阅读理解 In recent years, many Americans of both sexes and various ages have become interested in impr——青夏教育精英家教网—

阅读理解

　　In recent years, many Americans of both sexes and various ages have become interested in improving their bodies. They have become devoted to physical fitness. The need to exercise has almost become compulsive(强迫性的) with many persons who have a strong desire to be more physically fit.

　　By nature Americans are enthusiastic(热情的) and energetic about their hobbies and pastimes. They apply this enthusiasm and energy to jogging. As a result, there are running clubs to join and many books and magazines to read about running.

　　The desire to be physically fit is explained by a “passion” for good health. The high rate of heart attacks in the 1960's caused an increase on the part of the public in improving the human body.

　　Middle-aged men especially suffer from heart attacks. Thus, they are one group strongly interested in more physical exercise. In fact, many doctors encourage their patients to become more physically active, especially those who have sedentary jobs. It is interesting to note that the rate of heart attacks began to decrease in the 1970s and it is still decreasing.

　　Physical fitness at present enjoys a favored role in the United States. It is a new “love” that many Americans have had. Will it last long, or until another “new passion”comes along? Only time will tell.

1．In recent years, many Americans have became in improving their bodies because ________.

[　　]

A．they have a strong desire to be more physically fit

B．they are enthusiastic about their hobbies and pastimes

C．there are many books and magazines to read about running

D．there are many running clubs to join

2．The passage suggests that ________ is a great favorite of many Americans, men and women, old and young.

[　　]

A．reading books and magazines about running

B．jogging

C．going in for all kinds of sports

D．joining running clubs

3．Middle-aged men suffering from heart attacks ________.

[　　]

A．are enthusiastic and energetic about hobbies and pastimes

B．are compulsive joggers

C．are interested in taking more physical exercise

D．are encouraged by their doctors to go in for jogging

4．The underlined word “sedentary” means ________.

[　　]

A．involving Physical work

B．needing long sitting

C．energy-consuming

D．sleep-producing

阅读理解

　　Hong Kong —-The Walt Disney Company might build a second theme park in China. But top executives(行政人员) have argued a report that Disney wants to build another one in Beijing in time for the 2008 Olympics.

　　Disney has plans to build a Hong Kong park that is to open in 2005 or 2006. “Our job is to make the Hong Kong Disneyland work and be successful . ” Disney chairman and chief executive Michael Eisner said. He said the company might later build a second park in China, though he would not say where. “I'm sure someday there will be a possibility to build another Disney theme perk that would be geographically so distant from Hong Kong that they will not compete.”

　　When Disney was in talks with Hong Kong about building the park here, officials in Shanghai made it clear they would rather have the park. Disney executives said they cared much about border controls that could slow visitors from the Chinese mainland who want to come to the Hong Kong theme park . They also said they had raised the issue with Hong Kong and Beijing. Although Hong Kong was returned from Britain to China five years ago, strict border controls remain in place between Hong Kong and the mainland.

　　Thousands of people cross the border every day for work and leisure(休闲) , and the local government is working with mainland officials to ease congestion(拥挤) at the border, which becomes very serious during weekends and holidays.

　　The company believes Hong Kong tourism will get a major rise by Beijing's successful Olympics bid(竞标) and Hong Kong's idea to put more than US $ 2.3 billion in the tourism sector of the world will give more visibility to Asia and certainly it's going to be positive for the US.

1．It has not been told ________.

[　　]

A．whether a theme park will be built in Hong Kong

B．where a second theme park in China will be built

C．why a theme park is to be built in Hong Kong

D．who will build another theme park in China

2．According to Michael Eisner, ________.

[　　]

A．Hong Kong Disneyland is not so successful

B．the second theme park in China will be opened in 2008

C．the Disney Company will not build the second park near Hong Kong

D．competition between Disneylands are often very serious

3．From the passage, what is the main problem for more visitors to come to Hong Kong?

[　　]

A．Long distance.

B．High cost.

C．Border control.

D．Different life style.

4．The underlined word “the issue” in paragraph 3 probably refers to ________.

