英语阅读二(含答案)

本复习大纲适用于本学期的期末考试，所列题目为期末试卷试题的出题范围。 本次期末考试题型分为4种：词汇和语法，是非判断题，篇章解构和阅读理解，全部采用单项选择的形式。

词汇和语法占30%，是非判断题22％，篇章解构8%，阅读理解占40％。

期末复习题 （答案供参考）

Part 1 Vocabulary

Directions: Choose the best words for the following sentences.

1. Soon you will see an important paper that may well ___________ the course of the history. A. effect B. abate C. affect D. affectation

2. Renewable technologies need __________ energy policies to encourage their development. A. sound B. sensitive C. out-of-date D. numerous

3. When the opponents of the system shout about the lack of parental choice, they __________ the fact that in the old system there was no choice either for most parents.

A. confuse B. forgive C. understand D. overlook 4. Asking one question after another is ___________ a conversation.

A. the same as B. a far cry from C. a cry against D. be within cry of

5. Henry VIII __________ England from the Catholic Church and established the

Church of England. A. marched B. withdrew C. petitioned D. commanded 6. Still, the wind business has some __________ to overcome. A. elements B. factors C. hurdles D. elephants

7. A Lot of people say that to make a serious conversation successful, one has to be a good speaker, eloquent and _____________ on a wide range of topics. A. talkative B. hesitant C. well-informed D. pitiful

8. If you have any questions in class, first ________ your hand and then ________ to ask your teacher.

A. raise; raise B. raise; rise C. ruse; raise D. rise; rise 9. On hearing the ring, he rose to _________ the telephone. A. accept B. answer C. receive D. reply

10. Our school has strict rules. Fighting at school is ___________ permitted. A. by all means B. by no means C. by any means D. within his means 11. Dr. Kistiakowsky ___________ forward the factors that make it hard for women to be in science. A. suggest B. hold C. put D. take

12. For the newborn all the emotions he experiences can be summarized ___________ “generalized excitement”, of which the external evidence is crying and thrashing about. A. as B. down C. for D. against 13. A doctor can expect __________ at any hour of the day or night. A. calling B. seeing C. being called D. to be called

14. After Queen Elizabeth I died, James Stuart __________ her and became James I.

A. succeeded B. mourned C. sobbed D. missed

15. The only effective approach is to ___________ the future, instead of returning to the methods of the past. A. deny B. challenge C. see D. look to 16. Science books ___________ on boy’s experiences.

A. make use B. draw C. link D. revise

17. _____________ is Denmark; with government’s support, it has become one of the most successful countries with wind power.

A. A case in point B. Off the point C. Without any point D. In case 18. In recent years, things have changed for ___________. Realizing the importance of rainforest protection, Brazilian government has made changes to the policies that encouraged people to fell trees.

A. worse B. better C. nothing D. /

19. The Queen ____________ away at 69 on March 24th, 1603 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, London. A. passed B. went C. found D. sailed

20. It was a small room, on the sixth and top floor, and ___________ a setting for a romantic figure. A. nearly B. more or less C. almost D. scarcely

21. Too many questions will make the other person __________ at ease; and you may be considered as nosey. A. warm-hearted B. ill C. interesting D. humorous

22. It seems reasonable to ___________ that every survey has found serious defects in the education standards of its day. A. assume B. speak C. tell D. foretell

23. Many factors ____________ individual differences in the way emotions are

developed. A. account B. account for C. account with D. find account in

24. Since they have a strong _____________ for each other, don’t engage them in a conversation. No matter what, they wouldn’t talk to each other.

A. dislike B. feelings C. affection D. friendship 25. The local economy started ___________ off in the mid-1990s. A. take B. move C. taking D. moving

26. The fat man chuckled to himself as he ________ the door of his room and stood aside to let his guest enter. A. exploded B. unlocked C. broke into D. burst into

27. The ___________ of the Brazilian part of Amazonia has bought economic as well as environmental disaster. A. deforestation B. deforest C. forest forestation

28. Many people take questions as nothing __________ signals for them to speak, and utter whatever happens to be on their mind at the moment. A. rather than B. more than C. beside D. in addition to

29. Max glanced ___________ Fowler, who was standing a few feet from Ausable. A. in B. at C. on D. above

30. Then he pressed advertising again, though neither of us really knew anything about it, __________ that you could work in Manhattan. A. except B. expect C. in addition D. more

31. Intelligence is related to emotions in __________ our capacity to reason and think can affect our emotional behavior. A. which B. that C. where D. what

32. Women, present and ancient, at home and abroad, wear long hair, _________

adds to their beauty. A. by which B. which C. it D. this 33. The light is still on. They __________ to switch it off. A. may forget B. should have forgotten C. must have forgotten D. can’t have forgotten

34. In addition ___________ an appropriate diet, you need to do exercise to keep fit. A. to B. for C. with D. on

35. ____________ her rule, England grew stronger and more stable. A. In spite of B. Under C. Without D. Against 36. It was with that experience fresh in my mind that I attended a conference __________ science literacy. A. in money.”

