高考英语阅读理解专题练习-主旨大意题

Reading comprehension---Main idea

1. The easy way out isn’t always easiest. I learned that lesson when I decided to treat Doug, my husband of one month, to a special meal. I glanced through my cookbook and chose a menu which included homemade bread. Knowing the bread would take tine, I started on it as soon as Doug left for work. As I was not experienced in cooking, I thought if a dozen was good, two dozen would be better, so I doubled everything. As Doug loved oranges, I also opened a can of orange and poured it all into the bowl. Soon there was a sticky dough (面团) covered with ugly yellowish marks. Realizing I had been defeated, I put the dough in the rubbish bin outside so I wouldn’t have to face Doug laughing at my work. I went on preparing the rest if the meal, and, when Doug got home , we sat down to Cornish chicken with rice. He tried to enjoy the meal but seemed disturbed. Twice he got up and went out side , saying he thought he heard a noise. The third time he left, I went to the window to see what he was doing. Looking out , I saw Doug standing about three feet from the rubbish bin, holding the lid up with a stick and looking into the container. When I came out of the house , he dropped the stick and explained that there was something alive in our rubbish bin . Picking up the stick again, he held the lid up enough for me to see. I felt cold. But I stepped close and looked harder. Without doubt it was my work. The hot sun had caused the sough to dough to double in size and the fermenting yeast (酵母) made the surface shake and sigh as thought it were breathing . It looked like some unknown being from outer space. I could see why Doug was shaken. I had to admit what the “living thing” was and why it was there. I don’t know who was more embarrassed (尴尬) by the whole thing –Doug or me.

The writer’s purpose in writing this story is ___________

a. to tell an interesting experience.

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b. To show the easiest way out of a difficulty.

c. To describe the trouble facing a newly married woman

d. To explain the difficulty of learning to cook from books

2 Decision thinking is not unlike poker--- it of ten matters not only what you think, but also what others think you think and what you think they think you think. The mental process () is similar. Naturally, this card game has often been of considerable interest to people who are, by any standards, good thinkers.

The great mathematician John von Neumann was one of the founders of game theory. In particular, he showed that all games of “perfect information”, games like chess where the players can’t hide anything or play tricks; they don’t win by chance, but by means of logic and skills. Then there are games of “ imperfect information”, like poker, in which it is impossible to know in advance that one course of action is better than another.

One mistaken idea about business is that it can be treated as a game of perfect information. Quit the reverse. Business, politics, life itself are games which we must normally play with very imperfect information. Business decisions are often made with many unknown and unknowable factors which would even puzzle best poker players. But few business people find it comfortable to admit that they are taking a chance, and many still prefer to believe that they are playing chess, not poker.

The subject discussed in this text is _____

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a. the process of reaching decision b. the difference between poker and chess

c. the secret of making good business plans d. the value of information in winning games

3. Most people feel lonely sometimes, but it usually only lasts between a few minutes and a few hours. This kind of loneliness is not serious, In fact, it is quite normal. For some people, though, loneliness can last for years. Now researchers say there are three different types of loneliness.

The first kind of loneliness is temporary(暂时的) . This is the most common type. It usually disappears quickly and does not require any special attention. The second kind, situational loneliness, is a natural result of a particular situation—for example a family problem, the death of a loves one, or moving to a new place. Although this kind of loneliness can cause physical problems, such as headaches and sleeplessness, it usually does not last for more than a year.

The third kind of loneliness is the most severe. Unlike the second type, chronic(长期的) loneliness usually lasts more than two years and has no specific cause. People who experience habitual loneliness have problems socializing and becoming close to others. Unfortunately, many chronically lonely people think there is little or nothing they can do to improve their condition.

Psychologists agree that one important factor in loneliness is a person’s social contacts, e.g. friends, family members, co-workers, etc. We depend on various people for different reasons. For instance, our families give us emotional support, our parents share similar interests and activities. However, psychologists have found that, though lonely people may have many social contacts, they sometimes feel they should have more. They question their own popularity.

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Psychologists are trying to find ways to help habitually lonely people for two reasons: they are unhappy and unable to socialize and there is a connection between chronic loneliness and serious illness such as heart disease. While temporary and situational loneliness can be a normal, healthy part of life, chronic loneliness can be a very sad, and sometimes dangerous condition.

1. The topic of the 4th paragraph is that _________.

a. one problem of loneliness is a person’s social contacts

b. we depend on various people for different reasons

c. lonely people don’t have many social problems

d. lonely people don’t have many friends

2. What is the best title for the passage?

a. Three Kinds of Loneliness. b. :Loneliness and Diseases

c. Loneliness and Social Contacts d. Chronic Loneliness.

4．Excused from recycling because you live in a high rise with a rubbish chute (垃圾道)? You won’t be for long. Miami’s Mark Shantzis has made it simple for those living in tall buildings to use the chute and cycle, too.

