新视野大学英语视听说3_Reading Comprehension 4

Part 1 Reading Comprehension (Multiple Choice)

(每小题：1 分)

Directions: Read the following passages carefully and choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D.

Questions 1 to 5 are based on the same passage or dialog.

The cost of helping someone with AIDS drugs is high. Pills cost a lot of money. In Africa, AIDS drugs may cost more than a person makes in one year. At the same time, some American hospitals throw away a lot of pills. One man, named Lee Wildes, didn't think this was fair, so he decided to do something about it.

Wildes lives in a small apartment in San Francisco. Every month, he sends AIDS drugs, which would've been thrown away, to Africa. His act of kindness has not been noticed much in his home country. In Africa though, he is well known. Many people in Africa send him e-mails, asking him for the medicine they need.

Lee was a nurse. He knows that millions of dollars worth of drugs are thrown away. Five years ago he learned he was sick with HIV. Following this discovery, he took a vacation to Africa and saw many people there with AIDS. His visit caused him to begin sending drugs to Africa.

Lee talks with doctors in Africa by mail, e-mail and telephone. With their help, he has gotten the names and addresses for a hundred people in six African countries. He fills the pill orders and he records what pills he sends to them. He even returns to Africa, once a year, to see the people he's helping.

Giving left over drugs away is against the law, as is giving out drugs without a license. However, it is not likely he'll be taken to court for his kindly efforts. People who have discovered his actions have not caused problems for him. They know that 25 million Africans are sick with AIDS, and they don't want to prevent him from helping.

DABDB

1. Why aren't more Africans taking AIDS drugs?

A. They don't want to take something that was thrown away.

B. They don't think that the drugs work.

C. They can't work when taking them.

D. They don't have enough money.

2. What does Wildes do every month?

A. Mail medicines to Africa.

B. Take a trip to Africa.

C. Throw away AIDS drugs.

D. Send e-mails to Africans.

3. What did Wildes learn five years ago?

A. Drugs are thrown away.

B. He has AIDS.

C. Africans need drugs.

D. Hospitals are not fair.

4. With whom does Wildes have phone conversations?

A. A San Francisco nurse.

B. 100 sick Africans.

C. American doctors.

D. African doctors.

5. What do people think of Wildes' actions?

A. They think he shouldn't break the law.

B. They think he is doing good work.

C. They think he will be taken to court.

D. They think he is prevented from helping.

Questions 6 to 10 are based on the same passage or dialog.

The great river Nile (尼罗河) flows gently in its course through the hot plains in the first half of the year but later on when the melting (融化) snows and the rains on the mountains far to the south swell its tributaries (支流), the Nile overflows (泛滥). It spreads rich, muddy (泥泞的) soil from Ethiopia over its valley and forms deep stretches of green, fertile (肥沃的) lands along its banks. The settlers found that in the soft rich earth wheat and other crops could be planted, even without the use of the plough, and they began to make many settlements of farmers.

In these early times they did not of course understand why the river overflowed each year. But they knew that their crops and, therefore, their lives, depended upon its magic (魔术似的) floods, and they explained the miracle as the work of gods.

But there came some years when there was a "bad Nile". Sometimes the floods were not full and did not bring enough soil; the crops were poor and the people starved. At other times the waters were so great that they destroyed houses and villages, and drowned (淹死) men and beasts (牲畜). It took perhaps many centuries before the farmers learned how to control the Nile waters.

Wise men among them watching the position of the stars year by year found that they could predict when the annual rising of the Nile would come. Thus they began to learn about the scientific study of the sun, earth, moon, and stars and could make a calendar of the years. They also learnt how to measure out the land so that it could be divided fairly again after the boundaries of the farms had been washed away by great floods. In this way, there came about ancient knowledge of engineering and of geometry.

DACBA

6. We can learn from this passage that the Nile is ______.

A. always a gentle flowing river

B. hot in the first half of the year but cold later on

C. likely to overflow at unknown times of the year

D. a life-giving river that makes the land rich

7. The settlers began farming in the Nile valley because ______.

A. they discovered that their crops could grow well in the soil there

B. they did not realize that the river would overflow sometimes

C. they found many settlements of farmers in the valley

D. they realized that their crops depended on the floods

8. The Nile was called the "bad Nile" at times because _______.

A. the floods made the river difficult to control

B. the floods could only be predicted by wise men

C. the river sometimes flooded too little or too much

D. the river took the good soil away to Ethiopia

9. The Egyptians of that time learned to predict the floods by _______.

A. studying the flooding of the Nile year by year

B. observing the position of the stars year by year

C. inventing some maps of the Nile floods

D. developing engineering and measuring land

10. According to the passage, the ancient Egyptians ________.

A. had studied the stars and made their own calendar of the years

B. watched the fall and rise of the Nile and learned how to control the flood

C. discovered science before the peoples of other nations

D. learned a lot about geometry and spread the knowledge all over the world

Questions 11 to 15 are based on the same passage or dialog.