[　　]

A．Disney was in talks with Hong Kong about building the park here

B．Disney might later build a second park in China

C．border controls that could slow down visitors from the Chinese mainland who want to come to the Hong Kong theme park

D．Shanghai made it clear they would have a theme park

阅读理解

　　A characteristic of American culture that has become almost a tradition is to respect the self-made man — the man who has risen to the top through his own efforts, usually beginning by working with his hands. While the leader in business or industry or the college professor occupies a higher social position and commands greater respect in the community than the common labourer or even the skilled factory worker, he may take pains to point out that his father started life in America as a farmer or labourer of some sort.

　　This attitude toward manual (体力的) labour is now still seen in many aspects of American life. One is invited to dinner at a home that is not only comfortably but even luxuriously (豪华地) furnished and in which there is every evidence of the fact that the family has been able to afford foreign travel, expensive hobbies, and college education for the children; yet the hostess probably will cook the dinner herself, will serve it herself and will wash dishes afterward, furthermore the dinner will not consist of something quickly and easily assembled from contents of various cans and a cake or a pie bought at the nearby bakery. On the contrary, the hostess usually takes pride in careful preparation of special dishes. A professional man may talk about washing the car, digging in his flowerbeds, painting the house. His wife may even help with these things, just as he often helps her with the dishwashing. The son who is away at college may wait on table and wash dishes for his living, or during the summer he may work with a construction gang on a highway in order to pay for his education.

1．From paragraph 1, we can know that in America ________.

[　　]

A．people tend to have a high opinion of the self-made man

B．people can always rise to the top through their own efforts

C．college professors win great respect from common workers

D．people feel painful to mention their fathers as laborers

2．According to the passage, the hostess cooks dinner herself mainly because ________.

[　　]

A．servants in America are hard to get

B．she takes pride in what she can do herself

C．she can hardly afford servants

D．it is easy to prepare a meal with canned food

3．The expression“wait on table” in the second paragraph means “________”.

[　　]

A．work in a furniture shop

B．keep accounts for a bar

C．wait to lay the table

D．serve customers in a restaurant

4．Which of the following may serve as the best title of the passage?

[　　]

A．A Respectable Self-made Family

B．American Attitude toward Manual Labour

C．Characteristics of American Culture

D．The Development of Maunal Labour

阅读理解

　　Shopping for clothes is not the same experience for a man as it is for a woman. A man goes shopping because he needs something. He knows what he wants, and his purpose is to find it and buy it, and the price is a less important consideration. All men simply walk into a shop and ask the assistant for what they want. If the shop has it, the salesman immediately produces it, and the business of trying it on is done at once. All being well, the bargain can be and often is completed in less than five minutes, with hardly any chat and to everyone's satisfaction.

　　Far a man, slight problems may begin when the shop does not have what he wants. Then the salesman tries to sell the customer something else—he offers the nearest he can to the thing required. He usually says, “I know this jacket is not the style you want, sir, but would you like to try it on for sure? It happens to be the color you want. ”Few men have patience with this treatment, and the usual reply is, “This is the right colour and maybe the right size, but I should be wasting my time and yours by trying it on. ”

　　Now how does a woman go about buying clothes? She does so in the opposite way. She has never fully made up her mind what she wants, and she's only “having a look around” . She is open to persuasion; indeed she considers of great importance what the saleswoman tells her, even what her friends tell her. She will try on any number of things. Highest in her mind is the though of finding something that everyone thinks suits her. Mast women have an excellent sense of value when they buy cloths. They are always trying to find an unexpected bargain. Faced with a roomful of dresses, a women may easily spend an hour going from one counter to another before selecting the dresses she wants to try on. It takes a great deal of time but was great joy. Most dress shops supply chairs for the waiting husbands.

1．When a men is buying clothes, he ________.

[　　]

A．puts price before quality

B．chooses things that others think suitable for him

C．doesn't mind much the pace he has to pay for the right thin

D．buys good quality thin, so long as they do not coat much

2．From the passage we know that in shopping for a jacket ________.