In Shantzis’ Hi-Rise Recycling system, a chute leads to a pip-shaped container with six boxes that can turn around when operated. The system, which fits in the same space as the chute and

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container now in use, enables ,glass, plastics, paper, metal, and other rubbish to go into separate boxes.

The system is controlled from a board foxed next to the chute door. The board has a button for each class of recycling materials. At the press of a button, a microcomputer locks all other floors’ chute doors and sets the recycling container turning until the right box comes under the chute. The computer also counts the loads and gives a signal by phone when the box is full. And a particular piece of equipment breaks up the no recyclables.

Sorting(分类) recyclables before they are collected saves the use of expensive materials recovery equipment which otherwise has to do the sorting. Such equipment often makes recycled materials very expensive, so expensive that tones of recyclables remain wasted. Shantzis believes his system could help recycled materials become more cost-effective. (NMET 2000 年 E)

The purpose in writing this text is _________.

A to encourage people to recycle their rubbish.

B. to introduce a recycling system for high rises

C to describe the use of computer technology in recycling

D to explain the need for rubbish collection in high rise

5 Many cities around the world today are heavily polluted. Careless methods of production and lack of consumer demand for environment friendly products have contributed to the pollution problem. One result is that millions of tons of glass, paper, plastics, and these are difficult to get rid

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of.

However, today, more and more consumers are choosing “green” and demanding that the products they buy should be safe for the environment. Before they buy a product, they ask questions like these, “Will this shampoo damage the environment?” “Can this metal container be reused or can it only be used once?”

A recent study showed that two out of five adults now consider the environmental safety of a product before they buy it, this means that companies must now changed the way they make and sell their products to make sure that they are “green”, that is, friendly to the environment.

Only a few years ago, it was impossible to find green products in supermarkets, but now there are hundreds. Some supermarket products carry labels (标签) to show that the product is green. Some companies have made the manufacturing (生产) of clean and safe products their main selling point and emphasize it in their advertising.

The concern for a safer and cleaner environment is making companies rethink how they do business. No longer will the pubic accept the old attitude of “buy it, use it , throw it away, and forget it.” The public pressure is on , and gradually business is cleaning up its act.

NMET2001 C

What would be the best title for the text?

a. Business and People b. Business Goes Green

c. Shopping Habits Are Changing d. Supermarkets and Green Products

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6 If you ask people to name the one person who had the greatest effect on the English language, you will get answers like “Shakespeare,” “Samuel Johnson,” and “Webster”, but none of these men had any effect at all compared to a man who didn’t even speak English ----William the Conqueror.

Before 1066, in the land we now call Great Britain lived peoples belonging to two major language groups. In the west-central region lived the Welsh, who spoke a Celtic language, and in the north lived the Scots, whose language , though not the same as Welsh, was also Celtic. In the rest of the country lived the Saxons , actually a mixture of Anglos, Saxons, and other Germanic and Nordic peoples, who spoke what we now call Anglo-Saxon (or Old English ), a Germanic language. If this state of affairs had lasted, English today would be close to German.

But this state of affairs did not last. In 1066 the Normans led by William defeated the Saxons and began their rule over England. For about a century, French became the official language of England while Old English became the language of peasants. As a result, English words of politics and the law come from French rather than German. In some cases, ,modern English even shows a distinction between upper-class French and lower-class Anglo-Saxon in its words. We even have different words for some foods, meat in particular, depending on whether it is still out in the field or at ready to be cooked, which shows the fact that the Saxon peasants were doing the farming, while the upper-class Normans were doing most of the eating.

When Americans visit Europe for the first time, they usually find Germany more “foreign” than France because the German they see on signs and advertisements seems much more different from English language is actually Germanic in its beginning and that the French influences are all the result of one man’s ambition. NMET2001 D

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What is the subject discussed in the text?

a. The history of Great Britain. b. The similarity between English and French.

c. The rule of England by William the conqueror d. The French influences on the English language.

7 Britain’s oldest man made his first visit to London yesterday at the age of 110. Mr. John Evans had never found the time or the money to make the trip from his home near Swansea. But, when British Rail offered him an all-expenses-paid birthday trip to the capital, he just could not refuse.

Until yesterday he had never been far from home, except for one trip to Aberdeen. Mr. Evens, who spent 60 years working as a miner in South Wales, almost made the journey to London once before, at the turn of the century. “There was a trip to the White city but it was ten shillings (1shilling =1/20 pound) return from Swansea-too much I thought. All my money went to the family then,” he said.

During the nest two days Mr. Evens will be taken on a whistle-stop tour of London to see the sights. Top of his list is a visit to the Houses of Parliament()

The only arrangement he does not care for is the wheelchair provided to move him about if he gets tired. “ I don’t like the chair business-people will so think I am getting old,” he said.

