Reading Comprehension

Reading Comprehension:NOT long ago, Barack Obama was hoping that high-speed trains would provide America with the desired “twofer”. First, building the special tracks and locomotives would put a division or two of America’s army of unemployed back to wor k. Then, once built, the trains would get people out of cars and planes and to their destinations in a way that would be cleaner and use less foreign oil. But those dreams have mostly died. Republicans have decided that government spending, not outdated infrastructure, is the real bogeyman, and Republican governors in Florida, Wisconsin and Ohio have rejected federal money to begin building.Only in California does the dream live on. As Governor Jerry Brown, aged 73 and a Democrat, likes to remember, another big railway project in the 19th century connected the young state to the rest of America. In the 1960s his father, Pat, served as governor, built ambitious aqueducts and highways. In the 1970s Mr. Brown himself became governor for the first time, and had visions of his own grand projects. These, as much as his theological bent and his liking for meditation, earned him the nickname “Governor Moonbeam”.Today Mr. Brown still sparkles as he mocks the “dystopian journalists” and “declinists” who obstinately fail to see that California’s population will grow from just under 38m now to about 50m in 2030; and that, unless the state has something like Japan’s bullet trains, Californians will choke in traffic jams or go mad waiting for delayed flights in inadequate airports. Of late, he has compared his state’s planned high-speed train to the Panama and Suez canals. And he has added that if China, Germany, Spain and Japan can build one, there is no earthly reason why California shouldn’t do so too.However the iron law of infrastructure projects asserted itself.According to current estimates, the train would in fact cost three times as much or more, and take 13 years longer to build. Mr. Obama still wants to help; he has asked Congress for $35 billion in railway funding over five years, of which $3.5 billion may go to California. But even with the bond funds, those dollops would cover less than 13% of the estimated cost. Republicans are in no mood to allocate more. It gets worse. After the ballot measure, it was decided that construction should begin not in the two population centres but in the vast and flat farmlands of the Central V alley, where building is much easier. This means that funds could run dry before the big cities are even connected to the network. A high-speed train would then run through sparsely populated countryside, with hardly anybody riding it. Some call this a “train to nowhere”, others a white elephant. Using a rather more original metaphor Richard White, a professor of history at Stanford, calls it “a Vietnam of transportation: easy to begin and difficult and expensive to stop.”1.High-speed trains may provide America with many benefits except________.A.Building special tracks can provide the unemployed with a new job.B.People will give up driving cars.C.Pollution will be relatively alleviated if people take trains.D.The amount of foreign oil imported from other countries will be reduced.2.The plan of building high-speed trains can be carried out in the state of ______.A.OhioB.FloridaC.CaliforniaD.Wisconsin3.We can learn from Paragraph 3 that _____________________.A.California’s population in 2030 will not affect the development of the city.B.California will build bullet trains like Japan’s.C.It is not difficult to build high-speed in California.D.People may get late for work because of poor traffic in 2030.4.“However the iron law of infrastructure projects asserted itself.” can be interpretedas ____________________________________.A.The law of infrastructure projects will support the plan of building high-speedtrains.B.The iron law of infrastructure projects may finally prevent the plan of buildinghigh-speed trains.C.The law of infrastructure has been outdated to support the building high-speedtrains.D.The law of infrastructure is very tough.5.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ___________________________.A.High-speed train would create profits and benefits as expect previously.B.The government decided to build high-speed train in the vast and flat farmlands ofthe Central V alley.C.Republics may approve of allocating more funds.D.Building high-speed train will be really expensive.Cancer is feared by everyone. And this fear is reaching epidemic(流行性) proportions. Not the disease itself — there is no such thing as a cancer epidemic. Except for lung cancer, mostly caused by cigarette smoking, the incidence rates are leveling off, and in the case of some kinds of cancer are decreasing. But the fear of cancer is catching, and the country stands at risk of an anxiety. The earth itself is coming to seem like a huge carcinogen(致癌物). The ordinary, more or less scientific statement that something between 80 and 90 percent of all cancers are dun to things in the environment is taken to mean that none of us will be safe until the whole environment is “cleaned up.”试就到考试大The 80-percent calculation is based on the unthinkable differences in the incidence of cancer in various societies around the world —for example, the high proportion of liver cancer in Africa and the Far East, stomach cancer in Japan, breast cancer in Western Europe and North America, and the relatively low figures for breast cancer in Japan and parts of Africa and for liver cancer in America. These data indicate there may be special and specific environmental influences, largely based on personal life-style, that determine the incidence of various forms of cancer in different communities —but that is all the data suggest. The overall incidence of cancer,counting up all the cases, is probable roughly the same everywhere.1．Which of the following is closest to meaning to the phrase “leveling off”?A)Became very popularB)Stopped increasing its popularityC)Stopped being popularD) Reached its lowest level in popularity2．According to the passage, the incidence of cancer is generally believed _____.A)to be based on inactive life styleB)to be due to anxietyC)to result from environmental influencesD)to be caused by heavy smoking3．It can be inferred from the passage that the writer’s opinion about the relationship between cancer and environment is_____.A) positiveB) approvingC) neutralD) negative4．