Thepoorermentalfunctionseenamo-优题课

PART THREE: READING COMPREHENSION (30分)
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.
A
At dawn on Friday, May 19, 1780, farmers in New England stopped to wonder at the pink color of the sun. By noon the sky had darkened to midnight blackness, causing Americans, still in the painful struggle of a prolonged war of independence, to light candles and tremble at thoughts of the Last Judgment. As the birds quieted and no storm accompanied the darkness, men and women crowded into churches, where one minister commented that “The people were very attentive.” John Greenleaf Whittier later wrote that “Men prayed, and women wept; all ears grew sharp . . .”
A recent study of researchers, led by Richard Guyette from the University of Missouri’s Tree Ring Laboratory, has shown that vast forest fires in the Algonquin Highlands of southern Ontario and elsewhere in Canada brought this event upon New England. The scientists have discovered “fire scars” on the rings for that year, left when the heat of a wildfire has killed a part of a tree’s cambium (形成层). Evidence collected also points to a drought that year. An easterly wind and low barometric pressure (低气压) helped force smoke into the upper atmosphere. “The record fits pretty close,” says Guyette. “We had the right fuel, the drought. The conditions were all there.”
Lacking the ability to communicate quickly over long distances, Americans in 1780 remained in the dark about the event, which had disappeared by the next day. Over the next several months, the papers carried heated debates about what brought the darkness. Some were the voices of angry prediction, such as one Massachusetts farmer who wrote, “Oh! Backsliding New-England, attend now to the things which belong to your peace before they are forever hid from your eyes.” Others gave different answers. One stated that a “flaming star” had passed between the earth and the sun. Ash, argued another commentator. The debate, carried on throughout New England, where there were no scientific journals or academies yet, reflected an unfolding culture of scientific enquiry already sweeping the Western world, a revolution nearly as influential as the war for independence from the English.
New Englanders would not soon forget that dark day; it lived on in folklore, poems, and sermons for generations.
56. New Englanders crowded into churches because they were frightened by .
A. the pink color of the sun B. the darkened sky at daytime
C. the Last Judgment on Friday D. the American War of Independence
57. What can we infer about the event in New England on May 19, 1780?
A. Prayers remained silent and attentive.
B. Night birds no longer came out to sing.
C. People’s ears became sharper than usual.
D. Midday meals were served by candlelight.
58. According to the researchers, the origin of the event was .
A. an east wind B. a severe drought
C. some burning fuel D. low barometric pressure
59. What can we know about the debates after the dark day?
A. They focused on causes of the event.
B. They swept throughout the Western world.
C. They were organized by scientific institutions.
D. They improved Americans’ ability to communicate.
60. What can be the best title for the text?
A. New England’s dark day. B. Voices of angry prediction.
C. There is no smoke without fire. D. Tree rings and scientific discovery.

D
A wallet misplaced during a romantic embrace has been returned to its forgetful owner after 55 years．
Two classic car collectors from the US state of Idaho found the wallet after it fell out of the back of a vintage(旧式的)car they were planning to restore．After an Internet search they found and contacted the owner，Glenn Goodlove．Mr．Goodlove said he probably lost the wallet in the back seat of his 1946 Hudson car when he was home on leave from the US Navy．
Jon Beck，61，and Chuck Merrill，72，bought the now-vintage vehicle in Idaho after placing an ad in a local newspaper to buy a classic car in need of restoration．Driving the car home after buying it，the collectors stopped at a restaurant and saw something from below the back seat．
“Like a couple of kids，we thought we had a goldmine，”Mr．Beck said．Instead，they found some small change--the leather wallet held a$10 bill，Mr．Goodlove’s military ID， his social security card，his driver's license and several jewellery receipts from 1952．But they were all in the name of Glenn Putnam．
After searching online，Mr．Beck discovered that Mr．Putnam had changed his name to Glenn Goodlove and moved to San Diego，California．He called Mr．Goodlove，asking to speak to a man who used to drive a’46 Hudson．
“There was a silence for about 15 seconds，”Mr．Beck told the Twin Falls Times-News．“Then he said，‘Who is that?”Mr．Goodlove，now 75，says he did not even remember losing the wallet，but the find has brought memories of his youth in Everett，Washington，flooding back．“I could see the house and the car and the town and all the good stuff from living there”’he said．“They’ve been flowing ever since he talked to me．”
67．The lost wallet contained all the following EXCEPT．
A．some money B．some jewellery
C．some receipts D．some cards
68．Which of the following happened last?
A．The vintage car was purchased．
B．An advertisement was placed．
C．Mr．Goodlove’s name was changed．
D．Some personal belongings were found．
69．What difference did the wallet make to Glenn?
A．He gained unexpected wealth． B．He got back his lost car as well．
C．He improved his poor memory a lot． D．He recalled what had long been forgotten．
70．The most proper title for the passage is．
A．A Forgetful Wallet OwnerB．Two Car Collectors and a Good Deed
C．Price Paid for Romance D．Lost Wallet Found after 55 Years

