Reading Comprehension

　　A close friend of mine lives with six hundred wild animals on the Greek Island of Kylos. Ever since he left school (where I first knew him) he has traveled all over the world collecting animals for his own zoo. He hoped to collect at least two examples of every sort of animal on his island, like Noah before the Great Flood. But the flood that my friend was afraid of, was a flood not of water, but of people. I expect you have heard of my friend: he writes books about his travels, and about the wild and wonderful animals that he has collected. The money from the books helps to pay for all the food that these animals eat.

　　My friend told me that when he was out looking for water last week, (there is not enough water on the island though there is plenty all around it) , he found oil. He needs money for his travels, and for his zoo, and a little oil would buy enough water for a lifetime, but he knows that if he tells anybody else about it, it will be the end of his zoo, and his life's work.

1．My friend lives ________.

[　　]

A．on an island in the middle of the great flood

B．at the school that we used to go to on Kylos

C．on a Greek island with six hundred animals

D．all over the world; he is always traveling

2．Since he left school ________.

[　　]

A．he has collected books about every sort of animal

B ．he has lived in zoos all the world

C．he has lived all the time on a Greek island raising animals

D．he has been traveling all over the world collecting animals

3．The flood, of which my friend was afraid, was ________.

[　　]

A．a flood of too many people

B．a great flood of water

C．a flood of too many animals on his island

D．a flood of oil

4．He pays for the food the animals eat by ________.

[　　]

A．collecting two examples of every animal

B．traveling all over the world

C．writing and selling books

D．selling the oil on his island

5．If he tells anybody about the oil ________.

[　　]

A．it will be the end of his life's work

B．he will have as many animals as he needs

C．he will not write any more books

D．people will no longer come and visit his zoo

　　Reading Comprehension

　　Inventors like Thomas Edison were called mad. Their inventions were made fun of. John Fitch, who invented the steamboat became so discouraged that he killed himself. Charles Goodyear's family lived in poverty while he carried on his experiments. When Charles Newbold's cast-iron plough first appeared, farmers refused to use it. They said it would poison the soil. In both England and America, the canal companies were opposed to the use of railroads because they feared the competition. Horse breeders fought the introduction of cars and trucks. In France, tailors destroyed sewing machines that were used to make clothes for the army. Weavers wrecked the home of Richard Arkwright, the inventor of the power loom. Everywhere resistance to invention was strong.

1．This passage is about ________.

[　　]

A．Thomas Edison

B．obstacles(障碍) to invention

C．how inventions were made

D．how inventions have changed our lives

2．The best statement of the main idea of this passage is that ________.

[　　]

A．inventions were called mad

B．resistance to inventions was strong

C．inventors have lived in poverty

D．farmers refused to use the cast-iron plough

3．The inventor of the power loom was ________.

[　　]

A．Richard Arkwright

B．Thomas Edison

C．John Fitch

D．Charles Newbold

4．Horse breeders fought the introduction of cars and trucks because ________.

[　　]

A．they were unsafe

B．the horse was more useful

C．the horse was stronger

D．they cared more about their own economic interests

5．The passage shows that in the past people generally ________.

[　　]

A．welcomed inventions

B．respected inventors

C．were short-sighted

D．were open-minded

　　Reading Comprehension

　　Because he wrote his name so large that it could be read easily, John Hancock has a place in the dictionary.

　　John Hancock was a wealthy man who helped his own people in the American Revolution. He was president of the Continental Congress. He was also governor of Massachusetts and one of the first men to sign the Declaration of Independence. Yet he is remembered best for his large signature.

　　The story is told that when Hancock sat down to sign the Declaration of Independence, he said that he would write his signature large enough for John Bull to read without glasses(John Bull stands for England, as Uncle Sam stands for the United States). Hancock's signature on the Declaration is four and three quarters inches long----an inch longer than his usual signature.

　　Today John Hancock can be used to mean any person's signature.

1．This passage is mainly about ________.

[　　]

A．the American Revolution

B．John Hancock's handwriting

C．how an expression began

D．signing the Declaration of Independence

2．Hancock is remembered best because he ________.

