2级阅读

第二部分阅读理解Passage 7Some people like to live in house of the past . They may choose to live in a wooden house.They say these of houses are easy to build and warm in winter.Others like to live in houses of the future .They may live in a house which gets its energy from the sun.A few other people like to live in houses that have characteristics(特征) of both the past and future.These people may live in a house under the ground.Many people think underground houses are cold and dark,but that is not true .These houses have special windows in the roof or large windows on one side.These windows give the houses a lot of light.The idea of underground houses is very old. People in the past lived in underground houses and underground cities in China,Japan and Canada.Some countries also build underground factories and store-houses(仓库) to hold things.In the united states, more people are beginning to build underground houses since they save open land for parks,gardens and sport fields.Underground houses also save energy.They use only a little energy to stay warm or cool.Owners of these houses like them.John Board is an architect(建筑师) who built an underground house in NewYork.His wife,Barbara is an outdoor person,but she likes her underground home.―It‘s perfect.I love it.‖ she says.31. One example of houses of the past is ___A___ houses.A. woodenB. coldC. sunnyD. warm32. People in the United States begin to build underground houses because ___A___.A. underground houses can save open land and energyB. it‘s easier to build such houses in the United StatesC. people there like sportsD. people there hate to live in cities33.Underground houses are ___A___.A. neither cold nor darkB. not real housesC. both cold and oldD. houses of the past34.Underground houses are all of the following EXCEPT ____A_____.A. both warm and coolB. built under the groundC. more and more popular in the United StatesD. using less energy than ordinary houses35.The example of the Bonards shows that _____B____.A.many people have underground homesB. underground houses can make nice homesC. underground cities will be built by John BonardD .people don‘t really like to go out of their homesPassage 8Every one is provided by nature with a set of finger-prints entirely different from those of everybody else.It is now accepted as a scientific fact that no two people have the same finger-prints The ten finger-prints of one person always differ from the complete set of another. But that is not all. The print of each separate finger of a person differs from his prints of all other fingers and from the prints of other fingers in the world. Someone has calculated the chance that a print made by one person will be the same as a print made by another and the calculation shows that the chance is so small that for all practical purpose, it doesn‘t exist.The police , therefore, always record finger-prints, if possible, they are an unfailing clue to identify when once they have been obtained. Finger-print identification as it is known and practiced today is of comparatively(相当地) recent origin. It first came to the notice of modern police forces in India. Finger-prints were found so valuable there that they were later adopted byth e police of other countries. They accepted as legal evidence in a court of law; if a man‘s prints are found on the scene of the crime, it is taken for granted that he was there, though when and why he was there are other questions.36. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?CA. Finger-prints mean all in a court of law.B. "Two persons are rarely, if ever, alike."C. Man‘s different finger-prints are reliable guide to identity.D. People differ in finger-prints and in appearance.37. Finger-prints were first noticed by ___A____.A.Indian police forcesB. Indian lawyersC. Indian governmentD. Indian medial fields38.This present-day method of identifying people was developed___D___.A. by mistakeB. in ancient timeC. by chanceD. quite recently39. The print of each separate finger ____D_____.A. is different from the print of any other finger in the worldB. sometimes differs from the print of any other finger in the worldC.is always similar to othersD. is probably entirely the same as the prints of other fingers40. The police record finger-prints____D___.A. whenever grantedB. as an international lawC. as a way to study mankindD. whenever possiblePassage 9In the book Future Shock written by Toffler, the writer describes the great changes in family life because of science and industry.In the past, when, more Americans lived on farms, the typical family had many children. In a farm family, parents and their children often lived with grandparents. Often too, uncles and aunts lived nearby. But when industry became more important than agriculture in American life, families became smaller because industry needs workers who are ready and able to more off the land and to move again whenever necessary.In the future, because of industrialization, a typical family will have to move even more often than now, so families will be even smaller. The typical family remain childless and consist only of a man and a woman. A smaller number of families may take raising children as their chief work. At the same time they may also raise other people ‗s children, leaving those families free to move from job to job.41. One reason why Americans had big families in the past was that ___D__.A uncles and aunts lived together