PART THREE READING COMPREHENSION

  Directions: Read the following three 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.

    Building after building under water．Refugees in shelters．Thousands of others unsure where to go．Bodies in streets．This is what one of America's historic cities was reduced to this week by a powerful storm, Katrina．The mayor of New Orleans says thousands may be dead．Hurricane Katrina also caused death and destruction in parts of Mississippi and Alabama along the Gulf of Mexico．

    New Orleans is famous for its wild Mardi Gras celebrations．New Orleans is also a major port for foreign oil and other shipping trade．Yet the city of nearly five hundred thousand people was built below sea level．New Orleans has depended on levees to control floods from the Mississippi River．Katrina struck on Monday．New Orleans avoided a direct hit．But two of the levees failed the next day．Most of the city was flooded．Helicopters dropped huge sandbags to fill the breaks．But the water had no place to go．Pumping stations had no power．

    America faces one of the worst natural events in its history．President Bush says the recovery will take years．People were told to leave the path of the storm．But some would not or could not．Many of those worst affected by Katrina are poor and black．African-American leaders and others were angry that government aid did not arrive faster．President Bush visited some of the damaged areas on Friday．He said the way officials reacted to the crisis was unacceptable．

56．Which is true of the following details about New Orleans?

       A．New Orleans is a newly-built city of America

       B．There were no black people in New Orleans．

       C．This is the first time that hurricane has stricken it．

       D．It’s  a port for foreign oil and other shipping trade．

57．What does the underlined word “levees” (in the second paragraph) mean?

       A．dams                    B． trees                    C．ports                     D．ships

58．Which is right about the Hurricane Katrina?

       A．It also caused the destruction in parts of Mississippi．

       B．A lot of people died in this disaster．

       C．It cut off the electricity supply of the city．

       D．All of the above is right．

59．What can we learn from the text?

       A．President Bush was not concerned about this disaster．

       B．The recovery of the city will take a few days．

       C． In this city there were no pump stations．

       D． In this disaster the government aid didn’t  arrive in time．

60. What kind of attitude does the author have toward the government ?

    A. appreciative           B. optimistic               C. depreciative            D. humorous

Building after building under water．Refugees in shelters．Thousands of others unsure where to go．Bodies in streets．This is what one of America's historic cities was reduced to this week by a powerful storm, Katrina（卡特里娜）．The mayor of New Orleans says thousands may be dead．Hurricane Katrina also caused death and destruction in parts of Mississippi and Alabama along the Gulf of Mexico．

New Orleans is famous for its wild Mardi Gras celebrations．New Orleans is also a major port for foreign oil and other shipping trade．Yet the city of nearly five hundred thousand people was built below sea level．New Orleans has depended on levees to control floods from the Mississippi River．Katrina struck on Monday．New Orleans avoided a direct hit．But two of the levees failed the next day．Most of the city was flooded．Helicopters dropped huge sandbags to fill the breaks．But the water had no place to go．Pumping stations had no power．

America faces one of the worst natural events in its history．President Bush says the recovery will take years．People were told to leave the path of the storm．But some would not or could not．Many of those worst affected by Katrina are poor and black．African-American leaders and others were angry that government aid did not arrive faster．President Bush visited some of the damaged areas on Friday．He said the way officials reacted to the crisis was unacceptable．

Which is true of the following details about New Orleans?

       A．New Orleans is a newly－built city of America

       B．There were no black people in New Orleans．

       C．This is the first time that hurricane has stricken it．

       D．New Orleans is a major port for foreign oil and other shipping trade．

What does the underlined word “levees”(in the second paragraph) mean?

       A．trees      B．dams      C．ports      D．ships

Which is right about the Hurricane Katrina?

       A．It also caused the destruction in parts of Mississippi．

       B．A lot of people died in this disaster．

       C．It cut off the electricity supply of the city．

       D．All of the above is right．

What can we learn from the text?

       A．President Bush was not concerned about this disaster．

       B．The recovery of the city will take a few days．

       C．In this disaster the government aid didn’t arrive in time．

       D．In this city there were no pump stations．

完形填空

　　Niagara is an Indian wont which means “roaring water”. Indeed, the roar of falling water of Niagara can be heard 1 a distance of 25 kms. Imagine 2 of mater flowing over a cliff 90 feet high and you will get an idea of that terrible noise. And 3 tremendous power the Niagara River has! It moves big rocks about and throws them into the boiling water below. 4 ago an old ship without a single person on board was put in mid-stream. It sailed down the river 5 a toy boat with great speed. Having reached the fall, the ship dropped into the boiling water, never 6 again.

　　There were some people who wanted to become famous 7 swimming across the most dangerous part of the Niagara River. One of them was Captain Webb. 8 that he would try to swim cross the Niagara drew crowds of people. On the evening of July 21th, 1893, Captain Webb came up to the river and 9 a plunge. His having jumped into the water 10 many people with horror. Soon, he appeared in the middle of the river. A loud shout went up from the crowd, but a moment later there was 11 silence. The man had disappeared under the water. Thousands of eyes 12 on the river, but the man was downed.

　　In 1902, a certain Miss Taylor decided to go over the falls in a barrel. There were different kinds of pillows inside the barrel to prevent her 13 . Having examined the barrel carefully, Miss Taylor got in. The barrel was closed and then 14 into the water. Having reached the falls, it overturned and was shot down by the terrible 15 of the water. When the barrel was finally caught and opened, Miss Taylor came out alive 16 with a frightened look in her eyes.

　　Once a crowd of visitors saw a rope 17 over them one bank of the river to the other. Then they saw a man 18 the rope. The man was an actor, Blondin

19 . He managed to cross Niagara Falls on a tight rope. The people on the bank were surprised at his 20 it so well.

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