Passage 31

　　When I was a boy I was always told, “Peter, the more you know, the further you go.” So I stayed in school until I graduated from college and then went forth into the world, holding firmly the idea and my new teaching certificate. During the first year of teaching, I was upset to find that a number of teachers, school principals and superintendents (管理人员) appeared to know nothing about their professional responsibilities and incompetent (不称职的) in carrying out their duties. For instance, my principal’s main concerns were that classrooms should be quiet and that no one should step on or near the flower beds. The superintendent’s main concerns were that all official forms should be presented on time. The children’s education appeared farthest from their mind.

　　At fist I thought this was a special weakness of the local school system in which I started to work as a teacher. So I applied for certification in another state. I filled out the forms, enclosed the required documents and sent them off. Several weeks later, back came my application and all the documents!

　　No, there was nothing wrong with my forms; they were all correctly filled out; an official departmental stamp showed that they had been received in good order. But an accompanying letter said, “The new regulations require that such forms cannot be accepted by the Department of Education unless they have been registered (注册) at the Post Office to ensure (保证) safe delivery. Will you please re-mail the forms to the Department, making sure to register them this time?”

　　I began to believe that the local school system did not have a monopoly (垄断) on incompetence.

　　As I grew older, I saw that every organization contained a number of persons who could not do their jobs.

　　1. The author applied for certification in another state because .

　　A. he was fired by the local school

　　B. he expected a better school system there

　　C. he did so as required by the new regulations

　　D. he expected a higher position there

　　2. How did the author most probably feel after reading the letter from the Department of Education?

　　A. confident B. Content C. Satisfied D. Upset

　　3. The sentence “the local school system did not have a monopoly on incompetence” could be most suitably replaced by .

　　A. “the local school system was not the only case of incompetence”

　　B. “the local school system had nothing to do with incompetence”

　　C. “the did not have complete control over the local school system”

　　D. “the did not limit the number of incompetent persons at the local school”

　　4. The passage mainly talks about .

　　A. the special weakness of the local school system

　　B. the new regulations of another state

　　C. the author’s view on incompetence as he saw it

　　D. how to apply for certification

　　答案与分析：

　　通读全文，本文是记叙文。全文叙述了“我”做了老师以后，发现学校的工作人员不能履行自己的职责，学校管理落后。“我”将情况反映到上级部门，然而落后的、呆板的管理人员又将“我”的申请退了回来。

　　1. B 作者意图推断题。从At fist I thought this was a special weakness of the local school system in which I started to work as a teacher. So I applied for certification in another state. 得此答案。

　　2. D 推理判断题。他没有料到会如此，因此upset是必然的。

　　3. A 句意理解题。联系“我”申请被退这件事，我们可以得此答案。

　　4. C 主旨大意题。全文讲了“我”毕业后所见的不合理的现象，以及各州落后的教育管理。

　　Passage 32

　　Bill and John Bloomfield, similar twins from Perth, Western Australia, both died within two minutes of each other this week after being inseparable for 61 years. That their deaths should be so close is not a surprise as in their case nature and nurture (培育) were similar. They had the same genes (基因), ate the same food in childhood and when adults, drank the same amount of wine, took the same amount of exercise and shared an equal amount of stress (压力).Neither was married. The way in which twins should be raised is a matter of argument, but there is an agreement that their individuality (个性) should be encouraged as soon as practicable.

　　In 1983 Dr. Elizabeth Bryan wrote a study on the problems faced by twins and their parents. Many parents do not usually bother to differentiate between twins, who are referred to as “the twins ”. From the start twins should be dressed differently and grandparents and neighbors should be shown any small differences that might distinguish them so the children can be called by name. All twins, and similar twins in particular, make too close feeling from birth, with each other and with their parents. Twins soon become independent and by the age of six months are good at comforting each other; some parents don’t like this .In the beginning, one twin is usually larger. Parents find it difficult to treat both equally; in some cases the smaller one gets more care, in other households the larger baby is favored. While other parents ,particularly the mother, are attracted to a smaller one’s helplessness ,and feel that the larger brother or sister should be better at looking after itself. The danger is that preferences, once formed, can last into childhood.

