40. The passage mainly discusses　　　 .

　　 A. the experiments on the common colds　 B. the fallacy about the common cold

　　 C. the reason and the way people catch colds　

D. the continued spread of common colds

　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B.

Let's pretend we're sailing down the Rhine River on a pleasure boat. The Rhine is one of the main waterways of Germany, and the river traffic is heavy. It's interesting to watch the many boats going up and down the river. But the river traffic is not nearly so interesting as the beautiful scenery along the banks and hillsides. The boat is passing many old castles. We can see people working in the vineyards (葡萄园) on the hillsides. There are vineyards as far as the eye can see. Wine from the Rhine Valley is famous all over the world.

Suddenly our boat slows down and begins to turn a little. We are coming to a sharp bend in the river. On our right we can see a rocky cliff over 400 feet high. At first it looks quite ordinary, but there is nothing ordinary about it. There are many stories, poems, and songs about the cliff. We are looking at the Lorelei.

The someone on the boat begins to sing in German, the song of the Lorelei. It is a song about a beautiful siren (美女) who has lured many sailors to their deaths.

The siren is supposed to sit on the rock combing her long golden hair and singing. The sailors who hear her forget to steer, and the current of river hurls their boats on the rocks and dashes them to pieces.

Soon other people on the boat begin to sing. The beautiful song adds to special magic to the moment, and you begin to realize why so many people have made this trip down the Rhine to see the rock of the Lorelei.

39. Volunteers taking part in the experiments in the Common Cold Research Unit　　　 .

A. suffered a lot 　　　　　　　　 B. never caught colds　

C. often caught colds　　　　　 D. became very strong

38. Arctic explorers may catch colds when　　　　 .

　　 A. they are working in the isolated arctic regions

　　 B. they are writing reports in terribly cold weather

　　 C. they are free from work in the isolated arctic regions

　　 D. they are coming into touch again with the outside world

37. Which of the following does not agree with the chosen passage?

　　 A. The Eskimos do not suffer from colds all the time.

　　 B. Colds are not caused by cold.

　　 C. People suffer from colds just because they like to stay indoors.

　　 D. A person may catch a cold by touching someone who already has one.

36. The writer offered　　　　 examples to support his argument.

　　 A. 4　　　　 B. 5 　　　C. 6　　　 D. 3

35. A. must　 　　B. may　　　　　 C. can　　　　　 D. should

Part three: Reading Comprehension (20 items; 40 pts.)

　　　　　　　　　　　　 A

The common cold is the world's most widespread illness, which is plagues (瘟疫) that flesh receives.

The most widespread fallacy (谬误) of all is that colds are caused by cold. They are not. They are caused by viruses passing on from person to person. You catch a cold by coming into contact, directly or indirectly, with someone who already has one. If cold causes colds, it would be reasonable to expect the Eskimos to suffer from them forever. But they do not. And in isolated arctic regions explorers have reported being free from colds until coming into contact again with infected people from the outside world by way of packages and mail dropped from airplanes.

During the First World War soldiers who spent long periods in the trenches (战壕) cold and wet, showed no increased tendency to catch colds.

In the Second World War prisoners at the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp (奥斯维辛集中营), naked and starving, were astonished to find that they seldom had colds.

At the Common Cold Research Unit in England, volunteers took part in Experiments in which they gave themselves to the discomforts of being cold and wet for long stretches of time. After taking hot baths, they put on bathing suits, allowed themselves to be dipped with cold water, and then stood about dripping wet in drafty room. Some wore wet socks all day while others exercised in the rain until close to exhaustion. Not one of the volunteers came down with a cold unless a cold virus was actually dropped in his nose.

If, then, cold and wet have nothing to do with catching colds, why are they more frequent in the winter? Despite the most pains- research, no one has yet found the answer. One explanation offered by scientists is that people tend to stay together indoors more in cold weather than at other times, and this makes it easier for cold viruses to be passed on. 　

No one has yet found a cure for the cold. There are drugs and pain-killer pills such as aspirin, but all they do is relieve the symptoms.

34. A. everyone　 B. someone　　　 C. anyone　　　 D. no one

33. A. unfit　　　 B. unselfish　　　　 C. unnecessary　 D. unimportant

32. A. far　　　　 B. long　　　　　 C. much　　　 D. well

31. A. sad　　　　 B. embarrassed　　 C. selfish　　　 D. worried