Even at school there had been an unhealthy competition between George and Richard.
“I’ll be the first millionaire in Coleford!” Richard used to boast.
“And you’ll be sorry you knew me,” George would reply “because I’ll be the best lawyer in town!”
George never did become a lawyer and Richard never made any money. Instead both men opened bookshops on opposite sides of Coleford High Street. It was hard to make money from books, which made the competition between them worse.
Then Richard married a mysterious girl. The couple spent their honeymoon on the coast—but Richard never came back. The police found his wallet on a deserted beach but the body was never found. He must have drowned.
Now with only one bookshop in town, business was better for George. But from time to time, he sat in his narrow, old kitchen and gazed out of the dirty window, thinking about his former rival(竞争对手). Perhaps he missed him?
George was very interested in old dictionaries. He’d recently found a collector in Australia who was selling a rare first edition. When the parcel arrived, the book was in perfect condition and George was delighted. But while he was having lunch, George glanced at the photo in the newspaper that the book had been wrapped in. He was astonished—the smiling face was older than he remembered but unmistakable! Trembling, George started reading.
“Bookends have bought ten bookstores from their rivals Dylans. The company, owned by multi-millionaire Richard Pike, is now the largest bookseller in Australia.”George and Richard were ________ at school.
| A．competitors | B．good friends |
| C．roommates | D．booksellers |
How did George feel about Richard after his disappearance?
| A．He envied Richard’s marriage. |
| B．He felt lucky with no rival in town. |
| C．He was guilty of Richard’s death. |
| D．He thought of Richard from time to time. |
George got information about Richard from ________.
| A．a dictionary collector in Australia |
| B．the latter’s rivals Dylans |
| C．the wrapping paper of a book |
| D．a rare first edition of a dictionary |
What happened to George and Richard in the end?
| A．Both George and Richard became millionaires. |
| B．Both of them realized their original dreams. |
| C．Richard became very rich while George had no great success. |
| D．George established a successful business while Richard was missing. |
As the pace of life continues to increase, we are fast losing the art of relaxation. Once you are in the habit of rushing through life, being on the go from morning till night, it is hard to slow down. But relaxation is essential (必要的)for a healthy mind and body.
Stress is a natural part of everyday life and there is no way to avoid it. In fact, it is not the bad thing it is often supposed to be. A certain amount of stress is vital (有必要的) to provide motivation and give purpose to life. It is only when the stress gets out of control that it can lead to poor performance and ill health.
The amount of stress a person can stand depends very much on the person himself. Some people are not afraid of stress, and such characters are obviously important for managerial responsibilities. Others lose heart at the first signs of unusual difficulties. When exposed to stress, in whatever form, we react both chemically and physically. In fact we make choice between "flight or fight" and in more early days the choices made the difference between life or death. The crises (危机) we meet today are unlikely to be so extreme, but how little the stress is, it involves the same response. It is when such a reaction lasts long, through continued exposure to stress, that health becomes endangered. Such serious conditions as high blood pressure and heart diseases have established links with stress. Since we cannot remove stress from our lives (it would be unwise to do so even if we could), we
need to find ways to deal with it.
1. People are finding less and less time for relaxing themselves because_____________
A. they do not know how to enjoy themselves
B. they do not believe that relaxation is important for health
C. they are traveling fast all the time
D. they are becoming busier with their work
2. According to the writer, the most important character for a good manager is his__________.
A. not fearing stress
B. knowing the art of relaxation
C. high sense of responsibility
D. having control over performance
3. Which of the following statements is true?
A. We can find some ways to avoid stress.
B. Stress is always harmful to people.
C. It is easy to change the habit of keeping oneself busy with work.
D. Different people can withstand different amount of stress.
4. In the last sentence of the passage “do so” refers to__________.
A. "expose ourselves to stress"
B. "find ways to deal with stress"
C. "remove stress from our lives"
D. "establish links between diseases and stress”
The journey two divers made some time ago to the deepest point on the earth makes us realize how much of the world still remains to be studied. The two men went down seven miles to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean inside a small steel ball to find out if there are any ocean currents(水流) or signs of life.