Hi secret for a long and healthy life has been well publicized—no alcohol, no cigarette and no anger. Before setting off from Swansea with his 76-year-old son, Amwel, he quipped, “I’m glad to

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see they’ve given me a return ticket.” 2003shanghai C

What might be the best title for this passage?

a. 100-year-old Tourist b. Secret for Long and healthy life

c. Free Return Ticket d. Sightseeing in London

8 BEJING –set of by the April 1 Sino-us plane collision(相撞) and US official agreement of the biggest arms sale to Taiwan in decade (ten years) as well as remarks by US president Bush on Defending Taiwan, there have been increasing hacker attacks on websites of the two countries in the past weeks.

An American group of hackers（黑客) which calls itself Poison Box had begun ruining Chinese websites after the April1 spy plane incident, top Chinese portal sina.com said.

The Chinese soon attacked back.

On April 2, Chinese hackers invaded two Government websites over the weekend, forcing the Department of labor and the Department of the Health and Human Services to shut down their sites for a short time.

The US Department of labor went off line for a few hours after a page in its website was changed to display a picture of Wang Wei, the Chinese pilot who died in the collision.

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The page was titled “China back!” and read, in English, “the whole country is so sorry for losing the best son of China ---Wang Wei forever. We will miss the end of the day.”

On May1, hackers exchanged bad remarks (脏话) in which the official White House website was defaced (毁容) by a huge amount of e-mail garbage. On May5, the White House website fell victim (受害者) to a denial (拒绝) of serviced attack that blocked access (通道) to the site for more than two hours.

The Computer Network and Information Security Management Office told web operators an average of 100 sites a day had seen “some more form of attack.”

The best title of the passage is _____.

a. Sino-US plane collision. b. Sino-US Hackers Fighting Cyber () war

c. Cyber war continuing d. Wang wei, our best son

9 There were two interesting news items in the paper a few years ago . One was about a man who received a bill from the telephone company for £999,999—for three month! The other was about a man who received £2,000 a month ---for doing nothing.

The connection between the two news items is simple: computer – the best invention of the 20th century. The telephone bill came from a computer which made a terrifying mistake , that was only £23.36. The other item was not so amusing . A man walked into the unguarded computer room of a large packaged food company (袋装食品生产公司) and expertly programmed the computer (给计算机编程序) to pay him £2,000 a month for raw meat which he “supplied” to the company. Of

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course he never sent the meat, but he certainly received the money. The computer wrote out a bill, and even “signed ”it . It was only a random (随便的) check that uncovered the trick. It could be happening in thousands of other companied all over the world.

Computers are not the magical workers that some people say they are. They make mistakes, they’re sometimes slower than human beings and they’re easily fooled. The US used to conscript (征兵) people with the help of a computer. The army sent out a card, which had to be filled in and sent back. It was easy to avoid being called up simply by spreading candle-waxon on the card. The computer couldn’t read the card and did nothing with it.

It’s in our everyday life that computers cause many problems. Let’s get back to using people instead of computers, before a mistake that we can’t put right.

The writer’s main idea is __________.

A we’d better use people instead of computers in our everyday life.

B. We should not use computers because they always make mistakes

C. computers are widely used in our everyday life

D. if we want to work well, don’t use the computers.

10 During the early years of this century, wheat was seen as the very lifeblood of Western Canada. When the crops were good, the economy on city streets watched the yields and the price of wheat with almost as much felling as if they were growers. The marketing of wheat became an increasingly favorite topic of conversation.

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War set the stage for the most dramatic events in marketing the western crop. For years, farmers mistrusted speculative grain selling as carried on through the Winnipeg Grain Exchange. Wheat prices were generally low in the autumn, but farmers could not wait for markets to improve. It had happened too often that they sold their wheat soon after harvest when farm debts were coming due, only to see prices rising and speculators getting rich. On various occasions, producer groups asked for farmer controls, but governments had no wish to become involved, at least not until wartime wheat prices threatened to run wild.

Anxious to check inflation and rising living costs, the federal government appointed a board of grain supervisors to handle deliveries from the crops of 1917 and 1918. Grain Exchange trading was suspended, and farmers sold at prices fixed by the board. To handle the crop of 1919, the government appointed the first Canadian Wheat Board, with full authority to buy, sell and set prices.

What is the main purpose of the passage?

A. To explain how wheat is marketed today

B. To justify suspension of trading on the Grain Exchange.

C. To describe the origins of the Canadian Wheat Board.

D. To argue for further reforms on the Canadian Wheat Board

11. April 27 is Take Our Daughters to Work Day in Britain. Started at first in the United States and brought to Britain in 1994, Take Our Daughter to Work Day has become a special day for girls

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between 11 and 15. On that day thousands of girls take a day off school and go together with one of their parents to their work places. The purpose of this day is to broaden girls’ horizons(视野) and raise their self-confidence.

For many years people have thought that boy can do better than girls in society. But actually, “Girls can be whatever they want to be just like boys, whether it is a pilot , a nurse or a chief executive (主管),” says the chairman of the Our Sons and Daughters Charitable Trust, an organization which supported the activity of the Day. “ Now the girls have a close look at what their parents are doing and this may help them to be more self-confident when they are faced with a choice of work.”

