《大学英语3》期中口试阅读部分试题(学生版)

北京城市学院
2014-2015学年第一学期
《大学英语3》期中口试阅读部分试题
（学生版）
Unit 1 Education: A Transformation of the Soul
1On my first day of high school, my teacher showed the class a Power Point presentation entitled The Value of Education. The first slide read simply this:
3 I went on to college, of course, as everyone told me to do. College is how you become an earner, they told me. My major that first semester was International Relations. I liked the woman I envisioned myself as in this field – a diplomat, a savvy citizen of the world. But gradually I began to realize that this person was not someone I bore any resemblance to. She was, rather, a clone of the well-educated, well-moneyed ideal my teacher had presented to me years ago. This woman had earning potential; she was smart and worldly. But she was not someone I would become. She had nothing I really wanted.
4 My moment of clarity soon came. I was watching a film with my family and laughing
Unit 2 Masdar City: The World's Greenest City
3 After three years the plans have changed. Masdar City was originally scheduled to be completed by 2015, but the financial crash that hit the United Arab Emirates hard pushed back the date. A truly zero-carbon city proved too ambitious, so now the aim is for low carbon. Transport within the city will no longer solely rely on the PRTs — instead, electric buses and other mass transit will be included. Though the first phase of the project — the Institute — was completed in 2010 and opened to students, it's still easy to wonder whether the sustainable city will ever be able to sustain itself.
4 While Masdar may inspire disbelief, it would be a mistake to dismiss the whole project as green folly. This was clear when I toured the Masdar Institute in mid-January. The streets are narrow and sheltered by walls that block the desert sunlight, while openings in the walls channel a refreshing wind that makes the city feel as much as 70°F cooler than its surroundings.
5 That design helps encourage energy conservation—the cooler the city is, the less need for electricity-consuming air-conditioning. But the buildings themselves take advantage of green materials, from the sustainable Douglas fir to the superstrong plastics, deflecting sunlight and insulating the interior. Windows have shades angled to avoid direct sunlight, providing light without heat. There's even a 147-feet-tall wind tower that can channel even more breezes to the street. The tower has glowing LED lights that let Masdar managers know how much energy the city is consuming. Blue means it is within its goal of using 50% less energy than a comparable settlement. Red means it's time to turn off the lights.
8 Some of Masdar's technology — like those slightly silly PRT cars — may not have a future. But other ideas — like the wind tower or those sunlight-deflecting windows — will have real value at a time when more than half the world's population lives in cities. No one knows the answer to the energy and climate challenges the planet faces, which is why experiments matter — even the ones in the desert.
Unit 3 James Cameron’s Ambition
1In 1977, a 22-year-old truck driver named James Cameron went to see Star Wars with a pal. His friend enjoyed the movie; Cameron walked out of the theater ready
George Lucas had just brought to life. Star Wars was the film he should have made.
2 Back home he bought some cheap movie equipment and started trying to figure out how Lucas had done it. He set up blindingly bright lights in the living room and
3 He quickly realized that he was going to need some money, so he persuaded some
5One night, after an editing session, Cameron went to sleep and dreamed that he saw a robot clawing toward a frightened woman. Cameron soon used it as the basis for a script about a robot assassin sent back to kill the mother of a future rebel leader. When it was released in 1984, The Terminator suddenly established James Cameron as a leading director.
6Over the next 10 years, Cameron directed a series of daring films, including。