It is widely known that any English conversation begins with The Weather. Such a fixation with the weather finds expression in Dr. Johnson’s famous comment that “When two English meet, their first talk is of weather.” Though Johnson’s observation is as accurate now as it was over two hundred years ago, most commentators fail to come up with a convincing explanation for this English weather-speak.
Bill Bryson, for example, concludes that, as the English weather is not at all exciting, the obsession with it can hardly be understood. He argues that “To an outsider, the most striking thing about the English weather is that there is not very much of it.” Simply, the reason is that the unusual and unpredictable weather is almost unknown in the British Isles.
Jeremy Paxman, however, disagrees with Bryson, arguing that the English weather is by nature attractive. Bryson is wrong, he says, because the English preference for the weather has nothing to do with the natural phenomena. “The interest is less in the phenomena themselves, but in uncertainty.” According to him, the weather in England is very changeable and uncertain and it attracts the English as well as the outsider.
Bryson and Paxman stand for common misconceptions about the weather-speak among the English. Both commentators, somehow, are missing the point. The English weather conversation is not really about the weather at all. English weather-speak is a system of signs, which is developed to help the speakers overcome the natural reserve and actually talk to each other. Everyone knows conversations starting with weather-speak are not requests for weather data. Rather, they are routine greetings, conversation starters or the blank “fillers”. In other words, English weather-speak is a means of social bonding.The author mentions Dr. Johnson’s comment to show that______.
| A．most commentators agree with Dr. Johnson |
| B．Dr. Johnson is famous for his weather observation |
| C．the comment was accurate two hundred years ago |
| D．English conversations usually start with the weather |
What does the underlined word “obsession” most probably refer to?
| A．A social trend. |
| B．An emotional state. |
| C．A historical concept. |
| D．An unknown phenomenon. |
According to the passage, Jeremy Paxman believes that______.
| A．Bill Bryson has little knowledge of the weather |
| B．there is nothing special about the English weather |
| C．the English weather attracts people to the British Isles |
| D．English people talk about the weather for its uncertainty |
What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage?
| A．To explain what English weather-speak is about. |
| B．To analyse misconceptions about the English weather. |
| C．To find fault with both Bill Bryson and Jeremy Paxman. |
| D．To convince people that the English weather is changeable. |
C
| PEKING HOUSE RESTAURANT AND TAKE AWAY DELICIOUS HIGH CLASS CHINESE FOOD COOKED BY EXPERIENCED CHEFS IN OUR OWN UNIQUE & MODERN KITCHEN FREE DELIVERY LARGE CAR PARK TELEPHONE ORDER WELCOME ASK ABOUT OUR CHEF’S SPECIALITY |
DAY LUNCHTIME EVENING SUNDAY CLOSED 5～11:00pm MONDAY 12～2:00pm 5～11:30pm TUESDAY 12～2:00pm 5～11:30pm WEDENESDAY 12～2:00pm 5～11:30pm THURSDAY 12～2:00pm 5～11:30pm FRIDAY 12～2:00pm 5～Midnight SATURDAY CLOSED 5～Midnight YORK (01904) 6837555 56 CHURCH STREET , YORK |
