阅读理解

A

　　because plants cannot move or talk, most people believe that they have no feeling and that they cannot receive signals (信号) from outside . However, this may not be completely true.

　　People who studied plants have found out that plants carry a small electrical charge (电荷) . It is possible to measure this charge with a small piece of equipment called “ galvanometer” . 'The galvanometer is placed on a leaf of the plant, and it records any changes in the electrical field of the leaf. Humans have a similar field which can change when we are shocked or frightened.

　　A man called Backster used a galvanometer for his studies of plants and was very surprised at his results. He found that if he had two or more plants in a room and he began to destroy one of them ,perhaps by pulling off its leaves or by pulling it out of its pot,then the galvanometer on the leaves of the other plants showed a change in the electrical field. It seemed as if the plants were signalling a feeling of shock. This happened not only when Backster started to destroy plants, but also when he destroyed other living things such as insects(昆虫).

　　Backster said that the plants also knew if someone had destroyed a living thing some distance away, because they signalled when a man who had just cut down a tree entered the room.

　　Another scientist, named Sauvin, achieved similar results to Backster' s. He kept galvanometers fixed to his plants all the time and checked regularly to see what the plants were doing, if he was out of the office, he telephoned to find out about the signals the plants were sending. In this way, he found that the plants were sending out signals at the exact time when he felt strong pleasure or pain. In fact, Sauvin could cause a change in the electrical field of his plants over a distance of a few miles simply by thinking about them.

1．Most people believe that plants have no feelings because ________.

[　　]

A．they do not move or speak

B．they cannot receive signals from outside

C．this may not be completely true

D．this is unbelievable

2．Backster was surprised at the results of his studies because________

[　　]

A．he destroyed an insect

B．he destroyed a plant by pulling off its leaves

C．he found that plants could express feelings of shock

D．he found that plants could move and speak after all

3．The plants sent out signals ________ .

[　　]

A．only when Backster started to destroy plants

B．when Backster destroyed plants or other living things

C．only when he destroyed things such as insects

D．only when Backster placed the galvanometer on the leaves of the plants

4．The scientist called Sauvin ________.

[　　]

A．did not agree with Backster' s ideas

B．did not get the same sort of results as Backster did

C．got different results from Backster's

D．found out some of the same things that Backster did

5．Which of the following is true according to the passage?

[　　]

A．The electrical charge plants carry may shock or frighten us.

B．A tree will signal when it has been cut down.

C．Sauvin could make his plants send out signals some distance away .

D．Plants have feelings because they can receive signals without moving.

阅读理解

　　Mr. Lewis was a dance teacher. He was a nice man and always had a lot of students who used to come to his classes every week. One year he moved to a new town, and was soon teaching a lot of students in the dance school there, but then he decided to move to a big city where he would have more work.

　　When one of his students who regularly came to his classes heard that he was going to leave, she said to him, “The teacher who takes your place won' t be as good as you are. ”

　　Mr. Lewis was happy when he heard this, but he said , “Oh ,I' m sure he'll be as good as I am or even better. ”

　　The lady said, “No. Five teachers have come and gone while I've been here, and each new was worse than the last. ”

1．Mr. Lewis wanted to move to a big city because ________.

[　　]

A．he hated the small town

B．he had few students here

C．it would be easy for him to make money in the big city

D．it would be difficult for him to become famous

2．One of the ladies who regularly came to his classes thought Mr. Lewis was________.

[　　]

A．a good teacher

B．the best teacher

C．neither the best nor the worst teacher

D．to be the worst teacher

3．Mr. Lewis was ________when he heard that he was better than the new teacher.

[　　]

A．surprised

B．pleased

C．sad

D．upset

4．Before Mr. Lewis five other teachers came to the________.

[　　]

A．town and still stayed there

B．town and some of them went away

C．town and all of them went away

D．big city

5．Mr. Lewis said that________.

