The writers of murder stories go to a great deal of trouble to keep us guessing right up to the end. In actual fact, people often behave more strangely in real life than they do in stories.
The following advertisement once appeared in a local newspaper: "An opportunity to earn $250 in a few minutes. A man willing to take chances is wanted for an out-of-the-ordinary job which can be performed only once." A reader found this offer very generous and applied to the advertiser, but being a bit suspicious, he gave a false name. Soon afterwards, he received a reply. Enclosed in the envelope was a typed note instructing him to ring a certain number if he was still interested. He did so and learned on the telephone that the advertiser wanted him "to get rid of somebody" and would discuss it more fully with him the next day. But the man told the police and from then on acted under their instructions.
The police saw the two men met and watched them as they drove away together. In the car the advertiser came to the point at once: he told the man he wanted him to shoot his wife. The reason he gave was that he was suffering from an incurable disease and wanted to live in a warmer country，but his wife objected to this. Giving the man some money，the advertiser told him to buy a gun and warned him to be careful of the dog which，though it would not bite，might attract attention. He also gave him a photograph of his wife so that he would be able to recognize her，After that，the advertiser suggested that the man should "do the job" next morning. Meanwhile，he would prepare his wife by telling her that a young man was going to call. After the murder，they would meet again outside a railway station and the money would be paid as arranged. The second meeting never took place，for the advertiser was arrested shortly afterwards and charged with attempting to persuade someone to murder his wife.What can we infer from paragraph one?
| A．While reading murder stories, we have to guess at the end of the stories. |
| B．While reading murder stories, we have to guess from the beginning to the end. |
| C．People usually behave more strangely in murder stories than in real life. |
| D．It is very easy for writers of murder stories to have readers guessing. |
The underlined word “suspicious” in paragraph two means _________?
| A．doubtful | B．sure |
| C．persuaded | D．unexpected |
Why did the man put an advertisement in a local newspaper?
| A．To have his wife killed because he doubt whether she still loved him. |
| B．To ask someone to buy a gun for him and then he would kill his wife. |
| C．To hire someone to kill his wife because he didn’t love her any more. |
| D．To hire someone to kill himself because he was seriously ill. |
【改编】Where did the advertiser wish the man to shoot his wife?
| A．In the car | B．At a railway station |
| C．In his house | D．The passage didn’t tell. |
From the passage, we can learn that___________.
| A．The advertiser wrote a letter to the reader to ask him to call a number. |
| B．The reader was in great need of money, so he wanted to get the job. |
| C．The dog in the advertiser’s house was very fierce. |
| D．The advertiser was caught by the police right after he met the reader. |
Not very long ago, a special family system(体系) existed in certain parts of South India. In the system, the actual head of a family unit was the mother’s eldest brother, though the mother also had an important position in the family. In families of this kind, a husband was actually no more than a visitor. He did not live with his wife, but with his own mother, brothers and sisters in another house. He saw his sons and daughters sometimes, but the man who actually fed and cared for them and acted as their father was their uncle--- their mother’s brother.
But this system, in which brothers and sisters take the place of the father, no longer exists in South India except in a few villages. Economic(经济的) changes have had far- reaching effect on family life. Family life began to change when men went out to work in factories and offices instead of working with their mothers, brothers, and sisters on the land. When a man went out to work, he had money of his own and could buy his own land and build his own family, instead of depending on his mother and his brothers. He wanted to be independent(独立的). This is an example of the way in which economic relations can have an effect on family relationships. The best title of this passage is ______.
| A．Husband Actually Visitor in Family |
| B．Family System in South India |
| C．Wife Has Important Position in Family |
| D．Economic Relations Affects Family Relationships |
Who had the actual control of a family in South India not long ago?
| A．The mother. | B．The mother’s eldest brother. |
| C．The father. | D．The father’s mother. |
In this system, the husband lived together with______.
| A．his wife | B．his sons and daughters |
| C．his mother, brothers and sisters | D．his wife’s brother |
Now in South India there are__ of this system in which a husband has no control of his family.
| A．no families | B．many more families |
| C．very few families | D．not any families |
Life gets noisier every day. Very few people can be free from noise of some sort or another. It doesn’t matter where you live, in the middle of a modern city, or a faraway village--- the chances are that you’ll be disturbed by jet aeroplanes, transistor radios, powered engines, etc. We seem to be getting used to noise, too. Some people feel quite lonely without background music while they’re working.
Scientific tests have shown that total silence can be a very frightening experience for a human being. However, some people enjoy listening to pop music which is very loud and this can do harm to their eardrums(耳鼓). The noise level in some discos is far above the usual safety level for heavy industrial areas.
One recent report about noise and concentration(专心) suggested that although a lot of people say that any noise disturbs their concentration, what really influences their ability to concentrate is a change in the level of noise. It goes on to say that a background noise which doesn’t change too much (music, for example) may even help people to concentrate.According to this passage, the noise pollution______.
| A．has become the worst in the countryside | B．has become better in big cities |
| C．has spread from cities to villages | D．has been controlled in modern cities |
What does background music refer to?
| A．Music played while people are working. |
| B．Music played in the backyard. |
| C．Noise that continues while you’re listening to other noises. |
| D．Music used to help people to concentrate. |
Some people have their hearing harmed______.
| A．while listening to pop music | B．in complete silence |
| C．when speaking loudly | D．while watching TV |
Which of the following isn’t included among the things causing noise?
| A．Rivers | B．Transistor radios |
| C．Powered engines | D．Jet planes |
Scientist have discovered that what prevents people from concentrating on something is_____.
| A．all kinds of noise | B．great changes in the level of noise |
| C．background noise | D．popular music |
For many years Henry had been a journalist. He had worked on many international newspapers and magazines and traveled over the world.