　　1. From the passage, we know that the writer believes____.

　　A. differences should be encouraged in raising twins

　　B. parents needn’t pay much attention to making the twins feel different from each other

　　C. one of the baby twins should get more care

　　D. the twins should become interdependent

　　2. In the writer’s opinion, that the twin brothers’ deaths were so close is____.

　　A. just because they are twins B. something that happened by chance

　　C. because they are twins and they are raised in exactly the same way

　　D. unexplainable

　　3. In the first paragraph, the sentence “The way in which twins should be raised is a matter of argument,...”means ____.

　　A. people don’t know how to raise twins

　　B. there are different opinions on how to raise twins

　　C. agreement has been reached on how to raise twins

　　D. it’s difficult to raise twins

　　4. The word “distinguish ” in the second paragraph can be replaced by ____.

　　A. recognize B. tell C. suggest indirectly D. make...different

　　答案与分析

　　全文通过事例说明双胞胎应该尽可能从各方面进行区别。

　　1. A作者意图推断题。从短文第一段“but there is a agreement that their individuality should be encouraged as soon as practicable.”以及第二段“From the start twins should be dressed differently and grandparents and neighbors should be shown any small differences that might distinguish them so that the children can be called by name”看，作者认为双胞胎应该从小就要尽可能区别。

　　2. C从第一段“as in their case nature and nurture were similar”以及下文所列举的事情，作者在这里认为，他们死得相同是因为他们生存条件的相同。

　　3. B本题为句意理解题。argument的意思是“争执、争论”， 通过下文我们可以得知，有的父母不想区别自己的双胞胎，而把他们叫作 “the twins”， 以及从穿戴到生活习惯都使得他们相同，而像作者这样的人认为，他们应该发展自己的不同，因此产生了如何养双胞胎的争论。

　　4. D词义理解题。联系整个句子，我们可以看出， 作者在此告诫人们要给双胞胎尽量穿的不同以及显示它们的各种不同，显然这样做的目的是让人们对他们进行区别。

　　Passage 33

　　It is usual to classify (分类) types of production as job production , batch (一批) production and flow production. In job production, products are supplied to the special requirements of a customer, and the whole project is undertaken as one operation, which is completed before passing on to the next. A good example of this kind of work is shipbuilding. In job production a single item is produced at a time, whereas (然而) in batch production a number of similar items are produced in order to meet a continuing sales demand. Batch sizes vary (不同) ,but the quantity which is produced amounts (等于) to more than immediate requirements, and the surplus (剩余的) production is stored. Finally, in flow production, the manufacture (生产) of a product proceeds from one operation to another at a planned rate of output (产量).

　　It is argued that the type of production method, which is employed, depends on the development of an individual company. That is to say, many factories begin manufacturing on a job production basis and proceed, as the volume (量) of production increases, to batch and flow production methods. This is not always the case, however, since the type of production is not necessarily determined by the product volume which is aimed at. In fact, in the car industry, tools are produced by jobbing methods, components (部件) are produced by batch methods, and the final product is assembled (装配) by flow methods.

　　Flow production is associated with flow layouts (安排) , while job and batch production are associated with process (过程) layouts. In a process layout, machines of a similar type are grouped together in the section of the factory, and work in progress is moved from one part of the factory to another. In a flow layout scheme (规划) ,the manufacturing equipment is arranged in the same sequence (顺序) as the operations performed on the product. Each of these operations must be capable of processing work at the rate required for assembly of the final product, and the output for each operation must be balanced in order to provide a smooth flow of work.

　　There are advantages in both types of layout. In a process layout system there is more flexibility (机动性) ,and a greater specialization of machines and labor is possible, while in a flow layout system it is not necessary to keep a high level of stocks or to demand great skill in the workforce.

　　1. According to the article, shipbuilding belongs to____.

　　A. job production B. batch production C. flow production D. handicrafts

　　2. A single product requires____.

　　A. flow production B. a single production method

　　C. a planned rate of output D. low skill

　　3. Batch methods require____.

　　A. the products to meet a special person’s demand

　　B. the products to meet several persons’ demands

　　C. the products should amount to more than immediate requirements

　　D. the products amounts should be less than immediate requirements

　　4. Which of the following is right according to the passage?

　　A. Flow production method is not an advanced one because it doesn’t demand high skill in the workforce.

　　B. Job production is aimed at the manufacture of a surplus.

　　C. Flow production is associated with flow layouts.

　　D .Process layouts only belong to batch production.

