Reading Comprehensive

In this section there four passages followed by questions or unfinished statements,each with four suggested answers markets A,B,C and D.Choose the one that you think is the best answer.

TEXT A

Racket,did clamor,noise,whatever you want to call it,unwanted sound is America’s most widespread nuisance.But noise is more than just nuisance.It constitutes a real and present danger to people’s health.Day and night,at home,at work,and at play,noise can produce serious physical and psychological stress.No one is immune this stress.Though we seem to adjust to noisy by ignoring it,the ear,in fact,never closed and the body still responds-sometimes with extreme tension,as to a strange sound in the night.

The annoyance we fell when we faced the noise is the most common outward symptom of the stress building up inside us.Indeed,because irritability is so apparent,legislators have made public annoyance the basic of many noisy.abatement programs.The more subtle and more serious health hazards associated stress cause by noisy traditionally have been given much attention.Nevertheless,when we are annoyed or made irritably by noisy,we should consider those symptoms fair warning that other thing may be happen to us,some of which maybe damaging to our health.

Of many health hazards to noisy,hearing loss is the most clearly observable and measurable by professionals.The other hazards are harder to pin down.For many of us,there may be a risk that exposure to the stress of noisy increases susceptibility to disease and infection.The more susceptible among us may experience noisy as a complicating factor in heart problems and other diseases.Noisy that causes annoyance and irritability in health persons may have serious consequences for those already ill in mind or body.

Noisy affects us throughout our lives.For example,there are indications of effects on the unborn child when mothers are exposed to industrial and environmental noisy.During infancy and childhood,youngest exposed to high noisy levels may have trouble felling asleep and obtaining necessary amounts of rest.

Why,then,is there not greater alarm about these dangers?Perhaps it is because the link between noisy and many disabilities or diseases has not yet been conclusively demonstrated.Perhaps it is because we tend to dismiss annoyance as a price o pay for living in the modern world.It may also be because we still think of hearing loss as only an occupational hazard.

1. In Paragraph 1 Line 4, the phrase “immune to” is used to mean_____.

       A.unaffected by    B.hurt by   C.unlikely to be seen by  D.unknown by

2.The author’s attitude toward noisy would best be described as_____.

   A.unrealistic    B.traditional   C.concerned   D.hysterical

3.Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage?

   A.Noisy is major problem;most people recognize it’s importance.

   B.Although noisy can be annoying,it is not a problem.

   C.Noisy is a major problem has and has not be recognized as such.

   D.Noisy is a major problem about with nothing can be done.

4.The author condemns noisy essentially because it_____.

   A.is against the law       B.can make some people irritable

   C.is a nuisance           D.is danger to people’s health

5.The author would probably consider research about the effects noisy has on people to be_____.

  A.unimportant   B.impossible  C.a waste of money  D.essential

TEXT B

The case for college has been accepted without question for more than a generation.All high school graduates ought to go,says conventional wisdom and statistic evidence,because college will help them earn more money,become “better”people,and learn to be more responsible citizens than those who don’t go.

But college has never been able to work its magic for everyone.And now that close half our high school graduates are attending,those who don’t fit the pattern are become more numerous and more obvious.College graduates are selling shoes and driving taxis,college students interfere with each other’s experiments  and write false letters of recommendation in the intense competition for admission to graduate school.Others find no stimulation in their studies and drop out-often encouraged by college administrators.

Some observes say the fault is with the young people themself-they are spoiled and they are expecting too much.But that is a condemnation of the students as a whole,and doesn’t explain all campus unhappiness.Others blame the state of the world,and they are partly right.we have been told that young people have to go to college because our economy can’t absorb any army of untrained eighteen-year-olds. But disappointed graduates are learning that it can no longer absorb an army of trained twenty-two-year-olds,either.

Some adventuresome educators have openly begun to suggest that college not be the best,the proper,the only place for every young person after the completion o high school.We may have been looking at all those surveys and statistics upside down,it seems, and though the rosy glow of our own remembered college experiences.Perhaps college doesn’t make people intelligent,ambitious,happy liberal,or quick to learn things-may it is just the other way around,and intelligent,ambitious,happy,liberal,or quick-learning people are merely the ones who have been attracted to college in the first place.And perhaps all those successful college graduates would have been successful whether they had gone to college or not .This is heresy to those of us who have been brought up to believe that if a little schooling is good,more has to be much better.But contrary evidence is beginning to mount up.

6.According to the author,_______.

A. people used question the value of college education

B. people used to have full confidence in higher education

C. all high school graduates went to college

D. very few high school graduates chose to go to college

7.In the 2nd paragraph(Line 2), “those who don’t fit the pattern”refer to_____.

   A.high school graduates who are not suitable college education

   B.college graduates who are selling shoes and driving taxis

   C.college graduates who aren’t any better for their higher education

   D.high school graduates who failed to be admitted to college

8.The dropout rate of college students seemed to go up because_____.