It was necessary to set out early, so that the ball would come to the surface in daylight, and be easily found by the mother ship which would be waiting for it. The divers began preparations early in the morning and soon afterwards, when all was ready, the steel ball disappeared under the surface of the water.
The divers felt as if they were going down steps as they passed through warm and cold layers (层) of water. In time the temperature dropped to the freezing point. They kept in touch with the mother ship by telephone telling how they felt. Then, at a depth of 3,000 feet, the telephone stopped working and they were quite cut off from the outside world. All went well until some four hours later at 30,000 feet, the men were frightened by a loud, cracking noise. Even the smallest hole in the ball would have meant instant death. Luckily, though, it was only one of the outer windows that had broken. Soon afterwards, the ball touched the soft ocean floor raising a big cloud of "dust" made up of small dead sea creatures. Here, powerful lights lit up the dark water and the men were surprised to see fish swimming just above them quite untroubled by the great water pressure. But they did not dare to leave the lights on for long, as the heat from them made the water boil. Quite unexpectedly, the telephone began working again and the faint but clear voices of the divers were heard on the mother ship seven miles away. After a stay of thirty minutes the men began their journey up, arriving three hours later, cold and wet through, but none was worse for their experience.
1. The purpose of the divers' journey to the deepest point on the earth was to find____________
A. if there are water currents, and life in the great depths
B. if people can stand the severe cold in the great depths
C. if there are steps in the great depths
D. if the telephone works well in the great depths
2. The divers set out early in the morning so that____________.
A. they could return to the surface during the day
B. they could see at the bottom of the ocean
C. they could avoid the cold at night D. they could stay long at the bottom
3. As the divers went down to the ocean floor, the telephone____________.
A. kept working all the time
B. stopped working at a depth of 3,000 feet and began working again after they reached the bottom
C. stopped working at a depth of 3,000
feet and began working again at 30,000 feet
D. stopped working at a depth of 3,000 feet and began working again when they returned to the same depth
4. On the ocean floor, the divers found that________________.
A. there was no life but some small dead sea creatures
B. fish were swimming as freely as they do near the surface
C. fish were not swimming freely in the dark water
D. fish were not swimming freely under the high water pressure
LONDON (Reuters) ---Organic fruit, carried right to the doorstep. That is what Gabriel Gold prefers , and he is willing to pay for it. If this is not possible, the 26-year-old computer technician will spend the extra money at the supermarket to buy organic food.
“Organic produce is always better,” Mr. Gold said. “The food is free of pesticides(杀虫剂), and you are generally supporting family farms instead of large farms. And more often than not it is locally grown and seasonal, so it is more tasty.” Mr. Gold is one of a growing number of shoppers buying into the organic trend, and supermarkets across Britain are depending on more like him as they grow their organic food business. But how many shoppers really know what they are getting, and why are they willing to pay a higher price for organic produce? Market research shows that Mr. Gold and others who buy organic food can generally give clear reasons for their preferences---but their knowledge of organic food is far from complete. For example, small amounts of pesticides can be used on organic produce. And about three quarters of organic food in Britain is not local but imported to meet the growing need. “The demand for organic food is increasing by about one third every year, so it is a very fast-growing market.” Said Sue Flock, a specialist in this line of business.
1. More and more people in Britain are buying organic food because____________.
A. they are getting richerB. they can get the food anywhere
C. they consider the food free of pollution D. they like home-grown fruit
2. Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Those who buy organic food have a complete knowledge of organic food.
