阅读理解。

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从每小题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳答案。

　　New Year is a very important time in Japan. Everyone tries to clean his or her home and to start the year with some new clothes. Pine branches are hung on the front doors of Japanese homes for good luck. This is a time for visiting in Japan, and it is very festive. There is usually no one on the streets or at work for about three days.

　　In many parts of Africa, New Year is a celebration of new water. It comes at the end of the dry season, in May, when the heat has taken all of the water from the land. The new season will bring rains, and thus life, to the land. The people give thanks for water which is to come.

1．On New Year's Day, the Japanese ________ for good luck.

[　　]

A．clean their homes

B．wear their new clothes

C．stay home instead of working

D．hang pine branches on the front doors

2．We can infer from the passage that the Africans in dry places celebrate New Year in ________.

[　　]

3．The African people hold a celebration for the water because ________.

[　　]

A．they think water is certain to come

B．they believe rains will bring them life

C．they think water will take away the heat

D．they believe the new season will bring luck

4．People in Japan and in African countries ________.

[　　]

A．celebrate New Year in different ways

B．celebrate New Year in the same month

C．are busy visiting friends on New Year's Day

D．give thanks for new water on New Year's Day

阅读理解

　　In the U. S, people prefer waiting for a table to sitting with people they don't know. This means a hostess may not seat a small group until a small table is available, even if a large one is. If you are sitting at a table with people you don't know, it is impolite to light up a cigarette first asking if it will disturb them.

　　At American restaurants and coffee shops you are usually served tap water before you order. You may find the bread and butter is free, and if yon order coffee, you may get a free refill.

　　Most cities and towns have no rules about opening and closing time for stores or restaurants, though they usually do make rules for bars. Especially in large cities, stores may be open 24 hours a day.

　　Serving in restaurants is often large; too large for many people. If you can't finish your meal but would like to enjoy the food later, ask your waitress or waiter for a “doggie bag”. It may have a picture of a dog on it, but everybody knows you're taking the food for yourself.

　　Supper and dinner are both words for the evening meal. Some people have “Sunday dinner”. This is an especially big noon meal.

　　Tips are not usually added to the cheek. They not included in the price of the meal, either. A tip of about 15％ is expected and you should leave it on the table when you leave. In some restaurants, a check is bought on a plate and you put your money there. Then the waiter or waitress brings you your change.

1．Which statement is true?

[　　]

A．American people like sitting with people they don't know.

B．Hostess always seats a small group at a large table.

C．American people never sit with people they don't know.

D．American people would not light a cigarette if the people who sit at the same table mind their smoking.

2．What is served before you order?

[　　]

3．What do American people always do when servings are too large for them?

[　　]

A．They take the food home with a doggie bag for their dogs.

B．They leave the food on the table and go away.

C．They take the food home with a doggie bag and enjoy the food later.

D．They ask the waitress or waiter to keep the food for them.

4．Sunday dinner is ________.

[　　]

阅读理解

　　Jungle country is not friendly to man, but it is possible to survive there. You must have the right equipment and you must know a few important things about woodcraft. Then your chances of staying alive are very good.

　　No one should go into the jungle without the right equipment. You need lightweight clothing, a good knife, and a compass. Fishhooks and a line, a rifle, matches in a waterproof container and a poncho are necessary too. So is a mosquito net to protect the head.

　　In the jungle you can get hopelessly lost within five minutes after leaving a known landmark. That is why you should always carry a compass. In open country, during the day, you can tell which way to go by studying the sun. At night the stars are sure guides to direction. But in most places the jungle rooftop is so thick that it is impossible to see the sun or the stars. Again and again you must check your position by the compass.

　　Keep alert. Watch the ground in front of you carefully. Stop and listen now and again. Avoid haste, and rest often. In a place that is hot and humid, the person who sets a fast pace will soon become tired. A steady, even pace is wisest in the long run.

　　If you lose your way, don't panic. Try to decide how long it has been since you were sure of your position. Mark the spot where you are with blazes on a tree. Put them on four sides of the tree, so that you will be able to see them from any direction. Then you can begin retracing your steps, knowing that you can always find the spot from which you started. Except in an emergency, never try to travel through the jungle at night.

