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.

(A)

After a few days in Pittsburgh, I was happy to leave the city and enjoy the harmony of the countryside. I left my hotel early and drove south to the Bear Run Nature Reserve. As I arrived, I was immediately impressed by the charming Laurel Highlands and other natural sights. However, I was not there to enjoy beauty: I was there to see a house, one of the most famous houses in the world.

The house I had come to see is Fallingwater. It is called Fallingwater because it was built over a waterfall. As most houses are built on solid ground, this house’s location instantly made it famous. When you approach the house, surrounded by forest, streams and mountains, it looks as though the clear blue water were flowing through it, since the stream rushes out from under the ground floor of the building.

The house was designed by the architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, for businessman Edgar Kaufman and his family. As I toured the house, I learnt that it took Wright three years to build the place. The Kaufman family had asked him to design them a home in the middle of the countryside where they could enjoy the sights and sounds of the natural world. Though they lived in the city, they loved to come to the mountains to spend some time in the peace and quiet of nature, where they could go camping in the forest and play in the stream with their children. In fact, they loved the water so much that they asked Wright to design a house that would let them view the beautiful waterfall every day.

Many people have suggested that this incredible building is a work of art, and I would agree that this beautiful house is a masterpiece of design. It also demonstrates how important it is to live side-by-side with nature and to respect it rather than try to dominate it. 

65. ______ impressed the author first as he arrived at the location of Fallingwater.

A. The beauty of nature                                    B. The sight of the waterfall

C. The designer of the house                              D. The preservation of the environment

66. Fallingwater quickly became famous because ______.

A. a famous architect designed it                        B. it was built over waterfall

C. blue water flowed through it                         D. it was situated in a nature reserve

67. The Kaufman family had the house built there in order to ______.

A. move to the countryside                           B. live in a masterpiece

C. enjoy the harmony of nature                         D. create a new scenic spot

68. What is the best title of the passage?

A. A Talent Designer and His Masterpiece          B. Human and Nature

C. A House over Waterfall                                D. Life in Fallingwater

 

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.

(A)

After a few days in Pittsburgh, I was happy to leave the city and enjoy the harmony of the countryside. I left my hotel early and drove south to the Bear Run Nature Reserve. As I arrived, I was immediately impressed by the charming Laurel Highlands and other natural sights. However, I was not there to enjoy beauty: I was there to see a house, one of the most famous houses in the world.

The house I had come to see is Fallingwater. It is called Fallingwater because it was built over a waterfall. As most houses are built on solid ground, this house’s location instantly made it famous. When you approach the house, surrounded by forest, streams and mountains, it looks as though the clear blue water were flowing through it, since the stream rushes out from under the ground floor of the building.

The house was designed by the architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, for businessman Edgar Kaufman and his family. As I toured the house, I learnt that it took Wright three years to build the place. The Kaufman family had asked him to design them a home in the middle of the countryside where they could enjoy the sights and sounds of the natural world. Though they lived in the city, they loved to come to the mountains to spend some time in the peace and quiet of nature, where they could go camping in the forest and play in the stream with their children. In fact, they loved the water so much that they asked Wright to design a house that would let them view the beautiful waterfall every day.

Many people have suggested that this incredible building is a work of art, and I would agree that this beautiful house is a masterpiece of design. It also demonstrates how important it is to live side-by-side with nature and to respect it rather than try to dominate it. 

65. ______ impressed the author first as he arrived at the location of Fallingwater.

A. The beauty of nature                                    B. The sight of the waterfall

C. The designer of the house                              D. The preservation of the environment

66. Fallingwater quickly became famous because ______.

A. a famous architect designed it                        B. it was built over waterfall

C. blue water flowed through it                         D. it was situated in a nature reserve

67. The Kaufman family had the house built there in order to ______.

A. move to the countryside                            B. live in a masterpiece

C. enjoy the harmony of nature                         D. create a new scenic spot

68. What is the best title of the passage?

A. A Talent Designer and His Masterpiece          B. Human and Nature

C. A House over Waterfall                                D. Life in Fallingwater

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.

 

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.

Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A,B,C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.

Zoo Lights

6pm---10pm Thursdays through Wednesdays, through Jan. 7. The Phoenix Zoo’s 15^th-annual holiday light festival features more than 2 million lights and light displays throughout the zoo, as well as a new arctic exhibit and jingo, the talking giraffe. Phoenix Zoo, 455 N. Galvin Parkway, $7 ahead of time. Phoenix. $8 at gate. (602)273-1341. www.phoenixzoo.org.

Cowboy Christmas

5pm---9pm Thursdays, 5pm---10pm Fridays and Saturdays, 5pm---9pm Sundays through Wednesdays, through Jan 1. Rawhide’s Main Street will be lit with 150,000 lights, including a 100-foot tall “tree of lights” and nightly lighting ceremony. Rawhide at Wild Horse Pass, 5700 W. North Loop Road, Gila River Reservation. FREE. (480) 502—5600. www.rawhide.com.

Arizona Celebration of Lights

6pm---9pm Thursdays, 6pm---l0pm Fridays and Saturdays, 6pm---10pm Sundays through Wednesdays, through Jan.1. A 2-mile drive featuring 300 light displays with more than 5 million lights. Community Church of Joy, 21000 N. 75th Ave., Glendale. $12 per car, $8 for adults, free for kids aged 4 and younger, $2 discount with canned food or toy donations. (623)561—0500. www.joyonline.org.

Glendale Glitters Quiet Nights

6pm---10pm Thursdays through Wednesdays, through Jan.6. A display featuring 1.4 million lights decorates downtown Glendale. It also features an animated musical light show in the north part of town. The center of the display is at Murphy Park. Murphy Park, 5850 W. Glendale Ave. Glendale. FREE. (623)930—2820.

Valley of Lights

6pm---12pm Thursdays through Wednesdays, through Dec. 30. A one-mile drive through exhibits featuring more than 100,000 lights and animated displays. Donations accepted. Fain Park, 2200 N. Fifth St., Prescott Valley. FREE. 1一(928)一759—3090. www.pvchamber.org.

These ads are all about__________.

A. night light displays in the Phoenix Zoo      B. celebrations of lights

C. Christmas activities all over the world      D. advertisements of some products

Which of the following websites can offer you further information about the 100-foot tall “tree of lights”?

A. www. pvchamber. org.                     B. www. joyonline. org.

C. www. rawhide.com.                   D. www. phoenixzoo.org.

If Mr. Smith and Mrs. Smith drive to Arizona Celebration of Lights with their son aged 5, most probably how much will they pay for the visit at least?

A. $34.                     B. $36.          C. $28.                    D. $26.

According to the text, which of the following offer animated displays?

A. Zoo Lights & Cowboy Christmas.

B. Valley of Lights & Cowboy Christmas.

C. Zoo Lights & Arizona Celebration of Lights.

D. Valley of Lights & Glendale Glitters Quiet Nights.

What’s the purpose of the text?

A. To attract more visitors to these activities.

B. To collect more donations from the visitors.

C. To let kids have an interesting Christmas Day.

D. To earn more money.