题目内容

America’s greatest technological achievement, the Hoover Dam, now has a companion piece, a bridge held up by the longest arch in the Western Hemisphere(半球). The Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which opened this month and connects the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada, crosses the vast chasm(峡谷)890 feet above the Colorado River that is controlled by the dam.

The striking 1,900-foot-long structure will improve traffic in the region and help protect the dam from being destroyed. It is the seventh highest bridge in the world, behind four in China, one in Papua New Guinea and one in the US state of Colorado.

“The Hoover Dam is the greatest civil engineering achievement in America’s history,” said the bridge project manager Dave Zanatell. “Our goal was not to outdo or outshine it. Our goal was to, in a respectful way, do something that would be great for our generation and that would stand besides Hoover Dam in a respectful and quality way that would become a part of Hoover’s legacy(遗产).”

Just as the Hoover Dam was built in the heart of the Great Depression(大萧条)and was seen as an example of the nation’s can-do spirit, some hope this project can also provide some uplift.

The bridge is surprising: at 1,050 feet, its support arch holds up a roadway that lies on 300-foot-long concrete pillars(柱子), some of the tallest in the world. It contains 16 million pounds of steel.

  The idea of the bridge came into being in the 1960s because the top of the Hoover Dam has been a narrow two-lane road that is the fastest route from Arizona to Las Vegas and then the Pacific Northwest and Canada.

   Access to the dam from each direction is a dangerously winding route, but massive trucks and passenger vehicles shared it for decades. During the day, when thousands of tourists travel to the dam from Las Vegas three times as many accidents as on a normal road will happen.

   The bridge has a sidewalk on the side facing the dam. The wall on both sides is 54 inches high, so walkers can take photos there.

1.Which of the following is true of the Hoover Dam?

   A. It was completed recently.

   B. It was built during the hard times.

   C. It has the longest arch.

   D. It’s the seventh highest dam in the world.

2.What is one of the purposes of building the bridge?

   A. To protect the dam.                                 B. To save the cultures.

   C. To outdo the dam.                                       D. To develop the tourism.

3.The underlined word “uplift” in Paragraph 4 means _____.

   A. lift of the heavy object                      B. support in money

   C. spiritual encouragement                           D. instruction in technology

4.Which of the followings shows the right position of the bridge and dam?

5.The text is mainly about ______.

   A. the Hoover Dam                                    

   B. American western development

   C. a tour along the Colorado River               

   D. a recently built bridge

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Americans like to travel on their yearly holiday.Today,more and more travelers in the United States are spending nights at small houses or inns (客栈) instead of hotels.They get a room for the night and the breakfast the next morning.

Rooms for the night in private homes with breakfast have been popular with travelers in Europe for many years.In the past five to ten years,these bed-and-breakfast places have become popular in the United States.Many of these America’s bed-and-breakfast inns have only a few rooms,others are much larger.Some inns do not provide telephones or televisions in the rooms,others do.

Staying at a bed-and-breakfast inn is much different from staying at a hotel.Usually the cost is much less.Staying at an inn is almost like visiting someone’s home.The owners are glad to tell about the areas and the interesting places to visit.Many vacationers say that they enjoy the chance to meet local families.

1.68.Americans take a holiday trip _____.

A.all the year round                                                       B.for years

C.every year                                                                         D.every other year

2.69.Staying at the bed-and-breakfast inns,_______.

A. the travelers needn’t pay anything

B. the travelers don’t have to pay for the telephone or television

C. the travelers can meet and talk with the local people

D.the owners will show the travelers around the area

3.70. Which if TRUE according to the passage?

A. European and American vacationers like staying at bed-and-breakfast inns.

B. All Ameicans enjoy traveling

C. These bed-and-breakfast inns are all old historic buildings

D.Staying at a bed-and-breakfast inns is just like at the traveler’s home

 

Drunken driving—sometimes called America's socially accepted form of murder—has become a national epidemic(流行病). Every hour of every day about three Americans on average are killed by drunken drivers, adding up to an incredible 250,000 over the past ten years.

A drunken driver is usually defined as one with a 0.10 blood alcohol content or roughly three beers, glasses of wine or several glasses of whisky drunk within two hours. Heavy drinking used to be an acceptable part of the American manly image and judges were serious in most courts, but the drunken slaughter(屠宰) has recently caused so many well-publicized tragedies, especially involving young children, that public opinion is no longer so tolerant.

Twenty states have raised the legal drinking age to 21, reversing(使翻转) a trend in the 1960s to reduce it to 18. After New Jersey lowered it to 18, the number of people killed by 18-20-year-old drivers more than doubled, so the state recently upped it back to 21.