According to the passage, the writer seems to feel that_____.A)cancer risk is on the riseB)the whole earth resembles a huge carcinogenC)the risk of catching cancer is not so great as most people conceiveD)cancer can be cured sooner or later5．Which of the following would be the best TITLE for the passage?A)Cancer and EnvironmentB)The Fear Caused by CancersC)Data on Cancer IncidenceD)Cancer and its InvestigationOf the thousands of different kinds of animals that exist in the world man has learned to make friends with an enormous number. Some are pets, and offer him companionship; some give protection, and some do hard work which man cannot do for himself. Dogs, which serve man in all three capacities, are found in various breeds in all countries of the world. The Husky can live in the cold polar regions, and the Saluki is at home in the hottest parts of Central Africa. The inhabitants of certain countries are dependent for their very lives on the camel. In the West Indies the little donkey, strong and sure-footed, carrying heavy loads even in mountainous places, is a familiar sight.Trained and tamed for many generations, domestic animals are not accustomed to roaming(到处走动) in search of food and shelter. They look to their masters to provide for their needs, and as long as these are supplied, they are content to do what their masters require.All domestic animals need proper food. It must be suitable for them, sufficient in quantity, fresh and clean. Some people feed a pet dog or cat on odds and ends of tablescraps, and then wonder why the animal seems listless(倦怠的) and dull. The quantity of food depends on the size of the animal and the amount of exercise it takes. Overfeeding is as bad as underfeeding. Containers for food and water must be washed regularly if the animal is to maintain good health.Even well cared animals may sometimes fall ill. If this happens, the wise master seeks the best advice he can get. All sorts of medicines and treatments are available for sick animals, and in some countries organizations exist to provide them free or at a cheap price. Useful, friendly, hardworking animals deserve to have some time, money and attention spent on their health.1. What main idea does the author want to convey in the first paragraph?A) There exists thousands of species of animals in the world.B) Man came to establish a close relationship with a number of animals.C) In some regions a donkey seems to be a very useful beast.D) An animal will be useless unless domesticated.2. When an animal is underfed, it will probably ____.A) refuse to obey its masterB) immediately fall illC) require its master to offer some foodD) seek for food on its own3. Which of the following is NOT true of dogs according to the passage?A) They can act as friends, guards, and servants to man.B) They have great adaptation for the environment.C) There live a great variety of breeds of dogs on the globe.D) The Husky and the Saluki are the strongest breed ever known in the world.4. To keep a domestic animal physically fit, its owner is advised ____.A) not to hesitate to spend enormous amount of money on itB) to pay attention to its proper feedingC) not to allow it to take excessive amounts of exerciseD) to join some sort of pet-keeping organizations5. Which of the following would be best TITLE for this passage?A) Domesticated Animals - Man’s Best FriendB) Proper Diet - the Road to HealthC) The Advantages of Raising Domestic AnimalsD) Some Tips on Pet-keepingUntil the 1980s, the American homeless population comprised mainly older males. Today, homelessness strikes much younger part of society. In fact, a 25-city survey by the U. S. Conference of Mayors in 1987 found that families with children make up the fastest growing part of the homeless population. Many homeless children gather in inner cities; this transient(变化无常的) and frequently frightened student population creates additional problems —both legal and educational —for already overburdened urban school administrators and teachers.Estimate of the number of homeless Americans range from 350,000 to threemillion. Likewise, estimates of the number of homeless school children vary radically.A U.S. Department of Education report, based on state estimates, states that there are 220,000 homeless school-age children, about a third of whom do not attend school on a regular basis, But the National Coalition for the Homeless estimates that there are at least two times as many homeless children, and that less than half of them attend school regularly.One part of the homeless population that is particularly difficult to count consists of the “throwaway” youths who have been cast of their homes. The Elementary School Center in New Y ork City estimates that there are 1.5 million of them, many of whom are not counted as children because they do not stay in family shelters and tend to live by themselves on the streets.Federal law, the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, includes a section that addresses the educational needs of homeless children. The educational provisions of the McKinney Act are based on the belief that all homeless children have the right to a free, appropriate education.1. It is implied in the first paragraph that ____.A) the writer himself is homeless, even in his eightiesB) many older homeless residents are going on strike in 25 citiesC) there is a serious shortage of academic facilitiesD) homeless children are denied the opportunity of receiving free education2. The National Coalition for the homeless believes that the number of homeless children is _____.A) 350,000B) 1,500,000C) 440,000D) 110,0003. One part of the homeless population is difficult to estimate. The reason might well be ____.A) the homeless children are too young to be counted as childrenB) the homeless population is growing rapidlyC) the homeless children usually stay outside schoolD) some homeless children are deserted by their families4. The McKinney Act is mentioned in this passage in order to show that ___.A) the educational problems of homeless children are being recognizedB) the estimates on homeless children are hard to determineC) the address of grade-school children should be locatedD) all homeless people are entitled to free education5. The passage mainly deals with ____.A) the legal problems of the homeless childrenB) the educational problems of homeless childrenC) the social status of older malesD) estimates on the homeless population。