If a diver surfaces too quickly, he may suffer the bends. Nitrogen (氮) dissolved (溶解) in his blood is suddenly liberated by the reduction of pressure. The consequence, if the bubbles (气泡) accumulate in a joint, is sharp pain and a bent body—thus the name. If the bubbles form in his lungs or
his brain, the consequence can be death.
Other air-breathing animals also suffer this decompression (减压) sickness if they surface too fast: whales, for example. And so, long ago, did ichthyosaurs (鱼龙). That these ancient sea animals got the bends can be seen from their bones. If bubbles of nitrogen form inside the bone they can cut off its blood supply. This kills the cells in the bone, and consequently weakens it, sometimes to the point of collapse. Fossil (化石) bones that have caved in on themselves are thus a sign that the animal once had the bends.
Bruce Rothschild of the University of Kansas knew all this when he began a study of ichthyosaur bones to find out how widespread the problem was in the past. What he particularly wanted to investigate was how ichthyosaurs adapted to the problem of decompression over the 150 million years. To this end, he and his colleagues traveled the world’s natural-history museums, looking at hundreds of ichthyosaurs from the Triassic period and from the later Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
When he started, he assumed that signs of the bends would be rarer in younger fossils, reflecting their gradual evolution of measures to deal with decompression. Instead, he was astonished to discover the opposite. More than 15% of Jurassic and Cretaceous ichthyosaurs had suffered the bends before they died, but not a single Triassic specimen (标本) showed evidence of that sort of injury.
If ichthyosaurs did evolve an anti-decompression means, they clearly did so quickly—and, most strangely, they lost it afterwards. But that is not what Dr Rothschild thinks happened. He suspects it was evolution in other animals that caused the change.
Whales that suffer the bends often do so because they have surfaced to escape a predator (捕食动物) such as a large shark. One of the features of Jurassic oceans was an abundance of large sharks and crocodiles, both of which were fond of ichthyosaur lunches. Triassic oceans, by contrast, were mercifully shark- and crocodile-free. In the Triassic, then, ichthyosaurs were top of the food chain. In the Jurassic and Cretaceous, they were prey (猎物) as well as predator—and often had to make a speedy exit as a result.Which of the following is a typical symptom of the bends?
| A．A twisted body. | B．A gradual decrease in blood supply. |
| C．A sudden release of nitrogen in blood. | D．A drop in blood pressure. |
The purpose of Rothschild’s study is to see _______.
| A．how often ichthyosaurs caught the bends |
| B．how ichthyosaurs adapted to decompression |
| C．why ichthyosaurs bent their bodies |
| D．when ichthyosaurs broke their bones |
Rothschild’s finding stated in Paragraph 4 _______.
| A．confirmed his assumption | B．speeded up his research process |
| C．disagreed with his assumption | D．changed his research objectives |
Rothschild might have concluded that ichthyosaurs _______.
| A．failed to evolve an anti-decompression means |
| B．gradually developed measures against the bends |
| C．died out because of large sharks and crocodiles |
| D．evolved an anti-decompression means but soon lost it |
Attitudes differed to small errors of grammar and usage, or inappropriateness of vocabulary and idiom, with the native speakers finding such errors a little irksome(令人厌烦的)，though sometimes amusing, while the Chinese panel members paid hardly any attention to such errors as, for example, misuse of phrasal verbs and similar usages: “When I saw the job description, I decided to apply the position.” “I expect to find out a lot of challenge in the job.” “I can deal the emergency situations efficiently.”
Errors of idiom or appropriateness caused more comment, during the post interview discussion, from the native speakers than from the Chinese panel members, on whom the errors were sometimes lost. For example, one candidate, when asked what salary he expected, replied: “I don’t care about it.” The message was clear enough, namely that he was primarily interested in the job, but the formulation of the message was not quite right. Even such ribticklers(笑话)as “I am a well planned person .”and “I would like to expose myself in another field”(both actually heard at interviews) tended to cause lipbiting among the expatriate rather than the Chinese interviewers.
Panels with two Chinese and one expatriate used to be more common, but are becoming less common. The reason is that with more of the interview now being conducted in Chinese, the non Chinese speaker does not know what has already been asked and is liable to repeat in English questions that have already been covered in Chinese. This caused, naturally enough, confusion in the interviewee and can adversely affect the whole interview.
The sensible procedure would seem to be to open the interview in the mother tongue of the candidates, to put them at their ease, then at a later stage turn to English, to test English proficiency. In practice, however, possibly because of the problem mentioned in the previous paragraph when the panel contains a foreigner, it is often the reverse, with a few, fairly standard, opening questions in English, and if these are successfully answered, then the job interview properly gets underway in Cantonese.
One of the worst interview scenarios(方案)is when a foreigner who thinks she/he can speak Cantonese (but does so, in fact, badly) decides to question the interviewee in Cantonese. In other circumstances of a social nature the interviewee would no doubt politely compliment the foreigner on his or her good Cantonese, but in the seriousness of a job interview situation, the Chinese is confused and slightly embarrassed for the foreigner. These forays(初步尝试)into Chinese usually end pretty quickly with one of the Chinese members of the panel rescuing the foreigner and continuing the interview in English.
