture out of a room
4.When the builder starts to build a house, his estimate will have to be corrected and revised because _________.
A. it is wrongly worked out by a workman
B. the future owner of the house thinks the estimate is so high that he cannot afford the building.
C. The prices of building materials and the expenses (费用) of labor may be different from the original prices and expenses
D. Estimates are usually mistaken in the beginning
5.What is the relationship(关系) between the estimate and the plan?
A. The plan depends on the estimate.
B. The estimate depends on the plan.
C. The plan has nothing to do with the estimate.
D. The estimate and the plan depend on each other.
Passage 57
Do you love the holidays, but hate the increase (增加) in weight (体重) that follows? You are not alone.
Holidays are happy days with pleasure and delicious foods. But many people are worried about the weight that comes with these delicious foods.
With proper (合适的) planning, it is possible to control your weight. The idea is to enjoy the holidays but not to eat too much. You don’t have to turn away from the foods that you enjoy. The following advice may be of some help to you.
Do not miss meals. Before you leave home for a party, have a small, low-fat meal or fast food. This may help you to keep you from getting too excited before the delicious foods.
Begin with clear soup and fruit or vegetables. A large glass of water before you eat may help you feel full. Use a small plate; a large plate may make you eat more than enough.
Better not have high-fat foods. Choose lean (瘦的) meats. Fill your plate with salad and green vegetables.
If you have a sweet tooth, try mints (薄荷) and fruits. They do not have fat like cream and chocolate.
Don’t let exercise take a break during the holidays. A 20-minute walk after a meal can help you burn off excess calories (多余的热量).
1.Holidays are happy days with pleasure but they may ______.
A. bring weight problems B. bring you much trouble in your life
C. make you worried about your life D. make you hate delicious foods
2.Enjoy your holidays without putting on weight, and you’d better ______.
A.drinking much water and have vegetables only
B.not eat much food in high fat
C.not take part in the parties
D.turn away from delicious foods
3.According to the passage, ______ is a necessary part to stop you from putting in weight.
A. vegetables B. water C. salad D. taking exercise
4.Many people can’t help putting on weight after the holidays because they ______.
A. can’t control themselves B. go to too many parties
C. enjoy delicious foods D. can’t help turning away from the foods
5.Excess calories can be found in your body in the form of (以……的形式) ________.
A. energy B. fat C. food D. water
Passage 58
Is there anything more important than health? I don't think so. “Health is the greatest wealth (财富),” wise people say. You can't be good at your studies or work well when you are ill.
If you have a headache, toothache, backache, earache or bad pain in the stomach, if you complain of a bad cough, if you run a high temperature and have a bad cold, or if you suffer from high or low blood pressure (血压), I think you should go to the doctor.
The doctor will examine your throat, feel your pulse, test your blood pressure, take your temperature, sound your heart and lungs, test your eyes, check your teeth or have your chest X-rayed.
After that, he will advise some treatment, or some medicine. The only thing you have to do is to follow his advice.
Speaking about doctor’s advice, I can't help telling you a funny story.
An old gentleman came to see the doctor. The man was very ill. He told the doctor about his weakness, memory loss and serious problems with his heart and lungs. The doctor examined him and said there was no medicine for his disease.
He told his patient to go to a quiet place for a month and have a good rest. He also advised him to eat a lot of meat, drink two glasses of red wine every day and take long walks. In other words, the doctor advised him to follow the rule: “Eat at pleasure, drink with measure and enjoy life as it is.” The doctor also said that if the man wanted to be well again, he shouldn't smoke more than one cigarette a day.
A month later the gentleman came into the doctor’s office. He looked much more cheerful and much happier. He thanked the doctor and said that he had never felt a healthier man.
“But you know, doctor,” the man went on saying, “it's not easy to begin smoking at my age.”
1.The writer thinks that .
A. health is more important than wealth B. work is as important as studies
C. medicine is more important than pleasure D. nothing is more important than money
2.The doctor usually tells his patient what to do .
A. without examining the patient B. after he has examined the patient
C. if the patient doesn't take medicine D. unless the patient feels pain
3.The underlined part means “ ”.
A. he was feeling better than ever B. he wasn't a healthy man
C. he was feeling worse than before D. he will be well again
4.From the last sentence of the passage, we learn the man before the doctor told him not to smoke more than one cigarette a day.
A. was a heavy smoker B. didn't smoke so much
C. didn't smoke D. began to learn to smoke
5.Which of the following is NOT TRUE?
A. The doctor usually tests his/her blood pressure when a person is ill.
B. The man told the doctor he couldn't remember things.
C. The man thanked the doctor.
D. The man didn't follow the doctor’s advice
Passage 59
When you are ill, you must be unhappy because your body becomes hot, and there are pains all over. You don’t want to work. You stay in bed, feeling terrible.
What makes you ill? It is germs (细菌). Germs are everywhere. They are very small and you can’t see them with your eyes, but you can find them with a microscope. They are very small and there could be hundreds of them on or in a very small thing.
Germs are always in dirty water. When you look at dirty water under a microscope, you will see them in it. So your parents will not let you drink dirty water.
Germs are found not only in dirty water, they are also found in air and dust. If you cut your finger, and if some of the dust goes into the finger, it will become big and red, and you will have much pain in it. Sometimes they will go into your body and you will have pain everywhere.
1.The writer thinks that you’ll _____ when you are ill.
A. feel hot B. not want to work C. not feel happy D. A, B and C
2.You can see germs ________.
A. when you are ill B. only when you use a microscope
C. when you cut your finger D. everywhere around you
3.A microscope is used for ______.
A.making very big things look much smaller
B.making very small things look much bigger
C.helping you see things clearly
D.killing germs
4.Your parents don’t let you drink dirty water because _____.
A. water will make you sick B. there are many germs in it
C. you can see germs in it D. it will make your finger become big and red
5.In this story, the word “microscope” means ______ in Chinese.
A. 眼镜 B. 放大镜 C. 显微镜 D. 镜子
6.The writer talks about __________.
A. how to keep dirty water clean B. how to take care of your fingers
C. how to find germs D. what makes you ill
Passage 60
If you do not use your arms or your legs for some time, they become weak; when you start using them again, they slowly become strong again. Everybody knows that. Yet many people do not seem to know that memory works in the same way.
When someone says that he has a good memory, he really means that he keeps his memory in practice by using it. When someone else says that his memory is poor, he really means that he does not give it enough chance to become strong.
If a friend says that his arms and legs are weak, we know that it is his own fault (过错). But if he tells us that he has a poor memory, many of us think that his parents are to blame (受责备), and few of us know that it is just his own fault.
Have you ever found that some people can’t read or write but usually they have better memories? This is because they cannot read or write them down in a little notebook. They have to remember days, names, songs and stories; so their memory is the whole time being exercised.
So if you want to have a good memory, learn from the people: practice remembering.
1.The main reason for one’s poor memory is that _________.
A.his father or mother may have a poor memory
B.he does not use his arms or legs for some time
C.his memory is not often used
D.he can’t read or write
2.If you do not use your arms or legs for some time, ______.
A. you can’t use them any more
B. they will become stronger
C. they become weak but they slowly become strong again
D. they become weak and won’t become strong until you use them again
3.Which of the following in NOT true?
A.Don’t learn how to read and write if you want to have a better memory.
B.Your memory, like your arms or legs, becomes weak if you don’t give it enough chance for practice.
C.Your memory works in the same way as your arms or legs.
D.A good memory comes from more practice.
4.Some people can’t read or write, but they usually have better memories, because ______.
A. they have saved much trouble
B. they have saved much time to remember things
C. they have to use their memories all the time
D. they can’t write everything in a little notebook
5.The best title for this passage _________.
A.Don’t Stop Using Your Arms Or Legs
B.How To Have A Good Memory
C.Strong Arms And Good Memory
D.Learn From The People
Passage 61
If you get into the forest with your friends, stay with them always. If you don’t, you may get lost. If you really get lost, this is what you should do. Sit down and stay where you are. Don’t try to find your friends—let them find you by staying in one place.
