Ⅲ.Reading Comprehension
Directions：Read the following three passages.Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements.For each of them mere are four choices marked A，B，C and D.Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.
A
I believe that my country，Poland，is a perfect example for a place where food is particularly important.When we were little children，we began to understand how much a loaf of bread meant to our parents—to some it might sound silly but for me the custom of kissing bread before you started cutting it was simply amazing.It's not so common nowadays to treat food that way，since you hardly ever bake your own bread.Besides，everyone would call you crazy if you tried to kiss every bread roll before you ate them! But though we no longer make our food from scratch (起點(diǎn))，some customs have been kept—that's why I feel so sorry every time I have to throw any food away—even though I no longer live with my parents and nobody would blame me for this anymore!
Many people of our nation are still working as farmers，eating what they grow and harvest and therefore enjoying everything more.It's widely known that you value more anything that needs your effort in the first place.In most homes in Poland，especially those of farmers，the whole family would try and have their meals together—extremely difficult now，but so rewarding (值得)! You can share other members troubles and successes，give your children some attention，or just sit down for a moment instead of rushing through life aimlessly.Furthermore，your body，and stomach in particular will be very grateful (感激) for such a time!
In Poland，a wedding，Christmas or even a birthday is celebrated with a great meal.Women in the house get together and cook，sometimes for a few days before the event，and the extremely good or unusual food will be remembered and widely talked about.
You cannot over value the importance of food in the country.What's more，almost everyone in Poland will be as interested in the topic as I am.
( )1.When the writer was a child，he/she_________.
A.found people were crazy about bread
B.began to realize the importance of food
C.thought that cutting bread was amazing
D.learned people hardly baked their own bread
( )2.The writer feels very sorry when he/she has to throw away any food because_________.
A.he/she makes food from scratch
B.his/her parents would blame him/her
C.some customs still have effect on him/her
D.many people are still working hard as farmers
( )3.From the text，we can learn that，in Poland，_________.
A.most meals can be interesting topics for a long time
B.the whole family often have meals together nowadays
C.it’s common for women to get together to cook for a few days
D.family members can know more about each other by having meals together
B
The case for college has been accepted without question for more than a generation.All high school graduates ought to go，because college will help them earn more money，become“better people”，and learn to be more responsible citizens than those who don't go.
But college has never been able to work its magic for everyone.And now that close to half our high school graduates are attending，those who don't fit the pattern are becoming more and more，and more obvious.College graduates are selling shoes and driving taxis;College students get in the way of each other's experiments and write false letters of recommendation(推薦)in the competition for admission to graduate school.Others find no interest in their studies，and drop out—often encouraged by college administrators(教導(dǎo)主任).
Some observers say the fault is with the young people themselves—they are spoiled and they are expecting too much.But that is a condemnation(譴責(zé))of the students as a whole，and does not explain all campus unhappiness.Others blame the state of the world，and they are partly right.We've been told that young people have to go to college because our economy cannot take in an army of untrained eighteen year old.But disappointed graduates are learning that it can no longer take in an army of trained twenty year old，either.
Some adventuresome educators and campus watchers have openly begun to suggest that college may not be the best，the proper，the only place for every young person after the completion of high school.We may have been looking at all those surveys(調(diào)查)upside down，it seems，and thinking of the rosy glow of our own remembered college experiences.Perhaps college does not make people intelligent，ambitious，happy，liberal，or quick to learn things—maybe it is just the other way round，and intelligent，ambitious，happy，liberal，or quick people are only the ones who have been attracted to college in the first place.And perhaps all those successful college graduates would have been successful whether they had gone to college or not.This is heresy(異端邪說)to those of us who have been brought up to believe that if a little schooling is good，more has to be much better.But opposite evidence is beginning to mount up.
( )4.According to the passage all the following statements are true EXCEPT that.
A.about half of the high school graduates continue their studies in colleges
B.college graduates are believed to be able to earn more money
C.administrators often encourage college students to drop out
D.more and more young people are found unfit for college
( )5.Which of the following is one of some observers opinions?
A.The students expect so much that they are not satisfied with the hard college life.
B.The economic situation is so discouraging that the youth have to attend college.
C.Colleges should improve because of so much campus unhappiness.
D.Colleges provide more chances of good jobs than anywhere else.
( )6.What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 4 mean?
A.Our college experiences prove that those surveys are incorrect.
B.The surveys may remind us of our beautiful college experiences.
C.The surveys should all be reexamined according to our college experiences.
D.Our college experiences may make us misunderstand the results of the surveys.
( )7.What is the main purpose of this passage?
A.To value young people's further education in college.
B.To put forward an idea that college should not be the first choice.
C.To argue against the idea that college is the best place for all young people.
D.To persuade young people into working after the completion of high school.
C
It's 7：45 in the morning，and 26 year old Steve Clarkson is going to work.He puts on his jacket，and picks up his mobile phone and laptop.As he leaves the house，he turns on his MP3 player and puts on his headphone.He is ready to go.
Today，for millions of people，gadgets like Clarkson's are a normal part of life.“I'm a reporter for a magazine，and I'm usually not in the office.My mobile phone and laptop help me to do my work both on the road and at home，”says Clarkson.Today many people can check emails，send messages，or surf the Web，using their mobile phones.
Tina Fang is studying photography in New York City.“Some of these gadgets are expensive，but they can save your money in the long run.I have a digital camera.I can use it to take eighty pictures and shoot video (record an image onto video) at the same time.I listen to music on my MP3 player，and I can download and read books on it，too.I use the camera and MP3 for both learning and fun.”
