自考英语二高分考前练习20（附详解答案）_第2页

　　Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension (40 points)

　　Directions: There are three passages in this part. Each passage is followed by five questions. For each question there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.

　　Passage 1

　　There are stories about two U.S. presidents, Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, which attempt to explain the American English term OK. We don’t know if either story is true, but they are both interesting.

　　The first explanation is based on the fact that President Jackson had very little education. In fact, he had difficulty reading and writing. When important papers came to Jackson, he tried to read them and then had his assistants explain what they said. If he approved of a paper, he would write “all correct” on it. The problem was that he didn’t know how spell, so what he really wrote was “ol korekt”. After a while, he shortened that term to “OK”.

　　The second explanation is based on the place where President Van Buren was born, Kinderhook, New York. Van Buren’s friends organized a club to help him become President. They called the club the Old Kinderhook Club, and anyone who supported Van Buren was called “OK”.

　　11. The author_______________.

　　A. believes both of the stories

　　B. doesn’t believe a word of the stories

　　C. is not sure whether the stories are true

　　D. is telling the stories just for fun

　　12. According to the passage, President Jackson________________.

　　A. couldn’t draw up any documents at all

　　B. didn’t like to read important papers by himself

　　C. often had his assistants sign documents for him

　　D. wasn’t good at reading or spelling

　　13. According to the first story, the term “OK”________________.

　　A. was approved of by President Jackson

　　B. was the title of some official documents

　　C. was first used by President Jackson

　　D. was an old way to spell “all correct”

　　14. According to the second story, the term “OK”______________.

　　A. was the short way to say “Old Kinderhook Club”

　　B. meant the place where President Van Buren was born

　　C. was the name of Van Buren’s club

　　D. was used to call Van Buren’s supporters in the election

　　15. According to the second story, the term “OK” was first used____________.

　　A. by Van Buren

　　B. in a presidential election

　　C. to organize the Old Kinderhook Club

　　D. by the members of the “Old Kinderhook Club”

　　Passage 2

　　Although the United States covers so much land and the land produces far more food than the present population needs, its people are by now almost entirely an urban society. Less than a tenth of the people are engaged in agriculture and forestry(林业), and most of the rest live in or around towns, small and large. Here the traditional picture is changing: every small town may still be very like other small towns, and the typical small town may represent a widely accepted view of the country, but most Americans do not live in small towns any more. Half the population now lives in some thirty metropolitan areas (large cities with their suburbs) of more than a million people each — a larger proportion than in Germany or England, let alone France. The statistics (统计) of urban and rural population should be treated with caution because so many people who live in areas classified as rural travel by car to work in a nearby town each day. As the rush to live out of town continues, rural areas within reach of towns are gradually filled with houses, so that it is hard to say at what moment a piece of country becomes a suburb. But more and more the typical American lives in a metropolitan rather than a small town environment.

　　16. If now America has 250 million people, how many of them are engaged in agriculture and forestry ____________

　　A. About 25 million. B. More than 25 million.

　　C. Less than 25 million. D. Less than 225 million.

　　17. Which of the following four countries has the smallest proportion of people living in metropolitan areas _____________

　　A. United States. B. Germany. C. France. D. England.

　　18. What’s the meaning of the word “metropolitan” in the middle of the passage _________

　　A. Of a large city with its suburbs. B. Of small and large towns.

　　C. Of urban areas. D. Of rural areas.

　　19. According to the passage, what can we learn about small towns in the United States _________

　　A. Most small towns become gradually crowded.

　　B. Small towns are still similar to each other.

　　C. As the traditional picture is changing, towns are different.

　　D. Small towns are turning into large cities.

　　20. Why is it hard to say when a piece of country becomes a suburb __________

　　A. Because they are the same.

　　B. Because the rush takes place too quickly.

　　C. Because the process is gradual.

　　D. Because more and more Americans live in metropolitan areas.

　　Passage 3

　　If we were asked exactly what we were doing a year ago, we should probably have to say that we could not remember. But if we had kept a book and had written in it an account of what we did each day, we should be able to give an answer to the question.

　　It is the same in history. Many things have been forgotten because we do not have any written account of them. Sometimes men did keep a record of the most important happenings in their country, but often it was destroyed by fire or in a war. Sometimes there was never any written record at all because the people of that time and place did not know how to write. For example, we know a good deal about the people who lived in China 4,000 years ago, because they could write and leave written records for those who lived after them. But we know almost nothing about the people who lived even 200 years ago in central Africa, because they had not learned to write.