There is another way to help your friends or other nearby people to find you. Give them a signal (信号) by shouting or whistling (吹口哨) three times. Any signal given three times is a call for help.
Keep up shouting or whistling always three times together. When people hear you, they will know that you are not just making noise for fun. They will let you know that they have heard your signal. They give you two shouts, two whistles, or two gun-shots (枪声). When someone gives you a signal, it is an answer to a call for help.
If you don’t think that you will get help before night comes, try to make a little house---cover up to the holes with branches (树枝) with lots of leaves. Make yourself a soft bed with leaves and grass.
What should you do if you get hungry or need drinking water? You would have to leave your little house to look for a river. Don’t just walk away. Pick off small branches and drop them as you walk so that you can find your way back. The most important thing to do when you are lost is—stay in one place.
1.If you lost in the forest, you should _______.
A.stay where you are and give signals three times
B.walk around the forest and shout so that your friends could hear you
C.try to find your friends as soon as possible
D.try to get out of the forest and shout for help
2.If you want to let people believe that you are not just making noise for fun, you should _______.
A. tell people that you are lost B. keep up shouting or whistling
C. shout at the top of your voice D. shout or whistle three times
3.When you hear two shouts, or whistles, or gunshots, __________.
A. you should shout more loudly B. you can whistle three times
C. it is an answer to your call for help D. you should try to run to them
4.When you want to leave your place to get drinking water, you should ________.
A.just go to the river
B. find some glasses or bottles before you go
C. make a fire so that you can have some tea
D. leave marks so that you can find your way back
5.This passage mainly tells you __________.
A.when you hear a signal always three times, it is a call for help
B.What you should do if you get lost in a forest
C.any signal given twice means an answer to a call for help
D.how you can live longer in a forest
Passage 62
Last Friday a storm swept through two villages in the New Territories, destroying (摧毁) fourteen homes. Seven others were so badly damaged (破坏) that their owners had to leave them, and fifteen others had broken windows or broken roofs. One person was killed, several were badly hurt and taken to hospital, and a number of other people received smaller hurt. Altogether over two hundred people were homeless after the storm.
A farmer, Mr. Tan, said that the storm began early in the morning and lasted for over an hour.
“I was eating with my wife and children,” he said, “When we heard a loud noise. A few minutes later our house fell down on top of us. We tried our best to climb out but then I saw that one of my children was missing. I went back inside and found him, safe but very frightened.”
Mrs. Woo Mei Fong said that her husband had just left for work when she felt that her house was moving. She ran outside at once with her children.
“There was no time to take anything,” she said, “A few minutes later, the roof came down.”
Soldiers helped to take people out of the flooded (水淹的) area and the welfare department (福利机构) brought them food, clothes and shelter.
1.How many homes altogether (总共) were damaged in the storm?
A. Fourteen B. Twenty-one C. Twenty-nine D. Thirty-six
2.Where was Mr. Tan when the storm first began?
A. He was in bed. B. He was inside the house.
C. He was outside the house. D. He was on the roof.
3.Mrs. Woo and her family didn’t get hurt because _________.
A.her husband knew there would be a storm
B.they were all outside the house when the storm became worse
C.she felt the house was moving
D.the welfare department helped her
4.The underlined word “shelter” in this passage means ______.
A. something to eat B. something to wear
C. somewhere to study D. somewhere to stay
5.Which of he following may be the best title for this passage?
A. A Terrible Storm B. A Lucky Woman
C. Good Soldiers D. Clever People
Section VI 日常生活篇
Passage 53
【答案与解析】打嗝是很常见的生理现象。本文向我们讲述了这样一个小故事：哈利从某一个周日开始打嗝，日夜不停地持续了两个星期。父母将他送到医院，大夫花了一个星期的时间才将其治愈。短文最后说，哈利是幸运的，因为世界记录保持者，查利斯打嗝时间长达六十八年，并且最终也没有查明他打嗝的原因。
1. 选B。由文中第二段“His hiccups began one Sunday lunchtime and continued day and night for two weeks.”一句可知His hiccups lasted fourteen days.
2. 选C。标题下的那句话对此题有很大的启示作用。亨利是因为吃了Indian food才开始打嗝的。
3. 选D。去医院的原因应该是不停地打嗝，其它选项提供的理由不充分，也不全面。
4. 选A。亨利服药一周后痊愈，其它方法均无效。
5. 选A。可用“惊吓”治疗打嗝。文中提到“My father even tried to give me a shock but that didn't work either.”
Passage 54
【答案与解析】这篇短文主要介绍了在欧美国家新兴的一种购物方式----电视购物。由于不出家门就能购买自己所需的东西，还能缓解城市的交通压力，所以这种购物方式深得一些人的喜爱。不过，一些欧美人士并不喜欢这种购物方式，他们担心商品的质量是否有保证。为了确保售出商品的质量，欧洲电视购物公司将更加认真、努力地工作。
1.B。“Now tele-shopping is starting in Europe.”，由starting一词显然可知答案为B。
2.C。看了电视，然后打个电话就能购买自己所需要的东西，显然是容易多了。故答案要选C。
3.D。答案的出处是“Many Europeans usually worry about the quality (质量) of the things for sale on TV.”一句。
4.A。“German businesses are hoping this new tele shopping will help them sell more things.”，由此不难看出这些商人通过电子购物可能会发更大的财。
5.C。该文从美国的电子购物写起，详细介绍了欧洲几个国家开展电子购物的情况。所以正确答案为C。
Passage 55
【答案与解析】当今，人们的生活水平提高了，但现代生活带来的污染问题却困扰着人们：水污染影响鱼类和人类的饮水质量；噪音污染让人易怒；空气污染是最为严重的。许多国家和政府制定了防止污染的法律和法规，但这还远远不够。更为重要的是，人人都应当参与到这场抗击污染的战役中来。
1.C。人们在一百多年前既没有现代化的药品，也没有现代化的机器。所以答案是C。
2.D。本题属表层理解题。“One of the biggest is pollution.”即是答案的出处。
3.B。本题同样是表层理解题。第二段的最后一句就是答案之所在。
4. D。答案在“Factories must now clean their water before it is thrown away…”中。
5. D。综合考虑全文及“Rules are not enough. Every person must help to fight pollution.”的意思，可知答案非D莫属。
Passage 56
【答案与解析】全文共三段，第一段说的是盖房要花很多钱，首先得确定好房子的位置：向阳，地理环境优美，交通购物方便而且离自己的亲朋和工作地点距离都近；第二段说的是选择优秀的建筑工人，设计方案，绘出草图，做好预算以及如何处理施工时可能出现的变化与预算的关系；第三段讲的是建筑工所作的预算和真正施工时所发生的变更及盖房方案与预算之间的关系。虽然全文中没有明确的主题句，但通过对上述三段文字的分析，不难看出它们讲的都围绕着一个主题：设计一幢房子。
1. C。 本小题检测的是对整篇短文中心思想的理解能力。 A项讲的是“盖一幢房子要花很多钱”，这是本文的第一句话，但它只讲了上述三段的盖房子要花很多钱这一项内容，所以其概括不准确。B项是说“预算是重要的”，同样犯了以偏概全的毛病。D项讲的是“依靠建筑工”，这与短文内容是相矛盾的，故此三者皆否定之。
