《大学英语B》阅读理解练习

《大学英语B》阅读理解练习（一）Passage 1We are busy talking about and using the Internet, but how many of us know the history of the Internet?Many people are surprised when they find that the Internet was set up in the 1960s. At that time, computers were large a nd expensive. Computer network didn’t work well. If one computer in the network broke down, then the whole network stopped. So a new network system had to be set up. It should be good enough to be used by many different computers. If part of the network was not working, information could be sent through another part. In this way computer network system would keep on working on the time.At first the Internet was only used by the government, but in the early 1970s, universities, hospitals and banks were allowed to use it too. However, computers were still very expensive and the Internet was difficult to use. By the start of the 1990s, computers became cheaper and easier to use. Scientists had also developed software that made “surfing” in the Internet mo re convenient.Today it is easy to get on-line and it is said that millions of people use the Internet every day. Sending e-mail is more and more popular among students.The Internet has now become one of the most important parts of people’s life.1. The Internet has a history of more than forty yearsA：T B：F2. A new network system was set up to make computers cheaper.A：T B：F3. At first the Internet was only used by the government.A：T B：F4. Software made “surfing” the Internet more convenient.A：T B：F5. Today it’s still not easy to get on-lineA：T B：FPassage 2Mr. Young ran his own business and worked very hard. His wife was afraid that he would get sick if he continued like that, so she often tried to get him to take a vacation. At last she managed to persuade him to do so, and she hoped that he would be able to enjoy his vacation without any disturbance, so before they left, Mrs. Yo ung went to see her husband’s secretary. She said to her, “My husband needs a vacation very much, so whatever happens, please don’t bother him with telegrams and letters about business problems while we are away. Just wait till we get back.”After Mr. and Mrs. Young had been away about a week, Mr. Young received a letter from his secretary which said, “Something terrible happened to your business, but I’m not going to bother you with it while you are enjoying your vacation.”1. Mr. Young was the owner of a private business.A：T B：F2. Mrs. Young worried about her husband’s business.A：T B：F3. Mrs. Young was afraid that her husband’s vacation might be spoilt.A：T B：F4. The secretary didn’t explain in her letter what had happened to Mr.Young’s business, because she didn’t want to spoil Mr. Young’s vacation.A：T B：F5. You can learn from the story that Mr. Young had a stupid secretary.A：T B：FPassage 3Language is always changing. In a society where life continues year after year with few changes, the languages do not change either. The earliest known languages had difficult grammar but a small, limited vocabulary. Over the century, the grammar changed, and the vocabulary grew. For example, the English and Spanish people who came to America during the sixteenth century gave names to all the new plants and animals they found. In this way, hundreds of new words were introduced into English and Spanish vocabularies. Today life is changing very fast, and language is changing fast too.There are several major language families in the world. Some scientists say there are nine main families, but other scientists divided them differently. Th e languages in each family are connected, and scientists think that they came from the same parent language. About 3% of the people in the world speak languages that are not in these major families.1. The early language had many words and easy grammar.A. TB. F2. In the next few hundred years we can expect language to change a great deal.A. TB. F3. This article shows that language changes with changes in society.A. TB. F4. From this article we can know that language will become easier and easier.A. TB. F5. The first English and Spanish people arrived in America more than 400-500 years ago.A. TB. FPassage 4People often say that the Englishman’s home is his castle. They mean that the home is very important and personal. Most people in Britain live in houses rather than flats, and many people own their homes. This means that they can make them personal, and change them in any way they like. Most houses have a garden, even if it is a small one, and the garden is usually loved. The house and the garden are the private space of a person. In a crowded city a person knows that he or she has a private space which is only for him or herself and for invited friends.People usually like to mark their space. If you are on the beach you may have spread yourtowels around you; on the train you may have put your coat or small bag on the seat beside you; in a library you may spread your books around you,Once I was travelling on a train to London. I was in a section for four people and there was a table between us. The man opposite to me had his briefcase on the table. There was no space on my side of the table at all. I was unhappy. I thought he thought that he owned the whole table. I had been reading a book about nonverbal communication so I took various papers out of my bag and put them on his case! When I did this he suddenly became angry and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. I had taken up his space! A few minutes later I took my papers off in order to read them. He immediately moved his case to his side of the table.1. The home matters greatly to Englishmen.A：T B：F2. They love houses more than gardens.A：T B：F3. You want to tell others the space belongs to you.A：T B：F4. He placed his briefcase on the table.A：T B：F5. The writer tried to get back his space by taking all his papers out.A：T B：FPassage 5Three men traveling on a train began a conversation about the world’s greatest wonders.