Passage B

(1)

(2)

(3)

Passage A

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　I have a rule for travel：Never carry a map．I prefer to ask for directions．

　　Foreign visitors are often puzzled in Japan because most streets there don't have names．In Japan, people use landmarks in their directions instead of street names．For example, the Japanese will say to travelers,“Go straight down to the corner．Turn left at the big hotel and go pass a fruit market．The post office is across from the bus stop．”

　　In the countryside of the American Midwest, usually there are not many landmarks．There are no mountains, so the land is very flat(平坦的)．In many places there are no towns or buildings within miles．Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distance．In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say,“Go north two miles．Turn east, and then go another mile．”

　　People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map：They measure distance by means of time, not miles．“How far away is the post office?”you ask．“Oh,”they answer,“it's about five minutes from here．”you say,“Yes, but how many miles away is it?”They don't know．

　　People in Greece sometimes do not even try to give directions because visitors seldom understand the Greek language．Instead of giving you the direction, a Greek will often say,“Follow me．”Then he'll lead you through the streets of the city to the post office．

　　Sometimes a person doesn't know the answer to your question．What happens in this situation? A New Yorker might say,“Sorry, I have no idea．”But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers,“I don't know．”People in Yucatan think that“I don't know”is impolite．They usually give an answer, often a wrong one．A visitor can get very, very lost in Yucatan!

　　One thing will help you everywhere－in Japan, in the United States, in Greece, in Mexico, or in any other place．You might not understand a person's words, but maybe you can understand his body language．He or she will usually turn and then point in the correct direction．Go in that direction, and you may find the post office!

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　pavement：人行道

　　swerve：突然转向

　　insurance：保险

　　payout：支出

(1)

(2)

(3)

阅读理解

　　The private automobile(私家车)has long played an important role in the United States．In fact, it has become a necessary and important part of the American way of life．In 1986, sixty-nine percent of American families owned at least one car, and thirty-eight percent had more than one．By giving workers rapid transportation, the automobile has freed them from having to live near their place of work．This has encouraged the growth of the cities, but it has also led to traffic problems．

　　For farm families the automobile is very helpful．It has made it possible for them to travel to town very often for business and for pleasure, and also to transport their children to distant schools．

　　Family life has been affected(影响)in various ways．The car helps to keep families together when it is used for picnics, outings, and other shared experiences．However, when teenage children have the use of the car, their parents can't keep an eye on them．There is a great danger if the driver has been drinking alcohol⑩ or taking drugs, or is“showing off”by speeding or breaking other traffic laws．Mothers of victims(受害者)of such accidents have formed an organization called MADD(Mother Against Drunk Driving)．These women want to prevent further tragedies(悲剧)．They have worked to encourage the government to limit the youngest drinking age．Students have formed a similar organization, SADD(Students Against Drunk Driving)and are spreading the same message among their friends．

　　For many Americans the automobile is a necessity．But for some, it is also a mark of social position and for young people, a sign of becoming an adult．Altogether, cars mean very much to Americans．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　The year 2005 has been a year of disasters, but the bad luck of the planet won't end with the year．If scientists are right, planet earth is 31 years away from a major disaster．A small near-earth object with the potential④ to cause big damage has grabbed the attention of observers around the world．

　　Astronomers have been monitoring the progress of a 390-metre-wide asteroid(小行星)ever since it was discovered last June．They predict⑤ that it could hit the earth, causing huge damage, in 2036．They are asking governments to develop a strategy⑥ for deflecting(使偏离)the asteroid, which was named Apophis after an ancient Egyptian demon⑦．

　　NASA estimates⑧ that an impact by Apophis would release more than 100 000 times the energy of the nuclear blast(爆炸)that destroyed Hiroshima．The whole planet would see the effects of the dust released into the atmosphere．

　　An Apophis hit is the worst possible near-earth scenario⑨ in recorded history．The asteroid has a 1 in 37 chance of hitting the earth．

　　More than 30 years' warning of potential impact might seem like plenty of time．But scientists insist that there is actually little time left to decide what to do．It could take decades to design, test and build the technology to deflect the asteroid, they say．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　Last summer I went through a training program and became a literacy volunteer(扫盲志愿者)．The training I received，though excellent，did not tell me how it was to work with a real student，however．When I began to discover what other people's lives were like because they could not read，I realized the true importance of reading．

　　My first student Marie was a 44-year-old single mother of three．In the first lesson，I found out she walked two miles to the nearest supermarket twice a week because she didn't know which bus to take．When I told her I would get her a bus schedule(时刻表)，she told me it would not help because she could not read it．She said she also had difficulty once she got to the supermarket because she couldn't always remember what she needed．Since she did not know words，she could not write out a shopping list．Also，she could only recognize items by sight，so if the product had a different label(标识)，she would not recognize it as the product she wanted．

　　As we worked together，learning how to rebuild Marie's self-confidence(自信心)，which encouraged her to continue in her studies．She began to make rapid progress and was even able to take the bus to the supermarket．After this successful trip，she reported how self-confident she felt．At the end of the program，she began helping her youngest son，Tony，a shy first grader，with his reading．She sat with him before he went to sleep and together they would read bedtime stories．When his eyes became wide with excitement as she read，pride was written all over her face，and she began to see how her own hard work in learning to read paid off．As she described this experience，I was proud of myself as well．I found that helping Marie to build her self-confident was more rewarding than anything I had ever done before．

　　As a literacy volunteer③，I learned a great deal about teaching and helping others．In fact，I may have learned more from the experience than Marie did．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

CULTURAL CORNER

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

A Lively City

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　Some experts feel that cars are certain to fall into disuse．They see a day in the not-too-distant future when all cars will be deserted(被遗弃的)and made useless．Other experts, however, think the car is here to stay．They hold that the car will remain a lead-ing means of city travel in the foreseeable future．

　　The car will undoubtedly(无容置疑的)change greatly over the next 30 years．It should become smaller, safer, and more practical, and should not be powered⑨ by the gas engine．The car of the future should be far more pollution-free than present types．

　　Unless changes take place in the power system, the car in the future will still be the main problem in city traffic jams．One suggested solution to this essential⑩ problem is the automated(自动化)system, which seems to hold water．

　　When the car enters the highway system, a small arm will drop from the car and connect with a rail, which is similar to those powering subway trains electrically(用电的，与电有关的)．Once joined to the rail, the car will become electrically powered from the system, and control of the car will pass to a central computer．The computer will then monitor all of the car's movements．

　　The driver will use the telephone to dial instructions about his position and the place he heads for into the system．The computer will find the best way and reserve space for the car all the way to the correct exit from the highway．The driver will be free to relax and wait for the call that will warn him of his coming exit(出入口)．It is believed that an automated highway will be able to deal with 10 000 cars per hour, compared with the 1500 to(2000 cars that can be carried by a present-day highway．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)