职称考试英语阅读理解

一、Sleep is something we generally associate with living persons or animals. Of course,

it is true that a lot of animals sleep, but zoologists are not certain that primitive forms of animal life, like worms ever really sleep. On the other hand, animals such as bears sleep for 4 or 5 months every year.

The amount of sleep human beings need varies with people of different ages, habits and possibly races. For example, doctors think that pre-school children need between 10 and 12 hours a night; school children between 9 and 11 hours; and adults between 7and

9 hours. There are rare healthy. The sleep requirements of different races also appear

to be different. Japanese people, for example, sleep fewer hours than Europeans.

It is not known for certain if the activi ty of a man’s mind (besides dreaming) occurs when he is asleep. However, it is certainly true that some people can wake up at a pre-determined time. There are also stories about some math’s professors who solve difficult problems during sleep, because their subconscious minds continue working on the problem.

译文：我们一般把睡眠与活着的人和动物联系在一起。当然，许多动物都睡觉是事实，但是动物学家还不能确定原始种类的动物例如蠕虫是否真正的睡眠。而另一方面，像熊这样的动物每年睡4-5个月。

人类需要睡眠量随年龄、习惯，也许还有人种的不同而不同。例如，医生认为学前儿童一夜需要10-12小时的睡眠，学龄儿童需要9-11小时，成人需要7-9小时，很少有老人一天只睡2-3小时还能一直充满活力而又健康的这种事例。不同人种要求的睡眠量也似乎不同，例如日本人比欧洲人睡得少。

我们还不能确切地知道，当人类睡眠时（除了做梦之外），大脑是否会发生思维活动。然而，某些人能在一个预定的时间醒来是确凿的事实。也有一些关于某些数学教授的故事，他们在睡眠中解决难题，因为他们潜意识思维还在继续研究这个问题。

1.What is the passage mainly about? Sleep and the activity of a man’s mind during his

sleep.

2.According to zoologists, primitive forms of animal life. might not sleep.

3.What does the writer try to show in the second paragraph? The amount of sleep human

beings need varies with different people.

4.what is true about Europeans when talking about sleep? They sleep more than the

Japanese.

5.when a man is asleep, what is subconscious mind probably doing? It may still be working

二、the energy crisis has been with us for a long time and will be with us for an even longer time. Whether Arab oil floes freely or not, it is clear to everyone that world industry cannot be allowed to depend on so breakable a base. The supply of oil can be shut off unexpectedly at any time, and in any case, the oil wells will all run dry in thirty years or so at the present rate of use.

New sources of energy must be found, but it is not likely to result in any situation which will ever restore that sense of cheap and plentiful energy we have had in the times past.

To make the situation worse, there is as yet no sign that any slowing of the world’s population is in sight. Although the birthrate has dropped in some nations, including the United States, the population of the world seems sure to pass six billion as the twenty-first century opens.

Taking all this into account, what might we reasonably estimate supermarkets to be like in the year 2001?

To begin with, the world food supply is going to become steadily tighter over the next thirty years--even here in the United States. By 2001, the population of the United States will be at least two hundred fifty million, and the nation will find it difficult to expand food production to fill the additional mouths. This will be particularly true since energy shortage will make it difficult to continue agriculture in the high-energy American fashion that makes it possible to combine few farmers with high yields.

It seems almost certain that by 2001 the United States will no longer be a great food-exporting nation and that, if necessity forces exports, it will be at the price of belt-tightening at home.

In fact, as food items will tend to decline in quality and decrease in variety, people will have to accept more “unnatural food”.

译文：能源危机已经捆扰我们很长时间了，并且将来还会捆扰我们更长的时间。不管阿拉伯石油储藏丰富还是不丰富。每个人都明白不能听任世界工业依赖如此脆弱的基础。油的供应随时都会突然的中断，无论何时，以现在的耗油速率来看，油井将会在未来三十年左右枯竭。

必须找到新能源，在也不可能出现任何情形能恢复我们过去的那种感觉了：那就是我们所拥有的那种能源量大、价廉的感觉。情况更糟糕的是，至今还没有看到世界人口增长缓慢的任何迹象，尽管，包括美国在内的一些国家的人口出生率已经下降了。但是，当二十一世纪到来之时，世界人口似乎肯定要超过六十亿了。

考虑到所有这些情况时，我们可以适当估计以下2001年的超级市场会是个什么样子？

首先，在未来三十年内世界食品供应也会日趋紧张，甚至在美国也不例外。到2001年，美国人口至少是2亿5千万人，该国会发现很难扩大食品生产量来填包新增人口的肚子。尤其这一点将成为事实，因为能源短缺将会使得让少数农民获得高产的美国高能生产模式的农业维持下去很困难。几乎可以肯定到2001年为止，美国将不在是食品出口大国。如果强行出口，在国内价格上就要实行紧缩政策。

事实上，由于食品的质量将日趋下降和花样种类将日趋减少，人们将不得不接受更多的“非天然”食品。

1.what is the main idea of this passage? possible solutions to chemical pollution.

The major point discussed in the passage. The relationship between spelling and the content of a composition.

1.What is the passage mainly concer ned with? It is concerned with the world’s problems

like energy, population and food supply in the near future.

2.What is the present situation of the world’s population? The world’s population keeps

increasing fast.

3.why does the writer mention “supermarkets” in the passage? To demonstrate the

tightening relation between food supply and po,pulation increase.

4.what will happen if the U.S. has to export foods by 2001? The food supply will be more

serous and tight for its own people.

5.why must people eat more “unnatural food” in the future? Because the great demand

for better food cannot be supplied.

三、Television now plays such an important part in so many people’s lives that it is essential for us to try to decide whether it is a blessing or a curse. Obviously television has both advantages and disadvantages. But do the former outweigh the latter?

In the first place, television is not only a convenient source of entertainment source of entertainment, but also a cheaper to sit comfortably at home, with practically

unlimited entertainment available, than to go out in search of amusement elsewhere, there is no transport to arrange, they do not have to find or the ballet, only to discover, perhaps, that the show is a rotten one. All they have to do is to turn a knob, and the latest exciting football match. Some people, however, maintain that use his legs. He takes no initiative. He makes no choice and exercises on judgment. He is completely passive and has everything presented to him without any effort on his part.

Television, it is often said, keep one informed about current events, allows one to follow the latest developments in science and politics, and offers an endless series of programs which are brought right into one’s sitting-room. It could be argued that the radio performs this service just as well; but on television everything is much more living, much more real. Yet here again there is a danger. The television screen itself has a terrible, almost physical fascination for us. We get so used to looking at its movements, so dependent on its flickering pictures, that it begins to dominate our lives. A friend of mine told me the other day that his television set had broken down and that he and his family had suddenly found that they had far more time to do things, and that they had actually begun to talk to each other again. It makes one think, doesn’t it?

There are many other arguments for and against television. The poor quality of its program is often criticized. But it is undoubtedly g great comfort to many lonely elderly people. And dose it corrupt or instruct our children? I think we must realize that television in itself is neither good nor bad. It is the uses to which it is put that determine its value to society.

