Passage 51

　　Yang Yang(A)wins China's first-ever Winter Olympic gold

　　Five-time world overall short-track speed skating champion Yang Yang (A) won China’s first-ever Winter Olympic gold medal with a runaway victory in the 500m final on Saturday.

　　Yang Yang, putting behind her a dismal fourth place finish in the 1,500 metres three days ago, got off to a sparking lead and never looked back to cross the line in 44.187 seconds. World-record holder and four-time European champion Evgenia Radanova followed home 0.065 seconds behind.

　　Another Chinese, Wang Chunju, the world champion in the shortest distance came in third, two-hundredths of a second further behind.

　　Yang,25,whose name is tagged with the letter A to distinguish her from her younger teammate and namesake, Yang Yang (S),is the overall World Cup winner this season, with the top points in the 1,000m and 1,500m.

　　In the 1,500m,the younger Yang,24,who won two silver medals in Nagano four years ago, crashed out while chasing hard after two South Korean teenagers, Ko Gi-Hyun and Choi Eun-Kyung, who eventually finished one-two. Yang Yang (A) ended up fourth.Yang Yang (S) did not compete in the 500 metres.

　　(Reports from China Daily,Feb.17,2002)

　　1. What day was the day when Yang Yang (A) competed in the 1500 metres?

　　A. Saturday. B. Friday. C. Thursday. D. Wednesday.

　　2. How long did Evgenia Radanova take to finish the 500m final?

　　A.44.252 seconds. B.44.187 seconds. C.44.122 seconds. D. None of the above.

　　3. Why did not Yang Yang (S) compete in the 500 meters?

　　A.She did not want to. B. She was wounded.

　　C. She was not qualified. D. It was not mentioned.

　　答案与分析

　　本文是时文阅读。全文报道了大杨扬短道速滑赛上的情况。

　　1. D 这是一道推断题。第一段讲，大杨扬于星期六在500米短道速滑决赛上为中国队赢得首枚冬奥会金牌；第二段开首谈，三天前她在1500米比赛上屈居第四名。故大杨杨是在星期三参加1500米比赛的。因而正确答案为D项。

　　2. A 这是一道计算题。文章第二、三段分别指出，大杨扬以44.187秒的成绩获得500米决赛冠军，而紧追其后的Evgenia Radanova比她慢了0.065秒。故Evgenia Radanova用了44.252(44.187+0.065)秒滑完500米。因而A项为正确答案。

　　3. D 至于为什么小杨阳没有参加500米的决赛，文章并没有说明。故A项“她不愿意参加”、B项“她受伤了”、C项“她没资格参加”都是没有根据的。故正确答案为D项。

　　Passage 52

　　China Earthquake Leaves 5,000 Homeless

　　Beijing—An earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale left 5,000 people homeless, killed at least one person and injured 39 others in southwest China on Thursday, with more accidents expected.

　　By late Thursday,4,900 people were declared homeless after the quake destroyed their homes in a mountainous area lying on the border between Yunnan and Sichuan provinces. The dawn quake left one dead and 39 injured, destroyed 268 houses and damaging 1,132 other buildings so seriously that they were considered uninhabitable.

　　Another 2,400 houses suffered less serious damage. The epicenter (震中)was near the scenic Lugu Lake, a tourist site, where the local school was severely damaged. Preliminary (最初的) estimates put economic losses at 180 million yuan (22 million dollars).

　　Governments in Yanyuan and the neighbouring Yunnan country of Ninglang has joined forces in the rescue efforts and tents, clothes and medicine are badly in need of for the earthquake victims.

　　The mountainous terrain, heavy rain and several aftershocks all prevented rescue efforts on Thursday. The rain could cause more badly damaged homes to fall down.

　　More dead and injured are expected “as rescuers have yet to reach many faraway areas” .It is very hard for rescue workers because most houses are scattered around the mountains, which are inhabited by Yi and other ethnic minority groups(少数民族).