　　答案与分析

　　本文是说明文，全文叙述了job production, batch production 及flow production的区别，以及在某些同一产品生产过程中它们的综合运用。

　　1. A细节题。从短文第一段第二句第三句可得此答案。

　　2. B 句意理解题。从短文第一段“In job production a single item is produced at a time”我们可以得知，单件产品的生产不需要批量生产，也不需要流水生产，因此B为最佳答案。

　　3. C从“Batch sizes vary, but the quantity which is produced amounts to more than immediate requirements”得此答案。

　　4. C细节题 。从第三段的首句“Flow production is associated with flow layouts,...”得此答案。

　　Passage 34

　　I came to study in the United States a year ago. Yet I did not know the real American society until I was injured in a accident because after the accident I had to see a doctor ─ and go to court (法庭).

　　After the accident, my roommate called a doctor for me. I was very grateful and determined to repay him one day. But the next day, he asked me to pay him $200 for what he had done. I was astonished. He had good reason to charge me, he said. And if I wanted to collect money from the person who was responsible for my injury, I’d have to have a good lawyer. And only a good doctor can help me get a good lawyer. Now that he had helped me find a good doctor, it was only fair that I should pay him.

　　But every time I went to see the doctor, I had to wait about 50 minutes. He would see two or three patients at the same time, and often stop treating one so as to see another. Yet he charged me $ 155 each time. The final examination report consisted of ten lines, and it cost me $ 215.

　　My lawyer was all smiles the first time we met. But after that he avoided seeing me at all. He knew very well the other part was responsible for the accident, yet he hardly did anything. He simply waited to collect his money. He was so irresponsible that I decided to dismiss (解雇) him. And he made me pay him $ 770.

　　Now I had to act as my own lawyer. Due to my inexperience, I told the insurance company the date I was leaving America. Knowing that, they played for time,...and I left without getting a cent.

　　My experiences taught me two things about America: firstly, in a country like America money is everything. It is more important than friendship, honour or professional morality (职业道德) . Secondly ,foreigners are still being unfairly treated. So when we talk about America, we should see both its good and bad sides.

　　1. The author’s roommate offered to help him because____.

　　A. he felt sorry for the author

　　B. he thought it was a chance to make some money

　　C. he knew the doctor was a very good one

　　D. he wanted the author to have a good lawyer

　　2. A good doctor is essential (必要的)for the author to____.

　　A. be properly treated

　　B. talk with the person responsible for the accident

　　C. recover before he leaves America

　　D. eventually (最后)get the responsible party to pay for his injury

　　3. The word “charge” in the second passage means____.

　　A. be responsible B. accuse (指责) C. ask as a price D. claim

　　4. Both the doctor and the lawyer in this passage are very ____.

　　A. friendly B. greedy C. professional D. busy

　　55.What conclusion can you draw from the story ?

　　A. Going to court is something very common in America.

　　B. One must be very careful while driving a car.

　　C. There are more bad sides in America than good sides.

　　D. Money is more important than other things in the U.S.

　　答案与分析

　　本文是记叙文。全文通过自己的一段经历，作者向我们说明了在美国金钱至上的社会现象。

　　1. B细节题。从短文第二段But the next day, he asked me to pay him $200 for what he had done得此答案。

　　2. D此题为推理题。从短文第二段And only a good doctor can help me get a good lawyer,我们可以得知，只有好医生才能找到一个好律师，而只有一个好律师才能把“我”的受伤损失拿回来，因此D为最佳答案。

　　3. C从短文But the next day, he asked me to pay him $ 200 for what he had done....He had good reason to charge me，我们得知，charge 在此意为“收费”。

　　4. B此题为推理判断题。通读全文，我们可以看出，the doctor 以及the lawyer 只知道收钱，而不想为人们解决实际问题，因此说他们很贪婪。

　　5. D主旨大意题。从整个文章所叙述的事情我们可以得出此结论。作者在最后一段也同样提出这一观点。

　　Passage 35

　　So much to do, so little time. So much information, so little time to read it. In this age there is more information than ever before. There is not enough time to read everything we want to read. However, you can consume more information in shorter time through speed-reading. This article will not make you read. 3,000 words per minute, but it will show you how to increase your speed significantly. You will also learn the basic techniques of speed-reading, along with the dos and don’ts of speed-reading.

