B级
1. There were around two and a half hours between the time the
Titanic rammed into the iceberg and its fatal submersion. In this
time 705 people were loaded into the twenty lifeboats. There were 473
empty seats available off lifeboats while over 1,500 people drowned.
These figures raise two important issues. Firstly, why there were not
enough lifeboats to seat every passenger and crew members on board.
And secondly, why the lifeboats were not full.
How many people could all the lifeboats hold?
A. 705 B. 473 C. 1,178 D. 1,500
2. A recent study from the United States' Center for Education has
revealed that four years is 130 longer the norm when it comes to
earning a Bachelor's degree. Some students are taking more than five
years to get one - if they finish at all.
The study showed that only about 33 per cent of the 1 million
students nationwide who started college full time in autumn 1996
graduated in four years. Students who took five years accounted for
16 percent, while about 5 percent finished their coursework in six
years. The rest of the students took even longer to graduate. Some
never did.
How many of the students didn't finish their coursework in four years
according to the study?
A. 33%. B. 16%. C. 5%. D. 67%.
3. Recently the Department of Planning of New York issued a report
which laid bare a full scale of change of the city. In 1970,18
percent of the city's population was foreign born. By 1995 ,the
figure has risen to 33 percent, and another 20 percent were the US born off springs of immigrants. So immigrants and their children now
form a majority of the city's population.
How much of New York's population was foreign born in 19957
A. 18%. B.33%. C.20%. D.45%.
练习答案: 1. C 2. D 3. B
B级
1. Cars have traditionally been wasteful beasts. Every time a drop of
gas explodes inside a cylinder(气缸), the energy gets passed along
from the piston(活塞)to the crankshaft(曲轴), flywheel (飞轮),
gearbox, drivetrain, and axles(轮轴). By the time the wheels actually
turn, four fifths of the original energy has disappeared. The
electric Car goes a long way toward reducing wasted energy by
replacing the internal - combustion engine with batteries. Even so,
electric cars destroy about 60 percent of the energy because
mechanical parts are stiu used to deliver energy from the batteries
to the wheels. Lately, though, engineers have come up with a far more
efficient way to accomplish the same task: by using magnets in the
wheels.
In traditional cars, four fifths of the original energy has been
wasted by the time
A. the gas explodes inside the cylinder.
B. the energy gets passed along from the piston to the crankshaft.
C. the energy was delivered from the batteries to the wheels.
D. the energy is finally passed to the wheels.
2. Taxes consist of the money which people pay to support their
government. There are generally three levels of government in the
United States : federal, state, and city ; therefore, there are three
types of taxes.
Salaried people who earn more than a thousand dollars must pay a
certain percentage of their salaries to the federal government. The
federal government has a graduated income tax; that is, the
percentage of the tax increases as a person's income increases. With
the high cost of taxes, people are not very happy on April 15, when
the federal taxes are due.
Americans pay their federal taxes
A. on the 15th of each month. B. on the first day of each month.
C. once a year. D. twice a year.
3. The dogs that help in criminal investigations are trained at a
school called the Military Dog Studies branch of the US Air Force in
Lackland, Texas. The dogs to be trained are selected by an air force
team. This team visits large cities across the country to buy dogs.
They may buy dogs from private citizens for up to $ 750 each. Some
citizens freely give their dogs. The dogs selected must be healthy,
brave and aggressive. They must be able to fight back if they are
attacked. The dogs chosen are between the ages of one and three. They
are given a medical examination when they arrive at the school. Their
physical examination includes X - rays and heart tests. The trainee
dogs undergo the first stage of training when they arrive in Lackland.
This is an 11 - week course for patrol duty. After this course, the
best dogs are selected to go on another 9 - week course. They learn
drug - sniffing or bomb - sniffing. After this course, the dogs are
ready for their jobs in the cities or off air force bases.
Dogs are ready for their jobs of drug - sniffing or bomb - sniffing
A. after an 11 - week course. B. after a 9 - week course.
C. after they are given medical examinations D. after they have grown
large enough.
练习答案: 1. D 2. C 3. B
B级
1. While the president's Homeowner Stabilization Initiative,
announced on Feb. 18, offers loan modifications for homeowners
already in negative- equity (资产净值)situations and the stimulus
package offers an $ 8,000 tax credit for first -time buyers, there
are several places where such efforts are likely to have little
effect.
Specifically, you don't want to be a homeowner in several parts of
California, Florida and the upper Midwest. Detroit, Mich. , Miami,
Fla. , and Merced, Calif. , are among the top five riskiest spots for
homeowners, ranking second, third and fifth, respectively. California
and Florida areas dominate the list, taking up almost three quarters of the 25 spots.