　　The quake hit the area at 5:10 a.m. Beijing time(2,110 Wednesday GMT).Earthquakes regularly affect the two counties, with two quakes measuring 5.0 and 6.2 on the Richter scale killing at least three people and injuring more than 1,500 in Ninglang in November 1998.

　　The area is about 100 kilometers from the historic Yunnan town of Lijiang, which was struck in 1996 by an earthquake that killed more than 250 people and injured 14,000.

　　(Reports from China Daily, May 25,2001)

　　1. The earthquake took place .

　　A. in the early morning

　　B. at noon

　　C. in the afternoon

　　D. at night

　　2. All of the following things belong to the things that are most needed after the earthquake except .

　　A. clothes B. food C. medicine D. tents

　　3. The author’s purpose in writing the passage is to .

　　A. tell us the earthquake taking place in Yunnan has caused 5,000 homeless

　　B. warn the people in mountainous areas in Yunnan to take care of earthquake

　　C. call on more help from the people all over the country

　　D. analyze why the earthquake took place in this area

　　4 .After reading the passage we know .

　　A. the biggest earthquake happened in China in Ninglang in 1998

　　B. there will be no more than 2 persons dead in the earthquake

　　C. the earthquake took place in the places where minorities live

　　D. the total losses will add up to no more than 180 million yuan

　　5. “The two counties” here refers to .

　　A.Yunnan and Sichuan B. Yanyuan and Ninglang

　　C. Yanyuan and Yunnan D. Yunnan and Ninglang

　　答案与分析

　　本文是时文阅读。全文讲述了地震之后的救援情况。

　　1. A 文章第八段中指出时间为5∶10 a.m.，即早晨5∶10，所以选A项，其余不合题意。

　　2. B 文章第五段后半部分指出“地震灾民急需帐蓬、衣物和药品”，并未提到食品，所以选B项。

　　3. A A项“告诉我们，发生在云南的地震使5000人无家可归”是写这篇文章的主要目的。B项“告诫住在山区的居民要小心地震”、C项“号召全国人民提供帮助”、D项“分析这一地区发生地震的原因”都不是文章的主要写作目的。

　　4. C 文章第七段中指出地震发生在少数民族聚居区，即C项内容。A项“中国最严重的地震发生在1998年的宁蒗”、B项“这次地震中最多死了2个人”、D项“损失总额不会超过18万元”都与文章内容不符。

　　5. C 文章中第五段指出两个地区的名称，只有C项正确。

　　Passage 53

　　Hello, Dolly!

　　British scientists have done something that many people thought was impossible: they created the first clone of an adult mammal (哺乳动物). The clone, named Dolly, is a seven-month-old sheep, grown from a cell of an adult female sheep.

　　What is a clone? A clone is a copy—a genetic copy. Genes are the instructions for life. They tell a cell what to do and how to do it. Genes make each individual plant or animal different and unique. But a clone has the same genes as the original organism (有机体；生物体).

　　Cloning is not new. Plants have been cloned for centuries. New plants are often grown from cuttings from another plant. Also, plants like pineapples, strawberries and carnations (康乃馨) are sometimes cloned. One benefit of cloning is that we can make many copies of the best and healthiest plants.

　　It has been much more difficult to clone animals. Frogs have been cloned, but they died as tadpoles, never living long enough to become adult frogs. Mice, sheep and cattle have been cloned from embryos (胚胎).But Dolly is the first healthy clone of an adult mammal. How did they do it?

　　(1)An unfertilized egg (未受精卵) was taken from a sheep.

　　(2)The egg nucleus (细胞核) was removed.

　　(3)A cell was taken from the udder (动物乳房) of a pregnant (怀孕的) sheep. It was “starved”, so that it stopped growing.

　　(4)The two cells were combined into one and then implanted in a third sheep, where it grew normally.

　　(5)The clone was born. It was genetically identical to the pregnant sheep in step(3).

　　This sounds much easier than it actually was. To end up with one clone, the scientists started with 277 udder cells. And they needed in a way to make the egg cell accept a new nucleus. They did that by starving the cell in step (3).