63. In Peking House you can ____________.
A. have your order delivered with no extra charge
B. have your order delivered for an extra fee
C. only order your food and carry it away
D. only order your food and eat it there
64. All food is _____________.
A. delivered to Peking House from a modern central kitchen
B. cooked by experienced cooks from China
C. prepared in Peking house’s well equipped kitchen
D. served in Peking House’s unique and modern kitchen
65. We can get all kinds of services from Paiges Basic except________.
A. giving advice for free. B. changing pets’ bad behavior.
C. going to hosts’ home for training. D. curing Pets’ disease.
66. Of the last two advertisements, which one doesn’t provide the exact address?
A. The first one. B. The second one. C. Neither one. D. We have no idea.
D
The food we eat seems to have deep effects on our health.Although science has made enormous steps in making food more fit to eat ,it has, at the same time,made many foods unfit to eat. Some research has shown that perhaps eighty percent of all human illnesses are related to diet and forty percent of cancer is related to the diet as well,especially cancer of the colon. Different cultures are more likely to cause certain different illnesses because of the food that is characteristic in these cultures. That food is related to illness is into a new discovery. In 1945, about 35 years ago, government researchers realized that nitrates(硝盐酸), commonly used to preserve color in meats,and other food additives,caused cancer. Yet, these carcinogenic additives remain in our food, and it becomes more difficult all the time to know which things on the packaging labels of processed food are helpful or harmful. The additives which we eat are not all so direct. Farmers often give penicillin to beef and living animals, and because of this ,penicillin has been found in the milk of treated cow. Sometimes similar drugs are given to animals not for medical purposes,but for financial reasons. The farmers are simply trying to fatten the animals in order to obtain a higher price on the market. Although the Food and Drug Administration(FDA) has tried repeatedly to control these procedures, the practices continue.
67.What is the best possible title of the passage?
A.Drug and Food B.Cancer and Health
C.Food and Health D.Health and Drug
68.The word “carcinogenic” underlined most nearly means '_____'.
A.trouble-making B.color-retaining C.money-making D.cancer-causing
69.Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.Drugs are always given to animals for medical reasons
B.Some of the additives in our food are added to the food itself and some are
given to the living animals
C.Researchers have known about the potential dangers of food additives for over
thirty-five years.
D.Food may cause forty percent of cancer in the world.
70.How has science done something harmful to mankind?
A.Because of science , diseases caused by polluted food have been virtually wiped out
B.It has caused a lack of information concerning the value of food.
C.Because of the application of science,some potentially harmful substances have been added
to food.
D.The scientists have preserved the color of meats,but not of vegetables.
B
In the 60s, people asked about your astrological (about star) sign. In the 90s, they want to know your website. These days, having a web address is almost as important as a street address. Your website is an electronic meeting place for your family, friends and potentially, millions of people around the world. Best of all, you may not have to spend a cent. The Web is filled with all kinds of free services and all it takes is some time and creativity.
Think of your home page as the starting point of your website. Like the table of contents of a book or magazine, the home page is the front door. Your site can have one or more pages, depending on how you design it.
While web pages vary greatly in their design and content, most use a traditional magazine layout. At the top of the page is a banner(横幅) GRAPHIC. Next comes a greeting and a short description of the site. Pictures, text, and links to other websites follow.
Before you start building your site, do some planning. Think about whom the site is for and what you want to say. Next, gather up the material that you want to put on the site. Draw a rough layout on a sheet of paper.
While there are no rules you have to follow, there are a few things to keep in mind: Start simply. If you are too ambitious at the beginning, you may never get the site off the ground. You can always add to your site.
Less is better. Most people don’t like to read a lot of text online. Break it into small pieces.
Smaller is better. Most people connect to the Internet with a modem（调制解调器）. Since it can take a long time to download large image files, keep the file sizes small.
Have the rights. Don’t put any material on your site unless you are sure you can do it legally. Learn the Net’s Copyright Article for more about this.
Now it’s time to roll up your sleeves and start building. Learn the Net Communities provides tools to help you build your site.
59. The main purpose of the author in writing the passage is to tell you——
A. what a website is like B. how to build your own website
C. how to meet people on line D. what a website consists of
60. According to the author, your website is a place——.
A. where you can meet people all around the world
B. to show your street address on line
C. where you can get free services
D. where you can meet people on the Internet
61. The home page of your website should——.
A. give a list of all the contents of your website
B. be so designed that it looks like a front door
C. be so designed that it can direct people to more of your pages
D. be more or less similar to the cover of a book or magazine
62. The author thinks that if you are too ambitious at the beginning,——.
A. your website may leave no space for adding new things
B. you may never have your plan put into practice
C. you may have no idea how to build your website
D. you may tire yourself out
第三部分阅读理解(共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答
题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
You can make the difference between this … and this. But how?
