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Unit 19:A freedom fighter

http://www.sina.com.cn 2003/09/26 00:23 新浪教育

Passage 1

　　阅读理解一

　　Why, you may wonder, should spiders be our friends? Because they destroy so many insects, and insects include some of the greatest enemies of the human race. Insects would make it impossible for us to live in the world; they would devour all our crops and kill our cattle, if it were not for the protection we get from insecteating animals. We owe a lot to the birds and beasts who eat insects, but all of them put together kill only a very small amount of the number destroyed by spiders. Moreover, unlike some of the insect eaters, spiders never do the least harm to us or our belongings.

　　Spiders are not insects, as many people think, nor even nearly related to them. One can tell the difference almost at a glance for a spider always has eight legs and an insect never more than six.

　　How many spiders are engaged in the work on our behalf? One authority on spiders made a research of the spiders and found that there were more than 2250000 in one acre; that is something like 6000000 spiders of different kinds on a football field. Spiders are busy for at least half the year in killing insects. It is impossible to make more than the wildest guess at how many they kill, but they are hungry creatures, not content with only three meals a day. It has been estimated that the weight of all the insects destroyed by the spiders in Britain in one year would be greater than the total weight of all human beings in the country.

　　注释

　　1. spider n.蜘蛛

　　2. insect n.虫，昆虫

　　3. devour vt.狼吞虎咽地吃；贪食；舐尽

　　4. moreover adv.而且；此外；再者

　　5. engage vt. (常用被动语态从事)着手，忙于(in)

　　6. authority n.专家；权力；威信

　　根据短文内容选择正确答案

　　( )1Spiders should be our friends, because_____ .

　　A. they only eat harmful insects

　　B. they are great insecteating animals

　　C. they destroy large numbers of insects which do harm to the human race

　　D. their harmfulness is the least

　　( )2The difference between spiders and insects is that_____ .

　　A. insects have only six legs

　　B. insects only eat plants

　　C. spiders eat insects

　　D. spiders have more legs than insects

　　( )3One authority on spiders estimated_____ .

　　A. that there were more than 2250000 insects in a grass field in the south of England

　　B. that every football field in England had 6000000 spiders

　　C. the quantity of different spiders in England was very big

　　D. that there were 6000000 kinds of spiders on a football field

　　( )4In the last sentence the writer means_____ .

　　A. experts on spiders know exactly how much spiders eat in one year

　　B. experts on spiders can only make an estimation of the weight of insects eaten by spiders

　　C. authority on spiders know the weight of all the people in England

　　D. authority on spiders know both the weight of the insects eaten by spiders and the weight of people in England

　　( )5Which one of the following statements is the main idea?

　　A. Spiders, the greatest insectseating animals, protect us from being destroyed by harmful insects and they should be our friends.

　　B. Spiders are not insects but in fact animals.

　　C. There are great numbers of spiders engaged in destroying harmful insects on behalf of the human race.

　　D. The weight of the insects eaten by spiders in one year is greater than the weight of all people in England.

Passage 2

　　阅读理解二

　　Lying comfortably on a sofa, Harker Brayton smiled as he read that book "Marvels of Science". Suddenly something in a dark corner of the room caught his attention. In the shadow, under the bed, he noticed two points of light about an inch apart, shining with a greenish glow. His attention was now directed fully to those shining points. There, right under the bed, he saw the body of a large snake. The points of light were its eyes! Brayton rose to his feet and prepared to back softly away from the snake. At that moment, however, he felt strangely unwilling to do so. Instead of moving backward as planned, he took a step forward, and then another! The snake made neither sound nor motion, but its head was still sticking up, its eyes were shining as if electrified, sending fearful light through the shadows. Frightened, Brayton fell to the floor, dead.

　　Two hours later, when the doctor was pulling the body out, he happened to look under the bed, "Good God!" he cried. "A snake!" He reached under the bed, pulled out the snake, and threw it to the center of the room,swheresit lay without motion. It was a snake made of cloth and filled with cotton. Its eyes were two buttons.

　　注释

　　1. marvel n.奇异的事物，景物，人物，奇才

　　2. unwilling adj.不情愿的；厌恶的

　　3. motion n. (物体的)运动，移动

　　4. electrify vt.使充电，使通电，使电气化

　　5. button n.钮扣根据短文内容选择正确答案

　　( )1Harkers attention was drawn away from the book_____ .

