阅读理解

　　Reading is the key to school success and, like any skill, it takes practice. A child learns to walk by practicing until he no longer has to think about how to put one foot in front of the other. The great athlete practices until he can play quickly, accurately, without thinking. Educators call it“automaticity”.

　　A child learns to read by sounding out(推敲) the letters and decoding the words. With practice, he stumbles less and less, reading by the phrase. With automaticity, he doesn't have to think about decoding the words, so he can pay more attention to the meaning of the text.

　　It can begin as early as in the first grade. In a recent study of children in Illinois schools, Alan Rossman of Northwestern University found automatic readers in the first grade who were reading almost three times as fast as the other children and scoring twice as high on comprehension tests. At fifth grade, the automatic readers were reading twice as fast as the others, and still outscoring them on accuracy，comprehension and vocabulary.

　　“It's not IQ but the amount of time a child spends reading that is the key to automaticity.”According to Rossman, any child who spends at least 3.5 to 4 hours a week reading books, magazines or newspapers will in all likelihood reach the average child who spends 25 hours a week watching television. It can happen by just turning off the set just one night reading books.

　　You can test your child by giving him a paragraph or two to read aloud--something unfamiliar but appropriate to his age. If he reads aloud with expression, with a sense of the meaning of the sentences, he probably is an automatic reader. If he reads haltingly(不顺畅，结巴), one word at a time, without expression or meaning, he need more practice.

1．The underlined word“automaticity”probably means _____.

[　　]

A．being done without thinking

B．being done quickly

C．being done accurately

D．being done perfectly

2．How can the children learn to read?

[　　]

A．They j ust read word by word.

B．They j ust read the words out.

C．They read by sounding out the letters and decoding the words.

D．They read by practicing more.

3．How many hours should a child spend in reading books every day?

[　　]

A．0.5～0.6　　　B．3.5～4

C．2.5　　　　　 D．3.6

4．Which of the following is an automatic reader?

[　　]

A．A child reads a book with stops.

B．A child reads one word at a time.

C．A child reads without expression or meaning.

D．A child reads with expression and meaning of the sentences.

阅读理解

　　“Creativity is the key to a brighter future,”says education and business experts. Here is how schools and parents can encourage this important skill in children.

　　If Dick Drew had listened to his boss in 1925, we might not have a product that we now think of as of great importance: a new type of tape. Drew worked for the Minnesota Mining Company. At work he developed a kind of material strong enough to hold things together. But his boss told him not to think more about the idea. Finally, using his own time, Drew improved the tape, which now is used everywhere by many people. And his former company learned from its mistake. Now it encourages people to spend 1 5 percent of their work time just thinking about and developing new ideas.

　　Creativity is not something one is just born with, nor is it necessarily a character of high intelligence. The fact that a person is highly intelligent does not mean that he uses it creatively. Creativity is the matter of using the resources one has to produce new ideas that are good for something.

　　Unfortunately, schools have not tried to encourage creativity. With strong attention to test results and the development of reading, writing and mathematical skills, many educators give up creativity for correct answers. The result is that children can give back information but can't recognize ways to use it in new situation. They may know the rules correctly but they are unable to use them to work out practical problems.

　　It is important to give children choices. From the earliest age, children should be allowed to make decisions and understand their results. Even if it's choosing between two food items for lunch, decision-making helps thinking skills. As children grow older, parents should let their children decide how to use their time or spend their money. This is because the most important character of creative people is a very strong desire to find a way out of trouble.

1．What did the company where Drew once worked learn from its mistake?

[　　]

A．They should encourage people to work a longer time.

B．People should be discouraged to think freely.

C．People will do better if they spend most of their work time developing new ideas.

D．It is necessary for people to spend some of their work time considering and improving new ideas.

2．Creativity is _____.

[　　]

A．something that most people are born with

B．something that has nothing to do with intelligence at all

C．a way of using what one has learned to work out new problems

D．something that is not important to the character of a person at all

3．Why don't schools try to encourage creativity?

[　　]

A．They don't understand the importance of creativity education.

B．They don't want their students to make mistakes.

C．They pay too much attention to examination marks, language and maths skills.

D．They think it more important to remember some information.

4．What should the parents do when their children decide how to spend their money?

[　　]

A．Help them when necessary.

B．Try to help them as much as possible.

C．Take no notice of whatever they do.

