Reading Comprehension
Section B
Directions：Read the following passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.
　　Are organically grown foods the best food choices？The advantages claimed for such foods over conventionally (传统地) grown and marketed food products are now being debated. Supporters of organic foods—a term whose meaning varies greatly—frequently announce that such products are safer and more nutritious than others.
　　The growing interest of consumers in the safety and nutritional quality of the typical North American diet is a welcome development. However, much of this interest has been sparked by sweeping claims that the food supply is unsafe or inadequate in meeting nutritional needs.  Although most of these claims are not supported by scientific evidence, the flood of written material advancing such claims makes it difficult for the general public to separate fact from fiction. As a result, claims that eating a diet consisting entirely of organically grown foods prevents or cures disease or provides other benefits to health have become widely publicized.
　　Almost daily the public is besieged by claims for “no-aging” diets, new vitamins and other wonder foods. There are numerous unproved reports that natural vitamins are superior to synthetic ones, that fertilized eggs are nutritionally superior to unfertilized eggs, that untreated grains are better than fumigated grains and the like.
　　One thing that most organically grown food products seem to have in common is that they cost more than conventionally grown foods. But in many cases consumers are misled if they believe organic foods can maintain health and provide better nutritional quality than conventionally grown foods. So there is real cause for concern if consumers，particularly those with limited incomes, distrust the regular food supply and buy only expensive organic foods instead.
1.The “welcome development” mentioned in paragraph 2 is an increase in ______.
　　A. attention to food safety and nutrition among north Americans
　　B. the nutritional quality of the typical North American diet
　　C. the amount of healthy food grown in North America
　　D. the number of consumers in North America
2. The author implies that there is cause for concern if consumers buy organic foods instead of conventionally grown foods because ______.
　　A. organic foods can be more expensive but are often not better than conventionally grown foods
　　B. many organic foods are actually less nutritious than similar conventionally grown foods
　　C. conventionally grown foods are more readily available than organic foods
　　D. too many farmers will stop using conventional methods to grow food crops
3.What is the author’s attitude toward the claims made by advocates of health foods？
　　A. Enthusiastic.  B. Favorable.  C. Neutral.  D. Distrustful.

Outside our hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a seemingly ancient woman waited beside the door with her hand outstretched. Every day I put my hand in hers as our eyes met. She never failed to return my smile, my grasp, and my greeting.

    On the last day of our visit, I found myself alone on a busy corner across the street from our hotel. Bicycles and motorbikes rushed in front of me. As I hesitated on the sidewalk, I felt a hand on my elbow and looked down to see the smile of my small beggar friend looking up at me. She nodded her head toward the street, indicating that she would take me across. Together, we moved slowly into the chaos.

    Then we moved on toward the sidewalk, where she pulled my face down to hers, kissed me on both cheeks, and then left, still smiling and waving back to me.

Traveling in poorer nations, I have witnessed a variety of ways to deal with beggars. The most common response of tourists faced with the poverty-stricken is to ignore them and focus their eyes elsewhere. I have seen people push away an outstretched hand in angry annoyance. A few may drop a few coins into the hand in a hurry, hoping that other ragged pursuers won’t immediately appear on the scene.

For many reasons, giving money is not the best response to an outstretched hand. Many world travelers have discovered that the greatest gift they can give is their time and respect. Everyone needs recognition, to be seen as worthy of being known, to feel appreciated and loved. And I believe that everyone is worthy and worth knowing.

1.The woman beggars helped the author go across the busy street because __________.

A．the author gave her material assistance

B．the author treated her kindly and friendly

C．the author would help her as a reward

D．the author was a foreigner

2.From the story, what position of the beggars in the author’s mind might be?

    A．equal                B．superior      C．lower          D．valuable

3.In common cases, people will do the following things to the beggars EXCEPT for ________.

    A．pretending to see nothing

B．handing out some money

    C．refusing them angrily

D．greeting them normally

4.According to the author, the most important things beggars really need are _________.

    A．mercy and pity 　B．money and food

C．smile and greeting  D．attention and respect

5.The purpose of the passage is to _________.

    A．show how poor the beggars are in Vietnam

    B．offer some advice on dealing with begging

    C．express what we should offer the beggars

    D．describe an experience with a beggar       

There are many older people in the world and there will be many more. A little-known fact is that over 60 percent of the older people live in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization, by 2020 there will be 1 billion, with over 700 million living in developing countries.

　It is a surprising fact that the population ageing is particularly rapid in developing countries. For example, it took France 115 years for the rate of older people to double from 7 percent to 14 percent. It is estimated to take China a mere 27 years to achieve this same increase.

　What are the implications of these increased numbers of older folk? One of the biggest worries for governments is that the longer people live, the more likelihood there is for diseases and for disability. Attention is being paid to the need to keep people as healthy as possible, including during old age, to lessen the financial burden on the state.

