The United States is a sports-loving nation. Sports in America take a variety of forms: organized competitive struggles, which draw huge crowds to cheer their favorite team to victory; athletic games, played for recreation anywhere sufficient space is found; and hunting and fishing. Most sports are seasonal, so that what is happening in sports depends upon the time of year. Some sports are called spectator sports, as the number of spectators greatly exceeds the number playing in the game. Baseball is the most popular sport in the U. S. It is played throughout the spring and summer, and professional baseball teams play well into the fall. Although no other game is exactly like baseball, perhaps the one most nearly like it is the English game of cricket. Football is the most popular sport in the fall. The game originated as a college sport more than 75 years ago. It is still played by almost every college and university in the country, and the football stadiums of some of the largest universities seat as many as 80,000 people. The game is not the same as European football or soccer. In American football there are 11 players on each team, and they are dressed in padded uniforms and helmets because the game is rough and injuries are likely to occur. Basketball is the winter sport in American schools and colleges. Like football, basketball originated in the U.S. and is not popular in other countries. Many Americans prefer it to football because it is played in- doors throughout the winter and because it is a faster game. It is a very popular game with high schools, and in more than 20 states, state-wide high school matches are held yearly. Other spectator sports include wrestling, boxing, and horse racing. Although horse-racing fans call themselves sportsmen, the accuracy of the term is questionable, as only the jockeys who ride the horses in the races can be considered athletes. The so-called sportsmen are the spectators, who do "not assemble" primarily to see the horses race, but to bet upon the outcome of each race. Gambling is the attraction of horse racing.
1. Hunting and fishing are mainly favored by men, young and old, in the U. S.
1. While everybody enjoys fresh cut flowers around their house, few people know how to keep them for as long as possible. This may be done by keeping in mind a few simple facts. 2. An important thing to remember about cut flowers is that they are sensitive to temperature. For example, studies have shown that cut carnations (康乃馨) retain their freshness eight times longer when kept at 12℃ than when kept at 26℃. Keeping freshly harvested flowers at the right temperatures is probably the most important aspect of flower care. 3. Flowers are not intended by nature to live very long. Their biological purpose" is simply to attract birds or insects, such as bees, for pollination (授粉). After that, they quickly dry up and die. The process by which flowers consume oxygen and produce carbon dioxide (二氧化碳), called respiration (呼吸), generates the energy the flower needs to give the flower its shape and color. The making of seeds also depends on this energy. While all living things respire, flowers have a high level of respiration. A result of all this respiration is heat, and for flowers the level of heat relative to the mass of the flower is very high. Respiration also brings about the eventual death of the flower. Thus the greater the level of respiration, the sooner the flower dies. 4. How, then, to control the rate at which flowers die? By controlling respiration. How is respiration controlled? By controlling temperature. We know that respiration produces heat, but the reverse is also true. Thus by maintaining low temperatures, respiration is reduced and the cut flowers will age more slowly. 5. Another vital factor in keeping cut flowers is the quality of the water in which they are placed. Flowers find it difficult to "drink" water that is dirty or otherwise polluted. Even when water looks and smells clean, it almost certainly contains harmful substances that can endanger the flowers. To rid the water of these unwanted substances, household chlorine bleach (含氯漂白剂) can be used in small quantities. It is recommended that 15 drops of chlorine bleach (at 4% solution) be added to each liter of water. The water and solution should also be replaced each day.