D．Leave the children as they are.

阅读理解

　　The producers of instant coffee found their product strongly resisted(抵制) in the market places despite their product's obvious advantages. Furthermore，the advertising expense for instant coffee was far greater than that for regular coffee. Efforts were made to find the cause of the users' seemingly unreasonable resistance to the product. The reason given by most people was dislike for the taste. The producers doubt that there might be deeper reasons, however. This was supported by one of motivation research's classic studies, one often cited(引用) in the trade. Mason Haire of the University of California constructed two shopping lists that were the same except for one item. There were six items common to both lists: hamburger, carrots, bread, baking powder, canned peaches, and potatoes, with the brands or amounts specified. The seventh item, in fifth place on both lists, read“lib. Maxwell House coffee”on one list and“Nescafe instant coffee”on the other. One list was given to each one in a group of fifty women, and the other list to those in another group of the same size. The women were asked to study their lists and then to describe, as far as they could, the kind of woman(personality and character) who would draw up that shopping list. Nearly half of those who had received the list including instant coffee described a housewife who was lazy and a poor planner. On the other hand, only one woman in the other group described the housewife, who had included regular coffee on，her list was lazy; only six of that group suggested that she was a poor planner. Eight women felt that the instant coffee user was probably not a good wife! No one in the other group drew such a conclusion about the housewife who intended to buy regular coffee.

1．The result of the investigation showed that _____.

[　　]

A．women who used regular coffee were good planners

B．most of the women investigated were good at reasons

C．many women believed that wives who used instant coffee were lazy

D．housewives who used instant coffee were lazy

2．In the study, the women were supposed to give the opinions about _____.

[　　]

A．which was better, instant coffee or regular coffee

B．women's attitude towards shopping

C．the necessity of making such a shopping list

D．the personality of a woman who would prepare such a list

3．Judging by the result of the study many women were not interested in instant coffee because _____.

[　　]

A．they didn't trust advertisements

B．instant coffee was not suited to their taste

C．they wanted to show that they were intelligent

D．they had a sense of shame about using instant coffee

4．The“instant coffee”probably means _____.

[　　]

A．expensive coffee

B．coffee made up quickly for use

C．cheap coffee

D．coffee made up slowly for use

阅读理解

　　Every country had its heroes. The heroes are the people the nation and especially the young people admire. If you get a list of the heroes of a nation, it will tell you the potential(潜力) of that nation.

　　Today in America, if you ask the high school students to list their heroes, their choices would probably fall into three groups. The first group of heroes would be the rock stars--the people connected with rock music. There is no doubt that such people do have talent(天才) but one wonders if one should hold up rock stars as a model. The rock stars too often are mixed with drugs and their personal life is not all that good. The rock stars are rich and wear the latest fashion styles. However, one should seek more in a hero than such things as money and good clothes.

　　A second type of heroes for the American youth is the sports stars. Again you have a person who has a great ability in one area--sports. However, too often the personal life of the sports is a bit of a disorder. Too frequently drugs and drinking are a part of life of the sports stars.

　　A third type of heroes is the TV or movie stars. These persons may have lots of acting talent and are quite handsome. However, the personal life of too many actors is quite sad and they should not be held up as a model of young people. Today, the rock star, the athlete, and the actor all have become the models of the youth in America. Really, do you hear a young person say that his hero is a doctor, a teacher, or a scientist? These people are not rich and do not wear fashionable clothes. However, they are talented people who work hard to make the world a better place for everyone.

　　What is really sad is that the young try to imitate(模仿) their heroes. They like to wear the same clothes and follow their styles. If the heroes of today for the American young people are limited only to rock stars, athletes and actors, the future does not look too bright.

1．From the passage, we know that the heroes the American youth admire are those _____.

[　　]

A．who are not bright but are good-looking

B．who arc rich but are strict with themselves

C．who are talented in some area but lead an improper life

D．who are perfect in all areas

2．It can be inferred that the American young people will not admire _____.

[　　]

A．a university professor

B．a popular singer

C．a football player

D．a film actress

3．According to the writer, people should admire those _____.

[　　]

A．who are rich and wear the latest fashionable clothes

B．who can express people's feelings

C．whose personal life is good

D．who work in the interests of the people

4．what is the writer's attitude(态度) towards American youth's admiration?

[　　]

A．He understands it.