[　　]

A．was governor of Massachusetts

B．helped his own country people

C．signed his name in large letters

D．was president of the Continental Congress

3．John Hancock said that he made his signature large so that ________.

[　　]

A．people would see it

B．it would show that he was proud to be an American

C．John Bull could read it without his glasses

D．he could be remembered as one of the signers

4．His reason for writing large signature was probably that he wanted to ________.

[　　]

A．have people see that he had signed

B．show that he was proud of himself as an American

C．see how large he could write

D．be remembered for writing large

5．John Bull is ________.

[　　]

A．another name for Uncle Sam

B．England's Uncle Sam

C．a name that stands for England

D．both A and C

　　Reading Comprehension

　　The cinema was in darkness when we went in and it was no easy job making our way to our seats . An old man was walking in front of us . He was luckier as he had a stick to help him find his way, just like a blind man.

　　“It's funny not to have any lights on before the film starts,” I said.

　　“And no music, either,” added my wife. “Well, perhaps they want to save electricity. ”

　　We were in one of the rows near the entrance when we heard other people pass by. But we could not tell how many people were at the cinema. It was not crowded at that time of the day.

　　“It must be two o'clock already,” my wife said, getting restless. “Can you see your watch ?”

　　My eyes had got used to the darkness, and by bringing my watch close to my eyes, I could just make out that it was a little after two.

　　Just then the film started, but we were disappointed to find that there had been a change. It was not the film we wanted to see. They were showing an old film. My wife and I had seen it three times in the past two months.

1．We got to the cinema ________ the film started.

[　　]

2．The film should start ________ .

[　　]

A．before two o'clock

B．after two o'clock

C．around two o'clock

D．at two o'clock

3．Usually before the film starts, there should be ________ in the cinema.

[　　]

A．many people

B．light or music

C．light and music

D．nothing but darkness

4．It seems that the cinema is more crowded ________ .

[　　]

A．early in the afternoon

B．late in the afternoon

C．at two o'clock

D．early in the morning

5．We were disappointed that ________ .

[　　]

A．we didn't see a film

B．we had to walk in darkness to see a new film

C．there was no music or light in the cinema

D．the film was not the one we wanted to see

　　Reading Comprehension

　　The development of the English language falls into three periods. Old English lasted from about A. D. 450, when the first German people began to settle in England, until about 1100. Middle English extended from about 1100 to about 1475. And Modern English began about 1475 and has lasted to the present time. Of course the breaks were not as sudden and exact as these dates suggest. There has never been a year when the language was not changing, or a time when it was spoken without any differences between regions (地区) . However, the characters of the three periods are so different that a person who knows both Old and Modern English well will find a great deal of difficulty reading some of the Middle English writings without further study in the important points of the language.

1．Shakespeare produced his famous plays during the late 1500s and early 1600s ; thus we can say that he wrote in ________ .

[　　]

A．Old English

B．Middle English

C．Early Middle English

D．Modern English

2．A person who knows Old English ________ .

[　　]

A．would probably have little difficulty learning old German

B．would want to learn Modern English

C．would have no difficulty learning Middle English

D．would have difficulty learning other languages

3．The author would advise a person learning English for the first time ________ .

[　　]

A．to study the history of the English language

B．to realize that English is very difficult

C．to remember that English will be different as time goes on

D．to appreciate that English is spoken everywhere

4．Old English ________.

[　　]

A．lasted for 450 years

B．is still spoken in some areas of Britain

C．came into being because of German influence(影响)

D．had an unusual system (系统) of writing

5．The English language ________ .

[　　]

A．has stayed about the same for the last 500 years

B．should be studied by everyone

C．is a mixture of French and German

D．is the oldest language in Europe

　　Reading Comprehension

　　The English are often described as unfriendly people who don't talk to strangers. But not London taxi drivers. I once asked one cabby to describe his life to me and he didn't stop talking until I arrived home half an hour later. He told me many interesting stories and this is one of them.