C
Zanzibar，Tanzania--Hundreds of dead dolphins were washed up on Friday along the shore of a popular tourist place on Tanzania’s northern coast．Scientists have ruled out poisoning．
It was not immediately clear what killed the 400 dolphins，whose dead bodies lied along a 4-kilometer coast of Nungwi，said Narriman Jidawi，a marine biologist at the Institute of Marine Science in Zanzibar．But the bottleneck dolphins，which live in deep offshore waters，had empty stomachs，meaning they could have got lost and had been swimming for some time to reorient themselves．They did not die of hunger and were not poisoned，Jidawi said．
In the US，experts were looking into the possibility that sonar(声呐)from the US submarine could have caused a similar incident in Marothon，Florida，where 68 deep-water dolphins stranded(搁浅)themselves in March 2005．
The deaths are a blow to the tourism industry in Zanzibar，where thousands of visitors go to watch and swim with dolphins．Villagers，fishermen and hotel residents found the dead bodies and told officials．Mussa Aboud，Zanzibar’s director of fisheries，went on state radio to warn the public against eating the dolphins’meat，saying the cause of death had not been found．
The Indo-Pacific bottlenose，commonly known as dolphins，are the most common species in Zanzibar’s coastal waters，with bottlenose and humpback dolphins often found in mixed-species groups．
63．According to the passage，the bottleneck dolphins．
A．are often attacked by submarine in deep water
B．find it hard to find enough food near the coast
C．often fall ill along the shore of a tourist place
D．1ike living in the deep waters near the coast
64．The underlined word“reorient”means．
A．lose their way B．find their way
C．look for food D．fight against enemies
65．What can we infer from the passage?
A．The dolphins died because of the sonar from US submarines．
B．The dead dolphins can not be eaten as they are poisonous．
C．The US experts are researching sonar at present．
D．The ability of locating is extremely important for dolphins．
66．What would be the best title for the passage?
A．400 dolphins died along the coast of Nungwi．
B．Dolphins are facing increased risk of death．
C．It’s necessary for us to protect dolphins．
D．Nungwi is famous for many dolphins there．

B
WASHINGTON--President Bush plans to meet next week with top Pentagon and State Department officials, and hopes to offer a revised Iraq plan within two weeks, aides (政府官员的副手)said Friday.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said today Bush wants to give a major speech on Iraq before Christmas, "but that is not set in stone."
At a morning meeting with congressional leaders, Bush said, "We talked about the need for a new way forward in Iraq."
Bush will visit the State Department on Monday and meetings with military officials will follow over the next two days, according to a tentative White House schedule. All are involved in an ongoing administration review of the situation in Iraq.
"These are deliberative(慎重的) meetings and discussions," said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council. "They will inform the president's thinking, and he will inform their thinking."
Bush said he is also reviewing the Iraq Study Group report released Wednesday. Its suggestions include withdrawing US troops by early 2008, conditions permitting, and a new diplomatic(外交的) effort including Iraq's neighbors, Iran and Syria.
The president said he also wanted the troops home too, but not until the new Iraq government can sustain(支撑) itself. He expressed skepticism(怀疑态度) about possible talks with Iran and Syria, saying they must stop efforts to undermine(削弱) Iraq's fledgling(年轻的) democracy.
60. The word “revised” in Paragraph One can be replaced by "_______".
A. rewriting B. changed C. important D. directed
61. The word "that" in Paragraph Two refers to ________.
A. President Bush plans to meet next week with top Pentagon and State Department officials
B. the thing that President Bush hopes to offer a revised Iraq plan within two weeks
C. what White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said today
D. the thing that President Bush wants to give a major speech on Iraq before Christmas
62. The last paragraph shows us that _____.
A. President Bush wants to have a talk with Iraq's neighbors, Iran and Syria
B. Bush will make his troops go home unless the new Iraq government can sustain itself
C. Bush will make his troops go home if the new Iraq government can sustain itself
D. President Bush is sure to have a talk with Iraq's neighbors, Iran and Syria

第二部分　阅读理解 (共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
A
Residents along Australia’s east coast awoke in the morning to an orange sky as winds swept millions of tons of red dust from the country’s inland and dumped it on Sydney．
Tanya Ferguson，living in Sydney，saw that the room was completely orange．She thought there was a bush fire．But when she went outside，the entire city was covered in a film of orange dust．
“It was like being in the outback(澳大利亚内陆)，but it was right here in the city，”she said On that day，a big dust storm swept through Sydney．It covered the city in orange dust for about eight hours，making landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge invisible．
The storm affected the transportation system．Flights were delayed．Roads were busy as drivers struggled in the difficult conditions．Children and the elderly were told to stay indoors until the dust had cleared．Later strong winds blew it out to the sea and up the coast．
No one was hurt in the storm，though health officials answered hundreds of calls from
people with breathing difficulties．Emergency services responded to hundreds of calls about
tree branches brought down by strong winds．
Dust storms are common in the Australian outback，where the land is arid(贫瘠的)．But the storms rarely reach the coastal regions．
Officials said it was the worst dust storm of the past 70 years．Air pollution levels were
15，500 micrograms of pollutants per cubic meter．
“On a clear day the pollutants are around 10—20 micrograms per cubic meter，”said Chris
Eiser of the NSW department of the environment．
Experts said that dry conditions in the outback and strong winds caused the sandstorm．
“Ten very dry years over inland southern Australia and very strong winds have combined to produce the storm，”said Nigel Tapper，an environmental scientist at Monash University， Australia．
56．The article is about．
A．the causes of the major dust storm in Australian cities
B．different reactions to a dust storm in Australia
C．the damage caused by the big dust storm in Australia
D．the worst dust storm in Australia in the past 70 years
57．Which of the following is TRUE?
A．The dust storm didn’t blow up to the coastal regions of Australia．
B．The level of air pollution was very high due to the dust storm．
C．People called the emergency service because they had got lost．
D．Children stayed indoors for the schooling had been cancelled．
58．From the passage we can see that．
A．Tanya Ferguson lives in the Australian outback at the moment
B．a bush fire may have brought the orange dust along the coast
C．this terrible sandstorm lasted about 24 hours after it hit the city
D．Sydney’s landmarks were out of sight when the storm happened
59．The tone of the article is．
A．worried B．sympathetic C．objective D．Angry