B．He criticizes it.

C．He is angry about it.

D．He is uninterested in it.

阅读理解

　　Unless action is taken immediately，there is a good chance that all the oceans of the world will be dead by the year 2010. How can this possibly happen?

　　We have already seen that people allow all sorts of waste products to flow into the sea. It is almost impossible to measure how much waste water and industrial waste end up in our oceans, but we can find out how much oil is poured into them legally(合法地) and illegally. It is illegal to pour oil into the sea close to the shore, but when a ship is many miles out to sea there are no such rules. Scientists have different ideas as to the amount of oil put into the sea，but the lowest figure for oil poured in European waters alone is nearly 200000 tons every year. Some people say the figure could be ten times as high.

　　It is not only our coasts that suffer from oil pollution. Among other things，many shell fish(creatures which live in water, and have a hard shell(壳)--oysters and mussels, for example--now have high amounts of poisonous substances. Next time you have shell fish to eat, how can you be sure that they are free from oil pollution? You cannot see the effects and you cannot taste them, either. It is really quite a problem.

1．This passage is mainly about _____.

[　　]

A．pollution in the oceans

B．the amounts of oil in the sea

C．the amounts of poison in shell fish

D．oil pollution in the waters

2．According to the passage，what is the main cause of oil pollution?

[　　]

A．Oil ships which meet and strike each other.

B．Oil poured at sea when the oil tanks are cleaned out.

C．Oil coming out of the bottom of the sea.

D．Oil from waste water and industrial waste.

3．Which of the following is illegal?

[　　]

A．Pouring oil into the sea from land, especially when there is no other choice.

B．Allowing waste materials to flow into the waters.

C．Pouring oil at seaside.

D．Going fishing when the water is polluted by oil.

4．What does the underlined words“European waters”mean?

[　　]

A．The seas around Europe and Africa.

B．The Atlantic Ocean.

C．The Arctic Ocean.

D．The Black Sea and the Mediterranean mainly.

5．Which of the following statements is WRONG according to the passage?

[　　]

A．All the Oceans in the world are polluted by oil.

B．The water body of the earth will be dead by the year 2010.

C．It's possible that all the creatures in the sea will die out if no action is taken.

D．Some kinds of the living things in the waters have been poisoned and we must be careful of them.

阅读理解

　　Most people have had a dog or wanted one as their companion at some time in their lives. If you are thinking of buying a dog, however, you should first decide what sort of companion you need and whether the dog is likely to be happy in the surroundings you can provide. Specialists' advice is useful to help you choose the most suitable kind of dog. But in part the decision depends on common sense. Different dogs were originally developed to perform specific tasks. So, if you want a dog to protect you or your house, for example, you should choose the one that has the right size and characteristics. You must also be ready to devote a great deal of time to training the dog when it is young and give it the exercise it needs throughout its life, unless you live in the countryside and can let it run freely. Dogs are demanding pets. Cats love the house and so are satisfactory with their place where it is secure, but a dog is loyal to its master and consequently wants him to show proof of his affection. The best time to buy a baby dog is when it is between 6 and 8 weeks old so that it can transfer its love from its mother to its master. If baby dogs have not established a relationship with the human being until they are over three months old，their strong relationship will always be with dogs. They are likely to be shy when they are brought out into the world to become good pets.

1．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

[　　]

A．You can always get help from the specialists.

B．It is common sense that is the most important when choosing a dog.

C．You should decide what kind of dog you want.

D．Size and characteristics of the dogs should be considered too.

2．What is mentioned as a consideration in buying a dog?

[　　]

A．The color of the dog.

B．The price of the dog.

C．Whether the dog will fit the environment.

D．Whether the dog will get along with the other pets in the house.

3．Why does the writer say a dog is a more demanding pet than a cat?

[　　]

A．It must be trained so that it won't bite.

B．It demands more food and space.

C．It needs more 10ve and care.

D．It must be 100ked after carefully.

4．Why is it advised to buy a baby dog under three months old?

[　　]

A．It's easier to buy a baby dog under three months old.

B．They are less likely to be shy with human beings.

C．They are less likely to run away.

D．It's easier for them to form a relationship with their masters.

5．The word“affection”means“_____”.

[　　]

A．love　　　B．effect

C．tie　　　　D．relationship

阅读理解

　　Once, a wise man was taken to prison for something he had not done. He was kept in a stone tower for many months, and there seemed to be no hope of escape.

