阅读理解

　　In the 1930s, a lot of people in the USA were out of work. Among these people was a man named Alfred Butts, he always had an interest in word games and so, to fill his time, he planned a game that he called ‘Laxico’. However, he was not completely satisfied with the game, so he made a number of changes to it and, in time, changed its name from ‘lexico’to‘Alph’and then to‘Criss cross’. He wanted to make some money from his new game but he didn't have any real commercial success.

　　In 1939, Butts happened to meet a man called Jim Brunot who showed an interest in the new game. The two men worked together on developing the game and in 1948 it was offered for sale in the United States under its new name棥—Scrabble’.

　　At first, it didn't sell very well. In the first year it sold just 2,250 sets and by 1951 it had only reached 8,500 sets a year.

　　Then, in 1952 the manager of Macy's department store in New York, Jack Strauss, happened to play‘Scrabble’ while he was on holiday. He thought it was a wonderful game and, when he went back to work after his holiday, he insisted that Macy's should stock the game and make an effort to call the public's attention to it.

　　As a result,‘Scrabble’ became a big success in the United States and it soon spread to Australia and then to other English-speaking countries.

1．The text is mainly about ________.

[　　]

2．Alfred Butts invented the game“Lexico” ________.

[　　]

A．to make himself famous

B．to make spelling simpler

C．when he was out of work and looking for a job

D．when he was playing word games to pass the time

3．Who made‘Scrabble’ popular? ________.

[　　]

A．Alfred Butts

B．Jack Strauss

C．Alfred Butts and Jim Brunot

D．Jack Strauss and Jim Brunot

4．When did Alfred Butts first put his game on the market? ________.

[　　]

A．In 1939

B．In 1948

C．Before 1939

D．Between 1939 and 1948.

阅读理解

　　In ancient times, it was quite common to believe in the magical power of numbers. It was believed some numbers could inform someone of the future or show the hidden side of a person's personality. Numerology, the art of reading the power in numbers, was often practiced in Jewish tradition and among Greek mathematicians. Today, many of those who still practise numerology use the Hebrew system which gives each letter the alphabet one of the number 1 through 8.

　　Here is an example of how the Hebrew system of numerology works. In order to find the number related to a person's name, first assign(分派) the correct number to each letter of the name. The following chart can be used to see the number related to a person's name:

　　For a name like John, the following numbers are used: J＝1, O＝7, H＝5 end N＝5. Add these numbers together. The total is 18. Because this number is larger than 9, add the two digits (数字) so that, 1+8＝9. Nine is the number which refers to the name John.

　　Each number from 1 to 9 shows a different type of personality. One is the number of a leader, a person who will achieve many things. Two a person who is gentle and kind, but this is also a person who does not have clear goals. Three stands for a social person who is intelligent(有才智的) and creative. A person whose name equals four is a dependable, organized, and logical person. Five is the number for a person who is clever but impatient. Six is a“happy”number. This type of person is peaceful, sincere, and has a well - balanced life. Seven is the number for a person who prefers to be alone. This kind of person is a thinker. Eight shows a person who will have money. This kind of person also think only of himself or herself. Nine is the number of a genius or spiritual leader.

1．The purpose of numerology as explained in the passage is ________.

[　　]

A．to count people

B．to the custom

C．to foresee a person's personality

D．to practise tradition

2．Why would a person want to examine his name through numerology? Hs wants to ________.

[　　]

A．get the information of his own character unknown of himself and others

B．know how other people see him

C．make sure of the relation between future and quality

D．show off his ability

3．What number represents Walter's name if he checks the chart?

[　　]

4．It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

[　　]

A．Vera may be thought a wealthy person in the future

B．The writer of the passage is a Greek mathematician

C．A person who wants to examine his name is sure to make himself lucky

阅读理解

　　In most towns today, you can see teenagers standing before electronic machines with flashing lights, shooting at spaceships from other planets and dropping bombs on strange monsters(恶魔). The machines have names like Space Warrior, Dark Invader and so on. It used to be believed that damage was done only to these strange visitors from outer space, but now it seems that they are striking back.

