英语精读试题及答案

Exercises ( Units One – Five)
I. Vocabulary and structure
1.On my way to school, I saw people ______ advertisements and sample products.
A. conveying
B. creating
C. discarding
D. distributing
2.The professor thought that I was making good progress in my studies and told me
to _____ my good work.
A. keep up
B. go ahead with
C. hold back
D. come up with
3. His marked changes in personality were ______ by a series of unfortunate events in life.
A. brought out
B. brought to
C. brought up
D. brought about
4. Jane’s anger could not be _____ when the conversation turned to the criticism of her own father.
A. held on
B. held out
C. held back
D. held up
5. _____ with the picture, Mary tore it to pieces.
A. Dissatisfying thoroughly
B. To dissatisfy thoroughly
C. To be thoroughly dissatisfied
D. Being thoroughly dissatisfied
6. Because my TV set _____ I could not watch the football game broadcast live last night.
A. broke up
B. broke off
C. broke down
D. broke out
7. Don’t forget _____ when you are finished with the electronic iron.
A. to turn it off
B. to have turned it off
C. turning it off
D. having turned it off
8. As a cleaning woman, her _____ duties include cleaning the desks and mopping the floor.
A. continuous
B. routine
C. initial
D. constant
9. This road will never end, and it ______ goes all around the world.
A. possibly
B. probably
C. likely
D. could
10. Many American Indians ____ contact with ghosts, so they disposed of the bodies
of dead relatives immediately.
A. frightened
B. dazzled
C. dreaded
D. scared
II. Cloze
Faces, like fingerprints, are unique. Did you __1__ wonder how it is possible for us to __2__ people? Even a skilled writer probably could not describe all the _3__ that make one face different from another. Yet a very young child— __4__ an animal, such as a pigeon—can learn to recognize faces. We all __5__ this ability for granted.
We also tell people apart __6__ how they behave. When we talk about someone’s personality, we mean __7__ in which he or she acts, speaks, thinks, and feels that __8__ that individual different from others.
Like the human face, human personality is very complex. But describing someone’s personality __9__ words is somewhat easier than __10__ his face. If you were asked to describe what a “nice face”looked like, you __11__ have a difficult time doing so. But if you were asked to describe a “nice person,” you __12__ begin to
think about someone who was kind, __13__, friendly, warm, and so forth.
There are many words to describe __14__ a person thinks, feels, and acts. Gordon Allport, __15__ U.S. psychologist, found nearly 18,000 English words __16__ differences in people’s behavior. And many of us use this information as a __17__ for describing, or typing, a __18__. Hippies, bookworms, _19__, military types—people are described with such __20__.
1. A. sometimes B. ever C. always D. anytime
2. A. spot B. locate C. know D. recognize
3. A. features B. characteristics C distinctions D. qualities
4. A. or even B. and also C. and then D. and too
5. A. have B. use C. take D. regard
6. A. in B. by C. from D. with
7. A. the manners B. the means C. the ways D. the patterns
8. A. causes B cause C. makes D. make
9. A. with B. by C. in D. using
10. A. describe B. describing
C. to describe
D. description of
11. A. will B. would C. shall D. should
12. A. may B. can C. might D. will
13. A. considerate B. considerable C. considering D. concerned
14. A. why B. when C. how D what
15. A. a B. an C the D. that
16. A. characterizing B. characterize
C. characterized
D. to characterize
17. A. base B. foundation C. point D. criterion
18. A. person B. personality C. man D. woman
19. A. politicians B. scholars
C. professionals
D. conservatives
20. A. nouns B. jargon C. nicknames D. terms
III. Fill in each blank with a preposition or an adverb.
Some men spend their whole lives trying to forecast the weather. Such people collect exact information （1）_____ the weather（2）_____ all parts（3）___ the world. Men are sent （4）____ various places （5）___the earth’s surface to collect information（6）____ the winds, air pressure, changes（7）____ temperature, rainfall and cloudiness.
Each place sends its information (usually （8）____ wireless) （9）___ certain times each day （10）_____ the central office where the weather information（11）______ all these places can be examined. The information received is put （12）______（13）____a map （14）_____ the world called a weather chart. （15）_____ such a chart, it is possible to work （16）______, say, the direction（17）___ which a wind-storm is moving.
When the weather forecast has been made, then the information is usually sent （18）_____ the newspapers and the wireless stations. As scientists discover more and more （19）____ the weather （20）_____ every part of the world, weather forecasting
will become more and more certain.
