Reading Comprehension

Read the following passages, and choose the best answer that can answer the question.

　　Shops in Britain

　　Most shops open at nine in the morning. Small shops usually stop business for an hour at lunch. On one or two days a week－usually Thursday and /or Friday－some larger food shops stay open until about eight o'clock in the evening for night shopping.

　　Many shops are closed in the afternoon one day a week. The day is usually Wednesday or Thursday：it can be a different day in different towns.

　　Nearly all shops are closed on Sundays. Newspaper shops are open in the morning, and sell sweets and cigarettes as well. But there are legal restrictions(法律限定) on selling many things on Sundays.

　　In general, overseas visitors don't have much difficulty knowing where to buy what they want. Most shops sell the things that you would expect them to. But, for stamps, you can only buy them in post－offices.

　　Many large food shops are self－service. When you go into one of these, you take a basket d put into it the things you wish to buy. You queue up at the cash－desk and pay for everything just before you leave.

　　If anyone should try to take things from a shop without paying, he would almost certainly be caught：Most large shops have store detectives(侦探) whose job is to guard against shoplifters. Shoplifting is considered a serious crime(犯罪) by the police and the courts(法庭).

　　When you are waiting to be served in a shop, it is important to wait for your turn. It is important not to try to be served before people who arrived before you. Many people from overseas are astonished at the British habit of queuing.

1．In Britain some large food shops ________ on weekdays.

[　　]

A．open from 9:00 a. m. till 8:00 p. m.

B．open at 8:00 a. m.

C．close at about 8:00 p. m.

D．stay open till 8:00 p. m. every day

2．Many shops in Britain ________.

[　　]

A．are closed on Wednesday or Thursday

B．open from 9: 00 a. m. till 8: 00 p. m.

C．arc closed on Wednesday or Thursday afternoon.

D．stay open for about eight hours

3．Newspaper shops sell ________.

[　　]

A．newspapers only

B．sweets and cigarettes besides newspapers

C．newspapers in the morning and cigarettes in the evening

D．sweets and cigarettes only

4．Foreigners ________ shops where they can buy the things they want.

[　　]

A．have to spend hours to find

B．have no difficulty in finding

C．have trouble in finding

D．hardly know how to find

5．A shoplifter is a person who ________.

[　　]

A．buys things from a shop by himself

B．serves a shop by carrying things

C．in waiting to be served in a shop

D．steals from a shop

Reading Comprehension

Read the following passages, and choose the best answer that can answer the question.

　　The oldest stone buildings in the world are the pyramids. They have stood for nearly 5, 000 years, and it seems likely that they will continue to stand for thousands of years yet. There are over eighty of them scattered along the banks of the Nile, some of which are different in shape from the true pyramids. The most famous of these are the “Step” pyramid and the “Bent” pyramid.

　　Some of the, pyramids still look much as they must have done when they were built thousands of years ago. Most of the damage suffered by the others has been at the hands of men who were looking for treasure or, more often, for stone to use in modern buildings. The dry climate of Egypt has helped to protect the pyramids, and their very shape has made them less likely to fall into ruin. These are good reasons why they can still be seen today, but perhaps the most important is that they were planned to last forever.

　　It is practically certain that plans were made for the building of the pyramids because the plans of other large works have fortunately been protected. However, there are no writings or pictures to show us how the Egyptians planned or built the pyramids themselves. Therefore we are only able to guess at the methods used. Nevertheless, by examining the actual pyramids and various tools which have been found, archaeologists(建筑师) have formed a fairly clear picture of them.

　　One thing is certain; there must have been months of careful planning before they could begin to build. The first thing they had to do was to choose a suitable place. You may think this would have been easy with miles and miles of empty desert around, but as pyramid could not be built just anywhere. Certain rules had to be followed, and certain problems had to be overcome.