Schools and many companied support the activity, too. Palmers Green High School for girls , in north London, has made the day a necessary of careers education.

Zarina Bart, 15, from Palmers Green, went with her mother Gwen to her lawyer’s office on this year’s Take Our Daughters to Work Day. “I learned how to fill in a legal aid form and I read details of a case. Then I went to see the actual trail,” she said.

Zarina found it interesting to see her mother at work . “It’s really strange seeing Mum at work-running around, getting serious and telling people what to do.” She has always liked this idea of going into law and thinks it likely that she will follow in her mother’s footsteps. Having a chance to see how her mother works has given hr more self-confidence.

Experts believe that girls with higher self-confidence aim higher and are more likely to be successful in life. Parents have more important effert on the confidence of teenage girls. If parents believe in their daughter and show examples both at work as well as at home for them, this will give

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a lot of help to girls. Take Our Daughters to Work Day is surely a step in the right direction.

The writer’s purpose in writing this text is to _________

A introduce to us a special day for girls B broaden girls’ view and raise their confidence

C show us that girls can do as well as boys D tell how the special day for girls came into being

12. To swim the English channel takes at least nine hours. It’s hard work and it makes you short of breath. To fly over the channel takes only twenty minutes as long as you’re not held up at the airport, but it’s an expensive way to travel. You can travel by hovercraft(气垫船) if you don’t mind the noise and that takes forty minutes. Otherwise , you can go by boat, if you remember sea-sickness pills. All these means of transport (运输) have their problems, and the weary (厌烦的) traveler often dreams of being able to drive to France in his own car. “Not possible, you say. Well, wait a minute people are once again considering the idea of a Channel tunnel or bridge.” This time , the great London Council(议会) is looking into the possibility of building a channel link straight to London. A bridge would cost far more a tunnel, but you would be able to go by rail or by car on a bridge, whereas (然而) a tunnel would provide a rail link only.

Why is this idea being discussed again? Is Britain realizing the need for links with Europe as a result of joining EEC(欧共体)? Well, perhaps. The main reason , though, is that a tunnel or bridge would reach the twenty square kilometers of London’s discussed stimulate(刺激) trade and revitalize (使…..具有活力) the port, and would ,make London a main trading center in Europe. With a link over the channel, you could buy your fish and chips in England and be able to eat them in France while they are still warm!

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The main idea of the passage is ______

A how to develop the trade of London B crossing the Channel is difficult

C how to get to Europe more conveniently D what to do in the development of traveling

13.Believe it or not, optical illusion(错觉) can cut highway crashes(撞毁)

Japan is a case in point. It has reduced automobile crashes on some roads by nearly 75 percent using a simple optical illusion. Bent strips, called cheverons (人字形), painted on the roads make drivers think that they are faster than they really are, and thus drivers slow down.

Now the American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety in Washington D.C. is planning to repeat Japan’s success. Starting next year, the foundation will paint cheverons and other patterns of strips on selected roads around the country to test how well the patterns reduce highway crashes.

Excessive speed plays a major role in as much a one fifth of all fatal(致命) traffic accidents, according to the foundation. To help reduce those accidents, the foundation. To help reduce those accidents, the foundation will carry its tests in areas where speed-related hazards(危险) are the greatest –curves(弯), exit slopes, traffic circles, and bridges.

Some studies suggest that straight, horizontal bars(水平障碍物)painted across roads can initially(最初) cut the average speed of drivers in half. However, traffic often returns to full speed within months as drivers become used to seeing the painted bars.

Cheverons, scientists say, not only give drivers the impression that they are driving faster than

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they really are, but also make a lane(车道) appear to be narrower. The result is a longer lasting reduction in highway speed and the number of traffic accidents.

The passage mainly discusses ________.

A a new way of highway speed control B a new pattern for painting highways

C a new way to training drivers D a new type of optical illusion

14. Farmer ED Rawlings smiles as he looks at his orange trees. The young oranges are growing well in Florida’s weather. Warm sunshine and gentle rains, along with ED Rawlings expert care, will produce a good crop of oranges this year.

But ED has to fight against Florida’s changeable winter weather. In January and February, temperature can destroy ED’s entire orange crops. Having farmed in Florida for the past 35 years, Ed Rawlings is prepared for the frosts(). When temperatures drop below freezing, Ed tries to save his crop by watering his orange trees. The water freezes and forms a thin layer of ice on the trees. Strange as it may sound, this thin layer of ice actually keep the fruit warm..

What happens is simple. When the trees are watered, the water loses heat and becomes ice. The warmth of the heat it loses is sicked in by the fruit and keeps its temperature at a safe leveled Rawling has effectively used this method to save many orange crops.

