Passage One How men first learnt to invent words is unknown; in other words, the origin of language is a mystery. All we really know is that men, unlike animals, somehow invented certain sound to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things, so that they could communicate with each other; and that later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters, which could be combined to represent those sounds, and which could be written down. Those sounds, whether spoken or written in letters, we call words. The power of words, then, lies in their associations—the things they bring up before our minds. Words become filled with meaning for us by experience; and the longer we live, the more certain words recall to us the glad and sad events of our past; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something to us increases. Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which appeal powerfully to our minds and emotions. This charming use of words is what we call literary style. Above all, the real poet is a master of words. He can convey his meaning in words which sing like music, and which by their position and association can move men to tears. We should therefore learn to choose our words carefully and use them accurately, or they will make our speech silly and dull.
1. The origin of language is ______.
A.a legend handed down from the past
B.a matter that is hidden secretly
C.a question difficult to answer
D.a problem not vet solved
A B C D
D
[解析] 本题的依据是文章第1段的第1句话:How men first learnt to invent words is unknown; in other words, the origin of language is a mystery。从中可知D项是正确答案。
2. One of the reasons why men invented certain sounds to express thoughts and actions was that ______.
A.they could agree upon certain signs
B.they could write them down
C.they could communicate with each other
D.they could combine them
A B C D
C
[解析] 本题可参照第1段的第2句话,从so that所引导的状语从句so that they could communicate with each other可知,C项为正确答案。
3. What is true about the words?
A.They are used to express feelings only.
B.They can not be written down.
C.They are simply sounds.
D.They are mysterious.
A B C D
C
[解析] 本题的依据是第1段的最后一句话:Those sounds, whether spoken or written in letters, we call words。从中可知,C项为正确答案。A项不对,因为原文提过express thoughts and feelings, actions and things。B项中的not使这一选项与文中的事实相反,D项文中没有提及,原文只说过语言的起源是mystery,而不是语言本身。
4. In expressing their thoughts, great writers are able ______.
A.to confuse the readers
B.to move men to tears
C.to move our actions
D.to puzzle our feelings
A B C D
B
[解析] 本题可参照文章的最后一段。从中可知,一位真正的诗人(the real poet)能把我们普通人感动得流泪,因此B项为正确答案。
5. Which of the following statements about the real poet is NOT true?
A.He is no more a master of words than an ordinary person.
B.He can convey his ideas in words which sing like music.
C.He can move men to tears.
D.His style is always charming.
A B C D
A
[解析] 本题可参照文中最后一段的第3句话Above all, the real poet is a master of words。而A项与之不符。因此A项为正确答案。
Passage Two Statuses are marvelous human inventions that enable us to get along with one another and to determine where we "fit" in society. As we go about our everyday lives, we mentally attempt to place people in terms of their statuses. For example, we must judge whether the person in the library is a reader or a librarian, whether the telephone caller is a friend or a salesman, whether the unfamiliar person on our property is thief or a meter reader, and so on. The statuses we assume often vary with the people we encounter, and change throughout life. Most of us can, at very high speed, assume the statuses that various situations require. Much of social interaction consists of identifying and selecting among appropriate statuses and allowing other people to assume their statuses in relation to us. This means that we fit our actions to those of other people based on a constant mental process of appraisal and interpretation. Although some of us find the task more difficult than others, most of us perform it rather effortlessly. A status has been compared to ready-made clothes. Within certain limits, the buyer can choose style and fabric. But an American is not free to choose the costume of a Chinese peasant or that of a Hindu prince. We must choose from among the clothing presented by our society. Furthermore, our choice is limited to a size that will fit, as well as by our pocketbook. Having made a choice within these limits we can have certain alterations made, but apart from minor adjustments, we tend to be limited to what the stores have on their racks. Statuses too come ready made, and the range of choice among them is limited.
