题目内容

阅读理解
    A university math tutor has discovered the science behind "singledom",finding that our chances of finding
the perfect partner are just 1 in 285,000.Peter Backus,a tutor at the University of Warwick,published his
"Why I Don't Have a Girlfriend" paper after a threeyear love drought.
    His unconventional study uses a famous math formula called The Drake Equation (德雷克等式),which
was first used to estimate the existence of extraterrestrial (地球以外) life.
    The results don't look promising for British singles.30yearold Mr Backus found that out of the 30 million
women in the UK,only 26 would be suitable girlfriends for him.
    The dull equation takes into account the number of  women aged  24  to 34, living in his home city of
London,and who are single,meaning his chances of meeting his dream woman on a night out are slim.
    The economics expert said: " There are  26 women in London with whom I  might have a wonderful
relationship.So, on a given night out in London there is a 0.0000034%  chance of meeting one of  these
special people.That's a 1 in 285,000 chance,so it's not great."
    The puzzling Drake equation reads: N=R* x Fp x Ne x Fi x Fc x L,and helped pioneering scientist
Professor Drake to predict that there could be 10,000 civilizations in our galaxy.
    Mr Backus simply replaced the original equation with his own criteria for a dream date,which included
the percentage of women likely to find him attractive,and the number of girls aged 24~34 in London.He
said:"The research may sound depressing to people looking for love,but the_good_news_for_singles is,it's
probably not your fault!"
1.Mr Backus' discovery in this passage is mainly concerned about________.
A.whether there exists life out of our planet
B.the possibility of his being able to find love
C.how to get rid of singledom
D.what math can do to serve our daily life
2.What does Mr Backus think of the result of his research?
A.Optimistic.  
B.Depressing.  
C.Unrealistic.  
D.Exciting.
3.What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A.Mr Backus' major research field is "singledom".
B.Mr Backus found a girlfriend three years ago.
C.Mr Backus' new thesis will surely be well received.
D.Mr Backus has been searching for love for long.
4.By "the good news for singles" in the last sentence,Mr Backus probably mean________.
A.you don't have to blame yourself for remaining single
B.maybe the discovery is not reliable at all
C.the result was based on his own criteria
D.there might be more dream date out of London
5.Which of the following statements is true?
A.This passage could be published in a scientific magazine.
B.The passage intends to prove there are other civilizations.
C.The writer doesn't really understand the Drake equation.
D.Most women in London are not suitable for university teachers.
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阅读理解

  A higher reading rate, with no loss of comprehension (理解), will help you in other subjects as well as in English, and the general principle (原则) apply to any language. Naturally, you will not read every book at the same speed. You would expect to read a newspaper, for example, much more rapidly than a physics or economics textbook—but you can raise your average reading speed over the whole range of materials you wish to cover so that the percentage (百分比) gained will be the same whatever kind of reading you are concerned (有关的) with.

  The reading passages which follow are all of an average level of difficulty for your stage of instruction. They are all about five hundred words long. They are about topics of general interest which do not require a great deal of specialized knowledge. Thus they fall between the kind of reading you might find in your textbooks and the much less demanding kind you will find in a newspaper or light novel. If you read this kind of English, with understanding at four hundred words per minute, you night skim (浏览) through a newspaper at perhaps 650-700, while with difficult textbooks you might drop to two hundred or two hundred and fifty.

  Perhaps you would like to know what reading speeds are common among native English-speaking university students and how those speeds can be improved. Tests in Minnesota, U.S.A., for example, have shown that students without special training can read English of average difficulty, for example, Tolstoy’s War and Peace in translation, at speeds of between 240 and 250 words per minute with about seventy percent comprehension. Students in Minnesota claim (自称) that after twelve half-hour lessons, once a week, the reading speed can be increased, with no loss of comprehension, to around five hundred words per minute.    

1According to the passage, the purpose of effective reading with higher speed is most likely to help you     .

A. only in your reading of physics textbook

B. improve your understanding of an economics textbook

C. not only in your language study but also in other subjects

D. choose the suitable material to read

2Which of the following does not describe the types of reading materials mentioned in the second paragraph?

A. Those beyond (超越) one’s reading comprehension.

B. Those concerned with common knowledge.                       

C. Those without the demand for specialized knowledge.

D. Those with the length of about five hundred words

3The average speed of untrained native speakers in the University of Minnesota is     .

A. about three hundred words per minute

B. about two hundred and forty-five words per minute

C. about sixty words per minute

D. about five hundred words per minute

4According to the passage, how fast can you expect to read after you have attended twelve half-hour lessons in the University of Minnesota?

A. You can increase your reading speed by three times.

B. No real increase in reading speed can be achieved.

C. You can increase your reading speed by four times.

D. You can double your reading speed.

5Where do you think the passage is taken from?

A. The introduction to a book on fast reading.

B. A local newspaper for young people.

C. A school newspaper run by students.

D. The introduction to an English textbook.

 

阅读理解

A Father's day is a day set aside for honouring fathers in church services and in the home.It's celebrated in the U.S.in the third Sunday of June.This idea was begun by Mrs John Bruces Dodd, who in 1909 persuaded an organization in Washington to salute fathers with special church services.The idea was officially agreed to by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916.In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge suggested national celebration of the day to form closer relations between fathers and their children, and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their duties.The red or white rose is recognized as the official Father's Day flower.

