79．What is the author’s attitude towards Nigel’s actions?

A．He is mildly critical.　　　　 　　　　　　 B．He is strongly critical.

C．He is in favor of them.　　　　 　　　　　　 D．His attitude is not clear.　

答案　 76.D　 77.C　 78.D　 79.A

Passage 32

(浙江省宁海县知恩中学2009届高三最后适应性考试B篇)

Career building is an ongoing activity. Planning and goal setting are part of career building, but so is adjusting and taking advantage of things that happen in an unplanned way. Our dreams and desires, as well as the opportunities open to us, are changing all the time. Sometimes, they can change dramatically over a short period of time.

Dealing with change often requires taking your career in a different direction. Therefore, most people’s career paths wind up looking more like a forest path or the course of a river than a straight flight path from point A to Point B. Career paths tend to meander. Just as a river must take an indirect path to get round hills and other obstacles(障碍), we often have to do a little meandering to get round barries. We also meander simply to explore various career posibilities.

This doesn’t mean that you should wander aimlessly for the rest of your life! It doesn’t mean that, although career building gives you an overall sense of direction, it is responsible to expect that you’ll have to take some meandering along the way.

Career building involves maneuvering as well as meandering. To maneuver is to be focused and strategic(策略的), to decide what you want and how you are going to get there. Believe it or not, you can maneuver and meander at the same time. In fact, you have probably already done so. For example, if you have ever sent in an application form for an education program or job before you are really sure you want your application to be accepted, you have taken action on a plan while you are still exploring other posibilities. In other words, you are maneuvering and meandering at the same time.

78．Why did Nigel help Alicia finish her robot?

A．He tried to make friends with her.　　 B．He was fond of building robots.

C．He intended to help her.　　　　 　　　　　 D．He didn’t want her to suspect him.

77．Nigel’s original intention of joining the contest was to _______.

A．be the top student of the school　　　 B．bring great honor to his school

C．construct a robot with the Lego sets　　 D．win the thousand-dollar prize

76．What reward did Nigel receive for doing well in his school work?

A．He was offered a part-time job.　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

B．He was honored with a scholarship.

C．He helped his teacher construct a robot.

D．He helped in the computer laboratories.

60. The word “they” in “…together they threaten to confuse.” (Line 3,　

Para.5) refers to _______ A. engineering and the liberal arts. B. reality and noble ideals C. flexibility and a value system D. practicality and rationality

答案　 56.B　 57.D　 58.D　 59.C　 60.A

Passage 31

(上海市崇明中学2009届高三5月高考模拟考试D篇)

Topping the class academically was certainly an advantage. Studying was a breeze for Nigel. The reward was certainly incomparable to the little effort that he had to put in. It began when he was selected to help the teachers in the computer laboratories.

The peak of his school career came not when he topped the school but when he was selected for the nationwide competition. Unlike everyone else, Nigel wanted to join the contest because he liked playing with the Lego sets (乐高拼图玩具) and making something out of them. Nigel spent the next two months rebuilding the robot. It was during the time that Nigel found out about the prizes for the competition as well as another competitor, Alicia, from a neighboring school. His early intentions were forgotten. Getting the thousand-dollar prize was more important than anything else. Nigel decided to befriend Alicia. Unaware of his intentions, she told him all about the robot that she had been building for the competition. He even helped her to put the finishing branches in her robot. He was glad with the way things had progressed. His robot looked even better than Alicia’s and it was able to become a ball with its arms, something Alicia had failed to do.

On the day of the competition, he saw Alicia. Everything dawned on her the minute she saw him among the competition. She stared at him, puzzled at first, then angry and finally a look of helplessness came over her.

The flashbulbs of the camera exploded in Nigel’s try. The robot bird performed actions so unique and different that the specialist judgments were the same. Nigel was so personal with himself that he did not even notice the girl standing a few feet away from him. Without her, he would never win the competition.

59. The author’s experience shows that he was _______. 　 A. creative 　 B. ambitious 　 C. unrealistic 　 D. irrational

58. In the eyes of the author, a successful engineering student is expected　　 ____

A. to have an excellent academic record B. to be wise and mature C. to be imaginative with a value system to guide him D. to be a technical genius with a wide vision

57. According to the author, by interacting with people who study liberal arts, engineering students can _______. A. balance engineering and the liberal arts B. receive guidance in their careers

　C. become noble idealists D. broaden their horizons

56. The author chose to study engineering at a small liberal-arts university because he _______.

A. wanted to be an example of practicality and rationality

B. intended to be a combination of engineer and humanist C. wanted to coordinate engineering with liberal-arts courses in college D. intended to be a sensible student with noble ideals.

52．Which of the following statements about braking and speed is true?

　　 A．The braking distance is what it takes for the driver to react to a danger that he sees.

　　 B．The speed of a car has a direct effect on the distance needed to stop the car.

　　 C．The braking distance increases only when a driver drives faster than 50 miles per hour

D．Driving slowly can help a person to avoid all accidents.

答案　 50.D　 51.C　 52.B

Passage 30

(陕西省师大附中2009届高三第四次模拟考试E篇)

Engineering students are supposed to be examples of practicality and rationality, but when it comes to my college education I am an idealist and a fool. In high school I wanted to be an electrical engineer and, of course, any sensible student with my aims would have chosen a college with a large engineering department, famous reputation and lots of good labs and research equipment. But that’s not what I did. 　I chose to study engineering at a small liberal-arts(文科)university that doesn’t even offer a major in electrical engineering. Obviously, this was not a practical choice; I came here for more noble reasons. I wanted a broad education that would provide me with flexibility and a value system to guide me in my career. I wanted to open my eyes and expand my vision by interacting with people who weren’t studying science or engineering. My parents, teachers and other adults praised me for such a sensible choice. They told me I was wise and mature beyond my 18 years, and I believed them. 　I headed off to college sure I was going to have an advantage over those students who went to big engineering “factories” where they didn’t care if you have values or were flexible. I was going to be a complete engineer: technical genius and sensitive humanist(人文学者)all in one. 　Now I’m not so sure. Somewhere along the way my noble ideals crashed into reality, as all noble ideals eventually do. After three years of struggling to balance math, physics and engineering courses with liberal-arts courses, I have learned there are reasons why few engineering students try to reconcile(协调)engineering with liberal-arts courses in college. 　The reality that has blocked my path to become the typical successful student is that engineering and the liberal arts simply don’t’ mix as easily as I assumed in high school. Individually they shape a person in very different ways; together they threaten to confuse. The struggle to reconcile the two fields of study is difficult.