Reformers, however, fear raising the drinking age will have little effect unless accompanied by educational programs to help young people to develop “responsible attitudes” about drinking and teach them to resist peer pressure to drink.

Though new laws have led to increased arrests and tests and, in many areas already, to a marked decline in accidents, some states are also punishing bars for serving customers too many drinks. A bar in Massachusetts was fined for serving six or more double brandies to a customer who “obviously drunk” and later drove off the road, killing a nine-year-old boy.

As the accidents continue to occur daily in every state, some Americans are even beginning to speak well of the 13 years of national prohibition(禁止) of alcohol that began in 1919, what President Hoover called the “noble experiment”. They forgot that legal prohibition didn’t stop drinking, but encouraged political corruption and organized crime. As with the booming drug trade generally, there is no easy solution.

1.From the first paragraph, we can know that _________.

A.most Americans like drinking

B.heavy drinking is hard to avoid

C.many Americans are killed by drunk drivers

D.Americans are not shocked by traffic accidents

2.In America, public opinion about drunken driving has changed because ________.

A.judges are no longer serious

B.new laws are introduced in some states

C.the problem has attracted public attention

D.drivers do not appreciate their manly image

3.What can be inferred from the fact of the traffic accidents in New Jersey?

A.The legal drinking age should be raised.

B.Young drivers were usually bad.

C.Most drivers hoped to raise the legal drinking age.

D.Drivers should not be allowed to drink.

4.Laws recently introduced in some states have _________.

A.reduced the number of deaths.

B.resulted in fewer serious accidents.

C.prevented bars from serving drunken customers.

D.specified the amount drivers can drink.

5.Which of the following best shows the writer’s opinion of drunken driving?

A.It may lead to organized crime.

B.It is difficult to solve this problem.

C.The new laws can stop heavy drinking.

D.There should be no bars to serve drink.

 

Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17,1706 in Boston,America. In his life he built a successful printing and publishing business in Philadelphia;he conducted scientific studies of electricity and made several important discoveries;he was a diplomat (外交官) and statesman;he helped establish Pennsylvania’s first university and America’s first city hospital;he also organized the country’s first subscription library (收费图书馆).

Franklin was also unequaled in America as an inventor until Thomas Edison. Ben had poor eyesight  and needed glasses to read. He got tired of always taking them off and putting them back on,so he decided to figure out a way to make his glasses let him see both near and far. He had two pairs of glasses cut in half and put half of them together. Today,we call them bifocals (双光眼镜).Another invention of his,an iron stove,allowed people to warm their homes.

He loved to learn about new things. He also thought it was important to make life better with the things that he invented. Electricity was one of the things he experimented with when he retired from his business. Ben discovered that lightning (闪电) and electricity were the same thing. The lightning rod was an important invention that we still use today to protect buildings and ships from lightning damage.

Franklin preferred to have his inventions used freely for the comfort and convenience of everyone. Thomas Jefferson,the third president of America,called Benjamin Franklin “the greatest man of the age and country in which he lived”.To Benjamin Franklin there was no greater purpose in life than to “live usefully”.

1.Benjamin Franklin was NOT a________.

A.diplomat                              B.scientist

C.businessman                           D.president

2.The underlined word “unequaled” in Paragraph 2 means________.

A.better than any other                    B.worse than any other

C.the same as others                      D.confident as others

3.Which of the following is NOT Benjamin’s invention?

A.Bifocals.                              B.The iron stove.

C.Printing.                              D.The lightning rod.

4.What was Benjamin Franklin’s purpose in life?

A.To live comfortably every day.

B.To be useful to others.

C.To be a famous person in the world.

D.To earn a lot by inventing things.

 

首先请阅读下列书城畅销书的封面及基本信息, 第61-65题是这些书的简要内容,请匹配相关的书名。

A.Foreword

  The Antidepressant Survival Guide: Beat the Side Effects of Your Medication

by Robert J. Hedaya, M.D,

Robert J. Hedaya, M.D., is a clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University Hospital's Department of Psychiatry.

Motto: Live well.

B.How Fear Limits Us

  On Becoming Fearless... in Love, Work, and Life

by Arianna Huffington

Arianna Huffington was raised in Greece by her fearless mother. She has written this book for her two daughters in the hope that they will lead fearless lives.

Motto: Overcome the obstacle, get over the next hill.

C.Determination: How to Set Goals and Go After Them

  Fight Your Fear and Win

by Don Greene, Ph.D.

Don Greene, Ph.D., was a nationally ranked high school diver. He was the sports psychologist for the U.S. Olympic Diving Team.

