四、阅读理解
Michael Jackson, the American pop legend, died of a cardiac arrest（心脏骤停) in a Los Angeles hospital last night, just weeks before he hoped to resurrect（复活) his four-decade long career with a series of sold-out shows in London．The pop superstar was taken to the University of California at Los Angeles medical centre last night, and doctors tried resuscitation（使苏醒，使复活） in the ambulance．He did not regain consciousness and was reported dead about three hours later．
"My brother, the legendary King of Pop, passed away on Thursday 25 June at 2．26pm," his brother Jermaine said, "We believe he suffered a cardiac arrest at his home, however the cause of his death is unknown until the results of the autopsy（验尸) are known．The personal physician who was with him at the time attempted to resuscitated him．"
A spokesman for the UCLA medical centre said, "When he arrived at hospital at approximately 1．14pm, a team of doctors attempted to resuscitate him for a period of more than one hour, they were unsuccessful．" Police said they were investigating, which is standard procedure in such cases．
Jackson's death brought a tragic end to a long decline from his peak in the 1980s when he was music's greatest all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV．His 1982 album Thriller, which included the blockbuster hits（卖座歌曲） Beat It, Billie Jean and Thriller is still the best-selling album of all time, with an estimated 50m copies sold worldwide．
The world famous entertainer had planned a series of 50 concerts in London from 12 July．Although in the last two decades his reputation was destroyed by charges of child molestation（骚扰) and his fantastic public behavior, all tickets were sold within hours, proving the King of Pop had enduring appeal．
56．Where did Michael Jackson die?
A．At home in Los Angeles． B．In a Los Angeles hospital．
C．On the stage in London． D．In an ambulance to hospital．
57．What caused Michael Jackson to die according to Jermaine?
A．Heart disease．
B．It’s unknown before the results of the autopsy．
C．Working too hard．
D．His personal physician’s improper treatment．
58．Why were the police involved in investigating the death of Michael Jackson?
A．Because they believed he was murdered．
B．Because it was standard procedure in such cases．
C．Because Michael Jackson died suddenly．
D．Because his brother was suspicious of the truth of his death．
59．It can be inferred that Michael Jackson was ___________．
A．a King of Pop with good reputation．
B．a King of Pop still playing on the stage before death．
C．indeed a bad man with fantastic public behavior．
D．a popular King of Pop in spite of ill fame．
I keep hammering this because I keep seeing people who don’t do it．
1．Look up English to Elvish．
2．Look up the Elvish word in the best Elvish dictionary you have, and, preferably, find out the context in Tolkien’s language dictionary．
3．Change the word to suit rules of grammar: singular or plural, mutations, verb tenses, etc．
You cannot leave out any of these steps．If you do, you’re almost certain to have errors．Why you have to do step 2:
Languages never match up one- to-one．English and Elvish are closer than usual, but there are still problems．And English has strange idioms: why are there no baths or beds in public bathrooms or restrooms? You can’t translate literally．You have to understand the meaning behind each word．
In Elvish this is even more true, since our dictionaries contain more or less questionable reconstructions, and words that Tolkien later threw away or replaced．Find the best one you can．
Consider the word “fair”．We tend to use it to mean “just”．Tolkien tends to use it to mean “beautiful”．In Elvish, these are two entirely different words．So when you look up “fair”, you’ll have to go to the Elvish dictionary to see that you’ve got the right one．
Consider the nightmare of He left the bar．Is “left” the opposite of “right” （which also has two meanings） ? Is “bar” extruded steel（型材钢）, or something to do with law? You have to know what words mean in both languages．
And you’d be amazed at how many people ignore step 3, forgetting that language is more than a string of words, and there are rules about how to fit those words together．You can’t simply look up the word “I” and use it everywhere．Sometimes you need “me” or “my”．There’s a reason it takes a while to learn a language: you have to learn the rules．
It drives me completely mad when people give a questionable translation they insist is right because “it’s in the dictionary”．A dictionary is a tool, a resource．but its entries（词目）should not be mistaken for a finished product．They are raw materials．The underlined word “this” in paragraph 1 refers to ．
| A．consulting the dictionaries when translating between languages |
| B．finding out the true meaning in context |
| C．ignoring the rules of grammar |
