IV. 阅读理解 (共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中,选出最佳选项,并在
答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I am a writer. I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language—the way it can evoke (唤起) an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all—all the Englishes I grew up with.
Born into a Chinese family that had recently arrived in California, I’ve been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. Like others, I have described it to people as “broken” English. But I feel embarrassed to say that. It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than “broken”, as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness. I’ve heard other terms used, “limited English,” for example. But they seem just as bad, as if everything is limited, including people’s perceptions of the limited English speaker.
I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mother’s “limited” English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say. That is, because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect. And I had plenty of evidence to support me: the fact that people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.
I started writing fiction in 1985. And for reasons I won’t get into today, I began to write stories using all the Englishes I grew up with: the English she used with me, which for lack of a better term might be described as “broken”, and what I imagine to be her translation of her Chinese, her internal language, and for that I sought to preserve the essence, but neither an English nor a Chinese structure: I wanted to catch what language ability tests can never show: her intention, her feelings, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts.
41. By saying “Language is the tool of my trade”, the author means that ________.
A. she uses English in foreign trade
B. she is fascinated by languages
C. she works as a translator
D. she is a writer by profession
42. The author used to think of her mother’s English as ________.
A. impolite B. amusing C. imperfect D. practical
43. Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 3?
A. Americans do not understand broken English.
B. The author’s mother was not respected sometimes.
C. The author’ mother had positive influence on her.
D. Broken English always reflects imperfect thoughts.
44. The author gradually realizes her mother’s English is ________.
A. well structured B. in the old style
C. easy to translate D. rich in meaning
45. What is the passage mainly about?
A. The changes of the author’s attitude to her mother’s English.
B. The limitation of the author’s perception of her mother.
C. The author’s misunderstanding of “limited” English.
D. The author’s experiences of using broken English.
We have designed all our bank cards to make your life easier.
How to use your NatWest Servicecard .
As a Switch card, it lets you pay for all sorts of goods and services, wherever you see the Switch logo. The money comes straight out of your account, so you can spend as much as you like as long as you have enough money ( or an agreed overdraft (透支) to cover it. It is also a cheque guarantee for up to the amount shown on the card. And it gives you free access to your money from over 31,000 cash machines across the UK.
How to use your NatWest Cashcard
You can use your Cashcard as a Solo card to pay for goods and services wherever you see the Solo logo. It can also give you access to your account and your cash from over 31,000 cash machines nationwide. You can spend or withdraw what you have in your account, or as much as your agreed overdraft limit.
Using your cards abroad
You can also use your Servicecard and Cashcard when you’re abroad. You can withdraw cash at cash machines and pay for goods and services wherever you see the Cirrus or Maestro logo displayed.
We take a commission charge (手续费) of 2.25% of each cash withdrawal you make. . We also apply a foreign-exchange transaction fee of 2.65%.
How to use your Nat West Credit Card
With your credit card you can do the following:
* Pay for goods and services and enjoy up to 56 days interest-free credit.
* Pay in over 24 million shops worldwide that display the Mastercard or Visa logos.
* Collect one AIR MILE for every£20 of spending that appears on your statement(结算单).
(This does not include foreign currency or traveller’s cheques bought,interest and other charges.)If you carry the Servicecard or the Cashcard , ________.
A.you can use it to guarantee things as you wish |
B.you can draw your money from cash machines conveniently |
C.you can spend as much money as you like without a limit |
D.you have to pay some extra money when you pay for services in the UK |
If you withdraw£200 from a cash machine abroad, you will be charged ________.
A.£4.90 | B.£4.5 | C.£5.25 | D.£5.3 |
Which of the following is TRUE about using your NatWest Credit Card?
A.You have to pay back with interest within 56 days. |
B.You will be charged some interest beyond 56 days. |
C.You can use the card in any shop across the world. |
D.You will gain one air mile if you spend £20 on traveller’s cheques. |
The purpose of the passage is to show you how to ________.
A.play your cards right |
B.use your cards abroad |
C.draw cash with your cards |
D.pay for goods with your cards |
Do dogs understand us?
