You are watching a film in which two men are having a fight. They hit one another hard. At the start they only fight with their fists. But soon they begin hitting one another over the heads with chairs. And so it goes on until one of the men crashes through a window and falls thirty feet to the ground below. He is dead!Of course he isn't really dead. With any luck he isn't even hurt. Why? Because the men who fall out of high windows or jump from fast moving trains are professionals. They do this for a living. These men are called stuntmen. That is to say, they perform tricks. There are two sides to their work. They actually do most of the things you see on the screen. For example, they fall from a high building. However, they do not fall on to hard ground but on to empty cardboard boxes covered with a mattress (床垫). Again, when they hit one another with chairs, the chairs are made of soft wood and when they crash through windows, the glass is made of sugar! But although their work depends on trick of this sort, it also requires a high degree of skill and training. Often a stuntman' s success depends on careful timing. For example, when he is "blown up" in a battle scene, he has to jump out of the way of the explosion just at the right moment.
Naturally stuntmen are well paid for their work, but they lead dangerous lives. They often get seriously injured, and sometimes killed. A Norwegian stuntman, for example, skied over the edge of a cliff (悬崖) a thousand feet high. His parachute failed to open, and he was killed. In spite of all the risks, this is no longer a profession for men only. Men no longer dress up as women when actresses have to perform some dangerous action. For nowadays there are stuntgirls too.Stuntmen are those who ______.
A.often dress up as actors |
B.prefer to lead dangerous lives |
C.often perform seemingly dangerous actions |
D.often fight each other for their lives |
Stuntmen earn their living by ______.
A.playing their dirty tricks |
B.selling their special skills |
C.jumping out of high windows |
D.jumping from fast moving trains |
Which of the following is the main factor of a successful performance?
A.Strength. | B.Speed. |
C.Exactness. | D.Carefulness. |
What can be inferred from the authors example of the Norwegian stuntman?
A.Sometimes an accident can occur to a stuntman. |
B.The percentage of serious accidents is high. |
C.Parachutes must be of good quality. |
D.The cliff is too high. |
第三部分:阅读理解(共20小题,每题2分,满分40分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳答案,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
In this age of ours, I find that almost all of my friends are becoming mere voices.
Not too long ago when friends came, they would fill half the drawing room and their voices would penetrate the four walls and disturb all the neighbors. Now they have all become, step by step, into invisible and untouched beings, whose tiny voices can only be heard by one ear through the telephone, no louder than the mosquitoes(蚊子).
Since this has become a necessary part of modern life, I too have learnt to live with this “ear language”. Many friends have become more distant because they are not very good at this way of communication(交流), others have become closer through ear language, and there are some friends I know by voice only. There is one particular voice friend I got to know through a very curious incident.
One day my telephone rang. When I lifted the receiver- a young lady’s voice informed me that she was phoning in answer to an advertisement for a night club program hostess. Obviously she had got the wrong number. The incident should have ended there and then. Actually, it was a sweet voice, only her poor imitation(模仿)of Hong Kong pronunciation and intonation got on my nerve and especially the “wa!” gave me the goose flesh. I told her that if I were the boss of the club, I wouldn’t give her a second thought because of her poor pronunciation. The young lady at the other end of the phone immediately came up with a surprising suggestion that, of course in her true local accent, she wanted to learn proper standard spoken Chinese speech from me, because she valued every chance very much. To my great surprise, we became “phone” friends. Every day, at the agreed time, she would ring me up and our “lesson” would begin. And she was tested and interviewed by a radio station in the south and got acceptd. She phoned me for the last time to thank me and to say good-bye. We had already formed a very deep “voice” friendship and have left deep unchangeable vocal(听觉的) impressions in each other’s mind. Any sudden appearance of visual images(视觉印象), good or bad, could only be destructive.
56.The underlined word penetrate in the first paragraph means _____.
A.pass quickly by B.force a way through
C.hear accidentally D.make a hole in
57.The passage suggests us that _____.
A.they would be friends forever
B.they would meet in the future
C.they hadn’t had and wouldn’t have any interview
D.the young lady was able to sing sweet songs in standard Chinese
58.We know from the passage that _____.
A.in modern times people get in touch less than before
B.young people enjoys getting together very much
C.people are more ready to help others
D.people can earn a lot of money in the night club
59.Which is wrong according to the passage?