with themB they lived on farms near their relativesC all Americans lived on farmsD three generations lived together in one family42. Industry is different from agriculture in that ___D___.A it is more important to smaller familiesB it is more important than agricultureC it needs a lot of workers to raise more childrenD workers in industry often need to move43. Child-raising families adopt children _A_____.A. whose parents are not able to give them a good life and educationB who want to live in a different family with more childrenC whose parents live on farms and do not want to educate themD who are not having a good time with their parents44. In the future, most families will ___D___. "A not be free to change jobsB raise more childrenC raise children as their main work.D have only the husband and the wife45. The book Future Shock is mainly about __B____.A. Americans B the great changes in family lifeC the great changes in science and industry D. Alvin TofflerPassage 10Started in 1636, Harvard University is the oldest of all the many colleges and universities in the United States.Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Dartmouth were opened soon after Harvard.In the early years, these schools were much a like, only young man went to collage. All the student studied the same subjects and everyone learn Latin, Greek and Hebrew (希伯来语). Little was known about science then and one kind of school could teach everything that was known about the would. When the student graduated most of them became ministers or teachers.In 1782 Howard started a medical school for young men who want to become doctors. Later lawyers could receive thei8r training in Howard‘s law school. In 1825, besides Latin and Greek; Howard began teaching modern languages such as French and German. Soon it began teaching American history.As knowledge increased Howard and other collages began to teach many new subjects that interested them.46.Modern languages the Harvard taught in 1825 were ___A_____.A. French and GermanB. Latin, Green, French and GermanC. American history and GermanD. Latin and Greek47 .As knowledge increased, colleges began to teach____D___.A. everything that was knownB. law and something about medicineC. the subjects that interested studentsD. many new subjects48.The oldest university in the US is ____D_____.A. PrincetonB. ColumbiaC. YaleD. Harvard49. From the second paragraph, we can see that in the early years, ___C___.A.students studied only some languages and scienceB. graduates became lawyers or teachersC. colleges and universities were almost the sameD. people, young or old, might study in the colleges50. On the whole, the passage is about_____C______.A. the world-famous colleges in AmericaB. how to start a universityC. how colleges have changedD. what kind of lesson each college teachesPassage 11Lately, plants that are usually only grown outdoors have found their way into insides spaces ，There are a few simple reasons why this happens .The modern inside environment can be a good place for a wide variety of outdoor plants .Plants that ordinarily cannot grow in colder outdoor weather can be protected by the warmer inside spaces .Plants that used to be found only outside, such as trees ,have become more and more popular as decorations (装饰) inside houses. Orchids (兰花),which were once only found in hot places, have begun to grow well in inside places .One reason that the modern home has made outdoor plants more practical is the modern use of windows, In the past windows were used less often in buildings than they are today. It is partly because of the ability of large windows to admit a large quantity of light from the sun and to keep the heat in at the same time，that many outdoor plants have been able to make their move inside .It is true that most of the plants that have been successful in moving inside have been small. The best varieties are the small ones that make excellent decorations where other plants prove difficult to grow. Although some trees can be grown inside.it is not likely the larger varieties can be used. Unfortunately, most homes just don‘t have the space to grow a monkey tree(猕猴树).51.The passage is mainly concerned with ____D____.A. the ability of large windowsB. the difficulty of moving monkey trees into homesC. the best suited trees D growing plants inside houses52. Which of the following helps plants move indoors? BA The modern use of inside space.B The modern use of windows.C. The small varieties of plants inside.D. The foreign outdoor plants from hot places.53.It is not likely that large plants will move inside because ____B____.A. they cannot be movedB. there is not enough spaceC. they cannot be controlledD. the weather is not suitable54. Which of the following is most likely to be true?DA. The inside environment can not protect plants at all.B. People move plants into their houses to save them.C .The uses of windows in the past were good for plants.D. People like to use plants as decorations in their houses.55. "According to the passage, modern windows are used to ___A_____."A. provide heat and lightB. control the temperatureC. grow plants and trees insideD. allow fresh air inPassage 12During the twentieth century there has been a great change in the lives of women. A woman married at the end of the nineteenth century would probably have been in her middle twentieth. She might have seven or eight children, and four or five of them lived