（21）____ these days （22）____ aeroplanes, men study the weather high （23）____ （24）____the sky, so that they can tell whether it is safe（25）_____ aeroplanes to travel （26）____ a certain direction. They study the clouds, the speed （27）___the winds（28）___ the clouds, and the changes （29）____ air pressure （30）____ the clouds.
IV. Fill in each blank with the proper form of the given verb, using a modal auxiliary where necessary.
Men usually (1)_____ (want) to have their own way. They (2)_____(want) to think and (3)_____ (act) as they like. No one, however, (4)_______ (have) his own way all the time. A man (5)______ (not live) in society without considering the interests of others as well as his own interests. “Society” (6)______ (mean) a group of people with the same laws and the same way of life. People in society (7)_____(make) their own decisions, but these decisions(8) ______(not be) unjust or harmful to others. One man’s decision(9) _____so easily _____(harm) another person. For example, a motorist (10)_____ (be) in a hurry to get to a friend’s house. He(11)_____(set) out, driving at full speed like a computer in a race. There (12)_____ (be) other vehicles and also pedestrians on the road. Suddenly there (13)______(be) a crash. There(14) _____(be) screams and confusion. One careless motorist (15)______(strike) another car. The collision (16)_______(injure) two of the passengers and (17)______(kill) the third. Too many road accidents (18)_____(happen) through the thoughtlessness of selfish drivers. If motorists (19)_____ (drive) more carefully, there(20) _______(not be) so many traffic accidents.
V. Reading Comprehension
Passage One
In what now seems like the prehistoric times of computer history, the earth’s postwar(战后) era, there was quite a wide-spread concern that computers would take over the world from man one day. Already today, less than 40 years later, as computers are relieving us of more and more of the routine tasks in business and in our personal lives, we are faced with a less drastic but also less foreseen problem. People tend to be over-trusting of computers and are reluctant to challenge their authority. Indeed, they believe as if they were hardly aware that wrong buttons may be pushed, or that a computer may simply malfunction(失误).
Obviously, there would be no point in investing a computer if you had to check all its answers, but people should also rely on their own internal computers and check the machine when they have the feeling that something may have gone wrong.
Questioning and routine double-checks must continue to be as much a part of good business as they were pre-computer days. Maybe each computer should come with the warning: for all the help this computer may provide, it should not be seen as
a substitute for fundamental thinking and reasoning skills.
1.What is the main purpose of this passage?
A. To look back to the early days of computers.
B. To explain what technical problems may occur with computers.
C. To discourage unnecessary investment in computers.
D. To warn against a mentally lazy attitude towards computers.
2. According to the passage, the initial concern about computers was that they might _____.
A. change our personal lives
B. take control of the world
C. create unforeseen problems
D. affect our business
3. The passage recommends those dealing with computers to ____.
A. be reasonably doubtful about them
B. check all their answers
C. substitute them for basic thinking
D. use them for business only
4.The passage suggests that the present-day problem with regard to computers is_____.
A. challenging
B. psychological
C. drastic
D. fundamental
5. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would disprove of_____.
A. investment in computers
B. the use of one’s internal computer
C. double-check on computers
D. complete dependence on computers for decision-making
Passage Two
In the world of entertainment, TV talk shows have undoubtedly flooded every inch of space on daytime television. And anyone who watches them regularly knows that each one varies in style and format. But no two shows are more profoundly opposite in content, while at the same time standing out above the rest, than the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey shows.
Jerry Springer could easily be considered the king of ""trash talk (废话)"". The topics on his show are as shocking as shocking can be. For example, the show takes the ever-common talk show themes of love, sex, cheating, guilt, hate, conflict and morality to a different level. Clearly, the Jerry Springer show is a display and exploitation of society's moral catastrophes (灾难), yet people are willing to eat up the intriguing predicaments (困境) of other people's lives.
Like Jerry Springer, Oprah Winfrey takes TV talk show to its extreme, but Oprah goes in the opposite direction. The show focuses on the improvement of society and an individual's quality of life. Topics range from teaching your children responsibility, managing your work week, to getting to know your neighbors.
Compared to Oprah, the Jerry Springer show looks like poisonous waste being dumped on society. Jerry ends every show with a ""final word"". He makes a small speech that sums up the entire moral of the show. Hopefully, this is the part where most people will learn something very valuable.
Clean as it is, the Oprah show is not for everyone. The show's main target audience are middle-class Americans. Most of these people have the time, money, and stability to deal with life's tougher problems. Jerry Springer, on the other hand, has
more of an association with the young adults of society. These are 18- to 21-year-olds whose main troubles in life involve love, relationship, sex, money and peers. They are the ones who see some value and lessons to be learned underneath the show's exploitation.
