1、阅读理解练习一Directions: Read the following three texts. Answer the questions on each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Text 1 An increasing number of scientists have found that anything that gives you pleasure may be more than just fun. Pleasure and humor might help us live longer, fight off illness, and cu
2、re drug addiction. Science has generally neglected pleasure and humor to concentrate on negative things like depression and illness, said Dr. William Fry, a psychiatry professor at Stanford University Medical Center in California. But theres a growing realization of just how powerful pleasure is.For
3、 example, research shows that smiling and laughing can actually strengthen your immune system, reduce stress and physical pain, and even help cancer patients. One research project at Loam Linda University showed these beneficial effects of laughter on the body. In the study, ten medical students wer
4、e hooked up to several machines and spent an hour watching a funny videotape of a man smashing watermelons with a hammer.Researchers were not trying to prove that smashing watermelons is a funny thing to do. They already knew that the volunteers would probably howl with laughter. What the researcher
5、s wanted to find out was how grinning, chuckling, and howling affected the volunteers as they watched the video.The researchers were delighted to discover that small but important changes were taking place in the volunteers bloodstream as they giggled or roared with laughter. Their blood showed incr
6、eased production of white blood cells (the blood cells that defend us against infection and disease). At the same time, a decrease was noticed in the levels of chemicals that stop the immune system from working properly.Studies such as this seem to show that you should laugh, chortle, and howl as mu
7、ch as possible! You will increase your chances of living a long, healthy life, Thats what one researcher means when he says, He who laughs, lasts. For years weve thought that laughter and other forms of pleasure were good for you. Now its a physiological reality. Text 1译文 越来越多的科学家发现,任何乐事带来的不仅仅是乐趣。快乐
8、和幽默可以使我们增寿、抵御疾病和治疗药物成瘾。“科学家们一直以来忽略了快乐和幽默的作用,而重视研究负面的东西,比如,失落和疾病。”威廉弗莱博士这样说到,“但是也越来越多地认识到快乐的强大力量。”比如,一项研究表明微笑和大笑实际上可以提高你的免疫系统能力、减轻压力和病痛,甚至还可以帮助癌症患者。罗姆林达大学的一项研究项目证明了这些在人身体上笑的有益作用。在这项研究中,十名和几台机器连接的医科学生要花一个小时观看一部一个人用锤子砸西瓜的有趣录像。研究者们并非是要了解砸烂西瓜是件趣事。他们知道这些志愿者们很可能会笑得大叫出来。他们最终想要了解的是咧嘴笑、咯咯地笑和大笑出声是如何影响这些观看录像的学生
9、。研究者们高兴地发现了当这些学生咯咯笑或狂笑时在他们的血流里发生了一些小但是很重要的变化。他们的血液产生了更多的白血细胞(这种细胞帮助我们抵御感染和疾病)。同时,阻止免疫系统正常运行的化学物质含量减少了。这样的研究表明了你应该尽可能地大笑、咯咯地笑或狂笑出声!你长寿、健康的机率会大大增加。这也是一位研究者想要说的:“笑的人才会持久。很多年来我们都认为笑或其他表示快乐的形式都会对你有好处。现在,这是一个生理上的现实了。” 46. According to the text pleasure and humor might _.A cure cancerB cure infectious dise
10、asesC help people concentrateD help people quit smoking答案:D释疑:第一段中提到pleasure and humor might help us live longer, fight off illness, and cure drug addiction,但文章并没有提到能够治疗癌症、医治传染病和使人精力集中。所以A, B, C 答案都不对。Smoking可以认为是一种drug addiction,所以答案应是 D。47. In Dr. William Frys opinion scientists _ .A have paid eno
11、ugh attention to the effect of laughterB have neglected depression and illnessC have preferred pleasure and humor to depression and illnessD have realized the importance of pleasure in peoples lives答案:D释疑:第一段中提到Dr. William Fry讲But theres a growing realization of just how powerful pleasure is。文章也提到科学
12、家忽略了pleasure的作用,而重视研究depression和illness。所以A、B和C肯定是错误的。48. Laughter helps to fight off illness because _.A it increases blood flow in human bodyB it helps the production of blood cellsC it can strengthen the immune system and reduces physical painD it can reduce chemicals in human blood答案:C释疑:这一题是逻辑推
13、理题。Laughter能够有助于抵御疾病,其原因必须是直接原因。抵御疾病的直接原因应是免疫系统能力的提高和减轻病痛,所以答案应是C。49. In the text the researchers were trying to find out _.A how the ten students would laughB why the ten students laughedC how laugh would affect the studentsD why smashing watermelons was funny答案:C释疑:第三段中提到科学家实验的目的并非是要了解砸烂西瓜是否有趣,他们最
14、终是要了解笑是如何影响这些接受实验的学生。50. The best title for the text would be _.A Laughter-A Powerful MedicineB Laughter-An Illness KillerC Laugh and Live Long D A Psychological Reality答案:A释疑:本文的核心是讲笑能帮助抵御疾病。所以?quot;有效的药物来形容笑是比较合适的。而killer(杀手)一词有些言过其词了,C和D离题材又太远了。 Text 2 Thomas Alva Edison, the American inventor, w
15、as born in 1847. Even as a child , he was always curious and always trying to invent new things. He was not a good student in school, but by the time he was a teenager, he had already had several jobs: store owner, telegraph operator, and inventor. He also had done lots of chemistry experiments on h
16、is own.However, what Edison really wanted to do was research. He established his first laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, and later he set up another one in West Orange, New Jersey. In these laboratories, he enjoyed trying to come up with solutions to problems that no one else had been able to so