　　The step pyramid had to be on the west side of the Nile; the side on which the sun set. This was religious reasons. It also had to stand well above the level of the river to protect it against the regular floods. It could not be too far from the Nile, however, as the stones to build it needed to be carried in boats down the river to the nearest point. Water transport was, of course, much under the great weight of the pyramid. Finally, it had to be near the capital, or better still, near the king's palace so that he could visit it easily and personally check the progress being made on the final resting place for his body.

1．We can guess how the pyramids were built because archaeologists have ________.

[　　]

A．studied them and the tools used to build them

B．found the plans of some of them

C．found paintings showing each stage of construction

D．found descriptions of how some were built

2．Why did the Egyptians build the pyramids along the banks of the Nile ________.

[　　]

A．This must have been for religious reasons.

B．It was difficult to find large rock bases far from the river.

C．Pyramids had to be. built on the Westside of the Nile.

D．The river gave them a lot of sand for building.

3．Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

[　　]

A．Kings regularly visited their pyramids to check on their progress.

B．All pyramids were built very close to each other.

C．The pyramids were built on bases of rock.

D．Boats were used to transport stones.

4．Generally speaking, ________.

[　　]

A．all pyramids are the same

B．there are two kinds of pyramids－“step” and “bent”

C．all the pyramids are standing together

D．the pyramids seems to continue to stand, but they are sure to fall down within a thousand years.

5．________ has helped the pyramids be free from complete destruction?

[　　]

Reading Comprehension

Read the following passages, and choose the best answer that can answer the question.

　　I was walking along the street when I realized that a man with an unusual beard who I had seen three times this afternoon, was following me. To make sure, I walked on quickly, turned right, then left and stopped.

　　In a few minutes the man with the beard appeared and stopped at another shop window. Whenever I stopped he stopped, and whenever I looked around he was still there, so I looked round he was still there, I decided to get away from him.

　　A 74 bus stopped at the bus－stop just beside me, I jumped on when it began to move off, Having missed the bus, the man got on another 74 bus, which followed mine.

　　Every time the buses pulled at a stop, the man looked anxiously to see if I was getting off. Finally at some traffic lights, he changed buses and got into mine.

　　When we got to the underground, I left the bus and bought at ticket at a ticket machine. As I was standing at the station waiting for the circle line train, the man came up carrying a newspaper, and when we got on the train he sat in one corner reading.

　　I became tired of being followed and sat beside him and asked him why be was following me.

　　At first be said he didn't do that. But when I warned him I was going to knock him down, be admitted that he was. Then he told me that he was a writer of spy stories and tried to see if it was difficult to follow someone with out being seen.

1．The author realized that ________ when he was walking along the street.

[　　]

A．his life was in danger

B．he might be robbed of his things

C．he was looked after by someone

D．he was kept watch on

2．The author ________ when he had seen the man three times.

[　　]

A．became nervous

B．kept calm

C．felt sorrowful

D．was tiresome

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

[　　]

A．The man wanted to be a spy.

B．They rode in the same bus during following and being followed.

C．The author was cleverer and more careful than the man.

D．The man was knocked down by the author.

4．The man followed the author because he wanted to ________.

[　　]

A．observe and learn something form real life

B．keep up with the author

C．be a spy

D．know something about the author

5．The man admitted what he had done because he ________.

[　　]

A．was afraid of getting into trouble

B．wasn't a real spy at all

C．called himself a writer of stories

D．was brave enough to answer for his mistake

Reading Comprehension

Read the following passages, and choose the best answer that can answer the question.

　　The U. S. government has recently helped people learn more about the dangers earthquakes by publishing a map. This map shows the chances of an earthquake in each part of the country. The areas of the map where earthquakes arc most likely to occur are called earthquake “belt”. The government is spending a great deal of money and is working hard help discover the answer to these two questions：1．Can we predict(预测) earthquakes? 2．Can we control earthquakes?

