Below is a selection from a popular science book.
If blood is red, why are veins (静脉) blue?
Actually, veins are not blue at all. They are more of a clear, yellowish colour. Although blood looks red when it's outside the body, when it's sitting in a vein near the surface of the skin, it's more of a dark reddish purple color. At the right depth, these blood-filled veins reflect less red light than the surrounding skin, making them look blue by comparison.
Which works harder, your heart or your brain?
Which works harder depends on whether you are busy thinking or busy exercising. Your heart works up to three times harder during exercise, and shifts enough blood over a lifetime to fill a supertanker. But, in the long run, your brain probably tips it, because even when you’re sitting still your brain is using twice as much energy as your heart, and it takes four to five times as much blood to feed it.
Why do teeth fall out, and why don't they grow back in grown-ups?
Baby (or "milk") teeth do not last long; they fall out to make room for bigger, stronger adult teeth later on. Adult teeth fall out when they become damaged, decayed and infected by bacteria. Once this second set of teeth has grown in, you're done. When they're gone, they’re gone. This is because nature figures you're set for life, and what controls regrowth of your teeth switches off.
Do old people shrink as they age?
Yes and no. Many people do get shorter as they age. But, when they do, it isn't because they're shrinking all over. They simply lose height as their spine(脊柱) becomes shorter and more curved due to disuse and the effects of gravity. Many (but not all) men and women do lose height as they get older. Men lose an average of 3-4 cm in height as they age, while women may lose 5 cm or more. If you live to be 200 years old, would you keep shrinking till you were, like 60 cm tall, like a little boy again? No, because old people don't really shrink! It is not that they are growing backwards — their legs, arms and backbones getting shorter. When they do get shorter, it's because the spine has shortened a little or, more often, become more bent and curved.
Why does spinning（旋转） make you dizzy (眩晕的)?
Because your brain gets confused between what you're seeing and what you're feeling. The brain senses that you’re spinning using special gravity-and-motion-sensing organs in your inner ear, which work together with your eyes to keep your vision and balance stable. But when you suddenly stop spinning the system goes out of control, and your brain thinks you're moving while you're not!
Where do feelings and emotions come from?
Mostly from an ancient part of the brain called the limbic system. All mammals have this brain area — from mice to dogs, cats, and humans. So all mammals feel basic emotions like fear, pain and pleasure. But since human feelings also involve other newer bits of the brain, we feel more complex emotions than any other animal on the planet.
If exercise wears you out, how can it be good for you?
Because our bodies adapt to everything we do to them. And as far as your body is concerned, it’s "use it, or lose it”! It's not that exercise makes you healthy; it's more that a lack of exercise leaves your body weak and easily affected by disease.What is the color of blood in a vein near the surface of the skin?
| A．Blue. | B．Light yellow. | C．Red. | D．Dark reddish purple. |
Why do some old people look a little shrunken as they age?
| A．Because their spine is in active use. |
| B．Because they are more easily affected by gravity. |
| C．Because they keep growing backwards. |
| D．Because their spine becomes more bent. |
Which of the following statements about our brain is true?
| A．In the long run, our brain probably works harder than our heart. |
| B．When our brain senses the spinning, we will fell dizzy. |
| C．The brains of the other mammals are as complex as those of humans. |
| D．Our feelings and emotions come from the most developed area in our brain. |
What is the main purpose of the selection?
| A．To give advice on how to stay healthy. |
| B．To provide information about our body. |
| C．To challenge new findings in medical research. |
| D．To report the latest discoveries in medical science. |
E
When New York City was not very big, there was a market on the East River. On market day all the farmers came there to sell their vegetable, butter and eggs, and fruit. They laughed and talked together, so no one could hear the river that ran beside them.
But Hans ,the butterman , sat without a smile. He sold pounds of butter from a table beside him. Many people said that his butter wasn’t the right weight. They said that his rolls of butter didn’t weigh as much as a pound.
Once the weighmaster came walking down the road. He was looking for people who did not sell the full weight. Someone told him, ”Watch Hans, the butterman.”
Hans had good eyes. He saw the weighmaster and quickly put the piece of gold into the first roll of butter, between the butter and its cover.
A captain was standing beside Hans’s table, and he had seen Hans put the piece of gold into the roll. He stood at Hans’s side when the weighmaster came up to him.
“Good morning,” said the weighmaster.
“Good morning,” said Hans. “I think that you are looking for farmers who trick the people of our town.
“I’m,” said the weighmaster. “Someone told me that your rolls of butter don’t weigh a full pound.”
“Oh yes, they do. Here, Weighmaster. Here is a roll of butter. Weigh it yourself,” said Hans.
Hans took the first roll of butter and gave it to the weighmaster.
The weighmaster took his scales and put the butter onto it. The roll weighed more than a pound.
“I’ve made a mistake,” said the weighmaster. “You are an honest man. There is enough butter in this roll.”
