第三部分:阅读理解(共20小题;每小题3分,满分60分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项。
One of the most wonderful things about having a positive attitude is that it can touch many people in the course of everyday life.
Recently I stopped by a store to get a newspaper and a bottle of juice. The young woman at the check-out counter said, “That’ll be three dollars in all please.”She then glanced down at the paper I was buying and said, “I’m sick and tired of all the negative material on the front pages. I want to read some good news for a change.”She then said, “In fact, I think someone should publish a Good News newspaper——a paper with wonderful, inspirational stories about people overcoming difficulties and doing good things for others. I’d buy one every day!”She then thanked me for coming in and said, “Maybe we’ll get lucky tomorrow; maybe we’ll get some good news!”We both laughed, and I thought: she just made my day.
The following day after work I dropped by the same store again to pick up bottled water and a newspaper; but a different young lady was behind the counter. As I checked out I said, “Good afternoon”, and handed her my money . she said nothing, and didn’t smile or make a gesture. She just handed me my change and said in a bored voice, “Next!”
It hit me right between the eyes. Two people, the same age; one had made me feel great , while the other had made me feel that I had inconvenienced her by showing up.
The choices we make and attitudes we show influence lives every day in positive or negative ways. So every morning you should ask yourself:“Who do I want to be today—‘The Grouch(不高兴的人)’or ‘The Good News Girl’?”Your answer will go a long way toward determining the quality of your life and that of those around you.
1. From the first salesgirl’s words we know that______________.
A. she was sick and tired of people with bad manners
B. she didn’t like the bad news in the newspaper
C. she liked reading all kinds of stories
D. she thought it was boring to sell newspapers
57. After the author bought the newspaper the first day, he_____________.
A. had a sad day B. kept thinking about what the girl had said
C. read the newspaper carefully
D. was in a pleasant mood all day
3. The other salesgirl’s attitude towards the author the next day was_____________.
A. humorous B. enthusiastic C. cold D. positive
4. The author learned from his experience that_____________.
A. a Good News newspaper would be very popular
B. a positive attitude creates warmth and happiness
C. good relationships matter a lot
D. he needed to change the quality of his life
Tokyo: The world’s oldest man, retired Japanese silkworm breeder Yukichi Chuganji, died in his home at the age of 114, on Monday. Family members found him dead on his mattress. Born on March 23, 1889, Chuganji worked as a silkworm breeder and bank employee after leaving school. He also served as a community welfare(福利) officer. He had been in god health, talking daily with his family members.
Washington: Every American dislikes people who talk on cell phones while driving, even those who do that kind of act. In the State of New Jersey, 84 percent of 968 cell phone owners said in recent telephone survey that they would support a state ban(禁令) on the use of cell phones while driving. However, 42 percent of cell phone owners also said they used the devices “very often” or “sometimes” while driving. Although most agree that the banning is good, only 38 percent believed such a ban would be easy to enforce(实施).
New York: A woman in the US who was being attacked by a dog said she was saved from further harm when her 13-year-old daughter distracted the dog by screaming “You want a piece of me?” and kicked it repeatedly in the head. Jane Howell said she and her daughter, Elizabeth, were taking a walk around the neighborhood on Saturday evening when they came across he big dog, unchained. The main idea of the second news is _____.
A.most Americans don’t like cell phone |
B.a ban on the use of cell phones has been made |
C.few people use cell phones while driving |
D.using cell phones while driving will be banned because most Americans don’t like it |
The woman in the US ____.
A.was not harmed by the dog |
B.raised the dog, which attacked her later |
C.was protected from being seriously hurt by her daughter |
D.had escaped when her daughter was kicking the dog |
From the news we can infer ____.
A.Chuganji was living alone when he died |
B.the woman’s 13-year-old daughter was very brave |
C.cell phones are not good devices |
D.it’s easy to enforce the ban the use of cell phones while driving |
The passport photographs of the future could turn out to be more than just another pretty picture if a new computer technique developed by Israeli scientists catches on.
Researchers at Ben-Gurion University, in Israel, have invented a way to hide information such as a fingerprint or signature in color images. They believe this could improve passport safety or be used to produce product bar codes(条形码) or designs that cannot be seen.
“The papers can be faxed, scanned(扫描) and reprinted without hidden data disappearing,” New Scientist magazine said last week.
Joseph Rosen and a team of scientists worked out the new instrument by creating a mathematical model.
The model turns a fingerprint or signature into a series of numbers which are used to shape the dots that make up a color picture.
“Each dot can be forced out of the usual place slightly without noticeably changing the final appearance of the image,” the magazine said.
Several images that can be hidden in a single picture are scanned into a computer which does the work.
The hidden images or fingerprints cannot be shown until the picture is scanned again.
The computer rebuilds the fingerprint by measuring the displacement of the dots in the picture.
The magazine said that if he model is used for passport checkpoints the picture can be unscrambled(解码) to show the fingerprint or signature and checked against the person holding the passport.
The researchers are now working on a handheld, and instrument which could make unscrambling the hidden information easier. The new passport photos will probably contain all EXCEPT _____.
A.one’s picture | B.one’s fingerprint |
C.one’s signature | D.one’s blood type |
The writer probably got the information about the new passport photos from ___.
A.Israeli scientists | B.a radio or TV | C.a newspaper | D.a magazine |
What is the best title for the passage?
A.A New Computer Technique by Israeli Scientists |
B.A New Way t Hide Information |
C.The New Passport Photo: More Than Meets the Eye |
D.Safe Passport Photos |
My father had returned from his business visit to London when I came in, rather late, to supper. I could tell at once that he and my mother had been discussing something. In that half-playful, half-serious way I knew so well, he said, "How would you like to go to Eton?"