　　Many teenagers like electronic games so much that they can't stop playing. They spend hours tightly holding the joy-stick controls and constantly pressing buttons marked with“fire.”They develop pairs on their fingers because of the constant pressure. They play and play so that the pains have no chance to heal properly. The rapid wrist movement required to guide the spaceship across the screen causes another problem, the muscles of the wrist and arm become so inflamed and swollen(充血红肿)that they press against the bones. This condition is what doctors now call“Space Worrior's Wrist”. Other strange aches and pains also tend to affect the elbows and shoulders.

　　Another even more alarming problem is shown by the case of a 17-year-old girl which was recently reported in the British Medical Journal. She had been playing various kinds of electronic games for more than two hours a day. Her father repaired games and machines and she could use the cassettes and systems in his workshop as often as she liked. One day, after playing a game called Dark Invador, she lost consciousness (晕倒) and fell to the floor.

　　Doctors who examined her found she was suffering from an unusual illness caused by lights flashing at a particular frequency.

1．Electronic games are found very popular with ________.

[　　]

A．people living in towns

B．students studying in high schools

C．girls working in their father's workshops

D．young people aged about 15～20

2．“Space Warrior's Wrist”is caused by ________.

[　　]

A．constantly pressing the buttons

B．rapidly moving across the screen

C．tightly holding the joy-stick controls

D．inflamed and swollen muscles of the wrist

3．The case of a 17-year-old girl given by the writer shows that the writer ________.

[　　]

A．supports playing electronic games

B．feels very sorry for the girl

C．complains about young people's playing electronic games

D．feels worried about young people's poor health

4．From the passage we can conclude that playing electronic games is ________.

[　　]

A．enjoyable and helpful to the study

B．exciting but harmful to the health and study

C．interesting but harmless to the eyes

D．amusing and satisfying

阅读理解

　　There was not a sound as morning came. Usually the chickadess (山雀)and nuthatches were out early singing as they looked for their breakfast of small insect eggs or worms under the bark. This morning only the grey outside showed that night was over.

　　Slowly the squirrel moved about. He was hungry. He must find some cones.

　　He flipped his tail and scratched his way to the door. He looked out. What was wrong? All the branches were bent over. They seemed to be covered with something different. What could it be? It was not frost. Frost made the needles look like white-edged flower. The squirrel stared and looked.

　　During the night, freezing air had come from the plain. It had spread across the high valley. As this cold air moved through the woods, the raindrops froze where they fell. They covered the tree trunks and branches with ice. When the rain stopped, it looked clear, shining and heavy.

　　The squirrel stared, sniffed and listened. He held fast to his hole. He was almost four years old, but he had never seen the world look like this. Curious and hungry, he jumped to a nearby branch. It was just below.

　　He had made the leap many times, but this morning it was a mistake.

　　When he jumped, his feet didn't hold on to the bark. He felt him self slipping. He tried to hold on to the branch. He began to slip. Spreading himself like a parachute, to slow his fall, he dropped twenty feet to the icy snow.

1．The main idea of the story is ________.

[　　]

A．winter is hard on animals

B．how ice fooled a squirrel

C．why squirrels sleep in winter

D．squirrel are foolish animals

2．Choose the best title for the story.

[　　]

3．The story was written to tell ________.

[　　]

A．about an exciting hunt

B．how a squirrel hate winter ice

C．why the squirrel hate winter ice

D．about the beauty

4．This story makes you feel ________.

[　　]

阅读理解

　　The famous director of a big and expensive movie planned to film a beautiful sunset over the ocean, so that the audience could see his hero and heroine in front of it at the end of the film as they said good-bye to each other forever. He sent his camera crew(摄制组)out one evening to film the sunset for him.

　　The next morning he said to the men,“Have you provided me with that sunset?”

　　“No, sir,”the men answered.

　　The director was angry.“Why not?”he asked.

