III．阅读(共两节，满分40分)
第一节 阅读理解(共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题号上将该项涂黑。
Living an Adventurous Life
Nearly ten years ago, I was told that I had a brain tumor (瘤), and this experience changed my attitude about adventure forever. I thought that I was going to die and that all my adventures were over. I did not have a brain tumor, it turned out, but rather multiple sclerosis (多发性硬化症), which meant that, although they were not over,the nature of my adventures could have to change.
Each morning that I wake up is a fresh event, something that I might not have
had. Each gesture that I make carries the weight of uncertainty and demands significant attention: buttoning my shirt, changing a light bulb, walking down stairs. I might not be able to do it this time. If I could not delight in them, they would likely drown me in anger and in self-pity.
I admire the grand adventures of others. I read about them with interest. With Peter Matthiessen I have hiked across the Himalayas to the Crystal Mountain. I have walked with Annie Dillard up, down, into, and across Tinker Creek in all Seasons. David Bain has gone with me along 110 miles of Philippine coast, and Ed Abbey has
rowed me down the Colorado River, I enjoy the adventures of these courageous figures, who can strike out on difficult trips - 2 miles, 250 miles, 3000 miles - ready to bear cold and tiredness - indeed not just to bear but to celebrate.
But as for me, I can no longer walk very far from the armchair in which I read. Some days I don't even make it to the backyard. And yet I'm unwilling to give up the adventurous life, the difficulty of it, even the pain, the anxiety and fear, aud the sudden brief lift of spirit that makes a hard journey more attractive.
I refine adventure, make it smaller and smaller. And now, whether I am moving on my hands and knees across the dining room to help my cat, lying wide-eyed in the dark battling another period of sadness, gathering flowers from the garden, meeting a friend for lunch, I am always having the adventures that are mine to have.
41. What happens to the author after her illness?
A. She has a fear of medical treatments. B. She travels to places she has dreamed.
C. She can't take care of herself any longer D. She is not drowned in anger and self-pity.
42. Why does the author admire the people mentioned in paragraph 3?
A. Because they write popular novels. B. Because they are great adventurers.
C. Because they are famous geographers. D. Because they struggle with hardship in life
43. The author ends the article with a feeling of______
A. sadness B. sacrifice C. security D. satisfaction
44. What does "adventurous life" in the title mean to the author?
A. The struggles of great people against difficulties.
B. Her concern about giving up certain activities.
C. Her adapting to the situation with an illness.
D. The exciting traveling experience of others.
45. What conclusion can we draw from the passage?
A. Travel can enrich a person's life.
B. Reading is an activity that a patient enjoys most.
C. A positive attitude can improve a difficult situation.
D. A person's ability can be improved through reading.
American’s genius with high technology may have put men on the moon, but there is growing doubt about its ability to solve human problems closer to home.
In fact, a slight but significant change from purely technological solutions is already under way as scientists insist that answers to the world’s problems will not come from an attractive exhibition of electronics and machines. Instead, as they see it, solutions must develop from a better understanding of the humans that drive the system and from a fuller appreciation of the limits and potential(潜能) of the earth’s resources.
What this means is an increased emphasis on the life and earth sciences, on sociology, psychology, economics and even philosophy.
More and more of the best minds in science, particularly young researchers, are being drawn into these developing fields.
All this is not to say that technological creativity will not play a critical role in solving energy and food shortages, or that answers to environmental difficulties will not come from further advances in the same technologies that may have helped cause the problems.
Where the real challenge lies, in the view of the new generation of scientists, is in finding ways to produce goods and meet the world’s needs, using less of the raw materials that are becoming short. Which of the following would the author probably agree with?
| A．The environment crisis will not be solved unless we stop using virgin（原始）materials. |
| B．In scientific research, a higher priority（优先）should be given to understanding all living systems. |
| C．Exploration of outer space will finally lead to an improvement on human living conditions. |
| D．U. S. high-technology companies are welcoming this new change in scientific research. |
Which of the following best expresses the main idea?
| A．a growing number of Americans are doubtful about what high technology can do in solving the world’s problems. |
| B．Many scientists are beginning to believe that the better understanding of human beings will play a more decisive role in solving the world’s problems. |
| C．More and more young scientists are trying their best to find new ways to solve the world’s problems. |
| D．Technological creativity will still play a very important part in solving the world’s problems. |
Young scientists demand that in order to satisfy human needs ________.
| A．existing products be improved. |
| B．more complex machines and electronic equipment be designed. |
| C．ways be found to produce better goods using fewer raw materials. |
| D．any new invention and innovation be encouraged in technology |
In the passage “Human problems” or “world problems” refers mainly to ______.
| A．global food shortage | B．resources depletion（耗尽） |
| C．environmental pollution | D．all of the above |
The author states all the following CXCEPT that _______.
| A．the development of present techniques cannot provide any answers to today’s problems. |
| B．an increasing number of young scientists are taking a great interest in biological and social sciences. |
| C．many scientists have come to understand the limits of natural resources. |
| D．many scientists argue that high technology is something but not everything. |
My father had returned from his business visit to London when I came in, rather late, to supper. I could tell at once that he and my mother had been discussing something. In that half-playful, half-serious way I knew so well, he said, "How would you like to go to Eton?"
