Reading Comprehension
In this section there are four passages followed by questions or unfurnished statements,each with four suggested answers marked A,B,C and D.Choose the one that you think is the best answer.
TEXT A
Since we are social beings,the quality of our lives depends in large measure on our interpersonal relationships.One strength of the human condition is our tendency to give and receive support from one another under stressful circumstances.Social support consist of the exchange of resources among people based on their interpersonalities.Those of us with strong support systems appear better able to cope with major life changes and daily hassles.People with strong social ties live longer and have better health than those without such ties,Studies over a range of illness,from depressions to heart diseases,reveal that the presence of social support helps people fend off illness,and the absence of such support makes poor health more likely.
Social support cushions stress in a number of ways.First,friends,relatives,and co-workers may let us know that they value us.Our self-respect is strengthened when we feel accepted by others despite our faults and difficulties.Second,other people often provide us with informational support.They help us to define and understand our problems and find solutions to them.Third,we typically find social companionship supportive.Engaging in leisure-time distracting us from our worries and troubles.Finally other people may give us instrumental support ---financial aid ,material resources ,and needed service---that reduces stress by helping us resolve and cope with our problems.
1.Interpersonal relationships are important because_______.
A.they are indispensable to people’s social well-being
B.they awaken people’s desire to exchange resources
C.they help people to cope with life in the information era
D.they can cure a lot of illness
2.Research shows that the people’s physical and mental health________.
A.relies on the social welfare systems which support them.
B.has much to do with the amount of support they get from others.
C.depends on informational support from their friends
D.is closely related to their strength for coping with major changes in their lives
3.The word “cushions”(Line1,para.2)means_________.
A.adds to B.endures
C.lessens the effect of D.lays the foundation for
4.Giving advice to a friend in trouble is an example of_________.
A.strengthening self-respect B.informational support
C.social companionship D.instrumental support
5.Social companionship is beneficial in that________.
A.it helps strengthen our relationship with relatives
B.it enables others to accept us
C.it makes us enjoy our life
D.it draws our attention away from our worries and troubles
TEXT B
Acid rain is very serious air and water pollution problem.Many people feel that it is the most serious pollution problem that we now face.Scientists say that plant and animal life in thousands of lakes in United States and Canada has already been destroyed by acid rain.
Acid rain forms in the upper atmosphere.There,sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide mix water vapor to form sulfuric acid and nitric acid.when the vapor condenses and rain falls,the acid fall with it.Every time acid rain falls in a lake,the level of acid in the lake arise.Over time,it can rise to the point at which plants and insects cannot survive.Without plants,which supply food,fish die.The lake becomes a dead lake.
The problem of acid rain has greatly increased in the last few years.Most of the blame for acid rain has been placed on industries.However,some people feel that ineffective air pollution laws are also to blame for the acid rain problem.
A few years ago,many cities and states passed local air pollution laws.The laws written to improve the air quality in the cities and states.However,the laws usually didn’t say anything about the amount of pollution that an industry could pump into the air.Industries found a way to meet the new pollution laws without reducing the amount of pollution the released.They met the new standards by building taller smokestacks.
With the taller smokestacks,air pollutant were released higher up into the atmosphere.The wind carried them from the pollution factory.To the people near the factory,the air seemed cleaner.however,the pollution that they once got was now coming down hundreds of miles away in the form of acid rain.
6.Which of the following is TRUE about acid rain?
A.Acid rain forms in the lower atmosphere.
B.Many endangered species are on the verge of extinction because of the acid rain.
C.Acid rain is composed of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide mixed with water vapor.
D.Acid rain is mostly found in the Unites States and Canada.
7.Why do lakes in the Unites States and Canada become dead lakes?
A.Air pollutants are dissolved in the water.
B.Fish in the lakes die from taking in poisonous substances released from the acids.
C.Fish in the lakes die from direct contact with accumulated acid in the water.
D.Fish in the lakes die from because acid rain deprives them of oxygen.
8.Why didn’t the local air pollution laws attain the end of reducing pollution.
A.Industries disregard the local air pollution.
B.The local air pollution laws didn’t set a limit on the amount of pollution pumped into the air.
C.The smokestacks built to release pollutants are not tall enough to release pollutants.
D.Only a small number of industries are equipped to meet the new air pollution laws.
9.Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
A.Building taller smokestacks can reduce acid rain .
B.The neighboring areas of a factory receive less pollution than distant areas.
C.The number of occurrences of the acid rain over the last few years has been on the rise.
D.Ineffective air pollution laws rather than industries are to blame for acid rain.
10.Which is the best title of the passage?
A.Acid rain:An environmental Disaster B.Who Is To Blame
C.Formation Of Acid rain D.Local Air Pollution Laws
TEXT C
With the prospect of local and petroleum supplies running out and with air pollution becoming an increasing concern,the major countries of the world are seeking alternate sources of energy.If a means to obtain energy from water,especially from the ocean,can be effected economically,it would provide a never ending supply of energy,since70%of the earth’s surface is ocean and another 10% is fresh water in rivers and lakes.