　　“Well, sir.”one of the men answered, “we're on the east coast here, and the sun sets in the west. We can get you a sunrise over the sea, if necessary, but not a sunset.”

　　“But I want a sunset!”the director shouted.“Go to the airport, take the next flight to the west coast, and get one.”

　　But then a young secretary had an idea.“Why don't you photograph a sunrise,”she suggested,“and then play it backwards. It'll look like a sunset.”

　　“That's a very good idea!”the director said. Then he turned to the camera crew and said,“Tomorrow morning I want you to get me a beautiful sunrise over the sea.”

　　The camera crew went out early the next morning end filmed a bright sunrise over the beach in the middle of a beautiful bay (海湾). Then at nine o'clock they took it to the director.“Here it is, sir.”they said, and gave it to him. He was very pleased.

　　They all went into the studio (摄影棚).“All right.”the director explained.“Now our hero and heroine are going to say good-bye. Run the film backwards so that we can see the‘sunset’behind them.”

　　The“sunset”began, but after a quarter of a minute, the director suddenly put his face in his hands and shouted to the camera crew to stop.

　　The birds in the film were flying backwards, and the waves on the sea were going away from the beach.

1．Which of the following statements is NOT true?

[　　]

A．The crew had to follow the secretary's advice.

B．If you want to see a sunrise, the east coast is the place to go to.

C．The camera crew wasn't able to film the scene the first day

D．The director ordered Ms crew to stop filming the“sunset”.

2．The director wanted to film a sunset over the ocean because ________.

[　　]

A．it went well with the separation of the hero and the heroine

B．when they arrived at the beach it was already in the evening

C．the ocean looked more beautiful at sunset

D．it was more moving than a sunrise

3．After the“sunset”began the director suddenly put his face in his hands ________.

[　　]

A．because he was moved to tears

B．as he saw everything in the film moving backwards

C．as the sunrise did not look as beautiful as he had imagined

D．because he was disappointed with the performance of the hero and heroine

阅读理解

　　For nearly half a century, Mary Lasker, who died last week at 93, was America's leading crusader (社会活动参与者) against cancer. Yet much of the money she used to fight the disease came from a product which is now considered as a cancer cause—the cigarette.

　　Her fortune first took shape in 1992 when advertising genius Albert Lasker was trying to raise American Tobacco Co. sales.“Get women to smoke”, a friend suggested,“and you'll double your market.”Lakser hired actresses and opera singers to support Lasker Strikes. For women worried about extra pounds, he coined the word,“Reach for a Lucky instead of a Sweet.”Lucky Strike sales increased 312 percent in a year.

　　By the time he met Mary Woodard in 1939, Lasker was one of America's richest men, thanks to Luckier and ads that brought in orange juice, facial tissue and sanitary napkins.“What do you want most out of life?”he asked her. She replied,“To help to develop the research in cancer, tuberculosis (结核病) and the major diseases.”They got married, and in 1942 she persuaded him to retire and devote his time and money to philanthropy (慈善业), especially medical research, which then had little private funding (利息) and almost not any support from the government.

　　Albert's 1952 cancer death left Mary with one goal: a cancer cure. She sold off several painting—Matisses, Renoirs and Van Goghs—and gave the money to researchers. For ten years, she managed to persuade to give a high position to the National Institutes of Health. Result: NIT's funding rises quickly from $ 2.4 million in 1954 to nearly $ 11 billion in 1994. Richard Nixon, moved and encouraged by Lasker, declared a $ 100 million“War on cancer”and promised a cancer vaccine (疫苗) by 1976. That proved a different goal, but research has scored advances against several cancers. And Mary Lasker's advice remains a laboratory watchword:“If there are no leads, let us make them.”

1．The words“Reach for a Lucky instead of a Sweet”were coined by Albert Lasker for the purpose of ________.

[　　]

A．tempting(劝诱)women to smoke so as to lose weight

B．persuading women not to eat sweets

C．telling women to smoke Lucky Strikes only

D．advertising Lucky Strikes

2．Albert gained his fortune by ________.

