阅读理解
The report came to the British on May 21,1941. The German battleship Bismarck, the most powerful warship in the world, was moving out into the Atlantic Ocean. Her task: to destroy the ships carrying supplies from the United States to war-torn England.
The British had feared such a task. No warship they had could match the Bismarck in speed or in firepower. The Bismarck had eight 15-inch guns and 81 smaller guns. She could move at 30 nautical miles(海里) an hour, she was believed to be unsinkable.
However, the British had to sink her. They sent out a task force headed by their best battleship Hood to hunt down the Bismarck. On May 24, the Hood found the Bismarck.
It was a meeting that the German commander Luetjens did not want to see. His orders were to destroy the British ships that were carrying supplies, but to stay away from a fight with British warships.
The battle didn’t last long. The Bismarck’s first torpedo(鱼雷)hit the Hood, which went down taking all but three of her 1,419 men with her.
But in the fight, the Bismarck was slightly damaged （损坏）. Her commander decided to run for repairs to France, which had at that time been taken by the Germans. The British force followed her. However, because of the Bismarck’s speed and the heavy fog, they lost sight of her.
For two days , every British ship in the Atlantic tried to find the Bismarck. But with no success. Finally, she was sighted by a plane from Ireland. Trying to slow the Bismarck down so that their ships could catch up with her, the British fired at her from the air. The Bismarck was hit.
On the morning of May 27, the last battle was fought. Four British ships fired on the Bismarck. And she was finally sunk.The Bismarck sailed into the Atlantic Ocean_____.
| A．to sink the Hood |
| B．to gain control of France |
| C．to cut off American supplies to Britain |
| D．to stop British warships reaching Germany |
Many people believed that the Bismarck could not be defeated because she_____.
| A．was fast and powerful |
| B．had more men on board |
| C．was under Luetjens' command |
| D．had bigger guns than other ships |
We learn from the text that on 24 May_____.
| A．the British won the battle against the Bismarck |
| B．the Bismarck won the battle against the British |
| C．the British gunfire damaged the Bismarch seriously |
| D．the Bismarck succeeded in keeping away from the British |
Luetjens tried to sail to France in order to_____.
| A．have the ship repaired |
| B．join the other Germans |
| C．get help from the French |
| D．get away from the British |
Which of the following is the immediate cause of the sinking of the Bismarck?
| A．The British air strikes. |
| B．The damage done by the Hood. |
| C．Gunfire from the British warships. |
| D．Luetjen's decision to run for France |
We have all experienced days when everything goes wrong. A day may begin well enough, but suddenly everything seems to get out of control. Sometimes a single unimportant event may cause a number of things to happen. Let us suppose that you are preparing a meal and keeping an eye on the baby at the same time. The telephone rings and this causes your troubles to begin. While you are on the phone, the baby pulls the tablecloth off the table, destroying your half-prepared meal. You hang up hurriedly and attend to your baby. Meanwhile, the meal gets burnt. As if this is not enough to bring you to tears, your husband arrives home, unexpectedly bringing three guests to dinner.
Things can also go wrong on the road. During rush hour one evening two cars collided and the drivers began to argue. The woman driver behind the two cars happened to be a learner. She got into a panic and stopped her car. This forced the driver following her to stop suddenly. This driver’s wife was sitting beside him holding a large cake, and as she was thrown forward, the cake went right through the window and landed on the road. A truck driver seeing a cake flying through the air slammed on the brakes. The truck was carrying empty beer bottles and hundreds of them slid off the back of the truck onto the road, causing a terrible traffic jam. It took the police an hour to get the traffic on the move again. In the meantime, the truck driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles. Only two dogs were enjoying themselves, for they were happily having what was left of the cake.If you want to answer the phone without any trouble, you’d better ___________ .
| A．pull out the telephone line when you are with your baby |
| B．put your baby on the bed and keep an eye on him / her |
| C．not hurry to answer the phone |
| D．make sure your baby is not near the table |
Who is responsible for the accidents that happened on the road?
| A．The two drivers who were arguing. |
| B．It wasn’t mentioned in the passage. |
| C．The woman driver. |
| D．The truck driver. |
From this story we learn that ________.
| A．there are many road accidents every day |
| B．the accidents mentioned in the passage are very strange |
| C．no one knows why this kind of accident happens |
| D．the accidents mentioned in the passage are very common |
The writer’s purpose in writing this passage is to ___________.
| A．remind us not to answer the phone when we are busy |
| B．tell us driving is dangerous every day |
| C．remind us not to be nervous when we meet an accident |
| D．remind us not to carry a cake when we are sitting in a car |
The main idea of this passage is that ________.
| A．troubles always come in groups |
| B．accidents may happen anywhere at anytime |
| C．a telephone call may cause great trouble |
| D．anyone may have trouble on their way home |
Decisions, decisions! Our lives are full of them, from the small ones to the life-changing. The right to choose is central to everyone. Yet sometimes we make bad decisions that leave us unhappy or full of regret. Can science help?