“In my opinion,” the first man said, “the Egyptian pyramids（埃及金字塔）are the world’s greatest wonder. Although they were built thousands of years ago, they are still standing. And remember: the people who built them had only simple tools. They did not have the kind of ma chinery that builders and engineers have today.”“I agree that the pyramids in Egypt are wonderful,” the second man said, “but I do not think they are the greatest wonder. I believe computers are more wonderful than the pyramids. They have taken people to the moon and brought them back safely. In seconds, they carry out mathematical calculations that would take a person a hundred years to do.”He turned to the third man and asked, “What do you think is the greatest wonder in the world?”The third man thought for a long time, and then he said, “Well, I agree that the pyramids are wonderful, and I agree that computers are wonderful, too. However, in my opinion, the most wonderful thing in the world is this thermos.”And he took a thermos out of his bag and held it up.The other two men were very surprised. “A thermos?” they exclaimed. “But that’s a simple thing.”“Oh, no, it’s not, “the third man said. “In the winter you put in a hot drink and it stays hot. In the summer you put in a col d drink and it stays cold. How does the thermos know whether it’s winter or summer?”1. The underlined word “thermos” in Chinese means “保温瓶”.A：T B：F2. That the three men could not agree on what the world’s greatest wonder was because t hey all had different ideas.A：T B：F3. The first man thought the pyramids were the most wonderful things in the world because they had been built with very simple tools.A：T B：F4. The third man thought a thermos was the most wonderful thing in the world because it cost less than a computer.A：T B：F5. The third man was not very clever because he could not think of anything to say.A：T B：FPassage6The workers who brought the girl to the orphanage (孤儿院) knew little about her. The streets where they found her had been her home for many years. Her parents were unknown. They left her long ago. At the orphanage, the girl, like all the children there, was taught to read and write. While she was studying at the orphanage, she learned something else－to be independent. At twenty-one, she left the orphanage and began work as a secretary. And then, in 1975, while she was still working as an ordinary secretary, something special happened. She entered the Miss Hong Kong competition and won it. This was the turning point in her life. Now her name, Mary Cheung, was known to everybody.Mary entered the competition because she wanted to show that orphanage girls could be something. Winning the competition gave her the chance to start a new life. This led her first into television and then into business as a manager. When she was working as a manager, she had trouble with her reports. “My English just wasn’t good enough.” she says. Luckily, she had a boyfriend (who later became her husband) to help her.Mary studied management at Hong Kong Polytechnic and graduated in 1980. She started her own business in 1985. But she did not stop developing herself. She then studied at the University of Hong Kong. Since 1987, she had spent a lot of time on photography. She has held several exhibitions of her work in many places－China, New Zealand and Paris. She still found time, however, to work on TV, write for newspapers and bring up her family.The girl from the street has come a long way, but her journey is not finished yet.1. Before Mary Cheung was brought to the orphanage, she had lived in the streets for many years.A：T B：F2. The sentence “orphanage girls could be something” means t hat orphanage girls could be popular and successful.A：T B：F3. Her life changed in 1985.A：T B：F4. This passage is probably taken from a novel.A：T B：F5. Mary’s boyfriend was good at English.A：T B：FPassage 7Before you go to another country it is a great help if you know the language and some of the customs of the country.When people meet each other for the first time in Britain, they say “How do you do?” and shake hands. Usually they do not shake hands when they just meet or say goodbye. But they shake hands after they haven’t met for a long time or when they will be away from each other for a long time.Last year a group of German students went to England for a holiday. Their teacher told them that the English people hardly shake hands. So when they met their English friends at the station, they kept their hands behind their backs, the English students had learned that the Germans shake