第三部分阅读理解（共20小题：每小题2分，满分40分）阅读下-优题课

第三节：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
It may help you to know that there is no such thing as a perfect speech. At some point in every speech, every speaker says something that is not understood exactly as he has planned. Fortunately, such moments are usually not obvious to the listeners. Why? Because the listeners do not know what the speaker plans to say. They hear only what the speaker does say. If you lose your place for a moment, wrongly change the order of a couple of sentences, or forget to stop at a certain point, no one will be any the wiser. When such moments occur, don't worry about them. Just continue as if nothing happened.
Even if you do make an obvious mistake during a speech, that doesn't really matter. If you have ever listened to Martin Luther King's famous speech---"I have a Dream", you may notice that he stumbles(结巴) over his words twice during the speech. Most likely, however, you don't remember. Why? Because you were fixing your attention on his message rather than on his way of speech-making.
People care a lot about making a mistake in a speech because they regard speech-making as a kind of performance rather than as an act of communication. They feel the listeners are like judges in an ice-skating competition. But, in fact, the listeners are not looking for a perfect performer. They are looking for a well-though-out speech that expresses the speaker's ideas clearly and directly. Sometimes a mistake or two can actually increase a speaker's attractiveness by making him more human.
As you work on your speech, don't worry about being perfect. Once you free you mind of this, you will find it much easier to give your speech freely.
56. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. How to Be a Perfect Speaker B. How to Make a Perfect Speech
C. Don't Expect a Perfect Speech D. Don't Expect Mistakes in a Speech
57. The underlined part in the first paragraph means that no one will ______.
A. be smarter than you B. notice your mistakes
C. do better than you D. know what you are talking about
58. You don't remember obvious mistakes in a speech because ______.
A. your attention is on the speaker’s message
B. you don't know what the speaker plans to say
C. you don't fully understand the speech
D. you find the way of speech-making more important
59. It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
A. giving a speech is like giving a performance
B. one or two mistakes in a speech may not be bad
C. the listeners should pay more attention to how a speech is made
D. the more mistakes a speaker makes, the more attractive he will be.

When families gather for Christmas dinner, some will stick to formal traditions dating back to grandma’s generation. Their tables will be set with the good dishes and silver, and the dress code will be Sunday best.
But in many other homes, this china-and-silver elegance has given way to a stoneware (粗陶) and stainless informality, with dresses assuming an equally casual-Friday look. For hosts and guests, the change means greater simplicity and comfort. For makers of fine china in Britain, it spells economic hard times.
Last week Royal Doulton, the largest employer in Stoke-on-Trent, announced that it is eliminating 1,000 jobs－one-fifth of its total workforce. That brings to more than 4,000 the number of positions lost in 18 months in the pottery (陶瓷) region. Wedgwood and other pottery factories made cuts earlier.
Although a strong pound and weak markets in Asia play a role in the downsizing, the layoffs in Stoke have their roots in earthshaking social shifts. A spokesman for Royal Doulton admitted that the company “has been somewhat slow in catching up with the trend” toward casual dining. Families eat together less often, he explained, and more people eat alone, either because they are single or they eat in front of television.
Even dinner parties, if they happen at all, have gone casual. In a time of long work hours and demanding family schedules, busy hosts insist, rightly, that it’s better to share a takeout pizza on paper plates in the family room than to wait for the perfect moment or a “real” dinner party. Too often, the perfect moment never comes. Iron a fine-patterned tablecloth? Forget it. Polish the silver? Who has time?
Yet the loss of formality has its down side. The fine points of etiquette (礼节) that children might once have learned at the table by observation or instruction from parents and grandparents (“Chew with your mouth closed.” “Keep your elbows off the table.”) must be picked up elsewhere. Some companies now offer etiquette seminars for employees who may be able professionally but inexperienced socially.
67．Why do people tend to follow the trend to casual dining?
A. Family members need more time to relax.
B. Young people won’t follow the etiquette of the older generation
C. People prefer to live a comfortable life.
D. Busy schedules leave people no time for formality.
68．It can be learned from the passage that Royal Doulton is ________.
A. a seller of stainless steel tableware B. a producer of fine china
C. a pottery chain store D. a dealer in stoneware
69．The main cause of the layoffs in the pottery industry is ________.
A. the increased value of the pound
B. the fierce competition at home and abroad
C. the change in people’s way of life
D. the worsening economy in Asia
70．Formal table manners, though less popular than before in current social life, ________.
A. are still a must on certain occasions
B. can help improve personal relationships
C. are still being taught by parents at home
D. are certain to return sooner or later

By far the most common difficulty in study is simple failure to get down to regular concentrated work. This difficulty is much greater for those who do not work to a plan and have no regular routine of study. Many students muddle along, doing a bit of this subject or that, as the mood takes them, or letting their set work pile up until the last possible moment.
Few students work to a set timetable. They say that if they did work out a timetable for themselves they would not keep to it, or would have to change it frequently, since they can never predict (foresee) from one day to the next what their activities will be.
No doubt some students take much more kindly to a regular routine than others. There are many who shy away from a self-controlled weekly timetable, and dislike being tied down to a fixed programme of work . Many able students state that they work in cycles. When they become interested in a topic they work on it attentively for three or four days at a time. On other days they avoid work completely. It has to be admitted that we do not fully understand the motivation to work. Most people over 25 years of age have become used to a work routine, and the majority of really productive workers set aside regular hours for the more important areas of their work. The “tough-minded” school of workers doesn’t fully accept the idea that good work can only be done naturally, under the influence of inspiration.
Those who believe that they need only work and study as the fit takes them have a mistaken belief either in their own talent or in the value of “freedom”. Freedom from control and discipline leads to unhappiness rather than to “self-expression” or “personality development”. Our society insists on regular habits, timekeeping and punctuality(准时), and whether we like it or not, if we mean to make our way in society, we have to meet its demands.
63．The most widespread problem in applying oneself to study is ________.
A. changing from one subject to another
B. working on a subject only when one feels like it
C. the unwillingness to follow a systematic plan
D. the failure to keep to a set timetable of work
64．Which of the following is true ?
A. Many students are not interested in using a self-controlled timetable.
B. Tough-minded people agree that good work is done naturally.
C. Most people over 25 years of age don’t work to a set timetable.
D. Many students don’t like being told to study to a fixed timetable.
65．The underlined part “as the fit takes them” in paragraph 4 means ________.
A. when they have the energy B. when they find conditions suitable
C. when they feel fit D. when they are in the mood
66．A suitable title for the passage might be ________.
A. Attitudes to Study B. Study and Self-discipline
C. The Difficulties of Studying D. A study Plan

