Passage 56

　　A year ago I began training (练习) to swim the English Channel (海峡). I will be 58 years old. My friends thought I had lost my mind, my wife was somewhat worried. The question I was asked over and over was this,“Why?”

　　When a student reporter at Indiana recently asked me this question, I said, “First, let me ask you a question. What are your plans for this summer?”

　　He replied that he was going to work in a supermarket (超市). I didn’t have to say more, he understood my point.

　　A challenge (挑战) and something of an adventure ( 冒险) are welcome whether you are 20 or 58, and preparing to swim the Channel is far better than working in a supermarket, especially when you have a choice.

　　But why did I decide to swim the Channel at 58? Perhaps I myself can hardly give a satisfactory (令人满意的) answer.

　　The Channel has always been the greatest challenge to swimmers, a test of ability, luck, and even bravery. It is this challenge that attracts about 100 swimmers a year, who are willing to spend time, effort, and money trying it.

　　One fact that adds to my interest is that, if I succeed, I will be the oldest person ever to swim the Channel.

　　I don’t think I am a superman (超人). I do think I have at least two things in favor:

　　First, I am training hard ─ now swimming 7 and a half miles a day. Second, I am a resolute ( 有决心的) man. Once I set up a goal, I won’t give it up easily. And this swim has long been a goal. I have a feeling I will be mentally ready.

　　On the other hand there was a young girl who was attempting(试图) to finish her swim when the ocean got rough. She was having a hard time with the rough and cold water, when her trainer shouted to her from the boat that he thought she should give up and get out of the water. She shouted back, “I’m doing the swimming , and I’ll decide when to get out, ” She made it.

　　1. The statement “he understood my point ”could be most suitably replaced by “____”.

　　A. he understood it was difficult for me to give a proper answer

　　B. he understood I did not like his question and did not want to answer it

　　C. he understood what my question meant: setting up a challenging goal makes life more interesting

　　D. he understood I thought little of his plans for that summer.

　　2. “She made it” means “____”.

　　A. she reached her goal B. she proved she was right

　　C. she made a good show of her courage and bravery

　　D. she set a good example for others to follow

　　3. Most likely, the author decided to swim the Channel because he____.

　　A. does not fully realize the difficulties he may meet with

　　B. has made a bet(打赌)that he could do so

　　C. wants very much to show off his superman ability

　　D. enjoys challenges

　　4. Which of the following statements would the author most readily agree with?

　　A. Old people lose their sense of adventure.

　　B. Only an old person would attempt the Channel.

　　C. Life’s challenges can be overcome at any age.

　　D. People should recognize the dangers of physical stress.

　　5. From the passage we know the author is____.

　　A. determined(有决心的) B. careful C. friendly D. romantic

　　答案与分析

　　“我”已经58岁了，然而，“我”仍想游过英吉利海峡，亲友都不理解。至于为什么这样做“我”也不是太清楚，也许是因为这是勇敢人的游戏，“我”想成为游过它的年龄最大的人，接受一次挑战吧。

　　1. C句意理解。通过上下文，我们可以得知作者在此是说这个年轻人理解了“我”，再结合下一段的“and preparing to swim the Channel is far better than working in a supermarket, especially when you have a choice.”我们可以得此答案。

　　2. A 这一句是承接那个女孩的话而来，那个女孩说她要游过海峡，接着作者说“她做到了。”因此A为最佳答案。

　　3. D 细节题。从第6段我们可以得此答案。

　　4.C从第四段第一句“A challenge and something of an adventure are welcome whether you are 20 or 58”，我们可以得此答案。

　　5. A“我”58岁了，还想游过英吉利海峡，可见“我”是一个有决心的人。从I am a resolute man我们也可以得此答案。

　　Passage 57

　　Dr Wiseman started “ the laugh lab” project in September 2001. It is the largest study of humor. Participants (参加者) are invited to log on the laugh lab website, give a few personal details, tell their favorite jokes and judge the jokes told by other people.

