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第三部分：阅读理解（共15小题，每题2分，满分30分）

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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Most book reviews start with a heading that includes all the basic information about the book, like:

Title.

Author.

Place of publication; publisher, date of publication.

Number of pages.

Like most pieces of writing, the review usually begins with an introduction that lets your readers know what the review will say. The first paragraph usually includes the author and title again, so your readers don’t have to look up to find this information. You should also include a very brief description of the contents of the book, the purpose or audience for the book, and your reaction and evaluation.

Then you move into a section of background information that helps place the book in context and discusses criteria for judging the book. Next, the review gives a summary of the main points of the book, quoting(引用) and explaining key phrases from the author. Finally, you get to the heart of your review – your evaluation of the book. In this section, you might discuss some of the following issues:

how well the book has achieved its goal

what possibilities are suggested by the book

what the book has left out

how the book compares with others on the subject

what specific points are not convincing

what personal experiences you’ve had related to the subject.

It is important to use labels to carefully distinguish your views from the author’s, so that you don’t confuse your reader.

Then, like other essays, you can end with a direct comment on the book, and tie together issues raised in the review in a conclusion.

There is, of course, no set form, but a general rule is that the first one – half to two – thirds of the review should summarize the author’s main ideas and at least one – third should evaluate the book.

56．What is the most important part of a book review?

A．The heading.           B．The evaluation.

C．The conclusion.              D．The introduction.

57．It can be confusing to readers if __________.

A．there is no heading in a book review

B．the book has achieved its goal

C．the viewer’s point of view is not distinguished from the author’s

D．the book is compared with others on the same subject

58．What is NOT suggested for a book review in this passage?

A．Quoting from the author of the book.

B．Providing some book information.

C．Analyzing only the author of the book.

D．Comparing the book with others of a similar subject.

59．The best title for this passage is “__________”.

A．Steps to follow

B．Tips for writing a book review

C．The way to develop your idea

D．Things not to be avoided in a book review

 

When you practice reading with passages shorter than book length, do not try to take in each word separately, one after the other. It is much more difficult to grasp the broad theme of the passage this way, and you will also get the stuck on individual words which may not be absolutely essential to a general understanding of the passage. It is a good idea to skim through the passage very quickly first to get the general idea of each paragraph. Titles, paragraph headings and emphasized words can be a great help in getting this skeleton outline of the passage. It is surprising how many people do not read titles, introductions or paragraph headings. Can you, without looking back, remember the title of this passage and the heading of this paragraph?

    Most paragraphs of a passage or chapter have a 'topic sentence' which expresses the central idea. The remaining sentences expand or support that idea. It has been estimated that between 50% and 90% of all expositive（说明的）paragraphs in English have the topic sentence first. Always pay special attention to the first sentence of a paragraph, it is most likely to give you the main idea.

    Sometimes, though, the first sentence in the paragraph does not have the feel of 'main idea' sentence. It does not seem to give us enough new information to justify a paragraph. The next most likely place to look for the topic sentence is the last sentence of the paragraph.

    Remember that the opening and closing paragraphs of a passage or chapter are particularly important. The opening paragraph suggests the general direction and content of the piece, while the closing paragraph often summarizes the very essence（精髓）.

1. It is a good idea to skim through a passage quickly first ____________.

A. at about 315 w.p.m.（words per minute）

B. to get the general idea of each paragraph

C. so that you can take in each work separately

D. to make sure you get to the end at least once

2.The topic sentence of an expository paragraph in English _____________.

A. usually comes in the middle

B. is most likely to be found at the end

C. is most often at the beginning

D. is usually left out in expository writing

3. Most expository paragraphs in English have a clearly defined topic sentence. In such paragraphs the topic sentence comes first _____________.

A. in about 5% of cases                       B in about 80% of cases

C. in about 20% cases                         D. very rarely

4.Sometimes we know the first sentence is not the topic sentence because ____________.