译文：现在电视在如此之多的人们生活中起如此重要的作用，以至于我们有必要决定一下它是一件幸事，还是祸事。显然电视既有优点又有缺点。但前者大于后者吗？

首先，电视不仅是一种方便的娱乐来源，而且也是比较便宜的一种娱乐来源。例如，对一个四口之家来说，舒适的坐在家中，几乎毫无限制的享受娱乐，比出去到别的地方寻找其他方式的娱乐活动更方便，更适宜。不必安排交通工具，不必找保姆。不必支付了戏院，电影院，歌剧院或芭蕾舞剧院的昂贵的票座而也许最终却发现这场表演是低劣的。他们所必须做的只是扭开旋钮，就能看到戏剧，电影，歌剧和各种表演，更不必说政治讨论和最新的令人激动的足球赛了。然而，某些人认为这恰是危险所在。看电视的人不需做任何事，甚至不用腿。他不主动，他不做选择不做判断，他完全被动，不做任何努力什么都能呈现在他面前。人们常说，电视，可连续向人们报道当前的事件，使人能关注最新的科学和政治动态，提供无限的有教育意义和激励作用的节目，可把最遥远的国家和最陌生的习俗径直带入人们的家中。可能有人争议说无线电广播也能提供这种服务，但通过电视每件东西都变的更生动，更真实。而这一点又存在着一种危险，电视屏幕本身对我们有强大的吸引力。我们变的如此习惯于电视的活动，如此依赖它的闪烁的画面，以至于电视开始支配我们的生活，我的一个朋友告诉我有一天他的电视机坏了，他和他的家人发现他们有那么多的时间做事，他们竟然有开始彼此交谈了。这难道不令人反思吗？

还有许多其他反对和赞成电视的争论，低质量的节目常常受到批评。但毫无疑问对许多孤独的老人来说电视是极大的安慰。那么它到底是腐蚀我们的孩子还是教育我们的孩子呢？我认为我们必须认识到电视本身既不好也不坏。正是我们对电视的使用决定着它对社会的价值。

1.what are the advantages of television mentioned by the writer? It is an inexpensive

form of entertainment, amuses people in the comfort of their own homes, keeps people well informed about current events and is a great comfort to many comely old people.

2.what does the writer imply in the second paragraph? Television is both useful and harmful

for the same reason.

3.what is the harm of television mentioned in the second and the third paragraph?

Television dominates people’s lives so greatly that people do nothing without their efforts.

4.what di d he and his family realize when the television set of the writer’s friend broke

down? They realized that they had much to do without the television.

5.what does the writer think of television on the whole? It is neither good nor bad in

itself, but has great value to the society.

四、Most teachers agree that the best way to learn a language is to immerse yourself in the environment and culture of that language. One way to do is to live wit your teacher during your course. The obvious advantage of home-stay is that, through the course, you only speak English and you do not meet other students who speak you native language. Also, total immersion in an English-speaking environment helps you avoid picking up common mistakes and ‘bad’ language habits from fellow learners.

For most students , however, it is the tailor-made teaching that home-stay provides which makes them decide to choose these courses. “people like home-stay because it allows them to concentrate on their own weakness. If you have a pronunciation problem, for example, you do n’t want to sit in a class with 20 other students discussing how to pronounce a particular word”.

At a more personal level, living with the teachers and their families can help you learn about British life and culture.

To make sure the environment is right for the individual, it is very important that each student be matched with the right host family. This is the job of home-stay organizations, which act as intermediaries between teachers and students through interviews and surveys.

The disadvantage to home-stay is, obviously, the cost. A two-week course, including full board and 15 hours of classes per week, will cost about $1000. and prices are higher when English for Special Purposes is needed. This means that home-stay programs are generally more popular with older students, particularly professionals. The average age is between 17 and 35, and most organizations specially make mature students the targets.

At present, home-stay programs do not come under any quality guarantee schemes. The British Council and other inspection groups expect that, by the end of 1995, home-stay program will have their own quality scheme. But ,a as yet, no methods of monitoring and inspection have been hundreds of teachers running course all over the country.

译文：大多数教师一致认为学习一门语言的最佳方法就是让你自己沉浸在该语言的环境和文化中。此举方法之一就是在学习过程中和老师住在一起。Homestay（在当地居民家居住）的明显优势就是在学习过程中你只说英语，不去接触说母语的其他同学，而且完全沉浸在说英语的氛围中，能帮你避免跟同学犯相同的错误，帮你避免从同学那染上不良习惯。

然而对大多数学生来说，Homestay所提供的就是这种能使他们决定选择这些课程的特制的教学方法。人们喜欢Honestay因为它允许他们专攻自己的弱点。例如，如果你有发音问题，你就不想坐在班里和其他20名同学讨论如何发音某个单词的。

就个人而言，和老师及其家人住在一起可帮助你了解英国的生活和文化。为了确保学习环境适合每个人，把每个同学和合适的主家配对是非常重要的。这就是Honestay 机构的工作，这些机构通过面视和和审查，充当教师和学生之间的中介人。

显然，Homestay的缺点就是费用高。两周的课程包括全部膳宿和每周十五个学时的上课将花费大约1000美元。当你需要专门用途的英语时，价格更高。这就意味着Homestay教育工程一般来说比较受大龄学生的欢迎，特别是专业人员。他们的平均年龄在17-35岁之间，而且大多数机构专门

把成熟的学生作为服务对象。

目前，Homestay 工程不受质量保证体制的约束。英国理事会和其它的检查团体预计：到1995年，Homestay 工程将会拥有自己的质量体系。但是，至今还没有商定出一致的监视和检查方法。这可能是比较大的后勤问题，因为许多该工程的执行单位让数百名老师在全国各地上课。

1.what is home stay program? Living with the teacher to learn English better.

2.if a person takes the home stay program? He will learn English better.

3.what does the author suggest? If students want to learn English better they should take

home stay program

4.in order to make sure of the quality of the programs, they must be inspected.

5.what is the main idea of the passage? How to learn English better.

五、We are not about to enter the information age, but instead are rather well into it. Present predictions are that by 1990, about thirty million jobs in the United State, or about thirty percent of the job market, will be computerized. In 1980, only twenty-one percent of all United States schools owned one or more computers for student use. And now educational experts, administrators, and even the general public are demanding that all students become ”computer literate”. And by the year of 2000 knowledge of computers will be necessary in over eighty percent of all occupations. Soon those people not educated in computer use will be compared to those who are print illiterate today.

What is computer literacy then? The term itself seems to imply some extent of “knowing about computers, but knowing what ? the current opinion seems to be that this should include a general knowledge of what computers are, plus a little of their history and something of how they operate.

Therefore, it is very important that educators everywhere take a careful look not only at what is being done, but also at what should be done in the field of computer education. Today, most adults are capable of utilizing a motor vehicle without the slightest knowledge of how the internal combustion engine works. We effectively use all types of electrical equipment without being able to tell their histories or to explain how they work. Business people for years have made good use of typewriters and adding machines, yet few have ever know how to repair them. Why, then, attempt to teach computer use by teaching how or why they work?

Rather, we first must concentrate on teaching the effective use of the computer as the tool is.

译文：我们并不是即将进入信息时代，相反，我们已经完全进入了信息时代。目前人们预测到1990年美国大约3千万个工作或大约30%的工作市场将要计算机化。1980年全美国只有21%的学校拥有一台或多台计算机供学生使用。现在教育专家、行政官员甚至全体民众都要求所有的学生精通计算机。到2000年，所有职业中80%多都需要计算机知识。不久那些没学会使用计算机的人就好比是今天的文盲。

那么什么又是“计算机通”呢？这个词似乎本身就意味着在某种程度上了解计算机，但是了解什么才算呢？现在的看法似乎是“计算机通”应该包括计算机到底是什么的一般知识在加上计算机的一些历史以及计算机操作的一些知识。

因此，各地的教育工作者不仅要仔细看看在计算机教育领域正做些什么，还要看看该领域应该做些什么，这一点非常重要。今天大多数成年人在一点都不懂内燃机的工作原理的情况下能使用汽车。我们也不能讲出电器的发展历史及其工作原理却能有效地使用它们。多年来，商人们充分利用打字机及其附机，然而几乎没有人知道如何修理它们。那么我们为什么试图通过教授计算机如何工作或为何工作这种方法来教授使用计算机呢？

相反，我们首先得着重教授有效地使用计算机如同它是工具一样。

1.what does “computer literate” mean? Knowing how to use a computer.

