Our quarrel with efficiency is not that it gets things done, but that it is a thief of time when it leaves us no leisure to enjoy ourselves, and that it strains our nerves when we try to get things done perfectly. In building bridges, American engineers calculate so finely and exactly as to make the two ends come together within one-tenth of an inch. But when two Chinese begin to dig a tunnel from both sides of a mountain both come out on the other side. --The Chinese’s firm belief is that it doesn’t matter so long as a tunnel is dug through, and if we have two instead of one, why, we have a double track to boot.

　　The pace of modern industrial life forbids this kind of glorious and magnificent idling. But, worse than that, it imposes upon us a different conception of time as measured by the clock and eventually turns the human being into a clock himself. (This sort of thing is bound to come to China, as is evident, for instance, in the case of a factory of twenty thousand workers. The luxurious prospect of twenty thousand workers coming in at their own sweet pleasure at all hours is, of course, somewhat terrifying.)Nevertheless, such efficiency is what makes life so hard and full of excitement. A man who has to be punctually at a certain place at five o’clock has the whole afternoon from one to five ruined for him already. Every American adult is arranging his time on the pattern of the schoolboy - three o’clock for this, five o’clock for that, six-thirty for change of dress, six-fifty for entering the taxi, and seven o’clock for arriving at the destination. It just makes life not worth living.

The writer objects to efficiency mainly on the grounds that it ____.

　　 A. gives us rights to have too much leisure time

　　 B. urges us to get things done punctually

　　 C. robs us of leisure time

　　 D. imposes on us a perfect concept of time

In the eyes of the author, the introduction of industrial life gives rise to ____.

　　 A. the excitement of life

　　 B. magnificent idling of time

　　 C. more emphasis on efficiency

　　 D. terrifying schoolboy

The passage tells us ____.

　　 A. Chinese workers come to work when it is convenient

　　 B. all Americans are forced to be efficient against their will

　　 C. Chinese engineers are on better terms with the management

　　 D. Americans ought not to work so hard for efficiency

The author believes that relaxing the rule of punctuality in factories would lead to ____.

　　 A. great trouble                       B. increased production

　　 C. a hard and exciting life                D. successful completion of a tunnel

Annealing

Annealing is a way of making metal softer by heating it and then letting it cool very slowly, if metal is heated and then cooled very quickly, for example by dipping(浸) it in water, it will be very hard but also very brittle(脆)—that is, it will break easily. Metal that has been annealed is soft but does not breaks as easily. It is possible to make metal as hard or as soft as is wished, by annealing it. The metal is heated, and allowed to cool slowly for a certain length of time. The longer the heated metal takes to cool slowly, the softer it becomes. Annealing can also be used on other material, such as glass.

1. Annealing can make metal ____

　　A. hard and tough(韧)　B. hard but brittle　　C. soft but tough　　D. soft and brittle

2. Why do people put hot metal in water?

　　A. To make it hard.　　B. To make it soft.　C. To make it cool.　D. To make it brittle

3. In annealing, the required hardness of a metal depends on 　______

　　A. the quantity of water used　B. the temperature of the metal

　　C. the softness of the metal　  D. the timing of the operation

4. As suggested by the text, how can glass be made less brittle?

　　A. It can be heated and then cooled quickly.

　　B. It can be cooled and then heated slowly.

　　C. It can be heated and then cooled slowly.

D. It can be cooled and then heated quickly.

　Without proper planning, tourism can cause problems. For example, too many tourists can crowd public places that are also enjoyed by the inhabitants of a country. If tourists create too much traffic, the inhabitants become annoyed and unhappy. They begin to dislike tourists and to treat them impolitely. They forget how much tourism can help the country’s economy. It is important to think about the people of a destination country and how tourism affects them. Tourism should help a country, keep the customs and beauty that attract tourists. Tourism should also advance the wealth and happiness of local inhabitants.

　　Too much tourism can be a problem. If tourism grows too quickly, people must leave other jobs to work in the tourism industry. This means that other parts of the country’s economy can suffer.

　　On the other hand, if there is not enough tourism, people can lose jobs. Businesses can also lose money. It costs a great deal of money to build large hotels, airports, air terminals, first- class roads, and other support facilities（配套设施）needed by tourist attractions. For example, a major international class tourism hotel can cost as much as 50 thousand dollars per room to build. If this room is not used most of the time, the owners of the hotel lose money.

　　Building a hotel is just a beginning. There must be many support facilities as well, including roads to get to the hotel, electricity, sewers to handle waste, and water. All of these support facilities cost money. If they are not used because there are not enough tourists , jobs and money are lost.