[　　]

A．selling orange juice

B．producing facial tissue and napkins

C．running tobacco businesses

D．none of the above

3．The money Mary used to fight cancer was from ________.

[　　]

A．The Lucky Strikes Co.

B．the government

C．her husband

D．her parents

4．Mary Lasker died ________.

[　　]

A．of cancer

B．from poverty

C．of T. B.

D．not mentioned in the passage

阅读理解

　　There are two factors which determine an individual's intelligence. The first is the sort of brain he is born with. Human brains differ greatly, some being more capable (能干的) than others. But no matter how good a brain he has to begin with, an individual will have a low order of intelligence unless he has opportunities to learn. So the second factor is what happens to the individual—the sort of environment in which he is brought up. If an individual is disabled environmentally, it is likely that his brain will fail to develop and he will never gain the level of intelligence of which he is capable.

　　The importance of environment in determining an individual's intelligence can be shown by the case of the identical twins, Peter and Mark X. Being identical, the twins had identical brains at birth, and their growth processes were the same. When the twins were 3 months old, their parents died, and they were placed in separate homes. Peter was brought up by parents of low intelligence in an isolated(孤立的) community with poor educational opportunities. Mark was brought up in the home of well-to-do parents who had been to college. He was read to as a child, sent to good schools, and given every opportunity. The difference continued until the twins were in their late teens, when they've given tests to measure their intelligence. Mark's IQ was 125.25 points higher than the average and fully 40 points higher than his identical brother. Given equal opportunities, the twins, having identical brains, would have tested at roughly the same level.

1．This selection can best be tided ________.

[　　]

A．Measuring Your Intelligence

B．Intelligence and Environment

C．The Case of Peter and Mark

D．How the Brain Influences Intelligence

2．Of the following statements, which best gives the main idea of the passage?

[　　]

A．Human brains differ greatly.

B．The brain a person is born with is important in determining his intelligence.

C．Environment is vital in determining a person's intelligence.

D．Persons having identical brains will have roughly the same intelligence.

3．We can infer that people who are“identical” ________.

[　　]

A．look exactly alike

B．don't look alike

C．are brought up in the same family

D．are born in the same family

4．The case mentioned in the passage seems to support the conclusion that ________.

[　　]

A．individuals with identical brains seldom test at the same level

B．an individual's intelligence is determined only by his environment

C．children brought up under average conditions possess average intelligence

D．lack of opportunity prevents the growth of intelligence

5．The passage suggests that an individual's IQ ________.

[　　]

A．can be increased by education

B．is passed down from his parents

C．stays the same throughout his life

D．can be predicted at birth

阅读理解

　　One of the world's greatest museums. Would you like expert help to show you around the museum? We now offer a new service of guided tours for visitors.

　　Tickets can be purchased at the Guided Tours Desk on the day of the tour.

　　Cost: ￡5.00 per person

　　British museum guided tours last about two hours.

　　Tours usually include:

　　From Ancient Egypt

　　From Ancient Assyria

　　From Ancient Greece

　　From Britain

　　From Ancient Rome

　　Telephone: 010 - 636 - 1555 ext. 8299 or 8599 during museum hours.

　　For the exact time of the tours, ask at the Information Desk.

　　Monday to Saturday 10 a. m. ～ 5 p. m. Sunday 2:30 p. m. - 6p. m. .

1．This is a post for ________.

[　　]

A．the British Museum

B．the Museum Expert Help

C．the Museum Opening Hours

D．the British Museum Guided Tours

2．The underlined word“purchased”means ________.

[　　]

3．At 5:30 p. m. on ________, you can telephone the museum for information.

[　　]

阅读理解

　　The word“okay”is known and used by millions of people all over the world. Still, language experts have different ideas of where it came from.

　　Some say it came from the Indian people. When Europeans first came to America they heard hundreds of different Indian languages. Many were well developed. One tribe (部落) especially had a well-developed language. People in this tribe were farmers and fishermen. When there were problems, the leader of the tribe listened to different opinions and said“okeh”,meaning“It is so.”