What is the reason that people don't want to buy homes in some parts
of California. Florida and the upper Midwest?
A. They are very likely to lose money.
B. People don't have money to buy homes.
C. These places are not covered in the stimulus package.
D. Homes are too expensive in these places.
2. In Britain arrangements for inviting and entertaining guests at a
wedding are usually the responsibility of the bride's family. In most
cases, mainly friends and relations of both families are invited, but
when the bride's father is businessman of some kind, the wedding
reception may provide a useful occasion for establishing social
connections with clients or customers and other people whose good
will may be of advantage to him. It is, however, the bride's mother
who has the job of sending out the formal printed invitation cards.
Some guests may be invited because
A. they are likely to be annoyed if they are not.
B. they may give valuable presents.
C. their presence could provide future benefits.
D. they may help with the expenses of the wedding.
3. Government is essentially the only industry planning to hire more
new grads this year than last. as the new Administration expands and
a graying workforce retires. The up tick(上升，增加) in government
recruiting is obvious to students. Last year, notes Dorothy Kerr,
executive manager of Rutgers University's career services, there were
just 15. government and nonprofit employers at the annual Big East
Career Day in Manhattan's Madison Square Garden ; others were kept
out to make room for 135 private -sector employers. This year, just
80 private companies signed up for the March 13 event, where 30
federal agencies will be on hand accepting resumes. "The good news is,
the Federal Government is definitely hiring," Kerr says. Still,
according to the NACE report, the projected increase is less than 6%.
What is the reason that government is planning to hire more according
to the passage?
A. Colleges and universities called for government to hire more.
B. The government is trying to stabilize the work force market.
C. The federal government encourages states to hire more.
D. New Administration expands and more workers retire.
练习答案: 1. A 2. C 3. D
B级
1. A few governments are already moving. In March, Madrid pledged
$1.3 billion to modernize Spain's tourism infrastructure in a bid to
fight off competition from sunshine destinations like Turkey and
Egypt, which have become more competitive as the euro has appreciated.
In Spain's Canary Islands, where tourism represents upwards of 60% of
the local economy ,the municipal tourism board recently began a
series of seminars to help tourism workers cast off their perceived
grumpiness(坏脾气又爱发牢骚) ;course materials advise cabbies to"
ensure your taxis smell nice and don't drive too fast" and remind
hotel staff that. "a smile costs nothing and is the most effective
welcome."
"Moving" in the first sentence most probably means
A. going fast B. improving C. taking measures D. changing offices
2. Intelligence was believed to be a fixed entity, some faculty of
the mind that we all possess and which determines in some way the
extent of our achievements. Its value therefore, was as a predictor
of children's future learning. If they differed markedly in their
ability to learn complex tasks, then it was clearly necessary to
educate them differently and the need for different types of school
and even different ability groups within school was obvious.
Intelligence tests could be used for streaming children according to
ability at an early age ; and atll these tests were superior to
measurements of attainment for selecting children for different types
of secondary education.
"Streaming" in the paragraph most probably means
A. measuring B. learning C. educating D. grouping
3. The Titanic had sixteen lifeboats, and four collapsible boats
which could carry just over half the number of people on board her
maiden voyage and only a third of the Titanic's total capacity.
Regulations for the number of lifeboats required were based on
outdated British Board of Trade regulations written in 1894 for ships
a quarter of the Titanic's size. and had never been revised. Under
these requirements, the Titanic was only obliged to carry enough
lifeboats to seat 962 people. At design meetings in 1910 ,the
shipyard's managing director had proposed that forty eight lifeboats
be installed on the Titanic, but the idea had been quickly rejected
as too expensive. Discussion then turned to the ship's decor, and as
the director later described the incident, "We spent two hours
discussing carpet for the first Class cabin and fifteen minutes
discussing lifeboats".
What did the director mean by saying" We spent two hours discussing
carpet for the first class cabin and fifteen minutes discussing
lifeboats"?
A. Carpet for the first class cabin was a very important issue in the
design of Titanic.
B. Not enough attention had been paid to safety in the designing of
Titanic.
C. The designers had no idea of the dangers Titanic would be exposed
to.
D. The designers were careful with the design of' Titanic.
练习答案: 1. C 2. D 3. B
B级
1. Many experts now believe that even if all space littering were to
stop completely, the number of stray objects would continue to
increase for centuries. The reason : debris is now so dense that
objects will continue to crash into each other, creating even more
objects, expanding the rubbish cloud geometrically. "We've been
saying for years that these things are going to happen," says
Nicholas Johnson, head of NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office.