64．Concerning misuses of phrasal verbs,____.
A．both Chinese and the native speakers of English find them amusing
B．the Chinese interviewers tend to be tolerant
C．the Chinese interviewers and the English native speaker interviewers often have a discussion
D．might sometimes become a laughing stock to the native speakers of English but draw hardly any attention from the Chinese
65．It is implied in the passage that ____.
A．Chinese are generally liable to make mistakes in English grammar and vocabulary usage
B．expatriate interviewers are generally more friendly with interviews
C．braver candidates can often get the upper hand
D．the candidates often deliver an improper message for the use of inappropriate expressions
66．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A．The non Chinese speaking interviewer might ask the questions which have already been asked by the Chinese and hence cause confusion.
B．It is more practicable to start an interview with a few fairly standard questions in English before switching to Chinese.
C．The best procedure of an interview would seem to be beginning in Cantonese and then testing English proficiency.
D．The Chinese interviewee often politely compliments the foreign interviewer if he or she speaks cantonese if it is not actually so good in the interview.
67．This passage is mainly concerned with ____.
A．whether language proficiency or work ability counts in job interviews
B．how to avoid awkward situation in a job interview in HongKong
C．the language used in a job interview with both Chinese and expatriate panel members
D．the sensible procedure of getting on with an interview where the Chinese interviewee’s English is to be tested
In the eighteenth—century one of the first modern economists, Adam Smith, thought that the “whole annual produce of the land and labour of every country” provided revenue to “three different orders of people: those who live by rent, those who live by wages, and those who live by profit”. Each successive stage of the industrial revolution, however, made the social structure more complicated.
Many intermediate groups grew up during the nineteenth century between the upper middle class and the working class. There were small—scale industrialists as well as large ones, small shopkeepers and tradesmen, officials and salaried employees, skilled and unskilled workers, and professional men such as doctors and teachers. Farmers and peasants continued in all countries as independent groups.
During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the possession of wealth inevitably affected a person’s social position. Intelligent industrialists with initiative made fortunes by their wits which lifted them into an economic group far higher than that of their working—class parents. But they lacked social training of the upper class, who despised them as the “new rich.”
They often sent their sons and daughters to special school to acquire social training. Here their children, mixed with the children of the upper classes, were accepted by them, and very often found marriage partners from among them. In the same way, a thrifty, hardworking labourer, though not clever himself, might save for his son enough to pay for an extended secondary school education in the hope that he would move in a “white collar” occupation, carrying with it a higher salary and a move up in the social scale.
In the twentieth century the increased taxation of higher incomes, the growth of the social services, and the wider development of educational opportunity have considerably altered the social outlook. The upper classes no longer are the sole, or even the main possessors of wealth, power and education, though inherited social position still carries considerable prestige.
60．If you compare the first and second paragraph, what groups of people did Adam Smith leave out in his classification?
A．Officials and employees. B．Peasants and farmers.
C．Doctors and teachers. D．Tradesmen and landlords.
61．Who were the ‘new rich’ during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?
A．They were still the upper class people.
B．They were owners of large factories.
C．They were intelligent industrialists.
D．They were skilled workers who made their fortune.
62．According to the passage, what did those people do who intended to make their children move up in the social ladder?
A．They saved a lot of money for their children to receive higher education.
B．They tried to find marriage partners from the children of the upper class.
C．They made greater fortunes by their wits.
D．They worked even harder to acquire social training.
63．In the twentieth century class differences have been partly smoothed out by ____.
A．increased income and decreased taxation
B．taxation, social services and educational opportunities
C．education, the increase of income and industrial development
D．the decrease of the upper class population
C 61—65 DBC
AThe three main types of secondary education in the United States have been provided by the Latin grammar school, the academy, and the public high school. The first of these was a colonial institution. It began in New England with the establishment in 1635 of the Boston Free Latin School. The curriculum(课程) consisted mainly of the classical languages, and the purpose of this kind of school was the preparation of boys for college, where most of them would be fitted for the ministry.
The academy began in the early 1750’s with Benjamin Franklin’s school in Philadelphia, which later became the University of Pennsylvania. It extended generally to about the middle nineteenth century, except in the southern states where the public high school was late in developing and where the academy continued to be a principal means of secondary education even after 1900.The academy was open to girls as well as to boys, and it provided a wider curriculum than what the Latin grammar school had furnished. It was designed not only as a preparation for college but also for practical life in commercial and business activities. Although its wide educational values are evident and are recognized as important contributions to secondary education in this country, the academy has never been considered a public institution as the public high school has come to be.
