2018年下半年成人学位冲刺试题及答案（3）_第2页

　　Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes, 40 points)

　　Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by 5 questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best one and mark your answer on the ANSWER SHEET with a single bar through the center of the letter that indicates your choice.

　　Passage One

　　Book clubs are a great way to meet new friends or keep in touch with old ones, while keeping up on our reading and participating in lively and intellectually stimulating discussions. If you’re interested in starting a book club, you should consider the following options and recommendations.

　　Before recruiting, think carefully about how many people you want to participate and also what the club’s focus will be. For example, some book clubs focus exclusively on fiction; others read nonfiction. Some are even more specific, focusing only on a particular type such as mysteries, science fiction, or romance. Others have a more flexible and open focus. All of these possibilities can make for a great club, but it is important to decide on a focus at the beginning so the guidelines will be clear to the group and potential member.

　　After setting the basic principles, recruitment can begin. Notify friends and family, advertise in the local newspaperand on bulletin boards in local stores, colleges, libraries, and bookstores. When enough people express interest, schedule a kick-off meeting during which decisions will be made about specific guidelines that will ensure the club runs smoothly. This meeting will need to establish where the group will meet (rotating homes or a public place such as a library or coffee shop); how often the group will meet, and on what day of the week and at what time; how long the meetings will be; how books will be chosen and by whom; who will lead the group (if anyone); and whether snacks will be served and if so, who will supply them. By the end of this meeting, these guidelines should be set and a book selection and date for the first official meeting should be finalized.

　　Planning and running a book club is not without challenges, but when a book club is run effectively, the experience can be extremely rewarding for everyone involved.

　　11.When starting a book club, one should first.

　　A.notify his friends and family

　　B.put an ad in a local newspaper

　　C.decide on the focus and size of the club

　　D.consider when and where the group will meet

　　12.According to Paragraph 2, the “focus” of a book club refers to.

　　A.funds B.locations

　　C.book types D.members

　　13.Which of the following would NOT be covered at the kick-off meeting?

　　A.Deciding on whether snacks will be served.

　　B.Discussing whether to appoint a leader.

　　C.Determiningthe club’s first selection.

　　D.Planning the club’s yearly budget.

　　14.Which of the following can be learned from the passage?

　　A.Starting a book club requires good planning.

　　B.A book club is a place to make new friends.

　　C.Starting one’s own book club is better than joining an existing one.

　　D.Smaller groups are better for a variety of reasons.

　　15.The best title for this passage could be“________”.

　　A.Book Clubs: A Great Way to Meet Old Friends

　　B.Book Club Planning: A Great Challenge

　　C.Five Steps to Recruit Members for a Book Club

　　D.Starting a Successful Book Club: A Guide

　　Passage Two

　　The Mayan (玛雅) Indians lived in Mexico for thousands of years before the Spanish arrived in the 1500s. The Maya were an intelligent, culturally rich people whose achievements were many. They had farms, beautiful palaces, and cities with many buildings. The Mayan people knew a lot about nature and the world around them. This knowledge helped them to live a better life than most people of that time, because they could use it to make their lives more comfortable and rewarding. Knowledge about tools and farming, for instance, made their work easier and more productive.

　　The Maya believed in many gods, including rain gods, sun gods, and corn gods. The people built large temples to honor them. Skillful workers built cities around these temples. It was difficult for them to construct these cities, because they had no horses to carry the heavy stones they used to build with. Workers had to carry all of the building materials themselves. Today, many of these ancient Mayan cities and temples are still standing.

　　Usually, only the priests lived in the cities. The other people lived in small villages in the forests. Their houses were much simpler than the elaborate structures in the cities. They lived in small huts with no windows. Most Maya lived a simple life close to nature.

　　Measuring time was important to the Maya, so the Mayan priests made a system to keep track of time, and they made a calendar in which the year was divided into 18 months of 20 days each with five days left over. The Mayan calendar was far more accurate than the European calendars of the time.