　　Whenever possible, it is wise to follow streams and rivers that are going in your general direction. This may cause you many extra miles of travel. But in the end it will save time and energy. Nothing is more exhausting than hacking a trail cross-through unbroken jungle.

　　If a river is broad and deep and has no rapids, rafting is the best means of travel. Bamboo grows along the banks of many jungle streams. Since it is hollow and extremely strong, it makes a perfect raft.

　　Surviving in the jungle is a science. The jungle people have become perfect in this science, and you can too. Learn as much as you can about what to expect in the jungle. Make sure you have the fight equipment. Then no part of the jungle will seem completely unfriendly or frightening. In fact, you will be able to “live off” it for a long time.

1．For keeping alive in the jungle, the right equipment is ________.

[　　]

A．more important than a knowledge of woodcraft

B．less important than a knowledge of woodcraft

C．just as important as a knowledge of woodcraft

D．not mentioned

2．The author probably advises against traveling at night because ________.

[　　]

A．one tends to move too slowly at night

B．some animals will attack you

C．emergencies occur most frequently at night

D．it is more difficult to check your position

3．Following streams and rivers will help you to ________.

[　　]

A．avoid animal's attacks

B．save many extra miles of travel

C．avoid crossing unbroken stretches of jungle

D．have a constant source of drinking water

4．The word “blazes” in paragraph 5 means ________.

[　　]

A．marks where bark(树皮) is removed

B．light-colored spots

C．bursts of flame

D．sides of knife

阅读理解

　　Most British telephone cards are just plain green, but card collecting is becoming a popular hobby in Britain and collectors even have their own magazine International Telephone Cards. One reason for their interest is that cards from around the world come in a wide variety of different and often very attractive designs. There are 100,000 different cards in Japan alone, and there you can put your own design onto a blank(空白) card simply by using a photograph or a business card.

　　The first telephone cards, produced in 1976, were Italian. Five years later the first British card appeared, and now you can buy cards in more than a hundred countries. People usually start collecting cards because they are attractive, small and light, and they do not need much space. It is also a cheap hobby for beginners, although for some people it becomes a serious business. In Paris, for example, there is a market where you can buy only telephone cards, and some French cards cost up to 4,000 pounds. The first Japanese card has a value of about 28,000 pounds. Most people only see cards with prices like these in their collector's magazine.

1．The text is mainly about ________.

[　　]

A．the history of phone cards

B．phone card collecting as a hobby

C．reasons for phone card collecting

D．the great variety of phone cards

2．When did people in Britain begin to use phone cards?

[　　]

3．The main reason for most people to collect phone cards is that ________.

[　　]

A．they find the cards beautiful and easy to keep

B．they like to have something from different countries

C．they want to make money with cards

D．they think the cards are convenient to use

4．The writer mentions a market in Paris in order to show that ________.

[　　]

A．card collecting is popular among young people

B．French and Japanese cards are the most valuable

C．people can make money out of card collecting

D．card collectors and magazines are very useful

阅读理解

　　Have you heard the story about the two drivers who wanted to park their cars in the same parking space? The man who arrived at the parking space first was rather old with grey hair. He was driving a large Rolls Royce. The beautiful car stopped just in front of the parking space. Then the driver turned his head and very slowly began to drive his car into the space. Just as he was doing this, a very young man in a Mini came up from behind. He noticed the space and drove straight in, nose first. The older driver in the Royce stopped his car suddenly. He was very angry and red in the face. He wound down his window and looked at the young man. But the young man wasn't sorry. He had got out of his car now and he was laughing. “You have to be young to do that!” he said to the older driver and pointed at his Mini and at the space he had just taken. The older man said nothing. He just began to drive his Rolls Royce again and hit the Mini very hard. There wasn't much of the Mini left when the older driver had finished. The young man watched what was happening and couldn't believe his eyes. He was very angry and very red in the face.

　　The older driver looked out of the window and smiled. “You have to be rich to do that,” he said.

1．What did the older driver mean when he said “You have to be rich to do that.”?

