71. Thomas Edison is spoken of because ________.

A. he also tried to invent a sewing machine

B. he got some of his ideas from dreams

C. he was one of Howe’s best friends

D. he also had difficulty in falling asleep

70. The problem Howe was trying to solve was ________.

A. what kind of thread to use

B. how to design a needle which would not break

C. where to put the needle

D. how to prevent the thread from getting caught around the needle

69. According to the passage, Elias Howe was ________.

A. the first person we know of who solved problems in his sleep

B. the first person to design a sewing machine that really worked

C. much more hard-working than other inventors

D. the only person at the time who knew the value of dreams

68. 10 percent of the workers in Britain are being deafened because ________ .

A. they are working in noisy places　　 　　　　　　　　　 B. they often listen to pop music

C. they live near airports　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　 D. they are too busy to listen to others’ talk　

B

Early one morning, more than a hundred years ago, an American inventor called Elias Howe finally fell asleep. He had been working all night on the design of a sewing machine but he had run into a very difficult problem: It seemed impossible to get the thread to run smoothly around the needle.

Though he was tired, Howe slept badly. He turned and turned. Then he had a dream. He dreamt that he had been caught by terrible savages whose king wanted to kill him and eat him unless he could build a perfect sewing machine. When he tried to do so, Howe ran into the same problem as before. The thread kept getting caught around the needle. The king flew into the cage and ordered his soldiers to kill Howe. They came up towards him with their spears raised. But suddenly the inventor noticed something. There was a hole in the tip of each spear. The inventor awoke from the dream, realizing that he had just found the answer to the problem. Instead of trying to get the thread to run around the needle, he should make it run through a small hole in the center of the needle. This was the simple idea that finally made Howe design and build the first really practical sewing machine.

Elias Howe was not the only one in finding the answer to his problem in this way.

Thomas Edison, the inventor of the electric light, said his best ideas came into him in dreams. So did the great physicist Albert Einstein. Charlotte Bronte also drew in her dreams in writing Jane Eyre.

To know the value of dreams, you have to understand what happens when you are asleep. Even then, a part of your mind is still working. This unconscious (无意识的), but still active part understands your experiences and goes to work on the problems you have had during the day. It stores all sorts of information that you may have forgotten or never have really noticed. It is only when you fall asleep that this part of the brain can send messages to the part you use when you are awake. However, the unconscious part acts in a special way. It uses strange images which the conscious part may not understand at first. This is why dreams are sometimes called “secret messages to ourselves”.

67. According to the passage, a continuous noise of ________decibels can make people deaf.

A. less than 85　　 　　　　　 　　　 B. less than 65 　　　　 C. about 65　　　 D. more than 85 　

66. The passage is mainly about ________ .　　　　

A. air pollution　　 　 　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. water pollution　　

C. noise pollution　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. world pollution 　　　

62._________　 63._________　 64. _________　 65.________　

PART THREE　 READING COMPREHENSION

Directions: Read the following four passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A,B,C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage. (30 points)

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 A

In today’s world, almost everyone knows that air pollution and water pollution are harmful to people’s health. However, not all the persons know that noise is also a kind of pollution, and that is harmful to human health, too.

People who work and live under noisy conditions usually become deaf. Today, however, scientists believe that 10 percent of workers in Britain are being deafened by the noise where they work. Many of the workers who print newspapers and books, and who weave cloth become deaf. Quite a few people living near airports also become deaf. Recently it was discovered that many teenagers in America could hear no better than 65-year-old persons, for these young people like to listen to pop music and most of pop music is a kind of noise. Besides, noise produced by jet planes or machines will make people’s life difficult and unpleasant, or even make people ill or even drive them mad.

It is said that a continuous noise of over 85 decibels(分贝) can cause deafness. Now the governments in many countries have made laws to control noise and make it less than 85 decibels.

In China, the government is trying to solve not only air and water pollution problems but also noise pollution problems.

58._________　 59._________　 60.________　　 61. ________

57. A. to　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. with　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. at　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. for　　　　　　

SECTION　 C

Directions: Complete the following passage by using ONE word that best fits the context. (12 points)

I have always found it interesting talking to foreigners and learning about the cultural differences between our countries. I think it is important to know about the customs and traditions of different countries in order to 　　58　　 　misunderstanding.

Last Saturday, I met a man from France, 　　59　 　explained to me how the French greet each other. Now I know that the French usually shake hands when they meet. If they know each other well, they kiss each other on the 　　60　　 . They shake hands again when they are saying goodbye. It is not unusual for a French person that you met several minutes ago to come and shake hands with you again! This is just one of many French 　　61　 　. If you went to live in France, you might find 　　62　 　hard to adjust 　　63　 　their ways.

Almost every culture in the world has its own taboos, and it is important to be aware 　　64　 these taboos, so you know what is considered appropriate. Breaking a taboo could be a very upsetting experience. For example, in Japan, 4 and 9 are considered to be unlucky numbers, since the Japanese words for these two numbers sound like ‘death’ and ‘suffering’. It would be important to know this if you 　　65　 like to visit Japan on holiday.

56. A. apparently　　　　　　　　　 B. positively　　　　　　　　 C. unbearably　　　　　　　 D. skillfully