阅读理解

　　The students we have in schools today will spend most of their future in the twenty-first century. Teachers just beginning their careers now will train students who will spend part of their lives in the twenty-second century. How well are we preparing these students for the world of tomorrow?

　　Much of our present educational system is geared (调整) to education about the past and the present, ignoring the rapid social and technological changes that have been occurring and will continue to occur at an ever-accelerating (加速) rate. Because our children are being oriented basically to the past and the present by our educational system, the debilitating (使衰弱) phenomenon of “future shock” is now an everyday occurrence (事件) for massive numbers of people. For all the rhetoric (花言巧语) about education offering the potential (潜能) for a better future, our school are not incorporating (合并) curricula (课程) to prepare a child or youth for an emerging (显现) new society.

　　For example, we are now in the post-industrial era, an era giving rise to an “information economy” based on the production, distribution, and consumption of knowledge. This emerging economy, called the “knowledge industry”, already accounts for 50 percent of our Gross National Product and includes education of all kinds, government, health, research and development, media, communications, computers, and conferences and conventions (惯例). It is forecast that, by the end of this century, less than 20 percent of the employed in this country will be engaged in the production of goods—a dramatic shift from our current makeup.

　　Thinking educators perceive (认识到) that this change calls for more education about career options. (可供选择的事物) Students must be prepared for positions in the knowledge industry. This is but one of the challenging trends of our time.

　　The futures program equips students with the necessary to function successfully tomorrow's world. Futures courses elicit (引出) purposeful consideration of the future. Heavy emphasis is placed on coping and forecasting techniques and on exploring alternatives (可供选择的办法)—respectable academic (学术的) procedures. (程序)

1．According to the author, the main cause of the phenomenon of “future schok” is ________.

[　　]

A．the school doesn't teach students the knowledge of future

B．the society is changing at an ever-accelerating speed

C．people don't make a good preparation for the future

D．people didn't get opportunity to go to school

2．What is NOT the features of our age?

[　　]

A．It is an age when “information economy” is rising.

B．It is an age when knowledge becomes more important in the economy.

C．It is an age with a rapid social and technological changes.

D．It is an age when more and more people will undertake the job of producing goods.

3．What should teachers do to train students for the future?

[　　]

A．To teach more about the present but less about the past.

B．To teach the students to suit different positions in the society.

C．To teach the students to get a right idea about all the rhetoric about education.

D．To set up a future-oriented educational system.

4．The phrase “future shock” (in Line 7, para. 2) most probably means ________.

[　　]

A．a violent blow which will happen in the future

B．shaken violently by something which is forecast to happen

C．the new things in future cause a sudden and violent disturbance to people's feelings

D．a violent disturbance of the feelings which will occur in future time

5．From the passage it can be seen that the author ________.

[　　]

A．is overenthusiastic about the post-industrial era

B．insists that the present educational system should be changed

C．believes that the students can learn at school how to prepare for positions in the future

D．considered the curricula at school is quite successful to prepare a child for the future

阅读理解

　　How does it happen that children learn their mother tongue so well? When we compare them with adults learning a foreign language, we often find this interesting fact. A little child without knowledge or experience often succeeds in a complete mastery of the language. A grown-up person with fully developed mental powers, in most cases, may end up with a faulty and inexact command. What accounts for this difference?

　　Despite other explanations, the real answer in my opinion lies partly in the child himself, partly in the behavior of the people around him. In the first place, the time of learning the mother tongue is the most favorable of all, namely, the first years of life. A child hears it spoken from morning till night and, what is more important, always in its genuine (纯正的) form, with the right pronunciation, right intonation, right use of words and right structure. He drinks in all the words and expressions which come to him in a fresh, ever-bubbling spring. There is no resistance: there is perfect assimilation (吸收).

　　Then the child has, as it were, private lessons all the year round, while an adult language student has each week a limited number of hours which he generally shares with others. The child has another advantage: he hears the language in all possible situations, always accompanied by the right kind of gestures and facial expressions. Here there is nothing unnatural, such as is often found in language lessons in schools, when one talks about ice and snow in June or scorch heat in January. And what a child hears is generally what immediately interests him. Again and again, when his attempts at speech are successful, his desires are understood and fulfilled.

　　Finally, though a child's “teachers” may not have been trained in language teaching, their relations with him are always close and personal. They take great pains to make their lessons easy.

1．We can infer from the passage that ________.

[　　]

A．an adult can learn a foreign language better than a child can

B．a child can learn his mother tongue better than an adult

C．an adult can learn his mother tongue better than a child can learn a foreign language

D．a child can learn his mother tongue better than an adult can learn a foreign language

2．Compared with children, ________.

