C

In some parts of the United States, farming is easy. But farming has always been difficult in the northeastern corner of the country, which is called New England.

New England has many trees and thin, rocky soil. Anyone who has wanted to start a new farm there has had to work very hard. The first job has been cutting down trees. The next job has been digging stumps (树桩) of the trees out of the soil. Then the farmer has had the difficult job of removing stones from his land.

The work of removing stones never really ends, because every winter more stones appear. They come up through the thin soil from the rocks below. Farmers have to keep removing stones from the fields. Even today, farms which have been worked on for 200 years keep producing more stones.

That is why stone walls are used instead of fences around New England fields. The stone walls are not high: A man can easily climb over them. But they keep the farmer’s cows from joining his neighbour’s cows.

64.   New England is an area ______.

in the northeastern part of Britain        

which has been newly discovered by the Englishmen

which lies between Australia and New Zealand

which lies in the northeastern part of the USA

65.   According to the passage, farming is difficult in New England because ______.

A. the winter is very long there           B. the farms are very old

C. the soil is rocky and thin                D. there are not enough machines for farming

66.   From this passage, we know the removing of stones ______.

must be done again and again             

is usually done during the winter

is an interesting job children enjoy doing

was more difficult before machines were used

67.   In New England, stone walls are used to ______.

keep dangerous beasts out

keep the farmer’s cows from wandering away

protect the farmers fields from thieves

provide comfortable living conditions for the farmer’s family

C

In some parts of the United States, farming is easy. But farming has always been difficult in the northeastern corner of the country, which is called New England.

New England has many trees and thin, rocky soil. Anyone who has wanted to start a new farm there has had to work very hard. The first job has been cutting down trees. The next job has been digging stumps (树桩) of the trees out of the soil. Then the farmer has had the difficult job of removing stones from his land.

The work of removing stones never really ends, because every winter more stones appear. They come up through the thin soil from the rocks below. Farmers have to keep removing stones from the fields. Even today, farms which have been worked on for 200 years keep producing more stones.

That is why stone walls are used instead of fences around New England fields. The stone walls are not high: A man can easily climb over them. But they keep the farmer’s cows from joining his neighbour’s cows.

64.   New England is an area ______.

in the northeastern part of Britain        

which has been newly discovered by the Englishmen

which lies between Australia and New Zealand

which lies in the northeastern part of the USA

65.   According to the passage, farming is difficult in New England because ______.

A. the winter is very long there           B. the farms are very old

C. the soil is rocky and thin                D. there are not enough machines for farming

66.   From this passage, we know the removing of stones ______.

must be done again and again             

is usually done during the winter

is an interesting job children enjoy doing

was more difficult before machines were used

67.   In New England, stone walls are used to ______.

keep dangerous beasts out

keep the farmer’s cows from wandering away

protect the farmers fields from thieves

provide comfortable living conditions for the farmer’s family

In 1953, the New Zealander Edmund Hillary, then 33, joined a British Qomolangma expedition led by Colonel John Hunt. Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans were the first team to attempt the summit (顶峰). Despite a violent storm, they reached the South Summit — at 28,700 feet (8,748 meters) — by 1 p.m. on May 26. But both men knew they would run out of oxygen if they went on. They agreed to turn back.
Two days later, Hillary and Norgay, set out from Camp IX at 25,900 feet to make the next attempt. At 27,900 feet they made a temporary camp on a six foot wide rock to spend the night. At 6:30 the next morning, cheered by clearing skies, the team moved out. Roped together, cutting steps with their ice axes, they inched up a steep, knife-edged ridge (山脊) southeast of the summit. They reached the South Summit by 9:00 a.m.
Farther up, they met a 40-foot icy rock face, which was later named the Hillary Step. “…looking up at the rock step at 29,000 feet, it really did look extremely difficult to overcome,” said Hillary. But they found a narrow crack on the surface of the rock, just large enough to move inside on hands and knees, and managed to climb it by supporting feet against one side and backs against the other. Hillary said, “That was really the first moment during the whole of the expedition that I was confident that we were going to get to the top.” 
The last few yards to the summit were relatively easy. “Then I realized that the ridge, instead of rising ahead, now dropped sharply away,” Hillary said. “I looked upward to see a narrow ridge running up to a sharp point. …and we stood on the summit.” It was 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953.

1. 1.

   What is the passage mainly about? 

   1. A.
      The climbing history of Qomolangma.
   2. B.
      The life and achievements of Edmund Hillary.
   3. C.
      How Hillary and Norgay conquered Qomolangma.
   4. D.
      How the Hillary Step got its name.
2. 2.

   At what height did Hillary and Norgay set out on May 29? 