A. need B. had C. should D. must 38. My wife and I were in the car heading _________ Edinburgh.

A. toward B. from C. on D. under 39. __________, I am sure he is an honest man. A. No matter people say B. No matter do people say C. No matter what people say D. Whatever do people say

40. Compared __________ the U.S., Denmark’s public policy has been more

B. on

C. at

D. concern

37. He told me about it when I was nineteen: “You _________ better make a lot of

consistent. A. to B. for C. against D. with

41. The piano player made a mistake and a ___________sound could be heard. A. consonant B. troublesome C. dissonant D. dinosaur 42. Microsoft has been taken to court on the charge of ___________. A. monopoly B. monologue C. duopoly D. dialogue 43. ___________ of the elderly is rarely tolerated in a Japanese community. A. treatment B. mistreatment C. non-treatment D. auto-treatment 44. Kids with little ___________ with their mother or father tend to have problems when they grow up. A. international B. interpersonal C. interaction D. interrelation 45. The panda came to the villagers for help when its _________ was injured. A. forefather B. forefoot C. fore course D. foreground

46. There are a number of ____________ programs in this university. Among them English Literature is the best. A. postwar B. postgraduate C. postindustrial D. postscript 47. What you have said is ___________ to the topic. Don’t stray away again. A. relevant B. irrelevant C. regular D. irregular

48. I can’t tell what she is thinking. A ____________of ideas are always in her mind. A. multitude B. attitude C. interaction D. international 49. More _____________ of management is called for in yesterday’s conference. A. transparency B. dessert C. transmission D. denationalize 50. This is rush hour. Let’s take the ___________. A. byroad B. bystander C. bylaw D. sideways 51. According to legend, phoenix is a(n) ___________ bird. A. immortal B. mortal C. normal D. abnormal

52. He looked back at his earlier life and began to write his ___________. A. biography B. autobiography C. graph D. autograph 53. Beethoven’s ______________ are passionate and powerful. A. symphonies B. symptoms C. phonetics D. atom 54. He received college education by taking __________. A. television B. telescope C. telecommunication D. telecourse

55. Being away for so long and with no idea how tall the boy was, the mother bought a(n) __________ sweater for him.

A. undersized B. underestimated C. undersize D. underestimate 56. Is the infection ______________ by mosquitoes? A. transparent B. transmitted C. transmission D. transparency 57. ___________ exchanges increase as trade increases between the two countries. A. national B. international C. bilateral D. lateral

58. People suffering __________ should try their best to stay calm; otherwise their blood pressure can cause problems. A. hypertension B. hyper action C. intention D. detention

59. The patient was fed up with the doctor’s ___________ and refused to take any pills.

A. descriptions B. describe C. prescriptions D. prescribe 60. Our ___________ created a huge wealth of culture and we should try our best to preserve it. A. father B. forefathers C. forestage D. forepaw

61. From the start, I _______ Koko’s performance on human intelligence tests. A. troubled B. worse C. monitored D. /

62. The answer is no, though at 130 pounds she already _______ me and is astonishingly strong.

A. outweighs B. outgrows C. outward D. outdo

63. Employees with skills in relationship _________ are often seen as valuable to an organization. A. build B. building C. organize D. organization

. A study this year found that personal feelings toward an employee play a more important role in forming work relationships than is commonly _______.

A. acknowledge B. acknowledges C. acknowledgement D. acknowledged 65. Nearly 60% of customers say that, when faced with rudeness, they take their business elsewhere, even if it means ________ their way or paying a higher price.

A. going out of

B. go out of

C. upsetting

D. upset

66. Research has found customers' perceptions of the employees they deal with can influence their _______ feelings toward a company.

