（D）
Between ten and midnight the United States is politically leaderless——there is no center of information anywhere in the nation except in the New York headquarters of the great broadcasting companies and the two great wire services．No candidate and no party can afford the investment on election night to match the news-gathering resources of the mass media; and so, as every citizen sits in his home watching his TV set or listening to his radio, he is the equal of any other in knowledge．There is nothing that can be done in these hours, for on one can any longer direct the great strike for America’s power; the polls have closed．Good or bad, whatever the decision．America will accept the decision——and cut down any man who goes against it, even though for millions the decision runs contrary to their own votes．The general vote is an expression of national will, the only substitute for violence and blood．Its decision is to be defended as one defends civilization itself．
There is nothing like this American expression of will in England or France, India or Russia or China．Only one other major nation in modern history has ever tried to elect its leader directly by mass, free, popular vote．This was the Weimar Republic of Germany, which modeled its unitary vote for national leaders on the American practice．Out of its experiment with the system it got Hitler．Americans have had Lincoln, Wilson and two Roosevelts．Nothing can be done when the voting returns are flooding in; the White House and its power will move to one or another of the two candidates, and all will know about it in the morning．But for these hours history stops．
76．Between ten p．m．and midnight, the United States has no leader because________．
A．the President has resigned
B．the strike for power has ended
C．the polls have closed and the results are not in
D．there has been a revolution
77．“The great strike for America’s power” in paragraph 1 refers to_________．
A．the strike of the mass media B．the great coal strike
C．striking while the iron is hot D．the election campaign
78．According to the author only one other major modern nation ever tried to elect its leader by mass, free, popular vote．That nation was___________．
A．India B．Germany C．Russia D．England
79．The author believes the decision at the polls will ．
A．lead to anarchy B．result in men being cut down
C．cause violence and blood D．be defended by all Americans
The research carried out by the University of Bari in Italy could help prove hospitals who are accused of wasting money on art and decoration as it suggests a pleasant environment helps patients ease discomfort and pain.
A team headed by Professor Marina de Tommaso at the Neurophysiopathology Pain Unit asked a group of men and women to pick the 20 paintings they considered most ugly and most beautiful from a selection of 300works by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli. They were then asked to look at either the beautiful paintings, or the ugly paintings, or a blank panel while the team zapped(照射) a short laser pulse at their hand, creating a sensation as if they had been stuck by a pin. He subjects rated the pain as being a third less intense while they were viewing the beautiful paintings, compared with when looking at the ugly paintings or the blank panel. Electrodes measuring the brain's electrical activity also confirmed a reduced response to the pain when the subject looked at beautiful paintings.
While distractions, such as music, are known to reduce pain in hospital patients, Professor Marina de Tommaso says this is the first result to show that beauty plays a part.
The findings, reported in New Scientist, also go a long way to show that beautiful surroundings could aid the healing process.
“Hospitals have been designed to be functional, but we think that their artistic aspects should be taken into account too,” said the neurologist. “Beauty obviously offers a distraction that ugly paintings do not. But at least there is no suggestion that ugly surroundings make the pain worse.” “I think these results show that more research is needed into the field how a beautiful environment can alleviate suffering.”
Pictures they liked included Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh and Botticelli's Birth of Venus. Pictures they found ugly included works by Pablo Picasso, the Italian20thcentury artist Antonio Buenoand Columbian Fernando Botero.“ These people were not art experts so some of the pictures they found ugly would be considered masterpieces by the art world,” said Professor Marina de Tommaso.The underlined word “alleviate” in Paragraph 5 probably means “_____”.
| A．cure | B．ease |
| C．improve | D．kill |
How many artists have been mentioned in the passage?
| A．4. | B．5. |
| C．6. | D．7. |
Which of the following is TRUE about the view of Professor Marina de Tommaso’s?
| A．Beautiful surroundings could help to heal sufferings completely. |
| B．Hospitals must take their artistic aspects into consideration first. |
| C．Ugly surroundings will surely make the pain worse. |
| D．Both music and beauty can reduce pain in hospital patients. |
From the last paragraph, we know that _____.
