PART THREE   READING COMPREHENSION

Directions： Read the following three passages. Each'passage1 is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices' marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information giv­en in the passage.

A

Short reader – submitted stories – for the woman you should think of today!

                                                   ——Compiled by Amy Zerello

Great Minds Reminded of Mom

After a long, exhausting day, a friend of mine, Allen, headed home. On the road, he passed an elderly woman who was standing by a car with a flat tire. If that were his mother, he thought, he would want someone to help her. With a tired sigh, he turned around and drove back.

Just as he reached the stranded woman, a truck pulled up and a burly farmer got out. "Kindof reminds you of your mom, too?" the man asked as the two of them pitched in together to change the tire for the woman.

-- Contributed by Katherine L. Houge

Your Biggest Fan

While waiting in a bookstore for a guest author to sign her latest book, I leafed through some of the Civil War novels she had written. The woman in line behind me commented, "Those are the best books I've ever read. I couldn't put them down." Before I could reply, the author frowning, looked over and said, "Oh, come on, Mom!"

-- Contributed by Marilyn Kopp

Head of the Household

My husband, Jeff, and I came across several problems while assembling our new computer system, so we called the help desk. The man on the phone started to talk to Jeff in computer jargon(行业术语), which confused us even more.

"Sir," my husband politely said, "please explain what I should do as if I were a four-year-old."

"Okay," the computer technician replied. "Sweetie, could you please put your mommy on the phone?"

-- Contributed by Lena Worth

How does it feel to tickle your mom’s funny bone?

Now send your own funny story to us! You could earn up to $ 300!

1．Who would the burly man be in the first joke?

       A．Another kind helper.       B．The old lady’s son.

       C．Allen’s friend.         D．A policeman.

2．What was the guest author’s mom trying to do in the second story?

       A．Push hard to get her daughter’s signature.

       B．Promote her daughter’s books by pretending to be a fan.

       C．Show her pride in her daughter’s achievement.

       D．Persuade Marilyn Kopp to buy her daughter’s book.

3．The computer technician on the phone in the third story         .

       A．actually could find no way to solve Jeff’s problems

       B．teased Jeff about his poor knowledge of computer jargon

       C．wanted to talk to Lena instead

       D．believed that Jeff’s mom would know more computer jargon

4．What is the main purpose of the jokes?

       A．To make fun of moms.    B．To honor moms.

       C．To educate moms.    D．To amuse moms.

5．The passage is most possibly found          .

       A．in a storybook         B．in a commercial ad

       C．in a magazine          D．in a student’s textbook

PART THREE   READING COMPREHENSION

Directions： Read the following three passages. Each'passage1 is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices' marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information giv??en in the passage.

A

Short reader – submitted stories – for the woman you should think of today!

                                                   ——Compiled by Amy Zerello

Great Minds Reminded of Mom

After a long, exhausting day, a friend of mine, Allen, headed home. On the road, he passed an elderly woman who was standing by a car with a flat tire. If that were his mother, he thought, he would want someone to help her. With a tired sigh, he turned around and drove back.

Just as he reached the stranded woman, a truck pulled up and a burly farmer got out. "Kindof reminds you of your mom, too?" the man asked as the two of them pitched in together to change the tire for the woman.

-- Contributed by Katherine L. Houge

Your Biggest Fan

While waiting in a bookstore for a guest author to sign her latest book, I leafed through some of the Civil War novels she had written. The woman in line behind me commented, "Those are the best books I've ever read. I couldn't put them down." Before I could reply, the author frowning, looked over and said, "Oh, come on, Mom!"

-- Contributed by Marilyn Kopp

Head of the Household

My husband, Jeff, and I came across several problems while assembling our new computer system, so we called the help desk. The man on the phone started to talk to Jeff in computer jargon(行业术语), which confused us even more.

"Sir," my husband politely said, "please explain what I should do as if I were a four-year-old."

"Okay," the computer technician replied. "Sweetie, could you please put your mommy on the phone?"

-- Contributed by Lena Worth

How does it feel to tickle your mom’s funny bone?

Now send your own funny story to us! You could earn up to $ 300!

1．Who would the burly man be in the first joke?

       A．Another kind helper.       B．The old lady’s son.

       C．Allen’s friend.         D．A policeman.

2．What was the guest author’s mom trying to do in the second story?

       A．Push hard to get her daughter’s signature.

       B．Promote her daughter’s books by pretending to be a fan.

       C．Show her pride in her daughter’s achievement.

       D．Persuade Marilyn Kopp to buy her daughter’s book.