[　　]

A．adults have little language learning experience

B．adults have little knowledge of language

C．adults can learn foreign languages quickly

D．adults have fully developed powers

3．When learning his mother tongue, a child ________.

[　　]

A．has a lot of practice in listening and speaking

B．drinks a lot of fresh water in an ever bubbling spring

C．tries to resist any possible pressure from adults

D．spends the most favorable time of his life assimilating everything.

4．A child learning the native language has all the advantages EXCEPT ________.

[　　]

A．hearing the language spoken in its genuine form

B．hearing the language spoken in all possible situations

C．having private lessons all the year round

D．having natural and interesting language contacts

5．The last explanation the author gives for children’s success is that ________.

[　　]

A．their “teachers” are usually language experts

B．they have intimate (close) relations with their “teachers”

C．their desires are always fulfilled by their “teachers”

D．their language lessons are always made interesting

阅读理解

　　Kincaid looked at his watch: eight-seventeen. The truck started on the second try, and he backed out, shifted gears, and moved slowly down the alley under hazy sun. Through the streets of Bellingham he went, heading south on Washington 11, running along the coast of Puget Sound for a few miles, then following the highway at it swung east a little before meeting U. S. Route 20.

　　Turning into the sun, he began the long, winding drive through the Cascades. He liked this country and felt unpressed, stopping now and then to make notes about interesting possibilities for future expeditions or to shoot what he called “memory snapshots.” The purpose of these causal photographs was to remind him of places he might want to visit again and approach more seriously. In later afternoon he turned north at Spokane, picking up U. S. Route 2, which would take him halfway across the northern United States to Duluth, Minnesota.

　　He wished for the thousand time in his life that he had a dog, a golden retriever, maybe, for travels like this and to keep him company at home. But he was frequently away, overseas much of the time, and it would not be fair to the animal. Still, he thought about it anyway. In a few years be would be getting too old for the hard fieldwork. “I must get a dog then,” he said to himself.

　　Drives like this always put him into a sentimental mood. The dog was part of it. Robert Kincaid was alone as it's possible to be-an only child, parents both dead, distant relatives who had lost track of him and he has no close friends.

　　He thought about Marian. She had left him nine years ago after five years of marriage. He was fifty-two now, that would make her just under forty. Marian had dreams of becoming a musician, a folksinger. She knew all of the Weavers' songs and sang them pretty well in the coffeehouse of Seattle. When he was home in the old days, he drove her to the shows and sat in the audience while she sang.

　　His long absences-two or three months sometimes were hard on the marriage. He knew that. She was aware of what he did when they decided to get married, and each of them had a vague (not clear) sense that it could all be handled somehow. It couldn't. When he came home from photographing a story in Iceland and, she was gone. The note read, “Robert, it didn't work out. I left you the Harmony guitar. Stay in touch.”

　　He didn't stay in touch. Neither did she. He signed the divorce papers when they arrived a year later and caught a plane for Australia the next day. She had asked for nothing except her freedom.

1．Kincaid drove ________ all the morning.

[　　]

A．on Washington 11

B．on U. S. Route 20

C．through the streets of Bellingham

D．along the coast of Puget Sound

2．From the passage we know ________.

[　　]

A．Kineaid's parents were dead and he only kept in touch with some distant relatives

B．Kincaid would have had a dog if he hadn't been away from home too much

C．a golden retriever was the dog Kincaid had before

D．in doing his hard fieldwork, Kincaid needed a dog

3．Marian ________.

[　　]

A．died after five years of marriage

B．was older than Kincaid

C．could sing very well and earned big money

D．was not a professional pop singer

4．From the passage we know ________.

[　　]

A．Marian knew what would happen before she married Kineaid

B．Kincaid thought his absence would be a problem when he married Marian

C．it turned out that Marian could not stand Kincaid's absence and left him

D．after Marian left him, they still kept in touch with each other

阅读理解

　　Twenty-three senior high school graduates of 1999 from Wuhan, Hubei Province, have recently left for Germany on a work-study program, according to Xi'an Evening News.

　　They will study hotel management in Bavarian Hotel Management School for a year and then take up two-year practice in Germany. Upon graduation, they will also get diplomas (文凭) recognized internationally. During their two-year practice, they earn no less than 1,200 Deutsche Marks (德国马克) a month.

　　The program, organized by a company in Wuhan, aims at providing the city's high school graduates with new job opportunities.