A. roundabout

B. sentimental

C. overall

D. sensitive

67. As an employer, likeability is more important to me than _______ of specific skills or experience.

A. possession

B. possess

C. possessive

D. \\

68. Hundreds of studies show that ________ give up more easily and get depressed more often.

A. optimists B. sensitive C. pessimists D. countryman 69. The father and the mother have two different ways of ________ at the world. A. viewing B. looking C. directing D. treating

70. Optimists tend to believe defeat is just a ________setback, that its causes are confined to this one case. A. temporary B. forever C. lasting D. inescapable

71. The defining characteristic of pessimist is that they tend to believe bad events will ________ a long time, will undermine everything they do, and are their own fault. A. last B. go C. arrive D. disappear

72. Tests reveal traces of pessimism in the speech of people who never think of themselves as pessimists; they also show that these traces are sensed by others, who react _______ to the speakers. A. positively B. negatively C. positive D. negative

73. Twenty-five years of study has ________ me that if we believe that misfortune is our fault, lasts long, and will undermine everything we do, more of it will befall us than if we believe otherwise.

A. made B. show C. convinced D. overlooked

74. Personal feelings toward an employee play a ________ important role in forming work relationships than is commonly acknowledged. A. harder B. better C. less D. more

75. In other words, likeability is the ability to produce a positive emotional experience ________ someone else, such as making co-workers feel good about themselves. A. on B. in C. among D. between

76. Organizations have traditionally focused _______ competencies and thinking ability of their staff. A. on B. in C. among D. between

77. Employees with skills in relationship building are often seen ________ valuable to an organization, Sanders says. A. for B. a C. as D. not 78. Koko’s vocabulary grew _________ a remarkable pace. A. at B. on C. in D. /

79. Rules for the scoring required that I ________ these responses as errors. A. recorded B. record C. cord D. corded

80. _________ many captive chimpanzees become difficult to work with as they mature, gorillas seem to be of quite a different temperament. A. When B. As C. while D. /

Part 2 True or False

Directions: The following statements are based on the ten articles we have learned in this semester. Decide whether they are true or false. If true, write “A”; if false, write “B”. (Unit 1)

In “Cellphone Madness Goes On”, the author believes that mobile phones add comedy to our life. To talk loudly on mobile phone as one strides along in a city center will surely attract a lot of attention.

The author’s wife had an ill opinion of the caller Mike.

Obviously the author’s wife misunderstood the meaning of the word “shoot”, in the text “Cellphone Madness Goes On”. (Unit 2)

BThe author of “Bricklayers Boy” came from a well-to-do family.

BIt is easy to make fortune and change your fate in U. S., according to the author.

AThe author of “Bricklayer’s Boy” was very satisfied with his white-collar work and life.

AThe father’s preparing exam becomes a turning point in his relationship with the author in “Bricklayer’s Boy”.

BThe father was still bitter about his son’s choice of job at the end of “Bricklayer’s Boy”. (Unit 3)

A“Denmark’s Wind Industry” holds an optimistic view on the future of wind industry. BU.S. government has given its wind industry steady support from the very beginning.

AThough a clean source of energy, wind power has its own limits and can’t be developed everywhere.

AThe wind industry in Denmark no longer needs the support from its government. ADenmark’s policy played an important role in the success of its wind industry.

BSo long as the government gives its support, wind industry will encounter no hurdles in its development. (Unit 4)

AThe author of “Was There a Golden Age?” criticizes the comprehensive system of education in Britain.

AThere is no golden age in the history of British education, according to the text.

AWe should look back at the history and make good use of the teaching methods in the past. BThe author of “Was There a Golden Age?” is fond of the traditional teaching system. (Unit 5)

AIt can be implied that emotions have a very important role to play in heart-to-heart talks.

BIf you want to have a serious conversation with someone, you should seek any moment to talk to him.

ATo make a good conversation, listening is as important as speaking.

BIf the speaker talks about sth that you already know, it’s appropriate to interrupt and stop him. (Unit 6)

B“The Midnight Visitor” tells a romantic story about Fowler’s experience at Ausable’s place. BAusable stayed calm and cool when he found Max in his room. AAusable panicked when he found Max in his room

BMax knew he couldn’t outwit Ausable, thus he committed suicide. AFowler had a thrilling experience at Ausable’s place. (Unit 7)

AHuman beings are born with complex emotions.

BEnvironment influences a person’s emotional development. AAnger and fear are irrational, useless and destructive. BAnger and fear sometimes play a positive role in our life. (Unit 8)

BQueen Mary was friendly to Elizabeth, the half-sister.

BQueen Elizabeth led the British navy in person and defeated the Spanish.