A.The writer taught the young lady without pay.
B.The young lady can’t be a native of Beijing.
C.The writer is not fond of getting in touch with others
D.Neither of the two is ready to see each other.
B
The Young Can't Wait
By Severn Cullies Suzuki
When you are little, it's not hard to believe you can change the world. I remember my enthusiasm when, at the age of 12, I addressed the delegates at the Rio Earth Summit. “I am only a child,” I told them. “Yet I know that if all the money spent on war was spent on ending poverty(贫困) and finding environmental answers, what a wonderful place this would be. In school you teach us not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share, not to be greedy. Then why do you go out and do the thing you tell us not to do? You grown-ups say you love us, but I challenge you, please, to make your actions reflect(反省) your words.”
I spoke for six minutes and received a standing ovation. Some of the delegates even cried. I thought that maybe I had reached some of them, that my speech might actually spur(刺激) action. Now, a decade(十年) from Rio, after I've sat through many more conferences, I'm not sure what has been accomplished. My confidence in the people in power and in the power of an individual's voice to reach them has been deeply shaken.
When I was little, the world was simple. But as a young adult, I'm learning that as we have to make choices—education, career, lifestyle—life gets more and more complicated. We are beginning to feel pressure to produce and be successful. We are taught that economic growth is progress, but we aren't taught how to pursue a happy, healthy or sustainable way of living. And we are learning that what we wanted for the future when we were 12 was idealistic and naive.
Today I'm no longer a child, but I'm worried about what kind of environment my children will grow up in. I know change is possible, because I am changing, still figuring out what I think. I am still deciding how to live my life. The challenges are great, but if we accept individual responsibility and make sustainable choices, we will rise to the challenges, and we will become part of the positive tide of change.
60.The purpose of what the writer said at the age of 12 was to _______.
A.end poverty and make school beautiful
B.find environmental answers and keep the words that they always told themselves
C.end poverty and solve the problems about environment
D.find a wonderful place and clean it up
61.What does the underlined word “ovation” in the second paragraph refer to _____.
A.a long period of laughing B.a warm welcome
C.an expression used for greeting D.a long period of clapping and applause
62.It becomes clear that the writer is possibly _________ now.
A.in his teens B.in his twenties C.in his thirties D.in his forties
E
People want to get ahead when they are working in office, but not everyone can reach the goal. Let’s read the passage and we believe you can understand something useful for your working in the office.
A is for always getting to work on time.
B is for being very busy.
C is for the conscientious (勤勤恳恳) way you do your job .
You may be all these kinds of people at the office, and even more. But when it comes to getting ahead, some experts say, the ABCs above are not enough, a P should be included, for P—politics, as in office politics.
Dale Carneigie suggested much about office politics(策略) more than 90 years ago: Hard work alone doesn’t ensure career advancement. You have to be able to sell yourself and your ideas, both publicly and behind the scenes. Yet, in spite of the obvious rewards of engaging in office politics, a better job, a raise, praise, but many people are still unable or unwilling to “play the game.”
“People think that office politics involves some manipulative (工于心计的) behavior, ” says Deborah Comer , an assistant professor of management at Hofstra University. “But politics comes from the word ‘polite’. It can also mean controlling and forming associations (交往). It can mean being kind and helpful, or even trying to please your boss, and then expecting something in return.”
In fact, today, experts explain office politics as proper behavior used to go after one’s own self-interest in the workplace. In many cases, this involves some forms of socializing within the office environment—not just in large companies, but in small workplaces as well.
“The first thing people are usually judged on is their ability to perform well on their work,” says Neil P. Lewis, a management psychologist. “But if two or three candidates (候选人) are up for a position, each of whom has reasonably similar ability, a manager is going to choose the person he or she likes best to get ahead. It’s simple human nature.
Yet, psychologists say, many employees and employers have trouble with the concept of politics in the office. Some people, they say, have an idealistic vision of work and what it takes to succeed. Still others connect office politics with flattery (奉承) , fearful that, if they speak up for themselves, they may appear to be flattering their boss for favors.
Experts suggested that office politics should be the need for some self-promotion (晋升).