　 Applicants (申请者) must first pass an exam given by the German side and pay 180000 yuan covering the three years’ study and living expenses in Germany. In spite of this, the program still attracted a lot of high school graduates and their parents. And applicants came in a continuous stream.

　　“The chance for my child to go to college is small. What's more, it's not easy to find a job. We find the work-study program an equally good way out for him,” a parent said. “We don't worry much about the high costs because the total income from the two-year-long practice will be quite enough to clear them.”

1．This text is mainly about ________.

[　　]

A．a hotel management school in Bavaria, Germany

B．students from Wuhan studying in Germany

C．students going abroad on work-study program

D．new job opportunities offered in Germany

2．Which of the following words best describes the parents of these 23 students?

[　　]

3．We can infer that these applicants found it hard ________.

[　　]

A．to go to college at home

B．to pay for the cost

C．to pass the test given by the Germans

D．to get a job when they return home

阅读理解

　　Five-year plan depicts further development and better social security system

　　The Proposal of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee for Formulating the 10th Five-year Plan (2001-05) for National Economic and Social Development urges localities to actively expand exployment, and improve the social security system and the livelihood of the people.

　　The proposal was examined and approved by the Fifth Plenary Session of the 15th CPC Central Committee last week.

　　The proposal said that expanding employment is required to further stimulate economic development and safeguard social stability. It is an important part of macro-enonomic control.

　　It is necessary to speed up economic growth and further develop labor-intensive industries and collectively and privately owned businesses, according to the proposal.

　　As an important pillar (支柱) of the socialist market economy, an overall social security system has a significant bearing on the reform, development and stability of the nation.

　　The central authorities encouraged an early establishment of an independent social security system, which will no longer belong to businesses them selves, but will attract funds through various channesl.

　　The proposal also emphasized the need for modern and strict managment of the social security system, and the need to pursue a proper pension system for urban employees.

　　Meanwhile, medical and unemployment insurance for workers were underlined by the proposal.

　　China plans to gradually adopt a system of unemployment benefits to help laid-off workers in State-owned enterprises, according to the proposal.

　　The final target of economic growth is to improve the material and cultural conditions of the people, which will also provide momentum for the sustainable development of the economy, the proposal said.

　　The central authorities want to see more improvement in living standards, with increased housing space, a cleaner environment, an effective network of public facilities, increased ability to buy personal computers and cars, a high-level of in frastructure, enjoyable entertainment activities, efficient medical and good social order.

1．The main topic of the passage is ________.

[　　]

A．how the proposal was put forward and carried out

B．the most important character of the 10th five-year plan

C．the fundamental content of the proposal

D．how to make progress in living standards

2．The main content of the proposal probably comes from ________.

[　　]

A．the 10th Five-year Plan

B．the 9th Five-year Plan

C．the 11th Five-year Plan

D．the 8th Five-year Plan

3．The proposal includes ________.

[　　]

A．further stimulating economic growth

B．setting up a better security system

C．speeding up economic growth

D．all of the above

阅读理解

　　Possession and use of firearms are far more limited, and regulation far more stringent (严厉的) in major industrial societies other than in the United States, according to an informal survey (调查) by Washington Post correspondents. (通讯记者)

　　In Germany, a person seeking to purchase (购买) a weapon not only must prove a specific need, but also must prove experience or training in the use of firearms and take a special examination in the presence of a police officer and a civilian who already is licensed. (许可)

　　In Japan, with a population of 115 million, there were only 171 crimes involving the use of a gun committed in 1979. Even in Britain, whose society is fraught (充满……的) with much of the racial friction (摩擦), economic dislocation (混乱) and youth violence, crimes occur with strikingly less frequency than in America. London, with a population of 7 million, had 179 homicides last year compared to 1,557 in Los Angeles and 1,733 in New York.

　　With attention in the United States focusing once again on the vexing (烦扰) issues of use and regulation of firearms following recent, widely publicized killings involving handguns, comparisons inevitably are being drawn to other industrialized, urban societies. The comparisons show a tradition abroad that varies markedly from that of the United States, one that accepts strict governmental control over possession of guns of all sorts. The laws are national in scope, strictly enforced and generally considered effective, although experts admit that illegal use of guns has been on the increase in countries such as Italy and Britain.

　　In contrast to the United States, where limited federal regulations governing sales of firearms are supplemented (补充) by a crazy quilt of state laws, most other major industrial societies have uniform laws. This reflects general legal traditions in much of the rest of the world, but one other significant difference is that officials are assiduous (勤勉的) in carrying out the laws and prosecuting (起诉) offenders. (罪犯)

1．In Germany, a person cannot buy a gun if ________.