B. Some of the organic food is produced outside Britain.
C. Organic produce is not seasonal and tastes more tasty.
D. Organic products are those which are free of pesticides.
3. The underlined words “organic trend” means____________.
A. higher prices of organic food B. better quality of organic food
C. rising market for organic food D. growing interest in organic food
4. The news story is mainly about____________.
A. that more and more people prefer organic food in Britain
B. the production of organic food in Britain
C. the complete knowledge of organic food in Britain
D. good qualities of organic food in Britain
第三部分阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
The food we eat seems to have a great effect on our health. Although science has made big steps in making food more fit to eat, it has, at the same time, made many foods unfit to eat. Some research has shown that perhaps eighty percent of human illness is related to food and forty percent of cancer is related to food as well. That food is related to illness is not a new discovery. In 1945, some researchers realized that things commonly used to keep colour in meats and other food additives（添加剂）caused cancer.
Yet, these additives remain in our food, and it is difficult to know which things on the wrappings（包装）of foods are helpful or harmful. The additives which we eat are not all so direct. Farmers often give penicillin to their animals, and because of this, penicillin has been found in the milk of cows. Sometimes similar things are supplied to animals not for their health, but just to make a profit.
The farmers are simply trying to fatten the animals in order to get a higher price on the market. Although some countries have tried to control such things, the practice continues.
1. According to this passage, we can know____________.
A. perhaps most of human illness is caused by what we eat
B. perhaps most kinds of cancer are related to what people eat
C. cancer was discovered in 1945 D. science has made food unfit to eat
2. Things that are used to keep colours in meats are____________.
A. harmful B. useless C. helpless D. dangerous
3. All the additives____________.
A. are bright and colourless
B. are not bright and colourful
C. have indirect effects on our health
D. have direct effects on our health
4. Which of the following is not true?
A. Some wrappings of food are harmful.
B. Farmers try to make more money on the market by fattening their animals.
C. “The practice continues” means “things are still going on like that”.
D. We needn’t take care of what we eat.
When an ant dies, other ants take it out of the nest, often within an hour after its death. This behavior interests scientists and they wonder how ants know for sure — and so soon — that another ant is dead.
One scientist recently came up with a way to explain this ant behaviour. Dong-Hwan Choe is a biologist, a scientist who studies animals and plants. He found that ants have a chemical on the outside of their bodies that signals to other ants, “I'm dead—take me away” when it is dead.
But there's a question to answer: As we know, if an ant is dead, it stops moving. But when an ant is sleeping or knocked unconscious, it is also not moving. However, other ants don't move the living ant out of the nest. How do they know this ant is not dead? Choe found that ants have another chemical on their bodies, which tells nearby ants something like, “Wait—I'm not dead yet”when it is not dead. Choe suspects that when an ant dies, the chemical that says, “Wait I'm not dead yet”quickly goes away. When other ants detect the“dead”chemical without the“not dead yet”chemical, they move away the body.
To test his theory , Choe and his team put different chemicals on ants. When the scientists used the “I'm dead” chemical, other ants quickly moved the treated ant away. When the scientists used the“Wait—I'm not dead yet”chemical, other ants left the treated ant alone. Choe believes this behavior shows that the“not dead yet”chemical overrides the“dead” chemical when picked up by other ants. And that when an ant dies, the “not dead yet” chemical fades away. Other nearby ants then detect the remaining“dead”chemical and remove the body from the nest.[
Understanding this behavior can help scientists figure out how to stop ants from invading new places and causing problems.
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?
A. Leading the following paragraphs. B. Showing the main idea of the passage.
C. Introducing the background of the passage. D. Giving a summary of the passage.
2. Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined word “overrides” in the fourth paragraph?
A.is weaker than B. is stronger than C. is better than D. is worse than
3. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Living ants can also be taken away when they are not moving.
B. When an ant dies, it can tell others using a certain chemical.
C. A living ant can pretend to be dead using a special chemical.
D. Ants often use chemicals to communicate with each other.
4. Which of the following descriptions about Dong-Hwan Choe is right?
A. Choe did this study in order to stop ants from invading new places.
B. Choe is a biologist who is only interested in animals, especially in ants.
C. Choe first came up with an idea to explain this ant behavior，and then did some tests to prove his theory.
D. Choe did the research on this ant behavior on his own