2.what should be done for educators in computer education? Teaching computer use to

students. / educators should teach students how to use computer.

3.what does the passage mainly deal with? The importance of Teaching computer use.

4.by the year of 2000, much fewer people will: become computer illiterate.

5.what does the last sentence of this passage imply? Teaching of computer use is the most

important.

六、 Industrial pollution is not only a problem for the countries of Europe and north America. It is an extremely serious problem in some developing countries. For these countries, economic growth is a very important goal. They want to attract new industries, and so they put few controls on industries which cause pollution.

Cubatao, an industrial town of 85000 people in brazil, is an example of the connection between industrial development and pollution. In 1954, cubatao had no industry. Today it has more than twenty large factories, which produce many pollutants. The people of the town are exposed to a large number of poisonous substances in their environment, and the consequences of this exposed can be clearly seen. Birth defects are extremely common. Among children and adults, lung problems are sometimes twelve times more common in cubatao than in other places.

It is true that brazil, like many other countries, has laws against pollution. It is clear, therefore that economic growth is more important to the government than to the health of the workers. However, the responsibility does not completely lie with the Brazilian government. The example of cubatao shows that international companies are not action in a responsible way either. A number to the factories in the town are owned by large companies from France, Italy, and the U.S.. they are of pollution at home, they would be severely punished or even put out of business.

译文：工业污染不仅对欧洲和北美洲国家来说是个问题，而且也是一些发展中国家极其严重的问题。对于这些国家来说，发展经济是非常重要的目标。他们想吸引新工业，所以他们几乎不控制早成污染的工业。

巴西的一个拥有85000人口的工业城镇Cubatao就是工业发展和污染相结合的例子。1954年，Cubatao根本没有什么工业。现在该城镇拥有20多个大工厂，这些工厂产生了许多污染物质。该镇的人们受到环境中大量有害物质的影响，这些影响的结果可清清楚楚地看到：出生缺陷极其普遍，Cubatao镇的儿童和成年人当中，肺部疾病比其他地区高12倍之多。

像许多其他国家一样巴西也有抵制污染的法律，这一点是事实，但是这些法律没有得到严格的执行。公司因忽视法律而交纳罚款比购买减少污染的昂贵设备要便宜得多，因此很清楚经济发展对政府来说比工人的健康更重要。不过，这个责任不能全部由巴西政府来承担。Cubatao这一事例表明跨国公司也表现得不负责任。该镇中的许多工厂是法国、意大利和美国的大公司的，他们正在做着在自己国内不能做的事情。如果他们在国内造成了同等程度的污染的话，他们就会受到严重的处罚甚至被逐出商界。

1.why don’t developing countries have strict pollution controls? If they put stricter

controls on industry, fewer companies would build new plants in their countries. 2.what is the author’s purpose in mentioning Cubatao? To show that industrial growth

can cause pollution problems for developing countries.

3.how is the health of the population of Cubatao? More people suffer from lung diseases

because of poisons substances.

4.why do some foreign companies like to set up their plant in Brazil? They will not be

severely punished if they cause pollution in Brazil.

5.how to reduce the pollution in Brazil? Laws should be strictly enforced and the

government should put strong controls on the industries which cause pollution. 七、 The long years of food shortage in this country have suddenly given way to apparent abundance. Stores and shops are choked with food. Rationing is virtually suspended, and overseas suppliers have been asked to hold back deliveries. Yet, instead of joy, there is wide-spread uneasiness and confusion. Why do food prices keep on rising, when there seems to be so much more food about? Is the abundance only temporary, or has it come to stay? Does it mean that we need to think less now about producing more food at home? No one knows what to expect.

The recent growth of export surpluses on the world food market has certainly been unexpectedly great, partly because a strange sequence of two successful grain harvests in North America is now being followed by a third. Most of Britain’s overseas suppliers of meat, too, are offering more this year and home production has also risen.

But the effect of all this on the food situation in this country has been made worse by a simultaneous rise in food prices, due chiefly to the gradual cutting down of government support for food. The shops are overstocked with food not only because there is more food available, but also because people, frightened by high prices, are buying less of it.

Moreover, the rise in domestic prices has come at a time when world prices have begun to fall. The imported food, with the exception of grain, is often cheaper than the home-produced variety. And now grain prices, too, are falling. Consumers are beginning to ask why they should not be enabled to benefit from this trend.

The significance of these developments is not lost on farmers. the older generation have seen it all happened before. Despite the present price and market guarantees, farmers fear they are about to be squeezed between cheap food imports and a shrinking home market. Presently, production is running at 51 percent above pre-war levels, and the government has called for an expansion to 60 percent by 1956; but repeated ministerial advice is carrying little weight and the expansion program is not working very well.

译文：我国长期的食品短缺已被明显的食品过剩突然取代。大大小小的商店都塞满了食品。定额供给实际上已经停止，已要求海外供应商停止供货。然而却出现了普遍的不安和混乱而不是欢喜。为什么似乎到处都有这么多食品而其价格却持续上涨呢？这种过剩只是暂时现象还是将成为永久性的？它是不是意味着我们需要对在国内生产更多食品这个问题少做些考虑，没有人知道结果会是什么样子。

近来世界食品市场出口过剩的增长速度出乎意料的快，部分原因是北美洲奇特地连续两次出现了粮食大丰收而现在又进跟着正在出现第三次大丰收。大多数英国海外肉类供应商也于今年提供更多的货物且国内生产也已增加。

但是食品价格的同时上涨使得上述因素对我国食品行情的影响更为严重了，食品价格同时上涨主要是因为政府正逐步减少对食品业的支持。商店里塞满了食品不仅是因为现有更多的食品，而且还因为人们恐于其高价而买得更少了。

再者，国内价格已涨到了世界价格开始下跌的时候了。进口食品，除粮食之外，常常比国内生产的品种要便宜，而且现在的世界粮食价格也在下跌。顾客开始质问为什么他们不能从这种趋势中获得好处呢？

对农民来说并没有失去这些发展的重要性。老一代人从前都目睹过此类事情的发生。尽管现在食品价格和食品市场得到保证，农民们还是害怕他们马上就会处在廉价的食品进口和疲软的国内市场的夹缝中。目前，生产总值已超出战前水平51%，政府已号召到1956年要超出60%，但政府的三令五申不起多大作用，食品扩展项目运行得不怎么好。

1.why is there “widespread uneasiness and confusion” about the food situation in Britain?

Food prices keep rising despite the abundance.

2.what is the main reason for the rise in food prices? The main reason is that the

government is providing less support for agriculture.

3.why didn’t different government expansion program work very well? Because the farmers

were uncertain about the benefits of expanding production.

4.the decrease in world food prices was a result of :the over-production on the part of

the main food-exporting countries.

5.what did the future look like for Britain’s food production at the time this article

was written? It looks depressing despite government guarantees.

八、In one year the world uses as much energy as that contained in 21 billion barrels of oil. And the amount of fuel needed is growing rapidly. The supplies of fossil fuels-coal, oil, and gas-are limited. They may not last for a century. Then what will take their place?

For the answer, let’s look to the shy. Each day the sun showers the world with several thousand times as much energy as man uses. Here, in a sense, energy is unlimited. The sun’s energy is free for the taking. If man could capture even a small part of the sun’s energy at low cost, no one would worry about running out of nonrenewable fuels.

If scientists succeed in making use of the power of the sun, this new energy will have many different uses. The sun’s energy can be used in your own house for heating and cooking.

