If women are mercilessly exploited year after year, they have only themselves to blame because they tremble at the thought of being seen in public in clothes that are out of fashion; they are always taken advantage of by the designers and big stores. Clothes which have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion. Women usually stand in front of a wardrobe full of clothes, announcing sadly that she has nothing to wear.
Changing fashions are nothing more than the international creation of waste. Many women spend vast sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn. Women , who cannot afford to throw away clothing in this way, waste hours of their time altering the dresses they have. Skirts are lengthened or shortened; neck-lines are lowered or raised, and so on.
No one can claim that fashion industry contributes anything really important to society. Fashion designers are rarely concerned with vital thing like warmth, comfort and durability（持久性）. They are only interested in outward appearance and they take advantage of the fact women will put up with any amount of discomfort, as long as they look right. There can hardly be a man who hasn’t at some time in his life smiled at the sight of a woman shaking in a thin dress on a winter day, or deliberately picking her way through deep snow in high-heeled shoes.
When comparing men and women in the matter of fashion, the conclusion to be drawn are obvious. Do the constantly changing fashions of women’s clothes, one wonders, reflect qualities of inconstancy and instability? Men are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designers. Do their unchanging styles of dress reflect basic qualities of stability and reliability? That is for you to decide.
1. Designers and big stores always make money _______.
A. by mercilessly exploiting women workers in the clothing industry.
B. because they are capable of predicting new fashions.
C. by constantly changing the fashions in women’s clothing
D. because they attach great importance to quality in women’s clothing.
2. To the writer, the fact that women put aside their old-fashioned dresses is seen as ________.
A. a waste of money B. a waste of time
C. an expression of taste D. an expression of creativity
3. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
A. New fashions in clothing are created for the commercial exploitation of women.
B. The constant changes in women’s clothing reflect their strength of character.
C. the fashion industry makes an important contribution to society.
D. Fashion designs should not be encouraged since they are only welcomed by women.
4. By saying “the conclusion to be drawn are obvious”, the writer means that________.
A. women’s inconstancy in their choice of clothing is often laughed at.
B. women are better able to put up with discomfort.
C. men are also exploited greatly by fashion designers.
D. men are more reasonable in the matter of fashion.
C
Death Valley is one of the most famous deserts in the United States, covering a wide area with its alkali(强碱) sand. Almost 20 percent of this area is well below sea level, and Bad water, a salt water pool, is about 280 feet below sea level and the lowest point in the United States.
Long ago the Panamint Indians called this place “Tomesha”---- the land of fire. Death Valley’s present name dates back to 1849, when a group of miners coming across from Nevada became lost in its unpleasantness and hugeness and their adventure turned out to be a sad story. Today Death Valley has been declared a National Monument and is crossed by several well-marked roads where good services can be found easily. Luckily the change created by human settlement has hardly ruined the special beauty of this place.
Here nature created a lot of surprising scenes, almost like the sights on the moon, ever-changing as the frequent wind moves the sand about, showing the most unusual colors. One of the most astonishing and variable(变化的) parts of Death Valley is the Devil’s Golf Course, where it seems hard for one to tell reality from terrible dreams. Sand sculptures stand on a frightening ground, as evening shadows move and lengthen.
1. ______ is the lowest place in the desert.
A. Tomesha B. Death Valley C. Nevada D. Badwater
2. The present name of the valley comes from_______.
A. an Indian name B. the death of miners
C. the local people D. a National Movement
3. From the passage we can learn that______.
A. no one had ever known the desert before the miners
B. it’s still not easy to travel across the desert
C. people can find gas stations, cafes and hotels in the desert
D. people have changed the natural sight of the desert
4. Devil Golf Course is famous for______.
A. the frequent wind B. the colors of the sand
C. dream-like sights D. the sand sculptures
5. From the passage we can see that the writer_____ Death Valley.
A. appreciates B. is fearful of C. dislikes D. is tired of
B
All of us eat every day, but most of us don’t understand nutrition. We often make mistakes in talking about good diet.