　　When you first learned to read, you would say the word out loud and sound it out. Then you might whisper the word because people can become annoyed when you read aloud. The stage you are now at is saying the word in your head. Most people tend to read this way. Saying the word in your head will cut your reading speed tremendously (极大地).

　　How do you calculate your reading speed? The speed is measured by how many words per minute you can read. Get some reading material, preferably a book. Find out how many words are on the page. Time yourself for one minute. Start your timer and start reading. When the timer beeps, stop. If you counted 500 words on the page and you read half of the page, and then you are probably reading at 250 words per minute.

　　The first thing about speed-reading is looking at the word and recognizing it. Don’t say the word in your mind, just look at it and recognize its importance. Later you will recognize clumps of four words or more to increase your speed. This is the first and most important step in speed-reading.

　　The next step is technique. As with any other skill, speed-reading requires technique. You should first be sitting up straight with your book flat on a horizontal (水平的) surface, such as a table or desk. Next, you should be able to see the entire page. This is necessary if you want to recognize clumps of words. Lastly, you should be focused. It’s hard to read with a lot of noise. Find a quiet place to read. This will help your understanding of the text.

　　You need something to guide your eyes while reading. That’s right, you should use your hand. Remember when you were little, you would read using your finger. That is a great technique, only now you’re using your hand to underline each line. Move your finger smoothly across the page. No need to go rush, start out slow. Keep your eyes focused on the words as you recognize them while using your hand as a guide. This will increase your speed.

　　The third step is practice. Practice makes perfect. Set time interval (间歇) . Read suing different techniques, but make sure you understand what you’re reading.

　　1. Which of the following statements it true according to the text?

　　A. Now there is limited information than ever before.

　　B. Now conditions ask people to use less time to know more information.

　　C. Now people can read what they like.

　　D. The less you read, the more time you will spend.

　　2. What is the subject discussed in the text?

　　A. What speed-reading is. B. Why we need speed-reading.

　　C. Now it is much information time.

　　D. People should practise speed-reading in different kinds of ways.

　　3. Which of the following shows the right way for the speed-reading from the text?

　　a. Ask for some techniques. b. Look at many words and recognize them.

　　c. Practise more.

　　A. c, a, b B. c, b, a C. b, a, c D. a, c, b

　　4. The underlined sentence “you should be focused” in the fifth paragraph means that ____.

　　A. a person should devote his attention to it while reading

　　B. your feelings will be hurt while reading

　　C. a person should smooth away difficulties while he reads

　　D. you should pay attention to your faults while you are reading

　　5. To speed up your reading, you should ____.

　　A. sit up straight with your book flat and use something to guide your eyes

　　B. say every word out loud and sound it out

　　C. know it is necessary to read quickly

　　D. underline some important words while you say them

　　答案与分析

　　本文是说明文。全文说明了锻炼快的阅读速度需要经过的步骤。

　　1. B我们时代的信息比任何时候都多。在这样的时代里，人们只有提高阅读能力，加快阅读速度，花较少的时间，获得较多的信息。

　　2. A本文所谈及的是快速阅读，包括为什么要快速阅读、快速阅读速度的测定和怎样进行快速阅读。

　　3. C怎样进行快速阅读？本文第四至第七段进行了介绍。(第四段)第一，要看单词、读单词和辨认单词(包括词形、意义和用法)。这是快速阅读的第一步，并且是最重要的一步。(第五至六段)第二，要求有快速阅读技术。(第七段)第三，要实践。

　　4. A从第五段中可以看出，只有集中精力才能有效地进行阅读。有许多嗓音很难进行阅读。

　　5. A 本文第五段至六段讲述了快速阅读的技术问题。(第五段)主要就是把书平放在同一个水平面上，挺直地坐着。此外。(第六段)在读书时需要一些东西指引你的眼睛。