hands as often as possible, so they put their hands in front and got ready to shake hands with them. It make both of them laugh.1. It is very helpful if you know the language and some of the customs of the country.A. TB. F2. English people usually shake hands when they meet every time.A. TB. F3. Usually English people don’t shake hands when they just meet or say goodbye.A. TB. F4. English people like shaking hands very much.A. TB. F5. This story is about languages and customs.A. TB. FPassage 8Americans with small families own a small car or a large one. If both parents are working, they usually have two cars. When the family is large, one of the cars is sold and they will buy a van.A small car can hold four persons and a large car can hold six persons but it is very crowded.A van hold seven persons easily, so a family of three children could ask their grandparents to go on a holiday travel. They could all travel together.Mr. Hagen and his wife had a third child last year. This made them sell a second car and buy a van. There are seven seats in the van, and the sixth and seventh seats are used to put other things, for a family of five must carry many suitcases when they travel. When they arrive at their gran dparents’ home, the suitcases are brought into the room and the two seats can then carry the grandparents.Americans call vans motor homes. A motor home is always used for holidays. When a family is traveling to the mountains or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or weeks. All the members of a big family can enjoy a happier life when they are traveling together. That is why motor homes have become very popular. In America there are many parks for motor homes.1. From the passage, a van is also called a motor home.A. TB. F2. Before Mr. Hagen and his wife bought a van, they sold their old house.A. TB. F3. A motor home is usually owned by a family with more than two children.A. TB. F4. Americans usually use motor homes to drive their children to school every day.A. TB. F5. Motor homes have become popular because they can let families have a happier life when they go out for their holidays.A. TB. FPassage 9Long, long ago there was a very foolish thief. Do you know what he did one day? When he wanted to steal the bell on his neighbor’s door, he walked up to the door, took hold of the bell and pulled hard. The bell made a very loud noise. The thief was afraid and went home.Then he sat down to think, “I must do something about the noise,” he said. He thought and thought. At last he had an idea. “Ah, I’ll put some cotton in my ears. Then I won’t be able to hear the noise.” The next day he went to the door of his neighbor, and took hold of the bell. This time he pulled even harder. The bell rang loudly, but the thief did not hear anything. With another hard pull he got the bell out. Just then the neighbor came running out.“Steal my bell? I’ll teach you a lesson,” the angr y man shouted. And he hit the thief on the nose.The foolish thief did not know how the neighbor found out he was stealing the bell. “Why did he come out just then?” he wondered.1. The thief was trying to get a door with a bell on it.A. TB. F2. The thief put some cotton in his ears. He thought it would be safe for him to steal the doorbell.A. TB. F3. The neighbor ran out just because he knew his doorbell was being stolen.A. TB. F4. The neighbor hit the thief to punish him for stealing.A. TB. F5. The thief thought the neighbor couldn’t hear the noise the bell made.A. TB. FPassage 10Computers are useful machines. They can help people a lot in their everyday life. For example, they can help people save much time, and they can help people work out many problems they can’t do easily. Our country asks everyone to learn to use computers except the old people.Today more and more families own computers. Parents buy computers for their children. They hope computers can help them improve their studies in school. Y et many of the children use computers to play games, to watch video or to sing Karaoke, instead of studying. So manyteachers and parents complain that computers can not help children to study but make them fall behind. So computers are locked by parents in the boxes.In some other countries, even some scientists hate computers. They say computers let millions of people lose their jobs or bring them a lot of trouble. Will computers really bring trouble to people or can they bring people happiness? It will be decided by people themselves.1. The computer is a useful machine because it can help us a lot.A. TB. F2. Many teachers and parents complain that computers make the students and children fall behind.A. TB. F3. In this passage we know computers bring us happiness only.A. TB. F4. M any of the children use computers to play games, to watch video or to sing Karaoke.A. TB. F5. The last sentence of this passage means computers are strange machines.A. TB. F阅读理解（二）Passage 1One day a man and his daughter were going out for a walk. The man had put on a pair of odd (奇怪的) shoes, one with a thick sole（鞋跟）and one with a thin sole. As he came out to the street, he felt very uncomfortable. Turning to his daughter, he said: “Why should one of my legs be longer than the other one?” The daughter looked at her father’s legs and said, “Y