till they were five years old. When the youngest was fifteen, the mother would have been in her early fifties. After this, she would hardly find any work to make money because of the few opportunities and poor health. Today women marry younger and have fewer children. Usually a woman‘s youngest child will be fifteen when she is forty-five. She may live another thirty-five years and take paid work until sixty.This important change in women lives has also changed women‘s economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school and took a full time job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never came back to it. Today the school leaving age is sixteen. Many girls stay at school after that age. As women marry younger, many married women only leave work just before their first child is born, and many of them come back to work soon after. Such changes have made the family life different from before,with the husband having more duties and satisfactions of family life.56.The text tells us that in the nineteenth century ___A___.A. 4 or 5 children out of 7 or 8 died before they were five years oldB. a woman usually had five childrenC .the mother would be in her early fifties when the children were bornD .the youngest child would live till he or she was five years old57. Around 1900, women probably got married at the age of _C_____. "A.19B.15C.25D.2058. A mother at the end of the nineteenth century would have difficulty in finding work___A___.A.when her youngest child was about fifteenB. when her youngest child was bornC. because she wanted to make moneyD. because she was forty-five years old59.One reason why today‘s mothers take jobs again is that they ___D____.A. needn‘t worry about money for the familyB. don‘t like children themselvesC. want to live another thirty-five yearsD. are still young when the youngest child is fifteen60.One difference between the women today and those a few years ago is that ____C__.A.today‘s women have only one childB. many women today stop working as soon as they get marriedC. many women today start to work again after their first child is bornD. today‘s women marry very youngPassage 13The camel is called ―the ship of desert‖, and there is good reason for it. Just as a ship is built to deal with the problems arising from being in the water, so a camel is ―built‖ to live and travel and survive in the desert.When other animals would die from lack of food and water, the camel gets along very nicely. He carries its food and water with it! For days before it starts on a journey, a camel does nothing but eat and drink. It eats so much that a hump of that, maybe weighing as much as 100 pounds, rises on its back, so the camel‘s body will use it during the journey.The camel also has little flask-shaped bags in its stomach. This is where it stores water. So a camel is able to travel several days without drinking, and for an even longer time with no nourishment except that it draws from the fat of its hump.The camel, which has been used by man for over 3,000 years, is one of man‘s good helpers.61. Where does a camel store its water? It stores it___A_____.A in its stomachB in the bags on its backC in water holesD in its hump62. The camel can travel for a long time in the desert with no more food because_____C___.A it has stored much food in its humpB there is some food left in its flask-shaped bagsC it draws nourishment from the fat of its humpD it still has some in its stomach63. Camel is an animal which can____D____ in the desert.A live, travel and survive foreverB get some fat, food, grass and waterC get some waterD get along very nicely64. The hump of a camel is built to____C____.A. store waterB. make the animal different from other animalsC. store fat for future use during the journeyD. give man a seat65. According to the passag e, camel is one of man‘s____C____.A. tool for 3,000 yearsB. oldest friendsC. helpful servantsD. ship in desert only in EgyptPassage 14One morning over a century ago, Alfred Nobel got up and went to his lab. The next minute he ran and an explosion took place. Alfred‘s lab was destroyed.The people of the town felt it was terrible. They didn‘t want Alfred to go on with his experiment on explosives. Alfred Nobel was told to stop his experiments or to move his lab out of the town. And they made him put his new lab away from the town.Alfred kept doing his experiments there until he made a very strong explosive. This explosive would not blow up until people were ready for it to explode, so it was safe.His new explosive was wanted everywhere in the world. It was used for building roads and doing all kinds of digging work. So Alfred Nobel made a lot of money.In 1904, this explosive was used in war for the first time. Alfred didn‘t want it to be used that way. He wanted it to be for peaceful uses. For that reason, he gave all his money away before he died. Each year some of his money is given to the best scientists and writers of the world. And this is known as the Nobel Prizes.66. After his lab accident, Alfred ____B_____.A. stopped his experimentsB. built a new lab out of townC. thought the explosive was too strongD. built a new lab in town67. The people of the town ____D_____ when the explosion took place.A. didn‘t like explosivesB. were happy about Alfred‘s experimentB. were worried about Alfred‘s lifeD. thought Alfred‘s experiment was dangerous68. The Nobel Prize is given to ___A_______.A.the best