2. B。短文首段的第三句话：“Your first step will be to find a right piece of land.”(你的第一步就是选好一块合适的地)。此句正是该题答案的出处。
3.A. 解答该小题的重点是要理解好“draw a plan”这个短语中的关键词plan。plan在本短文中反复出现了八次，第一次出现以动词形式出现，其他七次都是名词。作名词用时其常见用法有二：计划、方案；平面图，纸张。plan 在与draw 连用时，就表明：画一张建筑物的平面图。B项和C项都是把plan 理解为“计划”或“方案”了，而D项则理解成“把一张图画从屋里找出来”，这是无稽之谈。由此答案非A莫属。
4. C。本题属细节考查题。考查的是在盖房的施工中，最初的预算必须更正与修改的原因。短文第二段的倒数一、二句就有相对应的部分；随后，当他开始施工时，此预算必须更改与修正。他的预算的根据是当时价格，而建筑材料与其他东西的价格在制定预算和开始施工这一阶段很可能会有变化。A项说的是"预算经常被施工者算错"，在短文中没有依据；B项的“未来的房主认为预算太高他支付不起”在短文中也没有依据，D项的“在开始时预算往往是错的”与A项的错误如出一辙。
5. D。本小题考查的仍是对短文个别段落和中心意思的理解能力。短文第三段集中讲的就是和建房方案之间的关系。A项只说出了建房方案对预算的依赖关系；B项只说出预算对建房方案的依赖关系，而忽略它们相互作用的一面，因此都是片面的。而C项说的是建房方案与预算毫不相干，这与短文交代的事实背道而驰，故予以排除。
Passage 57
【答案与解析】很多人在快乐的假日里禁不住美味佳肴的诱惑，因此他们担心在此期间自己的体重会增加。本文提出了一系列的合理化建议，对你可能会很有帮助。
1.A.表示转折关系的“But many people are worried about the weight that comes with these delicious foods. ”这句话是解题之关键。
2.B。答案在第三段的第一句“With proper (合适的) planning, it is possible to control your weight.”中。
3.D。最后一段即是本题答案之所在。
4.A。“This may help you to keep you from getting too excited before the delicious foods.”根据本句，可推知有些人是禁不住美食佳肴的诱惑。
5.B。由“If you have a sweet tooth, try mints and fruits. They do not have fat like cream and chocolate.”一句或用排除法可知B为正确答案。
Passage 58
【答案与解析】短文作者从“健康是最大的财富”这句话谈起。没有一个好的身体，学习和工作就没有保证。如果你感到不舒服时，就应当去看医生，医生会仔细给你做检查，然后就建议你吃点药。作者在短文最后还讲了一个医生给病人建议时发生的一个幽默故事。
1.A。文章首句即点明主旨，意即“健康比财富更重要”。
2.B。“After that, he will advise some treatment, or some medicine.”是该题答案的出处。
3.A。短文倒数第二段是本小题答案的出处。
4.C。由文章最末一句可知这位绅士是说“象我这样年龄的人开始学吸烟真是不容易”，由 “The doctor also said that if the man wanted to be well again, he shouldn't smoke more than one cigarette a day.”可联想到医生误认为他抽烟过多，而建议他每天抽烟不超过一支。答案不攻自破。
5. D。根据上一个小题及这位绅士第二次来看大夫的精神状态，可知他听从了医生的建议。
Passage 59
【答案与解析】短文大意是：细菌无处不在。脏水里，空气中或尘埃里通常含有大量细菌。它们是使人生病主要元凶。
1.D。从文首的两句话中，可直观地看出人生病时，身体发热，浑身疼痛，精神不愉快，也不想工作。故前三项皆包括在内。
2.B。虽然细菌无处不在，但根据“…They are very small and you can’t see them with your eyes, but you can find them with a microscope.”一句可知正确答案为B。
3.B。通过a microscope可以看到小得肉眼看不见的细菌这个意思，我们可以推断出 microscope的意思是“显微镜”。根据常识，我们知道，显微镜是用来放大很小的东西的，而并非使其看起来更清楚些，也不是用来杀死细菌的。
4.B。上句说“在显微镜下观察脏水时会发现其中有许多细菌”，紧接着就说“So your parents will not let you drink dirty water.”，因此，答案是B。
5.C。参看第三小题的分析。
6. D。第二段的“What makes you ill? It is germs.”即是本题答案的出处。
Passage 60
【答案与解析】如果某个人的记忆力不好，大部分人会认为这是受其父母遗传的影响。其实这是他自己的过错。他应该拿出更多的机会锻炼自己的记忆力。本文告诉我们这样一个道理：“用则进，不用则废。”
1.C。答案就在“…he really means that he does not give it enough chance to become strong.”中。
2.D。“…when you start using them again, they slowly become strong again.”一句是解题的依据。
3.A。B、C、D三个选项的意思在文中都有明确的说明。
4.C。根据倒数第二段的论述，可知那些不会读和写的人只好去记诸如日期、名字、故事等之类的东西。他们的记忆力自然是始终能得到锻炼。
5.B。整篇文章都是围绕如何有一个好的记忆力来写的。结尾一段，点明主旨，也是本题的题眼。
Passage 61
【答案与解析】如果一个人在森林中迷了路，他该怎么办呢？本文讲述了一个很重要的方法：原地不动，让别人来找你。为了让附近的人尽快发现你处于困境，你可以大喊三声或者吹三声口哨。在别人找到你之前，你还应当学会自我保护。比如怎样做饭或者搭建一张床等。
1.A。“Sit down and stay where you are.”和“Give them a signal by shouting or whistling three times.”是解答本小题的关键句子。
2.D。该题的答案源自“Keep up shouting or whistling always three times together. When people hear you, they will know that you are not just making noise for fun.”一句中。
3.C。“They give you two shouts, two whistles, or two gun-shots. When someone gives you a signal, it is an answer to a call for help.”是答案的出处。
4.D。根据“Don’t just walk away. Pick off small branches and drop them as you walk so that you can find your way back.”可知“当你离开原地去找水喝时，不要径直走开，要在路上留下标记，以便能找到回到原地方的路。”
5.B。由文章末句“The most important thing to do when you are lost is—stay in one place.”和开头的“…this is what you should do.”可不难得出答案。
Passage 62
【答案与解析】短文大意是：一场暴风雨席卷了两个村庄。它不仅摧毁了房屋，也是造成了人员伤亡，还有二百多人无家可归。短文还写到了目击者回忆当时暴风雨到来时的情景。
1.D。根据第一段出现的三个数字14，7，15即可知D为正确答案。
2.B。根据“I was eating with my wife and children.”可排除A和D，由下文可知C也不合题意。
3.C。答案即在即在“…she felt that her house was moving.”中。
4.D。考虑全文意思及最末一段，可知暴风雨过后，房屋倒塌，人员伤亡。人们不仅需要食品、衣物，还需要住的地方。
5. A。这篇阅读材料主要描述了暴风雨袭击的过程。显然选项A是本文的主旨。
Section VII 广告图表篇
Passage 63
Suppose you work in a big company and find English very important for your job. Now you are looking for a place where you can improve your English, especially your spoken English.
Here are some advertisements about English language training from newspapers. You may find the information you need.
Global English Center
◆General English in all four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing
◆3-month (700yuan), 6-month(1,200yuan)and one-year(2,000yuan)
◆Choice of morning or evening classes, 3 hours per day, Mon.— Fri.
◆Experienced (有经验的) college English teachers
◆Close to city center and bus stops
Tel:
Add: 105Zhongshan Road, 100082
Modern Language School
◆Special course (课程) in English for business, travel, banking, hotel management.
◆Small classes(12-16 students)on Sat. ＆ Sun. from 2:00-5:00p.m.
◆English teachers from Canada and USA
◆Language lab and computers supplied (提供)
◆3-month course: 1,050yuan; 6-month course: 1,850yuan
Write or phone: Modern Language School, 675Park Road, 100056 Tel:
The 21st Century English Training Center
◆We offer morning or afternoon classes, both of which last three months and a half at a cost of 800 yuan.
◆We also have a six-week TOEFL (托福) preparation class during winter and summer holidays.
◆Entrance exams: June 1and Dec. 1
◆Only 15-minute walk from city center
Call for more information.
The International House of English
◆Three /Six-month English courses for students at very low cost: 60yuan for 12hours per week; convenient(方便的)class hours: 9:00-12:00 a.m. and 2:00-5:00p.m.
◆A four-month evening program for developing speaking skills(same cost as day classes).
◆Best foreign teachers experienced in teaching English as a second foreign language.
◆Free sightseeing and social activities(活动).
◆Very close to the Central Park.
For further information call .
1.You work from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every day. You should choose _______.
A. Global English Center and the International House.
B. Global English Center and Modern Language School.
C. Modern Language School and the 21st Century.
D. The 21st Century and the International House.
2.The 21st Century is different from the other three schools in that _____.