　　Sometimes, of course, even if the people cannot write, thy may know something of the past. They have heard about it from older people, and often songs and dances and stories have been made about the most important happenings, and these have been sung and acted and told for many generations. For most people are proud to tell what their fathers did in the past. This we may call’ remembered history’. Some of it has mow been written down. It is not so exact or so valuable to us as written history is, because words are much more easily changed when used again and again in speech than when copied in writing. But where there are no written records, such spoken stories are often very helpful.

　　21. Which of the following ideas is not suggested in the passage ______

　　A. “Remembered history”, compared with written history, is less reliable.

　　B. Written records of the past play the most important role in our learning of the human history.

　　C. A written account of our daily activities helps us to be able to answer many questions.

　　D. Where there are no written records, there is no history.

　　22. We know very little about the central Africa 200 years ago because _______ .

　　A. there was nothing worth being written down at that time

　　B. the people there ignored the importance of keeping a record

　　C. the written records were perhaps destroyed by a fire

　　D. the people there did not know how to write

　　23. “Remembered history” refers to ___________ .

　　A. history based on a person’s imagination

　　B. stories of important happenings passed down from mouth to mouth

　　C. songs and dances about the most important events

　　D. both B and C

　　24. “Remembered history” is regarded as valuable only when __________ .

　　A. it is written down B. no written account is available

　　C. it proves to be true D. people are interested in it

　　25. The passage suggests that we could have learned much more about our past than we do now if the ancient people had ___________ .

　　A. kept a written record of every past event

　　B. not burnt their written records in wars

　　C. told exact stories of the most important happenings

　　E. made more songs and dances

　　Passage 4

　　‘Mum, can we go to McDonald’s, please?’ Some people might ask, ‘Where would we be today if we did not have fast food?’ and ‘Where would parents take their children out to eat?’

　　It has been reported that approximately 30% of meals consumed by families in the USA are eaten at one of the big chains like Burger King and Taco Bell, though probably none is more famous than McDonald’s. The distinctive ‘golden arch’ can now be seen in most major cities in the world. In 2002, McDonald’s had approximately 25,000 restaurants in over 120 countries and served 29 million people a day.

　　Apparently, the secret of their success is a marketing strategy of ‘think global, act local’. McDonald’s learnt that if they adapted their ‘Mac’ meals to different cultures, it was more successful than having a standardised set of products that taste the same everywhere. So now, around 80% of McDonald’s restaurants are franchised to local people who serve food with a ‘local’ flavour. For example, in Hong Kong, food called ‘Shake Shake Fries’ and ‘Red Bean Sunday’ can be found on the menu, while in Switzerland, ‘Vegi Macs’ are served.

　　However, fast food is not popular with everyone. It is often called ‘junk’ food because it is said to be unhealthy and full of fat. Furthermore, many people claim that fast food chains produce enormous amounts of waste, while millions of people in developing countries go hungry. At the same time, more and more people no longer cook fresh food at home. ‘Convenience’ food is just too convenient! It is so easy for people with busy working lives to call into their local branch of Marks and Spencer, or some other supermarket chain, to buy ready-made meals on their way home from work. It is even easier to buy a ‘take-away’ from a local restaurant or pick up the phone and order a pizza to be delivered to your home.

　　26. The ‘golden arch’ in the second paragraph refers to ______________.

　　A) Burger King B) Taco Bell C) McDonald’s D) all the fast food restaurants

　　27. According to the passage, McDonald’s is successful mainly because __________________.

　　A) It has a standardized set of products all over the world

　　B) It is not ‘junk’ food

　　C) Its’ food is convenient

　　D) It adapted its meals to different cultures.

　　28. In the passage, which of the following terms has/ have the same meaning with fast food.

　　A) ‘junk’ food B) ‘convenience’ food C) ‘take-away’ D) all of the above

　　29. Fast food is often called ‘junk food’ because _____________.

　　A) some people think it is unhealthy and full of fat

　　B) fast food chains produce enormous amounts of waste

　　C) it is no longer fresh food

　　D) Both A and B.

　　30. The main idea of this passage is ____________.

　　A) fast food today

　　B) the successful secret of McDonald’s.

　　C) why fast food is thought as ‘junk’ food

　　D) different opinions toward fast food