| A．some artists’ paintings were beautiful, so they were masterpieces |
| B．only art experts could judge whether they were masterpieces or not, though ugly |
| C．the artists mentioned above were not really art masters |
| D．some of them were art masters, while others were not |
Which of the following is the most suitable title for the passage?
| A．Beautiful surroundings can ease pain. |
| B．Ugly paintings could be masterpieces. |
| C．More paintings should be done in the field. |
| D．Latest environmental research |
Welcome to one of the largest collections of footwear (鞋类) in the world that will make you green with envy. Here at he Footwear Museum you can see exhibits (展品) from all over the world. You can find out about shoes worn by everyone from the Ancient Egyptians to pop stars.
| Room 1 The celebrity () footwear section is probably the most popular in the entire museum. Started in the 1950s there is a wide variety of shoes and boots belonging to everyone from queens and presidents to pop stars and actors! Most visitors find the celebrities' choice of footwear extremely interesting. |
Room 2 Most of our visitors are amazed-and shocked-by the collection of “special purpose” shoes on exhibition here at the Museum of Footwear. For example, there are Chinese shoes made of silk that were worn by women to tie their feet firmly to prevent them from growing too much! |
| Rome 3 As well as shoes and boots the museum also exhibits shoe-shaped objects. The variety is unbelievable. For example, there is a metal lamp that resembles a pair of shoes, and Greek wine bottles that look like legs! |
The Footwear Library People come from all over the world to study in our excellent footwear library. Designers and researchers come here to look up information on anything and everything related to the subject of footwear. |
Where would you find a famous singer’s shoes?
| A．Room 1. |
| B．Room 2. |
| C．Room 3. |
| D．The Footwear Library. |
All exhibits in each room _____.
| A．share the same theme |
| B．have the same shape |
| C．are made of the same material |
| D．belong to the same social class |
Which of the following is true according to the text、
| A．The oldest exhibits in Room 1 were made in the 1950s. |
| B．Room 2 is the most visited place in the museum. |
| C．Room 3 has a richer variety of exhibits than the other two. |
| D．Researchers come to the Footwear Library for data. |
The purpose of the text is to get more people to _____.
| A．do research |
| B．design shoes |
| C．visit the museum |
| D．follow celebrities |
The Taj Mahal (泰姬陵) is considered to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and the fines example of the late style of Indian architecture. It is at Agra in northern India. It lies beside the River Jumna in the middle of gardens with quiet pools. The Taj Mahal was built by the Mogul emperor (皇帝) Shah Jahan, who ruled India in the seventeenth century. It is in memory of his favorite wife, Arjum and Banu Bagam, known as Mumtaz Mahal, who died in 1631.
The building, which was completed between 1632 and 1638,was designed by a local Muslim architect (建筑师) Ustad Ahmad Lahori. Thewhole building, with gardens and gateway structures, was completed in 1643. The Taj Mahal stands at one end of the garden tomb with the marble (大理石) path. The room is softly lighted by the light that passes through double screens of carved marble set high in the walls. The building now is kept in good condition.
The Taj Mahal took 22 years to build. Shah Jahan planned a similar building, but in black instead of white, to lie on the other side of the river. But before it could be built, ShahJahan was imprisoned (监禁) by his son and buried next to his wife in the Taj Mahal.The Taj Mahal was built for _____.
| A．Mumtaz |
| B．Shah |
| C．Either Mumtaz or Shah |
| D．Both Mumtaz and Shah |
Why do you think Shah Jahan was buried next to his wife?
| A．His own tomb hadn’t been built. |
| B．He hoped to be buried there. |
| C．King and Queen should be buried together. |
| D．He liked Mumtaz all his life. |
The passage mainly tells us _____.
| A．why the Taj Mahal was built |
| B．the love story between Mumtaz and Shah |
| C．some information about the Taj Mahal |
| D．the Taj Mahal—the pride of Indians |
From the passage we can learn that _____.
| A．the Taj Mahal looks more beautiful than before |
| B．the Taj Mahal doesn’t exist now |
| C．the Taj Mahal has completely changed |
| D．the Taj Mahal has become a place of interest |
How many years did it take to build the Taj Mahal?
| A．20 years. |
| B．22 years. |
| C．12 years. |
| D．23 years. |
When I was six, Dad brought home a dog one day, who was called”Brownie”. My brothers and I all loved Brownie and did different things with her. One of us would walk her, another would feed her, then there were baths, playing catch and many other games, Brownie, in return, loved each and every one of us. One thing that most touched my heart was that she would go t whoever was sick ad just be with them. We always felt better when she was around.