A.its teaching quality is better B. it is nearest to the city center
C. its courses are more advanced D. it requires an entrance examination
3. If you take the evening program at the International House, you will pay about _____.
A. 60 yuan B. 240 yuan C. 720 yuan D. 1,000 yuan
4. You will probably prefer to go to the International House because it _____.
A. offers free sightseeing and social activities B. has a special course in spoken English
C. costs less than the other schools D. has foreign English teachers
Passage 64
ANNOUNCEMENTS
(1) HOUSE FOR SALE. Comfortable family home with a large garden on north side of town. Three bedrooms, living-room, kitchens, dining-room, bathroom. Offers over $35,000
(2) ASSISTANT WANTED FOR BUSY RESTAURANT.Some evening and weekend work. All meals free.Ring
(3) JOIN OUR FOOTBALL TEAM. Boys and girls wanted to play in local football team. Aged 9—13 Meets in Green Park on Friday at 3 p.m.
(4) ROOM TO RENT(出租).Small room to rent in city center flat(公寓)above restaurant. Newly painted with modern furniture. Near main railway station. Buses pass front door. Phone
Mr. Brown wants to live near his workplace. Mrs. Brown wants a house with four bedrooms. The Browns’ children don't care what the house is like as long as the garden is big enough. Ann, their daughter has always wanted to work in a restaurant. She thinks it is an exciting place. It's hard work but she isn’t lazy. You have to work on Saturdays and Sundays, but you get other days off. It’s not very well paid. But who cares about money？
Tom is a middle school student.He is twelve years old.He stops school at half past three，so he has plenty of time to finish his homework.
Jack, Mr. Brown's brother, is looking for a room to rent. He doesn't care what color the walls are or how old the furniture is. He is getting ready for his drawing. So the house must be quiet.
1.Why didn't the Browns buy the house in Advertisement One？
A. It was on the north side of town. B. There weren’t enough bedrooms.
C. There was no dining room. D. The garden was too big.
2.Why does Ann want to get the job in the restaurant？
A. It’s an easy job. B. The place is good and the food is free.
C. She thinks it will be interesting. D. She can get long holidays.
3.Why can't Tom play for the new football team ？
A. He's not old enough. B. It’s in a different village.
C. School stops too late. D. He has to do his homework.
4.What's wrong with the room for Jack in Advertisement Four？
A. It's too small. B. The walls are the wrong color.
C. The man likes old furniture better. D. It's too noisy.
5.What does the sentence “All meals free” mean？
A. Assistants can have the meals at any time.
B. Assistants can have the meals in the restaurant without paying money.
C. Customers(顾客)can have the meals freely. D. Assistants need to pay for their meals.
Passage 65
NEWTON THEATER
OXFORD
Tel: 722863
Tickets $4
Monday, 8 January for two weeks
MY FAT FRIEND
Charles Lawrence’s popular comedy
Wednesday, 24 January to Saturday, 27 January
Shanghai Festival Ballet
Presents
SWAN LAKE
Monday, 29 January for one week
RUN and KILL
Tim Danny’s thrilling mystery
Performances: Mon. -----Fri. 7:30 Sat. 8:00
Tea and coffee served during the interval
1.The phone number of the Newton Theater is ________.
A. Tel. 24-27 B. Tickets $4 C. Mon. 8 Jan D. 722863
2.The Newton Theater is in _________.
A. Danny B. Lawrence C. Oxford D. Shanghai
3.The Shanghai Festival Ballet(芭蕾舞)will perform (表演) ________.
A. four B. three C. six D. five
4._______ begins on Monday, January 29th.
A. Newton Theater B. My Fat Friend C. Swan Lake D. Run and Kill
5.Performances start at _______ on weekdays.
A. 8:00 B. 7:30 C. 5:00 D. 6:00
6.You can get _______ at the Newton Theater during the interval (幕间休息).
A.bread and oranges B. water and cakes C. coffee and tea D. fish and chips
Passage 66
Come to Austria!
Soll is a village in the mountains in western Austria, and the Hotel Post, opened by a local (当地的) family, is clean and not expensive. From the hotel you can see the whole village, the forest and the mountains. Temperatures in summer are usually 20℃ to 25℃ in the daytime, but much cooler by evening.
Enjoy Thailand! (n.泰国)
When you visit Bangkok n.曼谷(泰国首都) in Thailand, don't miss the early morning river boat trip to the Floating (漂浮的) Market just outside the city. There you will find many kinds of fruits and vegetables. There you can pay for them when you sit in your boat. Don't forget your hat: the sun can be strong and it may be as hot as 40℃ about midday!
Visit Hawaii!
Maybe the most beautiful place in Hawaii is Kauai. You can visit its long, sandy beaches in the south and west of the island, and mountains and forests in the north, but be careful: there are many mosquitoes (蚊子), and don't be surprised if it rains in the center of the island. Daytime temperatures there are usually around 24℃ to 26℃ by the sea, and only a little cooler by late evening.
根据上面的三则广告，在下面句子的空白处填入适当的词。
1.If you stay at the Hotel Post, you have a view (风景) of______.
2.At the Floating Market you can buy things in ______.
3.Because the sun is strong in Bangkok, you should bring______.
4.In the north of Kauai Island there are______.
5.The warmest place of the three is______.
Passage 67
Come and see the Indian elephants and the new tigers from America. The bears are waiting to meet you, and the monkeys from China are waiting to throw things at you. The lovely dogs from Australia are waiting to laugh at you, and the giraffes from Zambia are waiting to look down on you.
Tickets
Grown-ups：＄2.00
Children：Over 12 ＄ 1.00 Under 12 Free
Opening time
9:00 a.m.— 4:00 p.m.
Except Friday 10:00 a.m. — 3 :00 p.m.
Keep the zoo clean！
Do not touch，give food or go near the animals.
1.How many kinds of animals are talked about in the passage？
A. Four B. Five C. Six D. Seven
2.Now Mr. Smith is in the zoo with his two sons, one aged 14 and the other 10, how much are the tickets together？
A. $4.00 B. $2.00 C. $3.00 D. $1.00
3.Which of the following is the visiting time？
A. 8:30 a.m. Monday B. 9:30 a.m. Friday C. 3:00 p.m. Sunday D. 5:00 p.m. Tuesday
4.From the passage we can guess the animal “giraffe” must be very _______.
A. fat B. long C. strong D. tall
5.Which of the following can we do in the zoo？
A. To give some food to the dogs. B. To touch the monkey on the head.
C. To throw things everywhere. D. To take a few nice photos.
1. What does 2045 mean? It means _________?
A. twenty forty-five in the evening. B. eight forty-five in the morning.
C. a quarter past eight in the evening. D. a quarter to nine in the evening.
2. What is the flight number from Beijing to Abu Dhabi?
A. F002, F004 and F012 B.F002, F008 and F012
C. F002, F008, and F018 D. F012, F016 and F022
3. How long does it take to fly from Beijing to Doha?
A. Ten hours. B. Nineteen hours and a half.
C. Seven and half a hours. D. Six hours and a quarter.
4. On what days can one fly from Beijing to Dubai leaving and arriving in the morning?
A. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. B. Monday, Thursday and Wednesday.
C. Wednesday. D. Monday.
5. When is it possible for one to fly from Beijing to Abu Dhabi and then to Bahrain on the same day?
A. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. B. Monday and Thursday
C. Wednesday. D. It’s not possible.
Passage 69
CCTV –1 CCTV –4
18:30 Children’s World 18:30 Modern English
19:00 News 19:00 Women’s Life
19:45 Around the World 19:30 Culture and Life
20:20 Film: Diary of a Nurse 20:45 Volleyball Match: China--America
21:50 Message from the Market 22:30 English News
22:20 Modern Arts 22:50 English Film: Gone With the Wind
23:00 End of the program 00:30 End of the program
BTV –2 SDTV
18:30 BTV News 18:40 English for Children
19:00 Popular Songs 19:00 News from CCTV –1
19:30 Animal World 19:30 SD News
20:20 American English Today 19:45 Football Match: China--Japan
21:15 Science and Life 21:30 TV Play: Our Father & Mother
22:30 Sports News 23:15 Night News Report
23:00 End of the program 23:30 End of the program
1.A football fan can enjoy a football match on _____.