3．The computer technician on the phone in the third story         .

       A．actually could find no way to solve Jeff’s problems

       B．teased Jeff about his poor knowledge of computer jargon

       C．wanted to talk to Lena instead

       D．believed that Jeff’s mom would know more computer jargon

4．What is the main purpose of the jokes?

       A．To make fun of moms.    B．To honor moms.

       C．To educate moms.    D．To amuse moms.

5．The passage is most possibly found          .

       A．in a storybook         B．in a commercial ad

       C．in a magazine          D．in a student’s textbook

John Smith was lazy. He had finished his education and was happy to sit in his room and listen to the radio all day long. In fact, he had been doing nothing for almost six months, which worried his father a lot. One day Mr Smith decided that he had to do something. “Johnny, When I was your age 1 was working and supporting my ten brothers and sisters. I want you to go out and get a job.” So that was what he did. In fact, in the next three months, Johnny started ten jobs and was fired from ten jobs. He explained to his father.
“They wanted me to be at work at 8:00 a. m. and told me to do all sorts of unpleasant things.”
“I don’t care how you do it,” Mr Smith said. “Either you earn some money or move out of the house. I gave you one week’s time.”
In the next few days Johnny began to change. He still stayed in his room all day, but spent his time writing letters and reading through the newspapers. More and more posts began to arrive for him. He bought a new suit for himself and invited his parents to the theatre and for dinner afterwards at the most expensive restaurant in town. When his proud parents arrived home after their evening hour, a policeman was waiting at the front door.
“John Smith,” he said as he handed him a piece of paper, “I’ll see you in the court tomorrow.”
When he got outside, Johnny told his parents everything.
“When you told me to earn some money, 1 decided to put an advertisement in the newspaper saying, ‘New way to money fast! Send me $ 5 and I’ll tell you my secret.’ When I received the money I wrote back telling people to do as I do.”
Johnny was fined $ 250 by the court and was ordered to pay all the people back. As he left the court house feeling very ashamed, a newspaper man came up to him, “Young man, would you like to tell your story to my newspaper for $ 2500?”
【小题1】 Johnny was fired from the jobs because _______.

Scientists are trying to make the deserts ,which get very little rain, into good land again. They want to bring water to the deserts，so people can live and grow food. They are learning a lot about the deserts. But more and more of the earth is becoming desert all the time. Scientists may not be able to change the desert in time．
Why is more and more land becoming desert？Scientists think that people make deserts．People are doing bad things to the earth against the scientists’ wish．
Some places on the earth don’t get much rain. But they still don’t become deserts．This is because some green plants are growing there．Small green plants and grass are very important to dry places．Plants don’t let the sun make the earth even drier． Plants do not let the wind blow the dirt away．When a bit of rain falls，the plants hold the water. Without plants, the land can become desert more easily．
【小题1】Deserts ____________ ．

One important variable affecting communication across cultures is destiny (命运) and personal responsibility. This refers to the degree to which we feel ourselves the masters of our lives, contrary to the degree to which we see ourselves as subject to things outside our control. Another way to look at this is to ask how much we see ourselves able to change and act, to choose the course of our lives and relationships. Some have drawn a parallel between the personal responsibility in North American settings and the view itself. The North American view is vast, with large spaces of unpopulated land. The frontier attitude of “King” of the wilderness, and the expansiveness of the land reaching huge distances, may relate to generally high levels of confidence in the ability to shape and choose our destinies.
In this expansive land, many children grow up with a heroic sense of life, where ideas are big, and hope springs forever. When they experience temporary failures, they are encouraged to redouble their efforts, to “Try, try again.” Action, efficiency, and achievement are valued and expected. Free will is respected in laws and enforced by courts.
Now consider places in the world with much smaller land, whose history reflects wars and tough struggles: Northern Ireland, Mexico, Israel, Palestine. In these places, destiny’s role is more important in human life. In Mexico, there is a history of hard life, fighting over land, and loss of homes. Mexicans are more likely to see struggles as part of their life and unavoidable. Their passive attitude is expressed in their way of responding to failure or an accident by saying “ni modo” (“no way” or “tough lick”), meaning that the failure was destined.
This variable is important to understanding cultural conflicts. If someone believing in free will crosses paths with someone more passive, miscommunication is likely. The first person may expect action and responsibility. Failing to see it, he may conclude that the second is lazy, not cooperative, or dishonest. The second person will expect respect for the natural order of things. Failing to see it, he may conclude that the first is forcible, rude, or big headed in his ideas of what can be accomplished or changed.
【小题1】The author thinks that one’s character is partly determined by ________.