　Which of the following do you think has been discussed in the part before this selection？

　　A. It is extremely important to develop tourism.

　　B. Building roads and hotels is essential.

　　C. Support facilities are highly necessary.

　　D. Planning is of great importance to tourism.

　The underlined word“ inhabitants” （in Paragraph 1 ） probably means________.

　　A. tourists　　　　　　　　　　　 B. passengers

　　C. population　　　　　　　　　　D. citizens

　Too much tourism can cause all these problems EXCEPT ________ .

　　A. a bad effect on other industries

　　B. a change of tourists’ customs

　　C. over - crowdedness of places of interest

　　D. pressure on traffic

　It can be inferred from the text that ________ .

　　A. the author doesn’t like tourism developing so fast

　　B. local people will benefit from tourist attraction

　　C. other parts of a country’s economy won’t benefit from tourism much

　　D. we can't build too many support facilities

The Man of Many Secrets — Harry Houdini — was one of the greatest American entertainers in the theater this century. He was a man famous for his escapes — from prison cells, from wooden boxes floating in rivers, from locked tanks full of water. He appeared in theaters all over Europe and America. Crowds came to see the great Houdini and his “magic” tricks.

　　Of course, his secret was not magic, or supernatural powers. It was simply strength. He had the ability to move his toes as well as he moved his fingers. He could move his body into almost any position he wanted.

　　Houdini started working in the entertainment world when he was 17, in 1891. He and his brother Theo performed card tricks in club in New York. They called themselves the Houdini Brothers. When Harry married in 1894, he and his wife Bess worked together as magician and assistant. But for a long time they were not very successful. Then Harry performed his first prison escape, in Chicago in 1898. Harry persuaded a detective to let him try to escape from the prison, and he invited the local newspapermen to watch.

　　It was the publicity(宣传) that came from this that started Harry Houdini’s success. Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs and toes trained to escape ankle chins. But his biggest secret was how he unlocked the prison doors. Every time he went into the prison cell, Bess gave him a kiss for good luck — and a small skeleton key, which is a key that fits many locks, pass quickly from her mouth to his.

　　Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame. He arranged to escape from the local prison of every town he visited. In the afternoon, the people of the town would read about it in their local newspapers, and in the evening every seat in the local theater would be full. What was the result? World-wild fame, and a name remembered today.

1.According to the passage, Houdini’s success in prison escapes depends on _______.

2.In the fourth paragraph, the underlined word “this” refers to _______.

3.It can be inferred from the passage that Houdini became famous _______.

4.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

Because earthquakes happen without warning, it’s important to take measures now to prepare. Because you don’t know where you will be when an earthquake happens, prepare some supplies for your home, workplace, and car.

　　1. Water

　　A person needs at least 1/2 gallon(加仑) of water daily just for drinking. Store at least 1 gallon of water per person per day and be prepared for a 72-hour period. It is suggested that you buy bottled water. Keep bottled water in its original container and do not open it until you need to use it. Also, do check the “use by” date.

　　2. Food

　　It’s always a practical idea to keep a supply of non-perishable(不易腐烂的) food on hand. Have an enough supply of canned food, powdered milk, dried fruits, non-salted nuts and canned juices for at least 72 hours.

　　3. Torch(手电筒) and spare batteries (电池)

　　Keep a torch beside your bed, at your place of work, and in your car. Do not use matches or candles after an earthquake until you are sure that no gas leaks(泄露).Prepare a battery-powered radio and spare batteries. Most telephones will be out of order, so radios will be your best source of information.

　　4. Clothes

　　If you live in a cold place, you must think about warmth. You might not have heat after an earthquake. Think about your clothing and bedding supplies.

1.Why should people prepare themselves for an earthquake?

   A. Because earthquakes can be known before they happen.

   B. Because earthquakes take place without warning.

   C. Because earthquakes usually take place in the neighborhood.

   D. Because it’s people’s daily work to prepare the earthquakes.

2.You should prepare all of the following except ______.

   A. powdered milk    B. fresh vegetables   C. dried fruits   D. canned juices

3.According to the article we know that ______.

   A. we need to prepare some supplies only at home

   B. a telephone is the most important prepared thing

   C. after earthquakes you’d better use torch first but not matches

   D. clothes are used to protect your head

4.If you live in a cold place, you should prepare _______.

    A. some warm clothes and bedding supplies       B. some hot water

C. some batteries                               D. some torches