(1)

Father's Day, at first, meant ________.

[  ]

A.

to honor fathers in church services and in the home

B.

to win honor for fathers in church services

C.

to do honor to fathers at home

D.

to warn the fathers of their duties

(2)

Father's Day was first celebrated by ________.

[  ]

A.

the French

B.

the British

C.

the German

D.

the American

(3)

The first president who agreed to Father's Day was ________.

[  ]

A.

Woodrow Wilson

B.

Calvin Coolidge

C.

George Washington

D.

Abraham Lincoln

(4)

The president wanted Father's Day to be a day on which ________.

[  ]

A.

people remembered their fathers

B.

the relations between fathers and their children became closer

C.

fathers must remember that they should be good fathers

D.

both B and C

(5)

According to the passage, this idea was begun by ________.

[  ]

A.

Woodrow Wilson

B.

Calvin Coolidge

C.

George Washington

D.

Mrs.John Bruces Dodd

四.阅读理解(30分)

A

United Nations Climate Change Conference

The U.N. Climate Change conference opened in Copenhagen, Denmark on Dec.7th with some 15,000 delegates and observers from nearly 200 countries attending what is called the last best chance for an agreement to combat(与……战斗) global warming.

Their aim is to find common ground, including on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, promotion and transfer of new more eco-friendly technology and the necessary funding to make this possible, especially for the less developed and poorer nations.  It also means coming up with long term vision and cooperation for the future.

Most scientists believe the warming trend is mainly caused by human activity, especially the use of fossil fuels(矿物燃料) and the cutting down of forests. Skeptics(怀疑论者) say global warming is part of a natural cycle of climate change.

In Copenhagen, experts and officials alike are putting the emphasis on what people and governments can do to cut the emission of greenhouse gases.

Scientists say a 25 to 40 percent cut in carbon-dioxide emissions is needed to control global warming. The European Union, China, and India have already pledged(保证) reductions. The United States is waiting for Congressional(国会的) approval for a proposal put forward by the Obama administration.

Barack Obama, President of the United States said, “Each of us must do what we can when we can to grow our economies without endangering our planet -- and we must all do it together. We must seize the opportunity to make Copenhagen a significant step forward in the global fight against climate change..”

Desmond Tutu, Archbishop of South Africa said, “Worldwide, we have the chance to start turning the tide of climate change, but only if all governments commit themselves to a fair, binding(有约束力的) and sustainable climate agreement in Copenhagen.”

56. From the first paragraph we can infer that___________.

people think that this conference is of no use

this conference is the last one to be held about the climate change

before this conference some countries fight against each other.

people expect a final agreement will be achieved

57. Which is NOT included in the aim of this conference?

A. To reduce the emission of the greenhouse gases.

B. To develop the agriculture and industry of the developed countries.

C. To cooperate with each other for the future.

D. To transfer new more eco-friendly technology.

58. Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The United States refuses to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.

B. The European Union is waiting for a proposal put forward by Obama.

C. China and India have already agreed to cut carbon-dioxide emissions.

D. South Africa doesn’t think much of this conference.

59. What is Obama’s attitude according to his words?

A. Doubtful.                          B. Positive.     C. Negative.                    D. Regretful.

60. _________is the reason of global warming according to the skeptics.

A. Human activity                  B. Fossil fuels  

C. The cutting down of trees           D. Natural climate change

 

阅读理解
     A small town in southwest Britain is banning (禁止) plastic bags in an attempt to help the environment
and cut waste-a step that environmentalists believe is a first for Europe.
    Shopkeepers in Modbury population 1,500, agreed to stop handing out disposable plastic bags to
customers on Saturday. They said paper sacks and cloth carrier bags would be offered instead.
     Last month, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban plastic grocery bags. Internationally, laws
to discourage the use of plastic bags have been passed in parts of South Africa and Ireland, where
governments either tax shoppers who use them or fine companies that hand them out. Bangladesh already bans them, and so do at least 30 remote Alaskan villages.
     Modbury, about 225 miles southwest of London, has also declared a bag ammesty (宽限期), allowing local people to hand in plastic bags that have piled up at home. They will be sent for a recycling.
     The Modbury ban was the idea of Rebecca Hosking, who saw the effect of bags on marine life while
working in the Pacific as a wildlife camerawoman. She said response in the town so far had been "really
positive".
     "Modbury is quite an old-fashioned town and a lot of people have wicker(柳条) baskets to go out
shopping anyway, "Hosking told Sky News Television.
     The World Watch Institute, an environmental research agency, states that 100 billion plastic bags are
thrown away each year in the United States alone. More than 500 billion are used yearly around the
world.

1. The underlined word "disposable" in the passage probably means___  .

A. acceptable
B. valuable  
C. environmentally-friendly  
D. long-lasting

2. It can be inferred from the passage that _____    .

A. most of the people in Modbury continue to use plastic bags
B. fewer and fewer plastic bags will be used in the world
C. San Francisco is the first city to ban plastic bags in the world
D. most countries in the world have passed laws to ban plastic bags

3. Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?

A. Environmental Protection            
B. Big Cities Banning Plastic Bags
C. British Town Banning Plastic Bags      
D. Effect of Plastic bags on Sea Animals