17、lve.One of his most exciting and difficult challenges was to create the electric light bulb. Today, its very simple and easy to produce thousands of light bulbs a day. But Edison and his assistants had to work night and day to come up with just the right materials to make the first working light bul
18、b. They tried over a thousand times to put together the right metals to create an electric bulb that would work for more than just a few seconds.Once Edison had created this first working electric light, he came up with a way to produce light bulbs in quantity. His dream was to light up all of New Y
19、ork City. With this goal in mind, he constructed the worlds first commercial electric power plant on Pearl Street in New York City.It wasnt long before several other businessmen set up their own electric companies joined together and organized a few large companies that mass-produced all electrical
20、equipment according to the same standards. The outcome of all this was that Edison lost control of the companies he had originally set up. This didnt stop him, however. He continued inventing things. In fact, he went on to invent the phonograph (or record player) and he improved techniques used in t
21、he making of the first motion pictures.When Edison died in 1931, he wasnt as rich as he could have been, but he was very famous. Many people were inspired by his story.Text 2译文 美国发明家汤姆斯埃瓦爱迪生生于1847年。当他还是个小孩子的时候就总是好奇,还总努力发明一些新东西。在学校里他不是一个好学生,但是在他还是一个少年的时候他就有了几份工作:店主、报务员和发明者。他还独自完成了许多化学实验。 然而,爱迪生真正想要做的
22、是研究。他在新泽西州曼罗园林建立了他第一个实验室,后来他又在新泽西州奥兰治建立了另外一个。在这些实验室里,他享受着自己想出那些没人能解决的问题的办法。他最刺激的和最难的挑战之一就是发明电灯。现在一天生产成千上万的灯泡是非常简单容易的。但是爱迪生和他的助手们却为了找出使第一盏灯亮的合适的材料而日日夜夜的工作。他们为把那些合适的材料装配起来使得电灯可以超过几秒钟亮而试了上千次。爱迪生一发明了第一盏亮灯,就提出要大量生产电灯的方法。他的梦想是要点亮整个纽约城。怀着这个目的,他在纽约的珍珠街建立了世界第一个商业性的发电站。不久,其他几个商人建立了他们自己联盟的电力公司,还组建了几个大公司按照同样的标准
23、大量生产电力设备。所有这些的结果就是爱迪生对他原先建立的公司失去控制。但是这并没有阻止爱迪生。他继续发明。事实上,他继续发明了电唱机,并改进了拍摄第一部影片的设备。爱迪生1931年去世时,他本应更富有些,但是他非常著名。许多人都被他的故事所激励。 51. According to the text Edison was the first to _.A discover electricityB invent light bulbC combine all the electric companiesD light up New York答案:B释疑:答案在第三段可以找到。52. The la
24、st paragraph implies that Edison _.A was not successful as a businessmanB did not create enough inventionsC could not compete with other electric companiesD wasted a lot of money答案:A释疑:这是一道推断暗含意思的题。最后一段讲到he wasnt as rich as he could have been(他本应更富有些)。这是个虚拟语气,说明爱迪生没有挣到该挣的钱。作者表现出为爱迪生感到不平的态度。言外之意也认为爱迪
25、生在商业运作上不如发明创造那样成功。53. Edison became a famous inventor although _.A he failed in businessB he was not richC he lost control of the company he set upD he was not a good student in school答案:D释疑:该题部的是虽然爱迪生但他还是变成了一个伟大的发明家。这是个让步从句,在选答案时肯定要选和成为发明家相矛盾的前提。选项 (在学校学习时他学习并不好)是最合适的选择。选择其他答案,其结果都不合科逻辑。54. Electri
26、c companies were joined together because _.A their standards were differentB those companies wanted to be more competitiveC there was the need to unify electric standardsD Edison could not control his company答案:C释疑:根据文章中提到的This problem was solved in the 1880s when many of these companies joined toge
27、ther and organized a few large companies that mass-produced all electrical equipment according to the same standards, 答案是C。55. The following are inventions of Edisons except _.A electricity equipment B light bulbC record playerD motion picture答案:D释疑:文章中提到了爱迪生improved techniques used in the making of
28、 the first motion pictures(改进了拍摄第一部影片的设备),但不是发明了电影。其他几项都是他的发明,所以,答案是D。 Text 3 Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, summed up the four chief qualities of money some 2,000 years ago. It must be lasting and easy to recognize, to divide, and to carry about. In other words it must be, durable, distinct, div
29、isible and portable. When we think of money today, we picture it either as round, flat pieces of metal which we call coins, or as printed paper notes. But there are still parts of the world today where coins and notes are of no use. They will buy nothing, and a traveler might starve if he had none o
30、f the particular local money to exchange for food.Among isolated peoples, who are not often reached by traders from outside, commerce usually means barter. There is a direct exchange of goods. For this kind of simple trading, money is not needed, but there is often something that everyone wants and
31、everybody can use, such as salt to flavor food, shells for ornaments, or iron and copper to make into tools and vessels. These things-salt, shells or metals-are still used as money in out-of-the-way parts of the world today.Salt may seem rather a strange substance to use as money, but in countries w
32、here the food of the people is mainly vegetable, it is often an absolute necessity. Cakes of salt, stamped to show their value, were used as money in Tibet until recent times, and cakes of salt will still buy goods in Borneo and parts of Africa.Metal, valued by weight, preceded coins in many parts o
33、f the world. Iron, in lumps, bars or rings, is still used in many countries instead of money. It can either be exchanged for goods, or made into tools, weapons or ornaments. The early money of China, apart from shell, was of bronze, often in flat, round pieces with a hole in the middle, called cash.