ou have put on two odd shoes!” When he heard this, the man was very happy and thought to himself: “What a bright daughter I have got!” Then he asked his daughter to go back to the house and got him another pair of shoes. When the daughter went back to the house, all she could find was one shoe with thick sole and one with thin sole. Taking the shoes to her father, she said, “It’s no use changing. These shoes are also odd, one with a thick sole and one with a thin sole.” The man listened and thought to himself: “It can’t help. I might as well wear the ones I have on now.” so they went on for their walk.1. The man thought that his daughter was ________.A. beautifulB. cleverC. lazyD. clean2. It was the ________ that found the reason for the wrong shoes.A. fatherB. daughterC. neighbourD. friend3. The daughter came back, bringing ________ with her.A. a pair of right shoesB. a pair of odd shoesC. a pair of thick-soled shoesD. nothing4. What do you think that the man should have done?A. He should return to his home and get the shoes himself.B. He should have the thick sole cut off.C. He should have changed one of his shoes.D. He should have no shoes on.5. What do you think of the man and his daughter?A. They both were not clever.B. The father was cleverer than the daughter.C. The daughter was cleverer than the father.D. Either of them was clever.Passage 2How men first learned to invent words is unknown; in other words, the origin of language is a mystery. All we really know is that men, unlike animals, somehow invented certain sounds to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things, so that they could communicate with each other; and that later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters, which could be combined to represent those sounds, and which could be written down. Those sounds, whether spoken, or written in letters we call words.The power of words, then, lies in their combinations — the things they bring up before our minds. Words become filled with meaning for us by experience; and the longer we live, the more certain words recall to us the glad and sad events of our past; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something to us increases.Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which appeal powerfully to our minds and feelings. This charming and telling use of words is what we call literary (文字的) style. Above all, the real poet is a master of words. He can convey his meaning in words which sing like music, and which by their position and association can move men to tears. We should therefore learn to choose our words carefully and use them accurately, or they will make our speech silly and rude.1. The origin of language ________.A. is reflected in sounds and lettersB. is handed down from generation to generationC. dates back to the prehistoric periodD. is a problem not yet solved2. According to the passage, words are _________.A. visual lettersB. represented by soundsC. represented either by sounds or lettersD. signs called letters3. The power of words lies in their _________.A. beautyB. accuracyC. combinationsD. charm4. The secret of a writer’s success is the use of words that _________.A. recall to us the glad and sad events of our pastB. are arranged in a creative wayC. are as beautiful as musicD. agree with certain literary style5. The author of the passage advises us _________.A. to use words carefully and accuratelyB. not to use silly and rude wordsC. to become a slave of wordsD. to use emotional wordsPassage 3Many people believe they are supposed to drink eight glasses of water a day, or about two liters. Why? Because that is what they have been told all their life. But a new report offers some different advice. Experts say people should obey their bodies; they should drink as much water as they feel like drinking.The report says most healthy people meet their daily needs for liquid by letting thirst be their guide. The report is from the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academies. This organization provides scientific and technical advice to the government and the public.The report contains some general suggestions. The experts say women should get about two-point-seven liters of water daily. Men should get about three-point-seven liters. But wait — in each case, that is more than eight glasses.There is an important difference. The report does not tell people how many glasses of water to drink. In fact, the experts say it may be impossible to know how many glasses are needed to meet these guidelines. This is because the daily water requirement can include the water content in foods. People do not get water only by forcing themselves to drink a set number of glasses per day. People also drink fruit juices and sodas and milk. They drink coffee and tea. These all contain water.As you might expect, the Institute of Medicine says people need to drink more water when they are physically active. The same is true of those who live in hot climates. Depending on heat and activity, people could need two times as much water as others do.1. According to the passage, experts advise people to _______.A. drink eight glasses of water a dayB. drink as much water as they feel like drinkingC. drink a glass of water after each