PART THREE READING COMPREHENSION
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.
A
Swaying palm trees, turquoise-blue water and sugar-white sand make beach lovers sigh with delight. But not all beaches have those ingredients. The most interesting beaches come in different shapes, sizes and colors.
Those who want beauty and something unique can go to the Seychelles’ La Digue Island. Large granite (花岗岩) rock formations overlook beautiful, white-sand beaches. The pinkish-grey rocks look like sculptures that have been forgotten on the beach. Tourists traveling to La Digue Island to see the unique rocks will also discover one of the world’s most beautiful islands.
Hawaii’s Big Island has one of the rarest beaches of all — a beach made up entirely of green sand. The sand, which is formed by dark green crystals called olivine (橄榄石), is deposited (堆积) by volcanic activity. Green Sand Beach lies on the slopes of the world’s largest active volcano, Mauna Loa.
One of the world’s most unusual beaches lies on the island of Santorini, Greece. The sand on Red Beach gets its reddish color from the red volcanic rocks that make up the cliffs (悬崖) around the beach. Tourists flock (蜂拥) to see the red sand, making Red Beach one of Santorini’s most popular beach destinations.
Black sand makes up the huge beach of Karakare. Through the years, volcanic sand mixed with iron ash to form this black beach on New Zealand’s wild, west coast. With all the beautiful beaches in the world, beach lovers have lots of choices. But for those ready for something different, a unique beach vacation might be just the ticket!
56. What would be the best title of the passage?
A. One of the world’s most unusual beaches B. Beach lovers having more choices
C. A unique beach vacation D. Unique beaches around the world
57. According to the text, ______ would be regarded as the general characteristics of beautiful beaches.
A. swaying palm trees, turquoise-blue water, sugar-while sand
B. rocks, white sand, pinkish-grey rocks, sculptures
C. green sand, slopes of an active volcano
D. black sand, iron ash, wild coast
58. Beaches on the island of Santorini are red because of _______.
A. the cliffs around the beach B. the large granite rocks
C. the red volcanic rocks D. crystals called olivine
59. If you want to see pinkish-grey rocks, then go to _______.
A. Santorini, Greece B. Seychelles’ La Digue Island
C. Hawaii’s Big Island D. New Zealand
60. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Different beaches have different colors.
B. Different places have different beaches.
C. White sand and blue water are the main characteristics of beaches.
D. People have many choices for beach vacations.
-American office workers spend an average of 52 hours a week at their desks, according to a statistic survey. Some might argue that not all that time is spent working，but still all those hours in windowless offices with artificial light can have an influence.
A few green additions could have a large effect on worker happiness，according to the survey led by Tina Cade from Texas State University.
“We pretty much found out that if you had windows and plants or even if you just had plants in your office, you were more satisfied with your job,” Cade told LiveScience. “We thought it was important for offices because a lot of times people are looking for ways to keep employees happy and do all these expensive things like building a gym. Maybe for less investment they could put in a few plants in important places.”
The team surveyed 450 office workers in Texas and the Midwest，asking questions about job satisfaction and the work environments. When asked about their overall life quality,82 said they felt “content” or “very happy”. Only 69 percent of those who work with plants but without windows，and 60 percent of those who have windows but no plants, said they felt this way.
The group of people who work without plants or windows were the most dissatisfied，with only 58 percent of them saying that overall they were “content” or “very happy”. While no one who works with plants，windows，or both reported they felt “miserable”, 0.8 percent of those who work in offices without either said they were “miserable”. “I was really surprised that having a plant in your office appeared to be more beneficial than having a window in your office,” Cade said. “Everybody says, ‘I need a window!’ but actually it seemed like a plant could be a suitable alternative.”What does the passage mainly tell us?
| A．Green plants can increase job satisfaction. |
| B．An easier way to increase job satisfaction. |
| C．What the best working environment is. |
| D．Who are happy with their job environment. |
Among the 450 people surveyed, ________.
| A．69 percent have plants in their offices |
| B．60 percent have windows in their walls |
| C．0.8 percent of them feel dissatisfied |
| D．about 18 percent of them are satisfied |
According to the survey，the group of people who work without plants or windows ______.
| A．didn’t feel content at all |
| B．all suffered from work pressure |
| C．were the most dissatisfied |
| D．worked with low efficiency |
Which of the following statement is true?
