Part I Reading Comprehension (共20小题，每小题2分，共40分)
Directions: In this part there are four passages. Each passage is followed by four comprehension questions. Read the passage and answer the questions. Then mark your answer on the Answer Sheet.
Passage 1
Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage:
Do you want to say what you think in a letter to the President of the United States? You’ll get a reply from him—written in ink, not typed—after only a few days.
The President gets about 4,000 letters every week. He answers everyone who writes to him on special Whites House paper. But he doesn’t need a lot of time for it. In fact, he only gives 20 minutes a week to look at his personal correspondence. He has the most modern secretary in the world to help him.
It’s computer, worth ￡ 800，000，which has its own rooms on the first floor of the White House. It has a bank of electronic pens which write like the President writes, in his favorite light blue ink. Each letter the President receives gets a number, according to the type of answer it needs. The pens then write the correct reply for it, according to the number. Each letter takes less than a second to write. A White House official said, “It’s not important that letters come from a computer. Each letter says what the President wants to say.”
1. for a reply from the President.
A. You have to wait a long time B. You only have to wait several days
C. You have to wait at least one month D. You only have to wait a few weeks
2. The reply from the President .
A. is always printed B. is always typed
C. is always written in ink D. is always written by himself
3. It takes the computer to write ten letters.
A. no more than ten seconds B. a little more than ten seconds
C. less than ten seconds D. at least one second
4. The computer can be described as .
A. expensive but efficient B. possessing a beautiful handwriting
C. heavy and inefficient D. the President’s most reliable secretary
5. It can be inferred from the passage that .
A. the President never reads any letters written to him by ordinary people
B. the President hires a very efficient secretary to deal with his correspondence
C. the President does not really care about the letters he receives every week
D. the President is assured that the computer express his views in the letters
Passage 2
Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage:
In order to learn to be one’s true self, it is necessary to obtain a wide and extensive knowledge of what has been said and done in the world; critically to inquire into it; carefully to consider it; clearly to analyze it; and earnestly to carry it out.
It matters not what you learn, but when you once learn a thing, you must never give it up until you have mastered it. It matters not what you inquire into, but when you once inquire into a thing, you must never give it up until you have thoroughly understood it. It matters not what you try to think out, but when you once try to think out a thing, you must never give it up until you have got what you want. It matters not what you try to carry out, but when you once carry out a thing, you must never give it up until you have don’t it thoroughly and well.
If another man succeeds by one effort, you will use a hundred efforts. If another man succeeds by ten efforts, you will use a thousand.
6. According to the author, first of all one must .
A. analyze B. inquire C. obtain knowledge D. act
7. According to the author, .
A. learning is not important B. thinking is not necessary
C. knowledge means little D. it is not important what we learn
8. The end of learning should be .
A. thought B. mastery C. inquiry D. analysis
9. According to the author, another man’s success should .
A. make greater efforts B. make us nervous
C. not be taken into consideration D. cause one to stop trying
10. The author implies but does not say what .
A. the way to knowledge is through specialization
B. one has to know everything to be successful
C. success depends not so much on natural ability as it does on effort
D. success in one’s profession is latest important in one’s life
Passage 3
Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage:
About 70 million Americans are trying to loss weight. That is almost 1 out of every 3 people in the United States. Some people go on ideas. This means they eat less certain foods, especially fats and sugars. Other people exercise with especial equipment, take diet pills, or even have surgery. Losing weight is hard work, and it can also cost a lot of money. So why do so many people in the United States want to lose weight?
Many people in the United States worry about not looking young and attractive. For many people, looking good also means being thin. Other people worry about their health. Many doctors say being overweight is not healthy. But are Americans really fat? Almost 30 million Americans weight at least 20 percent more than their ideal weight. In fact, the United State is the most overweight country in the wild. “The stored fat of adult Americans weight 2.3 trillion pounds,” says University of Massachusetts anthropologist (人类学家) George Armelagos. He says burning off that stored energy would produce enough power for 900,000 cars to go 12,000 miles.
Losing weight is hard work, but most people want to find a fast and easy way to take off fat. Bookstores sell lots of diet books. These books tell readers how to lose weight. Each year, dozens of new books like these are written. Each one boasts to help people to get rid of fat.
11. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a way of losing weight?
A. To eat less fats and sugars. B. To work hard.
12. Many Americans are trying to lose weight because .
A. they want to look attractive B. they are misled by doctors
C. they want to keep fit D. both A and C
13. The figures given in the second paragraph suggest that .
A. Americans are dependent on cars B. cars consume a lot of money
C. Americans need lose weight D. excess of fat can be a source of energy
14. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that .
A. diet books are not always effective B. diet books are usually helpful
C. there are lots of ways of losing weight D. bookstores are keeping their promises
15. It can be concluded from the passage that .
A. people think too much of their appearance
B. there is not a sure way of losing weight as yet
C. surgery is the fastest way of losing weight
D. going on diet is a safe way of losing weight
Passage 4
Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage:
I recently wrote an autobiography in which I recalled many old memories. One of them was from my school days, when our ninth grade teacher, Miss Raber, would pick out Words from the Reader’s Digest to test our vocabulary.
Today, more than 45 years later, I always check out “It pays to Enrich Your Word Power” first when the Digest comes each month. I am impressed with that idea, word power. Reader’s Digest knows the power that words have to move people—to entertain, inform, and inspire. The Digest editors know that the big word isn’t always the best word. Take just one example, a Quotable Quote form the February 1985 issue: ”Time is a playful thing. It slips quickly and drinks the day like a bowl of milk.”
Nineteen words, only two of them more than one syllable, yet how much they convey! That’s usually how it is with Reader’s Digest. Small and simple can be profound.
As chairman of a foundation to restore the Statue of Liberty, I’ve been making a lot of speeches lately. I try to keep them fairly short. I use small but vivid words: words like “hope”, “guts”, “faith”, “dreams”. Those are words that move people and say so much about the spirit of America.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against using big words, when it is right to do so, but I have also learned that a small word can work a small miracle—if it’s right word, in the right place, at the right time. It’s a “secret” that I hope never forget.
16. The passage is mainly about .
A. one of the many old memories
B. using simple words to express profound ideas
C. Reader’s Digest and school speeches
D. how to make effective speeches
17. It seems that Reader’s Digest is a magazine popular with .
A. people of all ages B. teenagers C. school teachers D. elderly readers
18. The example the author gives in the second paragraph might mean .
A. one spends his day playing and drinking
B. don’t waste your time as one does
C. time slips easily if you don’t make good use of it
D. time is just like drinking milk from a bowl
19. The author’s “secret” is .
A. to avoid using big words at any time
B. to use words that have the power to move people
C. to work a miracle by using a small word
D. to use small and simple words where possible
20. Accoeding to the author, well-chosen words can give people .
A. hope, courage and ideas
B. confidence, determination and strength
C. pleasure, knowledge and encourage
D. entertainment, information and power
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