[　　]

A．the new dance teacher would be better than he

B．he would be better than the new dance teacher

C．would be worse for him to go to a big city

D．should be better for him to stay in the town

阅读理解(从每题所给的四个选项中选出一个最佳答案)

B

I was awoken at 4 a. m. the following morning by a telephone message from the Foreign Office to the effect that Germany had attacked Russia. The Prime Minister had always said that he was never to be woken up for anything but invasion (侵略) of England . I therefore put off telling him till 8 a. m. His only comment was, “Tell the BBC. I will broadcast tonight. ” He began to prepare the speech at 11 a. m. and except for lunch time, at which Sir Stafford Cripps, Lord Cranborne, and Beaverbrook were present, he devoted the whole day to it …. The speech was only ready at twenty minutes to nine.

1．The writer was probably ________.

[　　]

A．a secretary of the Prime Minister

B．a worker in the Foreign Office

C．an officer in the War Office

D．a BBC. reporter

2．Which of the following is ture?

[　　]

A．Germany attacked Russia and four hours later the Prime Minister of England knew it.

B．The writer knew invasion of England four hours earlier than the Prime Minister.

C．The writer was told that Germany had attacked Russia; so he told it to the Prime Minister immediately.

D．Although the writer knew invasion of Russia in the early morning, he didn't tell it to the Prime Minister right away because the Prime Minister was sleeping.

3．When the Prime Minister knew invasion of Russia, he first wanted ________.

[　　]

A．to tell the BBC about it

B．to tell his people about it

C．to write a speech

D．to meet Sir Stafford Cripps, Lord Cranborne and Beaverbrook

4．The Prime Minister ________with Sir Stafford Cripps, Lord Cranborne and Beaver brook .

[　　]

A．had a meeting to discuss the serious situation

B．broadcast at the BBC

C．heard the writer' s report

D．had lunch

5．The Prime Minister probably broadcast at the BBC  _________.

[　　]

A．at nine o' clock that night

B．at nine o' clock that morning

C．at twenty minutes to nine

D．at lunch time

阅读下列短文, 从所给的四个选项中, 选出最佳答案。 　　

　　    "Bad luck always comes in three " and last Saturday seemed to prove it. After trouble with the car and the television, we spent the evening waiting for the next trouble. Shortly after dinner we both smelled smoke. My wife, who is often careless when cooking, ran to the　　 kitchen but returned looking puzzled. I rushed up the stairs to see smoke coming from under our bedroom door. I went to the bathroom and tied a wet cloth over my face. Then I returned to the bedroom, opened the door and crawled (爬) in —— there would be less smoke at floor level. With one hand reaching out in front of me I advanced carefully feeling for the switch to turn off the electric blanket. At that moment I heard the bell of a coming fire engine. Thank goodness my wife had not been wasting her time.　　

1. The wife rushed into the kitchen because ________ .

[　　]

A. the smoke came out of the kitchen

B. she left something in the kitchen

C. she was afraid the smoke was caused by her carelessness

D. things in the kitchen were easy to cause fire 　　

2. The cause of the fire might be ________

[　　]

A. the fire

B. the kitchen

C. electricity

D. bad luck

3. When the husband was upstairs trying to stop the smoke ________.

[　　]

A. the wife telephoned the firemen

B. the firemen saw the smoke and came

C. the wife was downstairs doing nothing

D. they were in great danger

4. In the face of the fire the husband proved to be ________ .

[　　]

A. brave but slow in action

B. afraid but quick in mind

C. afraid and slow in action

D. brave and quick in mind

5. The passage wants to express that ________ .

[　　]

A. an unlucky person will have trouble one after another

B. an unlucky person will only have trouble three times

C. "THREE" is an unlucky number 　　

D. "THREE" always comes with a bad luck

阅读下列短文, 从所给的四个选项中, 选出最佳答案。

Dear Aunt and Uncle,　　

　　    This is my first English letter to you. I'm going to tell you about my school life in simple English.