Then the sun can also be used as a source of fuel for power plants. Solar energy can be used in telephone communication, in space travel, and in farming.

One of the practical problems in controlling solar energy is making it continuous. What can be done when the sun is not shining on the heating system? If you were using a solar pump for irrigation, the interruption would not matter, since plants do not need a continuous supply of water in the night time,. But suppose you were heating your house by solar energy. A number of experimental houses that are heated in this way use storage tanks to hold the heat for night time and rainy spells, or they must have supplementary heating supplied by ordinary fuels.

On ce the sun’s energy is captured, the supply of energy will be endless. No wonder those who look to the sky see there great changes in our future way of life.

译文：全世界一年使用的能量相当于210亿桶油所蕴含的能量。而且人类对燃料需求量越来越大。煤、油和天然气等化石燃料的供应量是有限的，他们可能不会再持续一个世纪了。那么什么会来取代他们呢？

为了这个答案，咱们留意一下天空吧。每天太阳供给的能量是人类使用的数千倍之多。从某种意义上说，这种能量是无限的。但太阳的能量是取之不尽的。如果人类能获得甚至一小部分廉价的太阳能的话，谁都不会为不可更新的化石燃料的用尽而担忧了。

如果科学家们能成功地利用太阳能的话，这种新能源将有多种不同的用途。太阳能可用在住宅里取暖和做饭。其次太阳能还可以用做发电站的燃料，太阳能可用与电话通信、太空旅行和农业活动中。

控制太阳能的一个实际问题就是使它延续不断。当阳光照不到供暖设施时该怎么办呢？如果你用太阳泵来进行灌溉，阳光中断没什么关系，因为庄稼在晚上不需要连续供水。但是假如你用太阳

能加热住宅呢？许多用这种方法加热的实验大楼使用储存灌储存热量以供晚间和阴雨没阳光时使用，或者他们必须有普通燃料来供应无阳光时的补充热能。

一旦我们取得了太阳能，该能量的供应将是无穷无尽的。那么那些留意天空的人们会在那里看到我们未来生活的巨大变化就不足为奇了。

1.what is this passage mainly about? The sun’s energy is unlimited and free for taking .

2.what will replace fossil fuels in the future? solar energy.

3.what problem may arise when solar energy is used to heat the house? During night time

and rainy spells, the sun is not available.

4.how can solar energy be stored for continuous use ? use storage tanks to hold energy.

5.what can be expected of our life in the future if the sun’s energy is widely used.

There will be a lot of great changes.

九、 In the early part of the eighteen hundred, the Americans made use of natural rubber for the first time. First they made overshoes to keep their feet dry. Then came a certain Mr. Mackintosh, who made coats of cloth covered with natural rubber. But these first rubber overshoes and raincoats were all soft and sticky in summer, and hard and un-elastic in the winter when it was cold. The rubber we have today is not sticky, but soft and elastic, though very strong---even in the warmest summer and the coldest winter, there would be no automobiles such as we have today without it. But at that time every attempt to make rubber hard and strong came to nothing. The early overshoes and raincoats were simply not good enough, and their makers went out of business.

Goodyear was living near some of these poor men and he got to work on this question of making rubber hard and strong. Once he started on this work, he was the sort of man who simply had to go on till he had overcome the trouble. First came the discovery that nitric acid made the rubber much better, and in a short time he was doing a small business in rubber shoes produced in this way.

Later, a friend of his dad the idea that rubber might be made hard and strong if mixed with sulphur and put in the sun. Goodyear put his idea to the test, and saw that it did have more or less the desired effect, but only on the outside of the rubber. It is common knowledge now that the way to make rubber hard and strong—to “vulcanize” it, as we say----is by heating it with sulphur. Goodyear spent another four years, in which things went very badly with him, before he made the discovery how to vulcanize rubber completely. When at last he did it, he had nothing left at all. Everything of the smallest value had been used to get money, even his children’s s chool-books.

Almost every discovery or invention had some sort of story behind it, though they are not all quite such unhappy stories.

译文：在十八世纪早期，美国人率先使用了天然橡胶。开始他们制作套鞋以保持他们的脚干燥。后来出现了叫Mackintosh的先生，他用外涂天然橡胶的布料做上衣。但这些早期的橡胶套鞋和雨衣在下季都变得又软又粘，而在冬天冷的时候又变得坚硬和缺乏弹性。我们今天所用的橡胶既不粘，又柔软而富有弹性，还非常结实。- 即使在最热的夏季和最冷的冬天也是这样。如果没有橡胶就不会有我们今天所有的汽车了。但是当时想使橡胶变得坚硬和结实的尝试都失败了。早期的套鞋和雨衣确实不够好，似的它们的制造商都停业了。

当时，Goodyear正住在一些这样的穷人附近，他开始着手研究使橡胶坚硬和结实的问题。一旦他开始工作，他就是那种必须坚持做下去直到解决问题的那种人。首先发现硝酸能使橡胶更好，在段时间内，他采用这种方式制作胶鞋做起了小生意。

后来，他的一个朋友认为如果橡胶混合硫磺并放在太阳底下晒，橡胶可能变的坚硬而结实。Goodyear把他的想法付诸于实验，并且发现他确实或多或少的达到了预期的效果，单只是在橡胶的外表。现在人们都知道使橡胶坚硬而结实的方法是通过掺入硫磺来加热，正如我们所说的使之硫化。Goodyear有花了四年的时间，在这四年中，在他发现如何完全硫化橡胶之前，他的情形很糟糕。当最后他成功时，他已没剩下任何东西。最不值钱的东西都用来换钱了，甚至连他孩子的课本也是这样。

几乎每一个发现或发明背后都有某种故事，尽管它们并不都是这样伤感的故事。

1.when and by whom was natural rubber made use of for the first time? It was made use

of for the first time in the early part of the eighteen hundreds by Americans.

2.what are the properties of the rubber we use today? It was not sticky, but soft and

elastic, though very strong – even in the warmest summer and the coldest winter. 3.what was the first discovery made by Goodyear? The first discovery made by Goodyear

was that nitric acid made the rubber much better.

4.how did things go with Goodyear in the four years before he at last found the way to

vulcanize rubber completely? In the last four years of his work things went very badly with him. Everything of the smallest value had been used to get money, even his children’s school-books.

5.does every discovery or invention have a story like Goodyear’s? yes, almost every

discovery or invention has some sort of story behind it, though they are not all quite such unhappy stories.

十、How often do you sit still and do absolutely nothing? The usual answer these days is “never”, or “hardly ever.” As the pace of life continues to increase, we are fast losing the art of relaxation. Once you are in the habit of rushing through life, being on eth go from morning till night, it is hard to slow down and unwind. But relaxation is essential for a healthy mind and body.

Stress is natural part of everyday life. There is no way to avoid it, since it takes many and varied forms----driving in traffic, problems with personal relationships, burning your finger, are all different forms of stress.

Stress, in fact, is not what it is often thought to be. A certain amount of stress is vital to provide motivation and give purpose to life. It is only when the stress gets out of control that it can lead to level performance and ill health.

The amount of stress a person can withstand depends very much on the individual. Some people thrive on stress, and such characters are obviously prime material for managerial responsibilities. Others crumple at the first signs of unusual difficulties.

When exposed to stress, in whatever form, we react both chemically and physically. In fact, we invoke the “flight of\ fight” mechanism which in more primitive days made the difference between life or death. The crises we meet today are unlikely to be so extreme, but however minimal the stress, it involves the same response. All the energy is directed to cope with the stress, with the result that other functions, such as digestion, are neglected.