The public high school had its origin in Massachusetts in 1821 when the English Classical School was established in Boston. In 1827,the state enacted(制定)the first state wide public high school law in the United States. By 1840,there were perhaps a dozen public high schools in Massachusetts and many in other eastern states by 1850,they could also be found in many other states. Just as the curriculum of the academy grew out of that of the Latin grammar school, the curriculum of the public high school developed out of that of the academy. The public high school in the United States is a repudiation(推翻) of the aristocratic(贵族的)and selective principle of the European educational tradition. Since 1890,enrollments( 入学)in secondary schools, mainly public high schools, have practically doubled in this country every ten years.
56．According to the passage, which of the following sequences indicates the order in which the schools developed?
A．Latin grammar school, public high school, academy.
B．Latin grammar school, academy, public high school.
C．Public high school, Latin grammar school, academy.
D．Public high school, academy, Latin grammar school.
57．It is the opinion of the author that the academy, compared with the public high school, was ____.
A．obviously academically better
B．more discriminatory in student selection
C．coeducational
D．not generally considered as a public institution
58．One can probably infer from his article that “Latin grammar school” refers to ____.
A．the Boston Free Latin School
B．all the elementary schools in the United States
C．schools which taught Latin, exclusive of all other subjects
D．a number of schools which developed in New England
59．It is implied but not stated in the passage that ____.
A．European educational systems are not good
B．As high schools developed in the united states, the decision was made to make them responsible to people from all classes of society.
C．There was an aristocratic and selective principle in the European educational tradition
D．public high schools in the United States embraced the European educational tradition
The fighting against youth smoking since I took office I’ve done everything in my power to protect our children from harm. We’ve worked to make their streets and their schools safer, and to give them something positive to do after school before their parents get home. We’ve worked to teach our children that drugs are dangerous, illegal and wrong.
Today, I want to talk to you about the historic opportunity we now have to protect our nation’s children form an even more deadly threat: smoking. Smoking kills more people every day than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, murders, suicides, drugs and fires combined. Nearly 90 percent of those smokers lit their first cigarette before they turned 18. Consider this: 3,000 children start to smoke every day illegally, and 1,000 of them will die sooner because of it. This is a national tragedy（悲剧）that every American should be honor-bound to help prevent. For more than five years we’ve worked to stop our children from smoking before they start, launching（发动）a nationwide campaign（运动）to educate them about the dangers of smoking, to reduce their access to tobacco products, and to severely restrict（限制）tobacco companies from advertising to young people. If we do these, we’ll cut teen smoking by almost half over the next five years. That means if we act now, we have it in our power to stop 3 million children from smoking and to save a million lives as a result.What has the author done in his power?
| A．To look after our children. |
| B．To clean the street |
| C．To clean our children |
| D．To protect our children from harm. |
Compared with other disasters, what kills more people every day?
| A．Smoking | B．Car accidents |
| C．Drugs | D．Murders |
How many children start to smoke every day illegally?
| A．1，000 | B．3，000 | C．90 | D．18 |
For more than five years what have they done to stop their children from smoking?
| A．To educate them about the dangers of smoking |
| B．To reduce their access to tobacco products |
| C．To restrict tobacco companies from advertising to young people |
| D．All of the above |
How many children will be stopped from smoking if we act now?
| A．1 million | B．1.5 million | C．3 million | D．3,000 |
When Charles Strattion was five, he stopped growing. His mother took him to see the famous showman, P. T. Barnum, and thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show. He hired Charles’ parents along with him, and they traveled around the world together.
He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a new name, general Tom Thumb. He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act, and tell jokes. When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads. To stir up great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England.
Tom’s act was very popular and brought in a lot of money. By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich. He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty-five.
Fortunately for Tom, Mr. Barnum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well. One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a school teacher. Tom was able to win her love, and they married.
The ceremony and reception were the talk of the town. They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about two thousand guests. Crowds filled the street of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding carriage. The couple even met with President Abraham Lincoln on their honeymoon, just before going to live in Tom’s house in Connecticut.
Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war. Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade, communities throughout the country held Tom Thumb’s weddings. In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun.
61．“the talk of the town” means .
A．they were in the newspaper
B．people spread mean rumors about them
C．they were the most popular things happening
D．they were discussed in a city meeting
62．What does the author think about Tom Thumb’s wedding?
A．People gave it too much of their attention.
B．It helped people cheer up in a dark time
C．It was funny and ridiculous
D．Tom and Lavinia were stupid.
63．Which of the following is the best clue to the fact that Tom was smart?
A．He became a billionaire at twenty-five
B．He learned how to sing, dance, and act at a very young age.
C．He met with President Lincoln during his honeymoon
D．He married a school teacher.
64．It was very funny when Tom danced on a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall because .
A．the wooden plate would make it sound as of Tom were tap dancing
B．it made Tom feel taller
C．the eight-foot-tall man was the only tall person Tom trusted
D．the difference between them would make Tom look even smaller
65．What does the author imply in the last paragraph?
A．Weddings always make people feel full of sunshine
B．People are always disappointed during wartime
C．Entertainment can serve an important purpose
D．People should be married even if they are small