大一期末考试英语试题

04 Passage 1

On 2 May, 1952, a new aeroplane began airline service. People were very excited about it. The new aeroplane seemed to have great promise. It was a very fine plane, but time would show that it had come too early.

The new aeroplane was the De Havilland Comet. It was a beautiful plane and it was also the world's first commercial jet airliner. It was far faster and more comfortable than other airliners at the time, and passengers liked it very much. At first everything went well. But then, after only a year of service, there was a strange accident. A Comet suddenly broke up in the air over Calcutta. The cause could not be found. A little later in January 1954, the same thing happened to another Comet near the island of Elba. All Comets had to be taken out of service and examined. Nothing wrong could be found, and the Comets went back into service again. Then, only two months later, the same thing happened to a third Comet near Sicily. This time all Comets were taken out of service for good.

The British Navy sent a team of divers to the island of Elba, near Italy. It was their job to find one of the Comets that had crashed. They had to work for months in the cold water near the coast of Elba. Finally they found every part of the plane. These parts were sent back to England and examined very carefully. Then the cause of the disasters was discovered

1. The subject of this passage is about ____.

[A] the unfortunate accidents of the Comet

[B] a new aeroplane

[C] a comet called De Havilland

[D] the cause of the Comet disasters

2. The first paragraph shows the author's____.

[A] real interest

[B] deep regret

[C] strong worry

[D] great concern

3. When were all the Comets finally taken out of service?____

[A] In May 1952.

[B] In January 1954.

[C] In May 1953 or earlier.

[D] In March 1954 or later.

4. According to the passage, the task of a team of divers sent by the British Navy is ____.

[A] to find all the Comets that had crashed into the sea

[B] to send the broken remains of a wrecked Comet to England

[C] to examine every part of the plane that had crashed

[D] to search for a wrecked Comet near the coast of Elba

5. The cause of the Comet's disasters is ____.

[A] due to strange accidents

[B] caused by the poor quality of the new aeroplane

[C] not elaborated

[D] kept secret

04 Passage 2

Some of the notebooks George Washington kept as a young man are still in existence. They show that he was learning Latin, was very interested in the basics of good behaviour in society, and was reading English literature.

At school he seems only to have been interested in mathematics. In fact his formal education was surprisingly brief for a gentleman, and incomplete. For unlike other young Virginian gentlemen of that day, he did not go to the College of William and Mary in the Virginian capital of Williamsburg. In terms of formal training then, Washington contrasts sharply with some other early American Presidents such as John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. In later years, Washington probably regretted his lack of intellectual training. He never felt comfortable in a debate in Congress, or on any subject that had not to do with everyday, practical matters. And because he never learned French and could not speak directly to the French leaders, he did not visit the country he admired so much. Thus, unlike Jefferson and Adams, he never reached Europe.

6. What reason does the author give for Washington's not going to college?____

[A] His family could not afford it.

[B] A college education was rather uncommon in his times.

[C] He didn't like the young gentlemen who went to college.

[D] The author doesn't tell.

7. Washington felt uncomfortable in Congress debates because he ____.

[A] lacked practice in public speaking

[B] felt his education was inadequate

[C] didn't like arguing and debating with people

[D] felt that the others were being impractical

8. The reason why Washington didn't visit France was probably that he ____.

[A] did not really care about going

[B] did not know the French leaders himself

[C] could not converse directly with the French leaders

[D] was too busy to travel to a European country

9. The main idea of the passage is that ____.

[A] Washington's education was of a great variety covering many subjects

[B] Washington's education may seem poor by modern standards, but was good enough for his time

[C] Washington's education was probably equal to that of most young gentlemen of his time

[D] Washington's lack of formal education placed him at a disadvantage in his later life

10. Which of the following statements is NOT true?____

[A] George Washington showed his talent in learning Latin and mathematics.

[B] Other early American Presidents such as Adams and Jefferson had been to Europe.