"Until they happen, it's hard to get people's interest. "
What seems to best describe Nicholas Johnson's attitude towards what
has happened?
A. He is happy that people are starting to pay attention to the
problem.
B. He is critical that people have not paid enough attention to the
problem.
C. He is objective when commenting on the problem of cosmic junk.
D. He is supportive to what people have done to deal with the problem.
2. This concept of being a sissy is s key concept for understanding
of American character: it has no exact parallel in any other society.
It has nowadays become a term of criticism which can be applied to
anyone, regardless of age or sex ; although it is similar to some
English terms of public shame (e. g. coward, crybaby, nanny, mother's
darling) it is more than any of them. Put it simply, it means showing
more dependence or fear or lack of initiative or passivity than is
suitable for the occasion. It can be applied to a gambler hesitant
about risking his money, to a mother over anxious about the pain her
child may suffer at the hands of a surgeon, to a boy shy about asking
a popular girl for a" date", to stage girl, to overt anxiety about a
visit to the dentist, to a little girl crying because her doll is
broken ,just as well as to occasions which directly elicit courage or
initiative or independence and which may be responded to more or less
adequately. It is the overwhelming fear of all American parents that
their child will turn into a sissy; it is the overwhelming fear of
all American parents from the moment that they can understand
language that they may be taken for a sissy ; and a very great deal
of American speech and activity, so often misinterpreted by non Americans, is designed solely to avert this damning judgement.
Particularly. Self - confident Americans may say" I guess I'm just a
sissy...", when they feel quite sure that they are not. When applied
to adult males the term also implies sexual passivity.
What is the tone of the passage?
A. Objective. B. Subjective. C. Critical. D. Supportive.
练习答案: 1. A 2. A
B级
1. It should become a general practice to include workers in some
managerial decision making. There ought to be representatives of the
workers on the firm's board of directors or other major policymaking
groups. If rank - and - file workers are given a voice in the
planning and management of the work flow, they will help to make
improvements, their morale will rise, and their productivity will
increase. As a further incentive, they must be given a share in the
company's profits. This can be done through employee stockownership
plans, bonuses, or rewards for efficiency and produetivity. Finally,
when a plant can no longer operate at a profit, the workers should be
given the opportunity to purchase the plant and run it themselves.
Companies can give their workers a share of their profits through all
the following ways EXCEPT
A. employee stockownership plans. B. sale of the firm to the workers.
C. bonuses. D. rewards for efficiency and productivity.
2. More and more American fims—many large ones and even some rather
small ones - are moving into foreign markets. Many companies are
concluding that achieving profit and growth objectives is most likely
through a combination of domestic and international marketing rather
than sole reliance on domestic marketing.
Many companies believe that they can only achieve profit and growth
objectives through
A. sole reliance on domestic marketing.
B. sole reliance on international marketing.
C. a combination of domestic and international marketing.
D. vigourous competition on the international marketing.
练习答案: 1. B 2. C
B级
1. School phobia can be cured, usually with tranquilizers and
psychological methods. Rehabilitation takes about two years. Yet
victims who are put in clinics or mental wards often prefer to stay
there. Their day is filled with activities like knitting, painting,
music, free time, and sports.
Treatment of school phobia is mainly
A. psychological. B. social. C. educational. D. cultural.
2. The first ball to drop - an illuminated 400 - pound iron - and wood globe—was lowered from a flagpole. Tradition took root and the
ball has announced a new beginning almost every year since—in 1942
and 1943, during World War II, the ball was temporarily put out of
commission by a war - time" dimout. "Instead crowds gathered in the
square and observed a moment of silence before cheering. Although the
newspaper moved to a different location in 1914,the ball remained a
Times Square tradition, with several redecorations along the way. @In
1955 it slimmed down to a 200 - pound aluminum(铝) globe, and
remained that way until the 1980s when red lights and a green stem
were added to make it an apple promoting the city 's "I Love New
York" tourism campaign. That flashy phase ended in 1988 in favor of
simple white lights, followed later by rhinestones (莱茵石) with
edges and strobes (频闪闪光灯). But the biggest checkup was saved for
the ball that would ring in the new millennium. Weighing up to 1,070
pounds, the massive new ball marketed handcrafted Waterford crystal
triangles, each with a design symbolizing various messages such as"
Hope for Fellowship," "Hope for Wisdom" and" Hope for Abundance.
"With minor changes, that. sphere remained through the 2007 festival
This year's ball tops out at 12 feet in diameter (double the size of
previous balls) and weighs11, 875 pounds; it sparkles with 32,256 LED
lights and 2,668 crystals. It's not the only thing that's gotten
bigger since the 1900s;a crowd estimated at a million people will be
celebrating in Times Square on Dec. 31st, and millions more will be
watching worldwide.
