第 29 题：Reading Comprehension:
The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American
by Jeff Smith
Our real American foods have come from our soil and have been used by many groups — those who already lived here and those who have come here to live. The Native Americans already had developed an interesting cuisine using the abundant foods that were so prevalent.
The influence that the English had upon our national eating habits is easy to see. They were a tough lot, those English, and they ate in a tough manner. They wiped their mouths on the tablecloth, if there happened to be one, and they ate until you would expect them to burst. European travelers to this country in those days were most often shocked by American eating habits, which included too much fat and too much salt and too much liquor. Not much has changed! And, the Revolutionists refused to use the fork since it marked them as Europeans. The fork was not absolutely common on the American dinner table until about the time of the Civil War, the 1860s. Those English were a tough lot.
Other immigrant groups added their own touches to the preparation of our New World food products. The groups that came still have a special sense of self-identity through their ancestral heritage, but they see themselves as Americans. This special self-identity through your ancestors who came from other lands was supposed to disappear in this country. The term melting pot was first used in reference to America in the late 1700s, so this belief that we would all become the same has been with us for a long time. Thank goodness it has never worked. The various immigrant groups continue to add flavor to the pot, all right, but you can pick out the individual flavors easily.
The largest ancestry group in America is the English. There are more people in America who claim to have come from English blood than there are in England. But is their food English? Thanks be to God, it is not! It is American. The second largest group is the Germans, then the Irish, the Afro-Americans, the French, the Italians, the Scottish, and the Polish. The Mexican and American Indian groups are all smaller than any of the above, though they were the original cooks in this country.
1小题>
Which of the following statements is nearly identical in meaning with the sentence "they ate until you would expect them to burst" in the second paragraph?
A You bet they would never stop to eat till they are full.
B What you can expect is that they would not stop eating unless there was no more food.
C The only thing you would expect is that they wouldn't stop eating till they had had enough of the food.
D the only thing is that they wouldn't stop eating till they felt sick.
2小题>
Which of the following statements is Not true?
A English people had bad table manners.
B American food was exclusively unique in its flavors and varieties.
C American diet contained a lot of fat, salt and liquor.
D Europeans were not at all accustomed to the American way of eating.
3小题>
The author's attitude towards American food is that
A American food is better than foods from other countries.
B American food is superior to European food.
C European food had helped enrich the flavors and varieties of American food.
D people from other countries could still identify from the American foods the foods that were unique to their countries.
4小题>
Immigrant groups, when they got. settled down in the United States, still have had their own sense of self-identity because
A their foods are easily identified among all the foods Americans eat.
B their foods stand out in sharp contrast to foods of other countries.
C they know pretty well what elements of American food are of their own countries' origin.
D they know pretty well how their foods contribute to American cuisine.
5小题>
Which of the following statements is true?
A People from other cultures or nations start to lose their self-identity once they get settled down in America.
B The "melting pot" is supposed to melt all the foods but in reality it doesn't.
C The special sense of self-identity of people from other countries can't be maintained once they become Americans.
D The "melting pot" finds it capable of melting all the food traditions into the American tradition.
第 30 题：Reading Comprehension:
Seeking to build support among black families for its education reform law, the Bush administration paid a prominent black pundit $240,000 to promote the law on his nationally syndicated television show and to urge other black journalists to do the same.
The campaign, part of an effort to promote No Child Left Behind (NCLB), required commentator Armstrong Williams "to regularly comment on NCLB during the course of his broadcasts," and to interview Education Secretary Rod Paige for TV and radio spots that were aired during the show in 2004.
Williams said Thursday he understands that critics could find the arrangement unethical, but "I wanted to do it because it''s something I believe in." The top Democrat on the House Education Committee, Rep. George Miller of California, called the contract "a very questionable use of taxpayers'' money" that is "probably illegal".
The contract, detailed in documents obtained by USA TODAY through a Freedom of Information Act request, also shows that the Education Department, through the Ketchum public relations firm, arranged with Williams to use contacts with America''s Black Forum, a group of black broadcast journalists," to encourage the producers to periodically address" NCLB. He persuaded radio and TV personality Steve Harvey to invite Paige onto his show twice. Harvey''s manager, Rushion McDonald, confirmed the appearances.
1小题>
We know from this passage that Mr. Armstrong Williams was, at the time when the story went public, all the following EXCEPT________.
A column writer
B business owner
C TV commentator
D government official
2小题>
From the context, the word "pundit" in Paragraph 1 is probably similar to all the following terms EXCEPT________.
A bandit
B journalist
C anchorman
D commentator
3小题>
A "nationally syndicated television show" in Paragraph 1 is most possibly a TV show that________.
A can be organized like a national game
B can be aired in many towns in the USA
C might be somehow eradicated someday
D must be shown everywhere across the country
4小题>
As mentioned in the passage, Rod Paige was certainly________.
A a secretary in charge of education in the NCLB program
B a secretary in charge of TV Education for American children
C one of the many men interviewed on radio in 2004
D the man in charge of the Education Ministry of the United States
5小题>
Obviously, the word "arrangement" in the third paragraph refers to the fact that
A he was arranged to speak about his involvement
B a campaign was under way to promote the administration
C he was paid for speaking on NCLB developments
D some critics made an arrangement to criticize him
6小题>
The top Democrat on the House Education Committee, Rep. George Miller of California means that Mr. George Miller is________.
A from the State of California, a representative of his state at the House of Representatives, and a Republican Party member, and he sits on the Education Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States of America
B a Republican representative from the State of California, a representative of the House of Representatives of the USA to the State of California, and the top Democrat on the Education Committee of the House of Representatives
C a representative of the State of California to the House of Representatives of the United States of America, a member of the Democratic Party, and a member on the Education Committee of the House of Representatives
D a top Democrat representing George Miller from the State of California, a Republican Party member at the House of Representatives, and a member of the Education Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States of America
7小题>
According to the passage, "No Child Left Behind (NCLB)" was most possibly a new________.
A law recently passed
B campaign at large
C Bush government plan
D broadcast program
8小题>
The "contract" appearing in Paragraph 4 is quite likely referring to________.
A an arrangement between USA TODAY and the "Freedom of Information Act"
B a commercial agreement between the Bush administration and Mr. Armstrong Williams
C an arrangement between the Education Department and the Ketchum public relations company
D a volunteer agreement between Mr. Armstrong Williams and the No Child Left Behind effort
9小题>
The reason that this story was made known to the public was the fact that________.
A USA TODAY requested Freedom of Information Act to act on its behalf
B Freedom of Information Act requested USA TODAY to act on its behalf
C USA TODAY managed to obtain copies of the documents that contained the contract
D Freedom of Information Act so stated that USA TODAY was able to obtain the documents
10小题>
The "appearances" at the end of the passage refer to________.
A a group of black broadcast journalists
B producers periodically address NCLB
C Rod Paige had interviews in a TV show
D Rushion McDonald saw Steve Harvey
