四、阅读理解

A. 阅读 下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项(共15小题;每小题2分，满分30分)

A

There was a boy and his family was very rich. One day his father took him on a trip to a place. He wanted to show his son how poor people were there. They spent several days on a farm. There were many poor families living on the farm.

On their way home, the father asked the son, “How was the trip?” “It was great, Dad,” the son answered. “Did you notice how poor people were there?” asked his father. “Oh, yes,” said the son. “So, tell me,” said his father. The son said, “Well, we have one dog and they have four. We have a pool in our garden, while they have a river that has no end. We have expensive lanterns (灯), but they have stars above their heads at  night. We have only a smal l piece of land to live on, while they have the endless fields. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have high walls around our houses to protect us, but they don’t need walls, because their friends will protect them.”

The father had nothing to say. Then the boy added, “Thank you, Dad, for letting me see how poor we are.”

(    )51. The father wanted to show his son ________.

A. how people on the farm worked    B. how p oor people were on the farm

C. how beautiful the farm was    D. how far it was from the city to the farm

(    )52. How often did they go to the farm?5ykj.com

A. Once a week.  B. Twice a month.  C. Every year.  D. The writer doesn’t tell  us.

(    )53. When the father asked the son how the trip was, the son thought it ________.

A. great      B. tiring    C. terrible  D. boring

(    )54. According to the boy, people on the farm can see ________ at night.

A. expensive lanterns B. a lot of cars  C. stars above their heads D. many horses

(    )55. Which of the following is TRUE, according to the passage?

A. The boy was from a very poor family.

B. The father and the son spent several weeks on a farm.

C. People on the farm have high walls around their houses.

D. The boy thought that people on the farm lived a happy life.

B

To us, it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains. But in fact the umbrella was not invented as protection against the rain. Its first use was as a shade(遮蔽)against the sun.

Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times. Probably the first to use it were the Chinese, back in the eleventh century BC.

We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade. And there was a strange thing connected with its use : it became a symbol of honor and power(权力). In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by those in high office or by royal people such as the kings or queens.

In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. The umbrella was in common use in ancient Greece, but it is believed that the first people in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the rain were the ancient Romans. During the middle ages in Europe, the use of the umbrella almost disappeared. Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century. And again it became a symbol of power.

Umbrellas have not changed much in style during all this time, though they have b ecome much lighter in weight. It wasn't until the twentieth century that the umbrellas for women began to be made in all kinds of colors.

(    )56. Ancient people first used umbrellas as ____.

A. a symbol of honor                     B. protection against the sun

C. a symbol of power                     D. protection against the rain

(    )57. According to the passage, the umbrella was probably first used in ancient ______.

A. Egypt .     B. Babylon      C. Rome        D. China

(    )58. The underlined word royal might mean _ in Chinese.

A.皇室的      B.富裕的       C.中产的       D.平民的

(    )59. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

A. The ancient Greeks used the umbrella in their daily life.

B. Europeans hardly used the umbrella during the middle ages.

C. The umbrellas for women were made colorful in ancient times.

D. The style of the umbrella hasn't changed a lot since it was invented

(    )60. This passage is mainly about _____.

A. the sales of the umbrella              B. the differences among umbrellas

C. the invention of the umbrella           D. the history and the use of the umbrella

C

How quickly can you count from one to ten? Do you use ten different words to do it? Can you do it in English, or do you have to use your first languages? Do you count on your fingers? Many people think that numbers and math are the same all over the world. But scient ists have discovered that it is not true.

People in different parts of the world use different ways to count on their fingers. In the United States, people think begin counting with their first fingers, which they extend or stick out. They then extend the rest of their fingers and finally the thumb(拇指)to count to five. Then they repeat this with the other hand to get to ten. In China, people count by using different finger positions. In this way, a Chinese person can easily count to ten on only one hand.

Besides ways of finger counting, scientists have found that cultures and languages are also different when it comes to numbers. Some languages have only a few words for numbers, and others have no words for numbers. A group of scientists studied aboriginal(土著的)people in Aust ralia. These people don’t have hand movements to stand for numbers. They don’t even have word for numbers. However, they are still able to understand different ideas about numbers.

In a similar study, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology discovered that people of the Piraha tribe (部落) in northwestern Brazil don’t have words for numbers such as “one” or “three.”. They are not able to say “five trees” or “ten trees” but can say “some trees,” “more trees,” or “many trees.” Professor Edward Gibson said that mist people believe that everyone knows how to count, “but here is a group that does not count. They could learn, but isn’t not useful in their culture, so they’ve never picked it up.”

Although all humans are able to understand quantities(数量),not all languages have numbers and not all people use counting. Number words in a certain language are a result of people needing numbers in their daily lives. Now we know that people have different ideas about  numbers and math, too.

(    )61. The writer begins with the four que stions in order to______.

A. make a survey  B. interest readers  C. tell a story  D. solve math problems

(    )62. What do we learn from the difference in finger counting between the U.S. and China?

A. People from China count much faster than people from the U.S.

B. People from China need two hands to count from one to ten.

C. People of different cultures may use different ways of  finger counting

D. People of different cultures use the same way of finger counting.

(    )63. Which of following is true about aboriginal Australians?

A. They have only a few words for numbers

B. They have hand movements to stand for numbers

C. They can only count to five on their fingers

D. They can understand different ideas about numbers

(    )64. The study of the Piraha tribe shows  that____

A. people all over the world know how to count

B. People of the tribe have words for number

C. Some groups of people are not smart enough to count

D, Counting is not useful in the culture of the tribe

(    )65. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. people from different cultures have different ideas about numbers and math

B. Chinese people can count more easily on their fingers than Americans

C. In some aboriginal culture,p eople don’t even know how to count

D. Some languages don’t have number words because people don’t need numbers.