　Another significant problem is the need for the younger generations to understand and value the older people in their society. In some African countries, certainly in Asia, older people are respected and regarded as the ones with special knowledge. Yet traditions are fading away daily, which does not make sure the continued high regard of older people. As society changes, attitudes will change.

　Much needs to be done to get rid of age discrimination in employment. Life-long learning programs need to be provided to enable older people to be active members in a country's development.

　Social security policies need to be established to provide adequate income protection for older people. Both public and private schemes are vital in order to build a suitable safety net.

1.The rate of older people________.

2.According  to passage, which of the following are governments most worried about

3. It is stated directly in the passage that older people should ________.

4.Which of the following measure is NOT mentioned to solve the population ageing problem?

5.The author concludes in the last paragraph that ________.

   
Listen carefully, working people, we would like to tell you something that could save your precious time and money! Best of all, it is free!
It’s “no”.
What do you ask? We’ll say it again: “No”.
Sweet and simple “no”.
Say “no” at your office and see how quickly that pile of work on your desk disappears.
“Saying ‘no’ to others means you are saying ‘yes’ to yourself, ” said Leslie Charles, a professional speaker from East Lansing, Michigan.
“Time is precious. People are spending money buying time. And yet we are willing to give up our time because we can’t say ‘no’.”
Susie Watson, a famous writer, said people who always say “yes” need to say “no” without guilt(内疚)or fear of punishment. “I would rather have someone give me a loving ‘no’ than an obligated(强制的) ‘yes’, ” she said.
Susie Watson says she feels “no” obligation to give an explanation when she says “no” either socially or professionally. Does she feel guilty about it? “Not at all, ” said Watson, who is director of advertising and public relations at Timex Corp in Middlebury, Connecticut. “Most people are afraid of saying ‘no’advice is to say ‘yes’ only if you don’t mean ‘no’.” Watson said “no” is the most effective weapon against wasting time. “Every year there are more demands on your time… Other people are happy to use up your time, ” Watson said. Time saving appears to be “no’s” greatest friend.
“No” can be your new friend, a powerful tool to take back your life. “No” may even take you further in the business world than “yes”.
“No” is power and strength. “No” now seems completely correct. “Saying ‘no’ isn’t easy. But finally it’s greatly liberating,” Charles said. But, he added, a “no” project needs to be worked on every day because it is hard to change long-term habit.
But, he also warns: “Don’t go to extremes. Don’t find yourself saying ‘no’ to everything. In return you should learn to hear ‘no’.”
【小题1】.
The sentence “Saying ‘yes’ to yourself” means _______.

The appeal of advertising to buying motives can have both negative and positive effects. Consumers may be convinced to buy a product of poor quality or high price because of an advertisement. For example, some advertisers have appealed to people’s desire for better fuel economy for their cars by advertising automotive products that improve gasoline mileage. Some of the products work. Others are worthless and a waste of consumers’ money.

Sometimes advertising is intentionally misleading. A few years ago a brand of

bread was offered to dieters (节食者) with the message that there were fewer calories in every slice. It turned out that the bread was not dietetic (适合于节食的), but just regular bread. There were fewer calories because it was sliced very thin, but there were the same number of calories in every loaf.

　　On the positive side, emotional appeals may respond to a consumer’s real concerns. Consider fire insurance. Fire insurance may be sold by appealing to fear of loss. But fear of loss is the real reason for fire insurance. The security of knowing that property is protected by insurance makes the purchase of fire insurance a worthwhile investment for most people. If consumers consider the quality of the insurance plans as well as the message in the ads, they will benefit from the advertising.

　　Each consumer must evaluate her or his own situation. Are the benefits of the product important enough to justify buying it? Advertising is intended to appeal to consumers, but it does not force them to buy the product. Consumers still control the final buying decision.

56. Advertising can persuade the consumer to buy worthless products by _________.

　 A. stressing their high quality

　 B. convincing him of their low price

　 C. maintaining a balance between quality and price

　 D. appealing to his buying motives

57. The reason why the bread advertisement is misleading is that ________.

　 A. thin slices of bread could contain more calories

　 B. the loaf was cut into regular slices

　 C. the bread was not genuine bread

　 D. the total number of calories in the loaf remained the same

58. The passage tells us that _______.

　 A. sometimes advertisements really sell what the consumer needs

　 B. advertisements occasionally force consumers into buying things they don’t need

　 C. the buying motives of consumers are controlled by advertisements

　 D. fire insurance is seldom a worthwhile investment

59. It can be inferred from the passage that a smart consumer should ________.

　 A. think carefully about the benefits described in the advertisements

　 B. guard against the deceiving nature of advertisements

　 C. be familiar with various advertising strategies

　 D. avoid buying products that have strong emotional appeal

60. The passage is mainly about ________.

　 A. how to make a wise buying decision

　 B. ways to protect the interests of the consumer

　 C. the positive and negative aspects of advertising

　 D. the function of advertisements in promoting sales