It is when such a reaction is prolonged, through continued exposure to stress, that health becomes endangered. Such serious conditions as high blood pressure, heart disease all have established links with stress. The way stress affects a person also varies with the individual. Stress in some people produces stomach disorders, while others succumb to tension headaches.

Since we cannot remove stress from our lives(it would be unwise to do so even if

we could), we need to find ways to cope it .

译文：你多久才有一次是只坐着而什么也不干的时候？这个时代通常的回答是“从来没有”或“几乎没有”。由于生活的节奏逐渐加快，我们正快速失去休闲的艺术，一旦你在生活中养成忙碌的习惯，总是早出晚归，很难放慢节奏放松一下，但是休闲对身心对健康是极重要的。

压力是日常生活中自然的一部分。无法回避，因为它表现为许多不同的形式交通驾驶、人际关系、干了蠢事后吃苦头都是各种形式的压力。

事实上，压力并不象人们常认为的那样。一定程度的压力对于为生活提供动力和目的是必不可少的。只有当压力失去控制它才能导致并发的行为和病态。

一个人的所能承受的压力程度，极大地取决于自己的情况，有些人面对压力精力旺盛，这样的人物显然是适合责任管理的重要人才，而另一些人在异常的困难一出现时就崩溃了。

当受到压力时，无论是什么形式的压力，我们就会做出化学和物理两方面的反应。事实上，我们会做出逃走或面对的机械行为，而这种行为在原始时期就决定了生存与死亡。今天我们遇到的危机不可能是这样极端。但是无论压力多么小，它也包括同样的反应。所有的能量（精力）都直接用来对付压力。结果他的功能例如消化功能就被忽略。

就是只有当连续受到压力，这种反应延长时，健康就会受到危害。像高血压、心脏病这样严重情况都已确定与紧张有关。压力影响人的方式也因人而异。某些人的压力会导致胃功能紊乱，而另一些人死于紧张行头痛。

因为我们不能摆脱生活中的压力（即使能这样做也是不明智的）。我们需要找到妥善处理的方法。

1.why do many people find it hard to relax recently? They are suffering from the effects

of stress.

2.why do people under stress often have problem with their digestion. Their stomach

muscles are too tense.

3.stress can lead to ill health if you are exposed to it for too long.

4.what is the writer’s attitude to stress? It produces both positive and negative

effects.

5.how do you unde rstand the expression “flight or fight”? it may refer to the situation

in which you may avoid and escape from it or you may face up with it and fight against it.

十一、Young people tend to stay with their family longer these days as accommodation is expensive but, when they move away to a job or college, they rent a room in someone’s house. They can also get a bed-sitting room. They can share a rented flat or house with a group of young people. When young people get married or have a steady income, they often buy a house. They do this by taking out a mortgage with a building society or bank. They are the official owners and the mortgage is a financial loan for anything up to 100% of the value of the house, repayable over twenty to forty years. People can find it difficult to repay their mortgage, but at least they know that in the end the house will be theirs.

If people cannot afford to buy their own house, they can rent property from a private landlord. In city areas the problem has been made worse by the bad condition that a lot of council property is in. high-rise flats, for example, have developed structural faults.

Unfortunately, homelessness is an increasingly serious problem all over Britain. It affects all ages: single people, couples with children, even old-age pensioners. In 1984,8390 households, a term that covers families and single people, were officially listed as homeless. In one year, 170190 households applied to be put on the list, but thousands were turned down although they were probably living in overcrowded conditions or in housing that badly needed repairing and improving. 译文：最近大不列颠的年轻人与家人呆在一起的时间逐渐地延长了。因为膳食供应太贵了。但当他们离家去上学或工作时，他们会在某人的家里租一个房间。他们也能得到一间卧室兼起居室。他们还能和一群年轻人一起共同租用一间公寓或住宅。当年轻人结婚了或者有了稳定的收入，他们常常买房子，他们通过和建筑机构或银行一起做抵押来购买，他们是法定的业主，而抵押是相当房屋100%价值的任何东西所换取的金融贷款，在20年-30年内应偿还的。人们回发现很难赎回抵押，单至少他们知道最终房子将是他们的。

如果人们不能负担得起购买自己的房子的费用，他们也能从私有业主那里租。在市区，许多地方当局所营造的地产所处的糟糕的条件使得问题变得更坏。例如高层公寓已经产生了建筑缺陷。

不幸的是，无房居住是整个不列颠日益严重的问题，他影响了各个年龄层的人：单身的、有孩子的夫妇，甚至领养老金的老年人。在1984年，83190个家庭，指的是有家庭的和单身的，被官方列为无家者。一年中，170190家庭申请列入该名单，但数千个家庭被拒绝，尽管他们可能正住在过分拥挤的环境中或者住在需要修理和改造的房屋中。

1.what conditions are new blocks of council flats in? they are in bad state of repair.

2.what does the number of homeless people listed show? It shows a small proportion of

the people without a home.

3.what do young people these days often do in order to have a place to live in? they often

rent a room or share a house with a group of young people.

4.if one has a mortgage, what does the company he borrowed money from do to him ? it own

his house

5.why does the author think homelessness is an increasingly serious problem all over

Britain? The author thinks homelessness is an increasingly serious problem all over Britain because it affects all kinds people ,old and young, single or coupled.

十二、The time of day when you feel most energetic is when you cycle of body temperature-and-energy is at its peak. For some people the peak comes during the forenoon. For others it comes in the afternoon or evening. Much family quarreling ends when husbands and wives realize what these energy cycles mean, and which cycle each member of the family has.

You can’t change your energy cycle, but you can learn to make your life fit it better. Habit can help. Maybe you’re sleepy in the evening but feel you must stay up later any way. Counteract your cycle to some extent by habitually staying up later than you want to. If your energy is low in the morning but you have an important job to do early in the da y, rise before your usual hour. This won’t change your cycle, but you’ll get up steam and work better at your low point.

Get off to a slow start which saves your energy. Get up with a leisurely yawn and stretch. Sit on the edge of the bed a minute before putting your feet on the floor. Avoid the troublesome search for clean clothes by laying them out the night before. Whenever possible, do routine work in the afternoon and save tasks requiring more energy or concentration for your sharper hour.

译文：一天中当你觉得精力最旺盛的时候。对某些人来说高峰出现在上午，对另一些人来说出现在下午或晚上。当丈夫和妻子们认识到这些能量周期意味着什么，以及家庭里的每一个成员具有哪种周期时，许多争吵的家庭结束了争执。

你不能改变你的体能周期，但你能学会使你的生活更好得适应它。习惯能帮助你，也许到了晚上你就打瞌睡，但你又觉得无论如何你必须坚持到更晚一点，习惯上通过比你所想睡的时间再晚一点睡觉来调整你的周期到某种程度。

如果你的体能在早晨处于低谷，但那天早上你有重要的工作要做。在你平常起床的时间之前起

来。这不会改变你的周期，而你将积蓄精力并在你的低谷点工作的更好。

以一种能节省你的体能的起床方式开始。从容的打着呵欠，慢慢地伸着拦腰起床。在把脚放在地板上之前在床边坐一会儿。头天晚上就摆好干净的衣服以避免找衣服的麻烦。无论何时，只要有可能，在下午做日常的工作，而把需要更多精力和注意力的工作留在你精力旺盛的时候做。

1.what may lead to family quarrels according to the passage. It is unawareness of energy

cycle that may lead to family quarrels.

2.if one wants to work more efficiently at his low point in the morning, what should he

do then? One should get up earlier than usual if he wants to work more efficiently at his low point in the morning

3.why are you advised to rise with a yawn and stretch? Because it will help to keep your

energy for the day’s work.

4.what’s the main idea of the second paragraph? The main idea of the second paragraph

is that habit can help you make your life fit your energy cycle better.