   A.young people are disappointed with the conventional way of teaching at college

   B.many people are required to join the army

   C.young people have little motivation in pursuing a higher education

   D.young people don’t like the intense competition for admission to graduate school.

9.According to the passage,the problems of college education partly originate in the fact that_____.

  A.society cannot provide enough jobs for properly trained graduates

  B.high school graduates do not fit the pattern of college education

  C.too many students have to earn their own living

  D.college administrators encourage students drop out

10.In this passage the author argues that_____.

  A.more and more evidence shows college education may not be the best thing for high school graduates

  B.college education is not enough if one wants to be successful

  C.college education benefits only the intelligent,ambitious,and quick-learning people

  D.intelligent people may learn quicker if they don’t go to college

TEXT C

   What we know of prenatal development makes all this attempt made by a mother to mold the character of her unborn child by studying poetry,art or mathematics during pregnancy seem utterly impossible.How could such extremely complex influences pass from the mother to the child?The is no connection between their nervous systems.Even the blood vessels of mother and child do not join directly.An emotional shock to the mother will affect her child,because it change the activity of her child for better or worse.But we can not see how a looking for mathematics or poetic genius can be dissolved in blood and produce a similar liking or genius in the child.

   In our discussion of instincts  we say that there was reason to believe that whatever we inherit must be of some very simple sort rather than any complicated or very definite kind of behavior.It is certain that no one inherits a knowledge of mathematics.It may be,however,that child inherit more or less oh a rather general ability that we may call intelligence.If very intelligent children become deeply interested in mathematics,they will probably make a success of that study.

   As for musical ability,it may be that what is inherited is an especially sensitive ear,a peculiar structure of the hands or the vocal organs connections between nerves and muscles that make it comparatively easy to learn the movements a musician must execute,and particularly vigorous emotions.If these factors are all organized around music,the child may become a musician.The same factors,in other circumstance might be organized about some other center of interest.The rich emotional equipment might find expression in poetry.The capable fingers might develop skill in surgery.It is not the knowledge of music that is inherited,then nor love of it,but a certain bodily structure that makes it comparatively easy to acquire musical knowledge and skill.Whether that ability shall be directed towards music or some other undertaking may be decided entirely by forces in the environment in which child grows up.

11.Which of the flowing statements is NOT true______

   A.Some mothers try to influence their unborn children by studying art an other subjects during their pregnancy.

      B.It is utterly impossible for us to learn anything about prenatal development.

      C.The blood vessels of mother and child do not join directly.

      D.These is no connection between mother’s system and her unborn child’s.

   12.A mother will affect her unborn baby on the condition that_____.

       A.she is emotionally shocked

      B.she has a good knowledge of inheritance

      C.she takes part in all kinds of activities

      D.she sticks to studying

   13.According to the passage,a child may inherit______.

      A.everything from his mother

      B.a knowledge of mathematics

      C.a rather general ability that we can intelligence

      D.his mother’s musical ability

    14.If a child inherits something from his mother,such as an especially ear,a peculiar structure of the hands or of the vocal organs,he will_____. 

      A.surely become musician

      B.mostly become poet

      C.possibly become a teacher

    D.become a musician on the condition that all these factors are organized around music

  15.Which of the flowing is the best title for the passage?

    A.Role of Inheritance       B.An Unborn Child

    C.Function of Instincts      D.Inherited Talents

TEXT D

Which is safer-staying at home,traveling o work in public transport,or working in the office? Surprisingly each of the carries the same risk,which is very low.However,what about filing compared working n the chemical industry?Unfortunately  ,the former is 65 times riskier than the latter!In fact,the accident rate of workers in the chemical industry is less than that of almost any of human activity,and almost as safe as staying at home.

The trouble with the chemical industry is that when things go wrong they often cause death to those living nearby.It is those which makes chemical accidents so newsworthy.Fortunately,they are extremely rare.The most famous ones happened at Texas City (1947),Flixborough (1974),Seveso(1976),Pemex(1984)and Bhopal(1984).

Some of those are always in the minds of the people even though the loss life was small.No one died at Seveso,and only 28 workers at Flixborough.The worst accident was Bhopal,where up to 3000 were killed.The Texas City explosion of fertilizer killed 552.The Pemex fire at a storage plant for natural gas in the suburbs of Mexico City took 542 lives,just a month before the unfortunate event at Bhopal.

Some experts have discussed these accidents and used each accident to illustrate a particular danger.Thus the Texas Cit explosion was caused by tons of ammonium nitrate,which is safe unless stored in great quantity.The Flixborough fireball was the fault of management,which took risks to keep production going during essential repairs The Seveso accident shows what happen if the local authorities lack knowledge of the danger on their doorstep.When the poisonous gas drifted over the town,local leaders were incapable of taking effective action.The Pemex fire was made worse by an overloaded site in an overcrowded suburb.The fire set off a chain reaction of exploding storage tanks.Yet, by a miracle,the two largest tanks did not explode.Had these caught fire,then 3000 strong rescue team and fire fighters would all have died.

16.Which of the flowing statements is TRUE?