It's now 9：45.Steve Clarkson gets an e-mail from his 17yearold sister.She has a gadget that lets her send e mails，play games and take notes.She is in class right now.“I've mailed her back.I told her to stop playing，and pay attention，” laughs Clarkson，“These gadgets are fun，but sometimes they can distract(分散注意力) people，too.”
( )8.What is Steve Clarkson?
A.A student
B.A reporter
C.A businessman
D.A computer programmer
( )9.Which of the following things is not a gadget?
A.A picture
B.A laptop
C.A MP3 player
D.A mobile phone
( )10.When his sister had lessons，Steve told her _________.
A.to pay no attention
B.to e-mail him back right away
C.to stop playing games
D.to listen to music on the MP3 player
D
Life is not easy，so I'd like to say “When anything happens，believe in yourself.” When I was a young boy，I was so shy that I dare not talk to anyone.My classmates often laughed at me.I was sad but could do nothing.Later，something happened，and it changed my life.It was an English speech contest.My English teacher asked me to take part in it.What a terrible idea! It meant I had to speak before all the teachers and students of my school!
“Come on，boy，believe in yourself.You are sure to win.” Then my teacher and I talked about many different topics.At last I chose the topic “Believe in yourself”.I tried my best to remember all the speech and practiced it over 100 times.With my teacher's great love，I did well in the contest.I could hardly believe my ears when the news came that I had won the first place.I heard the cheers from the teachers and students.Those classmates who once looked down on me，now all said “Congratulations!” to me.My teacher hugged (擁抱) me and cried excitedly.
Since then，everything has changed for me.When I do anything，I try to tell myself to be sure and I will find myself.This is true not only for a person but also for a country.
( )11.The classmates often laughed at the boy，because _________.
A.he believed himself
B.he was too young
C.he was too shy
D.he was too sad
( )12.The boy did well in the contest，because _________.
A.he did his best before the contest
B.he was very clever
C.his classmates helped him
D.the contest was easy
( )13.What changed the boy's life?
A.The topic he chose
B.The classmates congratulations.
C.The classmates cheers.
D.The English speech contest.
( )14.The story tells us when we do anything，we must _________.
A.believe in ourselves
B.choose a good topic
C.practice it over 100 times
D.look down on ourselves
E
Believe it or not，optical illusion(視覺錯(cuò)覺)，can cut highway accidents.Japan is a case in point.It has reduced car accidents on some roads by nearly 75 percent using a simple optical illusion.
Bent stripes，called chevrons(人字型)painted on the roads made drivers think that they are driving faster than they really are，and thus drivers slow down.Now the American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety in Washington D.C，is planning to repeat Japan's success.Starting next year，the foundation will paint chevrons and other patterns of stripes on selected roads around the country to test how well the patterns reduce highway accidents.High speed plays a major role in as much as one fifth of all deadly traffic accidents，according to the foundation.To help reduce those accidents，the foundation will carry out its tests in areas where speed related dangers are the greatest curves，exit slopes(斜坡)，traffic circles，and bridges.Some studies suggest that straight，horizontal(水平的)bars painted across roads can cut the average speed of drivers in half.However，traffic often returns to full speed within months as drivers become used to seeing the painted bars.Chevrons，scientists say，not only give drivers the impression that they are driving faster than they really are but also make a road appear to be narrower.The result is a longer lasting reduction in highway speed and the number of traffic accidents.
( ) 15.The passage mainly discusses _________.
A.a new way of highway speed control
B.a new way of painting highways
C.a new way of training drivers
D.the uses of optical illusion
( ) 16.On roads painted with chevrons，drivers tend to feel that _________.
A.they should keep distances from other cars
B.they are driving in the wrong way
C.they should slow down their speed
D.they are close to the speed limit
F
The very wealthy English Baron Fitzgerald had only one child，a son，who understandably was the apple of his eye.His wife died when the child was in his early teens.So Fitzgerald devoted himself to fathering the kid.Unfortunately the son died in his late teens.
Meanwhile，F(xiàn)itzgerald's wealth greatly increased.He spent a lot on art works of the masters.Later Fitzgerald himself became seriously ill.Before his death，he had carefully prepared his will as to how his wealth would be settled—to sell his entire collection at an auction(拍賣).
Because of the large quantity and high quality of his collection，a huge crowd of possible buyers gathered for the auction.Many of them were museum directors and private collectors who eager to bid(出價(jià)).Before the auction，the art works were shown，among which was a painting of Fitzgerald's son by an unknown artist.Because of its poor quality，it received little attention.
When it was time for the auction，the auctioneer gaveled(敲槌) the crowd to attention.First the lawyer read from Fitzgerald's will that the first art work to be auctioned was the painting of his son.
The poor—quality painting didn't receive any bidders…except one—the old servant who had served the son and loved him，and who for emotional reasons offered the only bid.
As soon as the servant bought the painting for less than one English pound，the auctioneer stopped the bidding and asked the lawyer to read again from the will.The crowd became quiet，and the lawyer read from the will：“Whoever buys the painting of my son gets all my collection.”Then the auction was over.
( )17.The English Baron Fitzgerald was_________.
A.a museum director
B.a master of art
C.an art collector
D.an art dealer
( )18.Why did the old servant bid for the painting of Fitzgerald's son?
A.He was devoted to the family
B.He saw that no one bid for it.
C.He knew the content of the will
D.He found it cheap for him to buy.
( )19.Fitzgerald's will showed _________.
A.his desire to fool the bidders
B.his invaluable love for his son
C.his sadness at the death of his son
D.his regret of having no children to take over his wealth
【參考答案】
Ⅲ.Reading Comprehension
答案A：1—3 B、C、D
答案B：4—7 C、B、D、C
答案C：8—10 B、A、C
答案D：11—14 C、A、D、A
答案E：15—16 A、C
答案F：17—19 C、A、B