It is easy to find your way about in New York. It is laid out so regularly. Instead of streets winding and twisting (迂回) as they do in London, they are all regular and well planned. The streets running north and south are called “avenues” and are numbered, e.g. 1st Avenue, 2nd Avenue, etc. The streets going east and west are called “streets” and are also numbered, e.g. 51st Street, 63rd Street. It is all much more logical (合理的) than London’s street names. But I couldn’t help thinking how much more interesting than these dull cold numbers are London’s illogical but colorful names of streets, e.g. “Bishopgate” (which is not a gate and hasn’t a Bishop in it); “Haymarket” or “Corn market” (where you won’t see any hey or corn) or “Poultry” (without a living chicken anywhere in sight) or “Thread needle Street” (where you won’t find little girls learning to sew).In the second sentence of the passage, “laid out” means ______.
| A．built | B．be put | C．designed | D．cut down |
The streets running from north to south are called _______.
| A．avenues in London | B．streets in America |
| C．avenues in New York | D．streets in London |
According to the writer’s opinion, ______.
| A．avenues and streets are the same |
| B．streets in America are better than avenues in England |
| C．streets in New York are better than those in London |
| D．the writer didn’t agree with the London streets planners |
The names of streets both in London and New York ______.
| A．are quite good | B．are interesting |
| C．are not practical | D．differ greatly in form |
The writer tells his readers that he prefers (更喜欢) _____.
| A．London streets | B．New York streets |
| C．both | D．neither |
The Taj Mahal (泰姬陵) is a love story, a sad and beautiful one. If it didn’t exist, we would easily imagine that the story of its construction was simply a fairy tale. Three hundred years ago, there lived an Indian emperor called Shah Jahan. His wife was a beautiful and bright woman whom he loved greatly. Her title was Mumtazl Mahal: its shortened form Taj Mahal, means “pride of the palace”. In the year 1630 this beloved wife of the emperor died. He was so brokenhearted that he thought of giving up his throne. He decided out of his love for his wife, to build her the most beautiful tomb that had ever been seen.
He summoned the best artists and architects from India, Turkey, Persia and Arabia and finally, the design was complete. It took more than twenty thousand men working over a period of 18 years to build the Taj Mahal, one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.
The building itself stands on a marble platform 29 meters square and 6-7 meters high. Towers rise from each of the four corners. The Mahal itself soars another 61 meters into the air. It is an eight-sided building made of white marble.
The emperor planned to build an identical tomb of black marble for himself on the other side of the river connected by a silver bridge. However, his son put him into a prison in the palace before he could finish, and for the rest of his life, he could only gaze across the river at the tomb of his beloved wife. The whole passage tells us about ______.
| A．a beautiful fairy tale |
| B．the story of the Taj Mahal |
| C．white and black marble tombs made for two emperors |
| D．the love story of Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife |
Which of the following statements is NOT true about the Taj Mahal?
| A．It was completed quickly owing to the efforts of the best artists and workers. |
| B．A lot of people took part in the building work. |
| C．It is a magnificent building. |
| D．It is a tomb for the emperor’s beloved wife. |
The emperor’s own tomb was designed to be ____________.
| A．61 meters high | B．eight-sided | C．black-colored | D．white-colored |
The emperor _____________.
| A．died soon after Taj Mahal died |
| B．was killed by his son |
| C．was beloved by his people |
| D．died after 1648 |
Tim Burton attempts to work his gothic magic over one of the best loved stories of all time—Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There.
Alice, now 19, attends a party at a Victorian estate, only to find she is about to be proposed to by a rich suitor（求婚者）in front of hundreds of snooty（傲慢的）society types. She runs off, following a white rabbit into a hole and ending up in Wonderland—a place she visited many years before, yet she doesn’t remember. The white rabbit claims to have come back for Alice because she is the only one who can slay（杀死)the Jabberwock, the beast who guards the Red Queen’s empire. Alice remains completely unaware of why she is in Wonderland, and is confused about the fact that she had once visited Wonderland years before.
Now, Wonderland has changed into a dark, scarier place than it used to be. Alice then embarks on an adventure of self discovery, and to save Wonderland from the Red Queen’s reign（统治）of terror with the help of her Wonderland friends.The story Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was written by____________.
| A．Tim Burton | B．Lewis Carroll | C．Alice | D．the passage doesn’t tell us |
Alice runs off because maybe___________.
| A．she doesn’t like that party |
| B．she is too snooty |
| C．she doesn’t like the suitor |
| D．she wants to get married |
In the last paragraph, the phrase “embarks on” means _________.
| A．starts to do something |
| B．gets onto a ship |
| C．refuses to do something |
| D．finds something |
This passage would most likely to be found __________.
| A．on a film poster |
| B．in a government document |
| C．in a novel |
| D．in an entertainment magazine |
The World Health Organization (WHO) planned to study the relationship between the eating habits of the people and the disease. Two doctors were chosen to make the study. They flew to Africa south of the Sahara and during the next two months visited ten countries. They found that serious diseases of poor eating, often mistaken for other diseases, existed in all parts of Africa. The diseases were similar and could therefore all be named kwashiorkor. The diseased children are usually from one to four years old. As the illness progresses, the child’s stomach becomes swollen by liquid collecting in the body. The skin changes color and may break out in open sores（疼痛）. The hair changes color and starts to fall out. The patient loses all interest in his surroundings and even in food, and becomes so weak that he wants to lie down all the time. Stomach liquids are no longer produced.
The doctors reasoned that kwashiorkor was found in the young children of this age in many parts of Africa because of lack of milk or meat. Their mothers, after stopping their breastfeeding, gave them foods full of starches（淀粉）instead of greatly needed proteins. They found that the addition of milk to the food of the children suffering from kwashiorkor saved many lives.
