PART THREE READING COMPREHENSION
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.
A
Swaying palm trees, turquoise-blue water and sugar-white sand make beach lovers sigh with delight. But not all beaches have those ingredients. The most interesting beaches come in different shapes, sizes and colors.
Those who want beauty and something unique can go to the Seychelles’ La Digue Island. Large granite (花岗岩) rock formations overlook beautiful, white-sand beaches. The pinkish-grey rocks look like sculptures that have been forgotten on the beach. Tourists traveling to La Digue Island to see the unique rocks will also discover one of the world’s most beautiful islands.
Hawaii’s Big Island has one of the rarest beaches of all — a beach made up entirely of green sand. The sand, which is formed by dark green crystals called olivine (橄榄石), is deposited (堆积) by volcanic activity. Green Sand Beach lies on the slopes of the world’s largest active volcano, Mauna Loa.
One of the world’s most unusual beaches lies on the island of Santorini, Greece. The sand on Red Beach gets its reddish color from the red volcanic rocks that make up the cliffs (悬崖) around the beach. Tourists flock (蜂拥) to see the red sand, making Red Beach one of Santorini’s most popular beach destinations.
Black sand makes up the huge beach of Karakare. Through the years, volcanic sand mixed with iron ash to form this black beach on New Zealand’s wild, west coast. With all the beautiful beaches in the world, beach lovers have lots of choices. But for those ready for something different, a unique beach vacation might be just the ticket!
56. What would be the best title of the passage?
A. One of the world’s most unusual beaches B. Beach lovers having more choices
C. A unique beach vacation D. Unique beaches around the world
57. According to the text, ______ would be regarded as the general characteristics of beautiful beaches.
A. swaying palm trees, turquoise-blue water, sugar-while sand
B. rocks, white sand, pinkish-grey rocks, sculptures
C. green sand, slopes of an active volcano
D. black sand, iron ash, wild coast
58. Beaches on the island of Santorini are red because of _______.
A. the cliffs around the beach B. the large granite rocks
C. the red volcanic rocks D. crystals called olivine
59. If you want to see pinkish-grey rocks, then go to _______.
A. Santorini, Greece B. Seychelles’ La Digue Island
C. Hawaii’s Big Island D. New Zealand
60. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Different beaches have different colors.
B. Different places have different beaches.
C. White sand and blue water are the main characteristics of beaches.
D. People have many choices for beach vacations.
A year ago August, Dave Fuss lost his job driving a truck for a small company in west Michigan. His wife, Gerrie, was still working in the local school cafeteria, but work for Dave was scarce, and the price of everything was rising. The Fusses were at risk of joining the millions of Americans who have lost their homes in recent years. Then Dave and Gerrie received a timely gift--＄7,000, a legacy (遗产) from their neighbors Ish and Arlene Hatch who died in an accident. “It really made a difference when we were going under financially,” says Dave.
But the Fusses weren’t the only folks in Alto and the neighboring town of Lowell to receive unexpected legacy from the Hatches. Dozens of other families were touched by the Hatches’ generosity. In some cases, it was a few thousand dollars; in others, it was more than ＄100,000.
It surprised nearly everyone that the Hatches had so much money, more than ＄3 million--they were an elderly couple who lived in an old house on what was left of the family farm.
Children of the Great Depression, Ish and Arlene were known for their habit of saving. They liked comparison shopping and would routinely go from store to store, checking prices before making a new purchase.
Through the years, the Hatches paid for local children to attend summer camp when their parents couldn’t afford it. “Ish and Arlene never asked if you needed anything.” says their friend Sandy Van Weelden. “They could see things they could do to make you happier, and they would do them.”
Even more extraordinary was that the Hatches had their farmland distributed. It was the Hatches’ wish that their legacy, a legacy of kindness as much as one of dollars and cents, should enrich the whole community and last for generations to come.