5.what is one’s “sharp hour”? one’s “sharp hour” is one’s temperature-and-energy

peak.

十三、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. 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.

Among isolated peoples, who are not often reached by traders from outside, commerce usually means barter. There is a direct exchange of goods. Perhaps it is fish for vegetables, or meat for grain. For this kind of simple trading, money is not needed, but there is often something that everyone wants and 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 where the food of the people is mainly vegetable, it is often an absolute necessity. Cakes of salt were used as money in Tibet until recent times, and cakes of salt will still buy goods in Borneo and parts of Africa. Sea shells have been used as money at some time or another over the greater part of the Old World. Metal, values by weight, preceded coins in many parts of the world.

Nowadays, coin and notes have replaced nearly all the more picturesque forms of money , and although in one or two of the more remote countries people still store it for future use on ceremonial occasions such as weddings and funerals.

译文：大约2000多年前，希腊哲学家亚当士多德，总结了货币的四个主要特点。货币必须要耐用，易认，能划分和易携带。今天，我们想到货币时，或者把它描述成圆的，扁平的称为硬币的金属片或者是印刷的纸币。

在不常与外来的商人打交道的孤立的人群中，贸易通常只意味着物物交换。这是直接的货物交换。也许是用与换蔬菜，或者用肉换谷物。对这种简单的贸易来说不需要钱，但仍有一些东西是每个人都想要和每个人都能用的。例如调味的盐，装饰用的贝壳，制造工具和容器的铁和铜。今天这些东西- 盐、贝壳或金属在世界偏僻的地区依然用作货币。盐作为货币可能似乎是相当奇特的物质，但在人们的食物主要是蔬菜的国家，它常是一种绝对的必需品。直到近代，在西藏盐块才不用作货币，而在波尼欧和非洲的一些地区，盐块仍可买货物，在东半球更大的区域内，还时不时地把海贝壳当作货币来用。由重量决定其价值的金属，在世界的许多地区比硬币有优先权。

现在，硬币和钞票已取代了几乎所有的古老的货币形式。尽管，在一两个很遥远的国家人们仍然收藏它为了将来在诸如婚礼或葬礼仪式上使用。

1.what do we think of money is made of nowadays? The money nowadays is made of either

metal or paper.

2.where does barter usually take the place of money transactions? Barter usually takes

the place of money transactions where the people trading needs are fairly simple.

3.when are primitive types of money sometimes used nowadays? Primitive types of money

are used on occasions like wedding ceremonies and funerals.

4.what are the chief qualities of money summed up by Aristotle? The chief qualities of

money summed up by Aristotle are lasting, easy to recognize, to divide, and to carry about.

5.what has happened to the primitive nowadays? It has been nearly all replaced by coins

and notes.

十四、Even a century ago, the harmful effects of mercury were felt, though not recognized, in industrial work. At that time fur hats were in fashion, and mercury was used in the manufacturing process. When workers became sick and exhibited strange symptoms, they were described with a new expression: “mad as a hatter”. What one didn’t realize was that the illness was caused by the mercury.

In its natural form, mercury is not highly poisonous. It becomes deadly when various compounds are formed from the basic metal. They can cause tremors, brain damage, birth defects, and blindness.

What kinds of industries are still involved with the use of mercury? Industries that produce mildew-killers, and germ-proofing sprays. Mercury is also used in the production of paints, electrical fixtures and certain drugs. It is used in the production of some plastic products. Industries that manufacture dry cell batteries and devices like thermometers and pressure gauges also use mercury.

The safety of industrial workers is one cause for immediate concern. The safety of the general public is another concern. Industries have dumped literally millions of pounds of wastes, including mercury, into the waterways. Mercury-contaminated fish is one of the results of this. People who have eaten such fish have been poisoned by the mercury, and have died.

译文：即使一个世纪以前，尽管还没有确认，人们已经意识到在工业化生产中汞的危害了。那时，正流行毛皮帽子，在生产过程中以使用了汞。工人开始生病并表现出奇怪的症状，用一个新的词来描述他们就是“像制帽者一样疯狂”。人们没有认识到病是由汞引起的。

天然状态的汞并不是十分有害的，当原始的金属形成各种化合物时，它就变成致命的物质了。这些化合物能引起战栗，损害大脑，造成畸形儿和致盲。

哪种工业仍然要用到汞呢？生产除霉剂和防菌喷剂的工业。油漆，电器设备以及某些药品的生产也用到汞。汞用于生产某些塑料制品，生产干电池和诸如温度计和压力计的设备的工业也用到汞。

工人的安全是需要立刻关注的一件事情，另一件事要关心普通公众的安全。工业上至少把数百万吨的包括汞在内的废物倾到了水域。汞污染的鱼就是这种结果之一。吃到这种鱼的人已经受到汞的毒害，导致了死亡。

1.when did the expression “mad as a hatter” arise? The expression “made as a hatter”

arose when the workers felt sick in manufacturing fur hats a century ago.

2.when is mercury poisonous? It is poisonous when the basic metal forms various compounds.

3.what harmful effects can mercury compounds bring about? Mercury compounds can bring

about blindness, brain damage, tremors, birth defects.

4.what is the main idea of the third paragraph? The main idea of the third paragraph is

that mercury used widely in the industries.

5.what is the main idea of the fourth paragraph? The main idea of the fourth paragraph

is that the safety of people should be concerned right now.

十五、Large companies need a way to reach the savings of the public at large. The same problem, on a smaller scale, faces practically every company trying to develop new products new create new jobs. Banks may agree to provide short-term projects. So companies turn to the public, inviting people to lend them money, or take a shore in the business in exchange for a share in future profits. This they do by issuing stocks and shares in the business through The Stock Exchange. By doing so they can put into circulation the savings of individuals and institutions, both at home and overseas.

When the saver needs his money back, he does not have to go to the company with whom he originally placed it. Instead, he sells his shares through a stockbroker to some other saver who is seeking to invest his money.

Many of the services needed both by industry and by each of us are provided by the Government or by local authorities. Without hospitals, roads, electricity, telephones, railways, this country could not function. All these require continuous spending on new equipment and new development if they are to serve us properly, requiring more money than is raised through taxes alone. The Government, local authorities, and nationalized industries therefore frequently needed to borrow money to finance major capital spending, and they, too, come to The Stock Exchange.

译文：大公司需要一种能得到公众的存款的方式，每一个试图开发新产品和创造新的工作的公司在某种程度上都面临同样的问题，银行愿意提供短期借款，他们一般不愿意为一个长期的工程项目提供固定的资金。所以公司把注意力转向公众，邀请人们借给他们钱，或购买企业的股份来换取将来的股利。这些公司是通过证券交易所来发行股票和证券的。这样做他们能使个人和公共机构的存款在国内外流通起来。

当储户需要用钱时，他不必去最初他所投资的公司，他只需通过证券商把他的股票卖给正寻找投资的储户。

政府或地方当局要提供许多工业及我们每一个人都需要的服务设施。没有医院、公路、电力、电话、铁路，国家就不能运行。要让他们尽可能地为我们提供服务。就要不断地对新的设备和新的研究进行投资。而且他们所需要的钱比只通过税收筹集的钱要多。因此，政府，地方当局和国有工业企业为了筹措大额建设资金会频繁地借钱，他们也要去证券交易所。

1.what must almost all companies involved in new production and development depend on

according to the passage? They must depend on the population as a whole for finance.

2.how is the money which enables these companies to go ahead with their projects raised?

It is raised by the selling of shares in the companies.

3.what do the savers do when they want their money back? They sell their shares in the

company back on the market.

4.in what conditions are all the essential services on which we depend? They are in

constant need of financial support.