mealD. drink no less than eight glasses of water a day2. Most healthy people meet their daily needs for water by drinking _______.A. when they are tiredB. when they are sweatingC. when they are thirstyD. when they are hungry3. The Institute of Medicine usually ________.A. changes some traditional ideasB. announces some medical advancesC. provides scientific and technical advice to the government and the publicD. provides scientific and technical advice to the National Academies4. Which of the following is TRUE?A. People’s daily water requirement can include the water content in foods.B. The report does tell people how many glasses of water to drink a day.C. The experts say it may be possible to know how many glasses are needed to meet these guidelines.D. People can’t get water when they drink fruit juices and sodas and milk.5. People need to drink more water ________.A. when they are physically activeB. when they live in hot climatesC. when they are running long distanceD. all of the abovePassage 4Man has always wanted to fly. Some of the greatest men in history have thought about the problem. One of these, for example, was the great Italian artist, Leonardo da V inci（达•芬奇）. In the sixteenth century he made designs for machines that would fly. But they were never built.Throughout history, other less famous men have wanted to fly. An example was a man in England 800 years ago. He made a pair of wings from chicken feathers. Then he fixed them to his body and jumped into the air from a tall building. He did not fly very far. Instead, he fell to the ground and broke every bone in his body.The first real steps took place in France, in 1783. Two brothers, the Montgolfiers, made a very large”hot air balloon”. They knew that hot air rises. Why not fill a balloon with it？The balloon was made of cloth and paper. In September of that year, the King and Queen of France came to see the balloon. They watched it carry the very first air passengers into the sky. The passengers were a sheep and a chicken. We do not know how they felt about the trip. But we do know that the trip lasted eight minutes and that the animals landed safely. Two months later, two men did the same thing. They rose above Paris in a balloon of the same kind. Their trip lasted twenty-five minutes and they travelled about eight kilometres.1. Leonardo da V inci ________.A. said that man would fly in the sky one dayB. built a kind of machine which never flewC. drew many beautiful pictures of birdsD. made designs for flying machine2. Eight hundred years ago an Englishman ________.A. made a kind of flying machineB. tried to fly with wings made of chicken featherC. wanted to build a kind of balloonD. tried to fly on a large bird3. In fact, the Englishman who tried to fly ________.A. lost his lifeB. flew only 8minutesC. got badly woundedD. succeeded in flying4. The very first air passengers in the balloon were ________.A. the King and the QueenB. two FrenchmenC. two animalsD. the Montgolfiers5. When did two Frenchmen rise above Paris？A. In December 1783.B. In September 1783.C. In November 1783.D. In the seventeenth century.Passage 5Habits, whether good or bad, are gradually formed. When a person does a certain thing again, he is driven by some unseen force to do the same thing repeatedly, then a habit is formed. Once a habit is formed, it is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to get rid of. It is therefore very important that we should pay great attention to the formation of habits. Children often form bad habits, some of which remain with them as long as they live. Older persons also form bad habits lasting as long as they live, and sometimes become ruined by them.There are other habits which, when formed in early life, are of great help. Many successful men say that much of their success has something to do with certain habits in early life, such as early rising, honesty and so on.Among the habits which children should not form are laziness, lying, stealing and so on. These are all easily formed habits. Unfortunately older persons often form habits which could have been avoided (避免).We should keep away from all these bad habits, and try to form such habits as will be good for ourselves and others.1. ________ are formed little by little.A. Good habitsB. Bad habitsC. Both good habits and bad habitsD. Either good habits or bad habits2. The underlined word “them” in the first paragraph refers to ________.A. bad habitsB. good habitsC. childrenD. other persons3. Generally speaking, it’s difficult for one________ and easy for them _________ which should be avoided.A. to form bad habits; to form good habitsB. to form good habits; to form bad habitsC. to form such habits as will be good; to get rid of bad habitsD. to get rid of bad habits; to form good habits4. Why should we pay much attention to the formation of habits?A. Because habits are of great help to every one of us.B. Because a man can never get rid of a habit.C. Because it’s hard and sometimes even impossible to throw away bad habits.D. Because we are forced to do them again and again.5. According to the passage, early rising ________.A. has something to do with successB. is an easily formed habitC. is such a habit as should have been avoidedD. is such a habit as will be kept。