writers and scientistsB. soldiers in warC. all the scientistsD. peace lovers69. Alfred Nobel was a ______B_____.A. workerB. soldierC. businessmanD. scientist70. Alfred made a lot of money from his new explosive because ____D_____.A.people wanted to start the Nobel PrizeB. it was used everywhere for doing many kinds of workC. it would not blow upD. people need not do any digging work.Passage 15Some desert animals can survive in the summer heat and dryness because they are very unusual. The camel, for example, can experience and bear an increase in the temperature of its body and its blood of 9C without anything bad happening to it. In addition, it can drink a lot of water at one time, then store enough water in parts of its body to supply its need for two weeks or more. The kangaroo rat, on the other hand, gets all the water it needs from water that it produces when it breathes. However, most animals need to maintain a fairly constant body to temperature, and will die if it rises more than 5C. Therefore, they need to find some ways to stay away form the heat of the summer sun. Nor can many animals either store or produce water in their bodies, as the camel and rat can. So they must find ways to keep their bodies from losing water because of the heat. Because very few desert animals can survive in t he high temperature of a typical summer‘s day, most of them are active only in the night. Only ofter the sun has set does the desert come fully to life. The night is relatively cool, and the darkness provides protection, not only from the sun, but also from other animals and from the birds. So the coming of the darkness is the the signal for the large majority of animals and insects to start again their search for water and food. When morningcomes, most of them seek shelter again. Many go underground; nearly all find some dark and cool place where they can keep away from the sun‘s heat.For many species of insects, living in the desert is easier than for animals. Like many desert plants, they have a water proof skin which prevents water loss because of the high temperature. In addition, some species spend all or most of their life below ground. Here, for most of the year at least, there is some moisture, and it is generally cooler than on the surface. In the case of ants, only adults leave the underground nests, and they do so only to gather food or to defend the nest against attack.71. Most insects live below the ground because ___C___.A. it is easy for them to build nests thereB. it is easy to find water thereC .it is cooler there than in the surface D. it is easier to build nests there72. Why is it easy for many species of insects to live in the desert?CA. Because they are not afraid of the heat.B. Because it is not difficult for them to survive there.C. Because they have a waterproof skin.D. Because it is not difficult for them to find food there.73. Why is the desert full of activity in summer nights?DA. Because animals cannot sleep at night.B. Because it is easy to find water at night.C. Because animals can find food in the dark.D. Because it is cooler and safer for most animals.74. The kangaroo rat is different from other animals in that _A____.A. it can produce water through breathing B it can drink a lot of water at a timeC it can store water in parts of its bodyD it can maintain different body temperatures75. Compared with other desert animals, the camel can bear ___C ___. "A. a constant change in body temperatureB. only a little change in body temperatureC. a big increase in body temperatureD. a very low body temperaturePassage 16One summer afternoon, Jean and Lestar, an elderly couple, visits their daughter at her home Lille, France. A few minutes before six o‘ clock, they decided to leave. They walked to their car, and got in. They expected a quiet, peaceful ride home. Mr. Lestar was about to start the car when a gunman jumped from the back seat. ―Drive me to Paris!‖ He demanded.―All right,‖ Mr. Lestar replied. ―I‘ll drive you anywhere you want to go. But first let my wife out of the car.‖After Jean was safe out of the car, Mr. Lestar started the motor slowly, but his mind was racing. Aware of 81 years old, he knew he needed help. Where was the police? ―Just my luck,‖ he thought, ―If I were speeding, there would be a police car on every corner.‖ Then t he car sped forward and Mr. Lestar began driving like a madman, running red lights, and driving the wrong way on one-way streets but not a police officer saw him.Obviously, Mr. Lestar‘s plan was not working. He got a new plan as he remembered that Lille po lice Station was nearby. ―All right,‖ he thought. ―If I can‘t bring the police to my car, I‘ll bring my car to the police.‖ Then he drove his car crashing through the doors and stopped in the courtyard of the police station. Mr. Lestar yelled, ―Help!