AWhen Queen Elizabeth passed away, England became the richest and most powerful country in Europe.

AElizabeth remained single all her life. (Unit 9)

AThe author of “Managing the Rainforests” is in favor of “sustainable management” of forests. AWithout careful planning, the top predator Jaguar would die out. BThe future of sustainable forestry is not clear yet.

A“Sustainable management” of forests has proved fruitful. (Unit 10)

Early conditioning plays a role in the scientific ability of boys and girls. BWomen are discriminated in science.

BTests showed that boys are smarter than girls in science.

BGirls are all happy with the fact that they are excluded from the science circle. BWomen are born with less intelligence when it comes to science.

(Unit 1 textbook --Conversations with a Gorilla)

BAnimals are not capable of emotions, as emotions are what distinguish man from animals. Working with Koko can be pleasurable.

(Unit 7 textbook --Another Reason to Be Nice)

AGrowing research shows that likable employees may have more success on the job.

ALikeability is the ability to produce a positive emotional experience in someone else, such as making co-workers feel good about themselves. (Unit 10 textbook---Two ways of Looking at Life)

ABeing optimistic has some positive effect on one’s health, according to the text “Two ways of Looking at Life”.

BPessimistic persons might win the sympathy of others’, which might help their career development, according to the text “Two ways of Looking at Life”.

Part 3 Text Organization

这一部分节选自主课文，课文里某些连贯的段落中有几个承上启下的句子被抽出来，要求在仔细阅读的基础上还原句子的位置。

Part 4 Reading Comprehension

(Passage 1)

Sociologists（社会学家）tell us that we are heading for a society leisure. The trend is unmistakable. One hundred years ago, they point out, a worker put in 12 or 13 hours a day, 6 days a week, and week followed week without annual vacation. But over the years the picture has changed. Today the typical work week has five 8-hour days, and workers enjoy about three week of paid vacation every year, with the result that today we spend less time on the job as people did before. In spite of this, today’s worker may not feel that he has a great deal of leisure time. This is because a lot of the non-work time is taken up with fulfilling family and social obligations. For example, he feels that he should spend some time with his children every day, and if a man does physical activity in his job, that too cuts into his free time. Nevertheless, the final result is that we do have more leisure---more time free from obligation of work or any other social requirement. Leisure is time not used to earn money or do things around the house which save money. It is time spent only in seeking satisfaction, and we give up what we are doing when it no longer satisfies us. Leisure gives us the opportunity to recover from the physical and mental fatigue（疲倦）of work and it frees our creative talents from the pressure and the form placed on us by the job. Today’s leisure is time programmed for doing what you want to. It does not have to be made up the next day. This is something new. It really frees a person from the workshop to enjoy, for a time, things in which he is interested. Man is about to go out to the playground.

(Passage 2)

Women are also underrepresented in the administration and this is because there are so few women full professors. In 1985, Regent Beryl Milburn produced a report blasting（谴责）the

University of Texas System administration for not encouraging women. The university was rated among the lowest for the system. In a 1987 update, Milburn commended（称赞）the progress that was made and called for even more improvement.

One of the positive results from her study was a system-wide program to inform women of available administrative jobs.

College of Communication Associate Dean Patricia Witherspoon, said it is important that women be flexible when it comes to relocating if they want to rise in the ranks.

Although a chilly climate on campus, many times in order for her to succeed, she must rise above the problems around her and concentrate on her work.

Until women make up a greater percentage of the senior positions in the university and all academia（学术界）, inequalities will exist.

“Women need to spend their energies and time doing scholarly activities that are important here at the University,” Spirduso said. “If they do that they will be successful in this system. If they spend their time in little groups mourning the sexual discrimination that they think exists here, they are wasting valuable study time.”

(Passage 3)

As more women in the United States move up the professional ladder, more are finding it necessary to make business journeys alone. Since this is new for many, some useful pieces of advice are certainly in order. If you are married, it is a good idea to encourage your husband and children to learn to cook a few simple meals while you are away. They will be much happier and probably they will enjoy the experience. If you will be eating alone a good meal, choose good restaurants. In the end, they will be much better for your digestion. You may also find it useful to call the restaurant in advance and state that you will be eating alone. You will probably get better service and almost certainly a better table. Finally, and most importantly, consider ahead of time your travel needs as a businesswoman, this starts with lightweight luggage which you can easily manage even when fully filled with things. Take a folding case inside your suitcase, it will be extremely useful for business papers you no longer need on the journey. And make sure you have a briefcase so that you can keep currently required papers separate. Obviously, experience helps, but you can make things easier on yourself from the first by careful planning, so that right from the start you really can have a good journey.