Neighbors helping neighbors -- that was Ish and Arlene Hatch’s story.According to the text, the Fusses_________.
| A．were employed by a truck company |
| B．were in financial difficulty |
| C．worked in a school cafeteria |
| D．lost their home |
Which of the following is true of the Hatches?
| A．They had their children during the Great Depression. |
| B．They left the family farm to live in an old house. |
| C．They gave away their possessions to their neighbors. |
| D．They helped their neighbors to find jobs |
Why would the Hatches routinely go from store to store?
| A．They decided to open a store. |
| B．They wanted to save money. |
| C．They couldn’t afford expensive things. |
| D．They wanted to buy gifts for local kids. |
According to Sandy Van Weelden, the Hatches were ________.
| A．understanding | B．optimistic | C．childlike | D．curious |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．The community of Alto was poor. |
| B．The summer camp was attractive to the parents. |
| C．Sandy Van Weelden got a legacy from the Hatches |
| D．The Hatches would like the neighbors to follow their example. |
More and more Italians are leaving their country because they can not get a job. One in every three Italians say they are willing to go abroad, sometimes even to other continents to get work. Currently, about 300,000 young Italians may be living abroad.
Although emigration has always been a choice for Italians, especially for those who left the country at the beginning of the twentieth century, more young Italians think leaving their home country is the only way to escape economic difficulty. These young Italians, however, are not poor farmers or laborers but bright university graduates and other talented young people.
Many of them want to go to richer places, like northern Europe, but they are also prepared to go elsewhere. Most of them describe a feeling of unhappiness and frustration. They are not sure which direction their country is heading and feel no longer proud of being Italians.
Many leave because they think that getting a good job is possible in other countries where all doors are open to you if you are young and dynamic. However, in Italy everything is boring and old-fashioned. Italy’s economic system is largely based on family structures and the elderly who don’t want to give up power. Corruption(腐败) is also a big problem that simply won’t go away.
The Italian government is aware of the problem and says it must create new opportunities for its younger generation. But even if it starts working on a new style economy right away it may take years before things in Italy really change. The government has already passed laws which will make it easier for doctors, lawyers and other academics to start a career in Italy.
Many economic experts claim that Italy is doing a lot for its older generation but very little for its youth. For example, it spends little on housing, childcare but a lot on pensions. Some people are leaving Italy mainly because they _____ .
| A．want to get a job | B．want to travel abroad |
| C．prefer working abroad | D．no longer love their country |
The Italian government _____ .
| A．is blind to the problem of emigration |
| B．encourages young Italians to go abroad |
| C．has taken some measures to change the situation |
| D．promise to offer more jobs to young Italians soon |
Many economic experts think that the Italian government should _____ .
| A．do more for its youth |
| B．try to improve its economy |
| C．stop its youth from going abroad |
| D．solve the problem as soon as possible |
What problem is Italy facing?
| A．Most of its laborers are old. |
| B．There aren’t any truly talented youngsters. |
| C．The government officials’ attitude is old-fashioned. |
| D．People with power are doing illegal and dishonest things. |
Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Italian emigration history |
| B．More care for old Italians |
| C．Young Italians are leaving Italy |
| D．The influence of economic difficulty |
Not too long ago, our teacher, being a “tree-hugger”(as the kids call her), had us write an essay on an environmental issue. I was eager to start, but something made me stop.
“What is an environmental issue?” one kid asked. “What if we don’t care about the environment?” another complained. “It’s not like it affects me.”
These comments astounded me. I have always cared about the environment and assumed that others did too. From the surprised look on my teacher’s face, I could tell she felt the same way.
In no time, I finished my essay. In my essay I wrote about logging(伐木), which is an important industry, but if we continue to cut down trees without replacing, it will damage the environment.
There are so many things that we can do to save our world. Recycling, of course, is always a good thing, but not everyone has a recycling plant nearby (I don’t). There are other ways to help the environment. Plant a tree. Don’t waste water.
I can’t stand it when a person’s excuse for not caring is “Nothing is going to happen in my lifetime, so why should I care?” Sure, the chances of something terrible happening are slim, but I want people to realize that if we don’t deal with it, someone will have to eventually. Do you want that to be your children? Or your children’s children?