| D．leaving out some of the three steps the author mentions |
According to the author, you have to do step 2 because ．
| A．you have to understand the meaning behind each word |
| B．Elvish and English are quite different in forms |
| C．there are no baths or beds in public bathrooms |
| D．Elvish has some words which are hard to find |
Grammar is also very important because it ．
| A．helps fit the words together | B．takes a while to learn a language |
| C．is a rule to obey | D．is often forgotten in translating |
In the last paragraph, the author shows ．
| A．his impatience to those who insist their wrong translation is right |
| B．his puzzle to the questionable translation |
| C．the importance of the correct use of dictionaries |
| D．the mistaken entries in the dictionaries |
The passage is mainly about how to ．
| A．learn a foreign language with a dictionary |
| B．avoid errors when looking up a dictionary |
| C．understand the meaning of a strange word |
| D．use a dictionary to translate between languages |
What is the relationship between violence and sports? Psychologists say that there are many reasons for violence at sports events. One is alcohol. Many fans drink a lot at games. When people drink, they are more likely to do abnormal things. Psychologist Dennis Brock says, “Quiet people become loud. Normally nonviolent people become destructive． ”
David Sampson, a sports sociologist, says, “These are often celebratory riots— a large number of very happy people mixed in with large amounts of alcohol. They don’t often seem dangerous in the beginning, but things get violent quickly． ”
Another reason for violence at sports events is the crowd. When individuals are in a large group of people, they can lose their sense of personal responsibility. Edward Hirt, a social Psychologist, says that research shows that people do things in crowds that they would never do alone. People in crowds feel anonymous — no one knows who they are. Crowds also make people feel powerful. They stop making personal decisions. They just follow the crowd. Social psychologists call this a “mob mentality．”
Dave Zarifis, head of public safety says, “Some people don’t even come to celebrate. They want to drink hard and make trouble. Someone does something stupid, and it grows from there. You get a mob mentality. People think it’s OK to do almost anything. They think, ‘There are so many of us and not enough of them． ’ ”
Social psychologist Dr. Sharon Kennedy says that there are some things officials can do to prevent violence. Making sure that an area is not overcrowded is very important. Officials should also think of games as “big parties．” Then they will prepare differently. Kennedy says that in Great Britain they are controlling the problem with cameras in all the stadiums. “When you know someone is watching, you are much less likely to behave badly． ”Which of the following best gives the main idea of the first two paragraphs?
| A．There’s a connection between violence and sports |
| B．One cause of violence at sports events is alcohol． |
| C．There are many reasons for violence at sports events． |
| D．David Sampson and Dennis Brock have the same opinion． |
Which of the following does NOT belong to a “mob mentality”?
| A．“I must drink some alcohol to stop myself feeling shy． ” |
| B．“ It’s safe to do what many people are doing． ” |
| C．“There are so many of us and not enough of them． ” |
| D．“ No one knows I’m doing this． ” |
How many experts are quoted by the writer of this passage?
| A．Two． | B．Four． | C．Three． | D．Five． |
The last paragraph is mainly about ______．
| A．how to turn games into big parties |
| B．why to install cameras in stadiums |
| C．how to prevent violence at sports events |
| D．how to avoid oneself behaving badly |
What lesson can we learn from this passage?
| A．Never drink any alcohol no matter where you are． |
| B．Whenever you are watching a game, you should keep quiet． |
| C．Never follow blindly no matter how many people are doing something． |
| D．Be careful when you are at a stadium because there are cameras there． |
I was waiting for a phone call from my agent. He had left a message the night before, telling me that my show was to be cancelled. I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was still no call. Three hours passing by, I became more and more impatient. I was certain that my agent didn’t care about my work, and he didn’t care about me. I was overcome with that thought. I started to shout at the phone, “Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?”
At that time I didn’t realize my wife was looking on. Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, “Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone!” And she swept it into the wastebasket．
I stood watching her, speechless. What on earth… ?