　　To answer the first question, scientist are looking very closely at the most active fault (断层) systems in the country, such as the San Andreas fault in California. A fault is a break between two sections of the earth's surface. These breaks between sections are the places where earthquake occur. Scientists lock at the faults for changes which might show that earthquake was about to occur. But it will probably he many years before we can predict earthquakes accurately, And the control of earthquakes is even farther away.

　　However, there have been some interesting developments in the field of controlling earthquakes. The most interesting development concerns the Rocky Mountain Arsenal earthquakes. Here water was put into a layer of rocks 4000 metres below the surface of the ground. Shortly after this injection of water, there were a small number of earthquake. Scientists have decided that the water which was injected into the rocks work like oil on each other. When the water “oiled” the fault, the fault became slippery and the energy of an earthquake was released. Scientists are still experimenting at the site of these earthquakes. They have realized that there is a connection between the injection of the water and the earthquake activity. They have suggested that it might be possible to use this knowledge to prevent very big, destructive earthquakes, that is, scientists could inject some kind of fluid like water into faults and change one big earthquake into a number of small, harmless earthquakes.

1．Earthquakes belts are ________.

[　　]

A．maps that show where earthquakes are likely to occur

B．zones with a high probability of earthquakes

C．breaks between two sections of the earth's surface

D．the two layers of earth along a fault

2．The San Andreas fault is ________.

[　　]

A．an active fault system

B．a place where earthquakes have been predicted accurately

C．a place where earthquakes have been controlled

D．the location of the Rocky Mountain

3．What did scientists learn about earthquakes at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal?

[　　]

A．They occur at about 1000 meters below ground level.

B．The injection of water into earthquakes faults prevents earthquakes form occurring.

C．They are usually caused by the oil in the faults.

D．Harmful earthquakes can be possibly prevented by causing small harmless earthquakes.

4．What can be said about the experiments at Rocky Mountain Arsenal?

[　　]

A．They have no practical value in earthquake prevention.

B．They may have practical value in earthquake prevention.

C．They are certain to have practical value in earthquake prevention.

D．The article does not say anything about their practical value in earthquake prevention.

5．What is the most appropriate title for the passage?

[　　]

A．Dangers of Earthquakes.

B．Earthquake Belts and prediction.

C．Earthquake Prediction and Control.

D．Earthquake Engineering in California.

Reading Comprehension

Read the following passages, and choose the best answer that can answer the question.

　　Americans think that travel is good for you. Some even think it can help solve one of the country's worst problems－crime.

　　Crime worries a lot of people. Every year, the number of crimes goes up and up. And many criminals are young. Most of them－85 percent－are boys. They often come from sad homes, with only one parent or no parents at all. There arc problems with alcohol and drugs.

　　There are many young criminals in prison. Rut prison doesn't change them－60 to 70 percent will go back to crime when they come out of prison.

　　One man, Bob Burton, thought of a new idea. In the old days, young men had to live a difficult life on the road. They learned to be strong and brave, and to help their friends in time of danger. This helped them to grow into men. So Bob Burton started “Vision Quest”.

　　He takes young, criminals on a long, long journey with horses and wagons 3000 miles through seven states. They are on the road of more than a year.

　　The young people on Vision Quest (boys and a few girls) all have bad problems. Most of them have already spent time in prison. This is their last chance.

　　It's hard work on the road. The day starts before the sun corners up. The boys and girls have to feed the horses. Some of them have never loved anyone before. But they can love their horses. That love can help them to a new life.

　　Not at all young people on Vision Quest will leave crime behind them. 30 to 40 percent will one day be in prison again. But that's a lot better than 60 or 70 percent. Bob Burton is right. Travel can be good for you.

　　Even today, Americans still say, “Go west, young men.”

1．According to the passage, travel is good for you because it can ________.

[　　]

A．get rid of crime completely

B．change the way of life

C．help to reduce criminals

D．not build up your body

2．Which of the following is not the character of the criminals?