Be careful what you say around your dog. It might understand more than you think.
A border collie博德牧羊犬 named Rico recognizes the names of about 200 objects, say researchers in Germany. The dog also appears to be able to learn new words as easily as a 3-year-old child. Its word-learning skills are as good as those of a parrot or chimpanzee(黑猩猩).
In one experiment, the researchers took all 200 items that Rico is supposed to know and divided them into 20 groups of 10 objects. Then the owner told the dog to go and fetch one of the items and bring it back. In four tests, Rico got 37 out of 40 commands right. As the dog couldn't see anyone to get clues, the scientists believe Rico must understand the meanings of certain words.
In another experiment, the scientists took one toy that Rico had never seen before and put it in a room with seven toys whose names the dog already knew. The owner then told Rico to fetch the object, using a word the dog had never heard before.
The correct object was chosen in seven out of l0 tests, suggesting that the dog had worked out the answer by the process of elimination(排除法). A month later, Rico remembered half of the new names, which is even more impressive.
Rico is thought to be smarter than the average dog. For one thing, Rico is a border collie, a breed (品种)known for its mental abilities. In addition, the 9-year-old dog has been trained to fetch toys by their names since the age of nine months.
It's hard to know if all dogs understand at least some of the words we say. Even if they do, they can't talk back. Still, it wouldn't hurt to sweet-talk your dog every now and then. You might just get a big, wet kiss in return!From paragraph 2 we know that ____________..
A.animals are as clever as human beings |
B.dogs are smarter than parrots and chimpanzees |
C.chimpanzees have very good word-learning skills |
D.dogs have similar 'learning abilities as 3-year-old children |
Both experiments show that .
A.Rico is smart enough to get all commands right |
B.Rico can recognize different things including toys |
C.Rico has developed the ability of learning mathematics |
D.Rico won't forget the names of objects once recognizing them |
Which of the following statements is true?
A.The purpose of the experiments is to show the border collie's mental abilities. |
B.Rico has a better memory partly because of its proper early training. |
C.The border collie is world-famous for recognizing objects. |
D.Rico is born to understand its owner's commands. |
What does the writer want to tell us?
A.To train your dog. |
B.To talk with your dog. |
C.To be friendly to your dog. |
D.To be careful with your dog. |
This dictionary tells you about English words and how to use them in reading, writing and speaking English. It not only gives the meaning of words, it can also help you with spelling, word-building, grammar and pronunciation.
To use your dictionary correctly, you need to understand how the dictionary works. At the front of the book, you will find some exercises to help you make the most use of your dictionary.
If you look up the word “colour”, you will find two spellings for this word. “Colour” is used in British English, while “color” is used in American English. When there are differences between British and American spelling, the dictionary shows it with the word “BrE” for British English and “AmE” for American English.
The dictionary also helps you pronounce words correctly. We use a special alphabet (特殊字母) to show pronunciation. If you turn to the inside back face, you will see all the phonetic letters (音标) with some words to show you how they are pronounced. Just look at the inside back cover when you’re not sure how to say a word.
The most important reason for using a dictionary is to find out the meaning of a word—its definition
In this dictionary, the definitions have been written using only 2000 words. This means that the definitions of even the most difficult words are simply explained and easy to understand.
When a word has more than one meaning, read all the meanings until you find the one that correctly tells the use of the word you are looking for.
Most of the words in this dictionary can be used by people in all parts of the world.The AmE spelling of the Chinese word “颜色” in this dictionary is ________.
A.colour | B.colar | C.color | D.corner |
The phonetic alphabet help you ________ each word correctly.
A.understand | B.write | C.say | D.know |
The underlined word ‘definition’ means__________
A.词性 | B.词条 | C.词义 | D.词库 |
The dictionary explains ________.
A.some of the difficult words |
B.all the words in the dictionary in a simple way |
C.all easy words |
D.the words with two meanings |
About ten men in every hundred suffer from color blindness in some way. Women are luckier; only about one in two hundred is affected in this matter. Perhaps, after all, it is safer to be driven by a woman!
