阅读理解

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中选出最佳选项。

　　Mauritius, an island country, lies 1,200 miles off the southeastern coast of Africa, and just east of Madagascar, another African island country, which is larger by far than Mauritius. It covers 788 square miles and has a population of 1,100,000, about 750,000 Indians, 300,000 Clioers, 30,000 Chinese and 20,000 Whites included. They are living together peacefully.

　　The country can be divided into many parts with different climates all because of its peculiar terrains (地形). In the centre there are volcanoes several thousand feet high, and 90 percent of its arable land is covered with sugarcane.

　　There were no people living on the island before the Dutch landed on it in 1638. The Dutch abandoned it in 1710, and five yeas later, the French came and succeeded in planting sugarcane there. It was conquered by Britain in 1810.

　　Mauritius was extremely poor when it declared its independence in 1968. In the past ten years, obvious economic prosperity (繁荣) has shown itself in this island country.

1．The underlined words “abandoned it” in third paragraph means “________”.

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2．The right order that shows the history of Mauritius should be ________.

a. seized by the French

b. became its master

c. ruled by the Dutch

d. conqured by the British

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3．According to the passage all of the following statements are true except ________.

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A．Arable land covers 90 percent of the country's total area

B．It was the rule of foreigners that made the Mauritius people live in poverty

C．More than half of Mauritius population are Indians

D．Britain ruled the island longer than French and Hooland

4．Which of the following maps shows the right position of Mauritius?

(Mau＝Mauritius　　Ma: Madagascar　　A: Africa)

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　For more than twenty years scientists have been searching for signs of life on other planets. Most of these searches have been done over the radio. The hope is that someone in outer space may be trying to get in touch with us. Scientists also have sent radio and television messages on spaceships traveling through space, on the chance that someone may be receptive to such messages.

　　Scientists are using powerful radio telescopes to listen to signals from about 1, 000 stars, all within 100 light years of earth. In addition, they will scan（扫视）the entire sky to “listen” for radio messages from more distant stars. Using a computer, they will be able to monitor more than eight channels at one time. Scientists are looking for any signal they stands out from the background noise.

　　Of the 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy（银河星系）, scientists find that five percent are like our sun. Perhaps half of them have a planet like earth. Such a planet would be a reasonable distance from the star for temperatures to be right for the evolution（进化）of life. Based on the inhabitable（that can be lived in）planets in our galaxy, most scientists agree that chances are likely that one or more of these planets support some life.

　　However, many scientists wonder whether intelligent（有智力的）life exists on other planets. Some believe that twenty years of searching without any intelligible messages shows that no one is out there. They say that the evolution of intelligence comparable to ours is unlikely.

　　Other scientists believe that our search hasn’t been long enough to rule out the possibility that intelligent life exists in our galaxy. Although our sun family is only about five billion years old, our galaxy is about 20 billion years old. In that time, some scientists think it is likely that civilization（文明）much more advanced than ours have developed. Perhaps these civilizations send us no signals; perhaps we have not recognized the signals they have sent us. If we hope to find intelligent life, these scientists believe that we have to keep looking.

According to the passage, how many planets in our galaxy might be inhabitable?

　　A. 5 billion．　　　　　　　　　　 B. 10 billion.

　　C. 15 billion.　　　　　　　　　　　D. 200 billion

The first paragraph in this passage is mainly about ________ .

　　A. how scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets

　　B. why scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets

　　C. where scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets

　　D. when scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets

The underlined word “monitor” in the passage means“ ________ ”.

　　A. find　　　　　　　　　　　　　B. follow

　　C. check　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. form

Which of these statements is true based on the information in the passage?

　　A. The earth is one of the oldest planets in our galaxy.

　　B. Most scientists believe that there is intelligent life on other planets.

　　C. Scientists are trying different ways to find signs of life on other planets.

D. Scientists don’t believe that there might be life on other planets.

The Channel Islands are a group of British-owned islands lying in the English Channel, 10 to 30 miles off the French coast, and 70 to 90 miles from the English coast. There are ten islands with a total land area of 75 square miles and a total population of 123,000. The three largest islands, Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney, have long been known for the fine breeds (品种) of cattle that are raised on them and named after them.

　　In earliest known history the islands were considered part of Normandy, which was part of France, but the ruler of Normandy became king of England in 1066, and from then on the islands were looked upon as British land. English control was unbroken until World War II, when the Germans held the islands for five years.

　　Although people on the islands speak both languages and they are considered English, their customs are more French than English.

Which of the following maps gives the right position of the Channel Islands?

　　Br = Britain 　　 　　Fr = France 　　　　Ch = Channel Islands

　　

Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney breeds of cattle are __________.

　　A. considered best in England

　　B. named after their birthplaces

　　C. brought to the islands by the Germans

　　D. raised on well-known farms by the French

The Channel Islands have been continuously under British rule since__________.

　　A. earliest known history         B. 1066

　　C. 1930s                      D. the end of World War II

Why do people on the Channel Islands follow French way of living?

　　A. Their islands used to be part of France.

　　B. Their islands are often visited by the French.

　　C. They came from France.

D. They speak French.

　　①Brain-injured boy set for ￡ 1.75m payout

　　A YOUNGSTER who was knocked off his bicycle by a taxi and left with a serious brain injury is set to be awarded ￡ 1.75 million.

　　Fourteen-year-old George Currie, from Dalkeith, was living in country Durham with his parents Allister and Paula at the time of the accident in September 1993.

　　George, who was then three years old, was riding his small tricycle along the pavement when he lost control and swerved on to the road into the path of an on-coming taxi.

　　The driver's insurance company has now ac cepted responsibility for the accident and New Castle County Court is expected to rule on the payout on Monday.

　　②Boating accidents reduce

　　Lee and Collier counties tied at No. 10 for boating accidents in Florida in 2004, an improvement for both.

　　But because the counties remained in the top 10 among Florida's 67 counties, safety continues to be a concern, officials said.

　　③Teens react to new law on driving permit

　　Lawmakers may hope to make teenage drivers drive more safely, but some local teens behind the wheel feel angry following the passing of Senace Bill 36 last week.

　　SB 36 is a law that limits times new teen drivers can drive and the number of passengers

　　④Road accidents take costly toll

　　Traffic accidents kill more than one million people each year, injure tens of millions more and cost developing countries twice as much as they receive in international aid, the leader of a research body said Wednesday.

　　The figures have led experts to form an international road safety network to choose the most important research areas, inform policy makers and help develop ways to prevent accidents, particularly in poor nations.

　　pavement: 人行道

　　swerve: 突然转

　　insurance: 保险.

TOP 10

　　Florida counties with the most accidents in 2004:

　　1．Monroe (98)

　　2．Palm Beach (65)

　　3．Pinellas (64)

　　4．Broward (59)

　　5．Miami-Dade (54)

　　6．Okaloosa (34)

　　7．Orange (24)

　　8．Bay (22)

　　9．Lee (21)

　　10．Collier (21)

(1) What does Passage ① tell us about the boy?

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A．He was injured in the head when he was 14.

B．He has waited for the payout for a long time.

C．He has lived in the same place since the accident.

D．He was run over by a taxi when riding on the pavement.

(2) What can we learn about Lee and Collier counties from Passage ②?

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A．They both became safe places.

B．They won the same place in race.

C．They had the same number of accidents.

D．They joined hands in reducing accidents.

(3) Which passage would give more information on the prevention of road accidents?

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People in the west makes ______ a rule to buy Christmas presents for their relatives and friends.

    A. that　　　　　　 B. it　　　　　　 C. this　　　　　　　　 D. The thing