　　“Some very interesting things happened late at night. The other day I was taking a woman home from a party. She had her little dog with her. When we got to her house she found she'd lost her key. So I waited in the cab (出租车) with the dog while she climbed in through the window. ”

　　“I waited and waited. After half an hour of ringing the bell I decided to find out what was going on. I tied the dog to a tree and started to climb in through the window. The next thing I knew was that the police came. They thought I was trying to rob the house ! Luckily, the woman came downstairs. She'd gone to sleep and forgotten about me and the dog. I was in such a hurry to get away that I forgot to ask her for her fare. ”

1．What does the writer think of the London taxi drivers ?

[　　]

A．They are unfriendly.

B．They like to talk to strangers.

C．They talk too much.

D．They are not English.

2．From the passage, we know ________ .

[　　]

A．the writer is the taxi driver's friend

B．the writer seldom travels by taxi

C．the writer often travels by taxi

D．the writer lives in London

3．What does “cabby” mean ?

[　　]

4．Why did the taxi driver wait for the woman ?

[　　]

A．Because she had left her dog with him.

B．Because she hadn't paid him.

C．Because she wanted to go out again.

D．Both A and B.

5．Why do you think the woman didn't go out of the house again ?

[　　]

A．Because she didn't want to pay the taxi driver.

B．Because she was so tired that she had forgotten about the taxi driver.

C．Because she wanted to keep the taxi driver waiting.

D．Because she wanted to go to sleep first.

　　Reading Comprehension

　　About 70 million Americans are trying to lose weight. That is almost 1 out of 3 people in the United States. Some people go on diets. This means they eat less of certain food, especially fat and sugar. Other people exercise, take medicine or even have operations. Losing weight is not easy, and it can also cost a lot of money. But why do so many people in the US want to lose weight? Many people worry about not looking young and attractive. Other people worry about their health. Many doctors say being overweight is not healthy. Almost 30 million Americans' weight is at least 20% more than their ideal weight. In fact, the United States is the most over-weight country in the world. Losing weight is hard work, but most people want to find a fast and easy way to take off fat. Bookstores sell lots of books, which tell readers how to lose weight. Each year, a large number of books of this kind are published. Each one promises to get rid of fat.

1．________ are trying to lose weight.

[　　]

2．Those who go on diets ________.

[　　]

A．do not eat much fat and sugar

B．do not eat sugar or fat

C．never eat sugar or fat

D．only eat sugar or fat

3．Over-weight people ________ to be thinner.

[　　]

4．________ who are trying to lose weight worry about their appearance.

[　　]

5．Books on weight-losing ________ in the U.S.

[　　]

CONSUMER COMPLAINTS

RECEIVED BY THE CBC

 category　　　　    1996    1997

　　 (percent)  (percent)

Flight problems……………………20.2 %  22.1%

Baggage………………………………18.3 %  21.8%

Customer service……………………13.1%   11.3%

Oversales of seats…………………10.5%  11.8%

Refund problems……………………10.1%  8.1%

Fares……………………………………6.4%  6.0%

Reservations and ticketing ………5.8 %  5.6 %

Tours……………………………………3.3%  2.3%

Smoking…………………………………3.2 %  2.9 %

Advertising……………………………1.2%  1.1%

Credit……………………………………1.0%  0.8%

Special passengers……………………0.9 %  0.9 %

Other……………………………………6.2%  5.3%

Total Number of Complaints in 1996 is 13278.

1.  About how many complaints concerning about Credit were received by the CBC in 1996?________.

A．133

B．240

C．230

D．1328

2. By about what percent did the Refund problems decrease from 1996 to 1997?________.

A．8.1%

B．2%

C．20%

D．25%

3. Which of the following statements of sayings can be inferred (推断) from the table?

a．In 1996 and in 1997, complaints about Flight problems, Baggage, Fares and Reservations and ticketing together took more than 50% of all consumer complaints received by the CBC Company.

b．The number of special passenger complaints was unchanged from 1996 to 1997.

c．From 1996 to 1997 the number of Flight problem complaints increased by more than 2%.

A．a only

B．b only

C