　　16. The Maya lived in Mexico ________.

　　A. shortly before the Spanish arrived

　　B. long before the Spanish arrived

　　C. at the same time as the Spanish

　　D. with the Spanish for thousands of years

　　17. Many Mayan cities and temples ________.

　　A. were constructed by the priests

　　B. were rebuilt several times

　　C. were built with heavy stones

　　D. were the miracles of god

　　18. Most Mayanpeople lived in.

　　A. beautiful cities

　　B. simple huts

　　C. primitive caves

　　D. stone temples

　　19. What can we learn about the Mayan calendar?

　　A. It was based on European calendars.

　　B. It was better than European calendars.

　　C. It was as accurate as European calendars.

　　D. It was copied by Europeans.

　　20. What is the main idea of this article?

　　A. The Mayan calendar was excellent.

　　B. The Maya were excellent farmers.

　　C. The Maya were intelligent people.

　　D. The Mayan cities were difficult to build.

　　Passage Three

　　A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer’s showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

　　As Graduation Day approached, the young man waited for signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautifully wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man’s name in gold. Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, “With all your money you give me a Bible?” He then stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.

　　Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but realizing his father was very old, he thought perhaps he should go to see him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make the arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.

　　When he arrived at his father’s house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father’s important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he was reading, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words “PAID IN FULL”.

　　21.The best title for this passage could be “________”.

　　A.A Tragedy of Father and Son

　　B.A Loving Father

　　C.The Holy Bible

　　D.A Missed Gift

　　22.On the Graduation Day, what did the father give his son as a gift?

　　A.A Bible and a sports car.

　　B.A beautiful house.

　　C.A lot of money.

　　D.Some gold.

　　23.Before his father’s death, the young man ________.

　　A.learned a lot from his father

　　B.got what he had longed for

　　C.failed to understand his father

　　D.kept contact with his father

　　24.Which of the following statements is true?

　　A.The young man made fortunes by himself after graduation.

　　B.The young man was proud of his father.

　　C.The father thought his son didn’t deserve the sports car.

　　D.The father couldn’t afford the graduation gift.

　　25.It can be inferred from the passage that people________.

　　A.shouldvisit their parents more often

　　B.should cherish what they already have

　　C.shouldn’t desire more than they deserve

　　D.should be grateful for whatever they are given

　　Passage Four

　　It is becoming more and more difficult to be sure that the food we eat is not actually harming us. We seem to get one food scare after another.

　　Several of these, recently, have concerned genetically modified (GM，转基因) foods. Although some experts tell us that these foods will do us no harm and that the concern about them is just speculative, other experts say that GM food is potentially very damaging to health.At the very best, the jury is still out on the matter.

　　In many countries, products which have been genetically modified are supposed to show this information on their labels, but now some of the large food producers are saying that it is growing increasingly difficult to separate GM food from the conventional varieties.

　　Pesticides (杀虫剂) and chemical fertilizers are also a cause of concern. In the last few years, a great many people have started to buy organic produce, although this is much more expensive than that which is grown using conventional methods. They do so in an effort to stop filling their bodies, and those of their children, with poisonous chemicals.

　　Thus there is an increased demand for organic food and this is not a temporary fashion. But some experts claim that organically grown food is no healthier than other food, because the poison level of the latter is not so high as to be harmful. Those who push for organic food may not be objective, but are part of the powerful food lobby, the chief concern of which is to increase organic food production with a corresponding increase in profits.

　　The use of additives (添加剂) is still another source of anxiety to consumers. These are often added to food to supposedly improve the colour or the flavour. However, it is thought that some of these may be the cause of allergies (过敏), or even the cause of behavioural problems in children.

　　We have to eat to live. The problem is: what is safe to eat?

　　26.What is people’s main concern about GM foods?

　　A.Some of them are not labeled with required information.

　　B.They might posehazards we don’t know yet.

　　C.They don’t have the same flavour as conventional foods.

　　D.The sowing of them will damage the environment.

　　27.What does the author mean by “the jury is still out on the matter” (Para. 2)?

　　A.The matter is still uncertain.

　　B.The matter needs a jury to judge.

　　C.The jury to judge is not available.

　　D.The matter is not important.

　　28.In Paragraph 5, the author tries to tell readers that .

　　A.experts agree that organic food is no healthier than other food

　　B.profit-makingmay be behind the drive to produce more organic food

　　C.the demand for organic food will not last long

　　D.organic food may also contain poisonous chemicals

　　29.It can be inferred from the last but one paragraph that food additives .

　　A.may be harmful to children in particular

　　B.are unnecessary in food production

　　C.are less poisonous than pesticides

　　D.do not improve the flavour

　　30.Which of the following best describes the author’s view about the food we eat?

　　A.Unclear.

　　B.Indifferent.

　　C.Optimistic.

　　D.Concerned.