This summer, join the International Conservation Scouts on a fun—filled holiday with a difference. Year after year, young people from all around the world get together at one of our sixteen conservation camps. Their shared aim is to help protect the countryside and its wildlife.
Many animals and plants are in danger of disappearing forever. The dormouse, a kind of mouse, for example, needs woodland plants for food and trees to stay in. Its habitat is being destroyed by man and it needs our help to survive.
On a conservation camp holiday, you’ll learn all about nature and how to protect it. Our trained leaders will accompany you and tell you everything you need to know. Because of this you don’t need any experience, just energy and enthusiasm. You will explore the countryside and work to ensure the survival of hundreds of animals and plants and still have plenty of time to enjoy the camp’s excellent sport games and organized nature paths through beautiful scenery.
The International Conservation Scouts is a world—wide organization, so there must be a camp near you. You can spend a splendid holiday at any of the camps for as little as ￡60, including accommodation and food.
For more information, send for a free conservation camps handbook today:
The International Conservation Scouts
Stanton St. John
Oxfordshire OX 71 TL
THE KEY TO SAVING WILDLIFE IS TO PROTECT NATURAL, HABITATS
YOUR WORK WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE
56．According to the passage, you can_________at the conservation camps.
A．do experiments on the usual dormouse B．practise numbers of favorite hobbies
C．enrich your knowledge of wildlife D．have free accommodation and food
57．Judging from its writing style, this passage seems to be ________
A．a piece of advertisement for the young B．a serious science report for the young
C．a passage for professional reading D．a passage for arguing an opinion
58．The International Conservation Scouts is located in_________.
A．16 different countries B．some camps near you
C．the United Kingdom D．the beautiful countryside
E
Brazil has become one of the developing world’s great successes at reducing population growth－but more by accident than design. While countries such as India have made joint efforts to reduce birth rates, Brazil has had better result without really trying, says George Martine at Harvard.
Brazil’s population growth rate has dropped from 2.99% a year between 1951 and 1960 to 1.93% a year between 1981 and 1990, and Brazilian women now have only 2.7 children on average. Martine says this figure may have fallen still further since 1990, an achievement that makes it the envy of many other Third World countries.
Martine puts it down to, among other things, soap operas (通俗电视连续剧) and installment (分期付款) plans introduced in the 1970s. both played an important, although indirect, role in lowering, the birth rate. Brazil is one of the world’s biggest producers of soap operas. Globo, Brazil’s most popular television network, shows three hours of soaps six nights a week, while three others show at least one hour a night. Most soaps are based on wealthy characters living the high life in big cities.
“Although they have never really tried to work in a message towards the problems of reproduction, they describe middle and upper class values － not many children, different attitudes towards sex, women working,” says Martine. “They sent this image to all parts of Brazil and made people conscious of other patterns of behavior and other values, which were put into a very attractive package.”
Meanwhile, the installment plans tried to encourage the poor to become consumers (消费者). “This led to an enormous change in consumption (消耗、消费) patterns and consumption was incompatible (不相容的) with unlimited reproduction.” Says Martine.
57. According to the passage, Brazil has cut back its population growth ____.
A. by educating its citizens B. by careful family planning
C. by developing TV programs D. by chance
58. According to the passage, many Third World countries ______.
A. haven’t attacked much importance to birth control
B. would soon join Brazil in controlling their birth rate
C. haven’t yet found an effective measure to control their population
D. neglected the role of TV plays in family planning
59. Soap operas have helped in lowering Brazil’s birth rate because ____.
A. they keep people sitting long hours watching TV
B. they have gradually changed people’s way of life
C. people are drawn to their attractive package
D. they popularize birth control measures
60. What is Martine’s conclusion about Brazil’s population growth?
A. The increase in birth rate will increase consumption.
B. The desire for consumption helps to reduce birth rate.
C. Consumption patterns and reproduction patterns are contradictory (互相矛盾的)
D. A country’s production is limited by its population growth.
粤公网安备 44130202000953号