Then the captain stood in front of Hans’s table. “You are an honest man, so I want to buy some of your butter,” he said. Before Hans could speak, the captain picked up the roll of butter with the piece of gold in it. “I’ll take this one.”
Hans’s heart began beating more quickly. “No, not that one. I’ve sold that one to a friend of mine. Take another one.”
“No, I want this one,” said the captain.
“I won’t sell it to you. I told you that I’ve sold it to a friend,” said Hans.
“Don’t make me angry. The weighmaster weighed this roll. Give your friend another one.”
“But I want to give him this one,” said Hans, who was now very uncomfortable.
“I ask you, good Weighmaster,” said the captain angrily, “don’t I have the right to choose the piece of butter that I want? I will pay good money for it.”
“Of course you have the right, Captain,” said the weighmaster. “What are you afraid of, Hans? Aren’t all the rolls of butter alike? Perhaps I have to weigh all of them.”
What could Hans say? What could he do? He had to smile and sell the butter to the captain. The captain gave Hans three cents for the butter.
The captain and the weighmaster walked away together.
“You punished the thief,” said the weighmaster.
“No, he punished himself,” said the captain, smile.
1. When Hans saw the weighmaster, he .
A. stood up at once B. said hello to the weighmaster
C. put a piece of gold into a roll of butter quickly
D. gave the weighmaster a piece
2. After the weighmaster weighed the roll of butter that Hans gave, he .
A. thought Hans was an honest man
B. wanted to weigh all the other rolls of butter
C. wanted to buy a roll of butter from Hans
D. thought Hans was foolish
3. The captain wanted to buy butter from Hans .
A. because he knew Hans was an honest man
B. because he wanted to punish Hans
C. to get the piece of gold in the butter
D. because the butter weighed more than a pound
4. Hans didn't want to sell that roll of butter to the captain because .
A. he had sold it to someone else
B. he didn't like the captain
C. he didn't want to lose the piece of gold in it
D. it weighed more than a pound
D
Language learning begins with listening. Individual children vary greatly in the amount of listening they do before they start speaking, and late starters are often long listeners. Most children will "obey" spoken instructions some time before they can speak, though the word obey is hardly accurate as a description of the eager and delighted cooperation usually shown by the child. Before they can speak, many children will also ask questions by gesture and by making questioning noises.
Any attempt to trace the development from the noises babies make to their first spoken words leads to considerable difficulties. It is agreed that they enjoy making noises, and that during the first few months one or two noises sort themselves out as particularly indicative of delight, distress, sociability, and so on. But since these cannot be said to show the baby's intention to communicate, they can hardly be regarded as early forms of language. It is agreed, too, that from about three months they play with sounds for enjoyment, and that by six months they are able to add new sounds to their repertoire (能发出的全部声音). This self-imitation leads on to deliberate (有意识的) imitation of sounds made or words spoken to them by other people. The problem then arises as to the point at which one can say that these imitations can be considered as speech.
1. By "... challenges explanation" Line 2, Para.1. the author means that ______.
A. no explanation is necessary for such an obvious phenomenon
B. no explanation has been made up to now
C. it's no easy job to provide an adequate explanation
D. it's high time that an explanation was provided
2. The third paragraph is mainly about _____.
A. the development of babies' early forms of language
B. the difficulties of babies in learning to speak
C. babies' strong desire to communicate
D. babies' intention to communicate
3. The author's purpose in writing the second paragraph is to show that children _______.
A. usually obey without asking questions
B. are passive in the process of learning to speak
C. are born cooperative D. learn to speak by listening
4. From the passage we learn that ______.
A. early starters can learn to speak within only six months
B. children show a strong desire to communicate by making noises
C. imitation plays an important role in learning to speak
D. children have various difficulties in learning to speak
5. The best title for this passage would be ______.
A. How Babies Learn to Speak B. Early Forms of Language
C. A Huge Task for Children D. Noise Making and language Learning
C
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1．The text is most likely to be found in ．
A．a scientific research report B．a travel magazine
C．a weekly newspaper D．a geography textbook
2．Who will be most interested in reading the advertisement?
A．Accountants． B．Students．
C．Investors． D．Professors．
3．What is the function of Investment Portfolio Fund?
A．Exposing your money to the ups and downs of the direct investment into shares．
B．Helping lower risk with the potential for higher returns．
C．Hiring no less than five leading fund managers．
D．Giving a detailed description of balanced management requirement．
4．Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the text?
A．The five fund managers with different approaches to investment can cooperate with each other perfectly．
B．Marks&Spencer Financial Services reassure the investors that their interests will be well 1ooked after．
C．Clay Finlay can identify international market opportunities and especially select companies with strong growth chances．
D．Gmo Woolley will be looking for companies that can offer excellent growth chances.