Most of us know little about the mental processes that lie behind our decisions. Luckily, what psychologists are finding may help us all make better choices. Here are some of their amazing discoveries to help you make up your mind.
Consider your emotions. You might think that emotions are the enemy of decision-making, but in fact they are a part of it. Whenever you make up your mind, your brain’s emotional centre is active. University of Southern California scientist, Antonio Damasia, has studied people with damage to only the emotional parts of their brains, and found that they were unable to make basic choices about what to wear or eat. Damasia thinks this may be because our brains store emotional memories of past choice, which we use to help the present decision-making.
However, making choices under the influence of an emotion can greatly affect the result. Take anger for example. A study by Nitika Garg of the University of Mississippi and other scientists found the angry shoppers were more likely to choose the first thing they were offered rather than considering other choices. It seems that anger can lead us to make quick decisions without much thinking.
All emotions affect our thinking and motivation，so it may be best to avoid making important decisions under their influence. Yet strangely there is one emotion that seems to help us make good choices. The American researchers found that sad people took time to consider the various choices on offer, and ended up making the best choices. In fact many studies show that people who feel unhappy have the most reasonable view of the world.What does the underlined word “central” mean?
| A．in the middle | B．easy to reach | C．important | D．having power |
Damasia’s study suggests that ________.
| A．emotions are the enemy of decision-making. |
| B．our brain has nothing to do with decision-making. |
| C．people with physical damage find it hard to make up their minds. |
| D．our emotional memories of past choices can affect present decisions. |
According to the text, what may help us make better decisions?
| A．To think about happy times. | B．To make many decisions at a time. |
| C．To stop feeling regretful about the past. | D．To learn about the process of decision-making. |
Why are angry shoppers more likely to choose the first thing they are offered?
| A．They often forget their past choices. | B．They make decisions without much thinking. |
| C．They tend to save time when shopping. | D．They are too angry to bargain. |
What do we learn from the text?
| A．Emotions are a part of decision-making. |
| B．Sad people always make worse choices. |
| C．No emotion seems to help us make good choices. |
| D．Only sad feelings affect our thinking and motivation. |
From their beginnings New England towns had a special democratic system of government. At a stated time all the citizens would assemble at a town meeting, where they would discuss local problems and express opinions freely. They also elected the town’s officials at these gatherings and made decisions about the taxes they would pay and about other community matters. These meetings were usually held at the town hall, which was located in the central square.
In the eighteenth-century town meetings, only men who owned property and who were church members actually voted, although everyone present was allowed to express their opinions. Later, all citizens were allowed to vote. Thus the town meeting became truly democratic. Town meetings are still common in New England communities.
In recent years the town meeting idea has been widely imitated. There are open sessions of this kind on radio and television. Occasionally a meeting of this type is called by a government agency in order to give an opportunity for free and open discussion on current problems and policies.At a town meeting, people do the following things EXCEPT __________.
| A．express their opinions about the government |
| B．elect officials of the towns |
| C．make a decision about whom they should marry |
| D．discuss some community matters |
In the 18th century, who had the right to vote?
| A．All the citizens. |
| B．All the men except those who were church members. |
| C．The rich. |
| D．The rich men and the church members. |
Why has the town meeting been widely imitated?
| A．Because many people are interested in it. |
| B．Because it is very democratic. |
| C．Because many people enjoy themselves at town meetings. |
| D．Because sometimes government agencies call them. |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Citizens can elect the officials in the town meeting. |
| B．In recent years, town meetings are often called by a government agency. |
| C．People can say what they want to say at the town meeting. |
| D．Nowadays this kind of meeting is also held on radio and television. |
This passage mainly talks about _______.
| A．the New England town meeting | B．modern town meetings |
| C．a democratic meeting | D．New England towns |
We have all experienced days when everything goes wrong. A day may begin well enough, but suddenly everything seems to get out of control. Sometimes a single unimportant event may cause a number of things to happen. Let us suppose that you are preparing a meal and keeping an eye on the baby at the same time. The telephone rings and this causes your troubles to begin. While you are on the phone, the baby pulls the tablecloth off the table, destroying your half-prepared meal. You hang up hurriedly and attend to your baby. Meanwhile, the meal gets burnt. As if this is not enough to bring you to tears, your husband arrives home, unexpectedly bringing three guests to dinner.