　　Then one night, as he was looking out of the window, he saw his wife standing at the foot of the tower. She was crying sadly.

　　“Don't cry!”the man called to his wife in a low voice.“Listen to what I'm going to say. Go and bring back a scarab(金龟子), a little butter, some silk thread, a strong cord and a rope. If you do that, you can save me.”

　　The woman left at once and returned quickly with everything her husband had asked for.

　　Then the man said,“Put a little butter on the head of the scarab, tie the silk thread around its body, and place it on the wall with its head pointing to my window.”

　　The woman did what her husband said. The scarab, thinking the butter was somewhere in front of him，began to climb up the wall.

　　It was a quiet night. The moon was slowly piercing(刺透，穿过)through the clouds across the sky. Every now and again the prison tower stood in the shadow of clouds. Somewhere a bird was hooting(讨厌的叫喊)low. The man waited eagerly at his window in silence. When at last the scarab got close, to his window，he picked it up and took off the silk thread from its body. Meanwhile his wife tied the cord to the other end of the silk thread. When the man pulled the cord up, his wife had already tied the thick rope to the other end.

　　The man now had only to tie one end of the rope securely to something within the tower and slide down the rope to the ground. There his wife was watching and waiting to see him. She was happy and surprised that such a small thing as scarab had made his escape possible.

1．The man was sent to prison because _____.

[　　]

A．he killed a man

B．he stole something from others

C．he set fire to a house

D．there is no reason at all

2．Who saved the man?

[　　]

A．A scarab.　　　　B．A thread.

C．A night bird.　　 D．A cat.

2．How did the man leave the prison?

[　　]

A．The man left the prison because no man saw him.

B．The man thought of a good method to save himself.

C．The man who is in charge of the prison set the man free.

D．The man left the prison under the help of a cat.

4．According to the text, which of the following statements is TRUE?

[　　]

A．The man climbed down the stone tower by the silk thread.

B．The man climbed down the stone tower by cord.

C．His wife is cleverer than his husband.

D．The scarab likes eating butter very much.

阅读理解

　　“Isn't he like a funny，hairy man!”said Christopher. He was pointing to a large gorilla that was in a specially heated cage at the zoo. This gorilla, one of the ape family，was putting on a show to amuse the onlookers. He was playing with a rubber tyre hanging down from the ceiling. Every now and then he would beat his chest and make grunting noises.

　　Christopher's mother began to talk about gorillas,“He may look like a man but really he is quite different. Some women made a close study of gorillas in Africa a few years ago. They found that they were intelligent and caring animals. The gorillas became friendly to humans even in the wild mountain forests where they lived. But they always remained animals that could not talk and think quite like we do. Hundreds and thousands of years ago there were neither humans nor apes on Earth. Charles Darwin thought that other animals changed little by little until apes appeared. He wrote in a book that apes changed into men. He used the word‘evolved’and this became his theory of evolution. All this was supposed to have taken place over thousands of years. People who believe in the Bible think Darwin was wrong. It is one of the great mysteries of life.”

　　“What is the main difference then?”asked Christopher.

　　“Not your looks.”said his sister playfully.

　　“As I said.”replied her mother,“humans have better brains that can think out problems and learn the meaning of thousands of words. Men and women are all able to do this no matter what colour their skins are, or in what part of the world they live, we may be from different races but we are all one family.”

1．Gorillas may look like men, but they always remain animals because _____.

[　　]

A．they belong to the ape family

B．they are friendly to humans

C．they can't talk and think quite like humans do

D．they can't solve any problems

2．Which of the following is taken from Darwin's theory of evolution?

[　　]

A．Humans have better brains than apes.

B．Apes are unable to learn the meaning of words.

C．Gorillas normally live in Africa.

D．Apes changed into men.

3．From the text we learn that _____.

[　　]

A．not all people thought Darwin's theory was right

B．Christopher and his mother were watching TV at the zoo

C．Christopher went to the ZOO only with his mother

D．Christopher's mother was a biology teacher

4．Which of the following is Christopher's mother's idea?

[　　]

A．Hundreds and thousands of years ago there was no life on Earth.

B．People from different races are all one family.

C．Gorillas are intelligent and caring animals.

D．A gorilla is like a funny，hairy man.