A. it does not seem to give us enough new information

B. it is not long enough

C. it does not come at the beginning

D. it does not make a complete sentence

5.The closing paragraph of a piece of writing ____________.

A. is not really very important

B. is often unnecessary repetition

C. often comes at the end

D. often summarizes the essence of the passage

 

Holmes’ Knowledge

His ignorance was as remarkable as his knowledge. Of contemporary literature, philosophy and politics he appeared to know next to nothing. Upon my quoting Thomas Carlyle, he inquired in the naivest（天真的；幼稚的）way who he might be and what he had done. My surprise reached a climax, however, when I found incidentally that he was ignorant of the Copernican Theory and of the composition of the Solar system.

  “You appear to be astonished, ” Holmes said, smiling at my expression. “Now that I do know it I shall do my best to forget it. You see, I consider that a man’s brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose: A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best jumbled up with a lot of other things, so that he has difficulty in laying his hand upon it. It is a mistake to think that the little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it, there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you know before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones.”

  “But the Solar System! ” I protested.

  “What the deuce is it to me?” he interrupted impatiently.

  One morning, I picked up a magazine from the table and attempted to while away the time with it, while my companion munched silently at his toast. One of the articles had a pencil mark at the heading, and I naturally began to run my eye through it.

  Its somewhat ambitious title was “The Book of Life, ” and it attempted to show how much an observant man might learn by an accurate and systematic examination of all that came in his way. It struck me as being a remarkable mixture of shrewdness and of absurdity. The reasoning was close and intense, but the deduction appeared to me to be far-fetched and exaggerated. The writer claimed by a momentary expression, a twitch of a muscle or a glance of an eye, to fathom a man’s inmost thought. Deceit, according to him, was impossibility in the case of one trained to observation and analysis. His conclusions were as infallible as so many propositions of Euclid. So startling would his results appear to the uninitiated that until they learned the processes by which he had arrived at them they might well consider him as a necromancer.

  “From a drop of water, ”said the writer, “a logician could infer the possibility of an Atlantic. So all life is a great chain, the nature of which is known whenever we are shown a single link of it. Like all other arts, the science of Deduction and Analysis is one which can be acquired by long and patient study, nor is life long enough to allow any mortal to attain the highest possible perfection in it. ”

  This smartly written piece of theory I could not accept until a succession of evidences justified it.

What is the author’s attitude toward Holmes?

A  Praising.    B Critical.         C Ironical.     D Distaste.

What way did the author take to stick out Holmes’ uniqueness?

A  By deduction.  B By explanation.    C By contrast.     D By analysis.

What was the Holmes’ idea about knowledge-learning?

A Learning what every body learned.  B Learning what was useful to you.

C Learning whatever you came across. D Learning what was different to you.

What did the article mentioned in the passage talk about?

A One may master the way of reasoning through observation.

B One may become rather critical through observation and analysis.

C One may become rather sharp through observation and analysis.

D One may become practical through observation and analysis.

New York’s streets were covered by people dressed in elephant costumes (服装) and others waving antiwar posters with pictures of US President George W. Bush on them last week. But this was no carnival (狂欢节) – it was the Republican Party’s National Convention (共和党全国大会), which attracted thousands of protestors (抗议者). It was the largest protest ever at a US political convention, with at least 120,000 people marching through Manhattan on August 29. They demanded that the US leave Iraq and a new president be chosen.

The Republicans say the opposition – Democrat Party (民主党) encouraged the people on to the streets. They believe it is a democratic move to help win presidential election, to be held on November 2. The election is described as “the decisive battle between donkey and elephant”. The two animals are the symbols of the two major political parties in the US. The elephant represents (象征) the Republicans, whose candidate (侯选人), President George W. Bush, is trying to defeat the donkey to win his second them. The donkey represents the democrats, whose candidate, John Kerry, is trying to kick the elephant out of the White House.