[　　]

A．most men can tell whether it is the right size for them

B．men like their jackets to be bigger than their size

C．men don't worry whether the clothes fit well or not so long as it is the right colour

D．men make sure it fits them before buying it

3．When a man cannot get what he wants he ________.

[　　]

A．usually doesn't buy anything

B．buys something of the same colour in a slightly different style

C．wastes no time in buying something else

D．will try on some other clothes of the same style

4．What can we learn from the passage about women shoppers for clothes?

[　　]

A．They listen to advice but never takes it.

B．Women often buy things without thinking.

C．Women seldom consider buying cheap clothes.

D．They welcome suggestions from anyone.

5．The most obvious difference between men and women shoppers is ________.

[　　]

A．that women bargain for their clothes while men don't

B．that men do rat try clothes on in a shop while women do

C．that women do their shopping standing up while men do theirs sitting down

D．that women often go shopping while men seldom go shopping

阅读理解

　　Americans do not give cooking, “considered as one of the fine arts” , an important place in life . Lunch is for them a kind of tip paid to the body. They hurriedly toss it a fruit or a fish and go back to work. Certain writes, in rebellion(反叛) , have founded the club “Three Hours for Lunch” , but they are an agreeable exception. Even at dinner, general conversation is rare. Everyone talks to his neighbour. After dinner the men linger at table, a custom inherited (继承) from England. In New York your host will often suggest taking you to the theatre, or else he will provide a pianist, a singer, or a lecture. The idea of leaving the guests to themselves, and expecting them to get pleasure out of meeting one another, astonishes and even shocks him deeply. His extreme modesty does not permit his imagining that his friends can be happy only in being in his house, with one another. He treats them like children. On Christmas Eve you will see, in some of the pleasant homes in New York, Christmas trees for grown people. In other words, after a dinner at which you exchange ideas, there will be a magician (魔术师) who will do his best to amuse the old people. There you must realize that the absence of conversation in American homes comes not from absence of ideas or lack of intelligence, but from shyness and a self-distrust.

1．Which of the following can best give the reason why Americans hurry through lunch?

[　　]

A．They are extremely busy.

B．They have rebelled against English customs.

C．They don't think it's important.

D．They consider it impolite to talk while eating.

2．The author believes that ________.

[　　]

A．Americans don't like to act like adults

B．people enjoy their food more when it is well served

C．people can get pleasure out of meeting one another

D．Americans don't think deeply enough to be a good speaker

3．When he says, “After dinner the men linger at table, …”the author means that after dinner the men ________.

[　　]

A．are unwilling to leave

B．go away at once

C．play for a long time

D．clear up the remains

4．The author feels that there isn't much conversation at dinner because Americans lack ________.

[　　]

A．understanding

B．self-confidence

C．a rebellious spirit

D．self-control

阅读理解

　　Habitual, long-term mobile phone users could soon know if they are at risk of developing cancer.

　　In what is believed to be a world-first study, human brain cells are being used to test the long-term effects of mobile phone radiation.

　　The study will use a device to simulate (模拟) the effect of longtime exposure(暴露) of the brain to electromagnetic radiation from mobile over a long period.

　　Testing will be done by researchers at Sydney's St. Vincent's Hospital . The project's chief investigator(调查者) , Peter, a French researcher, said the trial would test whether mobile phone radiation causes cancer in long-term users.

　　Testing will either prove people's fear, or show that there is no effect on human brain cells or perhaps that cells can become immune(免疫的) to electromagnetic radiation through repeated exposure.

　　During the study, brain cells will be exposed to electromagnetic radiation for an hour each day. Test results are expected in three to six months, with the final report to be published by the end of the year.

　　The research is unique because most previous studies have focused on short-term exposure on animal cells, which did help understand the effects of years of regular mobile phone use on human brain cells.

　　As mobile phones become increasingly popular throughout our society, it is important that we understand as much as possible about the long-term effect of electromagnetic exposure, if any, on human health.

1．According to the text, what might cause mobile phone users to suffer from a deadly disease is ________.

