Very old people do raise moral problems for almost everyone who comes in contact with them. Their values—this can't be repeated too often—are not necessarily our values. Physical comfort, cleanness and order are not necessarily the most important things. The social services from time to time find themselves faced with a flat with decaying(腐烂) food covered by small worms, and an old person lying alone in bed, taking no notice of the worms. But is it interfering (妨碍) with personal freedom to insist that they go to live with some of their relatives so that they might be taken better care of? Some social workers, the ones who clear up the worms, think we are in danger of carrying this concept of personal freedom to the point where serious risks are being taken with the health and safety of the old.
Indeed, the old can be easily hurt or harmed. The body is like a car, it needs more mechanical(机械的)maintenance (保养)as it gets older. You can carry this comparison right through to the provision(提供)of spare parts. But never forget that such operations are painful experiences, however good the results. And at what point should you stop treating the old body? Is it morally right to try to push off death by pursuing the development of drugs to excite the forgetful old mind and to activate the old body, knowing that it is designed to die? You cannot ask doctors or scientists to decide, because so long as they can see the technical opportunities, they will feel bound to give them a try, on the principle that while there's life, there's hope.
When you talk to the old people, however, you are forced to the conclusion that whether age is happy or unpleasant depends less on money or on health than it does on your ability to have fun.It is implied in Paragraph 1 that______.
A.very old people are able to keep their rooms very clean |
B.social services have nothing to do with very old people |
C.very old people enjoy living with their relatives |
D.very old people would like to live alone so that they can have more personal freedom |
Some social workers think that______.
A.personal freedom is more important than health and safety |
B.health and safety are more important than personal freedom |
C.old people should keep their rooms clean |
D.one should not take the risk of dealing with old people |
The author thinks that______.
A.medical decisions for old people should be left to the doctors |
B.old people can enjoy a happy life only if they are very rich |
C.it is always morally right to treat old people and push off death |
D.the opinion that we should try every means possible to save old people is doubtful |
“If there is one thing I’m sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we will still be reading newspapers. It is not that newspapers are a necessity. Even now some people get most of their news from television or radio. Many buy a paper only on Saturday or Sunday. But for most people reading a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation.
The nature of what is news may change. What basically makes news is what affects our lives — the big political stories, the coverage of the wars, earthquakes and other disasters, will continue much the same. I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though. It’s already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives, like genetic engineering. In the future, I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do — as we develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are.
It’s quite possible that in the next century newspapers will be transmitted (传送) electronically from Fleet Street and printed out in our own home. In fact, I’m pretty sure that how it will happen in the future. You will probably be able to choose from a menu, making up your own newspaper by picking out the things you want to read — sports and international news, etc.
I think people have got it wrong when they talk about competition between the different media. They actually feed off each other. Some people once foresaw that television would kill off newspapers, but that hasn’t happened. What is read on the printed page lasts longer than pictures on a screen or sound lost in the air. And as for the Internet, it’s never really pleasant to read something just on a screen.
1. What is the best title for the passage?
A. The Best Way to Get News B. The Changes of Media
C. Make Your Own Newspaper D. The Future of Newspaper
2. What will probably be on in the newspaper made by yourself?
A. Sports and international news. B. A menu of important news.
C. The most important news. D. What you are interested in.
3. From the passage, we can infer _______.
A. newspapers will win the competition among the different media
B. newspapers will stay with us together with other media
C. television will take the place of newspaper
D. the writer believes some media will die out
4. The phrase “feed off” in the last paragraph means _______.
A. depend on B. compete with C. fight with D. kill off
第三部分阅读(共两节,满分40分)
第一节阅读理解(共15小题,每小题2分,满分30分)
阅读下列四篇短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Nick Campbell sat at the side of the road and wondered what to do next. He looked at the second-hand Harley Davidson he’d bought from a back-street garage back home in Miami at the beginning of his trip six weeks before.
For years he had dreamt of crossing the United States from east to west by motorbike and he’d finally decided that it was now or never. He’d given up his job, sold his car and set off for the journey of his dreams. He’d been lucky, or so he thought, to find this old Harley Davidson and had bought it for a very reasonable price —— it had cost him just $600. But five kilometers from Atlanta, he had run out of luck. The motorbike had broken down.
He pushed the bike into town and found a garage. The young mechanic told him to leave the bike overnight and come back the next day. The following morning, to his surprise, the man asked if the bike was for sale. “Certainly not,” he replied, paid his bill and hit the road.
When he got to Kansas the old machine ran out of steam again. This time Nick thought about selling it and buying something more reliable, but decided to carry on. When the bike was going well, he loved it.
However, in Denver, Colorado, the bike broke down again so he decided to take it to a garage and offer it for sale. The mechanic told him to come back in the morning.
The next day, to his amazement, the man offered him $2,000. Realizing the man must be soft in the head, but clearly not short of money, Nick asked for $ 3,000. The man agreed and they signed the papers. Then the mechanic started laughing. In fact it was several minutes before he could speak and when he could he said, “That’s the worst deal you’ll ever make, boy."
He removed the seat. On the underside was the inscription (铭文):
‘To Elvis, love James Dean.’