A. SDTV B. CCTV- 1 C. BTV-2 D. CCTV -4
2.If you are interested in pop songs, you may choose ______.
A. CCTV-1 B. BTV-2 C. CCTV-4 D. SDTV
3.The English news on CCTV-4 lasts about ______ minutes.
A. 25 B. 20 C. 30 D. 40
4. Which TV station has no English program?
A. BTV-2 B. SDTV C. CCTV-1 D. CCTV-4
1.After reading this, we know this is _______.
A. a studying plan of Edward Scott B. a teaching plan for Ivy
C. a school report of Edward Scott D. a working plan of M. L. Martin
2.Which of the following in NOT mentioned in the form?
A. P. E. B. Music C. Mathematics D. History
3.Edward’s best subject is _________.
A. science B. English C geography D. French
4.Edward is not so good at _______.
A science and geography B. mathematics and history
C. history and French D. music and English
5.According to the form, which of the following sentences is TRUE?
A. Edward can’t sing songs very well.
B. Edward doesn’t do well in science.
C. Edward can do better if he works harder next term.
D. Edward learns two foreign languages in school
Section VII 广告图表篇答案详解
Passage 63
【答案与解析】这篇阅读材料涉及四所学校的招生广告，都是关于英语学习的。浏览后面的题目，根据其具体要求就能选择出适合于自己的学校。
1.A。既然“每天从上午9:00工作至下午4:30，连周末都工作，那么只能选择晚上有课程的学校了。”，那么在这四所学校中只有Global English Center和The International House设有晚间课程。不难判断A为正确答案。
2.D.21世纪英语培训中心与众不同之处是需要进行Entrance exams (入学考试)，这一点在其他三所学校的广告中均未谈及；而其它如“教学质量好”、“离市中心近”等，在另外三所学校的广告中也可以见到。因此D为正确答案。
3. D.广告中说“每周12小时60元”，那么一个月四周要近千元。故D为正确答案。
4. B.“你也许喜欢去International House的原因”可以从广告前言和广告本身中得知。前言中说，“你现在正在找地方提高英语，特别是口语”，而The International House的广告中说“提供四个月的口语能力训练课程”，因此，只有a special course in spoken English才是最吸引你的，而不是“观光、社会活动或价格便宜”。另外，选项D与广告实际内容不符。故B为正确答案。
Passage 64
【答案与解析】这篇阅读材料包括四则广告：一则是足球队招收队员的；一则是饭馆招聘助手的；另两则是有关房屋出租的。在广告内容之后，短文写出了The Browns及Tom等人的个人资料。仔细阅读，就会找到他们与广告之间的联系。
1.B。根据短文内容，可知广告中出租的房子有两间卧室，而布朗一家却需要有三间卧室的房子。所以答案为B。
2.C。答案在“Ann，their daughter has always wanted to work in a restaurant.She thinks it is an exciting place.”一句中。
3.C。汤姆十二岁，可以参加足球队，但他放学的时间是三点半，而根据“Meets in Green Park on Friday at 3 p.m.”这一句，差了半个小时，显然是不行的。
4.D。这套公寓靠近大火车站,交通便利, 可是由 “…He is getting ready for his drawing.So the house must be quiet.”这句话可知不适合他.
5.B。第二则广告是招聘晚间或周末饭店服务员，免费用餐，这由生活常识可知。选项C是明显的错误。
Passage 65
【答案与解析】这是某剧院张贴的一则广告，文字简练，但包含的信息较多。从上至下，依次是：剧院名称(Newton Theater)，剧院所处的城市名称(Oxford)，剧院的电话号码和票价。下面是剧本名称及演出日程安排，最后介绍了上演时间(星期一至星期五是7：50开演，星期六是8点开演)。广告末端的那句话意思是“幕间休息时提供茶和咖啡”。
1.D。该小题所问的是剧院的电话号码。
2.C。本题选Newton剧院所在的城市。
3.A。从广告上看，上海芭蕾舞团的演出时间是从1月24日到27日，共四个晚上。故A为正确答案。
4.D。1月29日(星期一)上演的剧目是Run and Kill。
5.B。从广告上的Performances后面的内容推断，应指“演出时间”，也就是题干中的weekdays(工作日：从周一到周五)所指的时间，即7：30。
6.C。根据广告最后的“Tea and coffee served during the interval”这句话的前三个词即能判断出来。
Passage 66
【答案与解析】这是三则介绍旅游风景区景点的广告。
1.the whole village, the forest and the mountains。 答案即在“From the hotel you can see the whole village, the forest and the mountains.”这句话中。
2.in your boat。根据“There you can pay for them when you sit in your boat.”一句，可知答案。
3.your hat。“Don't forget your hat: the sun can be strong and it may be as hot as 40℃ about midday!”一句是答案的出处。
4.mountains, forests and many mosquitoes。本题属表层信息理解题。答案源自“…and mountains and forests in the north, but be careful: there are many mosquitoes…”一句中。
5. Bangkok in Thailand 。 这三则广告中所出现的气温方面的信息分别是：①Temperatures in summer are usually 20℃ to 25℃ in the daytime, but much cooler by evening. ② the sun can be strong and it may be as hot as 40℃ about midday! ③ Daytime temperatures there are usually around 24℃ to 26℃ by the sea, and only a little cooler by late evening. 不难看出正确答案。
Passage 67
【答案与解析】这是动物园为吸引游人张贴的一张海报。其中提到了动物园里有印度大象，美洲老虎，中国的猴子，澳大利亚的狗和赞比亚的长颈鹿等。海报上还列出了儿童和成人票价，开门时间以及观看动物时的注意事项等。
1.C。表格上面的文字中依次介绍了大象、老虎、熊、猴子、狗和长颈鹿等六种动物。故答案为C。
2.C。表格中清楚地说明成人票每张2美元，十二岁以上的孩子每人1美元，而十二岁以下则是免费的。故一张成人票加上一张儿童票共计3元。
3.C。根据“9:00 a.m.— 4:00 p.m.”可知营业时间是每天上午的九点到下午的四点，但由“Except Friday 10:00 a.m. — 3 :00 p.m.”不难看出周五例外，其时间是上午十点以下午三点。
4.D。注意理解“the giraffes from Zambia are waiting to look down on you.”中的look down on方能解决问题。
5. D。根据“Keep the zoo clean！Do not touch，give food or go near the animals.”可知A、B和C都是错误的，只有D才是正确的。
Passage 68
【答案与解析】这是中国民航(CAAC)的航空时刻表。表中列出了一周内出航的航班的班次，从北京起飞的时间和到达各地的时刻。大部分信息都可以从表格中看出来，但有的却需要通过计算方能得出。不过只要弄懂题目的要求，在表格中找到所需的相应数字，问题就可迎刃而解。
1. D。这是二十四小时时刻表示法。前两位表示小时数，后两位表示分钟数。故该时间是晚上八点四十五分，即为九点差一刻。
2. B。从表格中不难看出到达Abu Dhabi的三个航班都是晚间十点二十五分的。由此可以查到它们的航班号分别是周一的F002，周三的F008和周四的F012。
3. C。要计算出路上所用的时间，则必须知道飞机出发和到达该地的时间，然后二者之差即是。这由表格中F112(出发时刻为2045，到达时刻为0615)或十点出发的F004，F012，F006，F014等(到达时间皆为1930)都可算出来，所用时间是七小时三十分。
4. D。本小题是让找出上午从北京出发的哪一个航班到达Dubai的时间也是在上午。我们可以先找出在上午到达Dubai的航班，由表格可清楚地发现由北京发往Dubai的航班共有六个。上午到达的有五个，它们分别是：0705，0900，0375 (两个)，0855。然后再对照它们从北京出发的时间，即可找到F002。它对方对应的是星期一。
5. B。该小题难度偏大。其意思是说“哪一天的航班可以在一天之内从北京到Abu Dhabi然后再到Bahrain”。根据题意，要首先找到能在两地停留的航班，即是：周一的F002、周三的F008和周四的F012。但F012到达的时间已是第二天凌晨。不合题意。故唯有B才是正确答案。
Passage 69
【答案与解析】这是四家电视台对晚间要播放的节目进行的预告。解题时，一定要首先阅读后面的题目，根据题目的要求到节目单中找相应的信息。
1.A.答案即在SDTV 的“19:45 Football Match: China—Japan”中。
2.B。从BTV –2的“19:00 Popular Songs”中可明显找到答案。
3.B。根据“22:30 English News”和下一个节目开始的时间，英语新闻从二十二点三十分开播，到二十二点五十分结束，共用时二十分钟。
4.C.不难看出CCTV –4 中有英文节目“22:30 English News”，BTV –2 中有“20:20 American English Today”，SDTV中有“18:40 English for Children”，所以答案为C。
Passage 70
【答案与解析】这是一份学校发送给Edward的一份家长通知书。其中包含了对Edward各门功课的评价，行为表现，班内名次，缺课次数，总体评价以及开学日期等。
1.C.本篇阅读材料的标题就是A School Report，是学校给Edward Scott的一份通知书。它不是什么学习计划、工作计划或者教学计划。
2.A.这份通知书中依次提到了mathematics, science, English, French, history, geography和 music这七门学科名称。选项A的PE(体育)并不在其中，所以答案为A。
3.B.Edward Scott学得最好的科目是哪一门呢？由文中对英语这门课程的评语“He is the best in the class. Keep it up.”可知他的英语成绩是全班最好的，评语中还勉励他继续保持下去。所以答案为B。
4.B.题目问Edward不太擅长什么学科？根据数学和历史评语栏中的“He is a little weak in this…”和“He is not so good at this…”这两句话，可知答案非B莫属。
5.C.这道题目综合性较大，必须结合选项逐一分析。选项A是关于音乐课的，相关的评语是“尽管不喜欢流行音乐，但歌唱得很好”。显然A项宜排除。选项B是关于科学的，相关的评语是“能解决很多疑难问题。学得很棒！”。故B项也是错误的。选项C意思是说“如果努力的话，下学期会做得更好”，这与文中的“Remarks: Edward has the ability to do a lot better. More work is needed next term.”这个总评语相吻合。故C项是正确答案。值得注意的昌，选项D迷惑性很强。文中虽然提到英语和法语这两门语言学科，但我们不能因此就盲目地认为这两门课程对Edward来说都是外语。留意一下照片下方的An Australian Boy，就会明白Edward是澳大利亚人，英语是他的母语，故D项也不符合题意。