　　A. by something shining under the bed

　　B. by something written in the book he read

　　C. by a large snake moving under his bed

　　D. by somebodys knocking on the door

　　( )2When Harker moved forward instead of backward, the snake _____.

　　A. rose up, ready to hurt him

　　B. made a strange sound

　　C. was frightened and moved away quickly

　　D. didnt move at all

　　( )3The story tells us all of the following EXCEPT_____ .

　　A. Harker was so frightened that he fell to the floor, dead

　　B. Harker died of heart trouble

　　C. The snake was not a real one

　　D. The snakes shining eyes were just two clothes buttons

　　( )4The best title for the story could be_____ .

　　A. A Toy Snake Caused A Death

　　B.A Frightened Man And A Snake

　　C. A Large Snake Killed A Man

　　D. A Worthless Death And Buttons

Passage 3

　　完形填空

　　One bright summer day, a number of little boys and girls were out walking with their teacher. They walked two by two, singing happily.

　　In their walk they came to a __1___over the river, and they turned to go across it. They had just reached the middle ___2__there came a great shout behind them. The teacher told them to stop, and she __3___and listened. When she ___4__ the cry"Mad dog!"she knew ___5__ was happening. Before she could do __6___,she saw the dog running to the bridge.

　　"Children,"said the teacher. "keep __7___the wall of the bridge. Don't __8___ or cry."Then she went and stood before the boys and girls __9___ the dog would meet her first.

　　The animal came, his mouth widely open. The animal ran up ___10__, and seemed to be going by, but when he had just passed the __11___,he made a snapat __12___of the little girls. At this moment, the teacher saw a man running up with a gun to __13___the dog. The children must be kept __14___until the man could come up. So she ran to the dog, and put her right hand into the animal's __15___.When the man came near enough, he shot the animal __16___.

　　The dog had bitten her so __17___that the brave lady died soon after the doctors came. She had given __18___her own life to save the lives of the children. When people ___19__it, they loved her for her bravery. They said,"The __20___ of this brave lady should never be forgotten."

　　注释

　　1. snap vt. (snapped; snapping)猛咬扑

　　2. bite vt.用牙咬

　　3. bravery n.勇敢，大胆，刚毅

　　4. brave adj.勇敢的，无所畏惧的

　　通读短文选出一个最佳答案

　　( )1A. garden B. temple C. village D. bridge

　　( )2A. suddenly B.swheresC. when D. and

　　( )3A. stayed B. stood C. sat D. turned

　　( )4A. considered B. heard C. noticed D. found

　　( )5A. that B. anything C. what D. whether

　　( )6A. something B. anything C. nothing D. everything

　　( )7A. close to B. off C. away from D. out of

　　( )8A. talk B. laugh C. move D. run

　　( )9A. as B. so that C. as if D. so

　　( )10A. quickly B. carfully C. silently D. slowly

　　( )11A. girls B. boys C. bridge D. teacher

　　( )12A. none B. one C. each D. no one

　　( )13A. beat B. shoot C. strike D. drive

　　( )14A. happy B. safe C. alive D. silent

　　( )15A. ears B. lips C. mouth D. breast

　　( )16A. over B. away C. dead D. down

　　( )17A. deeply B. seriously C. painfully D. quickly

　　( )18A. out B. off C. up D. onto

　　( )19A. thought of B. understood C. heard of D. forgot

　　( )20A. idea B. hope C. deed D. news

Passage 4

　　判断正误

　　For more than twenty years scientists have been searching for signs of life on other planets. Most of these searches have been done over the radio. The hope is that someone in outer space may be trying to get in touch with us. Scientists also have sent radio and television messages on spaceships travelling through space, on the chance that someone may be receptive to such message.

　　Scientists are using powerful radio telescopes to listen to signals from about 1000 stars, all within 100 light years of Earth. In addition, they will scan the entire sky to "listen" for radio messages from more distant stars. Using a computer, they will be able to monitor more than eight channels at one time. Scientists are looking for any signal that stands out from the background noise.

　　Of the 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy, scientists find that five percent are like our sun. Perhaps half of them have a planet like Earth. Such a planet would be a reasonable distance from the star for temperatures to be right for the evolution of life. Based on the inhabitable (that can be lived in) planets in our galaxy, most scientists agree that chances are likely that one or more of these planets support some life.

　　However, many scientists wonder whether intelligent life exists on other planets. Some believe that twenty years of searching without any intelligible messages shows that no one is out there. They say that the evolution of intelligence comparable to ours is unlikely.