What makes this year's ball special compared with the other ones?
A. It is a worldwide attraction. B. There are crystals on it.
C. It's twice the size of other ones. D. It sparkles with lights.
练习答案: 1. A 2. C
B级
1. Baseball is the most popular sport in the US. 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.
Cricket originated from
A. the United States. B. England. C. Canada. D. Scotland.
2. Basketball is the winter sport in American schools and colleges.
Like football, basketball originated in the US and is not popular in
other countries. Many Americans prefer it to football because it is
played indoors throughout the winter and because it is a faster game.
It is a very popular game with schools, and in more than 20 states,
state -wide high school matches are held yeady.
Football popular in the United States originated from
A. England. B. the United States. C. Canada. D. Scotland.
练习答案: 1. B 2. B
B级
1. In the case of a church wedding, the vicar of each parish in which
the bride and bridegroom live is normally informed about a month in
advance of the ceremony so that an announcement of the coming wedding
can be made in church on each of three Sundays before it takes place.
Anyone who may know of an existing marriage of either partner is
ordered to give information about it, though this means of avoiding
bigamy(重婚) must have been more effective in the days when people
moved about the world less than they do today. Often up to a hundred
or more people attend the religious service and the bride usually
wears the traditional long white dress and veil, while bridesmaids,
who are often children, wear long dresses in attractive colors. This
may also happen in the case of a civil wedding in a register office
but is probably less usual.
The arrangements for a church wedding are usually made some time
before in order to
A. allow the necessary length of time for publicize the wedding.
B. provide time for organizing the reception.
C. make sure that the guests can arrange to be free on the day.
D. ensure a thorough investigation of the couple's existing marital
status.
2. Grouping of students within the classroom occurs primarily at the
elementary level. This organizational arrangement places students
together in two or more groups in the classroom to improve the
learning conditions for those students. Grouping in reading places
students of the same achievement level together to enable the teacher
to more easily work with them. Grouping, however, is becoming more
popular in other subjects, and for other purposes. Cooperative (协作
的) learning groups, for example, place students of different
abilities in the same group, and the students within that group help
each other on assignments. These programs have been shown to he
effective in raising students' achievement as well as improving their
social skills and attitudes toward one another.
Students of the same achievement level are grouped together so that
A. they can help each other on assignments.
B. they can improve their social skills.
C. they can improve their attitudes towards one another.
D. the teacher can work easily with them.
练习答案: 1. A 2. D
B级
1. It is very difficult to say just when colonization began. The
first hundred years after Christopher Columbus's journey of discovery
in 1492 did not produce any settlement on the North America continent
but rather some Spanish trading posts further south, a great
interesting gold and adventure, and some colorful crimes in which the
English had their part. John Cabot, originally from Genoa but a
citizen of Venice, was established as a trader in Bristol, England,
when he made a journey in 1497. But his ship, the Matthew, with its
crew of eighteen, did no more than see an island ( probably off the
New England coast)and return home. He and his soft made further
voyages across the north Atlantic which enabled the English crown to
claim a" legal" title to North America. But for a long time
afterwards the Europeans' interest in America was mainly confined to
the Spanish activities further south.
The first beginning of permanent settlement in North America were
nearly a hundred years after Columbus's first voyage. The English Sir
Walter Raleigh claimed the whole of North America for England,
calling it Virginia. In 1585 he sent a small group of people who
landed in Roanoke Island, but they stayed only for a year and then
went back to England with another expedition, led by Drake, in 1587.
A second group who landed in 1587 had all disappeared when a further
expedition arrived in 1590.
The first permanent settlement in North America was in 1607. English
capitalists founded two Virginian companies, a southern one based in
London and a northern one based in Bristol. It was decided to give
the name New England to the northern area. The first settlers in
Virginia were little more than wage slaves to the company. All were
men and the experiment was not very successful many died. Those who
survived lived in miserable conditions. By 1619 the colony had only a
thousand people.
2. From the beginning, water has furnished mail with a source of food
and a highway to travel upon. The first civilizations arose where
water was a dominant element in the environment, a challenge to man's
ingenuity. The Egyptians invented the 365 - day calendar in response
to the Nile's annual flooding. The Babylonians, who were among the
most famous law -makers in ancient times, invented laws regulating
water usage. Water inspired the Chinese to built a 1,000 - mile canal
- a complex system, which, after nearly 2,500 years, remains still
practically in use and still commands the astonishment of engineers.