Section VIII 综合篇
Passage 71
Look at the instructions on the bottle of the medicine and then choose the right answers.
John is twelve years old. He had a bad cold and coughed day and night. He went to see a doctor. The doctor gave him some cough medicine.
Cough Medicine
Shake(摇动)it well before use.
Take it three times each day before meals.
Dose (药量):
Age：over 14 2 teaspoonfuls(勺)
8—13 1 teaspoonful
4—7 1／2 teaspoonful
Not right for children below the age of three. Put it in a cold place. Use it before December 1st 2002.
1.John should take ____ a day.
A. 2 teaspoonfuls B. 3 teaspoonfuls C. 4 teaspoonfuls D. 1 teaspoonful
2.The medicine should be kept in _______.
A. a fridge B. hot water C. any place D. the sun
3.John should ____ before he takes it.
A. shake the medicine well B. eat nothing
C. do some exercise D. drink a cup of tea
4.When people are ____ years old, they cannot take this medicine.
A. eighty B. thirty C. two D. twelve
5.John will ____ the medicine when it is left after Dec.1st, 2002.
A. throw away B. stop to take C. take once D. take six times more
Passage 72 （Be omitted）
Passage 73
Are you carrying too much on your back at school? You’re not alone. Back experts in the United States are worried that young students are having back and neck problems as a result of carrying too much in their backpacks (schoolbags).
“It hurts my back when I run,” said Oberlin Reyes, a student in Virginia. “It’s hard to get up the stairs with my backpack, because it’s too heavy.”
Oberlin is among students whose backpacks were weighed for a week in a recent study.
They had regular backpacks with two straps (带子) to carry them, but a number of students with heavy loads had switched to rolling backpacks (which have wheels and can roll on the ground).
Shirley Park, whose backpack weighed 10 kilograms, said she changed to a rolling backpack because she was starting to have back pain.
How much is too much? Experts say students should carry no more than 10 to 15 percent of their own body weight.
A few students had one suggestion to lighten the load: less homework.
P.S. (附) Doctor’s suggestion:
① Lighten the load. Clean out binders (活页材料) and take home only the books you need that night.
② Wide straps are better. They send out the weight over your shoulders more evenly (均匀). And be sure to wear both straps rather than hanging the pack over one shoulder.
③ Pack smart. The heavier things should be packed closed to the back.
④ Bend both knees when you pick up the pack, and don’t just bend over at the waist (腰).
1.“_____” is the main idea of the text.
A.The problem of backpacks is worth studying B.The problem made by heavy backpacks
C.What is the best backpack for a student D.How to make students’ backpacks light
2.According to Enderlin Reyes and Shirley Park, we know ______.
A.students have to do too much homework B.backpacks have to carry heavy backpacks
C.backpacks without wheels are bad for students
D.too much homework leaves students no free time
3.The expression “switched to” in the text perhaps means ______.
A. started to use B. turned to C. caught up D. used for
4.According to the passage, it’s better for a student of 40 kilograms to carry a backpack of _____ at most by the words of experts.
A. 10 kg B. 8 kg C. 6 kg D. 7 kg
5.If students follow the doctor’s suggestions they ______.
A.may lighten their backpacks B.can learn how to help themselves
C.may feel their backpacks are lighter D.will know how to wear backpacks
Passage 74
Some British and American people like to invite friends and colleagues for a meal at home. You should not be upset (心烦意乱) if your English friends don’t invite you home. It doesn’t mean they don’t like you.
Dinner parties usually start between 7 and 8 p.m., and end at about 11. Ask your hosts what time you should arrive. It’s polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine as a present.
Do you want to be extra (特别地) polite? Say how much you like the room, or the pictures on the wall. But remember—not to ask how much things cost.
You’ll probably start the meal with soup, or something small as a “starter” (酵母), then you’ll have meat or fish with vegetables, and then a dessert (甜食), followed by coffee. It’s polite to finish everything on your plate and to take more if you want it. Some people eat bread with their meal, but not everyone does.
Before they take out their cigarettes after the meal, most people usually ask, “Do you mind if I smoke here?”
Did you enjoy the evening? Call your hosts the next day, or write them a short “thank you” letter. Perhaps it seems funny to you, but British and American people say, “thank you, thank you, and thank you.” all the time.
1.If your English or American friends don’t invite you to dinner at home, ______.
A.it shows they don’t like you B.B. it shows they have no time to get together
C.it shows they don’t want to make friends with you D. it doesn’t show they don’t like you
2.When you are invited to go to your friend’s home, _____.
A. you shouldn’t take anything with you B. you may go at any time
C. you may take an expensive present with you D. you may take a small present with you
3.In England and America, it’s not polite to _______.
A.ask the price of a thing B. eat all the food on your plate C. talk to your hosts D. eat too fast
4.In the passage, the order of the serving of a meal is _____.
A.Dessert—meat or fish with vegetables—coffee—soup
B.Coffee—soup—dessert—meat or fish with vegetables
C.meat or fish with vegetables—dessert—soup—coffee
D.soup—meat or fish with vegetables—dessert—coffee
5.Which is not right?
A.In England or America, it usually takes more than three hours to have a dinner party at home
B.If you are invited to go to a dinner party, you can’t arrive early.
C.You mustn’t smoke after a meal when you are with some American or English people.
D.You’d better write a short “Thank you” letter to your hosts or give them a call if you want to be extra polite.