　　It may soon be possible to clone many types of animals. Will we also be able to clone human organs, or even whole human beings? We have only begun to think about the morality of cloning technology. Maybe the question to ask is not whether we can clone humans, but instead, should we clone humans?

　　1. Dolly is a sheep because she is grown from a cell of an adult female sheep.

　　A. that has not her father B. that has not her mother C. that has no parents D. that has not any tail

　　2. Tell which of the following statements is TRUE.

　　A. Only plants can be cloned.

　　B. Only strawberries and carnations can sometimes be cloned.

　　C. Animals and plants have quite a long history of cloning.

　　D. Genes can tell a cell what to do and how to do it during cloning.

　　3. From the fourth paragraph we can know that .

　　A. a tadpole is the early stage of a grown-up frog

　　B. a tadpole is a frog without a tail

　　C. a tadpole is a pool where frogs can live

　　D. a tadpole is a clone of an adult mammal

　　4. What is the right order in the process of the clone of Dolly?

　　a. Taking an unfertilized egg from an adult female sheep.

　　b. Removing the egg’s nucleus.

　　c. Combining the two cells into one and then implanting it in a third sheep.

　　d. Taking a cell from the udder of a pregnant sheep.

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

　　答案与分析

　　本文是科普时文阅读。全文讲述了克隆羊多利的出生过程。

　　1. C 从文章中可以看出，多利是从一只成年羊的细胞中克隆出来的，所以它根本没有父母，而是那只羊的一个翻版。A项“它没有父亲”、B项“它没有母亲”说得太片面，D项“它没有尾巴”不符合题意。

　　2. D 题意为“下面哪句话是对的”，D项“基因在克隆过程中可以告诉细胞做什么及如何去做”，文中第二段正是说的这个意思。第三段指植物可以克隆，第四段指动物也可以克隆，所以选项A“只有植物可以克隆”不正确。从文中第三段可知菠萝也是可以克隆的，所以B项“只有草莓和康乃馨有时可以克隆”不正确。第三段中指植物已有几个世纪的克隆历史，而没有提到动物的克隆历史，所以与C项“动、植物都有一个相当长的克隆历史”与题意不符。

　　3. A 文中第四段第二句中说：人们曾经克隆过青蛙，但在蝌蚪阶段就死了，并没有活到成年青蛙阶段，所以我们可以判断，蝌蚪是青蛙的早期形态，故A项“蝌蚪是成年青蛙的早期形态”正确。B项“蝌蚪是没有尾巴的青蛙”、C项“蝌蚪是青蛙生存的池塘”、D项“蝌蚪是成年哺乳动物的克隆体”与实际不符。

　　4. C 题意为“克隆多利的正确顺序是什么”，从文中第四段后半部分的内容可知，正确顺序应是C项中所说的。

　　Passage 54

　　Superstitions

　　There are over one million superstitions(迷信), and most people believe at least one or two of them. Many people are superstitious about numbers. They think that there are lucky numbers and unlucky numbers. The number 13 is often considered unlucky. In some parts of the world, buildings have no 13th floor and streets have no houses with the number 13. In Japan, “4” is considered unlucky because in Japanese the word “four” is pronounced the same as the word “death”. The Japanese never give gifts of four knives, four napkins, or four of anything.

　　What are the lucky numbers? Seven is a lucky number in many places, and “8” is considered a lucky number in Japan and China. In China, businesses often open on August 8, and many couples register to get married at eight past eight on August 8. Superstitions about numbers are so widespread that some people — called numerologists — make a living giving advice about numbers. In 1937, when the Toyoda family of Japan wanted to form a car company, they asked a numerologist if “Toyoda ” would be a good name for the company. The numerologist said it would not be .He explained that “Toyota” would be a better name for the company. The family took his advice. As a result, millions of people drive “Toyotas” and not “Toyodas.”

　　There are many other kinds of superstitions. There are superstitions about eating, sleeping, sneezing and itching. There are superstitions about animals and holidays and horseshoes. There are even superstitions about superstitions. Those superstitions tell people how to reverse bad luck. When the Japanese bump heads, they immediately bump heads again. According to a Japanese superstition, the first bump means their parents will die, but the second bump “erases” the first bump. To reverse bad luck in general, people turn around three times, turn their pockets inside out, or put their hats on backwards.