　　The project will last for a year, and the organizers hope to finally discover the world’s funniest joke. But there is also a serious purpose. The researchers want to know what people from different nations and cultures find funny. And they want to find out the differences between the male and female sense of humor. The idea is that if we want to understand each other , we have to find out what makes us laugh.

　　This is a subject that has long interested psychologists (心理学家) and philosophers(哲学家). Most of the time, people are not completely honest. We do things that society expects of us and say things that help us get what we want. But laughing cannot be controlled. When we laugh, we tell the truth about ourselves.

　　By December 2001 over 10, 000 jokes had been submitted. This gave the scientists enough evidence (证据) to make early conclusions. It seems that men and women do have different senses of humor, for instance.

　　“Our findings show the major differences in the ways in which males and females use humor,” said Dr Wiseman. “Males use humor to appear superior (优越) to others, while women are more skilled in languages and prefer word play.”

　　Researchers also found that there really is such a thing as a national sense of humor. The British enjoy what is usually called “toilet humor”. But the French like their jokes short and sharp: “You’re a high priced lawyer. Will you answer two questions for $ 500?” “Yes. What’s the second question?”

　　The Germans are famous for not having a sense of humor. But the survey found that German participants were more likely to find submitted jokes funny than any other nationality . Perhaps that proves the point: Is this joke funny? I don’t know, but let’s say yes, just to be safe.

　　Dr Wiseman and his workmates also submitted jokes created by computer. But none of those who took part in the survey found any of them amusing. Perhaps this is relief. Computers already seem like they can do everything. At least they should leave the funny thing to us.

　　1. The scientist started “the laugh lab” project to ____.

　　A. find the funniest joke in European countries

　　B. to know what funny people are from different nations and cultures

　　C. to get more personal details about participants

　　D. to find out the differences between the male and female sense of humor

　　2. We can infer from the passage that____.

　　A. most of the people all over the world are completely honest

　　B. psychologists and philosophers take interest in “the laugh lab” project

　　C. people tell the truth about themselves only when they laugh

　　D. ordinary people are not interested in “the laugh lab” project at all

　　3. The writer gave the examples of the British, the French and the Germans to ____.

　　A. show that the French people have a better sense of humor

　　B. show people from different nations have different sense of humor

　　C. prove that the Germans have no sense of humor

　　D. prove the British people have a sense of “toilet humor”

　　4. What is the main idea of the 4th and 5th paragraphs?

　　A. About 10,000 jokes have been submitted from September 2001 to December 2001.

　　B. Scientists have collected enough evidence to make conclusions.

　　C. Man and woman have different senses of humor.

　　D. Male and female have similar senses of humor.

　　答案与分析

　　本文讲述了Dr Wiseman开办的laugh lab以及他对男女幽默感的科学分析。

　　1. D短文提到Wiseman的宗旨是为了寻找世界上最滑稽的笑话，不同民族及文化的人认为什么可笑，以及男性与女性幽默感的差异，因此D正确。

　　2. B短文中说“我们必须了解是什么让人捧腹大笑，而这是一直让心理学家感兴趣的话题”，其他三项文中无任何暗示。

　　3. B第六段首句作者说“科学家还发现的确存在民族幽默感这种东西”，然后拿英、法、德三种民族相比较，因此选B。

　　4. C第四、五段谈到截止到2001年12月人们搜集到1万个笑话，表明男女幽默感不一样。

　　Passage 58

　　Some people believe that international sports bring about good will between the nations and that if countries play games together they will learn to live together. Others say that the opposite is true :that international contests (竞赛) encourage false national pride and lead to misunderstanding and hatred. There is probably some truth in both arguments, but in recent years the Olympic Games have done little to support the view that sport encourages international brotherhood. Not only was there the terrible incident with the murder of athletes, but the Games were also ruined by those incidents caused mainly by minor (较小的) national contests.

　　One country received its second-place medal with great anger after the hockey (曲棍球) final. There had been noisy scenes at the end of the hockey match, the losers objecting to the final decisions. They were certain that one of their goals should not have been dismissed and that the opposite side’s victory was unfair. Their manager was angry when he said : “This wasn’t hockey. Hockey and the International Hockey Society are finished.” The president of the society said later that such words could result in the pause of the team for at least three years.