Henry had witnessed war and natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes and erupting volcanoes ( 火山爆发).
He had reported on serious accidents such as major fires and airline crashes.
He had seen every kind of terrible crime and strange event there was.
He had met and written about some of the most unusual people in the world.
In fact, there wasn’t much that Henry had not seen or done.
Now he was retired from journalism(新闻业). He owned a very expensive restaurant and spent his days talking to his wealthy and important customers. He liked to say that nothing surprised him.
One day he was sitting at the bar in his restaurant when a big gorilla(大猩猩) walked in and asked for a table.
Henry showed no surprise. He took the gorilla to a table and handed him a menu. He treated him politely and pretended there was nothing at all strange about having a gorilla in his restaurant.
The gorilla looked through the menu and ordered a salad.
Henry served the gorilla his salad personally, knowing that his waiters and waitresses would be too frightened.
At last the gorilla finished his salad and asked for the bill.
Henry wrote out the bill and handed it to the big animal.
The gorilla studied it, shook his head sadly then gave Henry fifty dollars.
“Thank you,” Henry said, and then to make conversation, he added, “we don’t get many gorillas in this restaurant.”
“At fifty dollars for a salad,” the gorilla said, “I’m not surprised.” According to the story, Henry had________.
| A．had the most exciting experiences | B．told the longest stories |
| C．made history | D．caused accidents |
One day when a gorilla came into the restaurant, Henry was_____.
| A．very surprised by the gorilla | B．not disturbed(烦忧) by the gorilla |
| C．very interested in the gorilla | D．scared of the gorilla |
From the sentences “Henry served the gorilla his salad personally, knowing that his waiters and waitresses would be too frightened” you can learn that______.
| A．his staff were not brave people | B．Henry didn’t normally serve customers |
| C．the gorilla had eaten there before | D．the gorilla was careful with his money |
I was in lodgings (寄宿处) now, on my own, but the other lodgers had constant visitors up and down the stairs past my door. None of this disturbed me except one girl who sang softly to herself an old Russian folk song as she ran up to the room above. It was a sound of sweetness, musical, soft, unselfconscious and happy. I began to listen out for it, jumped up from my table, and threw open the door to catch a glimpse(一瞥) of her as she passed, but I was always too late. I asked the people upstairs who she was, and described the beautiful sounds she made. They became rather reserved(拘谨) and exchanged glances and hurriedly admitted it might be Sally. I thought she was someone special, not to be discussed in the ordinary way, and became a little curious to meet her. But the last thing I wanted at that stage was to get caught up with anybody. I’d just come to the end of a rather painful friendship, and now I had work to do.
One day, I came face to face with a girl on the landing. It was certainly her; whoever made that noise would look as she did. We stood and stared at each other too long for comfort. I broke the moment and, excusing myself, moved past her because it was too like the movies. I thought for some time of that long, silent stare, and laughed. She was tall and looked proud, with a slight , round-shouldered look that made me breathless and I didn’t know why.At his lodgings, the author __________.
| A．seldom had visitors |
| B．wished he had more visitors |
| C．was always disturbed by other people’s visitors |
| D．had too many visitors. |
Whenever the author heard the sound of the girl’s voice__________.
| A．he sat listening to it | B．he saw her moving upstairs |
| C．he threw down his books | D．he tried to see who it was |
People who were asked about the girl__________.
| A．told him all about her | B．didn’t want to tell him much |
| C．didn’t tell him anything | D．were angry when he mentioned her |
From this passage we can see that the author was____________.
| A．was not interested in Sally | B．curiously attracted by Sally |
| C．angry at being disturbed by Sally | D．afraid to get to know Sally |
NOT all memories are sweet. Some people spend all their lives trying to forget bad experiences. Violence and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars. Often they relive these experiences in nightmares.
Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which will help people forget bad memories. The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a frightening experience. They hope it might reduce, or possibly wipe out, the effect of painful memories.
In November, experts tested a drug on people in the US and France. The drug stops the body releasing chemicals that fix memories in the brain. So far the research has suggested that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that the memories are wiped out. They are not sure to what degree people’s memories are affected.
The research has caused a great deal of argument. Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it.
Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers' troubling memories after war.
They say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories.
"Some memories can ruin people's lives. They come back to you when you don't want to have them in a daydream or nightmare. They usually come with very painful emotions," said Roger Pitman, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. "This could relieve a lot of that suffering."
But those who are against the research say that maybe the pills can change people’s memories and changing memories is very dangerous because memories give us our identity. They also help us all avoid the mistakes of the past.
"All of us can think of bad events in our lives that were terrible at the time but make us who we are. I'm not sure we want to wipe those memories out, "said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist.The passage is mainly about.
| A．a new medical invention |
| B．a new research on the pill |
| C．a way of wiping out painful memories |
| D．an argument about the research on the pill |
The drug tested on people can.
| A．cause the brain to fix memories |
| B．stop people remembering bad experiences |
| C．prevent body producing certain chemicals |
| D．wipe out the emotional effects of memories |
We can infer from the passage that.
| A．people doubt the effects of the pills |
| B．the pill will certainly stop people's emotional memories |
| C．taking the pill will do harm to people's physical health |
| D．the pill has already been produced and used by the public in America |
Which of the following does Rebecca Dresser agree with in the last paragraph ?
| A．some memories can ruin people's lives. |
| B．people want to get rid of bad memories. |
| C．experiencing bad events makes us different from others. |
| D．the pill will reduce people's sufferings from bad memories. |
You may probably read the passage in __________
| A．a guidebook | B．a textbook |
| C．a medical magazine | D．a science fiction |