　　1. It can be inferred that superstitions about numbers are .

　　A. popular all over the world

　　B. accepted by many people in the world

　　C. valuable to businessmen

　　D. dangerous to common people

　　2. From this passage we can find that .

　　A. a numerologist is an expert in maths

　　B. Japan’s development depends on numerologists

　　C. a numerologist is a superman

　　D. the Japanese have a strong belief in numerologists

　　3. The word “reverse” in this passage means .

　　A. cause to go in the opposite direction B. read carefully

　　C. turn over in the mind D. make...worse

　　4. If we see a Japanese bumps his head once again, we can know that he is .

　　A. mad B. angry C. superstitious D. foolish

　　5. What’s the writer’s purpose to write this passage?

　　A. To persuade us to believe superstitions. B. To warn us against the danger of superstitions.

　　C. To show us some facts of superstitions. D. To show us the magic power of superstitions.

　　答案与分析

　　本文是说明文。全文讲述了在日本人们的一些迷信。

　　1. B 推理判断题。第一段第二句话“许多人都是数字迷信者”，故B项“世界上许多人都接受这一观点”正确。A项“世界各地都很流行”、C项“对商人来说很有价值”、D项“对普通人来说太危险了”都与文意不符。

　　2. D 推理题。第二段中指出日本人非常迷信数字，故D项“日本人非常迷信数字”正确。A项“数字迷信者是一位数字专家”、B项“日本的发展取决于数字迷信者”、C项“数字迷信者是个超人”与文章内容不符。

　　3. A 词义理解题。文中第四段第二句话“迷信告诉人们如何转化恶运”，所以A项“向相反方向转化”符合题意。B项“认真阅读”、C项“转变思想观点”、D项“使得更糟”都与原文不符。

　　4. C 细节题。文章第四段讲当日本人撞了一下头后，他们会立刻再撞一下。因为根据日本的迷信，撞第一下的时候意味着他的父母会死去，而撞了两下就意味着可以取消第一下的负面作用。所以我们说看到日本人再次撞头时，我们就知道他很迷信。A项“疯狂”、B项“生气”、D项“愚蠢”都与题意不符。

　　5. C 作者意图推断题。通读全文便可知道C项“告诉我们有关的一些事实”为正确答案。A项“劝我们信迷信”、B项“告诫我们迷信的危险作用”、D项“告诉我们迷信的神奇力量”都与文意不符。

　　Passage 55

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　　1. What kind of people will probably answer this advertisement?

　　A. College students preparing to work in some big companies.

　　B. College students preparing to study for a degree.

　　C. High school graduates preparing to have at home training.

　　D. High school graduates preparing for college entrance examinations.

　　2. Which major is NOT mentioned in the advertisement?

　　A. Photography. B. Physiology. C .Accounting. D. Bookkeeping

　　3. People can get a Specialized Associate Degree by____.

　　A. doing full-time learning at school

　　B. working in some big famous companies

　　C. studying in their spare time D. studying abroad for two years.

　　4. How can you contact Harcourt Learning Direct?

　　A. By sending an E-mail B. By visiting the office weekdays.

　　C. By making a call on weekdays only.

　　D. By sending a letter not later than toady.

　　答案与分析

　　本文是广告的阅读。全文向我们介绍了Harcourt Learning Direct给我们提供的继续教育的费用等。

　　1. C 从第一段最后一句话得知，“获学士学位的人年收入比高中毕业的人要高出近1，000美元，排除A、B而且全文介绍的是自学获学位的办法，排除D，所以选C。

　　2. B第二段最后一句话可看出，在叙述的各学科中无physiology。

　　3. C细节理解题。从“With Harcourt, you study at home, in your spare time ─ so you don’t have to give up your present job while you train for a better one”得出答案。

　　4. A文章最后给出的联系方式可判断答案为A。