    I'm a first-year student in the Foreign Languages Department. We get up at six in the morning. We wash and dress. Then we do our morning exercises on the sportsground. After that we usually run round the track. Before breakfast, we have half an hour for reading. Classes begin at half past seven. We usually have two English classes in the morning. In the afternoon, we have Chinese and other subjects.　　 Sometimeswe spend an hour or two in the language lab.

　　    In the evening, we listen to the tape-recordings, go over ourlessons and have group activities.

　　    I'm very busy at school, but I'm happy.

　　    How are you, Aunt and Uncle? And how are my cousins? Please give my best wishes to them.

Love,

Chang Hua

1. ________ wrote this letter.

[　　]

A. Dear Aunt　　

B. A student　　

C. Chang Hua　　

D. Uncle

2. The writer ________.

[　　]

A. often writes letters in English　　

B. never wrote letters in English before

C. is an English writer

D. is an English user

3. The only correct order of the following should be ________.

[　　]

a. get up　　　　　　    b. dress　　　　    c. wash　　　　　　

d. do morning exercises  e. have breakfast   f. read

A. abcedf　　

B.bcadfe　　

C. acbdfe　　

D. abdcef

4. In the evening, students in the Foreign Languages Department ________.

[　　]

A. have Chinese classes　　

B. spend some time in the language lab

C. listen to the tapes and go over the lessons

D. Both A and B

5. This letter mainly says something about ________.

[　　]

A. the writer himself　　

B. the study　　

C. the writer's aunt　　

D. the school life

阅读下列短文, 从所给的四个选项中, 选出最佳答案。　　 　　

　　 　　    Dinner, for English people, is the richest meal of the day and is　　 a very formal meal. Many people even wear special clothes for dinner,　　 so if you are asked out to dinner you must find out whether you are　　 expected to wear a dinner suit; for you would feel very upset if when　　 you get there, you were the only person in ordinary clothes. Dinner　　 is generally served at about half past seven. All the numbers of the　　 family sit down together and eat on their best behavior. The head of　　 the family sits at one end of the table; his wife sits at the other. If　　 there is a guest, he generally sits in the place of honor, which is　　 at the right of the lady of the house. If there are several guests, the　　 most important is asked to sit there. During the meal conversation is　　 carried on, you should try to get in conversation with the person on　　 your right or left, but you should not try to talk to someone who is　　 a long way from you.　　

　　 　　 　　

1. English dinner is the richest meal of the day, which suggests     that ________.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  ［　　］    
   A. you have the best meal you have never had before  
   B. you can enjoy quantities of all sorts of food and drink  
   C. such dinner usually costs a lot of money    
   D. you can receive a best service
2. Before going to dinner, you should be careful ________. ［　　］     
   A .to keep yourself calm    
   B. to find out who invites you  　　
   C. of the exact time and place    
   D. about your clothes for the dinner
3. The most important guest usually sits ________.　　　　 ［　　］  
   A. at the right side of the housewife
   B. at the place he likes best 　　
   C. at one end of the table 　　
   D. between the head of the family and the lady of the house
4. During the dinner conversation, the guest should only talk to    _____________.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  ［　　］  
   A. the one in the place of honor    
   B. the one just at your side    
   C. the one at either end of the table     
   D. the one who is a long way off 5. For English people, dinner is a very formal meal. The reason for     this is that ________.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  ［　　］
   A. the last meal of the day should be formal    
   B. guests are often invited to dinner    
   C. it just follows the custom of the British  
   D. something special often takes place then 

A story from the Bible (圣经) tells of old Babylon, where the men decided to build a tower that would touch the sky. But God was unhappy, and he made them speak different languages. They couldn’t understand each other, so their dream never came true.

    Yet the dream remains alive: if all men speak the same language, they can do anything. L. L. Zamenhof from Poland was among the men who pursue this dream. He developed Esperanto (世界语) between 1877 and 1885. As the most successful man-made world language, it is spoken by over two million people around the world. Last month, the World Esperanto Congress (大会), dealing with language rights, ended in Sweden. The 2004 conference will be held in Beijing.