[　　]

A．he has a specific need for it

B．he has got a training in the use of gun

C．he can't find a person who is already licensed to present his examination for using gun

D．a policeman appeared when he takes his examination

2．According to the author, the main reason that the United States has a high killing rate is that ________.

[　　]

A．the United States has a large population

B．the United States is not an industrialized, urban country

C．the American society is full of racial problems

D．there are no effective laws to limit the possession and use of guns

3．Comparing to the laws in Germany and Britain, the laws in the United States are ________.

[　　]

A．more severe

B．more complete

C．in a better uniform

D．ineffective

4．Which of the following statements is NOT true?

[　　]

A．There are fewer crimes in Japan because it has small population

B．Other industrial society has very different legal traditions from the United States.

C．The officials in the United States are not competent, nor strict, when dealing with the criminals.

D．Some recent killings involving guns alarmed the American society.

5．What is the author's purpose in writing this passage?

[　　]

A．To make a comparison of the American legal traditions with those of the other industrial countries.

B．To get general statistics of killings in the United States.

C．To criticize the irresponsibility of the American officials.

D．To call for more stringent laws of limit the possession and use of firearms and more compete officials to carry them out.

阅读理解

　　Of all the animals in the animal kingdom, which one (aside from man) is the cleverest?

　　There're several ways of measuring the intelligence (智能) of animals. In one test a scientist sets three identical (一样的) cans on a table. While the animals watches, he puts food under one of the cans. Then he leads the animal away. Some time later, he brings it back to see if it remembers which can has the food. No smelling is allowed; the animal must go directly to the correct can or it falls.

　　This is called a delayed-response test. The idea is to find out how long an animal's memory can keep information. The scientists would try showing the cans to the animal one hour later, or two hours later, or even a full day later. They discovered that chimpanzees (黑猩猩) and elephants have the best memory, and are able to remember the correct can for at least twenty hours. No other animal is close. Dogs came next, but they only remembered for nine hours.

　　To settle the matter, the scientists designed a huge maze (迷宫) and ran the chimps and elephants through it. The maze was very difficult, with many blind paths and dead ends. It took the chimps ten minutes to find their way out. The elephant needed a half hour. Even allowing for the elephants' lower rate of speed, the test shows that chimpanzees are the cleverest animals. From this and other tests, the scientists drew the following conclusion: an animal's intelligence depends on the size of its brain in proportion (比例) to the size of its body. The elephant's brain weighs ten pounds. But this is only 1/600 of its 6000 pound body. A chimp's brain weighs about one pound, or 1/20 of its total body weight. So in proportion to its body size, the chimp has four times as much brain as the elephant—more brain for less body. The chimp is the champ!

1．Which is the best title of this passage?

[　　]

A．The Elephant's Memory.

B．The Cleverest Animal.

C．Judging Intelligence.

D．The Chimp's Brain.

2．The main idea of this passage is that ________.

[　　]

A．there are several ways of measuring the intelligence of animals

B．chimps and elephants have the best memory

C．intelligence tests show that the chimp is the cleverest animal

D．the scientists designed a huge maze and ran the chimps and elephants through it

3．The delayed-response test is designed to test an animal's ________.

[　　]

4．The passage tells that elephants ________.

[　　]

A．never forget things

B．are more clever than chimps

C．are slower-moving than chimps

D．have better memories than chimps

5．According to the passage, a rhinoceros (犀牛) that weighs 2100 lbs, and has a 3-lb brain is ________.

[　　]

A．as clever as a chimp

B．more clever than an elephant

C．less clever than an elephant

D．as clever as an elephant

阅读理解

　　The Three Gorges (三峡) Dam, the largest dam in the world, is also the largest engineering project on the face of the earth. It aims to make the mother of all floods, the Changjiang River, into a tame fiver and it will be the largest power source for much of eastern and central China. It will create a huge, deep-water lake, and make it possible for 10,000 ton ocean-going ships to sail 1,5000 miles inland from the Pacific to the city of Chongqing with its 30 million people, making it the world's largest river port.

　　Construction has already started. The dam will be about 6860 feet long and 611 feet high, at a spot called Sandouping near Yichang.

　　After many years of investigation (调研) experts have drawn a conclusion that this grand project will do a great deal of good. The most important thing is flood control. By building a dam instead of new coal plants to meet its growing demand for electricity, China will give off much less poisonous gases into the dir.

　　However, some scientists don't agree to the project. They say that Chongqing and dozens of other cities along the river will put much waste into the reservoir (水库), which can do harm to people, fish and other living things that depend on the river. Sedimentation (沉积) and damage of abreach (决口) are problems, too.