Things can also go wrong on the road. During rush hour one evening two cars collided and the drivers began to argue. The woman driver behind the two cars happened to be a learner. She got into a panic and stopped her car. This forced the driver following her to stop suddenly. This driver’s wife was sitting beside him holding a large cake, and as she was thrown forward, the cake went right through the window and landed on the road. A truck driver seeing a cake flying through the air slammed on the brakes. The truck was carrying empty beer bottles and hundreds of them slid off the back of the truck onto the road, causing a terrible traffic jam. It took the police an hour to get the traffic on the move again. In the meantime, the truck driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles. Only two dogs were enjoying themselves, for they were happily having what was left of the cake.If you want to answer the phone without any trouble, you’d better ___________ .
| A．pull out the telephone line when you are with your baby |
| B．put your baby on the bed and keep an eye on him / her |
| C．not hurry to answer the phone |
| D．make sure your baby is not near the table |
Who is responsible for the accidents that happened on the road?
| A．The two drivers who were arguing. |
| B．It wasn’t mentioned in the passage. |
| C．The woman driver. |
| D．The truck driver. |
From this story we learn that ________.
| A．there are many road accidents every day |
| B．the accidents mentioned in the passage are very strange |
| C．no one knows why this kind of accident happens |
| D．the accidents mentioned in the passage are very common |
The writer’s purpose in writing this passage is to ___________.
| A．remind us not to answer the phone when we are busy |
| B．tell us driving is dangerous every day |
| C．remind us not to be nervous when we meet an accident |
| D．remind us not to carry a cake when we are sitting in a car |
The main idea of this passage is that ________.
| A．troubles always come in groups |
| B．accidents may happen anywhere at anytime |
| C．a telephone call may cause great trouble |
| D．anyone may have trouble on their way home |
D
When Mary Moore began her high school in 1951, her mother told her, "Be sure and take a typing course so when this show business thing doesn't work out, you'll have something to rely on." Mary responded in typical teenage fashion. From that moment on, "the very last thing I ever thought about doing was taking a typing course," she recalls.
The show business thing worked out, of course. In her career, Mary won many awards. Only recently, when she began to write Growing Up Again, did she regret ignoring her mom," I don't know how to use a computer," she admits.
Unlike her 1995 autobiography, After All, her second book is less about life as an award-winning actress and more about living with diabetes (糖尿病). All the money from the book is intended for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), an organization she serves as international chairman. "I felt there was a need for a book like this," she says." I didn't want to lecture, but I wanted other diabetics to know that things get better when we're self-controlled and do our part in managing the disease."
But she hasn't always practiced what she teaches. In her book, she describes that awful day, almost 40 years ago, when she received two pieces of life-changing news. First, she had lost the baby she was carrying, and second, tests showed that she had diabetes. In a childlike act, she left the hospital and treated herself to a box of doughnuts (甜甜圈). Years would pass before she realized she had to grow up ---again---and take control of her diabetes, not let it control her. Only then did she kick her three-pack-a-day cigarette habit, overcome her addiction to alcohol, and begin to follow a balanced diet.
Although her disease has affected her eyesight and forced her to the sidelines of the dance floor, she refuses to fall into self-pity. "Everybody on earth can ask, 'why me?' about something or other," she insists. "It doesn't do any good. No one is immune (免疫的) to heartache, pain, and disappointments. Sometimes we can make things better by helping others. I've come to realize the importance of that as I've grown up this second time. I want to speak out and be as helpful as I can be."We can know that before 1995 Mary ___________.
| A．had two books published |
| B．received many career awards |
| C．knew how to use a computer |
| D．supported the JDRF by writing |
Mary's second book Growing Up Again is mainly about her _________.
| A．living with diabetes |
| B．successful show business |
| C．service for an organization |
| D．remembrance of her mother |
When Mary received the life-changing news, she __________ .
| A．lost control of herself | B．began a balanced diet |
| C．meant to get a treatment | D．behaved in an adult way |
What can we know from the last paragraph?
| A．Mary feels pity for herself. |
| B．Mary has recovered from her disease. |
| C．Mary wants to help others as much as possible. |
| D．Mary determines to go back to the dance floor. |