B
Part Ⅰ starts with a brief introductory chapter and then takes up Style and Organization, covering them in that order because skill or lack of skill in style affects all writing, while much technical writing is so short as to offer no problems of organization. These chapters are followed by one on Mechanics, covering matters of form that are peculiar(独有) to technical writing or else crop up in it with abnormal frequency.
The chapter on Special Problems, which follows, performs a double function. It provides writing assignments that may be used while the study of style, organization, and mechanics is still under way, and it explains ways of handling certain problems that may arise during the writing of reports, proposals, and other longer forms. We have also expanded the treatment of technical articles — recognizing the potential contribution of article writing to the career of the writer and the value of the article to science and technology.
In Part Ⅱ, a change of emphasis at one point is reflected in the new title for Chapter 8, Nonformal Reports — Their Variation in Form and Purpose, which was formerly called Special Types of Reports. Though certain special types of reports are still discussed, additional emphasis is given to the fact that there does not exist any universally accepted set of types, under which all reports can be classified.
Two other extensive changes have been made in Part Ⅱ: The chapter on Proposals, which first appeared in the second edition, has been rewritten and substantially expanded so as to cover that important subject more thoroughly. Also, an entirely new chapter, Oral Presentation of Technical Information, has been added. Though a study of this chapter is no substitute for training in public speaking, we believe that its recommendations can nevertheless be of substantial assistance to those who use this book on the numerous occasions when they will be called upon to present their ideas in person before a small group or a large audience.
1.The passage is most probably a preface to ____.
A. a technical writing handbook B. a handbook on composition
C. a book on a literary writing D. a scientific paper
2. In Part I, the writer arranges the chapters in the order of ____.
A. Introduction—Organization—Special Problems—Style—Nonformal Reports
B. Introduction—Style—Organization—Special Types of Reports—Mechanics
C. Introduction—Style—Organization—Mechanics—Special Problems
D. Introduction—Style—Proposals—Special Problems—Mechanics
3.You can find some writing exercises in ____.
A. the chapter on Organization B. the chapter on Style
C. the chapter on Special Problems D. the chapter on Proposals
4. According to the passage, the chapter on Oral Presentation of Technical Information appears in ____ of the book.
A. Part Ⅰ of the first edition
B. Part Ⅱ of the second edition
C. Part Ⅰ of the second edition
D. Part Ⅱ of the third edition
5. Which of the following is not true of Part Ⅱ of the new edition?
A. There isn’t the chapter on Special Types of Reports.
B. The chapter on Oral Presentation of Technical Information is rewritten and expanded.
C. The chapter on Proposals is a revised chapter.
D. There is a change of the title of Chapter 8.
第三部分：阅读理解
请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项.
A
In the debates about how a particular piece of land is to be used, the priorities often conflict. What should you do, for example, if you find out that under the fertile fields of a farming community there is a thick bed of coal which can be strip mined(露天矿) ? Strip mining tears up top soil and plants. But mining may create jobs, bring money to the towns businesses. Those who approve of strip mining say that the coal is needed, and they point out that it is quicker and cheaper to get coal from the surface than to go deep into the earth to get it by standard mining techniques. On the other hand, it takes nature 500 years to create an inch of top soil. As the countryside fills up, people are becoming more aware of the need for open space. Nearly every proposal for a new power plant, highway, or airport draws fierce opposition. Everyone wants the big, land-eating “uglies” to be in someone else’s backyard. Minneapolis and St.Paul, Minnesota, for example, have been debating about the site of a future airport for years. Yet if a new airport is needed, it will have to go somewhere.
How do we find our way out of the land-used problem? One way might be to reexamine our values, to think in new directions. Does everyone have to have a car with its need for highways and parking lots? What about developing mass transport systems that use less land? Do suburbs have to spread? Can they be designed so they use less space? Do we have to have more energy? If we do, do we really have to strip-mine coal to provide it?
However difficult they may be to arrive at, choices will have to be made if we want to preserve the beauty and usefulness of the land. For there is at least one point on which all of us can agree: The land does have its limits.
1. The word “priorities” in the sentence means ____.
A. the various needs B. the most important goal
C. the number one necessity D. the first thing to be considered
2. “…, people are becoming more aware of the need for open space. ” tells us that ____.
A. people are thinking to develop their living space into the sky
B. people noticed the need for unoccupied land
C. people are struggling to get more land from the space
D. people are becoming more active on the space issue
3. How do we find our way out of the land use problems?
A. One way might be to reexamine our values, to think in new directions.
B. Everyone has to have a car with its need for highways and parking lots.
C. We have to have more energy. We need strip-mine coal to provide it.
D. We may develop mass transit systems which use less land.
4. “Everyone wants the big, land-eating ‘uglies’ to be in someone else s backyard.” shows that .
A. people don t want more big projects
B. people don t want to live in the neighborhood of the big projects
C. people regard the large construction projects are “uglies ”
D. people don t like the undesirable building projects
5. The main idea of this article is ____.
A. The Limits of Land B. Land
C. Land and Our Life Styles D. Land and Space
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