5.why do companies invite people to lend money to them or take a share in the business?

Because banks are generally unwilling to provide money on a permanent basic for long term projects.

十六、If you live in a large city, you are quite familiar with some of the problems of noise, but, because of some of its harmful effects, you may not be aware of the effects

of noise on human behavior, and concepts such as “nose pollution” have arisen.

Exposure to loud noises can definitely produce a partial or complete loss of hearing, depending on the intensity, duration, and frequency composition of the noise. Many jobs present noise hazards, such as working in factories and around jet aircraft, driving farm tractors, and working (or sitting) in music halls where rock bands are playing. In general, continuous exposure to sounds of over 80 decibels can be considered. If exposure is for a sufficient period of time, it may produce significant hearing loss.

Noise can have unexpected harmful effects on performance of certain kinds of tasks, for instance, if one is performing a watch keeping task that requires vigilance, in which he is responsible for detecting weak signals of some kind.

Communicating with other people is unfavorably affected by noise. If you have ridden in the near of a jet transport, you may have noticed that it was difficult to carry on a conversation at first, and that, eventually, you adjusted the loudness of your speech to compensate for the effect. The problem is noise.

译文：如果你住在一个大城市，你会对某些噪音问题很熟悉，但是因为他的有害影响，你可能没认识到它对人行为影响的程度。最近几年，人们已经对噪音对人行为的影响产生了极大的兴趣，出现了诸如“噪音污染”这样的概念。

强噪音确实能使听力部分或全部丧失，这取决于噪音的强度、时间和频率的综合情况。许多工作存在噪音危险，例如，在工厂中或喷气式飞机周围工作，驾驶农用拖拉机，以及在正在演奏摇滚音乐的音乐厅工作（或坐着）。一般说来，认为持续暴露在超过80分贝的声音环境下是危险的，如果暴露足够长的时间就会导致极大的听力丧失。

噪音会对某些任务产生意想不到的有害影响，例如，如果一个人正在执行需要高度警惕的监视任务，在执行过程中，他要负责捕捉某种微弱的信号。

噪音会对与其他人通话造成不良影响。如果你坐在喷气式飞机的尾部，首先你会发现很难进行对话，最后，你要调节你说话的音量来补偿受到的影响，问题就是噪音。

1.what is the purpose of the passage? The purpose of the passage is to define the effects

of noise on human behavior.

2.what jobs can bring noise problems? Many jobs such as working in factories and around

jet aircraft, driving farm tractors, and working in music halls where rock bands are playing can bring noise problems.

3.why is it difficult to carry on a conversation in the rear of a jet transport at first.

Because it is very noisy there.

4.where are there generally more problems of noise? There generally more problem of noise

in large cities.

5.what is noise pollution? Noise pollution is the harmful influence on human behavior. 十七、In spite of the strong opposition to new and stricter environmental laws, however, it is still possible to attack to problem of chemical pollution; but we must attack it from three directions. First, we need more independent research into the effects of chemicals by scientists who are not paid by the government or by large industrial companies. Second, scientists need to educate the general public and inform them about the dangers of chemicals in the environment. If the public knows that a certain chemical threatens the health of their children, then it will put pressure on politicians in local and national governments. If the politicians want to remain in office, they will take action to correct the situation. Third, economists need to educate governments about the long-term economic costs of chemicals. It will be extremely expensive to clean areas of

land which are contaminated by chemicals; it will be even more costly to give medical treatment to people who are suffering from serious illnesses after exposure to dangerous chemicals. If governments realize this, the short-term economic benefits of chemicals will seem much less attractive to them.

If we can put pressure on governments in these three ways, perhaps they will begin to behave more responsibly. They will perhaps pass new laws against pollution and enforce them strictly. Perhaps, then, the chemical producers will begin to behave more responsibly.

译文：尽管新发布的更为严格的环境保护法遭到了强烈的反对，然而，仍然有可能解决化学污染的问题。但我们必须从以下三方面着手：

首先，我们需要不是由国家或大的工业公司支付工资的科学家们对化学制品的影响进行更为独立的研究。第二。科学家必须教育全体民众并且告诉他们自身环境中化学制品的危害。如果民众知道某种化学制品威胁着他们孩子的健康，那么民众就会向地方政府官员和国家政府官员施加压力。如果这些官员想保留官职，他们就会采取行动来改变这种情形。第三，经济学家有必要教育政府有关化学制品的长期的经济耗费。清洁被化学制品污染了的区域的费用是非常昂贵的，治疗因接触有害的化学制品而患上严重疾病的人需要花更多的钱。如果政府认识到这一点，化学制品的短期经济效益对他们的吸引力似乎就会小的多了。

如果我们能从这三个方面对政府施加压力，也许他们回开始表现更有责任感。他们也许会颁发新的抗污染法并严格执行这些法律。那么，也许化学制品生产商也会开始表现得更有责任心了。 Q: what is the main idea of this passage? Possible solutions to chemical pollution. 十八、There is a popular belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in spelling. No school I have taught in has ever ignored spelling or considered it unimportant as a basic skill. There are, however, vastly different ideas about how to teach it, or how much priority it must be given over general language development and writing ability. The problem is , how to encourage a child to express himself freely and confidently in writing without holding him back with the complexities of spelling? If spelling becomes the only focal point of his teacher’s interest, clearly a bright child will be likely to “pl ay safe”. He will tend to write only words within his spelling range, choosing to avoid adventurous language. That's why teachers often encourage the early use of dictionaries and pay attention to content rather than technical ability.

I was once shocked to read on the bottom of a sensitive piece of writing about a personal experience: “this work is terrible! There are far too many spelling errors and your writing is illegible.” It may have been a sharp criticism of the pupil’s technical abilities in writing, but it was also a sad reflection on the teacher who had omitted to read the essay, which contained some beautiful expressions of the child’s deep feelings. The teacher was not wrong to draw attention to the errors, but if his priorities had centered on the child’s ideas, an expression of his disappointment with the presentation would have given the pupil more motivation to seek improvement.

译文：家长们之中有一个普通的看法，那就是学校不在注重拼写了。我所任教过的学校没有一个曾忽视过拼写或认为作为一种基本技能拼写不重要。然而，在如何教拼写或拼写应在全面的语言发展和写作能力之间占多大的优先权上还存在着极大的分歧。问题是怎样鼓励孩子在写作中自由并自信的表达自己的感情而又不会因复杂的拼写阻止他前进。

如果拼写是老师兴趣的唯一焦点的话，显然，聪明的孩子可能会求稳。他会着重写他会拼写范围内的词宁愿避免冒险的语言。这就是老师常常鼓励学生早用字典并注重内容而不是技能的原因。

当我看到一篇有关个人伤心经历的文章下边有这样一条批语时非常震惊：“这篇文章太糟糕了，有太多的拼写错误，字迹难以辨认。”这可能是对学生的写作技能的尖锐批评，但他也遗憾地反映出老师忽略了阅读文章，该文章优美地表达了孩子深厚的感情。老师注意错误并不为过。但是如果他优先考虑孩子的思想，这种描述失望的批语可能会给学生寻求提高提供更多的动力。

Q: the major point discussed in the passage is___. A: the relationship between spelling and the content of a composition.

十九、If you are interested in buying a pair of contact lenses, be prepared to pay $200 or more. Generally there are three main reasons why people want contact lenses. You may need them because the cornea of your eye is misshaped and ordinary glasses are not satisfactory. If so, you’ll be in the group that comprises 1 to 2 percent of contact lens wearers. You may want them for a sport or a vocation. Perhaps you’re a baseball player, a boxer, a swimmer, an aviator, an actor. If you get your contact lenses for one of these reasons, you are in the same group with about 20 percent of the users. But if for some reason you feel that glasses are handicapping your appearance and you’d rather have invisible glasses, you’ll have lots of company. About 79 percent of lens users hope to improve their looks.

