ThereisanEnglishsaying:Laughte-优题课

It was when I was attending high school that I first read Asimov’s stories. At the time, a few SF magazines began to introduce this author and translate a few pieces from his “Robot Series”. Of Asimov’s works, the one that left the deepest impression on me was Pebble in the Sky. This novel directly influenced my early SF writing.
Asimov was one of the leading writers of Western science fiction’s Golden Age, so although his writing may not have a direct influence on writers of today, his underlying （潜在的） influence on many levels is undeniable — the famous Three Laws of Robotics, and many classic writing techniques, for example. Of course, his influence is related to the atmosphere that existed in the Golden Age; a science fiction writer today has a hard time reaching that level no matter how outstanding he or she is. Asimov’s novels are marked by a fully integrated logical system, and his stories are a pleasure to read — this is the reason his novels still attract readers today. Naturally, Western science fiction has few people these days who follow Asimov’s creative methods; instead they are closely connected to mainstream artistic trends, employing large amounts of postmodern techniques. This type of science fiction has a hard time blossoming on Chinese soil. The majority of Chinese SF readers would rather read the classic works of Asimov. This is an important question that faces today’s Chinese science fiction writers.
Compared with the “Robot Series”, Asimov’s “Foundation Series” is a little less well-known in China. This is mostly due to the large influence of the Three Laws, and moreover, the Foundation novels have never been completely introduced here. In fact, the Foundation series creates an entire world, even grander than that of the “Robot Series”; this science fiction epic（史诗） had a direct influence on later Western science fiction, the most famous example being Star Wars.
61. We can know from the passage that the author is a _______ .
A. science fiction writer B. science fiction publisher
C. high school student D. novel translator
62. The Three Laws of Robotics are most probably .
A. stories written by Asimov B. writing techniques employed by Asimov
C. techniques to build robots D. characters in Asimov’s science fiction
63. The main purpose of the passage is to .
A. compare Asimov with other science fiction writers
B. attract people to read Asimov’s stories
C. introduce Asimov’s influence on SF writing
D. explain why Asimov is popular in China
64. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. “Foundation Series” were translated into Chinese earlier than “Robot Series”
B. Science fiction of postmodern style is not popular with Chinese readers
C. Asimov is the greatest science fiction writer in Western countries
D. The writing techniques by Asimov are better than the postmodern ones
65. In the writer’s opinion, Asimov’s “Foundation Series” .
A. were not as successful as his “Robot Series”
B. are better known to Chinese readers than his “Robot Series”
C. were more logically organized than his “Robot Series”
D. were written better than his “Robot Series” in some ways

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
An Indian civil servant, SM Raju, has come up with a new way of providing employment for millions of poor people in Bihar. His campaign to encourage people to plant trees effectively addresses two burning issues of the world: global warming and shrinking job opportunities.
Mr Raju’s success could clearly be seen on 30 August, 2009 when he organized 300,000 villagers from over 7,500 villages in northern Bihar to engage in a mass tree planting ceremony.
Mr Raju has linked his “social forestry” program to the central government’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), which is also designed to provide employment for poor people. Under NREGA — started in February 2006 as the government’s most ambitious employment generation scheme for poor people — the authorities are bound by law to provide a minimum of 100 days of employment a year for members of families living below the poverty line. About 44% of Bihar’s population fall into this category.
Mr Raju says that Bihar — being the poorest and most lawless state of India — hasn’t been able to spend the allocated (分配的) NREGA funds. “This is because of a lack of awareness among officials about the scheme,” he said. “So the idea struck to my mind: why not involve families below the poverty line in social forestry and give them employment under this scheme for 100 days? Under the scheme, each family can earn a minimum of 10,200 rupees ($210).”
The civil servant immediately made a plan of his idea. In June, Mr Raju published a booklet of “dos and don’ts” and distributed it to village heads. His plan meant that NREGA funds were fully used — in the past this hasn’t always been the case.
“I told the villagers they would get 100 days employment in a year simply by planting trees and protecting them. The old and disabled would be given preference,” he explained.
Every village council has now been given a target of planting 50,000 saplings — a group of four families have to plant 200 trees and they must protect them for three years till the plants grow stronger.
“They would get the full payment if they can ensure the survival of 90% of the plants under their care. For a 75-80% survival rate, they’ll be paid only half the wage. For less than 75%, the families in the group will be replaced,” the guidelines say.
Significantly, his scheme has even stopped the migration of poor labourers from the area in search of employment elsewhere.
56. According to the passage, the main purpose of SM Raju’s “social forestry” program is to _____.
A. promote the practice of NREGA
B. make efforts to prevent global warming
C. increase the employment of poor people
D. prevent poor people from migrating elsewhere
57 According to the passage, the poor people in Bihar don’t make full use of NREGA funds because _____.
A. the local officials don’t realize the importance of NREGA
B. the local government doesn’t get enough support from the central government
C. the local poor people know little about NREGA
D. Bihar is the most lawless state in India
58. We can infer from the passage that _____.
A. most people in Bihar will benefit from NREGA
B. the old and disabled people are not involved in tree planting
C. families who can’t ensure 75% survival rate of the trees will not be paid
D. Raju’s new plan will reduce Bihar’s population below the poverty line
59. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. There’s a good way to deal with global warming
B. Tree planting provides employment for the poor
C. Tree planting solves the problem of unemployment
D. Raju’s “social forestry” program wins the support of NREGA
60. How can villagers get more NREGA funds?
A. Thinking better ways to stop global warming
B. Working hard for one hundred days
C. Planting more trees and ensuring the survival of plants
D. Stopping moving from the area to search employment elsewhere