‖ Officers from the police came running and quickly held the man.76. "When Mr. Lestar saw a man pointing a gun at him, his first response was that ____C____. "A. he worried about his daughterB. he agreed to do whatever the man told him toC. he worried about his wifeD. he tried to drive the car to the police station77. It seems that ___B_____.A. Mr. Lestart had been experienced in his policeman career.B. Mr. Lestar was in Lille more than one timeC. Mr. Lestar was in Lille for the first timeD. Mr. Lestar knew why the gun-man wanted to go to Paris78. In order to ___C_____, Mr. Lestar began driving like a madman. "A. get to the police station as soon as possibleB. distract the man with the gunC. get the police‘s attentionD. run away from the man with the gun79. Mr. Lestar‘s first attempt to get the attention of the police failed because _____D___.A. the man with the gun was very strongB. the man with the gun knew his planC. he was starting and driving slowlyD. there was no police car in sight80. Mr. Lestar was in Lille more than one time All the following are true EXCEPT ______A___.A.The police are most stupid of allB. Mr. Lestar is lucky for escaping from the gun-manC. Mind is sometimes more powerful than muscleD. Mr. Lestar is cleverer than the man with the gunPassage 17Who were the earliest Americans? And how did the population come to be so mixed?The first Americans were the Indians. At the time of the discovery of America, there were about 5,000,000 of them in the land. But when the settlers came, they killed many of the Indians and drove the rest to the west. After the American Revolution, people from the countries of northern and western Europe while after 1890 from southern and eastern Europe.Not all of the people came to the land of their own free will. The poor and unemployed were forced to move from their villages and left for America. People in prison for politician or religious words and deeds were given. Several thousands African Negroes were brought into being sold as slaves.The new comers brought with them not only different ways of life, but also with something else —— willing hands to build railroads, big mines, plow field and make steel. With the labor of the new comers, the United States has become an advanced country, enriching with art, music, theater and science. The United States is truly a nation of nations. Americans are proud of it. They set up a single national government in 1787 by uniting thirteen separated states, making an American people that come out of the people of the whole world.81. Where did most of the new settlers come from after 1890?CA They came from northern and western Europe.B They came from Africa.C They came from southern and eastern Europe.D They came from Asia.82. What choice was given to people in prison for political or religious words and deeds?DA . To be slaves. B. To be killed in prison C. To stay home. D. To leave for America.83. The phrase―a nation of nations ‖in this pa ssage most probably means_____.AA. There are many nations in the US.B. There is one nation in the US.C. American people come from all over the world.D. American people are ruled by many Nations84.What did the settlers do when they arrived?BA. They started American Revolution.B. They killed many of the Indians.C. They discovered America.D. They were forced to move west.85. Who were the earliest Americans among the following peoples?BA. British.B. Indians.C. Negroes.D. Africans.Passage 18When I was in 7th grade, I had a lot of trouble in reading. My mother used to sit by my side, and explain each paragraph of each school reading assignment to me because I didn‘t understand what I was reading.In class, I trie d to hide the fact that I couldn‘t read. My teachers gave us the last ten minutes of class to start our reading homework, and I would sit there for the last ten minutes of class staring at the page, pretending I was reading it. I had to wait until I got home so my mother could explain it to me.By eighth grade I started comprehension a little on my own, but I still read slowly at that time. I went out and took a course on speed-reading, then developed my own way to read faster with better results. I started practicing these techniques every day, and as I started to read faster, my comprehension increased. So I was able to read faster with better comprehension.I found that when you read slowly, word by word, you get lost the words, lose the big picture, and your comprehension drops. When you read faster, your comprehension does improve because instead of getting words, you see the general picture.86.The main problem the writer had in reading in her 7th grade was that ___A_.A. she had difficulty in reading and comprehensionB. she often forgot her school reading assignmentsC. she always looked elsewhere when asked to readD. she had a poor vocabulary and very bad grammar87.The writer‘s reading ability improved a great deal mainly because ____B_.A. she took a course on speed readingB. she developed her own way of readingC. she became an eighth grade studentD. her mother managed to help her out88."After reading this passage, we can see the writer wrote the passage in order to ____B___."A. prove the importance of higher educationB. prove the importance of fast reading for comprehensionC. prove the importance of different reading skillsD. prove the importance of mother‘s help89."From her own experience, the writer found that __C_____."A "in order to understand better, one has to read slowly "B many people read fast in order to save timeC one‘s comprehension drops if one reads too slowlyD one does not pay enough attention to information if one reads fast90.The writer would pretend to be reading in the last 10 minutes of class because __C______.A she had to do what others were doing.B her mother had told her to do soC she was afraid of her trouble to be found outD the reading class was terrible.Passage 19People who buy cigarettes find a special note on each pack. The note says that smoking is dangerous. Many doctors are happy to see that note.。