There are different forms of color blindness. In some cases a man may not be able to see deep red. He may think that red, orange and yellow are all shadows of green. Sometimes a person cannot tell the difference between blue and green. In rare cases an unlucky man may see everything in shades of green - a strange world indeed.
Color blindness in human beings is a strange thing to explain. In a single eye there are millions of very small things called “cones”. These help us to see in a bright light and to tell difference between colors. There are also millions of “rods”, but these are used for seeing when it is near dark. They show us shape but no color.
Some insects have favorite colors. Mosquitoes prefer blue to yellow. A red light will not attract insects, but a blue lamp will. In a similar way human beings also have favorite colors. Yet we are lucky. With the aid of the cones in our eyes we can see many beautiful colors by day, and with the aid of the rods we can see shapes at night. One day we may even learn more about the invisible colors around us.The passage is mainly about _____________.
A.color and its surprising effects. |
B.women being luckier than men |
C.danger caused by color blindness |
D.color blindness |
According to the passage, with the help of the “cones”, we can_______________.
A.tell different shapes | B.see in a weak light |
C.kill mosquitoes | D.tell orange from yellow |
Why do some people say it is safer to be driven by women?
A.Women are more careful. |
B.There are fewer color-blind women |
C.Women are fonder of driving than men. |
D.Women are weaker but quicker in thinking. |
Which of the statements about the color- blind is true?
A.Not all of them have the same problem in recognizing color. |
B.None of them can see deep red. |
C.None of them can tell the difference between blue and green. |
D.All of them see everything in shades of green. |
We can attract and kill mosquitoes by using a _____________.
A.red light | B.yellow light | C.blue light | D.green light |
Frank Woolworth was born in Rodman, New York., in 1852. His family were very poor farmers, and there was never enough to eat. Frank decided he did not want to be farmer. He took a short business course, and went to work as a salesman in a large city.
Woolworth realized he had a natural skill for showing goods to attract people’s interest, but he soon learned something more important. One day his boss told him to sell some odds and ends (小商品 ) for as much as he could get. Frank put all these things on one table with a sign which said FIVE CENTS EACH. People fought and pushed to buy the things and the table was soon cleared.
Soon afterwards, Woolworth opened his own store., selling goods at five and ten cents. But he had another lesson to learn before he became successful. That is, if you want to make money by selling low-price goods, you have to buy them in large quantities directly form the factories. Once, for example, Woolworth went to Germany and placed an order for knives. The order was so large that the factory had to keep running 24 hours a day for a whole year. In this way, the price of the knives was cut down by half.
By 1919, Woolworth had over 1000 stores in the US and Canada, and opened his first store in London. He made many millions and his name became famous throughout the world. He always run his business according to strict rules, of which the most important was: “ THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT.”Frank took a short business course in order to ____________.
A.earn more money for his family |
B.learn something from a salesman |
C.get away from the farm |
D.get enough to eat. |
Frank sold the odds and ends quickly because _____________.
A.he knew how to get people to buy his goods. |
B.he cut down the price by half |
C.he had put the goods on a table in a very nice way. |
D.the sign he put on the table was well designed. |
The price of the knives was cut down by half because ______________.
A.the factory workers worked 24 hours a day. |
B.knives were ordered in large quantities directly from the factory. |
C.the knives were made in Germany, where labour (劳动力) was cheap. |
D.the knives were produced in one factory. |
_____________ make Woolworth a world-famous man.
A.His business skills and his wealth. |
B.The low price of the goods he sold. |
C.His trip to Germany and his huge order of knives. |
D.His natural skill for showing things. |
The belief that : “ The customer is always right” suggests that _______________.
A.whenever there is a quarrel between the customer and shop assistant, the customers are always right. |
B.If you want to succeed, the rule is the only way. |
C.stores must always follow the customer’s orders if they want to make more money. |
D.stores should do their best to meet the customer’s needs if they want to be successful. |