[　　]

A．“You are not rich enough to have a car like mine.”

B．“You are poor so that you can't park your car here.”

C．“Only rich people dare to do that.”

D．“You could park your car first if you were richer than me.”

2．Which of the following is NOT true?

[　　]

A．The young driver had expected his defeat.

B．The young driver was shocked to see what had become of his car.

C．The young driver hadn't expected the older driver to become so angry.

D．The young driver had thought the older driver had that much anger at him.

3．Which of the following can NOT be used to describe the story?

[　　]

A．He laughs best who laughs last.

B．The young and the old will never agree.

C．Win at first and lose at last.

D．First come, first served.

阅读理解

　　The Internet has led to a huge increase in. credit-card(信用卡) fraud. Your card information could even be for sale in all illegal web site(非法网站).

　　Web sites offering cheap goods and services should be regarded with care.

　　On-line shoppers who enter their credit-card information may never receive the goods they thought they bought. The thieves then go shopping with your card number or sell the information over the Internet. Computer hackers have broken down security(安全) systems, raising questions about the safety of cardholder information. Several months ago, 25,000 customers of CD Universe, an on-line music retailer(零售商), were not lucky. Their names, addresses and credit-card numbers were posted on a web site after the retailer refused to pay US $ 157, 828 to get back the information.

　　Credit-card firms are now fighting against on- line fraud. Master-card is working on plans for web-only credit-card, with a lower credit limit. The card could be used only for shopping on-line. However, there are a few simple steps you can take to keep from being cheated(欺骗).

　　Ask about your credit-card firm's on-line rules: Under British law, card holders have to pay the first US $ 78 of any fraudulent(欺骗性的) spending.

　　And shop only at secure sites; Send your credit-card information only if the web site offers advanced secure system.

　　If the security is in place, a letter will appear in the bottom righthand corner of your “screen”. The web site address may also start https://－the extra “s” stands for “secure”. If in doubt, give your credit-card information over the telephone.

　　Keep your password(密码) safe: Most on-line sites require a user name arid password before placing an order. Treat your passwords with care.

1．What do most people worry about the Internet according to this passage?

[　　]

A．A lot of stolen credit-cards were sold on the Internet.

B．Fraud on the Internet.

C．Many web sites are destroyed.

D．Many illegal web sites are on the Internet.

2．What is the meaning of the underlined word “Fraud”?

[　　]

3．How can the thieves get the information of the creditcard?

[　　]

A．The customers give them the information.

B．The thieves steal the information from web sites.

C．The customers sell the information to them.

D．The thieves buy the information from credit-card firms.

4．How many pieces of advice does the passage give to you?

[　　]

5．If you are shopping on the site: http://www. shopping. com, and you want to buy a TV set, what does this article suggest to do?

[　　]

A．Order the TV set at once.

B．Do not buy the TV set on this site.

C．E-mail the site your credit-card information.

D．Tell the site your password and buy the TV set for you.

阅读理解

　　It is, perhaps, no accident that many of the outstanding figures of the past were exceptionally versatile men. Right up until comparatively recent times, it was possible, for an intelligent person to acquaint himself with almost every branch of knowledge. Thus, men of genius like Leonardo Da Vinci or Sir Philip Sidney, engaged in many careers at once as a matter of course. Da Vinci was so busy with his numerous inventions that he barely found the time to complete his paintings; Sidney, who died in battle when he was only thirty-two years old, was not only a great soldier, but a brilliant scholar and poet as well. Both these men came very near to fulfilling the Renaissance ideal(文艺复兴时期的典型) of the “universal man”, the man who was proficient as everything.

　　Today, we rarely, if ever, hear that a musician has just invented a new type of submarine. Knowledge has become divided and sub-divided into countless, narrowlydefined compartments. The specialist is venerated(受尊敬的); the versatile person, far from being admired, is more often regarded with suspicion. The modern world is a world of highly-skilled “experts” who have had to devote the greater part of their lives to a very limited field of study in order to compete with their fellows.