[　　]

A．Most of them are young.

B．They of ten have not a good family.

C．They may often drink wine too much and take drugs.

D．They like traveling far away from their homes.

3．Which of the following statements is true?

[　　]

A．As time goes on, the criminals become less and less.

B．Most of the criminals will do better after they come out of prison.

C．Bob's new idea changes a person better.

D．The young criminals on Vision Quest all lead a happy life.

4．The young people on Vision Quest have to ________.

[　　]

A．work all day and all night

B．get up early and feed the horses

C．love their houses

D．live a new life

5．“Go west, young men.” doesn't mean ________.

[　　]

A．people can learn to he strong and brave on a long journey

B．people can learn how to help others in time of danger on a long journey

C．travel can help them to grow into men

D．travel to the east, and you will have a good time

Reading Comprehension

Read the following passages, and choose the best answer that can answer the question.

　　One Sunday, Mark decided to go sailing in his boat with his friend Dan, but Dan happened to be away. Dan's brother John offered to go instead though he did not know anything about sailing. Mark agreed and they set out to sea.

　　Soon they found themselves in a thick fog. Mark was sure they would be hit by a big ship. Fortunately he saw a large buoy(浮标) through the fog and decided to tie the boat to it for safety. As he was getting onto the buoy, however, he dropped the wet rope. The boat moved away in the fog carrying John, who did not know how to use the radio. He drifted(漂流) about and was not seen until twelve hours later.

　　Mark spent the night on the buoy. In the early morning he fell asleep. He was having a bad dream when a shout woke him up. A ship, the Good Hope, came up and he climbed onto it and thanked the captain. The captain told him that John had been picked up by another ship and the ship's captain had sent out a message. “Without the message I would not have found you on the buoy,” he said.

1．Why didn't Mark and Dan go sailing together ________.

[　　]

A．Dan asked his brother to go instead.

B．Dan was in some other place.

C．Mark was in some other place.

D．Mark would like to go with John.

2．Mark tried to tie the boat to the buoy so that ________.

[　　]

A．he could spend the night on it while John was looking for help

B．he and John could go sailing again when the fog cleared

C．it wouldn't be hit by other ships

D．he might be picked up by a passing ship

3．John and Mark became separated because ________.

[　　]

A．there wasn't room for both John and Mark on the buoy

B．John couldn't control the boat and drifted away

C．Mark thought it safe to stay on the buoy but John didn't

D．John had to stay in the boat to radio for help

4．What made it possible for Mark to be found on the buoy?

[　　]

A．John told people where to look for him.

B．John radioed to the Good Hope to get him.

C．He shouted when he caught sight of the Good Hope.

D．The captain saw him as the fog cleared.

5．The word “he” in the last sentence refers to ________.

[　　]

A．the captain that got the message

B．the captain that sent the message

C．John

D．Mark

Reading Comprehension

Read the following passages, and choose the best answer that can answer the question.

　　Sally arrived early. As she walked around the old house, she couldn't help feeling sad because of what was about to happen. It was almost a year since her dear grandmother had passed away in this house at the age of ninety－two. The family had very much wanted to keep all her things. Unfortunately, the family business had failed and left them with heavy debts. The bank now forced them to have an auction(拍卖) sale to repay their debts. The auction was to be held today.

　　In the yard, all her grandma's things were neatly arranged, including dishes, old furniture, and this like. She found the quilt, which had been in her family for over one hundred years, lying on her grandma's bed as she always remembered it. If the quilt could talk, she thought, the stories it would surely tell! Her entire family history was contained within it.

　　As the auction began, Sally waited. Finally the time came to bid(出价) on the quilt. Sally held her purse tightly and listened. The first bid was 6 50. She was shocked. It was so high! Quickly. other people bid and soon the bidding reached to $ 85. It was now or never. Taking a deep breath, Sally shouted out “$ 100!”. For a moment, there was silence. Hope filled her. She glanced again at the quilt, thinking how pleased her grandma would have been with her at this moment.