For example, many people think that foods such as rice, bread and potatoes will make one grow fat. In fact, these foods are very good to one’s health. They are good sources of many vitamins. And in comparison with steak and beef, they contain less amount of calories.
Some people don’t like canned(罐装的) or frozen vegetables, because they think fresh vegetables cooked at home are always better. This is again wrong. In fact, whether the vegetables are good or not depends more on how they are prepared. Overcooking, for example, destroys good qualities of vegetables. Vegetables cooked in too much water can use a large amount of vitamins.
It is widely believed extra vitamins provide more energy. But taking more than the body needs doesn’t make it function better.
It is also wrong to say that vegetables grown in poor, worn-out soil are lower in vitamins than vegetables grown in rich soil. The vitamins in our foods are in the plants themselves. They don’t come from the soil. However, the minerals(矿物质) in a plant depend on the minerals in the soil.
In short, there are many false ideas about nutrition. We need to correct them.
1. This passage is mainly about_______.
A. nutrition B. vitamins C. vegetables D. health
2. Rice, bread and potatoes do good to people’s health mainly because_______.
A. they make people fat B. there are lot of vitamins in them
C. they contain less amount of calories compared with steak and beef.
D. both B and C.
3. Why don’t some people like canned or frozen vegetables? Because______.
A. they think fresh vegetables contain less vitamins
B. they think fresh vegetables contain more vitamins than the canned or frozen ones
C. they don’t think the canned or frozen vegetables are fresh
D. they don’t think the canned or frozen vegetables taste as good as the fresh ones
4. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. Many people know almost everything about nutrition.
B. Food such as rice, bread and potatoes make people fat.
C. vegetables grown in poor worn-out soil may have the same amount of vitamins as vegetables grown in rich soil.
D. extra vitamins provide less energy.
5. The point of the passage is that______.
A. the minerals in a plant depend on the minerals in the soil
B. people make mistakes when talking about good diet
C. taking more vitamins than the body needs doesn’t make it function better
D. vegetables cooked in too much water can lose a large amount of vitamins
阅读理解
A
At three a.m., Jack Mills was sitting at the controls of the mail train. The train was made up of 13 cars. At the end of the train, 71 mailmen sat sorting the mail. Inside the second car, there were only five mailmen and 128 bags full of five-pound notes. This train had run more than 100 years without being robbed(抢劫). At three minutes past three, Mills and his helper, David Whitby, saw a yellow warning light. They slowed the train, and then stopped. Whitby went to the telephone beside the track. It was out of order. Then he saw a man moving between the second and the third cars. Before Whitby cjould give a warning, he was knocked down by two men. Mills’ cars with all the mailmen had been disconnected by the robbers. At the bridge, the bags of money were unloaded from the train and thrown into waiting trucks. One of the robbers who obviously knew the schedules(时刻表) of all the trains kept looking at his watch. At 3:45 he said, “That will have to be enough.” The robbers drove away with more than 2,500,000 pounds.
1. The robbery took place______.
A. before 3:03 B. in the early morning
C. after three o’clock in the afternoon D. after 3:45
2. The robbers_____ before the train stopped.
A. were all in the train B. forced Mills to stop the train
C. were waiting for the train to stop D. ordered Mills to go on driving
3. Why didn’t the other mailmen help the mailmen in the second car when the robbery happened?
A. Because they were busy sorting the mail.
B. Because they didn’t want to help the mailmen in the second car.
C. Because the last eleven cars were separated from the front cars.
D. Because they knew nothing about the robbery.
4. One of the robbers kept looking at his watch because________.
A. he wanted to know the exact time B. he enjoyed looking at his watch
C. he didn’t know when another train would come
D. they had to leave before another train came
5. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. The train was out of order.