But Ed still faces some difficulties. The trees should be watered at the exact moment the temperature drops to the freezing point. Also, just the right quantity of water must be used. Too much water can form a thick layer of ice that will break the trees branches. Another difficulty is that

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wind blows away the heat. So Ed has to worry about not only when but also how often his trees should be watered, and how much water should be used.

Computer technology may help Ed with some of these worries. With equipment, air and soil temperatures and wind speed can be measured. The information is fed into a computer which can tell when temperatures drop to freezing. The computer can correctly decide the quantity of water to be used and how frequently the trees should be watered. Ed will find looking after his orange trees a lot easier with the help of a computer, and we’ll all have the benefits(or advantages) of computerage oranges.

The passage is mainly about_______.

A a farmer’s expert care for his orange trees B the different uses of computers

C growing oranges in Florida’s changeable weather D different way of frost protection

15. RALOALTO, California—“Switching off the television may help prevent children from getting fatter—even if they do not change their diet or increase the amount they exercise,” US researchers said last week.

A study of 192 third and forth grades, generally aged eight and nine, found that children who cut the number of hours spent watching television gained nearly two pounds (0.91kg) less over a one-year period than those who did not change their television diet.

“The findings are important because they show that weight loss can only be the result of a reduction in television view and not any other activity,” said Thomas Robison, a pediatrician() at

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Stanford University.

In the study, presented this week to the Pediatric Academic Societies’ annual meeting () in San Francisco, the researchers persuaded about 100 of the students to reduce their television viewing by one-quarter to one third.

Children watching fewer hours of television showed a pretty smaller increase in waist size and had less body fat than other students who continued their took part in any extra exercise.

“One explanation for the weight loss could be the children unstuck to the television may simply have been moving around more and burning off calories,” Robinson said.

“Another reason might be due to eating fewer meals in front of the television. Some studies have suggested that eating in front of the TV encourages people to eat more,” Robison said.

The author tried to tell us in the first two paragraphs that _____

A children will get fatter if they eat too much

B Children will get thinner if they eat less

C children will get fatter if they spend less time watching TV

D children will get fatter if they spend more time watching TV

16. During the summer you should be even more careful than usual of the foods you prepare. Foods spoil faster in hot weather than in cold weather. When you are shopping , purchase frozen

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and refrigerated foods, don’t make long stops on your way home because frozen foods could become soft or warm. Using insulated (密封的) bags helps keep food cold until you arrive home. Mild or milk products should be refrigerated immediately. When camping or picnicking or at any time when refrigeration isn’t available, use special dry foods. Above all , if a food doesn’t seem to be normal in odor(气味) or appearance, discard (抛弃) it immediately. Don’t taste it.

What is the main idea of the passage?

A How to store frozen and refrigerated foods

B How to keep food from spoiling (变坏) during the summer?

C How to select fresh food? D How to prepare summer food

17. A new era(纪元) is upon us. Call it what you will: the service economy, the information age, the knowledge society. It all translates to be a basic change in the way we work. Already we are there now. The percentage of people who earn their living by making things has fallen fortunately in the Western World. Today the major of jobs in America, Europe and Japan (two thirds or more in many of these countries) are in the service industry, and the number in on the rise. More women are in the workforce than ever before. There are more part-time jobs. More people are self-employed. But the wildness of the economic change can’t be measured by numbers alone, because it also is giving rise to a radical(根本的、彻底的) new way of thinking about the nature of work itself. Long-held views about jobs and careers, the skills to succeed, even the relation between individuals and employers—all these are being challenged.

We have only to look behind us to get some sense of what may lie ahead. No one looking

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ahead 20 years possible could have foreseen the ways in which a single invention, the chip(芯片), would change our world thanks to its use in personal computers, digital biotechnology(数码生物技术), artificial (人工的) intelligence or even some still unimagined technology could produce a similar wave of unexpected changes. But one thing is certain: information and knowledge will become even more important ,and the people who have it , whether they work in manufacturing (制造业) or services, will have the advantage and produce the wealth. Computer knowledge will become as basic a requirement as the ability to read and write. The ability to solve problems by using information instead of performing regular work will be valued above all else. If you look forward 10 years, information services will be predominant(占优势). It will be the way you do your job.

Which of the following can be the vest title of the passage?

a. Computer and Knowledge Society. b. Service Industry in the Modern Society

c. Characteristics of the new Era d. Fast Development of Information Technology

18. It is commonly believed in the United States that school is where people go to get an education. Nevertheless, it has been said that today children interrupt their education to go to school. The difference between schooling and education implied by this remark is important.

Education is much more open-ended and all-inclusive than schooling. Education knows not limits. It can take place anywhere, whether in the school or on the job, whether in a kitchen or on a tractor. It includes both the formal learning that takes place in schools and the whole universe of informal learning . The agent(doer) of education can vary from respected grandparents to the people arguing about politics on the radio, from a child to a famous scientist. Whereas schooling has a certain predictability（可预料性）, education quite often produces surprises. A chance

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conversation with a strange may lead a person to discover how little is know of other religious (宗教) . People receive education from infancy(婴幼儿) on. Education, then , is a very broad, inclusive term. It is a lifelong process ,a process that starts long before the start of school, and one that should be a necessary of one’s entire life.