1. In the first paragraph, the writer tells us that statuses can help us ______.
A.determine whether a person is fit for a certain job
B.behave appropriately in relation to other people
C.protect ourselves in unfamiliar situations
D.make friends with other people
A B C D
B
[解析] 推理题。根据第一段第一句话“Statuses are marvelous human inventions that enable us to get along with one another and to determine where we "fit" in society.”可知,身份让我们知道该如何与他人很好地相处,确定我们自己在社会中的位置。由此可以推出,身份告诉我们,在与他们交往过程中,我们该怎么做。B选项符合基于原文的推断。A和C选项文中并未提及。D选项“与他们交朋友”属于过度推断。所以正确答案是B选项。
2. According to the writer, people often assume different statuses ______.
A.in order to identify themselves with others
B.in order to better identify others
C.as their mental processes change
D.as the situation changes
A B C D
D
[解析] 细节题。根据第二段第一句话和第二句话“The statuses we assume often vary with the people we encounter, and change throughout life. Most of US can,at very high speed, assume the statuses that various situations require.”可知,当情况发生变化时,我们所认定的身份常常也会随之变化。所以正确答案是D选项。
3. The word "appraisal" (Sentence 4, Paragraph 2) most probably means ______.
4. In the last sentence of the second paragraph, the pronoun "it" refers to "______".
A.fitting our actions to those of other people appropriately
B.identification of other people's statuses
C.selecting one's own statuses
D.constant mental process
A B C D
A
[解析] 细节题。根据第二段最后一句话“Although some of us find the task more difficult than others, most of us perform it rather effortlessly.”可知,it这里指代这句话中的the task。然后再根据上下文可知,the task指代的是前面一句话中的“we fit our actions to those of other people based on a constant mental process of appraisal and interpretation”,由此可推出,it指代“we fit our actions to those of other people”,所以正确答案是A选项。
5. By saying that "an American is not free to choose the costume of a Chinese peasant or that of a Hindu prince" (Sentence 3, Paragraph 3), the writer means ______.
A.different people have different styles of clothes
Passage Three Nuclear power's danger to health, safety, and even life itself can be summed up in one word: radiation. Nuclear radiation has a certain mystery about it, partly because it cannot be detected by human senses. It can't be seen or heard, or touched or tasted, even though it may be all around us. There are other things like that. For example, radio waves are all around us but we can't detect them, sense them without a radio receiver. Similarly, we can't sense radio activity without a radiation detector. But unlike common radio waves, nuclear radiation is not harmless to human beings and other living things. At very high levels, radiation can kill an animal or human being outright by killing masses of cells in vital organs. But even the lowest levels can do serious damage. There is no level of radiation that is completely safe. If the radiation does not hit anything important, the damage may not be significant. This is the case when only a few cells are hit. And if they are killed outright, your body will replace the dead cells with healthy ones. But if the few cells are only damaged, and if they reproduce themselves, you may be in trouble. They reproduce themselves in a deformed way. They can grow into cancer. Sometimes this does not show up for many years. This is another reason for some of the mystery about nuclear radiation. Serious damage can be done without the victim being aware at the time that damage has occurred. A person can be irradiated and feel fine, then die of cancer in five, ten, or twenty years later as a result. Or a child can be born weak or liable to serious illness as a result of radiation absorbed by its grandparents. Radiation can hurt us. We must know the truth.
1. According to the passage, the danger of nuclear power lies in ______.
A.nuclear mystery
B.radiation detection
C.radiation level
D.nuclear radiation
A B C D
D
[解析] 根据第一段的第一句:Nuclear power's danger to health, safety, and even life itself can be summed up in one word: radiation.就能找到答案:核能的危险是核辐射(nuclear radiation)。故选项D正确,其他3项不符合题意。
2. Radiation can cause serious consequences even at the lowest level ______.
A.when it kills few cells
B.if it damages the few cells
C.though the damaged cells can repair themselves
D.unless the damaged cells can reproduce themselves
A B C D
B
[解析] 此题的答案见第三段末:if the few cells are only damaged, and if they reproduce themselves, you may be in trouble. They reproduce themselves in a deformed way. They can grow into cancer.故选项B为正确答案。