[　　]

A．that there is same poison in mobile phones

B．mobile phone on

C．the polluted plastic covers of the mobile phones

D．sate parts of the mobile phones

2．Who will do such a test?

[　　]

A．A French doctor.

B．An American dolor.

C．A Japanese scientist.

D．An English scientist.

3．Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

[　　]

A．The testing is dangerous to people's safety.

B．Such a research is the first of the kind in the world.

C．People feel afraid when they hear of doing such a teat.

D．The teat result will be published in three or six days.

4．The test is carried out mainly to ________.

[　　]

A．find out how to use nubile phones safely

B．find out how to protect mobile phones carefully

C．warn people of possible harm if they use mobile phones for a long time

D．tell people that some scientists will do a test about long-term mobile phone uses and their health

阅读理解

　　Nine years ago, after Leo had died, people said to me, “I never knew he was your stepfather. ”You see, I never called him that. At first, he was no one special in my life. Then he became my friend. In time, I felt he was my father, too.

　　Leo married my mother when I was seven. Two years later we moved into a house in a new suburban (郊区的) development, where he put down roots. At first our lawn was just a mud piled with wild grass, but Leo saw bright possibilities. “We'll plant trees there to give us shade as well as some flowers. ”he said. And just these little touches made our house different from all the others here. More important, a real family was forming within this house, with its own special traditions. Leo was becoming a full-time parent, and I was learning what it meant to have a father.

　　Weekday mornings when the weather was bad, Leo often drove me to school. Having a father drop you off may have been something my classmates took for granted, but I always thought it was wonderful. Saturday mornings, we went to hardware shop, then stepped into the five-and-ten, buying a sports magazine or something else. Some people might think that doing shopping together is nothing special , but I , who had ever before spent my childhood watching other families do their everyday activities, experienced them now with extreme delight. Looking back, I realize that Leo gave me what I needed most—the experience of doing ordinary things together as a family.

　　Soon after we moved to the suburbs, one of our new neighbours introduced herself to me. She had already met my mother and Leo. “You know,”she said, “you look just like your father.”I knew she was just making conversation—but even so… “Thank you.” I said. Why tell her anything different?

1．The main purpose of the passage is to ________.

[　　]

A．tell some unforgettable experiences

B．show how interesting a person Leo was

C．remind us of our parents

D．explain why they moved to the suburbs

2．Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined part “put down roots”?

[　　]

3．In the writer's opinion, ________.

[　　]

A．it's not easy for stepfamilies to live together

B．not all the stepfathers are as good as Leo

C．the husband and wife must think more about their children before they get divorced

D．in stepfamilies the love and friendship are extremely precious

4．When he said “ Why tell her anything different ” , the writer meant that ________.

[　　]

A．he should have told her the truth

B．he wouldn't tell her the truth

C．he wanted to tell her something that had nothing to do with Leo

D．he'd like to keep silence whenever he met the neighbours

阅读理解

　　Old Americans are separating into two classes. Retirement(退休) can be either heaven or hell. “I do believe on the whole the retirements of tomorrow will be wealthier and healthier than the same group of 30 years ago. ”says Robert Friedland, director of the National Academy on Ageing. “But that's only part of the picture. ”There is also a large group whose household income hasn't been growing very much. For them the future is unhappy.

　　“Nature is not always kind. ”says Dr. Robert Butler, an expert in medical care of old people, who was founding director of the National Institute on Ageing. The relationship between socio-economic position and life expectancy(估计寿命) has been know for a long time. Race is also connected. And education is a powerful tool in lengthening life.

　　“The reality is that poor people get sick easily as they age because they live in dirty neighbourhood and have dirty jobs, they are left unprotected from environmental pollution, and the pressure of being poor wears down people's health. ”according to Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund, which studies health issues.“Cigarette smoking has a great effect because it is more common in lower socio-economic groups.” says Elizabeth Whelan, president of the American Council on Science and Health. “If you live in a state of hopelessness and helplessness and don't think about the future, you are more likely to take up life-threatening habits.”“Race and income have large effects on death . ” a team of researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1996, after researching on 24 million whites and 2.1 million blacks.