She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the rest of the house, “Now hear this! All objects in this room – if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!”
Then she turned to me, kissed me and said calmly, “Honey, you just have to learn how to take control. ” With that, she left the room．
After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight, I noticed that something in my mood had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her antics helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able to listen to him and talk to him calmly． We can infer from the passage that ________．
| A．the secretary didn’t care about the writer |
| B．the writer was bad-tempered |
| C．the agent was not responsible for his own work |
| D．the wife of the writer was not sensible |
Why did the author shout at the telephone?
| A．He was angry with his agent． |
| B．He was mad at the telephone． |
| C．He was impatient with the secretary． |
| D．He was anxious about his wife． |
What did the author’s wife do after she heard his shouting?
| A．She was speechless． |
| B．She threw the phone away． |
| C．She shouted at him． |
| D．She called the agent in person and scolded him． |
What made the author laugh?
| A．His changeable feelings． | B．His wife’s suggestion． |
| C．His own behavior． | D．His wife’s sweet kiss． |
What does the underlined word “antics” refer to?
| A．Smart words | B．Anxious feelings |
| C．Surprising looks | D．Unusual actions |
Stepping into a pool of water is common enough, but who could ever imagine stepping into a pool of fish? In February of 1974, Bill Tapp, an Australian farmer, saw a rain of fish that covered his farm.How surprised he must have been!
What caused this strange occurrence? This is a question that had long puzzled people who study fish. The answer turned out to be a combination of wind and storm．
When it is spring in the northern part of the world, it is fall in Australia. Throughout the autumn season, terrible storms arise and rains flood the land. The strong winds sweep over Australia like huge vacuum cleaners (吸尘器), collecting seaweed, pieces of wood, and even schools of fish. Strong winds may carry these bits of nature for many miles before vacuum dropping them on fields, houses, and astonished people．
Although they seem unusual, fish-falls occur frequently in Australia. When Bill Tapp was asked to describe the scene of fish, he remarked, “They look like millions of dead birds falling down. ” His statement is not surprising. The wonders of the natural world are as common as rain. Nature, with its infinite wonders, can create waterfalls that flow upward and fish that fall out of the sky． What could be the feelings of Bill Tapp the moment he saw the rain of fish?
| A．excited | B．scared | C．calm | D．amazed |
Fish-falls occur in Australia ________．
A. quite often B. on large farms C. only in winter D when the air is calmThe word “infinite” is closest in meaning to _________．
| A．easy | B．difficult | C．countless | D．dangerous |
What might be the reasons of the rain of fish?
| A．Vacuum cleaners | B．Strong wind |
| C．Wind and storm | D．It is still a puzzle |
What is this passage about?
| A．A sad story． | B．Australia's northern part． |
| C．A rain of fish． | D．The damage done by floods． |
根据短文内容，从短文后的
选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
________. He had more money than he could ever spend, and he was admired and looked up to by his community._____
_____ .He was not happy. All his life he had been pursuing happiness and struggling for happiness, but he had never been able to find it.
Then one day he heard about a hidden temple in Nepal that had a special room that contained the secret of happiness._______ .After many years searching and countless hardships he arrived there. He was tired and penniless, but he knew that none of that mattered now because he had found the temple. He asked a wise, smiling monk(和尚)if he could enter the special room. The monk agreed and showed him to the stairs leading to the room.____
__ .He stared into the room with sunlight streaming through the window and saw what he had come so far to find. There hanging on the wall was the secret of happiness. The man looked at his reflection in the mirror and laughed.
____ .Happiness is a choice that we can make. Don’t spend the rest of your life searching the world for happiness then. Just look at the mirror and laugh. Let the happiness flow from your heart, mind, and soul until it fills your life and the lives of all around you.
| A．He immediately sold all that he owned and set out to find this hidden temple. |
| B．The man found the secret of happiness at last. |
| C．But he knew that something was missing in his life. |
| D．He climbed them with legs shaking with expectation and slowly opened the door. |
E. There was once a very wealthy and successful man.
F. It is time we all realized that we were the secret of our own happiness.
G. It was difficult to find the temple in Nepal.