1. Paragraph 2 ______ A. Control of respiration B. Beauty of fresh cut flowers C. Role of respiration D. The most important aspect of flower care E. Need for clean water F. Ways of stopping respiration
5. A few simple facts will help you keep cut flowers .______ A. by keeping its original shape and color B. in the life of cut flowers C. to produce carbon dioxide D. for as long as possible E. by controlling temperature F. to replace the water and solution every day
In a moment of personal crisis, how much help can you expect from a New York taxi driver? I began studying this question after watching the "Taxicab Confessions", a series of documentaries in which hidden cameras record the secrets of unsuspecting taxi riders. I found the results varied. One morning I got into three different taxis and announced: "Well, it's my first day back in New York in seven years. I've been in prison. " Not a single driver replied, so I tried again. "Yeah, I shot a man in Reno," I explained, hoping the driver would ask me why, so I could say casually, "Just to watch him die. " But nobody asked. The only response came from a Ghanaian driver: "Reno? That is in Nevada?" Taxi drivers were uniformly sympathetic when I said I'd just been fired. "This is America," a Haitian driver said. "One door is closed. Another is open. " He argued against my plan to burn clown my boss's house: "If you do something silly and they put you away, you cannot look for another job." A Pakistani driver even turned down a chance to profit from my loss of hope : he refused to take me to the middle of the George Washington Bridge, a $20 trip. "Why do you want to go there? Go home and relax. Don't worry. Take a new job. " One very hot weekday in July, while wearing a red ski mask and holding a stuffed pillowcase with the word "BANK" on it, I tried hailing a taxi five times outside different banks. The driver picked me up every time. My ride with Guy-Caaude Thevenain, a Haitian driver, was typical of the superb assistance I received. "Is anyone following us?" "No," said the driver, looking in his rearview mirror at traffic and me. "Let's go across the park," I said, "I just robbed the bank there. I got $25,000. " "$25,000?" he asked. "Yeah, you think it was wrong to take it?" "No, man, I work 8 hours and I don't make almost $70. If I can do that, I do it too. " As we approached 86th and Lexington, I pointed to the Chemical Bank. "Hey, there's another bank," I said, "could you wait here a minute while I go inside?" "No, I can't wait. Pay me now. " His reluctance may have had something to do with money—taxi drivers think the rate for waiting time is too low—but I think he wanted me to learn that even a bank robber can't expect unconditional support.
1. From the Ghanaian driver's response, we can infer that ______.
3. What is author's interpretation of the driver's reluctance "to wait outside the Chemical bank"?
A.The driver thought that the rate for waiting time was too low.
B.The driver thought it wrong to support a taxi rider unconditionally.
C.The driver was frightened and wanted to leave him as soon as possible.
D.The driver wanted to go home and relax.
A B C D
B
[解析] 由文章最后一段最后一句话中“...he wanted me to learn that even a bank robber can't expect unconditional support.”可知，作者对这位出租车司机表现出来的不情愿的解释是“他想要我知道，即使是抢劫银行的人也不能期望得到别人元条件的帮助”。因此选项B“出租车司机认为无条件地帮助搭乘出租车的人是错误的”说法正确。
4. Which of the following statements is true about New York taxi drivers?
A.They are ready to help you do whatever you want to.
B.They refuse to pick up those who would kill themselves.
C.They are sympathetic with those who are out of work.
When it comes to singling out those who have made a difference in all our lives, you cannot overlook Henry Ford. A historian a century from now might well conclude that it was Ford who most influenced all manufacturing, everywhere, even to this day, by introducing a new way to make cars—one, strange to say, that originated in slaughterhouses (屠宰场). Back in the early 1900s, slaughterhouses used what could have been called a "disassembly line". Ford reversed this process to see if it would speed up production of a part of an automobile engine called a magneto. Rather than have each worker completely assemble a magneto, one of its elements was placed on a conveyor, and each worker, as it passed, added another component to it, the same one each time. Professor David Hounshell of the University of Delaware, an expert on industrial development, tells what happened. "The previous day, workers carrying out the entire process had averaged one assembly every 20 minutes. But on that day, on the line, the assembly team averaged one every 13 minutes and 10 seconds per person. " Within a year, the time had been reduced to five minutes. In 1913, Ford went all the way. Hooked together by ropes, partially assembled vehicles were towed (拖,拉) past workers who completed them on piece at a time. It hasn't been long before Ford was turning out several hundred and thousand cars a year, a remarkable achievement then. And so efficient and economical was this new system that he cut the price of his cars in half, to $260, putting them within reach of all those who, up until that time, could not afford them. Soon, auto makers and the world all copied him. In fact, he encouraged them to do so by writing a book about all of his innovations, entitled Today and Tomorrow. The Age of the Automobile has arrived. Today, aided by robots and other forms of automation(自动化), everything from toasters to perfumes is made on assembly lines.