Schooling, on the other hand, is a specific, formalized process, whose general pattern varies little from one setting to the next. Throughout a country, children arrive school at about the same time, take the assigned () seats, are taught by the adult, use similar textbooks, do homework, take exams, and so on. The pieces of reality that are to be learned, whether they are the alphabet or an understanding of the workings of government, have been limited by the subjects being taught. For example, high school students know that they are likely to find out in their classes the truth about political problems in their society or what the newest filmmakers are experimenting with. There are clear undoubtful conditions surrounding the formalized of schooling.

What is the main idea of this passage?

A. The best schools teach a variety of subjects.

B. Education and schooling are quite different experiences.

C. The more years students go to schools, the better their education.

D. Students benefit from schools, which require bong hours and homework..

19. Since the beginning of time, man has invented many interesting things. Some of these inventions, like numbers , the alphabet and the radio, have certainly changed history. Since 1946,

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one of the most important inventions has been the computer. It will change all our lives.

At one time it was as large as a room, and quite difficult and slow to operate. But , since the invention of the silicon ship (),which is really a very small electric circuit, computers have been greatly improved. They have become smaller, easier to use, and faster; they can store a lot more information.

Some computer are made as well as television sets. Simple computers can be made smaller than a book. And computers are getting smaller all the time.

There are several reasons why the computer is useful to us. Firstly, it can store a very very large quantity of information in its memory. Secondly, the computer can operate very quickly –thousands of times faster than a human—and it will not tire. Thirdly, modern computers can be built into other kinds of machines, like radios, cars, planes and so on. They can do many kinds of work.

Soon, almost everyone , either at home or at work, will use some kind of computer. the lives of all of us will be changed by this invention.

The main idea of this passage is ____

A how the computer came into being

B that computers ate getting smaller and smaller all the time

C that the computer will change the lives of all of us

D that modern computers can be built into other machine

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20. The computer is an electronic machine. It is a machine that solves problems as much as you do. As an example, Let’s trace the way you would add two numbers. Then, let’s see how a computer would do it.

Step1. You collect information. That is, you either see or hear the numbers to be added.

Step2. You find a method to solve the problem. In this case, you remember how to do addition.

Step 3 You bring together the information (the two numbers), and the method(addition)

Step 4 You perform the operation, adding the two numbers.

Step5 You report the results of your work, either by writing down the answer or by saying it aloud.

All computers go through five similar steps.

Step 1 The computer receives information, or data, from the outside. It changes the data into electric language, called input.

Step 2 The computer has been given a program contain instructions for solving the problem. The instructions ate found in the storage or memory.

Step 3 The computer bring together the data from the input and the instructions from the storage. This is done by the computer’s control.

Step 4 The computer goes through the steps of the instructions on the data; this is called

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processing.

Step 5 The computer changes the result from electric language to human language. It presents the results in print or sound, called output.

Sometimes the five parts of a computer –input, storage, control, processor , and output—are together in one large unit. Other times they are far apart and connected by wires. Often, large computers have one control and processing unit, with a number of separate memory, input, and output device.

What does the passage mainly tell us?

A The computer is an electric machine. B Computer solve problems in the same way as people do

C How we add two numbers D Computers have five parts together in one unit.

21. Astronomers have spent hundreds of years searching for signs of life on other planets, using telescopes. When they saw the geography of Mars (火星), they thought they could see canals and that this might be evidence of intelligent life on the planet. More recently, however, spacecraft have been sent there to analyse (分析) the soil for signs of life. The result were negative and astronomers now feel certain that no life exist on the surface of any craft far beyond our solar system （太阳系）I not realistic because of the huge distances.

Unless life comes and visits us, the only way we likely to know of its existence is from radio message. Listening for intelligent extraterrestrial (外星的) or E.T. life is not a new idea, but the

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techniques now being used offer a much better chance off success than before. Looking for evidence of life in other solar systems now means using special radio receivers called radio telescopes to listen out for message. The idea is that intelligent forms of life would have discovered radio waves and would, like us, be using them to communicate.

Through its research work, NASA(美国国家航空航天局) has develop two means of systematically searching for E.T. life. The first method is to select the closest 800 stars like our sun and to direct a radio telescope to scan each of one them for electromagnetic (电磁) wave. The second way is to survey the entire sky, listening for continuous signals which may come from extraterrestrial life. Scientists are looking in the 100-10,000 Megahertz(兆赫) frequency range—a range where there are fewer natural radio signals which could interfere (干扰) with transmission (传输). By looking signals in these specific regions, scientists can avoid any confusion that might be caused by receiving a natural radio signal rather than one sent by intelligent life.

NASA’s search in space has already resulted in some discoveries –including new equipment which may help in the development of new communication and medical technologies.

