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III. Reading Comprehension     

Section A

Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D.  Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

    Around 15 million of us will leave a cup of tea to go cold today while a similar amount will forget where they put the keys to their house or car.

    Meanwhile, 12 million go to the shops only to   50   forget what they went for----and the same will forget about   51   washing in the machine, according to the survey   52   by National-Lottery.co.uk.

PIN numbers, passwords and chores such as taking food out of the freezer the night before and   53   your mobile phone also stood highly on the list. And more than one in ten    54   forgetting to buy a lottery ticket which may have   55   them a win.

Modern busy lifestyles and increased   56   as well as modern technology were   57   the increase in our levels of forgetfulness.

A National Lottery spokesman said: “We are busier than ever in our work and personal lives and it seems we just have too much to remember for our    58   minds.”

The study found the technology has also played a part, leaving us with more gadgets(小装置) than ever before to   59   and charge or take care of.

   60  work pressures it is within the home environment where most things are forgotten, such as credit card   61   , children’s school events or food related things.

The study found one in four people have    62   an important appointment and nearly one in five have fallen out with a friend over a forgotten date or event.

Women are much better than men in the report, failing to   63   an average of two and a half things every day    64   to 3.5 things for men.

50. A. completely   B. fortunately       C. barely D. mostly

51. A. freezing      B. elegant      C. formal       D. wet

52. A. experimented     B. conducted C. applied       D. commanded

53. A. loading B. forgetting C. charging    D. remarking

54. A. deny     B. admit  C. forbid D. avoid

55. A. entitled       B. purchased C. consumed D. cost

56. A. pressure      B. rank        C. logic D. weight

57. A. led to   B. blamed for        C. brought about   D. confirmed

58. A. crowded     B. conscious         C. impatient   D. accurate

59. A. dive in        B. insert in     C. push in       D. plug in

60. A. Despite B. Though     C. In spite      D. Moreover

61. A. illustrations  B. thefts        C. payments   D. journals

62. A. missed       B. made C. drawn       D. concluded

63. A. ignore B. remind     C. recall        D. assure

64. A. devoted      B. contributed       C. opposed    D. compared

Let's face it-English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant (茄子) nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple(菠萝). English muffins (松饼) weren't invented in England nor French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.

We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes (似是而非的说法),we find that quicksand(流沙) can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers "praught"? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can a person be "pretty ugly"?

You will be very surprised at the unique lunacy(荒谬) of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm clock goes off by going on. Why is a "crazy man" an insult(侮辱), while to insert a comma and say "crazy, man" is a compliment (as when clapping for a Jazz performance).

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race (which, of course, isn't a race at all). That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it.

According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. A wise man is similar in meaning to a wise guy.

B. "An alarm clock goes on" and"An alarm clock goes off" are opposite.

C. Boxing rings are square rather than round.

D. Sweetmeats are sweet meat while sweetbreads are not sweet at all.

Which of the following pairs contains expressions that are opposite in meaning?

A. "A fat chance"and "a slim chance".

B. "To fill in a form"and "to fill out a form".

C. "Crazy man" and "crazy, man".

D. "Quite a lot" and "quite a few".

Which of the following statements about the English language is NOT true according to the passage?

