阅读理解

　　On Easter morning, as the first rays of the sun lighten the sky at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the plaintive (哀伤的) sounds of trombones (长号) call the townspeople to Moravian(摩拉维亚教派) Burying Ground where they welcome the rising sun with songs of praise: Christ is risen.

　　In similar ceremonies throughout the land millions of people gather on hilltops, parks, churches and open spaces to salute (致敬) another Easter dawn. There is a resurrection of hope and joy as the earth reawakens to another spring, New life emerges: young lambs, fresh green grass, and delicate (纤细的) blooms appear. Days are growing longer and there is more warmth in the sun. Birds sing and the world rings with gladness.

　　One of the holiest days of Christendom (基督教教界), Easter commemorates (纪念) Christ's resurrection (复活) from the tomb where he had lain for three days following his crucifixion (钉死于十字架上) When he arose after the three days it was to fulfill his promise to rise again as proof of eternal life.

　　Although Easter is based on events in the life on Christ, older traditions have influenced the customs of the festival. The name Easter itself derives from the ancient Norse (挪威人) festival of spring sun (Eastre) which celebrated the awakening of new life and the death of winter. The Christian Easter gradually replaced the pagan (异教的) festival, but some of the rites (仪式), of spring were retained since Christ’s resurrection had occurred during that season.

　　Celebration of Easter by early settlers in the United States mirrored their European backgrounds. In the regions settled by those of Roman Catholic (罗马天主教) heritage (传统) Easter was observed from the beginning. But the straight-laced [古板的]Puritans in New England, still influenced by the British prohibition (禁止) against what they considered profane (亵渎的) celebrations of Christmas and Easter, did not observe either holiday.

　　Easter is now celebrated throughout the country, although the customs, traceable to the different ethnic heritages, still vary with the regions. The German-Americans of Pennsylvania, for instance, preserve the custom of eating fried crullers(一种油煎饼) on Shrove Tuesday (大斋节的前一天); and those of Greek origin take part in a funeral procession following a flower- decked bier (棺材) bearing the figure of Christ.

1．The Easter comes most probably in ________.

[　　]

A．June

B．September

C．April

D．December

2．Which of the following statement about the Easter is tree?

[　　]

A．The Easter is only one of religion holy days.

B．The Easter just celebrates the renewing of the nature.

C．All people throughout the Christendom celebrated the Easter since the beginning.

D．Different ethic groups celebrate the Easter in a different way.

3．The Easter was not celebrated by ________ in the early days of the United States.

[　　]

A．those with Roman Catholic tradition

B．the Germans settled in Pennsylvania

C．the Puritans from the Britain

D．those with Greek origin

4．Which of the following is closest to the meaning of the word “observe” (in Line 3, para. 5)?

[　　]

A．Watch carefully.

B．Comment.

C．Obey.

D．Celebrate.

5．The Christian Easter maintains some ceremonies of Spring because ________.

[　　]

A．the Easter comes in Spring

B．the Christians like Spring in which new life emerges

C．it is an old Norse festival

D．Christ's resurrection had happened in Spring

根据句中所给汉语，完成下列句子。（每空一词，每空0.5分，共10分）

1.一旦吉姆下定决心，我们中没有人能说服他。

Once Jim                                 , none of us can persuade him.

2.看起来似乎三分之一的游客死于酒店里的这场大火。

                      one third of the visitors were killed in the big fire in the hotel.

3.汤姆一听到他得了癌症，感觉自己好像已经被判了死刑。

After knowing that he’d got cancer, Tom felt as if he had                         .

4.听到她儿子上台执政的消息，她突然大哭了起来。

On hearing that her son came               , the woman               tears.

5.三分之二的村民在地震中遇难或受伤。

Two-thirds of the villagers                                 during the earthquake last night.