| A．The employers want to do little to keep employees happy. |
| B．Sometimes it doesn’t need much to increase job happiness. |
| C．A gym contributes less to job happiness than green plants. |
| D．Employers have tried every means to increase job happiness. |
-Without proper planning, tourism can cause problems．For example, too many tourists can crowd public places that are also enjoyed by the inhabitants(居民) of a country. If tourists create too much traffic, the inhabitants become annoyed and unhappy. They begin to dislike tourists and to treat them impolitely. They forget how much tourism can help the country’s economy. It is important to think about the people of a destination(目的地) country and how tourism affects them. Tourism should help a country, keep the customs and beauty that attract tourists．Tourism should also advance the wealth and happiness of local inhabitants.
Too much tourism can be a problem. If tourism grows too quickly, people must leave other jobs to work in the tourism industry. This means that other parts of the country’s economy can suffer.
On the other hand, if there is not enough tourism，people can lose jobs. Businesses can also lose money. It costs a great deal of money to build large hotels, airports，air terminals, first－class roads, and other support facilities（设施）needed by tourist attractions. For example, a major international class tourism hotel can cost as much as 50 thousand dollars per room to build. If this room is not used most of the time, the owners of the hotel lose money.
Building a hotel is just a beginning．There must be many support facilities as well，including roads to get to the hotel, electricity, sewers to handle waste, and water. All of these support facilities cost money. If they are not used because there are not enough tourists, jobs and money are lost.Which of the following has most probably been discussed in the part that goes before this passage?
| A．It is very important to develop tourism. |
| B．Building roads and hotels is necessary. |
| C．Support facilities are highly important. |
| D．Planning is very important to tourism. |
Too much tourism can cause all these problems EXCEPT ________.
| A．a bad effect on other industries |
| B．a change of tourists’ customs |
| C．over－crowdedness of places of interest |
| D．pressure on traffic |
Not enough tourism can lead to ________.
| A．an increase of unemployment (失业) |
| B．a decrease (减退) in tourist attractions. |
| C．the higher cost of support facilities |
| D．a rise in price and a fall in pay. |
The underlined word “handle” in the last paragraph most probably means _________.
| A．get in |
| B．pick up |
| C．carry away |
| D．take down |
-For five days, Edmonton's Downtown Park is transformed into one huge stage where artists are able to share their talents, and where people are able to celebrate(庆祝) and enjoy themselves. Since its beginning in 1980, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival has been commemorating (纪念) the true feeling of what folk music is all about and that's the traditional togetherness that is felt when people gather to share stories and feelings through song.
This year will be the sixth year when volunteer Riedel will be offering up her time to the festival. "People coming off a busy spring and summer have a moment of relaxation," Riedel said. "It's really easy to relax, and it's great seeing family and friends have fun together." These families and friends come from all different kinds of musical tastes. People who take pleasure in Blues are there, so are people who love Bluegrass. This festival does its best to develop everyone's musical interests.
With so many years of experience, the festival has become a well-oiled machine, and does whatever it can to make attendees feel as comfortable as possible. There are free water stations throughout the venue (举办地) for people to fill up their travel cups. When people buy food, reusable dishes are given a $2 plate fee, but that is returned when the plate is brought back.
The festival has completely sold out of tickets, and in record time. But with big names such as Van Morrison and Jakob Dylan, it's easy to see how that was going to happen. There is no parking area during the festival, so using the Park & Ride system or Edmonton Transit is highly recommended. A bike lock-up area is provided and will be available Thursday until Sunday one hour before the gates open until 45 minutes after the gates close.
The Edmonton Folk Music Festival begins on Wednesday, Aug. 4 with Van Morrison playing the special donation fund (基金) concert, and will finish up on Sunday, Aug. 8.The Edmonton Folk Music Festival is held mainly to ________.
| A．gather people with different musical tastes |
| B．remind people of the real sense of folk music |
| C．exhibitive good voices of great talents in folk music |
| D．collect old stories of folk music |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Riedel has volunteered for the festival for at least 5 years. |
| B．It's hard for people to appreciate Blues. |
| C．It costs people a little to fill up their cups from water stations. |
| D．People have to pay $2 for a plate of food. |
We can learn from the passage that ________.
| A．people can get tickets easily for the festival |
| B．the Edmonton Folk Music Festival is well organized. |
| C．driving one's own car to the festival is highly recommended |
| D．bikes are available at the festival from Wednesday to Sunday |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Folk Music of Blues |
| B．One Festival for All |
| C．Festival for family Gathering |
| D．Edmonton's Downtown Park |
-There is a very special wolf that lives in Africa. They are actually called, the African wild dog, or painted dogs.