　　The American basketball team announced that they would not give away first place to Russia, after a fighting end to their contest. The game had ended in quarrel. It was thought at first that the United States had won, by a single point, but it was announced that there were three seconds still to play. A Russian player then threw the ball from one end of the court to the other ,and another player beat it into the basket. It was the first time the USA had ever lost an Olympic basketball match .The judges discussed the matter for four and a half hours before announcing that the result would stand. The American players then decided not to receive the silver medals.

　　Incidents of this kind will continue as long as sport is played for honour or money rather than for the love of the game. The suggestion that sportsmen should compete (竞赛) as individuals (个人),or in non-national teams, might be too much to hope for. But in the present organization of the Olympics there is far too much that encourages dangerous nationalism.

　　1. According to the author, recent Olympic Games have____.

　　A. brought about good will between the nations

　　B. made only false national pride

　　C. hardly showed any international friendship

　　D. led to more and more misunderstanding and hatred

　　2. What did the manager mean by saying, “...Hockey and the International Hockey Society are finished”?

　　A. His team would no longer take part in international games.

　　B. Hockey and the society are both ruined by the unfair decisions.

　　C. There should be no more hockey matches organized by the society.

　　D. The society should be dismissed.

　　3. The author gives the two examples in paragraphs 2 and 3 to show ____.

　　A. how false national pride leads to undesirable (不良的)incidents in international games

　　B. that sportsmen have been more troublesome than they used to be

　　C. that competitiveness in the games discourages international friendship

　　D. that unfair decisions are common in Olympic Games

　　4. What conclusion can be drawn from the passage?

　　A. The organization of the Olympic Games must be improved.

　　B. Athletes should compete as individuals in the Olympic Games.

　　C. Sport should be played competitively rather than for the love of the game.

　　D. International contests lead to misunderstanding between nations.

　　答案与分析

　　本文是说明文。全文运用事例说明，在奥林匹克运动中所出现的令人不愉快的事情，因此说“奥林匹克已经被毁掉了。”

　　1. C本题为第一段的主旨。整个第一段叙述了在现在奥林匹克运动中暴力、 误解与仇恨共同存在。

　　2. B句意理解题。选择本题的答案必须联系本句的背景。在这次曲棍球比赛中失败一方认为裁判不公平，因此他们说曲棍球的公平性已经被毁掉了。

　　3. C第二、三段的两个事例表示了由于裁判的不公平， 比赛中的失败者表现极大愤慨，有的因为说了气愤的话而被禁赛三年，有的愤而拒绝领奖。因此体育为了增进国际间的友谊的初衷受到了损害。

　　4. A推理题。通过第二、 三段我们可以得知体育中出现的不愉快的事情是由于不公平的裁判引起，因此改进组织、裁判形式是解决问题的最好办法。在此D 有较大干扰性。第一段的“but the Games were also ruined by those incidents caused mainly by minor national contests”以及第二段举的事例决定了 D 不正确。

　　Passage 59

　　My name is Christopher. My family came to America before I was born. In two weeks I am going to be married, and my fiancée (未婚妻), Samantha, and I expect to be very happy. We do not plan to have honeymoon because we want to spend two weeks setting up our own new business as real estate agents (房地产代理商).

　　My mother, who is very traditional (传统的), says that our plans are unreasonable. She thinks that we should just spend the two weeks on a holiday in the Caribbean. In her days, and in the old country, young couples didn’t start businesses together. Instead, the man went out to work, and the wife stayed home to raise a family.

　　Both Samantha and I want children in the future, and together we plan to raise them. Needless to say, our plans and my mother’s views don’t agree. I suppose it’s hard for my mother and father to understand our point of view. They are used to another way of setting up a marriage and a life.

　　Another thing that worries my parents is the fact that Samantha and I are going to be spending seven days a week on our business until it is running smoothly. As my mother has pointed out to us, such a timetable will leave us little time for socializing or for a night in the town. My mother says a young couple should enjoy themselves and get to know each other under less exciting conditions.