34、 The earliest of these are between three thousand and four thousand years old-older than the earliest coins of the eastern Mediterranean.Nowadays, coins and notes have supplanted nearly all the more picturesque forms of money, and although in one or two of the more remote countries people still hoar
35、d it for future use on ceremonial occasions such as weddings and funerals, examples of primitive money will soon be found only in museums.Text 3译文 希腊哲学家亚里世多德在2000年前总结了货币的四个主要特点。它必须耐久、容易辨认、可以用整数除尽、容易携带。换句话说就是,耐用的、有明显区别的、能够用整数除尽的、便于携带的。我们想到货币时,我们想象它是圆的、平的金属片,我们称它为硬币,或者是印刷的纸币。但是今天世界上仍有一些地方硬币和纸币都没用。它们不能
36、买任何东西。一个旅行者如果没有特殊的当地“钱”换取食物,他可能会饿死。 在不和外界商人接触的隔绝国家,贸易通常是易货贸易。这儿有物物之间的直接交换。对于这种简单的贸易,钱是不需要的,但是总是存在一些人人想要的和人人能用的东西,比如,用于调味的盐、用于装饰的贝壳和用于做工具和器皿的铁和铜。这些东西,盐、贝壳和金属,今天仍在世界的偏远地区当作钱使用。盐作为钱大概看起来很奇怪,但是在食物以蔬菜为主的国家它完全是一个必需品。直到最近西藏还把用盐做成的蛋糕作为钱在西藏使用,这些蛋糕被压成不同大小来表示他们的价值。用盐做的蛋糕在婆罗州和非洲的部分地区仍可以买东西。由重量决定价值的金属先于世界上许多国家的硬
37、币产生。做成小方块的、棍状的、环状的铁仍在许多国家代替钱在使用。它可以换成货物,也可以做成工具、武器或装饰品。中国最早的钱除了贝壳就是铜,铜通常被做成中间有一个洞的平的圆片,称为“现钱”。这些最早的钱是在3000年到4000年前早于东地中海最早的钱币。如今,尽管在一两个比较偏远的国家有些人仍贮藏那些别致的钱用于以后的一些礼仪场合,比如,婚礼和葬礼,硬币和纸币还是取代了它们。原始货币会很快在博物馆中看到。 56. According to Aristotle money must _.A be easy to carryB be strong enough and last longC be a
38、ble to be divided without remainderD bear all the qualities above答案:D释疑:Aristotle讲钱应?quot;durable, distinct, divisible and portable:(耐用的、有明显区别的、能够用整数除尽的、便于携带的)。选项 AB和C都不全面。57. In some parts of the world _.A money cannot buy goodsB money is not needed for the exchange of goodsC money is used in barte
39、r termsD money is used to flavor food答案:B释疑:在世界有些地方人们采用易货贸易(以货换货,不需要货币),所以答案选择B 。58. In Tibet the value of salt money is determined by _.A the weight of the cake of saltB the size of the cake of saltC the value stamped on the cake of saltD the quality of the salt答案:B释疑:答案可以在第三段中找到。59. The early mone
40、y of China was _.A older than the earliest coins of the eastern MediterraneanB not as old as the earliest coins of the eastern MediterraneanC made of copperD made of iron答案:A释疑:答案可以在第四段中找到。60. The best title for the text would be _.A Early MoneyB MoneyC Coins and NotesD History of Money答案:B释疑:从文章总体看,它既讲到历史,也讲到现在。既讲到钱币,也讲到非钱币的货物交换。所在还是选择比较带有泛泛概念的Money作题目还是比较合适的。