Suppose that we lined up our roughly 14 million United States businesses in order of size, starting with the smallest, along an imaginary road from San Francisco to New York. There will be 4,500 businesses to the mile, or a little less than one per foot. Suppose further that we planted a flag each business. The height of the flag pole represents the yearly volume of sales (销量) , each $ 10, 000 in sales in shown by one foot of pole.

The line of flagpoles is a very interesting sight. From San Francisco to about Reno, it is almost unnoticeable, a row of poles about a foot high. From Reno eastward the poles increase in height until, near Columbus, Ohio - about four - fifths of the way across the nation - flags fly about 10 feet in the air.

But as we approach the eastern terminus (终点) , the poles suddenly begin to mount (升高) . There are about 300, 000 firms in the country with sales over $ 500, 000. These firms take up the last 75 miles of the 3,000 - mile road. There are 200, 000 firms with sales over $ 1 million. They take up the last 50 miles. Then there are 1, 000 firms with sales of $ 50, 000, 000 or more. They take up the last quarter of a mile before the city limits, flags flying at cloud height, 5 , 000 feet up .

At the very gate of New York, on the last 100 feet of the last mile , we find the 100 largest industrial firms . They have sales of at least $ 1.5 billion, so that their flags are already miles high. Along the last 10 feet of road , there are 10 largest companies . Their sales are roughly $ 10 billion and up : their flags fly 190 miles in the air , almost in the stratosphere (平流层) .

1.What is the author’s main purpose in this passage?

A．To tell the reason why the largest firms are in New York.

B．To show the geographical distribution (分布) of the United States businesses.

C．To provide a general idea of the size of businesses in the United States.

D．To tell us how the United States businesses are arranged.

2.What’s the correct order of the following places from east to west?

A．San Francisco, Reno, New York, Columbus.

B．San Francisco, Reno, Columbus, New York.

C．New York, Columbus, Reno, San Francisco

D．New York, Reno, Columbus, San Francisco

3.Among the four parts of the imaginary road , which part , considering all the firms in it , has the largest total volume of sales ?

A．The last 75 miles.                        B．The last 50 miles.

C．The last 100 feet of the last mile.            D．The last quarter of a mile

4.Which of the following diagrams (图表) shows the right order of size of the US businesses , according to the text ?

S =" San" Francisco  R =" Reno"  C =" Columbus"  N =" New" York  H =" height"  F = feet

Suppose that we lined up our roughly 14 million United States businesses in order of size, starting with the smallest, along an imaginary road from San Francisco to New York. There will be 4,500 businesses to the mile, or a little less than one per foot. Suppose further that we planted a flag each business. The height of the flag pole represents the yearly volume of sales (销量) , each $ 10, 000 in sales in shown by one foot of pole.
The line of flagpoles is a very interesting sight. From San Francisco to about Reno, it is almost unnoticeable, a row of poles about a foot high. From Reno eastward the poles increase in height until, near Columbus, Ohio - about four - fifths of the way across the nation - flags fly about 10 feet in the air.
But as we approach the eastern terminus (终点) , the poles suddenly begin to mount (升高) . There are about 300, 000 firms in the country with sales over $ 500, 000. These firms take up the last 75 miles of the 3,000 - mile road. There are 200, 000 firms with sales over $ 1 million. They take up the last 50 miles. Then there are 1, 000 firms with sales of $ 50, 000, 000 or more. They take up the last quarter of a mile before the city limits, flags flying at cloud height, 5 , 000 feet up .
At the very gate of New York, on the last 100 feet of the last mile , we find the 100 largest industrial firms . They have sales of at least $ 1.5 billion, so that their flags are already miles high. Along the last 10 feet of road , there are 10 largest companies . Their sales are roughly $ 10 billion and up : their flags fly 190 miles in the air , almost in the stratosphere (平流层) .
【小题1】What is the author’s main purpose in this passage?

第二节完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
In a hall, a lecturer was giving a lecture to his students on stress management. At the beginning of the speech,he 41 a glass of water and asked the audience, “How 42 do you think this glass of water is?”
The students’ answers 43 from 20g to 500g.
“Actually,it does not matter on the absolute 44 . But it depends on how 45 you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it is OK. If I hold it for a(n) 46 , I will have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you will have to 47  an ambulance. It is exactly the 48 weight, but the longer I hold it, the 49 it becomes.” Hearing these words,the whole audience became silent, lost in thought.
After a moment, the lecturer continued, “ 50 we carry our burden all the time, 51 , we will not be able to carry on with the burden becoming increasingly heavier,  52 heavy for us to bear.
“So, what you have to do is to 53 the glass, rest for a while 54 holding it up again.”
As is shown in the story above, we have to put down the burden periodically, 55 we can be refreshed and are able to carry on.
So before you 56 home from work tonight, put the burden of 57 down. Don’t carry it back 58 . You can pick it up tomorrow.
Whatever burden you are having now on your 59 , let it down for a moment if you can.
Life is short,  60 it!  
41. A. supported            B. drank                C. needed                        D. raised
42. A. heavy                 B. pure           C. sweet                       D. many
43. A. differed             B. ranged              C. numbered                 D. limited
44. A. weight            B. volume             C. height                     D. quantity
45. A. tight                B. long                  C. difficult                   D. high
46. A. day                  B. second              C. hour                D. half
47. A. require                  B. invite          C. call                D. ask
48. A. proper                  B. same           C. right                   D. usual
49. A. less                  B. lighter              C. more                   D. heavier
50. A. If                     B. Unless         C. While                   D. Since
51. A. now and then    B. little by little        C. sooner or later      D. sometimes
52. A. too              B. so              C. rather                D. quite
53. A. put away       B. put down          C. put aside            D. put back
54. A. after            B. for              C. by                       D. before
55. A. so that                B. even if            C. as if                D. as soon as
56. A. leave                  B. clean                C. approach                  D. return
57. A. life                  B. duty                      C. task                     D. work
58. A. home                  B. office             C. company             D. family
59. A. shoulders            B. heart              C. body                   D. hands
60. A. do                   B. like                C. love                D. enjoy