But the ancients never found complete solutions to their water
problems. The Yellow River is also known as" China's Sorrow" ;it is
so unpredictable and dangerous that in a single flood it has caused a
million deaths. Floods slowed the great civilization of the Indus
River Valley, and inadequate drainage ruined much of its land. Today
water dominates man as it always has done. Its presence continues to
govern the location of his homes and cities; its violent variability
can kill man or his herds or his crops; its routes links him to his
fellows; its immense value may add to already dangerous political
conflicts. There are many examples of this in our own time.
Who of the following were among the most famous law makers?
A. The ancient Chinese. B. The ancient Egyptians.
C. The ancient Babylonians. D. The ancient Indians.
练习答案: 1. C 2. C
B级
1. When a woman reaches marriageable age, she and her parents compile
a packet of information about her, including a photograph of her and
description of her family background, education, hobbies,
accomplishments, and interests. Her parents then inquire among their
friends and acquaintances to see if anyone knows a man who would be a
suitable husband for her. The person who does becomes the go—between,
showing the packet to the potential bridegroom and, if both parties
are interested, arranging a meeting in the restaurant of a posh (高档
的，豪华的) hotel. The go - between is present, usually along with
representatives from both families. If the young people feel inclined,
they will begin dating, with marriage as a possible but not
inevitable result. It is not uncommon for a women to have 10 or more
such introductions before she finds the man she wants to marry.
If the mail and woman are interested in each other, they will
A. begin dating. B. get married.
C. go to another introduction. D. begin dating but not marry.
2. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, New York legislators faced a
drug problem they feared was growing out of control. Federal
statistics showed as many as 559,000 users nationwide and state
police saw a 31 percent increase in drug arrests by 1972. In response
Gov. Nelson Rockefeller created the Narcotic Addiction and Control
Commission in 1967, aimed at helping addicts get clean. After the
program proved too costly and ineffective. New York launched the
Methadone(美沙酮) Maintenance Program, which similarly caused little
reduction in drug use. But by 1973, calls for stricter penalties had
grown too loud to ignore, prompting Albany to pass legislation that
created required minimum sentences of 15 years to life for possession
of four ounces of narcotics—about the same as a sentence for second
-degree murder.
What was troubling New York in late 1960s and early 1970s according
to the passage?
A. There were 559,000 drug users in the state.
B. There was a 31% increase in drug use by 1972.
C. It was short of money solving drug problem.
D. The drug problem seemed going out of control.
练习答案: 1. A 2. D
B级
1. Cheour doesn't know how babies accomplish this night - learning,
but she suspects that the special ability might indicate that unlike
adults, babies don't "turn off" their cerebral cortex while they
sleep. The skill probably fades in the course of the first year of
life, she adds—so forget the idea that you can pick up tricky French
vowels as an adult just by slipping a language tape under your pillow.
But while it may not help grown -ups, Cheour is hoping to use the
sleeping hours to give remedial help to babies who are genetically at
risk of language disorders.
What can scientists probably use the new discovery to do.9
A. To help adult pick up a new language more easily.
B. To help babies learn their mother tongue more quickly.
C. To help babies genetically at risk of language disorders.
D. To help babies recover from genetic defects.
2. Intelligence was believed to he a fixed entity, some faculty of
the mind that we all possess and which determines in some way the
extent of our achievements. Its value therefore, was as a predictor
of children's future learning. If they differed markedly in their
ability to learn complex tasks, then it was clearly necessary to
educate them differently and the need for different types of school
and even different ability groups within school was obvious.
Intelligence tests could be used for streaming children according to
ability at an early age ; and atll these tests were superior to
measurements of attainment for selecting children for different types
of secondary education.
Intelligence tests are useful for
A. grouping children according to ability at an early age.
B. educating children in different ways.
C. measuring children's academic attainment.
D. selecting children for special secondary education.
练习答案: 1. C 2. D
B级
1. The word brand is a comprehensive term that encompasses other
narrower terms. A brand is a name, term, symbol, and/or special
design that is intended to identify the goods or services of one
seller or group of sellers. A brand differentiates one seller's
products from those of competitors. A brand name consists of words,
letters, and/or numbers that can be vocalized. A brand mark is the
part of the brand that appears in the form of a symbol, design, or
distinctive coloring or lettering. It is recognized by sight but may
not be expressed when a person pronounces the brand name.
A brand name consists of all the following EXCEPT
A. a symbol. B. words. C. letters. D. numbers.
2. 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 is the game.
In the United States ,people enjoy all the following sports EXCEPT
A. organized competitive struggles. B. athletic games.
C. hunting and fishing. D. mountain climbing and bicycling.
练习答案: 1. A 2. D