3. The word "significant" in Paragraph 3 most probably means ______.
A.responsible
B.meaningful
C.fatal
D.harmful
A B C D
D
[解析] 根据上下文的含义,significant此处指“严重的”。其原句为If the radiation does not hit anything important, the damage may not be significant.故选项D正确。
4. Radiation can hurt us in the way that it can ______.
A.kill large numbers of cells in main organs so as to cause death immediately
B.damage cells which may grow into cancer years later
5. Which of the following can be best inferred from the passage?
A.The importance of protection from radiation cannot be over-emphasized.
B.The mystery about radiation remains unsolved.
C.Cancer is mainly caused by radiation.
D.Radiation can hurt those who are not aware of its danger.
A B C D
D
[解析] 本题是对全文综合总括能力的测试。根据全文的内容(部分尚可依据人们的常识),我们可以做出以下推断:假如人们对核辐射的危害性不了解的话,就会受到伤害。短文还在最后特别提到Radiation can hurt us. We must know the truth(辐射会伤害到我们,因此我们必须了解真相。)故选项D正确。
Passage Four Adam Smith, writing in the 1770s, was the first person to see the importance of the division of labor and to explain part of its advantages. He gives as an example the process by which pins were made in England. "One man draws out the wire; another strengthens it; a third cuts it; a fourth points it; a fifth grinds it at the top to prepare it to receive the head. To make the head requires two or three operations. To put it on is a separate operation, to polish the pins is another. And the important business of making pins is, in this manner, divided into about eighteen operations, which in some factories are all performed by different people, though in others the same man will sometimes perform two or three of them." Ten men, Smith said, in this way, turned out twelve pounds of pins a day or about 4,800 pins per worker. But if all of them had worked separately and independently without division of labor, none of them could have made twenty pins in a day and perhaps not even one. There can be no doubt that division of labor is an efficient way of organizing work. Fewer people can make more pins. Adam Smith saw this but he also took it for granted that division of labor is in itself responsible for economic growth and development and that it accounts for the difference between expanding economies and those that stand still. But division of labor adds nothing new; it only enables people to produce more of what they already have.
1. According to the passage, Adam Smith was the first person to ______.
A.take advantage of the division of labor
B.introduce the division of labor into England
C.understand the effects of the division of labor
D.explain the causes of the division of labor
A B C D
C
[解析] 本题的依据是文章第1段的第1句话:was the first person to see the importance of the division of labor and to explain part of its advantages。C项中的understand等于原文中的see,因此C项为正确答案。
2. Adam Smith saw that the division of labor ______.
A.enabled each worker to make pins more quickly and more cheaply
B.increased the possible output per worker
C.increased the number of people employed in factories
3. Adam Smith mentioned the number 4,800 in order to ______.
A.show the advantages of the division of labor
B.show the advantages of the old craft system
C.emphasize how powerful the individual worker was
D.emphasize the importance of increased production
A B C D
A
[解析] 本题可参照此句的下一句:without division of labor, none of them could have made twenty pins in a day and perhaps not even one。从中可知,作者用这一数字显示分工的优越性。因此A项为正确答案。
4. According to the writer, Adam Smith's mistake was in believing that division of labor ______.
A.was an efficient way of organizing work
B.was an important development in methods of production
C.certainly led to economic development
D.increased the production of existing goods
A B C D
C
[解析] 本题的依据是文章最后一段的第3句话:Adam Smith saw this but he also took it for granted that和文章的最后一句话But division of labor adds nothing new; it only enables people to produce more of what they already have。因此C项是正确答案。
5. Which of the following could serve as an appropriate title for the passage?
A.Adam Smith, the English Economist
B.The Theory of Division of Labor
C.Division of Labor, an Efficient Way of Organizing Work
D.Adam Smith, the Last Discoverer of Division of Labor