　　The Three Gorges Dam could be considered, when it is finished in 2009, a new eighth wonder of the world as to the size alone.

1．Which is not the purpose to build such a huge dam?

[　　]

A．To make electricity.

B．To prevent floods.

C．To improve navigation (运输)

D．To make it a wonder.

2．Where does the dam lie?

[　　]

3．It will take about ________ to complete the dam.

[　　]

4．Some scientists fear that ________.

[　　]

A．when the dam is built, the balance of nature may be destroyed

B．sedimentation may occur

C．abreach may cause millions of people to die or to be homeless

D．electricity will not be as much as expected

5．According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT right?

[　　]

A．When finished, the dam will be one of the main bases of power source of China.

B．People have different ideas about the setting up of the dam.

C．It will take many years to build the darn because people want to see whether it will be safe and strong enough.

D．Chongqing will become the largest river port in the world when the dam is finished.

阅读理解

　　Amos Grundy and Sam Spangler had been playing checkers (棋子) together for about twenty-five years. They kept their scores of wins and losses carefully on yellow-lined paper. You might call it sort of life time checker tournament (比赛). Sam was leading 5000 games to O. He liked it that way because he liked to win. Amos kept trying and his motto was “Don't give up. You can’t lose them all.”

　　Now Game 5001 began pretty much like any other game. Sam and Amos sat in their regular chairs—Sam looking confident and unbeatable—Amos nervously rubbing his white rabbit's foot. Rain was banging (猛击) loudly on the windows and there was the rumble (隆隆) of thunder shaking overhead.

　　Sam was playing the blacks. Amos was playing the reds. Neither man smoke. Sam moved. Amos moved. Sam moved. Amos moved. But Ames for once was making all the right moves.

　　He double-jumped Sam.

　　He triple (三倍的)-jumped Sam.

　　He made one king and another king.

　　Amos played the game of his life and he won it!

　　“Rats!” said Sam. He wasn't used to losing. After winning 5000 straight games a loss was pretty hard to take. He grumbled (抱怨), “But I'm still 4999 games ahead of you, Amos.” “Maybe so,” said Amos, “but we've got 5000 games to go. I'm going to win this tournament!”

1．Amos has lost 5000 games, ________.

[　　]

A．so he would give up

B．so he wouldn't go on playing

C．but he wouldn't be disappointed

D．because he was so old

2．The reason why, Amos won Game 5001 was ________.

[　　]

A．that it had begun pretty much like any other game

B．that he happened to play the reds

C．that Sam had thought to lose it

D．that he had made all the right moves

3．The final score was ________.

[　　]

阅读理解

　　One day newly-wedded (结婚的) Nancy lost her ring when they were busy working in their fields to plant potatoes. Friends were called and the field was searched long but in vain (无效地). Later, when the potatoes were harvested everyone looked out for the ring but it remained lost. Another year came round and all the farmers working in the fields kept their eyes open.

　　The following year was the same. And year after year, whoever had business in the fields always had Nancy's ring in his mind.

　　Then the farm changed hands but it went no further than to cousins (表兄弟)． So the memory of the lost ring remained alive until thirty-eight years had passed. Then came a spring day when a man was ploughing (耕地) the field behind a pair of horses. Even after thirty-eight years he still looked out for the ring, and knew just which part of the field Nancy had lost it in. At this time, when he came there, he found it. He picked it up, put it carefully into his pocket, left his horses, and ran all the way down to the village and placed it into Nancy's hand.

1．How did Nancy come to lose her ring? She lost it while ________.

[　　]

A．helping to plant tomatoes in the fields

B．watering the plants in the fields

C．doing some ploughing in the fields

D．gathering potatoes in the fields

2．What was done to try and find the lost ring?

[　　]

A．Friends were asked to join in the search.

B．The field was searched for a long time.

C．Dogs were called to look for it.

D．Both A and B.

3．Why did people keep looking for the ring even after the farm changed hands?

[　　]

A．It was a very expensive ring.

B．They all wanted to do something for Nancy.

C．They all hated Nancy.

D．Everybody wanted to have this ring.

4．What did the ploughman do after finding the ring?

[　　]

A．He picked it up and put it in his pocket.

B．He ran back to tell everybody else in the village.

C．He placed it to the owner.

D．He returned it to the owner.

5．What can you infer from the owner?

[　　]

A．The ring was not valuable.

B．People on the farm were honest and helpful.

C．The ring's mysterious disappearance was the work of supernatural power(超自然的力量).

D．Nancy no longer expected that her ring would be found again.