II. Cloze 20%
Directions:  For each blank in the following passages there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.
A lecturer was giving a lecture to his students on stress management. He 21a glass of water and asked the audience, “How 22 do you think this glass of water is?”
The students’ answers 23 from 20g to 500g.
“It does not matter on the absolute 24 . It depends on how 25 you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it is OK. If I hold it for a(n) 26 , I will have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you will have to 27  an ambulance. It is exactly the 28 weight, but the longer I hold it, the 29 it becomes.” The whole audience became silent, lost in thought.
After a moment, the lecturer continued, “ 30 we carry our burden all the time, 31 , we will not be able to carry on with the burden becoming increasingly heavier, 32 heavy for us to bear.
“What you have to do is to 33 the glass, rest for a while 34 holding it up again.”
As is shown in the story above, we have to put down the burden periodically, 35 we can be refreshed and are able to carry on.
So before you 36 home from work tonight, put the burden of 37 down. Don’t carry it back 38 . You can pick it up tomorrow.
Whatever burden you are having now on your 39 , let it down for a moment if you can.
Life is short,  40 it!
21. A. supported            B. drank                C. needed                        D. raised
22. A. heavy                 B. pure           C. sweet                       D. many
23. A. differed             B. ranged              C. numbered                 D. limited
24. A. weight            B. volume             C. height                     D. quantity
25. A. tight                   B. long                  C. difficult                   D. high
26. A. day                  B. second              C. hour                D. half
27. A. require                  B. invite          C. call                D. ask
28. A. proper                  B. same         C. right                      D. usual
29. A. less                  B. lighter              C. more                   D. heavier
30. A. If                     B. Unless         C. While                   D. Since
31. A. now and then    B. little by little        C. sooner or later      D. sometimes
32. A. too              B. so              C. rather                D. Quite
33. A. put away       B. put down          C. put aside            D. put back
34. A. after            B. for              C. by                       D. before
35. A. so that                B. even if            C. as if                D. as soon as
36. A. leave                  B. clean                C. approach                  D. return
37. A. life                  B. duty                      C. task                     D. work
38. A. home                  B. office             C. company             D. family
39. A. shoulders            B. heart              C. body                   D. hands
40. A. do                   B. like                C. love                D. Enjoy

II. Cloze 20%

Directions:  For each blank in the following passages there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

A lecturer was giving a lecture to his students on stress management. He 21 a glass of water and asked the audience, “How 22 do you think this glass of water is?”

       The students’ answers 23 from 20g to 500g.

       “It does not matter on the absolute 24 . It depends on how 25 you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it is OK. If I hold it for a(n) 26 , I will have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you will have to 27  an ambulance. It is exactly the 28 weight, but the longer I hold it, the 29 it becomes.” The whole audience became silent, lost in thought.

       After a moment, the lecturer continued, “ 30 we carry our burden all the time, 31 , we will not be able to carry on with the burden becoming increasingly heavier,  32 heavy for us to bear.

       “What you have to do is to 33 the glass, rest for a while 34 holding it up again.”

       As is shown in the story above, we have to put down the burden periodically, 35 we can be refreshed and are able to carry on.

       So before you 36 home from work tonight, put the burden of 37 down. Don’t carry it back 38 . You can pick it up tomorrow.

       Whatever burden you are having now on your 39 , let it down for a moment if you can.

       Life is short,  40 it!

21. A. supported            B. drank                C. needed                         D. raised

22. A. heavy                 B. pure            C. sweet                       D. many

23. A. differed             B. ranged              C. numbered                 D. limited

24. A. weight             B. volume             C. height                     D. quantity

25. A. tight                     B. long                    C. difficult                   D. high

26. A. day                   B. second              C. hour                  D. half

27. A. require                   B. invite           C. call                 D. ask

28. A. proper                   B. same          C. right                        D. usual

29. A. less                   B. lighter              C. more                   D. heavier

30. A. If                       B. Unless          C. While                    D. Since

31. A. now and then    B. little by little         C. sooner or later      D. sometimes

32. A. too                B. so               C. rather                  D. Quite

33. A. put away       B. put down          C. put aside             D. put back

34. A. after             B. for               C. by                        D. before

35. A. so that                B. even if             C. as if                  D. as soon as

36. A. leave                  B. clean               C. approach                  D. return

37. A. life                   B. duty                       C. task                      D. work

38. A. home                    B. office              C. company              D. family

39. A. shoulders            B. heart               C. body                     D. hands

40. A. do                    B. like                C. love                  D. Enjoy