"You bet," I cried quickly catching the joke. Everyone knew it was the most expensive, the most famous of schools. You had to be entered at birth, if not before. Besides, even at 12 or 13, I understood my father. He disliked any form of showing off. He always knew his proper station in life, which was in the middle of the middle class, our house was medium-sized; he had avoided joining Royal Liverpool Golf Club and went to a smaller one instead; though once he had got a second-hand Rolls-Royce at a remarkably low price, he felt embarrassed driving it, and quickly changed it for an Austin 1100.
This could only be his delightful way of telling me that the whole boarding school idea was to be dropped. Alas! I should also have remembered that he had a liking for being different from everyone else, if it did not conflict with his fear of drawing attention to himself.
It seemed that he had happened to be talking to Graham Brown of the London office, a very nice fellow, and Graham had a friend who had just entered his boy at the school, and while he was in that part of the world he thought he might just as well phone them. I remember my eyes stinging(刺痛) and my hands shaking with the confusion of my feelings. There was excitement, at the heart of great sadness.
"Oh, he doesn’t want to go away," said my mother, "You shouldn’t go on like this.” “It’s up to him," said my father. "He can make up his own mind."The house the writer’s family lived in was ________.
| A．the best they could afford | B．right for their social position |
| C．for showing off | D．rather small |
His father sold his Roils-Royce because ________.
| A．it made him feel uneasy | B．it was too old to work well |
| C．it was too expensive to possess | D．it was too cheap |
The writer’s father enjoyed being different as long as ________.
| A．it drew attention to him | B．it didn’t bring him in arguments |
| C．it was understood as a joke | D．there was no danger of his showing off |
What was the writer’s reaction to the idea of going to Eton?
| A．He was very unhappy. | B．He didn’t believe it. |
| C．He was delighted. | D．He had mixed feelings. |
What was the writer’s reaction to the idea of going to boarding-school?
| A．He was very unhappy, | B．He had mixed feelings. |
| C．He was delighted, | D．He didn't believe it. |
People Born in Autumn Live Longer
People born in the autumn live longer than those born in the spring and are less likely to fall chronically ill when they are older, according to an Austrian scientist.
Using census（人口普查）data for more than one million people in Austria, Denmark and Australia, scientists at the Max Planck Institute in the northern German town of Rostock found the month of birth was related to life expectancy（预期寿命）over the age of 50. Seasonal differences in what mothers ate during pregnancy, and infections occurring at different times of the year could both have an impact on the health of a new-born baby and could influence its life expectancy in older age. “A mother giving birth in spring spends the last phase of her pregnancy in winter, when she will eat less vitamins than in summer,” said Gabriele Doblhammer, one of a team of scientists who carried out the research. “When she stops breast-feeding and starts giving her baby normal food, it’s in the hot weeks of summer when babies are prone (易于)to infections of the digestive system.” In Austria, adults born in autumn (October-December) lived about seven months longer than those born in spring (April-June), and in Denmark adults with birthdays in autumn outlived those born in spring by about four months. In the southern hemisphere, the picture was similar. Adults born in the Australian autumn—the European spring—lived about four months longer than those born in the Australian spring. The study focused on people born at the beginning of the 20th century, using death certificates and census data. Although nutrition at all times of the year has improved since then, the seasonal pattern persists, Doblhammer said.
But on the other hand, according to a study of more 40,000 people, those born in spring and summer report themselves luckier than those born in autumn or winter. Professor Richard Wise-man who led the research explained that the temperature at the time of birth might influence the development of the brain and seasonal factors make a difference as well.The underlined word “outlived” in the text probably means ________.
| A．lived out of | B．depended on |
| C．had a shorter life than | D．lived longer than |
The census data of the following countries is used for research EXCEPT _______.
| A．Germany. | B．Denmark. |
| C．Australia. | D．Austria. |
What’s the main idea of this text?