The unbelievable thing about kwashiorkor is that the very existence of the disease—which has been killing thousands of children for centuries—was not even recognized in Latin America as recently as ten years ago. The deaths of those children were mistakenly listed as due to other diseases. It was the WHO’s work in Africa that led to the discovery of the problem in Central America.From the passage we learn that kwashiorkor is a disease caused by __________ .
| A．poor living conditions | B．lack of proteins in food |
| C．breastfeeding | D．lack of food |
It is difficult to discover kwashiorkor because ____________________ .
| A．it has no symptoms at all |
| B．it is hard to identify signs of it |
| C．it doesn’t last long enough for careful observation |
| D．it is hardly different from other diseases |
What is mentioned as a simple but reasonable way of curing this disease?
| A．Taking a special medicine. |
| B．Avoiding any food containing starch. |
| C．Having more meat or milk. |
| D．Taking medicine full of proteins. |
What’s the best title for the article?
| A．Milk and Meat Are Daily Necessities |
| B．Kwashiorkor and Improper Eating Habits |
| C．A New Form of Illness in Africa and Latin America |
| D．A Case of Eating Habits |
What do you want to be when you grow up? A teacher? A doctor? How about an ice-cream taster?
Yes, there really is a job where you can get paid to taste ice cream. Just ask John Harrison an “Official Taste Tester” for the past 21 years. Testing helps manufacturers (制造商) to be sure of a product’s quality. During his career Harrison has been responsible for approving large quantities of the sweet ice cream—as well as for developing over 75 flavors (口味).
Some people think that it would be easy to do this job; after all, you just have to like ice cream, right? No—there’s more to the job than that, says Harrison, who has a degree in chemistry. He points out that a dairy or food-science degree would be very useful to someone wanting a career in this “cool” field.
In a typical morning on the job, Harrison tastes and assesses 60 ice cream samples. He lets the ice cream warm up to about 12℉. Harrison explains: “You get more flavor from warmer ice cream, which is why some kids like to stir (搅拌) it, creating ice-cream soup.”
While the ice cream warms up, Harrison looks over the samples and grades each one its appearance. “Tasting begins with the eyes,” he explains. He checks to see if the ice cream is attractive and asks himself, “Dose the product have the color expected from that flavor?” Next it’s time to taste!
Continuing to think up new ideas, try out new flavors, and test samples from so many kinds of ice cream each day keeps Harrison busy but happy---working at one cool job. What is John Harrison’s job?
| A．An official. | B．An ice-cream taster. |
| C．A chemist. | D．An ice-cream manufacturer. |
According to John Harrison, to be qualified（合格的） in the “cool field”, it is helpful to ________.
| A．keep a diary of work |
| B．have a degree in related subjects |
| C．have new ideas every day |
| D．find out new flavor each day |
What does Harrison do first when testing ice cream?
| A．He stirs the ice cream. |
| B．He examines the color of the ice cream. |
| C．He tastes the flavor of the ice cream. |
| D．He lets the ice cream warm up. |
Which of the following is probably the best title of the passage?
| A．Tasting with Eyes | B．Flavors of Ice Cream |
| C．John Harrison’s Life | D．One Cool Job |
“Get your hands off me, I have been stolen,” the laptop, a portable（便携式的）computer, shouted. That is a new solution to laptop computer theft: a program that lets owners give their property a voice when it has been taken.
The program allows users to display alerts（警报）on the missing computer’s screen and even to set a spoken message. Tracking software for stolen laptops has been on the market for some time, but this is thought to be the first that allows owners to give the thief a piece of their mind.
Owners must report their laptop missing by visiting to a website, which sends a message to the model: a red and yellow “lost or stolen” sign appears on its screen when it is started. Under the latest version(版本) of the software, users can also send a spoken message.
The message can be set to reappear every 30 seconds, no matter how many times the thief closes it. “One customer sent a message saying, ‘You are being tracked. I am right at your door’,” said Carrie Hafeman, chief executive (主管) of the company which produces the program, Retriever.
In the latest version, people can add a spoken message. For example, the laptop’s speakers will say: “Help, this laptop is reported lost or stolen. If you are not my owner, please report me now.”
The Retriever software package(软件包), which costs $29.95 (￡21) but has a free trial period, has the functions of many security software programs. Owners can remotely switch to an alternative password if they fear that the thief has also got hold of the access details.
If a thief accesses the internet with the stolen laptop, Retriever will collect information on the internet service provider in use, so that the police can be alerted to its location.
Thousands of laptops are stolen every year from homes and offices, but with the use of laptops increasing, the number stolen while their owners are out and about has been rising sharply.
Other security software allows users to erase（删除）data remotely or lock down the computer.The expression “to give the thief a piece of their mind” can be understood as “_______”.
| A．to give the thief an alert mind |
| B．to express the owners’ anger to the thief |
| C．to remind the thief of his conscience |
| D．to make the thief give up his mind |
Different from other security software, Retriever can ______.
| A．record the stealing process |
| B．help recognize the lost laptop |
| C．lock down the computer remotely |
| D．send a spoken message |
One function of the program is that it allows the owner to ______ at a distance.
| A．change some access details for switching on the laptop |
| B．turn on the laptop by using the original password |
| C．operate the laptop by means of an alternative password |
| D．erase the information kept in the stolen laptop |
Which of the following can best summarize the main idea of the passage?
| A．With no Retriever, thousands of laptops are stolen every year. |
| B．A new software provides a means to reduce laptop theft. |
| C．Retriever has helped to find thieves and lost computers. |
| D．A new program offers a communication platform with the thief. |