1. Which of the following statements about Henry Ford is NOT true?
[解析] 由文章第二段第二句话“...production of a part of an automobile engine called a magneto.”可知，磁发电机是汽车发动机的一部分。故选C。
4. The phrase "turning out" in the fourth paragraph could be best replaced by ______.
A.producing
B.selling
C.buying
D.fixing
A B C D
A
[解析] 由文章第四段第四句话“It hasn't been long before Ford was turning out several hundred and thousand cars a year...”可知，不久之后，福特一年就能生产成千上万辆汽车。这里，“turning out”的意思是“生产”，故选A。
5. The invention of the assembly line enabled Henry Ford ______.
If there is one thing scientists have to hear, it is that the game is over. Raised on the belief of an endless voyage of discovery, they recoil (畏缩) from the suggestion that most of the best things have already been located. If they have, today's scientists can hope to contribute no more than a few grace notes to the symphony of science. A book to be published in Britain this week, The End of Science, argues persuasively that this is the case. Its author, John Horgan, is a senior writer for Scientific American magazine, who has interviewed many of today's leading scientists and science philosophers. The shock of realizing that science might be over came to him, he says, when he was talking to Oxford mathematician and physicist Sir Roger Penrose. The End of Science provoked a wave of denunciation (谴责) in the United States last year. "The reaction has been one of complete shock and disbelief," Mr. Horgan says. The real question is whether any remaining unsolved problems, of which there are plenty, lend themselves to universal solutions. If they do not, then the focus of scientific discovery is already narrowing. Since the triumphs of the 1960s—the genetic code, plate tectonics (板块构造学说), and the microwave background radiation that went a long way towards proving the Big Bang—genuine scientific revolutions have been scarce. More scientists are now alive, spending more money on research, than ever. Yet most of the great discoveries of the 19th and 20th centuries were made before the appearance of state sponsorship, when the scientific enterprise was a fraction of its present size. Were the scientists who made these discoveries brighter than today's? That seems unlikely. A far more reasonable explanation is that fundamental science has already entered a period of diminished returns. "Look, don't get me wrong," says Mr. Horgan. "There are lots of important things still to study, and applied science and engineering can go on forever. I hope we get a cure for cancer, and for mental disease, though there are few real signs of progress. "
1. The sentence "most of the best things have already been located" could mean ______.
A.most of the best things have already been changed
B.most of the best things remain to be changed
C.there have never been so many best things waiting to be discovered
D.most secrets of the world have already been discovered
A B C D
D
[解析] 由文章第一段第二句话“Raised on the belief of an endless voyage of discovery, they recoil(畏缩)：from the suggestion that most of the best things have already been located.”可知，科学家们在科研工作中，怀着不断发现、不断探索的信念，他们最害怕听到这样的观点——世界上大多数最好的东西都已经被发现了，即世界上大多数以前不为人类所知的秘密都已经被发现了。故选D。
2. John Horgan ______.
A.has published a book entitled The End of Science
B.has been working as a manager of Scientific American
C.has been working many years as a literary critic
4. The term "the Big Bang" in the fourth paragraph probably refers to ______.
A.the genetic code theory
B.a geological theory
C.a theory of the origin of the universe
D.the origin and the power of atomic energy
A B C D
C
[解析] 由题干中的“the Big Bang(大爆炸)”定位到文章第四段第三句话，可知，the genetic code(基因密码)，plate tectonics(板块构造学说)，and the microwave background radiation(微波背景辐射)都属于“the Big Bang(大爆炸)”理论的一部分。而基因密码理论、板块构造学说和微波背景辐射理论都与宇宙起源密切相关，由此，我们推断出，这里的“the Big Bang(大爆炸)”指的是宇宙起源理论。故选C。
5. Which of the following statements may be true according to the passage?
A.Great scientific discoveries will never be possible.
B.The harsh challenge has to be met by modern scientists.