A. It is a crazy language.

B. It reflects the creativity of the human race.

C. It was invented by the British people.

D. It can be quite irregular.

When it comes to intelligence, human beings are the top dogs of the animal kingdom. But in recent years, scientists have been documenting surprising intelligence and emotional depth in animals ranging from honeybees to elephants. Here are some amazing examples.
Artistic Monkey Business
Jannet Schmid, director of the Little River Zoo in Norman, Oklahoma, learned a lot about the intelligence of capuchin monkeys. She and her busband adopted a young male, named Bailey. The capuchin particularly liked taking car rides, insisting that he insert the key and ride in the front passenger’s seat.
Now Bailey has become a devoted painter. He uses brushes to create colorful, abstract paintings, and prefers not to be disturbed.
Prairie Dog Sound
Through a variety of birdlike sounds, prairie dogs warn each other of approaching creatures. They demonstrated a surprisingly complex communication system. In his 25 years of study, Slobodchikoff, a professor of biology, has recorded them pronouncing ten nouns including hawk, deer and coyote, a number of adjectives to identify color, size and shape, and even some verbs to indicate speed.
In an ongoing study, Slobodchikoff learns that their brain contains a very extensive vocabulary. He once used his best prairie dog sound to say coyote, and they just looked at him in anger as if he had said a bad word.
Ivy League Parrot
One African grey parrot Alex is said to have the cognitive abilities of a five-year-old child. Alex can identify 50 different objects, seven colors, five shapes, quantities up to six, and the concepts of bigger, smaller, same and different.
Also Alex is considered to make reasoned decisions. During an experiment, researchers gave Alex different-colored blocks in sets of two, three and six. When asked which color group had five blocks, Alex replied, “None.” And he answered the same in repeated tests. Obviously, he interpreted the concept of “none” as an absence of quantity all on his own. That’s a lot like a high school student answering questions on a quiz show.
56.Which of the following is true?
A. Bailey is as clever as a child of five.
B. The prairie dog loves taking car rides.
C. The capuchin monkey is fond of painting.
D. Alex develops a communication system.
57.The underlined word “coyote” in Paragraph 4 refers to ________.
A. a verb                     B. an animal              C. a warning                       D. an adjective
58.The African grey parrot Alex can ________.
A. answer questions on a quiz show
B. understand the figure “7”
C. identify five colors and seven shapes
D. apply the concept of “none” correctly
59.What is the passage mainly about?
A. Animal communication                           B. Animal research
C. Animal intelligence                                  D. Animal information

After the violent earthquake that shook Los Angeles in 1994, earthquake scientists had good news to report: The damage and death toll(死亡人数)could have been much worse.

More than 60 people died in this earthquake. By comparison, an earthquake of similar intensity(强度)that shook America in 1988 claimed 25, 000 victims.

Injuries and deaths were relatively less in Los Angeles because the quake occurred at 4：31 a．m. on a holiday, when traffic was light on the city's highways. In addition, changes made to the construction codes in Los Angeles during the last 20 years have strengthened the city's buildings and highways, making them more resistant to quakes(抗震)．

Despite the good news, civil engineers aren't resting on their successes. Pinned to their drawing boards are blueprints(蓝图)for improved quake－resistant buildings. The new designs should offer even greater security to cities where earthquakes often take place.

In the past, making structures quake－resistant meant firm yet flexible materials, such as steel and wood, which bend without breaking. Later, people tried to lift a building off its foundation, and insert rubber and steel between the building and its foundation to reduce the impact of ground vibrations. The most recent designs give buildings brains as well as concrete and steel supports. Called smart buildings, the structures respond like living organisms to an earthquake's vibrations. When the ground shakes and the building tips forward, the computer would force the building to shift in the opposite direction.

The new smart structures could be very expensive to build. However, they would save many lives and would be less likely to be damaged during earthquakes.

6．One reason why the loss of lives in the Log Angeles earthquake was comparatively low is that______.

A．new computers had been installed in the buildings

B．it occurred in the residential areas rather than on the highways

C．large numbers of Los Angeles residents had gone for a holiday

D．improvements had been made in the construction of buildings and highways

7．The function of the computer mentioned in the passage is to______.

A. counterbalance(起平衡作用)an earthquake's action on the building

B. predict(预测)the coming of an earthquake with accuracy

C. help strengthen the foundation of the building

D. measure the impact of an earthquake's vibrations

8．The smart buildings discussed in the passage________.

A. would cause serious financial problems

B. would be worthwhile though expensive

C. would reduce the complexity of architectural design

D. can reduce the ground vibrations caused by earthquakes

9．It can be inferred from the passage that in minimizing(使……最小)the damage caused by earthquakes, attention should be focused on________.

A．the increasing use of rubber and steel in capital construction

B．the development of flexible building materials

C．the reduction of the impact of ground vibrations

D．early forecasts of earthquakes

10．The author's main purpose in writing the passage is to________.