(Passage 4)

Are you interested in seeing the beautiful fall foliage of New England but tired of traffic jams and overbooked hotels? Then this year, forget the crowds in New England and see the beautiful colors of autumn in the Catskills.

These rugged mountains in New York State, just 90 miles northwest of New York City, are famous for the legendary tales of Rip Van Winkle, and more recently for the summer hotels that sprang up in the region during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Families trying to escape the heat of New York City found the Catskills to be the perfect place to stay for a month or so each summer. By the late 1950s there were over 500 resorts and hotels offering nighttime entertainment as well as all kinds of outdoor activities. Famous comedians like Jackie Gleason, Joan Rivers, and Sid Caesar all got their start touring the hotel clubs here. Since the introduction of air-conditioning and cheaper air travel, however, families have stopped coming to the Catskills in such large numbers,

choosing instead more distant locations at different times of the year. Many of the Catskill hotels closed in the 1970s, but some remain and have expanded and changed their facilities to meet the needs of today’s visitors.

(Passage 5)

By the mid-19th century, the term “icebox” had entered the American language, but ice was still only beginning to affect the diet of ordinary citizens in the U.S. The ice trade grew with the growth of cities. Ice was used in hotels, taverns（酒馆）, and hospitals, by some forward-looking city dealers in fresh meat, fresh fish and butter. After the Civil war (1861-1865), as ice was used to refrigerate freight cars, it also came into household use. Even before 1880, half the ice sold in New York, Philadelphia, the Baltimore, and one-third of that sold in Boston and Chicago, went to families for their own use. This had become possible because a new household convenience, the icebox, had been invented. Making an efficient icebox was not as easy as we might now suppose. In the early 19th century, the knowledge of the physics of heat, which was essential to a science of refrigeration, was rudimentary（未发展的）. The common-sense notion that the best icebox was one that prevented the ice from melting was, of course, mistaken, for it was the melting of the ice that performed the cooling. Nevertheless, early efforts to economize（节省）ice included wrapping the ice in blanket, which kept the ice from doing its job. Not until near the end of the 19th century did inventors achieve the delicate balance of insulation（隔绝）and circulation needed for an efficient icebox.

(Passage 6)

When we think of creative people the names that probably spring to mind are those of men such as Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, and Pablo Picasso, i.e. great artists, inventors and scientists---a selected and exceptionally gifted body of men with rare talent and genius. The tendency to regard creativity and imaginative thinking as the exclusive of a lucky few disregards the creative and imaginative aspects inherent in the solution of many of the tasks we regularly have to face---the discovery and development of new methods and techniques, the improvement of old methods, existing inventions and products. Everyone has creative ability to some extent. Creative thinking involves posing oneself a problem and then originating or inventing a solution along new and unconventional lines. It involves drawing new analogies, discovering new combinations, and/or new applications of things that are already known. It follows, then, that a creative person will exhibit great intellectual curiosity and imagination. He will be alert and observant with great store of information which he will be able to sort and combine, in the solution of problems. He will be emotionally receptive to new and unconventional ideas and will be less interested in facts than in their implications. Most important of all, he will be able to communicate uninhibitedly（毫无拘束地）and will not be too concerned about other people’s reaction to his apparently “crazy” notions. People called the Wright brothers mad but it did not stop them from becoming the first men to construct and fly a heavier-than-air craft.

(Passage 7)

Mary set off on Sunday on a 4,500-mile journey to visit her husband, Daniel. Against their

will, she and Daniel are forced to live in different continents. The reason: Mary is one of hundreds of British wives who are victims of a law which prevents their foreign husbands joining them in their country. This law makes it almost impossible for a British woman to marry a foreigner — unless she is prepared to live in her husband’s native country. But the law, which was intended to reduce the number of immigrants coming into the UK, does not apply to the British male who marries a foreign woman. He can bring her to live with him in this country. “I cannot understand why there is this discrimination（歧视）against women”, she says. “After all, I pay the same taxes as a man. In the eyes of the law, women are second-class citizens.” Before she leaves finally to make her home in the USA, she is determined to campaign for the reform of the law. “I feel very strongly that if it is the last thing I do before I have to live in America, it should for this cause.”

(Passage 8)

If you have ever been mistaken for somebody else, you can certainly sympathize with two young women from Maryland, both named Wanda Marie Johnson.