72. The underlined “Office politics” in (Para 5) is used in the passage to refer to ______.
A. the habit of getting to work on time.
B. the political views and beliefs of office workers.
C. the interpersonal relationships within a company.
D. the various qualities required for a successful career.
73. Why are many people unwilling to “play the game ”(Para.6)?
A. They believe that doing so is not polite.
B. They feel that such behavior is unprincipled(不道德的.)
C. They do like the manipulating workmates.
D. They think the effort will get them nothing.
74. The author considers office politics to be _______.
unwelcome at the workplace.
bad for interpersonal relationships.
impossible to the development of company culture.
an important factor for personal advancement.
75. It is the experts’ view that _______.
A. speaking up for oneself is part of human nature.
B. office politics is necessary to self-advancement.
C. hard work is of little importance to one’s promotion.
D. all employees can recognize the need for flattery.
D
A new study warns that about thirty percent of the world's people may not have enough water by the year 2025. A private American organization called Population Action International did the new study. It says more than three-hundred-thirty-five-million people lack enough water now. The people live in twenty-eight countries. Most of the countries are in Africa or the Middle East.
PAI researcher Robert Engelman says by the year 2025, about three-thousand-million people may lack water. At least 18 more countries are expected to have severe water problems. The demand for water keeps increasing. Yet the amount of water on Earth stays the same.
Mr. Engelman says the population in countries that lack water is growing faster than in other parts of the world. He says population growth in these countries will continue to increase.
The report says lack of water in the future may result in several problems. It may increase health problems. Lack of water often means drinking waters not safe. Mr. Engelman says there are problems all over the world because of diseases, such as cholera (霍乱), which are carried in water. Lack of water may also result in more international conflict. Countries may have to compete for water in the future. Some countries now import sixty percent of their fresh water from other countries. This is true of Egypt, the Netherlands, Cambodia, Syria, Sudan, and Iraq. And the report says lack of water would affect the ability of developing to improve their economies. This is because new industries often need a large amount of water when they are beginning. The Population Action International study gives several solutions to the water problem. One way, it says, is to find ways to use water for more than one purpose. Another way is to teach people to be careful not to waste water. A third way is to use less water of agriculture.
68. According to the fourth paragraph, lack of water in the future may result in many problems EXCEPT_______.
A. health problems B. international conflict
C. environmental problems D. economic problems
69. According to the passage, in the following countries, _______is in deep need of water.
A. Colombia B. Syria C. New Zealand D. South Africa
70. The PAI study gives many solutions to the water problem EXCEPT_______.
A. usage of multifunctional water B. water saving
C. using less water of farming D. control of population
71. The most suitable title of the passage is_______.
A. Population and WaterB. How to Solve Water Problem
C. International Water Crisis(危机) D. Water—the Life of the Earth
C
Are some people born clever and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experiences? Strangely enough, the answer to both these questions is yes. To some extent our intelligence is given us at birth, and no amount of special education can make a genius(天才)out of a child born with low intelligence. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his / her intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings. Thus the limits of a person’s intelligence are fixed at birth, but whether or not he / she reaches those limits will depend on his / her environment. This view, now held by most experts, can be supported in a number of ways.
It is easy to show that intelligence is to some extent something we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence. Thus if we take two unrelated people at random from the population, it is likely that their degrees of intelligence will be completely different. If on the other hand we take two identical twins, they will very likely be as intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth.
Imagine now that we take two identical twins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring. We would soon find differences in intelligence developing,and this indicates that environment as well as birth plays a part.This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all, are likely to have similar degrees of intelligence.
64. The writer holds the view that human beings’ intelligence depends on .
A) birth
B) education
C) both birth and environment
D) neither birth nor education
65. It can be learned from the passage that if a child is born with low intelligence, he can .
A) not become a genius.
B) still become a genius if he is given special education.
C) exceed(超过) his intelligence limits in rich surroundings.
D) not fulfill his intelligence in his life.
66. In the second paragraph, “if we take two unrelated people at random from the population” means “if we ”.
A) pick any two persons.
B) choose two persons who are relatives.
C) take out two different persons on purpose.
D) choose two persons with different intelligence.
67. The example of the twins in the third paragraph is used to show .
the importance of their intelligence.
the role of environment on intelligence.
the importance of their social positions.
the part that birth plays.