C.The state sponsorship and scientific enterprise are all in vain.
D.The chance for great scientific discoveries becomes scarce.
A B C D
D
[解析] 由第四段第二句“...scientific discovery is already narrowing.”及第三句“...genuine scientific revolutions have been scarce.”可知，近年来伟大的科学发现的几率越来越少。故选D。
Ludwig van Beethoven, a major composer of the nineteenth century, overcame many personal problems to achieve artistic greatness. Bona in Bonn, Germany, in 1770, he first studied music with the court organist, Gilles van der Eeden. His father was excessively strict and given to heavy drinking. 1 Appointed deputy court organist to Christian Gottlob Neefe at a surprisingly early age in 1782, Beethoven also played the harpsichord and the viola. In 1792 he was sent to Vienna by his patron, Count Ferdinand Waldstein, to study music under Haydn. Beethoven remained unmarried. 2 Continually plagued by ill health, he developed an ear infection which led to his tragic deafness in 1819. 3 He completed mature masterpieces of great musical depth: three piano sonatas, four string quartets, the Missa Solemnis, and the 9th Symphony. He died in 1827. 4 Noting that Beethoven often flew into fits of rage, Goethe once said of him, "I am astonished by his talent, but he is unfortunately an altogether untamed personality. " 5 A. In spite of this handicap, however, he continued to write music. B. Because of irregular payments from his publishers and erratic support from his patrons, he was troubled by financial worries throughout his adult life. C. His life was marked by a passionate dedication to independence. D. When his mother died, Beethoven, then a young man, was named guardian of his two younger brothers. E. Today his music is still being played all over the world. F. Although Beethoven's personality may have been untamed, his music shows great discipline and control, and this is how we remember him best.
[解析] 空前一句话讲到，贝多芬个性难驯、暴躁，并出现了“...but he is unfortunately an altogether untamed personality.”。选项F中也出现了类似的表述“Although Beethoven's personality may have been untamed...”，联系上下文，将选项F的句子放在此处，符合语境。
第6部分：完形填空 下面的短文有15处空白，请根据短文内容为每处空白确定1个最佳选项。
New U.S. Plan for Disease Prevention
Urging Americans to 1 responsibility for their health, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson 2 Tuesday launched a $15 million program to try to 3 communities to do more to prevent chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer and diabetes. The initiative highlights the cost of chronic diseases—the leading causes of death in the United States— and outlines ways that people can 4 them, including better diet and increased exercise. "In the United States today, 7 of 10 deaths and the vast majority of 5 illness, disability and health care costs are 6 by chronic diseases," the Health and Human Services Department said in a statement. The causes are often 7 —smoking, poor eating habits and a lack of exercise. "I am 8 that preventing disease by promoting better health is a smart policy choice for our future," Thompson told at a conference held to launch the initiative. "Our current health care system is not structured to 9 with the escalating costs of treating diseases that are largely preventable through changes in our lifestyle choices." Thompson said heart disease and strokes will cost the country more than $351 billion in 2003. "These leading causes of death for men and women are largely 10 , yet we as a nation are not taking the steps necessary for us to lead healthier, longer lives," he said. The $15 million is 11 to go to communities to promote prevention, pushing for changes as simple as building sidewalks to encourage people to walk more. 12 exercise such as walking can prevent and even 13 heart disease and diabetes, and prevent cancer and strokes. The money will also go to community organizations, clinics and nutritionists who are being encouraged to work together to educate people at 14 of diabetes about what they can do to prevent it and encourage more cancer screening. The American Cancer Society 15 that half of all cancers can be caught by screening, including Pap tests for cervical (子宫颈的) cancer, mammograms (乳房X射线照片) for breast cancer, colonoscopies (结肠镜检查), and prostate (前列腺的) cheeks. If such cancers were all caught by early screening, the group estimates that the survival rate for cancer would rise to 95 percent.
1.
A.have
B.take
C.own
D.realize
A B C D
B
[解析] take responsibility for sth.表示“对……负责”，为常用固定搭配，符合语境。
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