阅读文章后，从第50至54题所给A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳答案。
We all hate speed cameras，don’t we？They’re not there to slow drivers down and lower the road accidents；they just make money for the government．They trick us，cost us cold hard cash，disturb us from driving properly and are unfair．
Well，here’s a surprising thing：what if there were facts that the boring cameras actually saved lives？It’s a conclusion difficult to ignore when you look at what’s happening in France，a country with a historically poor record of road safety．
There were 16,617 road deaths in 1972 i
n France for example，but that dropped to 8412 by 1995 following rules suc
h as compulsory（强迫的）seat belt wearing in 1990 and a lowering of the blood alcohol limit to 0.05 in 1995．
Last year, the road deaths dropped below 5,000 for the first time，or 4.9 percent less than2004．Comparing road deaths to populating in 2005，that’s about 817 per million people compared with Australia’s 806．
And guess what？Last year the number of speed cameras on French roads reached 1,000 and the government plans to double that within the next three years．
Okey, you know the arguments on the increased traffic safety and cameras. for-inco me, but in seems in France there’s been a major cultural change brought on by radars and other laws. A theer-hour, wine-soaked lunch with a quick rush back to the office is no longer on.
Traveling on the highways，it is rare to see anyone breaking the 130km/h speed limit when one few traveled below it. The speed cameras are clearly signed so drivers know when they are coming There’s even all official web site listing fixed and mobile camera locations and it is updated regularly
Maybe it is because of such transparency by government，rather than the secrecy too often used by authorities in many other countries that more French can enjoy their life thanks to speed camerasWe can learn from the first paragraph that ．
A．s peed cameras cost us our lives |
| B．speed cameras help HS drive properly |
| C．most people think speed cameras are good for slowing drivers down |
| D．most people think speed cameras are used to make money for the government |
In France, a driver should obey the
following rules EXCEPT ．
| A．blood alcohol limit lowering | B．speed limit obeying |
| C．camera location updating | D．seat belt wearing |
The underlined word ‘‘transparency’’ in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to ．
| A．honesty | B．openness | C．innocence | D．strictness |
Now you can seldom see in France ．
| A．lunch time last long with drunk people rushing back to office |
| B．people drive at a speed of less than 130 km／h |
| C．drivers drive according to the traffic lights |
| D．police conduct traffic in streets |
What is the text mainly about？
A．The argument on speed cameras
B The drivers in France hating speed cameras
C．France does successfully in controlling road accidents
D．France takes many measures in controlling road accidents
Would you jump off the Great Wall of China for 300 pounds a day?
A stunt (特技表演)person is a man or woman who does all the dangerous bits of acting work in films or on TV. This can be anything from a simple fall into a swimming pool, or walking off the top of a tall building. It sounds like a job that you would have to be made to try, but there are actually lots of people who want to do it.
Sarah France, twenty-four, is one of Britain’s sixteen professional stunt women ---there are one hundred and sixty stunt men in the country. We asked Sarah how she came to be a stunt woman.
“When I was young I was trained to be a dancer, and for seven years after school I was hardly out of work. A dancer’s life is pretty short, though, and my father suggested I should think about doing stunt work after I’d given up dancing. I thought about it for the next two years and decided to have a go. For six months, I worked really hard every day. I had to learn different skills---swimming, jumping, horse -riding, etc.”
Sarah finished the course in just five months and applied to the office which decides whether you’re accepted as a professional stunt person or not. Two weeks after she was accepted, Sarah was throwing off the Great Wall of China in Superman IV.
“I was very lucky to get work so quickly. I had a small part, playing a traveler who fell off the Wall after an earthquake. The traveler’s life was saved by Superman, of course! Actually, I fell forty-five feet into a pile of cardboard boxes! You can’t use anything softer than that or you will be brought back into view of the cinema. Instead you just have to learn to fall properly. It’s quite dangerous but I enjoy it.”Quite a number of people want to do dangerous acts in films because___________.
| A．they are mad | B．they don’t think them dangerous |
| C．no training is needed | D．they can earn much money |
Sarah gave up dancing because___________.
| A．her father persuaded her to do stunt work |
| B．she could not go on dancing forever |
| C．she had to work hard every day |
| D．she was often out of work |
Soon after Sarah got her new job as a stunt person, ______________.
| A．an earthquake took place near the Great Wall |
| B．she fell off the Great Wall and hurt herself |
| C．she was asked to act in Superman IV |
| D．she learned how to fall properly |
Which of the following words best describes Sarah?
| A．Healthy | B．Adventurous | C．Skillful | D．Successful |
The purpose of the first sentence of the passage is to ____________.
| A．draw the readers’ attention to the whole passage |
| B．invite you to try jumping off the Great Wall for money |
| C．ask you to be a stunt person |
| D．raise a question for the readers to think about |
Toyota is the world's largest automaker, but its road to success has been long and filled with speed bumps（颠簸）.