　　With this high degree of specialization, the frontiers of knowledge are steadily being pushed back more rapidly than ever before. But this has not been achieved without considerable cost. The scientist, who outside his own particular subject is little more than a moron(低能者), is a modern phenomenon; as is the man of letters who is barely aware of the tremendous strides that have been made in technology. Similarly, specialization has indirectly affected quite ordinary people in every walk of life. Many activities which were once pursued for their own sakes, are often given up in despair: they require techniques, the experts tell us, which take a life-time to master. Why learn to play the piano, when you can listen to the world's greatest pianists in your own drawing-room?

　　Little by little, we are becoming more and more isolated from each other. It is almost impossible to talk to your neighbor about his job, even if he is engaged in roughly the same work as you are. The Royal Society in Britain includes among its members only the most eminent(杰出的) scientists in the country. Yet it is highly disconcerting(窘迫的) to find that even here, as one of its fellows put it, at a lecture only 10％ of the members can understand 50％ of what is being said!

1．In the modern world, the versatile person is ________.

[　　]

A．far from being admired

B．venerated

C．not regarded with suspicion

D．great

2．Which of the following is NOT true according to the third paragraph?

[　　]

A．The frontiers of knowledge are steadily being pushed back more rapidly than ever before.

B．The scientist who works outside his own particular subject is a genius.

C．Specialization has indirectly affected quite ordinary people in every walk of life.

D．We can listen to the world's greatest pianists without learning to play the piano.

3．In Royal Society in Britain, at a lecture only ________ of the members can understand ________of what is being said.

[　　]

阅读理解

　　A team of National Geographic explorers travelling around the Black Sea, which is located between Europe and Asia, has found that people once lived in an area that is now deep under water. The discovery is the latest evidence(证据) supporting the idea that a huge flood swamped the area 7,500 years ago and created the Black Sea.

　　An underwater robot found several submerged (under the surface of the sea) artifacts (things made by man), including shine tools and wood-and-clay buildings. The artifacts lay about 90 meters below the surface of the sea and 19 kilometers north of Turkish coast.

　　The notion (belief) that an ancient flood created the Black Sea was hatched several years ago by two geologists, Bill Hyan and Walter Pitman, of Columbia University. They speculated(considered) that the Mediterranean Sea began to rise at the end of the last ice age, 15,000 years ago. The big ice sheets that covered large parts of the Northern Hemisphere started to melt, and the meltwater drained into the Mediterranean. Water from the rising sea pressed against a large wall of rock that existed on the sea's western shore. Behind that wall of rock lay a large freshwater lake.

　　Over the centuries, the pressure of the water became more and more intense (very great). Finally, in one giant push, the water broke the wall of rock and poured into the inland lake. In a matter of days, the lake doubled in size. The salt in the incoming water turned the lake into a real sea-the Black Sea. The rushing water probably drowned many lakeshore inhabitants.

　　The explorers are continuing to search for more signs of ancient habitations beneath the Black Sea.

1．The passage mainly concerned with ________.

[　　]

A．the formation of the Black Sea

B．the disappearance of an ancient civilization

C．the separation of Asia from Europe

D．the cause of geographic

2．From what the explorers found we can guess that ________.

[　　]

A．some ancient people lived where the Black Sea is

B．stone tools were first made some 7,500 years ago

C．wood-and-clay buildings stand water wash well

D．ancient people were able to live under water

3．The underlined word “hatched” has about the same meaning as ________.

[　　]

4．Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

[　　]

A．A large wall of rock built by ancient people protected them from being flooded.

B．It was the pressure of ice sheets that led to the collapse of the rock wall.

C．It took 7,500 years for the water to accumulate enough power to break the wall.

D．The Mediterranean area had the most ancient human civilization in the world.

5．The discovery made. by the team of explorers ________.

[　　]

A．needs further support

B．is just an imagination

C．has been widely accepted

D．has proved the existence of ice age

阅读理解

　　Last Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman announced the first case of mad cow disease in the United States. A test seemed to show bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or B-S-E, in a cow from Washington state. The next day, a laboratory in Waybridge, England, confirmed (proved) the case.