    Most Esperanto speakers are in Central and Eastern Europe and in East Asia, particularly Chinese mainland. Esperanto has two advantages (优点). First, it’s easy. Each letter has exactly one sound and there are just 16 basic grammar rules. The second advantage is that it belongs to no one country.

    But Esperanto has only reached a small number of people compared with natural languages widely used around the world--such as English or Chinese. While these languages are deeply connected with their nations and cultures, Esperanto doesn’t have this background.

    Will Esperanto really become a global language? It remains a question.

    1. The writer tells us a story at the beginning to ________.

    A. explain why men have been making the effort to create a language shared by all

    B. explain why men now speak different languages

    C. show the relationship between man and God

    D. prove language is very important

   2. What does the word“pursue”in the second paragraph mean?

    A. Realize.　　　　　　 B. Work for.　　　　  C. Be against.　　　　 D. Follow.

    3. What is the basic difference between Esperanto and English?

    A. More people speak English than Esperanto.

    B. Esperanto words are easier to spell.

    C. Esperanto has fewer grammar rules.

    D. Esperanto is not supported by any country or culture.

    4. What does the story mainly talk about?

    A. Advantages and disadvantages of Esperanto.

    B. Men’s dream of sharing the same language.

    C. Comparison of Esperanto and other languages like English and Chinese.

    D. The most successful planned language-Esperanto.

 

Some time ago, I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn't think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended, as there are a whole lot of antique (古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception (接待). I was quite wrong. The man wouldn’t even look at my chair.

    The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth-so I decided that my approach must be wrong.

    I went into the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper,“Would you like to buy a chair?”He looked it over carefully and said, “Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?” “Twenty pounds,” I said. “OK,” he said, “I’ll give you twenty pounds.” “It’s got a slightly broken leg,” I Said. “Yes, I’ saw that, it’s nothing.”

    Everything was going according to plan and I was getting excited. “What will you do with it?” I asked. “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done.” “I’ll buy it,” I said. “What do you mean! You’ve just sold it to me,” he said. “Yes, I know but I’ve changed my mind. I’m sorry. I’ll give you twenty-seven pounds for it.” “You must be crazy,” he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair.” “You’re right,” I said. “And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, Would you mend this chair for me I wouldn’t have agreed to do it,” he said. “We don’t do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I’ll mend this for you, shall we say for a fiver?” He was a very nice man and was greatly amused (感到有趣) by the whole thing.

1. We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer ________.

A. was rather impolite

B. was warmly received

C. asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair

D. asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair

2. The expression“the penny dropped”in the last paragraph means the shopkeeper ________.

    A. changed his mind　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. accepted the offer

    C. saw the writer’s purpose　　　　　　    D. decided to help the writer

3. How much did the writer pay?

    A.￡5.　　　　　　　　   B.￡7.　　　　　　　　   C.￡20.　　　　　　　　 D.￡27.

4. From the text, we can learn that the writer was ________

A. honest　　　　　　   B. careful　　　　　　　　　　 C. smart　　　　　　    D. funny

 

Giant leap for China

    A few days ago, he was just Colonel (上校) Yang; Few people knew his name or recognized his face. But last Thursday, when he came back to the earth after a 21-hour trip to space, Yang Liwe's smile was seen across the world above the magic words:“China’s first spaceman”.

    The 38-year-old astronaut was sent into space at 9 a. m. last Wednesday by China’s Shenzhou V spacecraft, which orbited the earth 14 times. He landed safely at 6: 23 a. m. the next day, making China the third country to successfully send a person into space, after the former Soviet Union and the US.

    Yang was satisfied with his job. “I have seen many landing scenes before on video, and I think ours was one of the most successful,” he said on a special plane to Beijing after landing.

    Born into an ordinary family in Liaoning Province, he became a pilot in the Chinese Air Force in 1987, spending 1, 350 hours in the air. He joined the Chinese space programmer 11 years later.