1958：The company's first foray into the American market was the Toyopet in 1958. It was a flop.
1964：Toyota introduced their Corona line of automobiles and sales hit 6,400 in 1965, marking an increase in popularity.
1969：Toyota began importing the Corolla and in 1985 it would become the first Toyota built in the U.S.
1975：Toyota surpassed the popular German brand Volkswagen to become the top import sold in the U.S.
1986：The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordered its first recall of Toyota cars due to "speed control" problems.
1988：The First North American Toyota plant opened in Georgetown, Ky.
1989：Toyota introduced the Lexus LS 400, the company's first U.S. luxury car. It was a major hit.
1997：Toyota debuted their Prius gas-electric hybrid car.
2002：The first consumer complaints emerged of the Camry's engine surging under braking.
2004：The NHTSA opened a defect investigation into 2002-2003 Camry, Camry Solara and Lexus ES models.
2006：Toyota "Americanizes" and opened a new plant in Texas to build full-size pickups
2007：Toyota surpassed General Motors to become the world's largest automaker.
2007：The NHTSA investigated pedal entrapment in some Toyota vehicles, which led recalls of floor mats on Camry and Lexus models.
2007：The NHTSA investigated pedal entrapment in some Toyota vehicles, which led recalls of floor mats on Camry and Lexus models.
Aug. 2009：An off-duty California Highway Patrol officer and three family members were killed when their rental 2009 Lexus ES speeds out of control.
Nov. 2009：Toyota recalled 3.8 million Lexus and Toyota models to remove floor mats that can trap pedals.
Jan. 2010：Toyota recalled approximately 2.3 million more vehicles with potential sticking pedal problems. On Jan. 26, Toyota stopped selling eight models involved in the recall.
Feb. 2010：Prius and Lexus hybrids are now being recalled for brake problems in 2010 models.Which of the following brands belong to Toyota family？
| A．Toyopet, Volkswagen, Lexus, Prius |
| B．Camry, Prius, Lexus, Georgetown |
| C．Corona, Prius, Lexus, Corolla |
| D．General Motors, Lexus, Camry, Corolla |
The underlined word in Para.6 probably means:
| A．withdrawal | B．sorrow | C．appreciation | D．resolve |
We can infer from the passage that____________
| A．Lexus LS 400 is a cheaper car |
| B．Prius may be a kind of environmentally friendly car |
| C．Corona became popular as soon as introduced to the US |
| D．Toyota’s plant opened in Georgetown symbolized its “Americanize” tactics |
The purpose of this passage is to_________.
| A．advertise for Toyota |
| B．display Toyota’s glory |
| C．uncover Toyota’s braking problems |
| D．introduce Toyota’ s struggle in the US |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．The world’s largest automaker | B．The rise of Toyota |
| C．Toyota meeting problems in the US | D．Toyota’s failure in the US |
When you practice reading with passages shorter than book length, do not try to take in each word separately, one after the other. It is much more difficult to grasp the broad theme of the passage this way, and you will also get the stuck on individual words which may not be absolutely essential to a general understanding of the passage. It is a good idea to skim through the passage very quickly first to get the general idea of each paragraph. Titles, paragraph headings and emphasized words can be a great help in getting this skeleton outline of the passage. It is surprising how many people do not read titles, introductions or paragraph headings. Can you, without looking back, remember the title of this passage and the heading of this paragraph?
Most paragraphs of a passage or chapter have a 'topic sentence' which expresses the central idea. The remaining sentences expand or support that idea. It has been estimated that between 50% and 90% of all expositive（说明的）paragraphs in English have the topic sentence first. Always pay special attention to the first sentence of a paragraph, it is most likely to give you the main idea.
Sometimes, though, the first sentence in the paragraph does not have the feel of 'main idea' sentence. It does not seem to give us enough new information to justify a paragraph. The next most likely place to look for the topic sentence is the last sentence of the paragraph.