From the beginning of time man has used waterpower as a source of working energy--waterfalls and dams--but these are fresh water sources and are landlocked.The seas have contributed little or nothing in the way of the water.The use of temperature variation between currents is one area of exploration.Ocean water is heated by the sun near the equator and drawn by the rotation of the earth toward the poles,where it cools and drops toward the ocean floor and starts its journey back toward the equator.The differential between the two current is 10C and 70C.To use it,the scientist must find the places where they run near land and are not too far away from each other.
America,the greatest consumer of energy,has been working on another kind of thermal sea energy proposal.One plan would somewhat resemble the operation of a refrigerator on a vast scale.Warm water would be the heat source,could water the heat sink.A component such as fog would be liquid at a cold temperature and turn to gas as it warmed.
Oceans also offer wave power,tides and the chemical reaction of salt water as potential sources of energy.All these uses are theoretically possible.Britain is interested in wave power,using a string of “tear drop”devices that depend on very active wave areas at100 feet depth.In addition to this,the British are working on a method that the Japanese have already put into practical use on a small scale for powering their navigational boats.This method is called an oscillating water column and rides the waves with a series of cylinders having one way air valves.Wave movement produces air under pressure that has only one escape route--to a turbine that powers a generator.
11.The use of water referred in this passage is _______.
A.a new concept compared with other ways of natural resources.
B.being developed to supplement other sources of energy.
C.now being used more from the ocean than from rivers and lakes.
D.less expensive than petroleum and other means of energies.
12.In the matter of developing energy from ocean water,Britain is______.
A.the most advanced country in the field.
B.consolidating their work with operation.
C.following the lead of the United States.
D.working on an old Japanese method.
13.The development of oceanic water power is important because______.
A.there is a severe shortage of coal and petroleum.
B.it is the cheapest method of producing energy’
C.petroleum supplies are being steadily drained.
D.obtaining energy from ocean water is simpler.
14.Getting energy from the ocean is important to______.
A.America because it is the greatest consumer of energy in the world.
B.Asia because most of Asian countries lack other sources of energy.
C.Russia because of its limited coal and petroleum resources on land.
D.South America because a part of the population is very poor.
15.The oscillating water column produces power from_____.
A.the turbine that powers the generator.
B.the air that escapes from the turbine.
C.the cylinders that drives the turbine.
D.the generator that produces electricity.
TEXT D
The civilization of the Renaissance was the creation of prosperous cities and of rulers who drew substantial income from their urban subjects in the Italian city states and the countries of England and France.The commerce that kept cities alive also provided the capital and the flows of ideas that helped build the Renaissance culture.During the early Middle Ages foreign trade had virtually come to a halt.By the 11th century,however,population growth and contact with other cultures through military efforts such as the Crusades helped revive commercial activity.Trades slowly increased with the exchange of luxury goods in the Mediterranean region and various commodities such as fish,furs and metals across the North and Baltic seas.Commerce soon moved inland,bringing new opulence to the citizens of towns along major trade routes.As traffic along these routes increased,existing settlements grew and new ones were established.
The cities of Italy were located between western Europe and the area along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea known as the Levant.The cities became important and wealthy commercial centers,and the riches collected by the merchants of Venice,Genoa,Milan,and a host of smaller cities supported Italy’s political and cultural achievement.
Important towns developed beyond Italy as well.Especially with the expansion of trade,towns grew along the Danube and Rhine rivers of Europe;around the North Sea and the Baltic Sea;and in the Low Countries of Belgium,Luxembourg and the Netherlands where northern and southern trade routes met.Wherever these towns were located,they became a unique element in a medieval world that up to this time was dominated by seignorialism,an agricultural system in which the primary economic and political relationship was between landowners and their tenants.
16.The renaissance_______.
A.was an ideological movement throughout the world.
B.took place in Italy only.
C.was originated in Italy.
D.was influenced in most European countries.
17.The commerce______.
A.was an important element in building the Renaissance culture.
B.kept the people in cities alive with food and clothes.
C.brought about the exchange of ideas.
D.was always prosperous between city states.
18.The location of the important cities shares a similarity that_____.
A.they are all Italian cities.
B.they are all located by important routes.
C.they are all prosperous with commerce.
D.they are all located by seaside.
19.The most probable meaning of the world “opulence”(line9,para1)may be______.
A. technologies B.commercial means
C.culture D.prosperity
20.According to the passage,which of the following is NOT true?
A.Italy was merely an important cultural center during the Renaissance.
B. During the Middle Ages ,foreign trade once was stopped.
C.The development of cities had great bearings to commerce.
D.Geographical locations were significant in the booming of cities.