Waterland, California, June 26,2001—two cars dropped from sight, falling into the bottom (底部) of a 400-feet deep sinkhole (陷洞) which appeared suddenly. At a town 12 miles from Waterland, two bedrooms of one house dropped into a hole 60 feet across and 35 feet deep part of the next house hung dangerously over the hole.
Sinkholes have been happening without warning in this part of California for years. So far there is no way to predict (预告) when or where one will appear. But when one does, others usually follow in the same area, usually along a straight line.
The worst sinkhole in recent appeared in 1996. It was 70 feet across and 150 feet deep. It destroyed in one house, damaged several others and broke the walls of a city block. One hole, 15-feet deep, opened up this year in the middle of a highway, 19 seconds after a car had driven by. Others in the same area took place at night damaging houses, swallowing up trees and parts of streets and making 23 frightened people run away from their homes in night clothes.
Sinkholes happen when the weather is dry. The earth at the surface begins to drop into empty space under the ground, like sand falling in huge hourglass (沙漏). This is how a sinkhole is formed.
71. From the text we know sinkhole do not happen ______.
A. during the period of wet weather B. in a straight line
C. in the dry season D. at night
72. When one sinkhole appears, others usually follow ________.
A. everywhere B. on straight highway only
C. nearby D. in the places far away
73. Sinkholes take place because ________.
A. there are large holes under houses
B. Waterland has an underground lake
C. there are too many heavy things on the surface of the earth
D. dry earth moves and fills underground holes
74. Which of the following is not talked about in the text?
A. Sinkholes cause car accidents B. Sinkholes destroy houses
C. Sinkholes kill people D. Sinkholes damage streets
75. This text mainly tells us that ________.
A. sinkholes always happen without any warning
B. sinkholes have been happening in the Waterland area, causing some damage
C. even drivers cannot keep away from sinkholes
D. why a sinkhole happens and how its name has been formed

I have a special rule for travel: never carry a map. Sometimes I get lost, but I usually have a good time. I can practice a new language, meet new people, and learn new customs. And I find out about different “styles” of directions every time I ask, “ How can I get to the post office?”
In Japan, most streets don’t have names; people use landmarks in their directions. For example, the Japanese will say to the travelers “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”
In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not mountains, so the land is very flat (平的)，in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. For example, they will say: “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”
People in Los Angeles, California, measure distance in time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh”, they answer, “It’s about five minutes from here.” They don’t know how many miles away it is.
People in Greece sometimes do not even try to give directions because tourists seldom understand the Greek language. Instead, a Greek will often say, “Follow me.” Then he’ll lead you through the streets of the city to the post office.
66. The underlined word landmarks in the second paragraph means ____.
A. easily recognizable (可辨认的) objects by which one can tell one’s position
B. big markets where people can tell you how to get to the post office
C. tall buildings in front of which is the post office
D. bus stops which are near the post office you are looking for
67. From the passage we learn that in the American Midwest countryside, ____.
A. there are no buildings B. there are no landmarks
C. the fields are very flat D. there are some hills
68. Which of the following shows distance in time?
A. The Japanese. B. People in Los Angeles.
C. People in Greece. D. People in the American Midwest.
69. Why don’t the Greeks try to give directions?
A. Because they often say “Follow me.”
B. Because they will lead you to the post office.
C. Because they don’t understand any foreign language.
D. Because tourists don’t understand their language.
70. The passage tells us that ____.
A. there are different ways to get to the post office
B. people everywhere can tell you how far the post office is
C. in Greece there is much trouble in finding the post office
D. there are different customs in different places

第四部分阅读理解（共15个小题，每小题1分，满分15分）
In the western part of the United States where the Indians lived, a little mouse called the “bean mouse” became a guide to rich stores of good and tasty difficult-to-find food. Each season, the little animal would work very hard to search out the rare beans, and “cache” them away in its nest (窝). The Indians learned of this and found out the hiding place. They collected most of the beans for themselves. When the mouse returned to its home and found only a few of the tasty beans left, it set to work, harder than ever before, gathering more beans. This was a fine thing for the Indians, who had only to look for the nest, while the mouse had to look for the beans. But the Indians returned the favour (恩惠，善意) by always making sure that the animal had enough for the winter.
61. The Indians valued the bean mouse _________.
A. as a guide to food B. as fertile (肥沃的) land
C. because it made a good pet D. because its fur was valuable
62. The underlined word “cache” means _______.
A. throw them in every place B. place them in a hiding place for later use
C. put them in its home D. lay them under the mud
63. The passage says that the bean mouse was ________.
A. fearless B. friendly C. rare D. hard-working
64. The Indians are shown to be ________.
A. clever B. hard-working C. unkind D. educated
65. The best title for this passage is _________.
A. Man’s Best Friend B. Habits of the Bean Mouse
C. A Search of Rare Beans D. The Indians and the Mouse

A．smiling does good to health	B．laughter can be tolerated
C．there is a way to reduce pain	D．laughter can work the muscles in the feet

A．listened to different radio programmes	B．could produce a kind of chemical
C．don’t have stress or pain	D．listened to a funny programme