"You bet," I cried quickly catching the joke. Everyone knew it was the most expensive, the most famous of schools. You had to be entered at birth, if not before. Besides, even at 12 or 13, I understood my father. He disliked any form of showing off. He always knew his proper station in life, which was in the middle of the middle class, our house was medium-sized; he had avoided joining Royal Liverpool Golf Club and went to a smaller one instead; though once he had got a second-hand Rolls-Royce at a remarkably low price, he felt embarrassed driving it, and quickly changed it for an Austin 1100.
This could only be his delightful way of telling me that the whole boarding school idea was to be dropped. Alas! I should also have remembered that he had a liking for being different from everyone else, if it did not conflict(冲突) with his fear of drawing attention to himself.
It seemed that he had happened to be talking to Graham Brown of the London office, a very nice fellow, and Graham had a friend who had just entered his boy at the school, and while he was in that part of the world he thought he might just as well phone them. I remember my eyes stinging(刺痛) and my hands shaking with the puzzlement of my feelings. There was excitement, at the heart of great sadness.
"Oh, he doesn't want to go away," said my mother, "You shouldn't go on like this.” “It's up to him," said my father. "He can make up his own mind."The house the writer's family lived in was ________.
A.the best they could afford | B.right for their social position |
C.for showing off | D.rather small |
His father sold his Roils-Royce because ________.
A.it made him feel uneasy | B.it was too old to work well |
C.it was too expensive to possess | D.it was too cheap |
The writer's father enjoyed being different as long as ________.
A.it drew attention to him | B.it didn't bring him in arguments |
C.it was understood as a joke | D.there was no danger of his showing off |
What was the writer's reaction to the idea of going to Eton?
A.He was very unhappy. | B.He didn't believe it. |
C.He was delighted. | D.He had mixed feelings. |
We can know from the passage that ________.
A.Children who can go to Eton are very famous |
B.Children can go to Eton if they will |
C.It is very difficult for a child to get admitted by Eton |
D.Children don't have the right to decide whether they will go to Eton |
Mr. Briggs got a job with an insurance company(保险公司) after he left school and went around visiting people in their homes to sell them life insurance. One day, after he had been working for the company for about a year, the insurance manager sent for him and said, “Mr. Briggs, I have been looking at your record as a salesman with our company, and there is one thing that surprises me about it. Why have you been selling insurance only to people over 95 years old, and why have you been giving them such generous(宽厚的)conditions? You’ll ruin our company if you go on like that.”
“Oh, no, sir,” answered Mr. Briggs at once, “Before I started work, I looked at the figures(数字) for deaths in this country during the past ten years, and I can tell you that few people die at the age of 95.”Before he worked in an insurance company, what was Mr.
Briggs?
A.He was a worker. | B.He was an official. |
C.He was a student. | D.He was a businessman. |
The word “ruin” in the first paragraph means .
A.lose | B.break | C.leave | D.destroy |
As a salesman with the company, Mr. Brigs .
A.visited people to ask them to work with him |
B.called on people to make them join the company |
C.saw old people in order to help them |
D.visited many people so as to offer insurance |
What was it that surprised the manager?
A.Mr. Briggs sold life insurance only to 95 people. |
B.Mr. Briggs sold insurance only to people of more than 95. |
C.Mr. Briggs had ruined the insurance company. |
D.Mr. Briggs gave people generous conditions. |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.Mr. Briggs had studied the figures for deaths for several years. |
B.Mr. Briggs began to look at the figures after he started work. |
C.A great number of very old people die every year. |
D.The number of the very old people who died every year is |
small.
Dog owners now have a little help understanding their furry friends . A new device called Bow-Lingual “translates” dog barks into English , Korea or Japanese.
Bow-Lingual’s Japanese inventors spent much time and money analyzing dog barks . They found that dog noises can be broken down into six different emotions : happiness , sadness , frustration , anger , assertion and desire .
Part of the Bow-Lingual device hangs on the dog’s collar . The other part is a handle-held unit for the owner . When the dogs barks , the unit displays translated phrases .
Some people have scoffed at Bow-Lingual. “Who would pay US$ 120 to read a dog’s mind?” they ask .
But those who have purchased Bow-Lingual praise the device . Pet owner Keiko Egawa , of Japan , says it helps her empathize with her dog , Harry . “Before we go to the park , he always says he wants to play,” says Egawa , “and after a walk , he always says he is hungry.”
Bow –Lingual is not yet available in Chinese . So you’d better keep studying Studio Classroom , or soon your dog may know more English than you do !This passage is mainly talking about .
A.Bow-Lingual’s inventors | B.dog barks and their different emotions |
C.talking dogs | D.a little help for dog owners |
Which of the following sentences is TRUE according to the passage ?
A.Dog owners now can understand their dogs better . |
B.Bow-Lingual is a new device that enables dogs to talk in English , Korean or Japanese . |
C.More and more Chinese dog owners would keep studying Studio Classroom in order to know more English than their dogs . |
D.People who have used the Bow-Lingual say it helps them better understand their dogs . |
What does “scoffed at” mean in the 3rd paragraph ?
A.shouted at | B.questioned at | C.laughed at | D.doubted about |
How do you understand the sentence “Bow-Lingual is not yet available in Chinese” in the last paragraph ?
A.Bow-Lingual has not yet appeared in Chinese market . |
B.Bow-Lingual can not yet recognized Chinese dogs’ barks . |
C.Chinese dog owners do not know yet how to use Bow-Lingual . |
D.Dog barks can not yet be translated into Chinese phrases with Bow-Lingual . |
The writer of this passage is most likely to be .
A.a dog owner | B.a reporter | C.an advertiser | D.an expert on dog barks |