　　Just then, from the back, another person shouted “$ 125.” In a moment, Sally's eyes filled with tears. She had lost her chance. She couldn't understand why so many people would be interested in that old, torn, dirty quilt. The quilt was finally sold for $ 500 to a complete stranger. For the rest of the auction, with an empty feeling inside her, Sally just bid for a few small things that reminded her of her childhood.

　　After the sale, she went to the counter to pay for these few things that were now hers. The woman at the cash register handed her a rather large box. When Sally opened it, there was the quilt. “There must be a mistake. Someone else got this,” she said. At this moment she noticed a handwritten note attached to the quilt with a safety pin, which read:

　　Dear Madam,

　　Before the auction, I noticed you admiring the quilt. Clearly, this object was very precious to you. Your sadness at losing the bid was so clear that it broke my heart. Though you don't know me, please accept this quilt as my gift. 1 don't expect repayment from you. I only ask that you do a similar favor in the future for a stranger who happens to cross your path.

Yours,

A Sentimental Stranger

1．What made sally sad is the fact that ________.

[　　]

A．her grandma had died

B．her family were in heavy debts

C．she had to move out of the house

D．her family had to sell her grandma's belongings

2．Sally wanted to own the quilt very much because ________.

[　　]

A．it was probably the oldest object in her family

B．she had used it for about a hundred years

C．it was so old that it seemed to contain the history of the family

D．she thought it was most beautiful quilt

3．Which of the following best describes Sally's feeling during the bidding for the quilt?

[　　]

A．As soon as she heard the bid, she was sure that she could get the quilt,

B．From the start of the bidding she was sure her bid would be the highest.

C．She was too anxious to know what other people said.

D．Before she bid, she thought her bid would be successful.

4．The underlined word “this” in the fifth paragraph of the passage refers to ________.

[　　]

5．The handwritten note in the box asked Sally ________.

[　　]

A．to repay the money some day

B．to do a favor for another person

C．to pay for the quilt with the stranger's money

D．to sell the quilt in another auction

Reading Comprehension

Read the following passages, and choose the best answer that can answer the question.

　　In November 1965, New York was blacked out by an electricity failure. The governmenr officials promised that it would not happen again. Pessimists(悲观者) were certain that would occur again within five years at the latest. In July 1977, there was a repeat performance which produced different degrees of disorder throughout the city of 8,000,000 people. In 1965, the failure occurred in the cool autumn and at a time of peace and good situation. In 1977, the failure was much more serious because it came when the number of people out of work was large and the city was suffering from one of its worst heat waves.

　　In 1965 there was little stealing during the darkness, and fewer were caught by the police. In 1977, hundreds of stores were broken into and stolen. They broke shop windows and helped themselves to jewellery, clothes or television sets, nearly 400 people were sent to the police but far more disappeared into the darkness of the night. The number of policemen at hand was far from enough and they were wisely stopped from using their guns against the mobs(暴徒) that were far more than them and that included arms(有武器的).

　　Hospital had to treat hundreds of people cut by glass from shop windows. Banks and most business remained closed the next day. The blackout started at 9: 33p. m., when lightening hit and knocked out vital cables. Many stores were thus caught by surprise.

　　The vast majority of New Yorkers, however, tried to help strangers, handed out candles, and tried to get electricity power. For 24 hours, New York realized how helpless it was without electricity.

1．Look at the first paragraph. Who were right, the government officials or the pessimists?

[　　]

A．the government officials

B．The pessimists

C．Both

D．Neither

2．In what way was the blackout of 1977 different from that of 1965?

[　　]

A．There was much more disorder.

B．This time the electricity supply failed.

C．It was quite unexpected.

D．It came in the cool autumn.

3．What caused the blackout in July 1977

[　　]

A．The heat waves made people turn on too much electrical equipment.