5．The best headline for the passage is _____.

[　　]

A．How Humans Came into Being

B．The First Humans

C．Gorillas and Humans

D．Darwin's Theory of Evolution

阅读理解

　　Soil conservation(保护) efforts protect soil from wind and water that can blow or wash it away. Good soil produces food crops for both humans and animals. One important form of soil conservation is the use of windbreaks. Windbreaks stop the wind from blowing soil away. They also keep the wind from destroying or damaging crops. Windbreaks are barriers formed by trees and other plants with many leaves. Farmers plant windbreaks in lines around their fields. They are very important when grains such as wheat are grown. Windbreaks are effective when a wall of trees and other plants blocks the wind. The windbreaks should also limit violent motions of the wind to those areas closest to the windbreak.

　　Windbreaks seem to work best when they fallow a little wind to pass through. If the wall of trees and plants stops wind completely, then violent air motions will take place close to the ground. These motions cause the soil to lift up into the air where it will be blown away. For this reason, a windbreak is best if it has only 60 to 80 per cent of the trees and plants needed to make a solid line. An easy rule to remember is that windbreaks can protect areas up to ten times the height of the tallest trees in the windbreak. There should be at least two lines in each windbreak. One line should be large trees. The second line, right next to it, can be formed from shorter trees and other plants with leaves. Windbreaks not only protect land and crops from the wind. They can also provide wood products. These include wood for fuel and longer pieces for making fences. Locally-grown trees and plants are best for windbreaks.

1．Which of the following statements is NOT true?

[　　]

A．A windbreak increases violent motions of the wind.

B．A windbreak stops the wind from destroying the crops.

C．A windbreak provides wood products for fuel and other purposes.

D．A windbreak is a form of soil conservation.

2．Why should windbreaks allow a little wind to pass through?

[　　]

A．So as to prevent violent air motions taking place.

B．So that the crops can breathe enough fresh air.

C．So as to save a lot of money by planting fewer trees.

D．Because a little wind helps the crops grow better.

3．10-metre-high windbreak can protect crops as far as _____ metres away.

[　　]

A．60-80　　　B．100

C．10　　　　 D．50

4．The passage is mainly about _____.

[　　]

A．soil conservation　　B．crops and winds

C．windbreaks　　　　D．how to plant trees

阅读理解

　　Through a series of experiments an American scientist has obtained an understanding of the social structure of the most complex of ant societies. The ants examined are the only creatures other than man to have give up hunting and collecting for a completely agricultural way of life. In their underground nests they cultivate(耕作、培植) gardens on soil made from finely chopped(捣碎) leaves. This is a complex operation requiring considerable division of labour. The workers of this type of ant can be divided into four groups according to size. Each of the groups performs a particular set of jobs.

　　The making and care of the gardens and the nursing of the young ants are done by the smallest workers. Slightly larger workers are responsible for chopping up leaves to make them suitable for use in the gardens and for cleaning the nest. A third group of still larger ants do the construction work and collect fresh leaves from outside the nest. The largest are the soldier ants，responsible for defending the nest.

　　To find out how good the various size-groups are at different tasks, the scientist measured the amount of work done by the ants against the amount of energy they used. He examined first the gathering and carrying of leaves. he selected one of the size groups, and then measured how efficiently these ants could find leaves and run back to the nest. Then he repeated the experiment for each of the other-size-groups. In this way he could see whether any group could do the job more efficiently than the group normally undertaking it.

　　The intermediate-sized ants that normally perform this task proved to be the most efficient for their energy costs, but when the scientist examined the whole set of jobs performed by each group of ants it appeared that some sizes of worker ant were not ideally suited to the particular jobs they performed.

1．In which way are the ants different from other nonhuman societies?

[　　]

A．They do not need to search for food.

B．They do not need to look for shelter.

C．Individuals vary in social status.

D．Individuals perform different functions(作用)

2．It seems that smaller ants perform more of the _____.

[　　]

A．construction tasks.

B．home tasks.

C．defensive work

D．heavy work

3．The scientist's work was based on _____.

[　　]

A．occasional observations

B．systematic observations

C．observations of several nests

D．observation of an undisturbed nest

4．The organization of the ants has the effect of _____.

[　　]

A．getting the most work done

B．dividing the work up systematically

C．each ant helping with all the tasks

D．each ant doing what it can do best.