B. The telephone was put out of order by the robbers
C. Whitby had an assistant driver.
D. The robbers carried the money away by truck.
(1) Mr. Brown (the motorist)
At about 9:20 p.m. on October 14th, I was driving along Market Road in the direction of Midwick. I wanted to go to Sturham to collect my wife, who had been visiting some friends. I prepared to turn into Sturham Road, which was on my right. In the distance, I saw the lights of a car moving towards me but it was a long way from me. I put out my hand to show that I was going to turn right. Then I started to turn slowly towards Sturham Road. Suddenly there was a loud noise on the passenger's (near) side of the car. I stopped the car and got out. A motorcycle had hit my car. The motorcyclist had been thrown over the car. He was injured, so I ran to a shop to phone for help.
(2) Mr. Smith (the injured motorcyclist)
On the evening of October 14th, I was going home along Market Road towards Newtown. I was riding my motorcycle. I was going slowly because some of the streetlights were out and the road was wet and slippery. Just before Sturham Road, a car suddenly drove right across my path. The driver did not flash his lights to give a warning. I could not turn in time, so I hit the side of the car. When I woke up, I was lying in a hospital in Market Road.
(3) Mr. Lee (another motorcyclist)
At about 9:10 p.m. on October 14th, I left my home in Midwick. Ten minutes later I was riding my motorcycle along Market Road. I was going to Newtown. There was a motorcycle about 40 metres in front of me. It was not going very quickly. The man on it was riding near the curb (路边) but I was near the center of the road. The motorcyclist in front of me tried to turn to his right but there was no time. He hit the car and was injured. There was no car going along in front of us or put by the road.
48．Which of these statements about the accident is probably correct?
A．Mr. Brown wrongly supposed that the lights of the two motorcycles were those of a car.
B．The lights of the car moving towards Mr. Brown made him unable to see.
C．Mr. Brown knocked down a motorcyclist on purpose.
D．The accident was caused by the carelessness of the first motorcyclist.
49．It seems probable from the statements that Mr. Brown__________.
A．gave no signal to show that he was turning right
B．did not give any signal until he was actually turning
C．failed to give a proper signal at that time
D．flashed his light to show that he was going to turn
50．We would expect to find that Mr. Brown's car was damaged on its________ side.
A．front B．leftC．rightD．driver's
Have you ever suddenly felt that someone you knew was in trouble—and was he? Have you ever dreamed something that came true later? Maybe you have ESP (超感觉知觉).
ESP stands for Extrasensory Perception. It may be called a sixth sense. It seems to let people know about events before they happen, or events that are happening some distance away.
Here's an example. A woman was ironing clothes. Suddenly she screamed, "My father is dead! I saw him sitting in the chair!" Just then, a telegram came. The woman's father died of a heart attack. He died sitting in a chair.
There are thousands of stories like this one on record. Scientists are studying them to find out what's behind these strange mental messages. Here's another example—one of hundreds of dreams that have come true.
A man dreamed he was walking along a road when a horse and carriage came by. The driver said, "There's room for one more." The man felt the driver seemed dead, so he ran away. The next day, when the man was getting on a crowded bus, the bus driver said, "There's room for one more."
Then the man saw that the driver's face was the same face he had seen in the dream. He wouldn't get on the bus. As the bus drove off, it crashed and burst into flames. Everyone was killed!
Some people say stories like these are coincidences. Others, including some scientists, say that ESP is real. From studies of ESP, we may someday learn more about the human mind.
44．According to the passage, the author believes that the sixth sense is_________.
A．in existence B．imaginative C．not real D．impossible
45．ESP lets people know___________.
A．about events before they happen
B．about events after they happen
C．about events that are happening some distance away
D．A and C
46．In the last paragraph the underlined word "coincidences" probably means ____.
A．things that may not happen
B．things that happen in a dream
C．things that must happen
D．things that happen by accident
47．This article is mainly about_________.
A．the human dreamB．the sixth sense
C．the human mind D．a crowded bus