B．Because many people lost their jobs, some machines, were not in proper working order.

C．During the storm, lightning damaged the supply cables.

D．The passage does not tell us.

4．Why did many persons manage to escape the police ________.

[　　]

A．The police could not see them in the darkness.

B．Many of them carried guns

C．There were not enough policemen to catch them all.

D．They were hidden inside big buildings.

5．The 1977 New York electricity failure lasted ________.

[　　]

Reading Comprehension

Read the following passages, and choose the lest answer that can answer the question.

　　“Passengers for Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Peking, Nanking, Shanghai, Canton and Hong Kong, please go to Platform One.”

　　The travelers were now getting on the Central Kingdom Express at the Victoria Station. They were going to travel 142 days over 9000 miles from London to Hong Kong. Among the passengers some were old people. Mrs Bailay was the oldest in the party. She was a retired worker. “It's no good sitting back if you retire,” she said, “One must do things one had no time to do. A trip like this will be very interesting. Won't you think?”

　　The trip was organized by Sunquest Holidays. It would cost each traveler almost $ 2600. From Hong Kong they would fly hack to London.

　　Many of the passengers were interested in China. “I've always wanted to see China,” said Mr Haviland. “So I don't mind spending six weeks on trains.” Another passenger, said “We wanted to go straight to see China and to eat Chinese food, which we love.”

1．The train wouldn't go to ________.

[　　]

2．Mrs Baily believed that ________.

[　　]

A．the retired people should leave home

B．a long journey would do good to the retired workers

C．she should go on working

D．the retired people should have a good rest

3．Which of the following is true?

[　　]

A．All the travelers were not retired workers.

B．All the passengers would take the train for the whole trip.

C．All travel agents organized this trip.

D．It's a free trip for the old people.

4．They chose China as the main place to travel because ________.

[　　]

A．their friends asked them to do so

B．China is very big

C．China is unknown to them

D．they show great interest in China

5．We can know from the passage that ________.

[　　]

A．this journey would be very tiring

B．China is the most marvelous place to travel

C．old people are more interested in traveling than the youngsters

D．some people cannot bear such a long trip

Reading Comprehension

Read the following passages, and choose the lest answer that can answer the question.

　　My wife and I spent two weeks in London last year. We went there in the autumn. We think it is the best season to visit England. The weather is usually good and there aren't too many tourists in October.

　　We stayed in a small hotel in the West End. It was convenient as we did most of our sightseeing on foot. Taxis were too expensive, we couldn't understand the bus routes, and my wife didn't like traveling on the ground. She said it made her feel sick.

　　We went to look at the places which all tourists see. We saw Buckingham Palace and the National Gallery. We went shopping in Oxford Street and spent too much money. What we liked most, though, was going to the theatre. We didn't have the chance to see such wonderful plays at home. A lot of people say English food is bad. We didn't think so. It is true that most of the restaurants are French or Italian or Chinese, but we had some very good meals.

　　In fact, we enjoyed our holiday so much that we have already booked again for this year. We are going to take our umbrellas, though, I'm sure we will need them sometimes.

1．The couple chose a small hotel in the East End to stay in because ________.

[　　]

A．they could go sightseeing on foot

B．taxis were too expensive

C．the underground made the wife feel sick

D．all the above

2．________ made the couple most excited.

[　　]

A．Seeing Buckingham Palace and National Gallery

B．Shopping

C．Going to the theatre

D．Eating

3．The couple had some difficulties in ________.

[　　]

A．booking in the hotel

B．finding the bus routes

C．going sightseeing on foot

D．having meals

4．Which of the following is NOT true about the couple?

[　　]

A．They thought English food was bad.

B．They will visit London again.

C．They visited London last October.

D．They didn't take their umbrella last year.

5．Generally speaking, the couple ________ the trip to London.

[　　]

A．were satisfied with

B．disliked

C．were a bit unhappy about

D．regretted