Republicans think the elephant is powerful and clever, but the Democrats argue it is stupid and conservative (守旧的). In return, the Republicans regard the donkey as stubborn (倔强的) and silly but the Democrats say it is humble, plain, smart and courageous.

The Republicans have been sending emails to Bush supporters and journalists with the heading, “An Elephant Never Forgets”, said party spokeswoman Heather Layman. Elephants are known for their long memories. The emails suggest that Bush will keep his promises, while Kerry will not stick to his words.

It is interesting that both symbols were created by a single person, Thomas Nast, a famous political cartoonist of the late 19th century. During the election in 1874, Nast drew a cartoon, in which a donkey in a lion’s skin frightened an elephant marked “Republican”.

What does “kick the elephant out of the White House” mean?

A. Drive the animal out of the White House.        B. Drive President Bush out of power.

C. Keep the elephant out of the White House.       D. Insist on Bush’s being elected.

In the eyes of the Republicans, the donkey is considered as      .

A. clever              B. foolish              C. polite              D. brave

Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The same artist created the two symbols.

B. The emails suggest Kerry will not carry out his promises.

C. “An Elephant Never Forgets” means that an elephant has a good memory.

D. John Kerry is a Democrat.

Passage Nine(Holmes’ Knowledge)

His ignorance was as remarkable as his knowledge. Of contemporary literature, philosophy and politics he appeared to know next to nothing. Upon my quoting Thomas Carlyle, he inquired in the naivest way who he might be and what he had done. My surprise reached a climax, however, when I found incidentally that he was ignorant of the Copernican Theory and of the composition of the Solar system.

  “You appear to be astonished, ” Holmes said, smiling at my expression. “Now that I do know it I shall do my best to forget it. You see, I consider that a man’s brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose: A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best jumbled up with a lot of other things, so that he has difficulty in laying his hand upon it. It is a mistake to think that the little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it, there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you know before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones.”

  “But the Solar System! ” I protested.

  “What the deuce is it to me?” he interrupted impatiently.

  One morning, I picked up a magazine from the table and attempted to while away the time with it, while my companion munched silently at his toast. One of the articles had a pencil mark at the heading, and I naturally began to run my eye through it.

  Its somewhat ambitious title was “The Book of Life, ” and it attempted to show how much an observant man might learn by an accurate and systematic examination of all that came in his way. It struck me as being a remarkable mixture of shrewdness and of absurdity. The reasoning was close and intense, but the deduction appeared to me to be far-fetched and exaggerated. The writer claimed by a momentary expression, a twitch of a muscle or a glance of an eye, to fathom a man’s inmost thought. Deceit, according to him, was impossibility in the case of one trained to observation and analysis. His conclusions were as infallible as so many propositions of Euclid. So startling would his results appear to the uninitiated that until they learned the processes by which he had arrived at them they might well consider him as a necromancer.

  “From a drop of water, ”said the writer, “a logician could infer the possibility of an Atlantic. So all life is a great chain, the nature of which is known whenever we are shown a single link of it. Like all other arts, the science of Deduction and Analysis is one which can be acquired by long and patient study, nor is life long enough to allow any mortal to attain the highest possible perfection in it. ”

  This smartly written piece of theory I could not accept until a succession of evidences justified it.

1.What is the author’s attitude toward Holmes?

[A]Praising.        B.Critical.            [C]Ironical.             [D]Distaste.

2.What way did the author take to stick out Holmes’ uniqueness?

[A]By deduction.       B.By explanation.         [C]By contrast.          [D]By analysis.

3.What was the Holmes’ idea about knowledge-learning?

[A]Learning what every body learned.

B.Learning what was useful to you.

[C]Learning whatever you came across.

[D]Learning what was different to you.

4.What did the article mentioned in the passage talk about?

[A]One may master the way of reasoning through observation.

B.One may become rather critical through observation and analysis.

[C]One may become rather sharp through observation and analysis.

[D]One may become practical through observation and analysis.