All this , as well as the chance of discovering, has made us feel confident that maybe we are not alone in the universe!

What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Astronomers now feel certain that no life exists on the surface of any other planet in our solar system.

B. It is realistic to send a spacecraft far beyond our solar system to search for E.T. life.

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C. There I no E.T. life on Mars.

D. Using radio telescopes to listen out for message from E.T. life , scientists have discovered that the new equipment nay help in the development of new communication and medical technologies.

22. It is burning hot in Mali, an island country in Africa, where the highest temperature even reach 55℃, while the average temperature of the whole year there maintains (维持) above 45℃. But to our great surprise, the tourism (旅游线) there is getting very well. Nearly all the year round the tourists can be seen coming and going.

That is because there are a large number of “In-the-Well Hotels” in Mali. It means that first of all, people have dug a thirty-metre-deep well under very hot land surface, then in the wall of the well several empty caves, about two metres high each, are made. In these caves beds are arranged.

Obviously, In-the-Well Hotel, not as hot as it is out of the well, remains only about 12~20℃. In the cave rooms, tourists can find all the daily necessaries.

It not only frees the guests of the country from the hot weather but also gives them a new and fresh experience. So it is appealing(吸引人的) to the tourists coming all parts of the world.

The best title for this passage should be ________.

A Mali, A Burning Hot Country B Tourism In Mali

C The Well Hotel D A way to Develop Tourism

23. Imagine life as a game in which you are playing with some five balls in the air. You name

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them work, family, health, friends and spirit, and you’re keeping all these balls in the air.

You understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be surely marked, broken, damaged or even shattered(粉碎). They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life. How?

Don’t undermine (低估) your worth by comparing yourself to others . It is because we are different that each of us is special. Don’t set your goals by what other people consider important. Only you know what is best for you. Don’t take for granted the things closest to your heart. Stick to them as you would to life, for without them, it’s meaningless. Don’t let life one day at a time, you live ALL the days of your life. Don’t run through life so fast that your forget not only where you’ve been, but also where you’re going. Don’t use time or words carelessly. Neither can be regained. Life is not a race, but a journey to be enjoyed each step of the way. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift. That is why we call it---The Present.

Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage?

A. We should strive for balance in our life.

B. We should not undermine our worth by comparing ourselves to others

C. We should not set our goals by what other people consider important.

D. Words and time will never return once they are gone.

24. Some people think they have an answer to the problems of automobile crowding and

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pollution in large cities. Their answer is the bicycle, or “bike”.

In a great many cities, hundreds of people ride bicycles to work everyday. In New York Cith, some bike riders have even formed a group called Bike fie a Better City. They claim that if more people rode bicycles to work there would be fewer automobiles in the downtown section of the city and therefore less dirty air from car engines.

For several years this group has been trying to get the city government to help bicycle riders. For example, they want the city to paint special lanes –for bicycles only—on some of the main streets, because when bicycle riders must use the same lanes as cars, there may be accidents. Bike foe a Better City feels that if there were special lanes, more people would use bikes.

But no bicycle lanes have been painted yet. Not everyone thinks it is a good idea. Taxi drivers don’t like the idea—they say it will slow traffic. Some store owners on the main streets don’t like the idea—they say if there is less traffic, they will have less business. And most people live too far from downtown to travel by bike.

The government has not yet decided what to do . It wants to keep everyone happy. On weekends, Central Park---the largest open space in New York –is closed to cars, and the roads may be used by bicycles only. But Bike for a Better City says that this is not enough and keeps fighting to get bicycle lanes downtown. Until that happens, the safest place to bicycles may be in the park.

The main idea of the passage is to show_________.

A the problems of automobile crowding and pollution in large city,

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B bike for a Better City’s answer to the problems of automobiles

C a great many bike riders in New York City.

D the city government’s decision about bicycle lanes.

25. In its country of Germany, the hot dog was called the frankfurter. It was named after Frankfurt, a German city. Frankfurters were first sold in the United States in the 1860s. Americans called frankfurters “dachshund sausages”. A dachshund is a dog from Germany with a very long body and short legs. Dachshund sausages first became popular in New York, especially at baseball games. At games they were sold by men who kept them warm in hot-water tanks. As the men walked up and down the rows of people, they yelled, “Get your dachshund sausages! Get your hot dachshund sausages!” People got the sausages on buns, a special bread.

One day in 1906, a newspaper cartoonist named Tad Dargan went to a baseball game. When he saw the man with the dachshund sausages, he got an idea for a cartoon. The next say at the newspaper office he drew a bun with a dachshund inside ---not a dachshund sausage, but a dachshund. Dorgan didn’t know to spell dachshund. Under the cartoon, he wrote “Get you hot dogs!”

The cartoon caused deep interest and excitement, and so was the new name. If you go to a baseball games today, you can still see sellers walking around with hot-water tanks. As they walked up and down the rows they yell, “Get your hot dogs here! Get your hot dogs!”

