62.The author of the passage ________.

A.misunderstands oral culture

B.doubts the Americans to read more

C.encourages the Americans to read more

D.agrees to the solution to present problem in reading

答案　 59.C　 60.D　 61.B　 62.C

Passage 96

(06·安徽A篇)

When a storm is coming, most people leave the area as quickly ad possible and head for safety. But there are a few people who will get into their cars and go straight for the center of the storm. These people are willing to risk(冒…危险)being killed by floods or 100-kilometer-an-hour winds for the excitement of watching the storm close up.

“Storm chasing(追逐)” is becoming an increasingly popular hobby(喜好), especially in the Midwest of the United States, where there are frepuent storms between March and July. A storm chaser begins the day by checking the Internet for the latest weather reports, and then drives up to 1,000 kilometers to where the storm will be and wits for it to develop.

Although anyone can do it , storm chasing is extremely dangerous. The power of a big storm can throw a cow into the air or destroy a whole house in seconds. Storm chasers are also often hurt in accidents caused by driving in a heavy rain. If you are a beginner, it is much safer to join a group for storm-chasing vacations during the storm season.

Even then, storm chasing is not all adventure and excitement . “Storm chasing is 95% driving,” says Daniel Lynch, who spends most of his summer storm-chasing. “Sometimes you can sit around for hours waiting for something to happen, and all you get is blue sky and a few light showers.”

However, for storm chasers, it is all worth it. “When you get close to a storm, it is the most exciting sight you will ever see in your life,” says Jasper Morley. “Every storm is an example of the power of nature, It is the greatest show on Earth.”

61.The underlined phrase “cultural chang”in Paragraph 2 refers to the change _______.

　 A.from oral culture to electronic media

　 B.from print culture to electronic to electronic media

　 C.from electronic media to oral

　 D.from electr onic media to print culture

60.According to the passage ,reading _______.

　 A.requires less attention and devotion

　 B.demsnds no more than passive participation

　 C.limits various communications and views

　 D.means active participation in pubnlic and cultural life

59.The main purpose of the survey is to _______.

　 A.focus on the role of electronic media ang reading

　 B.show that American young people read less and less

　 C.give a report of the national of literary reading

　 D.review that less that half of the population now reads litersture

75. What is the author's purpose in writing the passage? ________.

　 A. To discuss why people like talking about weather.

　 B. To encourage people to join in conversations.

　 C. To persuade people to stop making noises.

　 D. To explain why people keep talking.

答案　 72.D　 73.C　 74.B　 75.D

Passage 95

(06·湖南B篇)

For the first time in modern history,less than half of the U.S.adult population now reads literature,according to a recent survey.Reading at Risk A Survey of Lilerary Reading in America presents a detailed review of the decline of reading’s role in the nation’s culture.

Reading at Risk is a survey of national fashion in adult literary reading.The data souree for Reading at Risk is as reliable and objective(客观的)as any such survey can be.The key results of the survey are presented in the “Surnmary”,but the report can be further exploined as:literary teading in America is not only declining rapidly among all groups,but　 the rate of decling has been speeded up,especially among the young.Reading at Risk merely shows a great cultural change that most Americans have already noted－our society’s great turn to clectronic media for entertainment and information.

Reading a book requires a degree of active attention and devotion.Indced,reading itself is a progressive skillo that depends on years of cducation nand practice.On the contrary,most electronic media such as television,recordings,and radio make fewer demands on their audiences,and indced require no more than passive participation.While oral culture has a rich reality and electronic media offer the commdenbic atteation of variety.print culture affords irreplaceable forms of focused and thought than make varicen communications and views possible.The deline in reading.thenfore ,equals a larger retreat(减少)from participation in public and culutural life.

　 What is to be done?There is surely no single solution to the pretent problem.just as there is no single cause .The important thing now is to underwand that America can no longer take active and devoted reading for granted.

　 Reading is not a timeless,common ability.As more Americans love thus ability .out nation becomes less informed,active ,and independent minded .There are not speakeras that a free, inventive,or productive society can afford to love.

74. According to the passage, people usually ______talk to their neighbors ______.

　 A. about whatever they have prepared

　 B. about whatever they want to

　 C. in the hope of learning something new

　 D. in the hope of getting on well

73. By "the buzzing of a fly" (Para. 1), the author means"________”

　 A. the noise of an insect　　　　　　　 B. a low whispering sound

　 C. meaningless talks　　　　　　　　 D. the voice of a chatterbox

72. According to the author, people make conversation to ______

　 A. exchange ideas　　　　　　　　　 B. prove their value

　 C. achieve success in life　　　　　　 D. overcome their fear of silence

71. From the passage we know that the author is most probably.__

　 A. a supporter of free global trade

　 B. a member of the Food Commission

　 C. a supporter of First World food markets

　 D. a member of an energy development group

答案　 68.D　 69.A　 70.C　 71.A

Passage 94

(06·湖北E篇)

Silence is unnatural to man. He begins life with a cry and ends it in stillness. In between he does all he can to make a noise in the world, and he feats silence more than anything else. Even his conversation is an attempt to prevent a fearful silence. If he is introduced to another person, and a number of pauses occur in the conversation, he regards himself as a failure, a worthless person, and is full of envy of the emptiest headed chatterbox (喋喋不休的人). He knows that ninety-nine percent of human conversation means no more than the buzzing of a fly, but he is anxious to join in the buzz and to prove that he is a man and not a waxwork figure (蜡塑人像).

　　 The aim of conversation is not, for the most part, to communicate ideas; it is to keep up the buzzing sound. There are, it must be admitted, different qualities of buzz; there is even a buzz that is as annoying as the continuous noise made by a mosquito (蚊子). But at a dinner party one would rather be a mosquito than a quiet person. Most buzzing, fortunately, is pleasant to the ear, and some of it is pleasant even to the mind. He would be a foolish man if he waited until he had a wise thought to take part in the buzzing with his neighbours.

　　 Those who hate to pick up the weather as a conversational opening seem to me not to know the reason why human beings wish to talk. Very few human beings join in a conversation in the hope of learning anything new. Some of them are content if they are merely allowed to go on making a noise into other peoples ears, though they have nothing to tell them except that they have seen two or three new plays or that they had food in a Swiss hotel At the end of an evening during which they have said nothing meaningful for a long time, they just prove themselves to be successful conservationists

70. By comparing tomatoes raised in Britain and in Ghana, the author tries to explain that ______

　 A. British tomatoes are healthier than Ghanaian ones

　 B. Ghanaian tomatoes taste better than British ones

　 C. cutting down food miles may not necessarily save fuel

　 D. protecting the environment may cost a lot of money