A．compare the consequences of the earthquakes that occurred in the US

B．encourage civil engineers to make more extensive use of computers

C．outline the history of the development of quake－resistant building materials

D．report new developments in constructing quake－resistant buildings

My job was to make classroom observations and encourage a training program that would enable students to feel good about themselves and take charge of their lives. Donna was one of the volunteer teachers who participated in this ? ? ? .

One day, I entered Donna’s classroom, took a seat in the back of the room and ? ? ? . All the students were working ? ? ? a task. The student next to me was filling her page with “I Can’ts.” “I can’t kick the soccer ball.” “I can’t get Debbie to like me.” Her page was half full and she showed no ? ? ? of stopping. I walked down the row and found ? ? ? was writing sentences, describing things they couldn’t do.

By this time the activity aroused my ? ? ? , so I decided to check with the teacher to see what was going on ? ? ? I noticed she too was busy writing. “I can’t get John’s mother to come for a parents’ meeting.” I felt it best not to ? ? ? .

After another ten minutes, the students were ? ? ? to fold the papers in half and bring them to the front. They placed their “I Can’t” statements into an empty shoebox. Then Donna? ? ? hers. She put the lid on the box, tucked it under her arm and headed out the door. Students followed the teacher. I followed the students. Halfway down the hallway Donna got a shovel from the tool house, and then marched the students to the farthest corner of the playground. There they began to ? ? ? . The box of “I Can’ts” was placed at the ? ? ? of the hole and then quickly covered with dirt. At this point Donna announced, “Boys and girls, please join hands and ? ? ? your heads.” They quickly formed a circle around the grave.

Donna delivered the eulogy (悼词). “Friends, we gathered here today to ? ? ? the memory of ‘I Can’t.’ He is ? ? ? by his brothers and sisters ‘I Can’ and ‘I Will’. May ‘I Can’t’ rest in ? ? ? . Amen!”

She turned the students ? ? ? and marched them back into the classroom. They celebrated the ? ? ? of “I Can’t”. Donna cut a large tombstone from paper. She wrote the words “I Can’t” at the top and the date at the bottom, then hung it in the classroom. On those rare occasions when a student ? ? ? and said, “I Can’t,” Donna ? ? ? pointed to the paper tombstone. The student then remembered that “I Can’t” was dead and chose other statement.???

1.A. job????????????? ????????????? ?? B. project????????????? ????????????? ? C. observation????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. course

2.A. checked????????????? ?? B. noticed????????????? ????????????? ? C. watched????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. waited

3.A. on????????????? ????????????? ?? B. with????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ? C. as????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. for

4.A. scenes ????????????? ?? B. senses????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ? C. marks????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. signs

5.A. nobody????????????? ?? B. somebody????????????? ????????????? ? C. everyone????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. anyone

6.A. curiosity????????????? ?? B. suspect????????????? ????????????? ? C. sympathy????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. worry

7.A. and????????????? ????????????? ?? B. or????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ? C. but????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. so

8.A. insert????????????? ????????????? ?? B. interrupt????????????? ????????????? ? C. talk????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. request

9.A. taught????????????? ?? ????????????? ?? B. shown????????????? ????????????? ? C. forced????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. instructed

10.A. added????????????? ?? ????????????? ?? B. wrote????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ? C. made????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. folded

11.A. cry????????????? ????????????? ?? B. pray????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ? C. dig????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. play

12.A. back????????????? ????????????? ? ????????????? B. bottom????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. top????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ? D. edge

13.A. drop????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B. raise????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. fall????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ? D. lift

14.A. keep????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B. thank????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. forgive????????????? ????????????? ? D. honor

15.A. remembered????????????? B. punished????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. removed????????????? ????????????? ? D. replaced

16.A. silence????????????? ????????????? B. heart????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. peace????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ? D. memory

17.A. down????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B. up????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. off????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ? D. around?????????????

18.A. birth????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B. passing????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. loss????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ? D. starting

19.A. awoke????????????? ????????????? B. reminded????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. forgot????????????? ????????????? ? D. apologized

20.A. simply????????????? ????????????? B. hardly????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. seriously????????????? ????????????? ? D. angrily