Australia, the last continent, was discovered by ships belonging to European nations in the seventeenth century. These nations were less interested in changing it into a colony (殖民地) than in exploiting it. As in the early history of the United States, it was the


English who set up the settlements in Australia. This history and the geography of these two British colonies have some other things in common as well.

  Australia and the United States are about the same in size, and their western lands are both not rich in soil. It was the eastern coast of Australia and America that the English first settled, and both colonies soon began to develop towards the west. However, this westward movement took place more because the English were searching for better land than because the population was increasing. Settlements of the western part of both countries developed quickly after gold was discovered in America in 1849 and in Australia two years later.

  Although the development of these two countries has a lot in common, there are some striking (显著的) differences as well. The United States gained its independence from England by revolution while Australia won its independence without having to go to war. Australia, unlike the United States, was firstly turned into a colony by English prisoners and its economic development was in wheat growing and sheep raising. By 1922, for example, Australia had fifteen times more sheep than it had people, or almost half as many sheep as there are people today in the United States. Yet, in spite of these and other main difference, Australia and the United States have more in common with each other than either one has with most of the rest of the world.

40. In the early history of America and Australia, both colonies developed towards the west firstly for the reason that _____.

   A. the population was increasing rapidly in the east

   B. the English thought there might be richer land there

   C. gold was discovered there

   D. fewer people lived there

41. In the early 1920s, ______.

   A. Australia had one fifteenth as many people as sheep

   B. there were more sheep in Australia than in the United States

   C. the population in Australia was greater than that of the United States

   D. the United States had twice as many sheep as people

42. Australia, unlike the United States, ______.

   A. did not discover gold until the late 1840s

   B. was the last and biggest continent to be discovered

   C. was not rich in gold in its western part

   D. won its independence by peaceful means

43. In the last paragraph, the underlined sentence means _______.

   A. the United States and Australia do not have any main difference

   B. the United States and Australia have nothing in common with the rest of the world

   C. the United States and Australia have much more in common than they have with other countries


D. in common with the rest of the world, the United States and Australia have a lot of differences

 There’s no shortage of writing advice telling you to keep your writing simple —to use simple language. However, why do so many people continue to ignore that good advice?
     A conversation around the theme of simplicity(简明) gets me thinking about this question. Why are people so fond of words that are hard to read?
     A study looked into the way word choice changes the judgment we make about someone’s intelligence. Students were asked to rate the intelligence of writers based on essays that they’d written, and choose books suitable for graduate study. The results? The simpler the essay, the more likely it was the author would be rated as intelligent, and recommended for going to the graduate school.
     The author of the study (Daniel Oppenheimer) concludes:
     "The experts are likely right: write clearly and simply if you can, and you’ll be more likely to be thought of as intelligent."
     So why is it so hard to put the writing advice into practice? In the same article Oppenheimer mentions that:

86% of students at Stanford admitted using complicated language in their essays to make their work sound more intelligent. Some of the possible reasons include:

●Desire to prove your topic is complicated by using complicated words.

●Fear of being regarded as lacking education.

●Natural desire to copy the language patterns of others.

●Little encouragement to use 'ordinary’words.

●Lack of time to 'translate’the complicated words used around you into everyday words.

●Longer words keep subjects impersonal(客观的) —reducing potential for personal criticism and attack.

●It’s the way people above you write —so you think it’s the ladder to success.
     What about you? Can you see any hidden benefits of using long words? Have you ever found yourself changing a simple word for a longer one to achieve a particular effect?

36. Why do many people like to use longer words?
       a. They think of longer words as a sign of intelligence.

b. Lack of instructions on writing skills.

c. They think longer words reduce potential for personal criticism.

d. Lack of time to transform complicated words into simple ones.
     A. acd            B. abc             C. bcd           D. abd

37. What can you learn from the text about the study?
     A. It suggests that longer words are the ladder to success.

B. It shows that using plain language is more acceptable.

C. It proves that it is students’duty to choose books for graduate school.

D. It proves that schools always consider students’opinions.

38. When writing, according to the text, Oppenheimer encourages people to ______.

A. copy the language patterns of others      B. choose complicated topics

C. use complicated words                 D. use plain language

39. This text is probably from ______.
       A. a health magazine                     B. a magazine about language

C. a science report                       D. a lecture on intelligence

 Learning experiences happen to us throughout our lives. Not long ago, I had one that I would like to   16  .

  I was going to Marblehead with my sailboat team. The team was racing down the highway at 85mph   17   we realized we were   18  . Luckily, we saw a rest area ahead. I had a brand-new $ 20 bill. I was so   19   because I had never had that kind of cash before. But spending it on   20   seemed like throwing it away. We all rushed into the pizza line.  21   I got a pizza and a drink, and walked to my table. About halfway through the meal, I   22   I had not actually handed any money to the cashier (收银员). I had just   23   out, and nobody had noticed. I felt terrible.

  My conscience (良心) opened its mouth and swallowed me in one big bite. I couldn’t   24   over it. I just couldn’t go back to the cashier and   25   for my stolen pizza. I was so upset that I   26   to give myself the pleasure of an ice cream for   27   that someone would say, “Hey, Jeff, why don’t you use the change   28   the pizza instead of that nice, new $ 20 bill?” I was not so   29   of my cash now.

  For the next two years, whenever I was   30   of the “pizza incident”, I would say to myself, “Don’t think about it … …”

  I have learned two things from this   31  . Maybe I was a fool for  32  in to my conscience, and being too stupid to enjoy a   33   pizza. But the real lesson is that even if you get away from what you have done, your conscience will   34   up with you.

  This reflects (反映) the saying, “A coward (懦夫) dies a thousand deaths, a hero dies one.” I was a coward and have felt terrible about that incident at least a thousand times. If I had been a “  35  ” and gone back to pay for the pizza, I would have felt a little uncomfortable about it only once, or maybe twice.

16. A. say                      B. talk                          C. share                      D. explain

17. A. as                       B. while                        C. then                         D. when

18. A. lost                      B. tired                         C. hungry                     D. anxious

19. A. excited                 B. eager                       C. satisfied                   D. encouraged

20. A. rest                      B. food                         C. travel                       D. drink

21. A. Luckily                B. Finally                      C. Immediately             D. Actually

22. A. thought                B. recognized               C. noticed                    D. realized

23. A. walked                B. left                           C. worked                   D. found

24. A. look                     B. get                           C. turn                         D. think

25. A. ask                     B. pay                          C. apologize                 D. send

26. A. refused                B. wanted                     C. hoped                      D. meant

27. A. hope                    B. surprise                    C. anger                       D. fear

28. A. into                      B. with                         C. for                           D. from

29. A. sure                     B. upset                        C. proud                      D. pleased

30. A. warned                B. reminded                  C. thought                    D. told

31. A. experience           B. experiment               C. story                        D. mistake

32. A. turning                 B. taking                       C. handing                    D. giving

33. A. free                      B. cheap                       C. plain (简单的)        D. delicious

34. A. make                   B. wake                       C. catch                       D. put

35. A. coward       B. fool      C. loser  D. hero

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