The appeal of advertising to buying motives can have both negative and positive effects. Consumers may be convinced to buy a product of poor quality or high price because of an advertisement. For example, some advertisers have appealed to people’s desire for better fuel economy for their cars by advertising automotive products that improve gasoline mileage. Some of the products work. Others are worthless and a waste of consumers’ money.
Sometimes advertising is intentionally misleading. A few years ago a brand of
bread was offered to dieters (节食者) with the message that there were fewer calories in every slice. It turned out that the bread was not dietetic (适合于节食的), but just regular bread. There were fewer calories because it was sliced very thin, but there were the same number of calories in every loaf.
　　On the positive side, emotional appeals may respond to a consumer’s real concerns. Consider fire insurance. Fire insurance may be sold by appealing to fear of loss. But fear of loss is the real reason for fire insurance. The security of knowing that property is protected by insurance makes the purchase of fire insurance a worthwhile investment for most people. If consumers consider the quality of the insurance plans as well as the message in the ads, they will benefit from the advertising.
　　Each consumer must evaluate her or his own situation. Are the benefits of the product important enough to justify buying it? Advertising is intended to appeal to consumers, but it does not force them to buy the product. Consumers still control the final buying decision.
56. Advertising can persuade the consumer to buy worthless products by _________.
　 A. stressing their high quality
　 B. convincing him of their low price
　 C. maintaining a balance between quality and price
　 D. appealing to his buying motives
57. The reason why the bread advertisement is misleading is that ________.
　 A. thin slices of bread could contain more calories
　 B. the loaf was cut into regular slices
　 C. the bread was not genuine bread
　 D. the total number of calories in the loaf remained the same
58. The passage tells us that _______.
　 A. sometimes advertisements really sell what the consumer needs
　 B. advertisements occasionally force consumers into buying things they don’t need
　 C. the buying motives of consumers are controlled by advertisements
　 D. fire insurance is seldom a worthwhile investment
59. It can be inferred from the passage that a smart consumer should ________.
　 A. think carefully about the benefits described in the advertisements
　 B. guard against the deceiving nature of advertisements
　 C. be familiar with various advertising strategies
　 D. avoid buying products that have strong emotional appeal
60. The passage is mainly about ________.
　 A. how to make a wise buying decision
　 B. ways to protect the interests of the consumer
　 C. the positive and negative aspects of advertising
　 D. the function of advertisements in promoting sales

Doreen Sykora is now a junior at McGill University. She had a difficult time when she first began college. She said, “I was always well prepared for my examinations. But when I go into class to take the exam, I would fall apart. I could just blank out because of nervousness and fear.” Hitoshi Sakamoto, an anthropology(人类学) student at Temple University in Tokyo reports similar experiences.

These two young students were experiencing something called test anxiety. Because a student worries and is stressed(加压力于) about a test, his or her mind does not work as well as it usually does. The student cannot write or think clearly because of the severe tension and nervousness.

Now there are special university courses to help students. In these courses, advisors and psychologists try to help students by teaching them to manage test anxiety. Such a course helps students learn to live with stress and not fail because of it. First students take a practice test to measure their worry level. If the tests show that their stress level is high, the students can take a short course to manage the fear. These courses teach students how to relax their bodies. They get training to become calm in very tense situations. By controlling their nervousness, they can let their minds work more easily. Learned information then comes out without difficulty on a test.

Doreen Sykora saw immediate results after taking such a course. She now has enthusiasm about the relaxation methods. “Mostly, what I do is imagine myself in a very calm place. Then I imagine myself picking up a pencil. I move slowly and carefully. I breathe easily and let all the tension out. With each breath, more worry leaves me. It really works too. My grades have improved greatly! I’m really doing well at McGill now. This relaxation method works not only on examinations, but it has improved the rest of my life as well.”

For Hitoshi in Tokyo, the results were much the same. He is enjoying school a lot more and learning more.

1. What is the similarity between Doreen Sykora and Hitoshi Sakamoto?

A. They are students from the same university.

B. They failed in all the examinations.

C. They both had experiences of test anxiety.

D. They both had the same poor studying habits.

2. The phrase “blank out” in Paragraph 1 refers to “_______.”

A. lose interest in the exam           B. refuse to take the exam

C. get an extra paper                  D. be unable to think clearly

3. What’s the purpose of some special university student-help courses?

　　A. To help students to reduce test anxiety.   

　　B. To show a stress level experienced by students.

　　C. To learn more knowledge about test anxiety.

　　D. To have a better understanding of test anxiety.

请根据下面提示，写一篇题目为SMOKING的短文。词数100此左右。开头部分已给出。

吸烟的危害：心脏病，癌，全世界每年有二百五十万人死于与吸烟有关的疾病。

戒烟难的原因：形成习惯，内含尼古丁，使人上瘾。

已采取的措施：警告人们吸烟的危害，公共场所禁止吸烟，报纸禁止香烟广告，世界无烟日设定。