While the two shows are as different as night and day, both have ruled the talk show circuit for many years now. Each one caters to a different audience while both have a strong following from large groups of fans. Ironically, both could also be considered pioneers in the talk show world.
6. Compared with other TV talk shows, both the Jerry Springer and the Oprah
Winfrey are _____.
A. more family-oriented C. more profound
B. unusually popular D. relatively formal
7. Though the social problems Jerry Springer talks about appear distasteful, the
audience _____.
A. remain fascinated by them C. remain indifferent to them
B. are ready to face up to them D. are willing to get involved in them
8. Which of the following is likely to be a topic of the Oprah Winfrey show?
A. A new type of robot. C. Family budget planning.
B. Racist hatred. D. Street violence.
9. Despite their different approaches, the two talk shows are both _____.
A. ironical
B. sensitive
C. instructive
D. cynical
10. We can learn from the passage that the two talk shows _____.
A. have monopolized the talk show circuit
B. exploit the weaknesses in human nature
C. appear at different times of the day
D. are targeted at different audiences
VI. Combine each of the following groups of sentences into one by using proper connectives. Then put the combined sentences together to form a paragraph.
1. a. My sister and I were driving along the high way.
b. We saw a sign.
c. It was in front of an old farmhouse.
d. It read “Stop Here for Free Flowers.”
2. a. We could not believe it.
b. We stopped.
c. An elderly woman greeted us.
d. She was thin and worn.
3. a. We had obviously seen the sign.
b. She said this.
c. We assented to what she sai
d.
4. a. The flowers were prettiest at that season.
b. She told us that.
c. We were to pick the flowers.
d. The flowers were the ones we liked best.
e. She wanted us to do this.
5. a. She was frail.
b. She was shabbily dressed.
c. We saw this.
d. We offered to buy the flowers.
e. She pointedly refused our offer.
6. a. We went to a field.
b. It was full of gladioli.
c. They were of every brilliant color.
d. She led us ther
e.
7. a. Why did she give these flowers away?
b. My sister asked her this question.
8. a. Her old eyes dimmed.
b. She was silent for a while.
c. We got the story at last.
9. a. The old couple used to have two boys.
b. They always helped to keep the gladioli.
c. They knew all of them by name.
10.a. They sold the flowers.
b. they divided the money.
c. They used the money to buy things for each other.
d. They were for such occasions as birthdays, Christmas, etc.
e. They did this every year.
11.a. The war had taken the boys.
b. They kept on planting these gladioli.
c. They did this every year.
d. They gave them away.
e. They did not receive any money.
f. This was a living1 memorial to the boys.
The key to the exercises:
I. Vocabulary and structure
1. D
2. B
3.D
4. C
5.D
6.C
7.A
8. B
9. B 10.C
II. Cloze
1. B
2. D
3. A
4. A
5. C
6. B
7. C
8. D
9. C 10. B
11. B 12. C 13. A 14. C 15. A 16. A 17. D 18. B 19. D 20. D
III. Filling the blanks
1.about
2. from
3. of
4. to
5. on
6. on
7. in
8. by
9. at 10. from 11. from 12. on 13. to 14. of 15. From 16. out 17. in 18. to 19. about 20. in 21. In 22. of 23. up 24. in 25. for 26. in 27. of 28. above 29. in 30. above
IV. Filling the blanks
1. want
2. want
3. act
4. can have
5. cannot live
6. means
7. may make 8. ought not to be 9. may…harm 10. may be
11. sets 12. are 13. is 14. are 15. has struck 16. has injured
17. killed 18. have happened 19. had driven 20. would not have been V. Reading comprehension
1. D
2. B 3 .A 4. C 5. D
6. B
7. D
8. A
9. C 10. D
VI. Writing
My sister and I were driving along the high way when we saw a sign in front of an old farmhouse which read “Stop Here for Free Flowers.” We could not believe it so we stopped and an elderly woman, thin and worn, greeted us. She said that obviously we had seen the sign, to which we assented. She told us that the flowers were prettiest at that season and she wanted us to pick the ones we liked best. Seeing her frail and shabbily dressed, we offered to buy the flowers which she pointedly refused. Then she led us to a beautiful field of gladioli of every brilliant color. My sister asked her why she gave them away. Her old eyes dimmed and she was silent for a while, but we got the story at last. The old couple used to have two boys who helped to keep the gladioli and knew all of them by name. Every year they sold them and divided the money to buy things for each other on Christmas, birthdays, and the like. Now that the War took their sons, all the same, they decided to keep on planting these gladioli every year and give them away free as living memorial to the boys.。