   1. A.
      25,900 feet.
   2. B.
      27,900 feet.
   3. C.
      28,700 feet.
   4. D.
      29,000 feet.
3. 3.

   According to Paragraph 2, one of the main advantages to Hillary and Norgay was        .

   1. A.
      fine weather conditions
   2. B.
      good rest the night before
   3. C.
      enough food supplies
   4. D.
      good climbing skills
4. 4.

   When looking back, Hillary described the Hillary Step as        .

   1. A.
      much easier to climb than she expected
   2. B.
      impossible for her to overcome again
   3. C.
      easy to climb up but hard to climb down
   4. D.
      one of the biggest barriers before the summit

C

By far the most common difficulty in studying is simple failure to get down to regular concentrated work. This difficulty is much greater for those who do not work to a plan and have no regular routine of study. Many students muddle (胡乱对付) along, doing a bit of this subject or that, as the mood takes them, or letting their set work pile up until the last possible moment.

    Few students work to a set timetable. They say that if they did work out a timetable for themselves they would not keep to it, or would have to change it frequently, since they can never predict from one day to the next what their activities will be.

No doubt some students are more willing to accept a regular routine than others. There are many who shy away from a self-controlled weekly timetable, and dislike being tied down to a fixed program of work. Many able students state that they work in cycles. When they become interested in a topic, they work on it attentively for three or four days at a time. On other days they avoid work completely. It has to be admitted that we do not fully understand the motivation (动机)to work.. Most people over 25 years of age have become used to routine, and the majority of real productive workers set aside regular hours for the more important areas of their work. The “tough-minded” school doesn’t fully accept the idea that good work can only be done naturally, under the influence of inspiration.

Those who believe that they need only work and study as the fit takes them have a mistaken belief either in their own talent or in the value of “freedom”. In fact, freedom from control and discipline（纪律）leads to unhappiness rather than to “self-expression” or “personality development”. Our society insists on regular habits, timekeeping and punctuality (准时), and whether we like it or not, if we mean to make our way in society, we have to meet its demands.

The most widespread problem in applying oneself to study is ______.

    A．changing from one subject to another

    B．the failure to keep to a set timetable of work

    C．the unwillingness to follow a systematic plan

    D．working on a subject only when one feels like it

Which of the following is true?

    A．Many students are not interested in using self-controlled timetable.

    B．Many students don’t like being told to study to a fixed timetable.

    C．Most people of over 25 years of age don’t work to a set timetable.

    D．Tough-minded people agree that good job is done naturally

The underlined part “as the fit takes them” in paragraph 4 probably means ______.

    A．when they have the energy   

    B．when they are in the mood

    C．when they feel fit      

    D．when they find conditions are suitable

A suitable title for the passage might be ______.

    A．Attitudes to Study   B．A study Plan

    C．The Difficulties in Studying D．Study and Self-discipline

A new enemy is threatening Japanese traditions: leisure（闲暇）. As part of its attempt to increase imports, the government is trying to get people to work less and spend more. The workers are disgusted.

The figures support the western prejudice（偏见） that the Japanese are all work and no play. Trying to force workers away from their desks and machines, the government said last April that the country should cut down from its 2,100 hours average work year to 1,899 hours and a five-day week by 1992. Beginning in February, banks and stock markets will be closed on Saturdays, staff of civil service will be forced out of their offices two Saturdays a month. The government hopes that others will follow that practice.

But some persuasion will be needed. Small companies are very angry about it and they fear competitors may not cut hours. The unions are no happier: they have even advertised in newspapers arguing their case against the foreign pressure that is forcing leisure upon them. They say that shorter hours are a disguised（隐性的） pay cut. The industrialists, who have no objection to the government’s plans, admit that shorter hours will help them cut costs. Younger Japanese who are supposed to be acting against their hard-working parents, show no sign of wanting time off, either. But unlike older workers, they do spend money in their spare time. Not content with watching television, they dance, dress up, sit in cafes, go to pop concerts and generally drive the leisure-industry boom. Now that they know how to consume, maybe the West can teach them to relax and enjoy themselves, too.

The purpose of getting the Japanese to have more spare time is that           .

    A．the government wants to show more concern for the health of the people

    B．the government needs to get more goods from abroad

    C．the Japanese have been working too hard

    D．the Japanese hope to change the western prejudice

The group of people who welcome the shorter-hour system in Japan is           .

    A．the small companies          B．the industrialists

    C．the unions                   D．the younger generation

The unions think that           .

    A．the shorter hours they work, the higher pay the can get

    B．the more they work, the less leisure they can enjoy

    C．the shorter hours they work, the less pay they can have

    D．the greater pressure the government is forcing on them, the less happy they can be

The best title for this passage can be           .

    A．Oh no! Not Saturday Again!   B．Leisure: the Greatest Threat!

    C．Enjoy While You are Young!   D．Less Work and More Play!