| A．Nutrition at all times of the year has improved since the beginning of the 20th century. |
| B．In Austria, adults born in autumn (October—December) lived about seven months longer than those born in spring (April—June). |
| C．People born in autumn live longer than those born in spring and are less likely to fall ill when they are older. |
| D．Babies are prone to infections of the digestive system. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the text?
| A．Infections occurring at different times of the year influence the health of a new-born baby. |
| B．The study focused on people born in the late 20th century. |
| C．A mother giving birth in spring eats less vitamins during the last phase of her pregnancy in winter. |
| D．What mothers ate during pregnancy could have an impact on the babies’ life expectancy in older age. |
The right sentence of the following is ________.
| A．The month of birth was not related to life expectancy over the age of 50. |
| B．A mother giving birth in spring spends the last phase of her pregnancy in winter, eating more vitamins than in summer. |
| C．Stopping breast-feeding and starting giving babies normal food must make babies prone to get infected with the digestive system in the hot weeks of summer. |
| D．Adults born in the Australian autumn―the European spring―lived about four months longer than those born in the Australian spring. |
In American schools, computers have done many of the jobs that teachers used to do. Computers ask students questions. If the students give the right answer, the computer will say “Wonderful!” Some computers even read stories aloud to students. Students can do experiments on their computers and can do homework on floppy disks（软盘）.
Both students and teachers are crazy about computers. “With computers, students get help quickly,” said one teacher. “But if the students don’t have computers, they must wait for me to walk around and get to them.”
“I can type faster than I can write,” said a student. “Using a computer is easier than using an eraser.”
Computers are also very patient. A teacher may become angry at a student sometimes. But computers are always calm. When a student gives the wrong answer, the computer just says, “Please try again.”
Companies that make software for school have a difficult job. They must make the software as interesting as the programs that students watch on TV. But they have made much success, because students like computers as much as teachers do.If a student gives a wrong answer, a computer might say, “_________”.
| A．Wonderful | B．Please try again | C．Bad luck. | D．Use an eraser |
Students like computers because computers ________.
| A．are fast and interesting | B．are not patient |
| C．can do some experiments | D．can do homework for them |
Companies that make software for schools have a hard job because ________.
| A．they have to make the software very interesting | B．they have made little success |
| C．the students are interested in TV programmes | D．students don’t like computers |
According to the passage, computers can do the following things except _______.
| A．asking question | B．reading stories aloud |
| C．telling the students whether the answers are right. | |
| D．making TV programmes |
The main idea of the article is ________.
| A．students like computers better than TV |
| B．students like computers better than school |
| C．computers can do many jobs that teachers do for schools |
| D．computers are not good for school |
At five he was collecting old newspapers to make money. And when he was 15 he signed his schoolmates up to start a baby-sitting circle.
Now 20, third-year Cambridge University student, Peter Blackburn is managing director of a company with a £ 30,000 plan. And he thinks it will make more than $15,000 by next summer. He set up Peter Blackborn Ltd last year to bring out a new, color term-planner that now students all over the UK are using.
"I felt that most of the planners going around were pretty unimaginative," he says, "I believed that I could do a better job and decided to have a go".
Blackburn admits that he is putting far more effort into business than his computer studies course at university. While fellow students are out with their friends, he keeps in touch with his business office in Lancashire by movable phone. Before he set up the company he spent one holiday preparing a plan that would persuade his bank to lend him money.
"Most students work hard for a good degree because they believe that will help them get a job to support themselves," he says "I work hard at my company, because that is what will support me next year, after I leave college."
Friends believe that Blackburn will make £ 1 million within 5 years. He is not quite so sure, however. "There's a lot to be done yet," he says.
Choose the right order of the facts given in the passage.
a. He spent his holiday preparing a plan.
b. He collected newspapers.
c. He set up his own company.
d. He asked the bank for money.
e. He set up a babysitting circle.
| A．e, b, c, a, d | B．b, e, a, d, c | C．b, e, d, a, c | D．b, e, c, a, d |
When he was quite young, Blackburn _______ .
| A．already made a lot of money | B．already had a business brain |
| C．was already managing director of a company | D．already set up his own business |
The underlined expression in the fourth paragraph "have a go," here means _______ .
| A．give up this job and have a new one | B．leave the company |
| C．have a try | D．develop my business quickly |
In spite of a college student, Blackburn _______ .
| A．spends more time on his business than on his studies course |
| B．keep in touch with his business office by movable phone |
| C．seldom goes out with his friends |
| D．often spends whole holiday preparing business plan |
Which of the following best explain why Blackburn works hard at his company?
| A．He wants to do more business practice before he leaves college. |
| B．He wants to make more money before he leaves college. |
| C．He wants to get a good job like most students after he leaves the college. |
| D．he depends on the company for his living in the future. |
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