I don't have a strong village feeling. There is a little pub and that is where most people go, although I tend to avoid it. The village always wants to know what you are doing and if you don't have too much contact with it in the pub, then they don't learn too much. I just keep them guessing.

The new people want a great community center. People who have just arrived in a village always want to do something in it or to it. What exactly they are going to have in this center I don't know. They keep talking about "amenities" (公共设施). I suppose they mean a car-park and a big smart room. The young village people don't want this. When their work is over they want to go off in their cars to the bright lights of Ipswich. The new people are often just kidding themselves that they are real village people. They don't just want to be accepted; they really want to take over the traditions. This is why they have come to live in a village. They want to do things "for the village" and it is all very exhausting if you happen to be an "old villager" and you just want to be left alone. What I cannot understand is why a person who has got the wit (才智) to make enough

money to come and live comfortably in the country, and have a centrally-heated house and a car, should want to put on entertainment in a hut (小屋). These people are just playing at village life—kidding themselves that they are genuine country folk. They wear us out. When their work is done they want to play in the village and when our work is done we want to play outside it. I suppose that sums it up.

DADAB

11. We can learn from this passage that the writer ______.

A. doesn't learn about what village people are doing

B. tells the other village people about the pub

C. never tells people anything about himself

D. doesn't often go to the village pub

12. According to the passage, the young village people _______.

A. want their pleasure outside the village

B. don't like going to the community center

C. don't like the new people

D. want to see the latest group in the village

13. In the writer's opinion, the new people _______.

A. want to get rid of the old ways of the village

B. want to be left alone by people in the village

C. know that they aren't accepted by people in the village

D. do things that change the village from how it is

14. The old village people _______.

A. don't want to get rid of their old things for new things

B. are not ready to accept the new people in their village

C. want a new community center with a place to park

D. want to go back to their own traditions

15. It can be inferred from this passage that the author _______.

A. likes to play at village life

B. disagrees with the new people

C. likes laughing at the new people

D. wants the new people to go away

Questions 16 to 20 are based on the same passage or dialog.

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 (准则) in Los Angeles during the last 20 years have strengthened the city's buildings and highways, making them more resistant to quakes.

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, that 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 (振动). 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.

DABCD

16. One reason why the loss of lives in the Los Angeles earthquake was comparatively low is that ________.

A. new computers had been built into the buildings

B. it occurred in the residential (居住的) 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

17. The function of the computer mentioned in the passage is to ________.

A. counterbalance (抵消) an earthquake's action on the building

B. predict the coming of an earthquake with accuracy

C. help strengthen the foundation of the building

D. measure the impact of an earthquake's vibrations

18. The smart buildings discussed in the passage ________.

A. would cause serious financial problems

B. would be worthwhile though costly

C. would increase the complexity of architectural design

D. can reduce the ground vibrations caused by earthquakes

19. It can be inferred from the passage that in minimizing 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

20. 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

Questions 21 to 24 are based on the same passage or dialog.

Light, above all else, plays the most important role in picture making; it is the very being of painting, for without it there is no color, no modeling, no shapes, nothing. Coupled with light are the shadows it casts. How often does one notice a painting that may be quite delicately worked, full of details and interest but for all these points it remains a dull, sorry sight? The reason can often be that the light and shade have just not been observed and rendered with truth.

This seeing of light and shade in landscapes does need practice; there can be many shades and gentle features that can be unnoticed. Still, it will not be just a matter of highlights (强彩色) and deep shade. There will be half-tones (中间色调), reflected lights to be sought out and registered.

Deep shade can be deceptive (造成假象的)—it is no good just dismissing it as a matter of a dark flat area of color. It is what the artist can paint of the things going on in shadowed areas that marks his class. Take a look at a picture such as The Adoration of the Shepherds by Rembrandt. Within the dark passages are subtle forms, all indicated with as much care as those in the strongly-lit places.

There is an Italian word chiaroscuro that means the study of light and shade. This concern with the effects of both can be seen in the handling of many masters.

Seeing the actual effects of light and shade is one side of the study—the other is to train the eye to decide exactly what colors are in them. Once more, whenever possible, turn to look at those who have succeeded in the past with the particular problem that is puzzling you.

DCAB

21. According to the passage, there is another important thing that goes together with light in picture making. What is it?

A. It is the color that the painter uses in the picture.

B. It is the shapes of things that the painter paints in the picture.

C. It is the modeling in the picture.

D. It is the shadows that the light casts.

22. According to the passage, a good painter _______.

A. paints deep shade as a dark flat area of color

B. paints strongly-lit forms in the shaded parts

C. pays careful attention to his dark areas

D. pays more care to the strongly-lit parts

23. What are the two sides of chiaroscuro?

A. Studying both light and shade.

B. Studying how light and shade affect things.

C. Studying the colors in light and shade.

D. Studying the effects of light and shade and the colors in them.

24. What does the writer suggest to a painter who is having problems?

A. He should learn by trial and error (差错).

B. He should study the old masters.

C. He should be careful about mixing his paints together.

D. He should observe his work carefully.