One day, as I was getting her food, she chewed up () one of Dad's shoes, which had to be thrown away in the end. I knew Dad would be mad and I had to let her know what she did was wrong. When I looked at her and said “Bad girl”, she looked down at the ground and then went and hid. I saw a tear in her eyes.
Brownie turned out to be more than just our family pet; she went everywhere with us. People would stop and ask if they could pet her. Of course she'd let anyone pet her. She was just the most lovable dog. There were many times when we'd be out walking and as mal child would come over ad pulled her hair. She never barked or tried to get away. The funny thing is that she would smile. This frightened people because they thought she was showing her teeth. Far from the truth, she loves everyone.
Now many years have passed since Brownie died of old age. I still miss those days when she was with us.What would Brownie do when someone was ill in the family?
| A．Look at them sadly. |
| B．Keep them company. |
| C．Play games with them. |
| D．Touch them gently. |
We can infer from Paragraph 2 that Brownie _____.
| A．would eat anything when hungry |
| B．felt sorry for her mistake |
| C．loved playing hide-and-seek |
| D．disliked the author’s dad |
Why does the author say that Brownie was more than just a family pet?
| A．She was treated as a member of the family. |
| B．She played games with anyone she liked. |
| C．She was loved by everybody she met. |
| D．She went everywhere with the family. |
Some people got frightened by Brownie when she _____.
A.smiled
B.barked
C.rushed to them
D.tried to be funny
Which of the following best describes Brownie?
A.Shy.
B.Polite.
C.Brave.
D.Caring.
Harvard researchers have created a tough, low-cost, biodegradable(可生物降解的)material inspired by insects’ hard outer shells. The material’s inventors say it has a number of possible uses and someday could provide a more environmentally friendly alternative to plastic. The material, made from shrimp(虾)shells and proteins produced from silk, is called “shrilk”. It is thin, clean, flexible and strong.
A major benefit of the material is its biodegradability. Plastic’s toughness and flexibility represented a revolution in materials science during the 1950s and 1960s. Decades later, however, plastic’s very durability(耐用性) is raising questions about how appropriate it is for one-time products such as plastic bags, or short-lived consumer goods, used in the home for a few years and then cast into a landfill where they will degrade for centuries. What is the point of making something that lasts 1,000 years?
Shrilk not only will degrade in a landfill, but its basic components are used as fertilizer(肥料), and so will enrich the soil.
Shrilk has great potential, the inventors said. Materials from which it is made are plentiful in nature, found in everything ranging from shrimp shells, insect bodies to living plants. That makes shrilk low-cost, and its mass production possible should it be used for products demanding a lot of material.
Work on shrilk is continuing in the lab. The invertors said the material becomes flexible when wet, so they’re also developing simpler production processes, which could be used for non-medical products, like for computer cases and other products inside the home. They’re even exploring combining it with other materials, like carbon fibers, to give it new properties.Paragraph 1 of the passage is mainly about shrilk’s _____.
remarkable design
interesting name
major features
basic elementsWhat has become a concern about plastic?
Using it properly.
Producing it cheaply.
Developing its properties quickly.
Evaluating its contributions fairly.According to the inventors, shrilk has great potential partly because _____.
it can help plastic degrade
it can be found in living things
its mass production has been realized
its raw materials are abundant in natureWhat are the inventors doing in the lab?
Replacing carbon fibers with shrilk.
Testing shrilk’s use in wet conditions.
Making shrilk out of used household goods.
Improving shrilk’s flexibility for medical purposes.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
Recent Progress in Environmental Protection
Benefits of Insects in Scientific Research
The Harm of One-time Products
A Possible Alternative to Plastic