　　Within hours of the news, Japan, Mexico and South Korea had banned(禁止) imports(进口) of American beef. More than thirty nations have now banned American beef imports. The restrictions(限制) affect about ninety percent of American beef exports worth about three-thousand-million dollars a year.

　　American agriculture officials say that the nation's supply of beef is safe. They note that only the brain and nerve(神经) matter from the cow can carry B-S-E. They say infected(受感染的) parts of the cow were not processed(加工) for use as food for people.

　　On Saturday, the top animal doctor for the United States Agriculture Department said the infected cow came from Alberta, Canada. Ron De Haven said the cow was in a group of seventy-four animals bought from Canada two years ago. But a Canadian official noted that Canada's records do not match the American ones. He said there was no clear evidence(证据) that the infected cow came from Canada.

　　So far, almost five-thousand kilograms of beef have been seized. American officials have temporarily(暂时) closed two farms where the infected cow had been kept and where its half is believed to be.

　　The situation is harming American beef producers. In May, Canadian officials reported a single case of B-S-E in Alberta. Many nations, including the United States, banned Canadian beef. That ban cost Canada one-million dollars a day.

　　American beef prices are quickly dropping. An American delegation went to Japan to try to ease fears. Japan has suggested that the United States should expand its B-S-E testing program. Japan tests every cow for the disease.

　　B-S-E is widely known as mad cow disease. It is caused by deformed proteins(蛋白质) called prions. B-S-E spreads when animals eat food containing processed brains or nervous tissue of infected animals.

　　A form of B-S-E, Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease, infects people. Reports say about one hundred and fifty people have died from the disease, mostly in Britain, since B-S-E was first identified in nineteen eighty-six.

1．Where did America's first case of mad cow disease come from?

[　　]

2．What effects does mad cow disease have on America's exports?

[　　]

A．So far no country has banned the imports of American beef.

B．More than 30 countries have banned the imports of American beef.

C．No American beef will be imported into any foreign country.

D．it will cause American beef exports a great loss of about 3,000 million dollars a month.

3．Which of the following statements is NOT true?

[　　]

A．It is believed that now American supply of beef is still safe.

B．The brain and nerve matter of an infected cow is mostly like to carry B-S-E.

C．American beef prices will not drop quickly.

D．Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease can do great harm to people's health.

4．What does the underlined word “ease” mean in the last but two paragraph?

[　　]

A．To reduce pain or worry.

B．To make somebody happy.

C．To become less troublesome or difficult.

D．To take away pain or worry.

阅读理解

　　As prices and building costs keep rising, the “do-it-yourself (DIY) trend in the US continues to grow.

　　“We needed furniture for our living room,” says John Ross, “and we just didn't have enough money to buy it. So we decided to try making a few tables and chairs.” John got married six months ago, and like many young people these days, they are struggling to make a home at a time when the cost of living is very high. The Rosses took a 2-week course for $ 280 at a night school. Now they build all their furniture and make repairs around the house.

　　Jim Hatfield had three boys and his wife died. He has a full-time job at home as well as in a shoemaking factory. Last month, he received a car repair bill for $ 420. “I was deeply upset about it. Now I've finished a car repair course. I should be able to fix the car by myself.”

　　John and Jim are not unusual people. Most families in the country are doing everything they can to save money so they can fight the high cost of living. If you want to become a “do-it-yourselfer”, you can go to DIY classes. And for those who don't have time to take a course, there are books that tell you how you can do things yourself.

1．We can learn from the text that many newly married people ________.

[　　]

A．find it hard to pay for what they need

B．have to learn to make their own furniture

C．take DIY courses run by the government

D．seldom go to a department store to buy things

2．John and his wife went to evening classes to learn how to ________.

[　　]

A．run a DIY shop

B．make or repair things

C．save time and money

D．improve the quality of life

3．When the writer says that Jim has a full-time job at home, he means Jim ________.

[　　]

A．makes shoes in his home

B．does extra work at night

C．does his own car and home repairs

D．keeps house and looks after his children

4．Jim Hatfield decided to become a do-it-yourselfer when ________.

[　　]

A．his car repairs cost too much

B．the car repair class was not helpful

C．he could not possibly do two jobs

D．he had to raise the children all by himself