Passage 75
Strange things happen to time when you travel because the earth is divided (划分) into twenty-four zones (时区), one hour apart (一个时区相差一个小时). You can have days with more or fewer than twenty-fours, and weeks with more or fewer than seven days.
If you make a five-day trip across the Atlantic Ocean (大西洋), your ship enters a different time zone every day. As you enter each zone, the time changes one hour. Traveling west, you set your clock back, traveling east, you set it ahead. Each day of your trip has either twenty-five or twenty-three hours.
If you travel by ship across the Pacific Ocean (太平洋), you cross the International Date Line (国际日期变更线). By agreement, this is the point where a new day begins. When you cross the line, you change your calendar one full day, backward or forward. Traveling east, today becomes yesterday. Traveling west, it is tomorrow.
1.Strange things happen to time when you travel because ______.
A. no day really has twenty-four hours B. no one knows where time zones begin
C. the earth is divided into time zones D. in some places one day always has twenty-five hours
2.The difference in time between zones is ________.
A. one hour B. more than seven days C. seven days D. twenty-four hours
3.If you travel across the Atlantic Ocean, going east, you set your clock _____.
A.one hour ahead in each time zone B. one hour ahead for the whole trip
C. one full day back for each time zone D. one hour back in each time zone
4.From this passage, it seems true that the Atlantic ______.
A.is in one time zone B. is divided into twenty-four zones
C. is divided into five time zone D. is in four time zones
5.The International Date Line is the name for ______.
A.the beginning of any new time zone
B.any point where time changes by one hour
C.the point where a new day begins
D.the end of any new time zone
Passage 76
I often dreamed about Pisa when I was a boy. I read about the famous building called the Leaning Tower of Pisa. But when I read the word Pisa, I was thinking of pizza .I thought this tower was a place to buy pizza .It must be the best place to buy pizza in the world, I thought.
Many years later I finally saw the Leaning Tower. I knew then that it was Pisa and no pizza. But there was still something special about it for me .The tower got its name because it really did lean to one side. Some people want to try to fix it. They are afraid it may fall over and they don’t like it leans over the city.
I do not think it’s a good idea to try to fix it. The tower probably will not fall down. It is 600 years old. Why should anything happen to it now? And, if you ask me, I like what it looks like. To me it is a very human kind of leaning. Nothing is perfect. It seems to say.
And who cares? Why do people want things to be perfect? Imperfect things may be more interesting. Let’s take the tower in Pisa. Why is it so famous? There are many other older, more beautiful towers in Italy. But Pisa tower is the most famous. People come from all over the world to see it.
1.This passage is about_______.
A. Italian pizza B. Italy’s problems
C. How the Leaning Tower of Pisa got its name D. Why the writer likes Pisa
2.The writer used to think Pisa______.
A.in Spain B. not very famous C. not the same as pizza D. the same as pizza
3.The Leaning Tower of Pisa is _______.
A. modern B. falling down C. 600 years old D. 60 years old-
4.The writer________.
A. doesn’t like what the tower looks like B. likes what the tower looks like
C. thinks it’s the most beautiful tower in Italy D. doesn’t like towers
5. The writer likes the Leaning Tower of Pisa because________.
A. it’s old B. it’s perfect C. it sells pizza D. it’s imperfect
Passage 77
A rich man was once riding along the road and saw an old man digging in his garden. On the ground lay a young tree, ready to be planted. The rich man called out to the old man, “What kind of tree are you planting there, my good man?”
“This is a fig(无花果)tree, sir.” He said.
“A fig tree？” the rich man was very surprised. “Why, how old are you, may I ask?”
“I am ninety years old.”
“What！” cried the rich man. “You're ninety years old. You are planting a very young tree now and it'll take years to give fruit. You certainly don't hope to live long enough to get any fruit from this tree.” The old man looked around the garden. Then he said with a smile, “Tell me, sir. Did you eat figs when you were a boy?” “Sure,” the man did not know why he asked this question. “Then tell me this,” he said. “Who planted the fig trees?” “Why-why？I don't know.” “You see, sir.” went on the old man. “Our forefathers(祖先)planted trees for us to enjoy and I am doing the same for the people after me.”
The rich man was quiet and said, “You are right, my good man. We should do some things for the people after us. Thank you very much.” Then he rode away.
根据短文内容回答下列各问题。
1.What tree was the old man planting when the rich man saw him？
2.How old was the old man？
3.The old man was planting the tree to get himself some fruit to eat, wasn't he？Who was he planting the tree for？
4.Did the rich man eat figs when he was a boy？
5.What should we do for the people after us？
Passage 78
The following passage is about the states of America. Read through it and choose the best answers.
Texas was the biggest state (州) before Alaska became the forty-ninth state in 1959. One good way to understand the size of Texas is to learn about its weather. Different parts of the state have very different kinds of weather.
Laredo is one of the hottest cities in the United States in summer. The best time to visit Laredo is in winter, when it is pleasantly warm.
Amarillo gets very cold in winter. Sometimes there is more snow in Amarillo than in New York, which is a northern city.Summers are better, but sometimes it gets quite hot. The best time to visit Amarillo is in the autumn when it is cool.
If anyone asks you about the weather in Texas, ask him, “What part of Texas do you mean？”
1.Which of the following statements is true according to passage above？
A. Alaska is the biggest city in America. B. Texas is the second biggest state in America.
C. Alaska is the second biggest state in America. D. Texas is the biggest city in America.
2.Which of the following diagrams gives the correct relationship(关系)between Texas (T), Laredo(L)and Amarillo(A)？
3.In
the passage the sentence “Different parts of the state have different kinds of
weather.” means ________.
A. Laredo is very hot B. America is very big
C. Texas is very big D. Texas is far from Alaska
Passage 79
Look at the pictures and read through the following passage, then choose the right answers.
If we find a bird nest, we will have a good place of observing(观察)and knowing about birds.
Birds sit on eggs and take care of their baby birds from April to June. Because the baby birds are too young to leave the nest, mothers often leave and come back to the nest during the time to look for food. So it is good to observe birds. When we observe birds, we’d better hide(躲藏)ourselves in a close place to the nest, and it's better to use binoculars(双筒望远镜).
But how to make a bird nest? Picture 1 and Picture 2 are two kinds of bird nests. Picture 3 gives you some other kinds of bird nests. They are very easy to make. If you want to make one, please follow these:
Making a nest: A good nest must be very fine，strong，thick and easy.
a) Each nest must have six boards. Don’t make the boards too slippery(光滑).
b) Dig a small hole in the front of the nest as a door. The “door” is from 3cm to 5cm. So the bird can fly in or out easily.
c) Make sure the rainwater doesn’t go into the nest.
d) One piece of the boards should be easy to open.
e) Please don’t forget to color the nest.
Choose the best answers.
1.The most important thing in observing birds is ________.
A. to look for a place near the nest B. to climb trees
C. to write down notes every day D. to make a bird nest
2.When we're observing birds，we have to hide ourselves ________.
A. to look after them B. to use the binoculars
C. to make them do everything as usual D. to catch the birds at last
3.If we make the nest too slippery, ________.
A. it’s not strong B. it’s not easy to make
C. it’s not very beautiful D. it’s very difficult for birds to hold or stand on
4.We should leave a hole in the front of the nest so that ________.
A. we can clean the nest B. the birds can fly in or out
C. we can hang it easily D. it’s easy to make
5.What’s the title(题目)of this passage？
A. Birds and men B. Playing with the birds
C. Observing birds and making bird nests D. Listening to the songs of birds
Passage80
Read the three postcards and answer the following questions.