Remember that the opening and closing paragraphs of a passage or chapter are particularly important. The opening paragraph suggests the general direction and content of the piece, while the closing paragraph often summarizes the very essence（精髓）.It is a good idea to skim through a passage quickly first ____________.
| A．at about 315 w.p.m.（words per minute） |
| B．to get the general idea of each paragraph |
| C．so that you can take in each work separately |
| D．to make sure you get to the end at least once |
The topic sentence of an expository paragraph in English _____________.
| A．usually comes in the middle |
| B．is most likely to be found at the end |
| C．is most often at the beginning |
| D．is usually left out in expository writing |
Most expository paragraphs in English have a clearly defined topic sentence. In such paragraphs the topic sentence comes first ________.
A. in about 5% of cases B in about 80% of cases
C. in about 20% cases D. very rarelySometimes we know the first sentence is not the topic sentence because ____________.
| A．it does not seem to give us enough new information |
| B．it is not long enough |
| C．it does not come at the beginning |
| D．it does not make a complete sentence |
The closing paragraph of a piece of writing ____________.
| A．is not really very important |
| B．is often unnecessary repetition |
| C．often comes at the end |
| D．often summarizes the essence of the passage |
Do you want to live with a strong sense of peacefulness, happiness, goodness, and self- respect? The collection of happiness actions broadly categorized as "honor" help you create this life of good feelings.
Here's an example to show how honorable actions create happiness.
Say a store clerk fails to charge us for an item. If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk's mistake, we would drive home with a sense of sneaky excitement. Later we might tell our family or friends about our good fortune. On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thank us for our honesty. We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul.
Then, what is it to do with our sense of happiness?
In the first case, where we don't tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen. Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief. In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect. We would also demonstrate that we cannot lie trusted, since we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends. We damage our own reputations by telling others. In contrast, bringing the error to the clerk's attention causes different things to happen. Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable. Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased. Whenever we take honorable action we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility.
There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions. Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions. Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence. And it's easy to think and act honorably again when we're happy. While the positive cycle can be difficult to start, once it's started, it's easy to continue. Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness.According to the passage, the positive action in the example contributes to our___.
| A．friendly relationship | B．financial rewards |
| C．advertising ability | D．self-respect |
The author thinks that keeping silent about the uncharged item is equal to___.
| A．lying | B．cheating | C．stealing | D．advertising |
The phrase "bringing the error to the clerk's attention" (in para. 5) means___.
| A．asking the clerk to be more attentive |
| B．offering advice to the clerk |
| C．telling the truth to the clerk |
| D．reminding the clerk of the charged item |
Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?
| A．How to Live Truthfully |
| B．Importance of Peacefulness |
| C．Ways of Gaining Self-respect |
| D．Happiness through Honorable Actions |
Dogs wag(摇摆) their tails in different directions depending on whether they are excited and wanting to move forward or threatened and thinking of moving back, a study has found.
Researchers in Italy examined the tail wagging behaviour of 30 dogs, catching their responses to a range of stimuli(刺激物) with video camems. To conduct the study, they chose 15 male dogs and 15 female ones aged between one and six years. The dogs were all family pets whose owners had allowed them to take part in the experiment at Bari University. The dogs were placed in a large wooden box with an opening at the front to allow for them to view various stimuli. They were tested one at a time.
The researchers led by Professor Giorgio Vallortigara of the University of Trieste found that when the dogs were shown their owners —a positive experience— their tails wagged energetically to the right side. When they were shown an unfamiliar human they wagged to the right, but with somewhat less enthusiasm. The appearance of a cat again caused a right-hand side wag, although with less intensity again. The appearance of a large unfamiliar dog, similar to a German shepherd, changed the direction of tail wagging to the left. Researchers supposed the dog was thinking of moving back. When the dogs were not shown any stimuli, they tended to wag their tails to the left, suggesting they preferred company. While the changes in the tail wagging were not easily noticed without the aid of video, it was thought that the findings could help people judge the mood (心情) of dogs. Computer and video systems, for example, could be used by professional dog trainers to determine the mood of dogs that they were required to approach.The video cameras were used to catch the dogs’ response because______.
| A．The dogs wagged their tails in different directions when they were in different moods |
| B．they enabled the dogs’ owners to know about their dogs’ habit |
| C．It was easier to catch the dogs’ response change in tail wagging |
| D．The dog were put in the wooden boxes and tested one at a time |
The underlined word “intensity”in the passage means_______.
| A．surprise | B．worry | C．excitment | D．interest |
The underlined word “they” refers to _______.
| A．the dogs | B．the trainers | C．the systems | D．the researchers |
The purpose of doing the experiment is ________.
| A．to train dogs for their owners |
| B．to help dogs find company |
| C．to help people judge the mood of dogs |
| D．to help people choose their pet dogs |
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