　　With the exception of black women, the highest income group had the lowest death rates and the lowest income group had the highest death rates regardless of race. For black women there was no consistent pattern across income groups.

1．According to Dr. Robert Butler, ________ plays the most important role in people's life expectancy.

[　　]

2．The reason why poor people are more likely to get ill as they grow old is that ________.

[　　]

A．they live in the countryside

B．they work with their hands

C．their families are too large

D．they suffer a lot from poverty

3．From what Elizabeth says we can say that ________.

[　　]

A．smoking makes people poor and hopeless

B．smoking is very popular among poor people

C．poor people should give up smoking

D．rich people in America never smoke

阅读理解

　　“Most people in Britain or America spend four hours every day staring at a piece of furniture. ”said a spokesman. “Television eats up half the time you are not working or sleeping —ten yeas of an average life. All those things you want to do —when are you to do them? TV takes away your real life.”

　　A study of 20,000 British children published in 1999 compared TV viewing habits with social attitudes. Children who watched over four hours' TV per day were more likely to agree with statements like “I am not worth much as a person. ”and “There is nothing I can do about the world problems. ”

　　White Dot organizes an annual (每年的) “TV turn off week ”, which will start from April 23 this year. The group said that last year over 5 million people in Britain and the United States supported the event, mainly concerned parents and students.

　　This year they want more people to join in. That's why a spokesman, David Burke, went into the enemy camp. In a TV program shown in Britain in late March he put the case against television. Next day , the TV critics were unanimous (一致同意的) . Mr. Burke had made his points with force, wisdom and style. Give this man his own TV series!

1．We can infer from the passage that ________.

[　　]

A．parents and teachers are against the “TV turn off week”

B．David will have his own TV series

C．more people might join in the “TV turn off week” this year

D．the children who watch a lot of TV feel proud of themselves

2．“The enemy camp” in the last paragraph means ________.

[　　]

A．those who enjoy watching TV

B．those who are against watching TV

C．schools

D．the TV station

3．White Dot organizes an annual “TV turn-off week” , hoping that people will ________.

[　　]

A．sleep more

B．have a long life

C．have time to do something else

D．work more

阅读理解

Native Tongue

　　At first Kate thought the Romanian girl could not speak and understand English. Nadia would not reply to anything Kate said. Kate was in charge of showing Nadia around on her first day at Buckminster Grade School. Kate could not figure out why the school had put Nadia in a class where she could not understand what the people were saying.

　　“Why did they do this?”Kate wondered aloud. “I mean, you can't learn if you can't understand the teacher.”

　　Nadia's voice was a whisper, “I understand English. I will learn.” Nadia's English was perfect.

　　Kate was perplexed. She couldn't understand why Nadia did not like to speak. Then she realized that moving to a new country probably wasn't the easiest thing to do. There were hundreds of unfamiliar and unusual think to learn —-all at the same time.

　　Nadia nodded quickly. In a quiet voice she replied, “Many things people say, I do rat understand. I have been speaking English and Romanian all my life, but I do not know what some children are saying. For example, yesterday a boy asked if I could help him find the USB port on a thin black box he was carrying. Isn't a port a place for ships? It made no sense to me.”“Don't worry. ”said Kate. “You'll figure everything out in time. You see, that thin black box was a computer. A USB is a place where you can connect other machines to a computer. ”

　　Nadia and Kate were quiet after that. They took notes while the teacher gave a maths lesson . To Kate's surprise , Nadia put up her hand and offered to answer questions at the blackboard.

　　Nadia handled every question the teacher gave her. Sane of the questions were really difficult, and no one understood what was going on except Nadia and the teacher. When the teacher-said that Nadia answered everything correctly, the whole class clapped their hands.

　　Nadia was smiling when she sat back down next to Kate. “Some things,”she said in a normal voice, “are the same all over the world.”

1．At the beginning of Nadia's first day at school , she was ________.

[　　]

2．The underlined word “perplexed” probably means ________.

[　　]

A．puzzled

B．angry

C．shocked