One Wanda was living and working in Washington, D.C, when she became confused with the second Wanda, a former resident of the area, whom she’d never met. Both Wanda were born on June 15,1953, and their social security numbers are the same except for the final three digits. Amazingly they both moved from Washington to St. George’s, Grenada.

Both women drove cars of the same year and model, which really confused the computers at the Department of Motor Vehicles. When one of the Wanda’s applied for her driver’s license, she was told she already had one and that she was required to wear glasses while driving. She spoke to four supervisors before convincing the authorities that her vision was perfect and that she really did need a license. She then received two licenses instead of one.

The Wandas also became confused in medical and credit records. One of the women was accused of not paying a bill for furniture she had never purchased. She couldn’t convince a skeptical debt collector that she’d never been in the store.

Newspapers finally picked up the story, and the identity confusion was brought to light. The Wandas met to discuss solutions to their bizarre predicament（境遇）. One Wandas was reported to be considering using her maiden name.

(Passage 9)

For years children in the industrial areas of Europe and America seldom left their smoky cities to see the beauties of the countryside. Not that the woods and fields were always far away, but they were too far from the city to permit people to make a round trip between morning and nightfall. What’s more, factory workers did not have enough money to send their children on country holidays away from home.

In 1907 a young German schoolmaster had an idea that changed this state of affairs. He decided to turn his little schoolhouse into a dormitory for the summer holidays. Anyone who brought his sleeping bag and cooking equipment could go there. Years later the schoolhouse was far too small to hold the many young people who wanted to stay there. So, a dormitory was set up in an old castle nearby. This was the first Youth Hotel.

Today young students and workers of every country can meet in the hostels and get to know each other. Some spend a week or more in the same hostel, seeing the surrounding sights and meeting the people of the area. Other youths go on foot or by bike from place to place, spending a night or two in one hostel, then going to the next.

Sometimes an informal program will be organized after the meal, with dances, songs, or short talks followed by a question period. One can learn a lot of things about other places, just by meeting people who come from these places. Hence, a few weeks spent “hostelling” can be just as

useful a part of one’s education as classes in school.

(Passage 10)

Education achievement is a vital measurement of any society’s level of development. In modern times, universal literacy for all social groups has become the goals of all nations, and education has been recognized as a right of both women and men. Apart from the absolute benefits that education brings to women, women’s education benefits society. Studies have shown that women’s education is closely related to children’s health outcomes and other social development indicators. Education and training increase women’s opportunities in the modern economic sector by better qualifying them for well-paid employment. Education also expands women’s life choices beyond marriage and child-raising.

Arab countries have made great advances in improving literacy rate in the past 2 decades for both men and women. However, women still remain behind men. In most countries the urban-rural contrast in female literacy is still great, creating an increasing gap of development opportunities for women within the same country.

Overall, the difference between male and female literacy rates in lower-income countries suggests that, when resources are scarce, male education takes precedence（领先）over female education. The lower social value of girls’ education causes high dropout rates among those who come from poor families. Girls may also be removed from school to care for the younger or to be married at a young age. But a problem facing women and men alike is that some rural families prefer not to send their children to school, where they will lose useful agricultural skills and emerge with unmarketable knowledge.

(Passage 11)

Aside from overcrowding and poor public transport, the biggest problem confronting Athenians (雅典人) are noise and pollution. A government study concluded that Athens was the noisiest city in the world. Smog is almost at killing levels: 180～300 mg of sulfur dioxide （二氧化硫）per cubic meter of air, or up to four times the level that the World Health Organization considers safe. Nearly half the pollution comes from cars. Despite high prices for vehicles and fuel ($2.95 per gallon), nearly 100,000 automobiles are sold in Greece each year; 3,000 driver’s licensers are issued in Athens monthly.

After decades of neglect, Athens is at last getting some attention. In March a committee of representatives from all major public service ministries met to discuss a plan to make it livable and clean up its environment. A save–Athens ministry will soon begin to function. A master plan that will move many government offices to the city’s suburbs is already in the works.

(Passage 12)

Many people who achieved great things were superstitious（迷信的）. For example, did you know that Napoleon, the great French general who won countless battles, was afraid of cats? People tend to believe that superstition is linked to ignorance, but this is not entirely true.

Many brilliant people have been superstitious. Rousseau, the famous French philosopher（哲学家）, believed he had a ghost for a companion. William Blake, an English writer and painter, thought he was a brother to Socrates, who had died in 399 BC! And Sir Walter would never go to Melrose abbey（修道院）when the full moon shone brightly.