Motto: Determination is drive.

D.The Anger Business

  Anger : The Misunderstood Emotion

by Carol Tavris, Ph.D.

Carol Tavris, Ph.D., was senior editor. She now teaches from time to time in the department of psychology at UCLA

Motto: Reduce Stress!

E.In the Presence of Danger

  The Gift of Fear

by Gavin de Becker

Davin de Becker, America’s leading expert on violence, is the bestselling author of the Gift of Fear: Survival Signals.

Motto: Trust and act on our straight instincts.

F.Moving from Fear to Freedom

  Transforming Anxiety, Transcending Shame

by Rex Briggs, M.S.W.

REX BRIGGS, M.S.W., has been a selected speaker at the National Anxiety Disorders Association of America’s conferences since 1986.

Motto: Weaken anxiety

 

下面是这些书的简要内容,请匹配相关的书名。

1.This useful and popular book shows that if you are gone broke and lose love, please hold yourself back. If you look fat, just face it calmly. If you are in survival thinking, the most important is that you get rid of all the difficulties in front of us, life will be safe, perfect. If your daughters are to take their rightful place in society, they must become fearless.

2.In this book, the author calls the nation’s leading experts on violent behavior, and shows you how to spot even tiny signs of danger before it’s too late. Most violent acts are unpredictable. It points out that true fear is often a signal that can save your life. Believe the threat of violence surrounds us every day. But we can protect ourselves by straight judgment.

3.This book based on his years of clinical experience. It says about twenty-five million Americans take medicine to avoid depression. Despite the advances in the treatment of depression in recent years, many patients, even with the best medical care, feel that they are not living rich and fulfilling lives. This book will direct you how to survive well.

4.This interesting book tells us that annoyance is as much a political matter as a biological one. And anger is a definite message: Pay attention to me. I don’t like what you are doing. Restore my pride. You’re in my way. Give me justice. This book suggests that when you’re angry, just let it right out.

5.This valuable book states that nervousness has become a constant factor in today’s society like a sign of the times, but it is sometimes difficult to recognize the effects of anxiety on our mental health. The only way to feel better about ourselves is to go out and do it.

 

The campaign is over. The celebrations have ended. And the work for US president-elect Barack Obama has begun.

The 47-year-old politician rose to the highest post because of his stand against the war in Iraq and his plans to fix a weak economy. But what will the first 47-year-old African-American president do for race relations.

Obama’s victory appears to have given blacks and other minorities a true national role model. For years, many looked to athletes and musicians for inspiration. As Darius Turner, an African-American high school student in Los Angeles, told the Los Angeles Times.“Kobe( the basketball player) doesn’t have to be everybody’s role model anymore.”

Recent polls also suggest that Obama’s victory has given Americans new optimism about race relations. For example, a USA Today poll found that two-thirds of Americans believe relations between blacks and whites“will finally be worked out”. This is the most hopeful response since the question was first asked during the civil rights revolution in 1963.

However, it’s still too early to tell whether Obama’s presidency will begin to solve many of the social problems facing low-income black communities.

Although blacks make up only 13 percent of the US population, 55 percent of all prisoners are African-American. Such numbers can be blamed on any number of factors on America’s racist past, a failure of government policy and the collapse of the family unit in black communities.

It is unlikely that Obama will be able to reverse(扭转)such trends overnight. However, Bill Bank, an expert of African-American Studies, say that eventually young blacks need to find role models in their own communities.“That’s not Martin Luther King, and not Barack Obama,”he told the Los Angeles Times, “It’s actually the people closest to them. Barack only has so much influence.”

In the opinion of black British politician Trevor Phillips, Obama’s rise will contribute more to multiculturalism than to race relations in the US.

52: For years, before Obama was elected president of the US,      .

A. Kobe was the only role model for all the blacks

B. blacks could only find role models on the basketball court

C. minorities in America couldn’t find role models in their real life

D. American blacks had no role model who was successful in political area

53. According to Bill Bank,      .

A. Obama is not the proper role model for African-Americans

B. young blacks should not be so much influenced by Obama

C. blacks should find other role models because Obama is far from their reality

D. it’s better for young blacks to find role models in those who are close to them

54. What do you think the author is probably going to talk about in the next paragraph?

A. In what ways Obama will contribute to racial relations in the US.

B. How Obama will influence Americans as a national role model.

C. How Obama will contribute to multiculturalism in the US.

D. How to choose a role model in his community as a young black.

55.What would be the best title for this passage?

A. The First African-American President

B. America’s New Role Model

C. Obama—a Successful Black

D. Choosing a Right Role Model

 

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