　　The Indian languages have given many words to English . Twenty-four of the American states—almost half—have Indian names—Oklahoma and the Dakotas, to name a few. And the names of many rivets, mountains, cities and towns are Indian.

　　However, there are many who don't agree that“okay” came from the Indians. Some say the president Andrew Jackson first used the word “Okay”.Others say the word came from John Jacob, a businessman of the late 1700s who became one of the world's richest men. Still others say a poor railroad clerk made up this word. His name was Obadiah Kelly and he signed O. K on each package(包裹) people gave him to ship by train.

　　So it goes, each story sounds reasonable and official. But perhaps the most believable explanation is that the word“okay”was invented by a political organization in the 1800s.

　　Martin Van Buren was running for president (竞选). A group of people set up an organization to support him. They called their political organization the“Okay Club”. The letters“O”and“K”were taken from the name of Van Buren's hometown, the place where he was born, old Kinderhook, New York.

　　There is one thing about“okay”that the experts do agree on: that the word is pure American and rather use“agree, approve, confirm”and so on.

1．Oklahoma and the Dakotas are ________.

[　　]

A．Indian states

B．rivets, mountains and cities in America with Indian names

C．American states with Indian names

D．Indian rivers, mountains and cities.

2．We can conclude from the selection that to run for the president the candidate(候选人)should have ________.

[　　]

A．a political organization to help him

B．an“okay club”to help him

C．a club in his hometown to help him

D．a club with the name of his hometown to help him

3．Some say the word“okay”came from the Indian people because ________.

[　　]

A．when Europeans first came to America they heard hundreds of different Indian languages

B．when Europeans first came to America many Indian languages were already well developed

C．many English words came from Indian language, and people in one Indian tribe said“okeh”when they wanted to say“It is so.”

D．there were many farmers and fishermen in the Indian tribes

4．Which of the following statements is true?

[　　]

A．Language experts do not have the same ideas of where the word “okay”came from.

B．Language experts do not have any idea of where the word came from.

C．Most language experts agree that the word“okay”came from the Indian people.

D．Marry language experts agree that the word“okay”came from the speeches of some American presidents.

5．The word“okay”is ________.

[　　]

A．an expression used in spoken English

B．not used any more

C．not used in China

D．usually used in documents(文件)

阅读理解

　　Is it true that women have never had it so good? In many ways, yes. It is no longer necessary for women to ask anyone's permission for social equality. In other words whether it is ready or not, society no longer has the power to keep women in their place.

　　This is the first generation (一代) of women who are taking their work for granted. They are pushing up for the bottom and they are pushing into the top, taking over striking positions like running M 15, ending national newspaper and sitting as the speaker of the House of Commons. This newly-found strength comes partly from economic demand. Once the typical (典型的) European family depended on one pay, the male(男性) one, but now most families need two to keep up their standard of living. Today, only 10% of the families in Britain are supported by the father alone. In places where people are not very rich, the change is not striking.

　　But the changes that sweep through society do not come just from economic changes. They have been building up for generations. Now the feminist(女权) movement is raising its head again, especially in the U. S. A ..

　　The idol(偶像) whose power has swept through women's imagination is Margaret Thatcher. Whether or not women agree with her methods, politics and so on, she was a woman who stood with the men in the British Cabinet (内阁) as a leader among leaders.

1．In the article“keep women in their place”means ________.

[　　]

A．let women stay at home

B．allow women to work in factories

C．make women work hard

D．keep women in a low position

2．The article implies that women ________.

[　　]

A．try to rule the whole society

B．want to do various jobs as men

C．wish to earn more money than their husbands

D．begin to look down upon men

3．Now in Britain, of one hundred end fifty families ________ mothers help support the families.

[　　]

4．It can be expected that ________.

[　　]

A．women will be able to do everything at will

B．more women will work out of their homes

C．women will win a complete victory in their movement soon

D．society will not allow women to go too far