　　Actually, Samantha and I know each other pretty well. We both work hard for our goals, and neither of us minds giving up weekends for a while. We are young and enthusiastic (热心于事业的).

　　1. Christopher and Samantha will not have honeymoon because _______.

　　A. they expect to be happy

　　B. they know each other pretty well

　　C. they will spend seven days a week running a business

　　D. they want to start setting up their real estate business

　　2. Christopher’s mother and father are _______.

　　A. against the couple’s marriage

　　B. used to the old country customs

　　C. expecting to be very happy

　　D. becoming more used to American marriage

　　3. The best title for this passage is _______.

　　A. Samantha and Christopher’s Marriage

　　B. Building a Modern American Marriage

　　C. Old World Views on Marriage

　　D. Starting a New Business

　　答案与分析

　　通读全文，本文记叙了对于即将度过的新婚，“我”的父母和“我”的看法的不同。

　　1. D 细节题。从“we want to spend two weeks setting up our own new business as real estate agents”得此答案。

　　2. B 细节理解题。从第二段得此答案。

　　3. A 主旨大意题。全文讲述了他们的婚姻。

　　Passage 60

　　Today, air travel is far safer than driving a car on a busy motor-way. But still there is a danger that grows every year. Airliners get larger and larger. Some airplanes can carry over 300 passengers. And the air itself becomes more and more crowded. If one large airliner struck into another in midair, 600 lives could be lost.

　　From the moment an airliner takes off to the moment it lands, every movement is watched on radar screens. Air traffic controllers tell the pilot exactly when to turn, when to climb, and when to come down. The air traffic controllers around a busy airport like London-Heathrow may deal with 2, 500 planes a day. Not all of them actually land at the airport. Any plane that flies near the airport comes under the orders of the controllers there. Even a small mistake on their part could cause a terrible accident.

　　Recently such a disaster almost happened. Two large jets were flying towards the airport. One was carrying 69 passengers from Toronto, the other 176 passengers from Chicago. An air traffic controller noticed on his radar screen that the two planes were too close to each other. He ordered one to turn to the right and to climb. But he made a mistake. He ordered the wrong plane to do this. So, instead of turning away from the second plane, the first plane turned towards it. Fifteen seconds later it flew directly in front of the second plane. They avoided (避免)each other by the smallest part of a second. The distance between them was less than that of a large swimming pool. This is an example of the danger that grows every year.

　　1. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

　　A. Traveling by air is as safe as by car.

　　B. Traveling by air is not as safe as by car.

　　C. Traveling by car is as dangerous as by air.

　　D. Traveling by car is more dangerous than by air.

　　2. The air traffic controllers of an airport _______.

　　A. control all the planes flying near the airport

　　B. give orders to planes leaving the airport

　　C. only deal with the planes that want to land there

　　D. are allowed to handle 250 planes a day

　　3. The danger of air crashes grows every year because _______.

　　A. airliners are getting larger and air traffic is becoming heavier

　　B. a pilot does not always hear a controller’s order

　　C. a controller is likely to make more and more mistakes

　　D. airports can hardly serve the growing number of airplanes

　　4. The example in the passage is to show that _______.

　　A. air traffic controllers are often careless

　　B. air traffic controllers should pay much attention to avoiding accidents

　　C. it is difficult for airplanes to avoid terrible accidents

　　D. two planes should not fly too close to each other

　　答案与分析

　　全文讲述了现代航空所面临的很多危险。

　　1. D 细节题。从第一段第一句“Today, air travel is far safer than driving a car on a busy motor-way”得此答案。

　　2. A 细节题。从第二段“Any plane that flies near the airport comes under the orders of the controllers there”得此答案。

　　3. A 细节题。从“Airliners get larger and larger. Some airplanes can carry over 300 passengers. And the air itself becomes more and more crowded”得此答案。

　　4. B 推理判断题。从最后一段所举的例子可以看到这一点。