When my teacher told me to read my essay to my class, I was a little embarrassed because I didn’t want everyone to call me “tree-hugger”. I realize now that if being a tree-hugger means you care about the environment, I’m a tree-hugger 100 percent. I just wish more people were. Why do the students call their teacher “tree-hugger”?
| A．She likes hugging trees. |
| B．She knows a lot about trees. |
| C．She grew up in the countryside. |
| D．She cares a lot about the environment. |
At the beginning, the author stopped writing _____ .
| A．to ask some questions |
| B．because of other kids’ comments |
| C．to listen to the teacher’s instructions |
| D．because he had no idea about the topic |
The underlined word “astounded” in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by “_____” .
| A．helped | B．changed | C．shocked | D．interested |
Paragraph 5 is mainly about _____ .
| A．what we can recycle |
| B．how we can save the earth |
| C．why we should protect the earth |
| D．what damage we are doing to the earth |
We can infer from the passage that _____ .
| A．the students don’t like the teacher |
| B．the teacher liked the author’s essay |
| C．the author is ashamed of being a tree-hugger |
| D．the author should have written a better essay |
The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sadly before me at a huge pile of that troublesome stuff（东西） they call “books”.
I was going to have my examination the next day. “When can I go to bed？” I asked myself. I didn’t answer. In fact I dared not.
The clock struck twelve. “Oh，dear！” I cried. “Ten more books to read before I can go to bed！” We pupils are the most wretched creatures in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy.
The clock struck one. I was quite desperate（绝望的） now. I forgot all I had learned. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed， “Oh, God, please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards，Amen.” My eyes were so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep.When the author was going over his lessons, all the others in the house were ________ .
| A．asleep | B．outside | C．working in bed | D．quietly laughing at him |
He underlined word “wretched” in Paragraph 3 probably means _______ .
| A．very happy | B．disappointed | C．very unhappy | D．hopeful |
Reviewing his lessons didn’t help him because .
| A．it was too late at night |
| B．he was very tired |
| C．his eyes lids were so heavy that he couldn’t keep them open |
| D．he hadn’t studied hard before the examination |
What do you suppose happened to the author later？
| A．He went to a church to pray again |
| B．He passed the exam by sheer luck |
| C．He failed in the exam |
| D．He was punished by his teacher |
The best title for the passage would be __________ .
| A．The Night Before the Examination |
| B．Working Far into the Night |
| C．A Slow Student |
| D．Going Over My Lessons |
Louis Pasteur, the famous French chemist and bacteriologist(微生物学家), invented “pasteurization”. In 1854 Pasteur was made head of the department of science at the University of Lille, and it was there that he made one of his most famous discoveries. Lille was a major center for wine and beer-making, and some of the local wine-makers asked Pasteur if he could help solve the problem of keeping wine fresh. At that time, it was believed that food and drinks go “bad” due to a purely chemical process. But during a series of experiments Pasteur proved that tiny living organisms(微生物)caused food and drinks to go bad. In the case of wine and beer the organisms are already present in the form of the various yeasts (酵母) that caused the fermentation(发酵) process. Pasteur discovered that heating the wine gently for a few minutes after it had fermented would kill off the yeast that was left in the wine, with the result that the wine would remain fresh for much longer. He also proved that food and drinks could be turned bad by other organisms that were present in the air, and that they too would keep fresh much longer if they were kept in airtight containers.
The heating process was so successful that it made Pasteur famous. It was named “pasteurization” in his honour, and by about 1900 it had been widely used for processing and bottling cows’ milk. The result was a huge drop in the number of bottle-fed babies dying from infant diarrhea(婴儿腹泻)and from that time on it has been a standard treatment for milk and many other food products. This simple process has saved thousands, possibly millions, of lives worldwide. Pasteur became ___________ in 1854.
| A．the chairperson of the science department at the University of Lille |
| B．the director of a chemical laboratory at the University of Lille |
| C．the general manager of a large beer-making company |
| D．the president of the University of Lille |
According to the passage, Lille was a major center for ___________ in the mid-19th century.
| A．growing grain crops | B．making beer and wine |
| C．doing chemical research | D．producing various kinds of yeasts |
In the last sentence of Paragraph 1, the underlined word “they” refers to ___________.
| A．wine and beer | B．food and drinks | C．the various yeasts | D．other organisms |
We can infer from the passage that Pasteur’s discovery __________.
| A．is no longer widely used for treating milk and other food products |
| B．did not bring much profit to the wine makers in Lille |
| C．has done a lot of good to children in the world |
| D．has greatly reduced the number of wars in the world |
According to the passage, we know it is that causes food and drinks to go bad.
| A．a purely chemical process. | B．tiny living organisms(微生物) |
| C．keeping them in airtight containers. | D．the heating process |
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