Superstitions usually arise when people try to find reasons for things that are beyond their understanding. Primitive siderites created all kinds of fantastic explanations for illness, death and natural events. People looked and wondered at the sky, and developed wonderful stories to account for the various clusters of stars.

Even the age of science has not destroyed people’s beliefs in irrational things. The following story is a good example. A fear shook Europe when Halley’s comet（彗星）was expected to appear in 1910. It seemed that whenever this comet had appeared in the past, bad events had taken place. In AD 66, for example, its appearance coincided with the fall of Jerusalem（耶路撒冷）. So, the people of the twentieth century feared another disaster. They were so frightened that they even bought anti-comet pills and masks to protect themselves from deadly fumes.

(Passage 13)

Have you ever heard the old saying “Never judge a book by its cover”? This is good rule when trying to judge the intelligence of others. Some people have minds that shine only in certain situations. A young man with unusual gist in writing may find himself speechless in the presence of a pretty girl. When he speaks, he may not be able to find the right words. But you don’t make the mistake of him stupid. With a pen and paper, he can express himself better than anybody. Other people may fool you into overestimating their intelligence by putting up a good front. A student who listens attentively and takes notes in class is sure to make a good impression on his teachers. But when it comes to exam he may score near the bottom of the class. It all boils down to this---you can’t judge someone by appearance. The only way to judge a person’s intelligence is to get to know him. Then you can see how he reacts to different situations. The more situations you see, the better your judgment is likely to be. So take your time. Don’t judge the book by its cover.

(Passage 14) They say that before long, we will be able to receive more than 500 TV networks on cable or by satellite. Some people think that it’s ridiculous to have that many channels. Their usual criticism goes something like this: “I already get more channels on my TV than I have time to watch. No one needs to see that much TV. There’s not enough time on the day to watch all that!” They also assert that most of what’s on TV now isn’t worth watching in the first place. I think they’re missing the point. If the local library wanted to add another 5,000 books, would we say, “That’s silly, we’ll never have time to read all those books.” The point is that we would have more choices. I don’t believe that most people should watch more TV. And if we had 500 or even 1,000 channels to choose from, we wouldn’t have to spend more time watching the tube. We would, however, have a better selection of programming to choose from. That means that the quality of our viewing time would improve. I, for one, say that the more channels we can access, the better. Give me more choices! If they’re not worth my time, I’ll just hit the “off” button.

（Passage 15）

In a new report, James Coleman and his team of nine social scientists and educators

recommend more work and less school for young Americans aged 14 to 24.

The trouble with school, argues Coleman, is that its focus is too narrow. At their best, schools equip the young with basic skills, some knowledge, and a taste for learning. But schools are not designed to provide such adult necessities as the ability to manage one’s own affairs or to engage in an activity. Nor are they the place for learning how to take responsibility for and work with others.

Schools not only fail to develop these capabilities, but, by monopolizing（独占）young people’s time, they also prevent them from acquiring skills elsewhere. Until about 50 years ago, a child learned how to be an adult in his life outside school, especially within his family. But the family no longer serves this function. Today’s young are filled with information but starved for experience.

The best remedy（补救方法）is to limit schooling and provide opportunities for the young to alternate study with work. Participation in serious and responsible work with people of different backgrounds and ages would promote adult capabilities and counteract（抵消）the isolation and passivity of school.

The most provocative proposal is to get the young out of schools earlier and into other organizations. Hospitals, department stores and factories could take on youngsters from age 16, using them for whatever labor they can perform, while teaching them further skills and overseeing their formal schooling. This approach would represent a fundamental shift away from the traditional American view of education. It might also be a move toward an even older pattern apprenticeship（学徒制）.

(Passage 16)

“Warning: the surgeon general has determined that cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health.” When you see this statement, what do you think of? The 19 surgeon general’s report established cigarette smoke as a primary cause of lung cancer, and, since then, most Americans have mentally connected the two.

But suppose a cigarette smoker regularly has his or her lungs examined and everything seems fine? Or what if a pipe or cigar smoker doesn’t inhale? Doesn’t this mean they have no smoke-related health worries? The answer is a definite “no”.

In addition to the obvious dangers of lung cancer and other respiratory ailments（呼吸道疾病）, smoking has been associated with higher rates of many other kinds of health problems that are less well known. For example, the pipe or cigar smoker runs a greater risk of having cancer of the lips, mouth and larynx.