A. Working at the office is safer than staying at home.

B. Traveling to work on pubic transport is safer than working at office.

C. Staying at home is safer than working in the chemical industry.

D. Working in the chemical industry is safer than traveling by air.

    17.Chemical accidents are usually important enough to be reported as news because_____.

  A.there very rare              B.they often cause of loss life

  C.they always occur in big cities  D.they arouse the interest of all the readers

    18.According to the passage,the chemical accident that caused by the fault of  management happened at____.

      A.Texas city     B.Flixborough     C.Seveso      D.Mexico City

  19.From the passage we know that ammonium nitrate is a kind of_____.

      A.natural gas,which can easier catch fire

      B.fertilizer,which can’t be stored in a great quantity

      C.poisonous substance,which can’t be used in overcrowded areas

      D.fuel,which is stored in large tanks

  20.From the discussion among some experts we may conclude that____.

     A.to avoid any accidents we should not repair the facilities in chemical industry

     B.the local authorities should not be concerned with the production of the chemical industry

     C.all these accidents could have been avoid or controlled if effective measure had been taken

     D.natural gas stored in very large tanks is always safe

Extra Reading

A Perfect Wife By Ellen Glasgow

After thirty years of married happiness,he would still remind himself that Victoria was endowed with every charm except the thrilling tough of human frailty.Though her perfection discouraged pleasure,especially the pleasures of love,he had learned in time to feel the pride of a husband in her natural frigidity.For he still clung,amid the decay of moral platitudes,to the discredited ideal of chivalry.In his youth the world was suffused with the after-grow of the long Victorian age,and a graceful feminine style had softened the manners,if not the natures,of men.At the end of that interesting epoch,when womanhood was exalted from a biological  fact into a miraculous power,Virginius Littlepage,the younger son of an old and affluent family,had married Victoria Brooke,the grand-daughter oh a tobacco planer,who had made a satisfactory fortune by forsaking his plantation and converting tobaccos into cigarettes.While Virginius had been trained by stern tradition to respect every woman who had not stooped to fully,the virtue peculiar to her sex was among the least of his reasons for admiring Victoria.She was not only modest,which was usual in the nineties,but she was beautiful,which is unusually in any decade.

In the beginning of their acquaintance he had gone even further and ascribed intellect to her, but a few moths of marriage had shown this to be merely one of the many delusions created by perfect features and noble expression.Everything about her had been smooth and definite,even the tones of her voice and the way her light brown hair,which she ware a la Pompadour,was rolled stiffly back from her forehead and coiled in a burnished rope on the top of her head.

A serious young man,ambitious to attain a place in the world more brilliant than the secluded seat of his ancestors,he had been impressed at their first meeting by the compactness and precision of Victoria’s orderly mind.For in the that earnest period the minds,as well as the emotions,of lover were orderly.It was an age when eager young men flocked to church on Sunday morning,and eloquent divines discoursed upon the Victoria poets in the middle of the week.He could afford to smile now when he recalled the solemn Browning class in which he had first lost his heart.Now passionately he had admired Victoria’s virginal features!How fervently he had envied her competent but caressing way with the poet!

Incredible as it seemed to him now,he had fallen in love with her while she recited from the more ponderous passage in The Ring and the Book.He had fallen in love with her then,though he had never really enjoyed Browning,and it had been a relief to him when the unseen,in company with its illustrious poet,had at last gone out of fashion.Yet,since he was disposed to admire all the qualities he did not possess,he had never ceased to respect the firmness with which Victoria continued to deal in other forms with the Absolute.

As the placid years passed,and she came to rely less upon her virginal,it seemed to him that the ripe opinions of her young began to shrink and flatten as fruit dose that has hung to long on the tree.She had never changed ,he realized,since he had first known her;she had became merely riper,softer,and sweeter in nature.

Her advantage rested where advantage never fails ti rest,in moral fervor.To be invariably right was her single wifely failing.For his wife,he signed,with the vague unrest of a husband whose infidelities are imaginary,was a genuinely good woman.She was as far removed from pretence as she was from the posturing virtues that flourish in the credulous world of the drama.The pity of it was that even the least exacting husband should so often desire something more piquant than goodness.

Choose the best answer to each question.

1.In her husband’s eye,Victoria has all the flowing qualities EXCEPT_____.

A.intelligence   B.beauty    C.delicacy    D.humbleness

2.We get the impression that Virginius is a man of_____.

  A.profound knowledge       B.high aspiration

  C.harmless vanity           D.immovable confidence

3.When Browning’s poem became unpopular,Virginius felt_____.

  A.sympathy for it           B.pity for it

  C.free from it              D.annoyed at it

4.Virginus world feel more or less guilty when he____.

   A.began to dislike Victoria’s features.     

B.thought about Victoria’s perfection.

C.fancied being disloyal to Victoria.

D.tried to find fault with Victoria.

   5.The word “piquant” in the last paragraph(line6)probably means_____.

      A.interesting     B.adventurous    C.lofty    D.unusual