Most people would agree that it would be wonderful if humans could regenerate (再生) limbs. Those who have lost their arms or legs would be complete again. The day is still far off when this might happen. But in the last 10 years, doctors have reported regeneration in smaller parts of the body, most often fingers.
Regeneration is not a newly-discovered process. For centuries, scientists have seen it work in some kinds of animals. Scientists now are looking for a way to turn on this exciting ability in more highly-developed animals, including humans. Their experiments show that nerves (神经), cell chemistry and the natural electric currents in the body all seem to have a part in this process.
The body of every animal contains general purpose cells that change into whatever kind of cells the body needs. These cells collect around the wound. They form a mass called a blastema (芽基). The cells of the blastema begin to change. Some became bone cells, some muscle cells, some skin cells. Slowly, a new part re-grows from the body outward. When completed, the new part is just like the old one.
More than 200 years ago, Italian scientist Luigi Spallanzani showed that younger animals have a greater ability to regenerate lost parts than older animals. So do animals lower on the ladder of evolutionary (进化的) development. The major differences seem to be that less-developed animals have more nerves in their tails and legs than humans do in their arms and legs.
Another helpful piece of information was discovered in the late 1800s. Scientists found that when a creature is injured, an electrical current flows around the wound. The strength of the current depends on how severe the wound is and on how much nerve tissue (组织) is present.
59．According to the passage, limb regeneration ________.
A. will become a reality in the near future
B. is a branch of study set up by a group of modern doctors
C. has a long way to go before it works in humans
D. has been reported successful in some patients
60．What animals are lower on the ladder of evolutionary development ?
A. More-developed animals.B. Fully-developed animals.
C. Highly developed animals. D. Less-developed animals.
61．According to Luigi Spallanzani’s discovery, ________.
A. humans have less nerves in the limbs than animals
B. electrical current can be found around the would in younger animals
C. an injured animal regenerates masses of cells round the wound
D. some animals may not have so much nerve tissue as others
62．The passage is mainly about ________.
A. a newly-discovered process B. research on regeneration
C. a new medical discovery D. research on animal evolution

TOKYO—A child-like robot that combines the roles of nurse, companion and security guard is to go on the market to help the growing ranks of elderly Japanese with no one to look after them.
The “Wakamaru” robot can walk around a house 24 hours a day, warning family, hospitals and security firms if it perceives (notices) a problem. It will, for example, call relatives if the owner fails to get out of the bath.
Cameras implanted in the “eye-brows” of the robot enable it to “see” as it walks around an apartment. The images can be sent to the latest cellphones, which display the pictures.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which developed Wakamaru, plans to start selling the metre-high robots by April, 2005, for about ＄15,000 Cdn.
Wakamaru, which speaks with either the voice of a boy or girl, is also designed to provide companionship, greeting its “papa” when he comes home.
It is the first household robot able to hold simple conversations, based on a vocabulary of around 10,000 words. It cannot only speak but can understand answers and react accordingly.
It will ask “Are you all right ?” if its owner does not move for some time. If the answer is no, or there is no answer, it will telephone preset numbers, transmitting images and functioning as a speakerphone.
Wakamaru will inform a security firm if there is a loud bang or if an unknown person enters the house while the owner is out or asleep. It can recognize up to 10 faces.
But like most robots it cannot climb stairs.
It can be set to remind forgetful people when it is time to take medicine, eat and sleep.
Mitsubishi adapted Wakamaru from robots it already makes to go around nuclear power facilities. The idea to use the technology in the home came from a company employee.
The project chief said :“Looking at the ageing of society and the falling birth rate we decide that this could work as a business. We want to offer Wakamaru as a product that helps society.”
The technology has gained nation-wide publicity in Japan among increasing concern over how to look after the ever-growing number of old people. The life expectancy of Japanese women has shot up to almost 85, the highest in the world.
At the same time, extended families are being replaced by nuclear families. This has left many Japanese anxious about their elderly parents, whom they rarely see because of their long hours at the office.
55.which of the following is true about the Robot？
A.it is used in some nuclear power facilities
B.ic can recognize asmany as 10 faces
C.it can go up and down the stairs easily
Dit cannot speak but can understand answers。
56.the purpose of this passage is
A.to introduce a new product
B.to show the rapid development of technology
C.to tell people how to use the robot
D.to solve the ageing problems
57.what can we infer from the passage？
A.the robot can dial proper numbers for help
B.the nuclear families have left many elderly Japanese anxious
C.the robot has given the Japanese a chance to live longer。
D.the robot is likely to have a promising market
58．What is the best title of this passage ?
A. The Latest Development of Robot Technology
B. Japanese-built Robot to Help the Old
C. Vast Market of the New Robot
D. Japanese Robot and the Ageing Society