    While in space, Yang recorded everything he saw as well as showing China’s national flag and the United Nations’ flag to the people watching on TV at home. He also ate a meal of diced chicken and fried rice, before taking a 3-hour nap. The whole project went according to plan, but space exploration is not as easy as it seems.

    Anyone who saw the destruction of the US space shuttle Columbia in February this year will know that Yang took a great risk.

    He experienced extremely high temperatures, while the gravitational forces (重力) on takeoff and landing were strong enough to force tears from his eyes.

    He has spent five years training to become a spaceman.

    "I eat all of my meals at the space programmer’s dinning room and have never been able to take my son to kindergarten," he said. "I’ve never met his teachers."

    But becoming China’s first spaceman has made all the effort worthwhile.

    “When I boarded the spacecraft for the first time, I couldn’t help feeling excited,”he said.“I decided that I had to fly it.”

    To Chinese people, Yang is now a hero. One visitor to a Xinhua news agency online forum (网上论坛) said:“Yang’s trip is a giant leap forward for China.”

    Officials say the next Shenzhou will be launched by 2005. China also plans to develop space walking and a space lab.

1. What is the main idea of the story?

    A. China’s first manned space flight.

    B. A hero with great courage

    C. The first Chinese man in space

    D. How Yang Liwei became China’s first spaceman

2. How long did each of Yang’s orbits take on average?

    A. 1 hour.　　　　　　  B. 1. 5 hours.　　　　 C. 6 hours.　　　　    D. The story didn’t mention.

3. Why did the writer mention the gravitational forces on takeoff and landing?

    A. To stress the hardship and the spaceman had to experience.

    B. Because it was a very special experience for any spacemen.

    C. To stress how much training he had to do to prepare for the flight

    D. To show that Yang is lucky.

4. Why did the writer use“giant leap”in the title?

    A. Because the space flight marked China’s great progress in the field of space exploration.

    B. Because Neil Armstrong said it was a "giant leap" for mankind when he first set foot on the moon.

    C. Because the space flight was a huge success.

    D. Both A and B.

 

The next time you try for a high-ranking post, you could let your possible boss listen to a recommending (推荐) phone call“made”by US President George W. Bush or British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

    Of course, neither of them could really do that for you-you would just“borrow”their voices.

    AT&T labs will start selling speech software that it says is so good at reproducing the sounds of a human voice that it can recreate voices and even bring the voices of long-dead famous people back to life.

    The software, which turns printed text into speech, makes it possible for a company to use recordings of a person’s voice to say things that the person never actually said.

    Possible customers for the software, which is priced in the thousands of dollars, include telephone call centers, companies that make software that reads digital (数学的) files aloud, and makers of automated voice devices (装置). The advances raise several problems. Who, for example, owns the rights to a famous person’s voice? (Some experts even believe that new contracts (合同) will be drawn that include voice-licensing clauses. )

    And although scientists say the technology is not yet good enough to commit fraud (假冒), would the synthesized (合成的) voices at last be able to trick people into thinking that they were getting phone calls or digital audio recordings from people they know?

    Even Mr. Fruchterman, one of AT&T lab’s possible first customers, said he wondered what the new technology might bring.“Just like you can't trust a photograph any more.”he said,“you won’t be able to trust a voice either.”

    1. With the help of the speech software, it is most possible ________.

A. to improve a famous person’s speech

B. to say what you want in another’s voice

C. to make a speech much more easily

D. to help you to find a better job

    2. If the speech software were widely used,________.

    A. people would no longer believe each other

    B. it would not be necessary to go for a speech by a famous person

    C. no radio or TV broadcasters would be needed

    D. recording of a voice alone would not be taken as a proof in the court

    3. According to the passage, you can infer that ________.

    A. the software will turn out to be an immediate success in the market.

    B. the government will forbid the sale of the software in the market.

    C. it’s hard to decide whether the software will enjoy popularity.

    D. the software will soon prove to be nothing but rubbish.

    4. The passage mainly wants to ________.

A. introduce a new software

B. explain the disadvantage of a new invention

C. advertise a new kind of product

D. describe the future market of a new product