1. Only one writer really is having a great time -which one？Write 1, 2 or 3._____
2. Whom did P.send the postcard to？_____
3. Where does Sam come from？_____
4. What does Sam do every morning？_____
5. Of the three who needed money most？_____
Section VIII 综合篇答案与解析
Passage 71
【答案与解析】约翰病了，咳嗽得很厉害。医生给他开了些药。咳嗽药上说明书的内容主要包括了药品的服用方法、药量、贮存条件以及保质期等。
1.B。根据“John is twelve years old.”和“8—13 1 teaspoonful”可知B为正确答案。
2.A。“Put it in a cold place.”是本题答案的依据。
3.A。答案就在“Shake(摇动)it well before use.”中。
4.C。由“Not right for children below the age of three”这句话可知，此药不适用于三岁以下的儿童。
5. A。本说明的最后一句说的是此药品的保质期。答案显然为A。
Passage 73
【答案与解析】这篇短文反映了学生书包过重这一引发人们思考的生活现实。书包过重引起了学生身体的不适。文中引用了几位学生对沉重书包的感想和体会，有的学生甚至还在书包上安装了轮子。专家认为书包重量不应超过学生体重的10%-15%。学生则认为减少作业量才能彻底解决这一问题。为了减小过重书包对学生身体造成的伤害，短文最后还附了医生的四点建议。
1.D。根据首段末句及所附医生的建议可知选项D乃是文章主旨。
2.A。短文前两句是本题答案之所在。
3.A。根据该词组所在句子及上下文意思，“许多学生使用带有轮子，可在地上滚动的书包”可以推测选项A的解释合乎文意。
4.C。专家建议学生书包重量应在他本人体重的10% 和15%之间。所以一个体重为40千克的学生所背书包的重量应是6千克。
5. C。显然，专家所提四项建议的目的是让学生的书包轻一些。
Passage 74
【答案与解析】这是一篇有关东西方文化差异的阅读材料。英美人喜欢邀请朋友或同事到自己的家里吃饭。但是按照西方人的习惯，我们怎么样做才能更为礼貌些呢？本文给了最明确的回答。
1.D.第一段的最后那句有明显的说明。
2.D.“It’s polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine as a present.”一句是该题的出处。
3.A.正确理解“remember—not to ask how much things cost.”这句话才能得出答案。
4.C.仔细阅读短文第四自然段，就不难找到答案。
5.C.A、B、D三个选项在文中都有明确的说明。而根据“Before they take out their cigarettes after the meal, most people usually ask…”可以看出，抽烟前应当用“Do you mind if I smoke here?”这句话征求一下对方的意见。由此可将C项排除。
Passage 75
【答案与解析】这是一篇涉及地理方面的知识性小品文。地球上共划分了二十四个时区，两个相邻的时区之间时间正好相差一个小时。因此，我们环球旅行时，就会遇到时差问题。国际日期变更线是新的一天开始的地方。穿越这条线向东去，今天就变成了昨天，向西去，今天就成了明天。
1.C。由句首的那一句话可知，导致这种奇怪现象的原因就是因为时区的划分。
2.A。根据首句，再联系地理方面的知识，可知时区与时区之间的时间差为一个小时。
3.A。根据第二段的介绍，自西向东横渡大西洋时，因每增加一个时区，就早一个小时。即“…traveling east, you set it ahead.”，所以答案为A。
4.C。段首一句说得非常清楚，“横渡大西洋做五天的旅行”，段落末尾又说“每一天你的旅行不是二十四小时，就是二十五小时”。由此可以判断大西洋跨五个时区。
5.C。“…this is the point where a new day begins.”是答案的出处。
Passage 76
【答案与解析】这是关于比萨斜塔的一篇杂感。作者由儿时对比萨斜塔的曲解谈起，说到了自己对人们想要重新修正斜塔的看法。最后作者由此阐发感想：没有什么东西是十全十美的。人们不应当事事追求完美。如比萨斜塔一样，正因为它的不完美，才吸引了世界上众多人的目光。
1. C。由作者所叙述的内容，可知该塔之所以被叫做斜塔是因为它是倾斜的。
2. D。这层意思是作者对比萨斜塔的误解，答案在“But when I read the word Pisa, I was thinking of pizza”一句中。
3. C。本题属表层理解题。“The tower probably will not fall down, it is 600 years old.”是答案的出处。
4. B。答案即在“And, if you ask me, I like what it looks like.”中。
5. D。根据“Imperfect things may be more interesting.”及作者所流露出的对比萨斜塔的感情可以看出他认为缺憾也是一种美。
Passage 77
【答案与解析】一位年已九旬的老人在花园里栽种一棵无花果树。一个年轻人看到后感到迷惑不解。于是引发了两人的一番对话。本篇短文通过这件寓意刻的小事，说明了“前人栽树，后人乘凉”的道理。
1.He was planting a fig tree. 本小题属于表层理解题，答案就在这位老人的回答中。
2.He was ninety years old. 与上题相似，其答案也在答语“I am ninety years old.”中。
3.No，he wasn't. He was planting the tree for the people after him to enjoy. 从“You are planting a very young tree now and it'll take years to give fruit. You certainly don't hope to live long enough to get any fruit from this tree.”中可看出答案是否定的。而其原因则隐含在“…and I am doing the same for the people after me.”中。
4.Yes, he did. 答案就在“‘Sure,’ the man did not know why he asked this question.”这句话当中。
5.We should do some good things for the people after us. 那位有钱的人听了老人的这一席话，深受启发。他说的“We should do some things for the people after us.”这句话就是答案的出处。
Passage 78
【答案与解析】这篇文章的大意是：阿拉斯加成为美国的第四十九个州之前，得克萨斯州是美国最大的州。在这个州不同的地区，天气差异很大。文中提到了夏季最热的城市Laredo和冬季很冷的北方城市Amarillo。
1. B。根据文章的首句“Texas was the biggest state(州)before Alaska became the forty-ninth state in 1959.”可以找到答案。而实际上其它三处选项都有明显的错误。
2.C.由短文第一段的大意，尤其是“Different parts of the state have very different kinds of weather.”一句。 再由“If anyone asks you about the weather in Texas, ask him, What part of Texas do you mean？”最后的这句话，可知Laredo，Amarillo是的两个地方。故Texas包括Laredo和Amarillo。又根据“…which is a northern city.”这句话可知应在的北方。故答案为C。
3.C 。这由文中介绍Laredo，Amarillo这两个城市的气候可以得出。
Passage 79
【答案与解析】这是一篇图文并茂的说明文。如果你想了解鸟妈妈是怎样给小鸟喂食及鸟类的其它活动，你最好躲在鸟窝附近用双筒望远镜观察。那么，怎么样制作鸟窝呢？文中介绍了五条建议：(1)准备六块不太光滑的木板；(2)在前面挖一个3至5厘米的洞；(3)确保雨水进不到窝内；(4)其中的一块木板容易打开；(5)染上颜色。
1. A。 观察鸟类的活动，首要的是找一个鸟窝。显然，答案就在“If we find a bird nest, we will have a good place of observing(观察)and knowing about birds.”这句话中。
2.C.由文章作者在文中所流露出的感情以及生活常识可知。
3.D.根据生活常识及“Don't make the boards too slippery.”一句可得答案。
4.B.答案即在“Dig a small hole in the front of the nest as a door. The ‘door’ is from 3cm to 5cm. So the bird can fly in or out easily.”一句中。
5.C.通读全文，不难看出，作者所讲的共有两层意思，即如何观察鸟的活动和制作鸟窝的方法。
Passage 80
【答案与解析】这三张明信片所涉及的文字内容比较简单，只要注意从称呼语和落款处找到寄卡人和收卡人，答案则很容易找到。
1. 2。三张明信片的第一句话分别是：(1) This is not my dream holiday. (2) Hi！This is great. (3) Summer camp is going badly. 后面的内容也分别以此主题句而展开。所以，过得很愉快的作者就是第二个人。
2. Mr. and Mrs. Davies.(His／Her parents.)写第一张明信片的人就是P。明信片右边是收信人的姓名和地址，由左边称呼语可知是P.的父母亲。
3. England(London, England).Sam是写第二张明信片的人，只能由左边的地址这一线索推知他是哪里人。
4. He has skiing lessons.由“I have skiing lessons every morning and then I practice on the slopes every afternoon.”一句可知。
5. Terry.纵观三张明信片的内容：P.虽很想回家，但并未提到缺钱；Sam过得很愉快；只有Terry提到“Please send me some money immediately.” 所以，答案是Terry。
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