Much evidence suggests that women should be concerned about smoking during pregnancy. Women who smoke generally give birth to babies who weigh less. There is also greater probability that the mother will have a spontaneous abortion（流产）, a premature delivery, or a stillbirth.

Although it is not generally recognized, smoking is the leading cause of peptic ulcers and has been linked to gum disease, tooth loss and even sinusitis. Amblyopic, a condition that causes a person’s sight to grow progressively dimmer is also directly linked to excessive smoking.

(Passage 17)

Young scientists can’t realize too soon that existing scientific knowledge is not nearly so complete, certain and unalterable as many textbooks seem to imply. The original papers of great

scientists describing their discoveries and expounding their theories are never as rigid and self-confident as the resumes of these discoveries and theories in textbooks by other men often suggest. Young scientists consulting these original works will find in them “it appears that”, “it probably means”, “it seems likely that”, more than once, not as expressions of good manners or false modesty, but as expressions of elements of doubt which great men felt and honestly put to record. While reading these publications in a most attentive and receptive manner, the young scientist must not fall into the error of placing in them a greater confidence than their author would wish him to do. No great scientist ever wants his pupils to be mere gramophone records, faithfully reproducing his remarks, never questioning anything, never wanting to add or subtract form what he has given them.

(Passage 18)

The space race is not simply the objective search for knowledge it is often made out to be. It is just an extension of the race for power on earth. Only the wealthiest nations can compete and they do so in the name of pure scientific research. But in reality, all they are interested in is power and prestige. They want to impress us, their spectators, with a magnificent show of strength. Man has played the power game ever since he appeared on earth. Now he is playing it as it has never been played before. The space race is just another aspect of the age-old argument that “might is right”.

We are often told that technological know-how, acquired in attempting to get us into orbit, will be utilized to make life better on earth. But what has the space done to relieve the suffering of the earth’s starving millions? In what way has it raised the standard of living of any one of us?

Poverty, hunger, disease and war are man’s greatest enemies and the world would be an infinitely better place if the powerful nations devoted half as much money and effort to these problems as they do to the space race. For the first time in his history, man has the overwhelming technological resources to combat human suffering, yet he wastes them on meaningless pursuits.

If a man deprived himself and his family of food in order to buy and run a car, we would consider him mad. Individuals with limited budgets usually get their priorities right; they provide themselves with necessities before trying to obtain luxuries. Why can’t great nations act in the same sensible way? Let us put our house in order first and let space look after itself.

(Passage 19)

Robert Spring, a 19th century forger, was so good at his profession that he was able to make his living for 15 years by selling false signatures of famous Americans. Spring was born in England in 1813 and arrived in Philadelphia in 1858 to open a bookstore. At first he prospered by selling his small but genuine collection of early U.S. autographs. Discovering his ability at copying handwriting, he began imitating（模仿）signatures of George Washington and Ben Franklin and writing them on the title pages of old books. To lessen the chance of detection, he sent his forgeries（赝品）to England and Canada for sale and circulation.

Forgers have a hard time selling their products. A forger can’t approach a respectable buyer but must deal with people who don’t have much knowledge in the field. Forgers have many ways to make their work look real. For example, they buy old books to use the aged paper of the title page, and they can treat paper and ink with chemicals.

In Spring’s time, right after the Civil War, Britain was still fond of the Southern states, so

Spring invented a respectable maiden lady（年轻女性）known as Miss Fanny Jackson, the only daughter of General “Stonewall” Jackson. For several years Miss Fanny’s financial problems forced her to sell a great number of letters and manuscripts belonging to her famous father. Spring had to work very hard to satisfy the demand. All this activity did not prevent Spring from dying in poverty, leaving sharp-eyed experts the difficult task of separating his forgeries from the originals.

(Passage 20)

Very high waves are destructive when they strike the land. Fortunately, this seldom happens. One reason is that out at sea, waves moving in one direction almost always run into waves moving in a different direction. The two sets of waves tend to cancel each other out. Another reason is that water is shallower near the shore. As a wave gets closer to land, the shallow bottom helps reduce its strength.

But the power of waves striking the shore can still be very great. During a winter gale, waves sometimes strike the shore with the force of 6,000 pounds for each square foot. That means a wave, 25 feet high and 500 feet along its face, may strike the shore with a force of 75 million pounds.

Yet the waves, no matter how big or how violent, affect only the surface of the sea. During the most raging storms, the water a hundred fathoms (600 feet) beneath the surface is just as calm as on a day without a breath of wind.