Long bus rides are like television shows. They have a beginning,a middle,and an endwith commercials （商业广告） thrown in every three or four minutes. The commercials are unavoidable. They happen whether you want them or not. Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by outside the bus window. "Buy Super Clean Toothpaste.""Drink Good Wet Root Beer.""Fill up with Pacific Gas."Only if you sleep,which is equal to turning the television set off,are you spared the unending cry of "You Need It! Buy It Now!"
The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat exciting,even if you’ve traveled that way before. Usually some things have changednew houses,new buildings,sometimes even a new road. The bus driver has a style of driving and it’s fun to try to figure it out the first hour or so. If the driver is particularly reckless （鲁莽的） or daring,the ride can be as thrilling （惊心动魄的） as a suspense story. Will the driver pass the truck in time? Will the driver move into the rightor the lefthand lane? After a while,of course,the excitement dies down. Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride. Food always makes bus rides more interesting. But you’ve got to be careful of what kind of food you eat. Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between stops.
The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning. You know it will soon be over and there’s a kind of expectation and excitement in that. The seat of course,has become harder as the hours have passed. By now you’ve sat with your legs crossed,with your hands in your lap,with your hands on the armrestseven with your hands crossed behind your head. The end comes just at no more ways to sit.According to the passage,what do the passengers usually see when they are on a long bus trip?
| A．Buses on the road. | B．Films on television. |
| C．Advertisements on the billboards. | D．Gas stations. |
What is the purpose of this passage?
| A．To give the writer’s opinion about long bus trips. |
| B．To persuade you to take a long bus trip. |
| C．To explain how bus trips and television shows differ. |
| D．To describe the billboards along the road. |
The writer of this passage would probably favor .
| A．bus drivers who aren’t reckless | B．driving alone |
| C．a television set on the bus | D．no billboards along the road |
The writer feels long bus rides are like TV shows because .
| A．the commercials both on TV shows and on billboards along the road are fun |
| B．they both have a beginning,a middle,and an end,with commercials in between |
| C．the drivers are always reckless on TV shows just as they are on buses |
| D．both traveling and watching TV are not exciting. |
The writer thinks that the end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning because both are .
| A．exciting | B．comfortable | C．tiring | D．boring |
Several years ago，a television reporter was talking to three of the most important people in America. One was a very rich banker， another owned one of the largest companies in the world， and the third owned many buildings in the center of New York.
The reporter was talking to them about being important.
“How do we know if someone is really important？” the reporter asked the banker.
The banker thought for a few moments and then said， “I think anybody who is invited to the Whiter House to meet the President of the United States is really important.”
The reporter then turned to the owner of the very large company. “Do you agree with that？” she asked.
The man shook his head， “No. I think the President invites a lot of people to the White House. You’d be important only if while you were visiting the President， there was a telephone call from the president of another country， and the President of the US said he was too busy to answer it.”
The reporter turned to the third man. “Do you think so？”
“No， I don‘t，” he said. “I don’t think that makes the visitor important. That makes the President important.”
“Then what would make the visitor important？” the reporter and the other two men asked.
“Oh， I think if the visitor to the White House was talking to the President and the phone rang， and the President picked up the receiver， listened and then said， ‘It’s for you.‘ ”This story happened in _______.
| A．America | B．England | C．Japan | D．Australia |
There are _______ in this passage.
| A．two men and two women |
| B．three men and one woman |
| C．three women and one man |
| D．four women |
The banker thought _______.
| A．he was really important because he was a rich banker |
| B．the reporter was really important |
| C．the visitor who met the President of the United States |
| D．the visitor to the White House was really important |
The owner of many buildings thought _______.
| A．he was really important because he owned many buildings in the center of New York |
| B．the owner of the very large company was really important |
| C．the visitor was really important if the President received a telephone call for the visitor |
| D．the person who worked in the White House was really important |
Here I must put in a few words about my experience here in China. If I have ___36__ with a Chinese host, he always presses(硬塞给)___37__ food onto my plate as soon as I have emptied the previous helping(份额). That often makes me ___38___awkward(尴尬). I have to eat the food even if I don’t ___39___ it, because it is ___40___ manners in the West to _41__ one’s food on the plate. I have also ___42__ that when a Chinese sits at an American’s dinner party, he often ___43___ the offer of food or drink though he is in fact still hungry or ___44___. This might be good manners in China, but it is
certainly__45___ in the West. In the United States, it is___46___ to keep asking someone again and again or press something on him. Americans are very ___47___. If they want something, they will ask for it. If not, they will say, “__48__” Here’s an example: When an American is offered ___49_ by the host, and he doesn’t feel like beer, he will probably say, “No, thanks. I just don’t feel like it. I’ll ___50___ some Pepsi-Cola （百事可乐）if you have it.” That is ___51__ an American will do. ___52___are taught that “Honesty is the best policy”. But in some countries, courtesy(谦虚) might be more important than ___53___. So when I am here in China, I have to observe（遵循） the __54__ here. But when you go to ___55___, you had better “Do as the Romans do.”