These animals live in open woodlands. or in the plains of Africa. Today, however, most of the animals can be found in eastern or southern Africa. These animals are beautiful. They have rounded ears instead of pointed like most dogs, and they have four toes (脚趾) on each of their feet, also a unique characteristic because other dogs have five. Their fur is always different from each other. The fur is usually a combination of black, brown, red, and white, and sometimes even yellow. No wonder they’re called the painted wolf.
The African wild dog is a very social animal. They live in groups and have numbers from five to about twenty. The members of a group are always very close to one another. They communicate in their own language or body language. When someone is very old or sick, the others will help, and they are willing to share the food with elders and with those who are weak, which is what we should learn from.
The family does everything together, from raising young, to sleeping together, to hunting. When they hunt, they work together using team work to kill animals that are larger than them.
They sometimes hunt farm animals. This is unfortunate, because both poachers (偷猎者), and people who own farms shoot the painted dogs who are just trying to survive.
Before, there used to be many large groups throughout the land, but now the African wild dog is very rare. They are also losing their population because of their own loss of habitat thanks to human’s farming and forest cutting.Why do African wild dogs get the name “painted dogs” ?
| A．They all have colorful fur. |
| B．The dogs in the same group are of different colors. |
| C．Artists love to paint them in different colors. |
| D．None of them has the same color. |
According to the author, what should we learn from African wild dogs?
| A．They always do everything together. |
| B．They are always very close to one another. |
| C．They help the sick, the elderly and the weak. |
| D．They communicate in their own language. |
Which of the following is NOT the reason why African wild dogs are becoming very rare?
| A．Poachers kill some of them. |
| B．They are short of food sometimes. |
| C．They are losing their habitat. |
| D．Farmers shoot some of them. |
Where could this passage probably be found?
| A．The Travelers | B．Fashion Weekly |
| C．Animal World | D．Star Magazine |
“ I’d like to be at a healthier weight , ” a friend told me . “ But we just don’t have the money to buy expensive diet foods and there isn’t enough money to join a gym .” Many people feel that way—that a healthy diet and exercise plan is out of reach because of their high cost . Don’t lose hope ! We’ll be looking at ways to make healthy choices without spending too much money .
First you don’t need to buy the expensive pre-prepared “ diet foods . ” Back in the early 1970s when I started housekeeping , 90% of the food I bought was ingredients . Very few things were preprocessed（预处理的）. Now 90% of the food you find in the store is quick food . That’s a bad thing .
Quick foods like boxed “ just add hamburger ” meals have had the fiber removed to make them faster to prepare . Take a look at the label on that box . It often has low numbers listed under “ fiber ” because fiber takes longer to digest . If the low fiber meal is digested , the result is that your body begins to store fat . Besides , your body is short of nutrients（营养物质）. You will be driven to eat more to try to make up for the low quality of the food you are eating .
And then there are the chemicals the producers add to the quick meals to make them palatable . If not , the stuff would taste like cardboard and you wouldn’t enjoy it . However , these chemicals certainly aren’t good for your health .
What’s the answer ? Buy whole ingredients and give up the expensive , low nutrition , processed foods . Do the cooking yourself and you will have control over what is in your food —and it will cost less , too .People who find it hard to get a healthier weight think .
| A．they had too much diet foods |
| B．they didn’t make a detailed plan |
| C．they have no time to do exercise in gym |
| D．they can’t afford diet foods and to exercise in gym |
The author doesn’t like quick food mainly because .
| A．it contains too much fat | B．it makes people eat less |
| C．it has low fiber | D．it takes longer to digest |
The underlined word “ palatable ” in Paragraph 4 probably means “ ”.
| A．fresh | B．delicious | C．healthy | D．simple |
The author suggests in the text that people should .
| A．control the amount of food |
| B．eat more processed foods |
| C．cook food for themselves |
| D．choose cheap ingredients |
Which of the following best shows the structure of the passage ? （①="Paragraph" 1,
②="Paragraph" 2 ,…⑤="Paragraph" 5）
| A．①/②③④/⑤ | B．①②/③④/⑤ | C．①②③/④/⑤ | D．①/②③/④⑤ |