　　Other scientists believe that our search hasnt been long enough to rule out the possibility that intelligent life exists in our galaxy. Although our sun family is only about five billion years old, our galaxy is about 20 billion years old. In that time, some scientists think it is likely that civilization much more advanced than ours have developed. Perhaps these civilizations send us no signals; perhaps we have not recognized the signals they have sent us. If we hope to find intelligent life, these scientists believe that we have to keep looking.

　　注释

　　1. scan vt. (scanned; scanning)细看审察；审视

　　2. Milky Way galaxy星系，银河系

　　3. evolution n.进化，发展，演变，渐进

　　4. intelligent adj.理解力强的，有才智的，聪明的

　　5. civilization n.文明；文化

　　根据文章内容判断正误

　　( )1The first paragraph in this passage is mainly about how scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets.

　　( )2The word "monitor" in the passage means "check".

　　( )3From the text we know scientists are trying different ways to find signs of life on other planets.

　　( )4From the passage we know scientists dont believe that there might be life on other planets.

　　参考答案

　　Passage 1

　　1. C依据第一段第三句内容确定选项。Spiders吃大量对人类有害的昆虫，所以是人类的朋友。

　　2. D依据文章第二段第二句内容可确定选项。昆虫最多不超过六条腿，而蜘蛛有八条。

　　3. C依据第三段内容来确定。蜘蛛很多，但不能具体说出多少。

　　4. B依据文章最后一段最后一句内容来确定选项。只能判断、不能得出被蜘蛛吃掉的昆虫的准确数字。

　　5. A阅读全文，可选A项为正确答案。文章第一段第一句就概括性地总结蜘蛛是人类的朋友。C项中的on behalf of意为"代表……的利益"。

　　Passage 2

　　1. A提示：依据第一段第二、三句内容，Harker在读书时，突然发现床下面有两个亮点，闪着绿光，因此，他无心读书，把注意力转移到这两个闪着绿光的亮点。

　　2. D依据第一段最后两句内容告诉我们，Harker一步步地靠近蛇，而蛇一动也不动。

　　3. B根据文章内容，Harker是因为惊吓而死，不是死于心脏病。故选B。

　　4. A阅读全文，你已知道故事中讲的那条蛇是条玩具蛇，那两个发绿光的亮点是两个衣服扣子。

　　Passage 3

　　1.D根据文章内容，他们来到河上的当然是桥，不会是花园，庙宇，村庄等。

　　2.Cwhen作并列连词，相当于at that time。

　　3.D喊声从后面传来，所以她转过身来听，其他选项不合题意。

　　4.B上文she turned and listened内容告诉我们她听到了喊声。

　　5.C她知道出了什么事。what相当于the thing that...。

　　6.A根据上下文可知，她还没来得及采取某种措施，疯狗就已经跑过来了。

　　7.A根据常识及上下文可知，学生们只有靠近桥栏杆，才能给狗让开一条路，以保护自身安全。

　　8.C根据上下文，老师想让学生保持安静，不要乱动，以免引起疯狗的注意。

　　9.B根据上下文，老师站在孩子们前面目的是让疯狗先接触她。

　　10.A根据文章上下文可知，一只疯狗，后有追赶，不可能是"慢慢地"，更不会是"小心地，悄悄地"。

　　11.D上文说过老师站在学生前面，所以应该从老师身旁经过。

　　12.Bone of+可数名词复数形式意为："其中之一"。

　　13.B那人拿着枪追赶疯狗，当然是为了射死它。

　　14.B老师的行为是为了学生的安全。

　　15.C老师为了不让疯狗再咬学生，不惜把自己的手伸进疯狗的嘴里。

　　16.C根据上下文，疯狗被打中，应该是被打死。

　　17.B文中说女教师很快死了，是因为咬伤太重了。

　　18.C"give up"固定搭配，老师献出了她的生命。

　　19.C短语"hear of"意为"听说"；当人们听到老师为保护学生而献身的消息。

　　20.Cdeed意为"行为"，本句意为，这位勇敢女士的事迹永远不会忘记。

　　Passage 4

　　1. T文章第一段主要谈科学家们是如何在其他星球上寻找生命的迹象。

　　2. T根据文章意思，"monitor"意为"检查"。

　　3. T科学家用不同的方法来寻找其他星球上的生命。

　　4. F此题意思与原文不符。从文中可以看出，有一部分人认为外星球没有生物，而另一部分人持相反的观点。

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