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Stephen Hawking was born in Oxford, England, on January 8, 1942. At the age of 17, he entered University College, Oxford. He wanted to study mathematics, but took up the study of physics when math was unavailable. He received a Ph.D. in physics despite being diagnosed (诊断) with Ameliotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (肌萎缩性脊髓侧索硬化症) while at Oxford in 1963. In 1985 he became ill with pneumonia (肺炎), and since then has required 24-hour nursing. Dr. Hawking’s determination, along with the help of his family and associates, has allowed him to continue to work. In 1970 he began studying black holes. His research led him to predict that black holes send out radiation in the X-ray to gamma-ray(伽马射线) range of the spectrum (光谱). In the 1980s he returned to an earlier interest, the origins of the universe. He has co-authored many publications, such as 300 Years of Gravity and The Large Scale Structure of Space time. Dr. Hawking has also written books such as A Brief History of Time, Black Holes and Baby Universes and other Essays, The Universe in a Nutshell and others. He continues to give lectures, despite having been unable to speak since 1985, with the aid of a speech synthesizer (合成器) and a portable computer. He currently holds Isaac Newton’s chair as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University in England.Hawking went to University College, Oxford, in order to _____.
A. get a Ph.D. in physics
B. study mathematics
C. study the universe and black holes
D. seek help from the Lucasian ProfessorBefore Hawking started researching black holes, _____.
| A．he gave lectures with the help of a speech synthesizer |
| B．he finished his book The Universe in a Nutshell |
| C．he was made the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics |
| D．he was diagnosed with Ameliotrophic Lateral Sclerosis |
Which of the following books was NOT written by Dr. Hawking alone?
| A．300 Years of Gravity |
| B．A Brief History of Time |
| C．The Universe in a Nutshell |
| D．Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays. |
When did Hawking enter University College, Oxford?
| A．in 1942 | B．in 1970 | C．in 1959 | D．in 1963 |
Americans like to travel on their yearly holiday. Today, more and more travelers in the United States are spending nights at small houses or inns(客栈)instead of hotels. They get a room for the night and the breakfast the next morning.
Rooms for the night in private(私人的)homes with breakfast have been popular with travelers in Europe for many years. In the past five to ten years, these bed-and-breakfast places have become popular in the United States. Many of these America’s bed-and-breakfast inns have only a few rooms; others are much larger. Some inns do not provide telephones or televisions in the rooms, others do.
Staying at a bed-and-breakfast inn is much different from staying at a hotel. Usually the cost is much less. Staying at an inn is almost like visiting someone’s home. The owners are glad to tell about the areas and the interesting places to visit. Many vacationers say that they enjoy the chance to meet local families.Americans take a holiday trip_________.
| A．all the year round | B．for years |
| C．every year | D．every other year |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Some Americans like to stay at bed-and-breakfast homes instead of at hotels. |
| B．The bed-and-breakfast inns are private homes open to vacationers. |
| C．The bed-and-breakfast inns have been popular in America for a long time. |
| D．The bed-and-breakfast inn owners provide a morning meal for their visitors and a room for the night. |
Staying at the bed-and-breakfast inns, __________.
| A．the travelers needn’t pay anything |
| B．the travelers don’t have to pay for the telephone or television |
| C．the travelers can meet and talk with the local people |
| D．the owners will show the travelers around the area |
Which is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．European and American vacationers like staying at bed-and-breakfast inns. |
| B．All Americans enjoy traveling. |
| C．These bed-and-breakfast inns are all old historic buildings. |
| D．Staying at a bed-and-breakfast inn is just like at the traveler’s home. |
Bringing Art into Hospitals
The medical world is gradually realizing that the quality of the environment in hospitals may play an important role in helping patients to get better.
As part of nationwide effort in Britain to bring art out of the museums and into public places, some of the country’s best artists have been called in to change older hospitals and to soften the hard edges of modern buildings. Of the 2500 national health service hospitals in Britain, almost 100 now have very valuable collections of present art in passages, waiting areas and treatment rooms.
These recent movements first started by one artist, Peter Senior, who set up his studio at a Manchester hospital in northeastern England during the early 1970s.He felt the artist had lost his place in modern society, and that art should be enjoyed by a wider audience(观众).
A common hospital waiting room might have as many as 5 000 visitors each week. What a better place to hold regular exhibitions of art! Senior held the first exhibition of his own paintings in the out—patient’s waiting area of the Manchester Royal Hospital in 1975.Believed to be Britain’s first hospital artist. Senior was so much in demand that he was soon joined by a team of six young art school graduates.
The effect is striking. Now in the passages and waiting rooms the visitor experiences a full view of fresh colours, playful images(形象)and restful courtyards.
The quality of the environment may reduce the need for expensive drugs when a patient is recovering from an illness. A study has shown that patients who had a view onto gardens needed half the number of strong pain killers compared with patients who had no view at all or only a brick wall to look at. Some best artists of Britain have been called in to__________.
| A．set up new hospitals |
| B．make the corners of the hospital collect paintings |
| C．bring art into hospitals |
| D．help patients recover from serious illnesses |
After the improvement of the hospital environment,__________.
| A．patients no longer take drugs to kill their pains |
| B．patients don’t have to stay long in hospital |
| C．patients need fewer pain killers when they suffer from an illness |
| D．patients feel happy in hospital |
It can inferred from the passage that__________.
| A．the role of hospital environment is important. |
| B．hospital artists have done more than doctors |
| C．exhibitions attract more audience in hospitals than in museums |
| D．the hospital is a better place for people. |