1. Harley Davidson here refers to a _________.
A. car B. truck C. garage D. motorbike
2. Which of the following did Nick value most?
A. Harley Davidson. B. His job.
C. His dream to travel. D. His car.
3. The underlined word “soft” in the 6th paragraph is closest in meaning to ______________.
A. clever B. crazy C. honest D. kind
4. At the end of the story, Nick must have felt very __________.
A. sorry B. delighted C. excited D. moved
What makes a person a scientist? Does he have ways or tools of learning that are different from those of others? The answer is “no”. It is not the tools a scientist uses but how he uses these tools that makes him a scientist. You will probably agree that knowing how to use a power is important to a carpenter. You will probably agree, too, that knowing how to investigate(调查),how to discover information, is important to everyone. The scientist, however, goes one step further, he must be sure that he has a reasonable answer to his questions and that his answer can be confirmed by other persons. He also works to fit the answers he gets to many questions into a large set of ideas about how the world works.
The scientist’s knowledge must be exact. There is no room for half right or right just half the time. He must be as nearly right as the conditions permit. What works under one set of conditions at one time must work under the same conditions at other times. If the conditions are different, any changes the scientist observes in a demonstration must be explained by the changes in the conditions. This is one reason that investigations are important in science. Albert Einstein, who developed the theory of relativity, arrived at this theory through mathematics. The accuracy of his mathematics was later tested through investigations, Einstein’s ideas were shown to be correct. A scientist uses many tools for measurements. Then the measurements are used to make mathematical calculations that may test his investigations.
1.What makes a scientist according to the passage?
A. The tools he uses. B. His ways of learning.
C. The way he uses his tools. D. The various tools he use
2.“The scientist, however, goes one step further,” the author says this to show________.
A. the importance of information
B. the importance of thinking
C. the difference between scientists and ordinary people
D. the difference between carpenters and people with other jobs.
3.A sound scientific theory should be one that________ .
A. does not only work under one set of conditions at one time, but also works under the same conditions at other times
B. leaves no room for improvement
C. does not allow any change even under different conditions
D. can be used for many purposes
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Scientists are different from ordinary people.
B. The theory of relativity.
C. Exactness is the core(核心)of science.
D. Exactness and way of using tools are the keys to the making of a scientist.
Schedules, as the 21st century people know, simply did not exist in the 17th and 18th centuries. We are upset if a plane arrives an hour late. Our ancestors weren’t upset if an April ship didn’t show up until June. They began to worry in July and were often happy when it showed up in August. When a long-distance ship finally did get to the port, the whole city became busy and excited. Businessmen hurried down to check the goods they had ordered. The ship would probably stay in port for at least three days, often a week, to take on businessmen, give the sailors a rest, find out about the latest news, weather conditions, and so on.
Travel time could only be approximate. One never knew when the winds would be good. So even though “average sailing time” was given, time could change considerably, shortening the voyage by up to 25% or putting it off by up to 500% or more! The average run from England to Boston was about a month and a half, but there were also voyages of three months. One voyage in 1640 lasted six months!
Travel time is not the same in both directions, due to the winds and currents. This is especially true in the Caribbean, where winds are from the southeast the entire year. Ships sailing west across the Atlantic spend longer than ships sailing east, and the contrary winds can prevent a ship from actually making it to the harbor even if it gets close. One ship was held off the North Carolina coast for 17 days before being able to land!
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A. No sailor was allowed to have fun when the ship reached land.
B. People in ancient times didn’t care about other people’s safety.
C. The ship would leave for a voyage when all of the preparations were made.
D. A long-distance ship would create a lot of excitement in the place where it landed.
2. According to the passage, travel time can’t be fixed due to ___________ .
A. the people at the port B. average sailing time
C. the changeable climate D. the businessmen and the sailors
3. The underlined word “currents” in the third paragraph means __________ .
A. the movement of water B. the movement of winds
C. direction of the traveling ship D. travel time of ships
Here is a poster on a middle school website. Read the website poster.
Going, Going, Gone!
The Haynes Middle School Parent-Teacher Organization invites you to attend our latest fund-raiser, the Fourth Annual Haynes School Auction (拍卖)!
Saturday, May 10
6:00 p.m. ~ 11:00 p.m.
In the school hall
6:00 p.m.~ 6:30 p.m.: All items for auction are previewed.
6:30 p.m.~ 7:00 p.m.: Silent auction begins.
7:00 p.m.~ 7:30 p.m.: Highest bidders (出价人) from silent auction are determined.
7:30 p.m.~ 11:00 p.m.: Main auction begins.
Items (物品) up for bid in the silent auction vary in value from $ 5.00 to $ 30.00.
Items up for bid in the main auction include the following:
●Airline tickets to a place of your choice
●Weekend getaways at first-class hotels
●Season tickets to the Chicago Bears football game
●$ 50 gift tickets to local gift shops, restaurants, and salons
Don’t miss the boat! Book your tickets today.
Last year, tickets were sold out in five days!
Tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis.
$ 15.00 per person
All the money from the auction will be given to the Haynes School computer lab.
1.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as being up for bid at the auction?
A. A movie pass to the local cinema.
B. A weekend stay at a hotel.
C. A ticket to a restaurant.
D. Airline tickets.
2.The more items that are given or bought for auction, ________.
A. the less money that will be charged for the tickets to the auction
B. the more money that can be raised to support the computer lab
C. the faster the ticket will be sold to the auction
D. the higher the value that will be placed on the items in the silent auction
3.Which of the following is most likely to happen at the year’s auction?
A. The airline tickets will receive higher bids than any other item.
B. All items up for bid will be sold for at least twice their value.
C. More money will be raised this year than in any other year before.
D. Tickets for the event will be sold out in less than one week.
4.The phrase “first-come, first-served” tells you that ________.
A. people can buy the tickets on the first day only
B. the person who is the first to arrive will receive a ticket at no charge
C. food and drinks will be served at the auction
D. tickets are sold in the order of who arrives first to buy them