The main purpose of the passage is to show_____.

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A the home country of the hot dog B the origin of the hot dog

C the selling of the hot dog D the cartoon of the hot dog

26. All of us eat every day, but most of us don’t understand nutrition. How much do you know about good nutrition? Are the following statements true or false?

1. People who don’t eat meat can stay healthy.

True. As long as people eat enough milk, eggs and meat alternated, they can get enough protein.

2. Fresh vegetables cooked at home are always more nutritious than canned vegetables.

False. The difference depends on how vegetables are prepared than whether they are fresh or canned. Vegetables cooked in too much water lose a great amount of vitamins.

3 Food eaten between meals can be just as good for health as food eaten at regular meals.

True. Nutritional value depends on what type of food you eat, not when you eat them. Eating an egg or an orange between meals can contribute to a good diet.

4. Taking extra vitamins beyond the recommended daily allowances won’t give you more energy.

True. It’s widely believed that extra vitamins provide more energy. But taking more than the body needs doesn’t make it function better, not more than overfilling your gas tank makes your

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car run better.

5. Natural vitamins are better supplements (补充) for the diet than synthetic vitamins.

False. There is no difference. A vitamin has the same properties (性质) and specific chemical structure whether made in a laboratory or taken from plant or animal parts.

6 Older people need the same amount of vitamins as younger people.

True. Older people need the same amount of vitamins as younger people although they need fewer calories (卡). Certain illnesses raise the requirements for some vitamins, but that is true for the young as well as the old.

7 Food grow in poor soil is lower in vitamins than food grown in rich soil.

False. The vitamins in our food are made by the plants themselves. They don’t come from the soil. However, the minerals in a plant depend on the minerals in the soil.

If you have answered these questions correctly, You can say you know much about food and nutrition by today’s standards. But remember that nutrition is growing science and that it may be changed as new information is obtained.

The main purpose of the passage is _____.

A to list today’s standards of food and nutrition

B to introduce what should be eaten and what not

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C to explain what is helpful to your health and what is not.

D to test our nutrition IQ by judging the problems listed

27. When we say that Cambridge us a university town, we don’t mean just that it is a town with a university in it. Manchester and Milan have universities, but we don’t call them university towns. A university town is one where there is no clear separation between the university buildings and the rest of the city. The university is not just one part of the town; it is all over the town. The heart of Cambridge has its shops, pubs (小酒馆), marketplace and so on, but most of it is university—colleges, faculties(各系部), libraries, clubs and other places for university staff(教职员工) and students. Students fill the shops, cafes, bands, and churches, making these as well part, of the university.

The town was there first. Two Roman roads crossed there, and there are signs of building before Roman times (earlier than A.D. 43). Cambridge became a center of learning, and the authority（权威) of the head of the university was recognized by the king in 1226.

With about 8,250 undergraduates and over 2,000 postgraduates, the city is a busy place in “full turn” (全体学生在校上课时). Undergraduates are not allowed to keep cars in Cambridge, so nearly all of them use bicycles. Don’t try to drive through Cambridge during the five minutes between lectures. Your bicycle must go through a boiling sea of other bicycles hurrying in all directions. If you are in Cambridge at five minutes to the hour any morning of full term, you know that you are in a university town.

What is the title of the passage?

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A Cambridge --- A University Town B Cambridge ---A Centre of learning

C Cambridge with Many Students D Cambridge with a Long History

28. Perhaps the most famous theory, the study of body movement, was suggested by Professor Ray Birdwhistell. He believes that physical appearance is often culturally (文化地) programmed. In other words, we learn our looks –we are not born with them. A baby has generally informed face features(特征). A baby, according to Birdwhistell, learns where to set the eyebrows by looking at those around –family and friends. This helps explain why the people of some areas of the United States look so much alike. New Englanders of Southerners have certain common face features that cannot be explained by genetics(遗传学). The exact shape of the mouth is not set at birth, it is learned after. In fact, the final shape is not formed until well after new teeth are set. For many, this can be well into grownup. A husband and wife together for a long time often come to look somewhere alike. We learn our looks from those around us. This is perhaps why in a single country there are areas where people smile more than those in other areas. In the United States, for example, the South is the part of the country where the people smile most frequently. In New England they smile less, and in the western part of New York still less. Many Southerners find cities such as New York are unfriendly, partly because people on Madison Avenue smile less than people on Peachtree Street in Atlanta, Georgia. People in large polluted areas also smile and greet each other in public less than people in small towns so.

This passage might have been taken out if a book dealing with_______.

A physics B chemistry C biology D none of the above

1.A 2. A 3. A.A 4. B 5. B. 6. D 7. A 8. B 9. A 10. C 11. A 12. C 13. A 14. A.

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15. D 16. B 17. C 18. B 19. C 20. B 21. D 22. C 23. A 24. B 25. B 26. D 27. A 28. D

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