译文：如果你要买一付隐形眼镜，那就准备支付200美元或200多美元。总的来说人们想要隐形眼镜的原因主要有三点：1.可能是因为你的眼角膜变形，普通眼镜不能令你满意，你才需要配戴隐形眼镜的。如果是这样的话，你属隐形眼镜配戴者中1-2%的群体。2.你也可能是因为运动或度假而戴隐形眼镜；也许你是一位棒球运动员、拳击手、游泳能手、飞行员和演员。如果是由于上述任何一个原因你配戴了隐形眼镜，你就属于20%那一类的群体。3.但如果是由于某种原因你觉得玻璃眼镜防碍你的外貌，你宁愿要一付看不见的眼镜，那么你会有许多同伴，79%的隐形眼镜配戴者希望外表更美观一些。

Q: the majority of contact lens wearers seem to feel that___. A: contact lenses are more attractive than glasses / contact lenses can improve their looks.

二十、When a consumer finds that an item she or he bought is faulty or in some other way does not live up to the manutacturer’s claim for it, the first step is to present the warranty, or any other records which might help, at the store of purchase. In most cases, this action will produce results. However, if it does not, there are various means the consumer may use to gain satisfaction.

A simple and common method used by many consumers is to complain directly to the store manager. In general, the “higher up” the consumer takes hi s or her complaint, the faster he or she can expect it to settled. In such a case, it is usually settled into the consumer’s favor, assuming he or she has a just claim.

Consumers should complain in person whenever possible, but if they cannot get to the place of purchase, it is acceptable to phone or write the complaint in a letter.

Complaining is usually most effective when it is done politely but firmly, and especially when the consumer can demonstrate what is wrong with the item in question. If this cannot be done, the consumer will succeed best by presenting specific information as to what is wrong, rather than by making general statements. For example, “the left speaker does not work at all and the sound coming out of the right one is unclear” is better than “this stereo does not work.”

The store manager may advise the consumer to writ to the manufacturer. If so, the consumer should do this, stating the complaint as politely and as firmly as possible. But if a polite complaint does not achieve the desired result, the consumer can go a step further. She or he can threaten to take the seller to court or report the seller to a private or public

organization responsible for protecting consumer’s rights.

译文：当顾客发现他或她购买的商品有缺陷或在某些方面与厂商的承诺不符，第一步就是向购买该商品的商店呈送保单或任何其他可以帮助你的记录。在多数情况下，这种作法会产生结果。不过，如果无效的话，还有一些手段，顾客可用来得到满意的答复。

许多顾客所用的简单而常见的方法是直接想商店经理投诉。一般来说，顾客所投诉的经理级别越高，所希望解决的事情解决速度就越快。在这种情况下，假如他的要求是合理的，事情的解决对顾客是有利的。

只要有可能，顾客应亲自投诉。如果他们不能到达原购货地点，也可以打电话或写信投诉。

坚定而有礼貌的投诉通常是最有效的，尤其是当消费这能够证明有关物品存在的具体问题时。如果不能进行这种投诉，顾客可以通过提供具体毛病的情况，而不是做大概的陈述，也能达到目的。例如：“左扬声器完全没有声音，右边发出的声音也不清楚”要比“这个录音机坏了”要好些。

商店经理可能建议消费者给厂商写信。如果遇到这种情况，消费者应该这样做，尽可能彬彬有礼而态度坚决地投诉。但如果礼貌的投诉不能获得预期的结果，消费者可以采取进一步行动。他或她可威胁卖主把他带到法庭或向保护消费者权益的私人机关或官方机构告发卖主。

Q: What is the most effective way to make complaint? The most effective way to make complaint is to explain exactly what is wrong with the items.

二十一、When, in 1641, king kristian of Denmark and Norway built the town of Kristiansand in his own honor, he had to bribe people to move there by giving them tax exemptions. He picked a choice spot for his new city, a piece of land within a mountain-sheltered bay on Norway’s southern coast. He built streets that were wide for their time, laid out blocks of row houses in a grid pattern, and provided every home with a garden, safe from public view and the noise of the street. Indeed, some of his ideas—starting with the one of putting a town where there was not any before—are being applied in Europe today.

译文：1641年，当丹麦和挪威的国王Kristan以自己的名义建立Kristiansand城镇时。他不得不通过免税诱惑人们搬迁过去。他慎重地选择新城址，就是位于挪威南海岸由山脉庇护的海湾里的一片陆地。他设计的街道是当时最宽阔的，成排的房屋都布局在方块街区内，并为设计区的每一家房屋都建了一个花园，避开行人的视线和街道的噪杂声。实际上，他的某些思想-一开始把一个城镇建在以前从未有过任何城镇的地今天仍在欧洲延用。

Q: some of King Kristian’s idea are being applied in Europe today. What does this imply? He was far-sighted and had an inventive mind.

二十二、The invention of light bulb by Thomas A. Edison in 1879 created a demand for a cheap, readily available fuel with which to generate large amounts of electric power. Cola seemed to fit the bill, and it fueled the earliest power stations. Since the First World War, coal-fired power pants have accounted for about half of the electricity produced in the United States each year, in 1986 such plants had a combined generating capacity of 289,000 megawatts and consumed 83 percent of the nearly 9000 million tons of coal mined in the country that year. Given the uncertainty in the future growth of nuclear power and in the supply of oil and natural gas, coal-fired power plants could well provide up to 70 percent of the electric power in the United States by the end of the century.

译文：1879年，托马斯。爱迪生对灯泡的发明产生了对一种价廉的而且容易得到的燃料的需求，用这种燃料来产生大量的电力。煤炭似乎能解决这个问题。他为最早的电厂提供了燃料，自从第一次世界大战以来，燃煤发电厂发的电大约占美国每年所产电量的一半。1986年这些工厂的发电量总和是289000兆瓦并消耗了当年国内开采的将近90亿吨煤的83%。假如将来核电力增长不稳定，以及石油和天然气供应不稳定，到本世纪末，燃煤发电厂将完全能够提供美国70%的电能。

Q: according to the passage, why did coal become the principal source of electricity in the united stats. Because it was comparatively plentiful and cheap.

二十三、Figures released by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare tell one of the most dramatic stories in the history of medicine. In the past ten years the reported cases of polio in the United States has been cut by 93 percent. One of the most dreaded diseases has been brought under control by a single vaccination.

译文：卫生部、教育部和福利部发表的数字报道了医学史上一个最激动人心的消息，在过去十年中，美国报道的小儿麻痹症病例已减少了93%，最令人恐惧的一种病症以被简单的疫苗注射控制住了

Q: what does the author refer to by “vaccination”? the word vaccination refers to the protection against a disease by vaccine injections.

二十四、There was quite a wide-spread concern that computers would take over the world from man one day. We are faced with a less dramatic but also less foreseen problem. People tend to be over-trusting of computers and are reluctant to challenge their authority. Indeed, they behave as if they were hardly aware that wrong buttons may be pushed, or that a computer may simply malfunction. People should rely on their own internal computers and check the machine when they have the feeling that something has gone wrong.

Questioning and routine double-checks must continue to be as much a part of good business as they were in pre-computer days. Maybe each computer should come with the warning; for all the help this computer may provide, it should not be seen as a substitute for fundamental thinking and reasoning skills.

译文：人们普遍关注的是，总有一天计算机会从人类手中接管这个世界。我们面临着一个既不乐观也不可预知的问题。人们渐渐的过分依赖计算机并不愿向它们的权威挑战。的确，他们表现得好象他们几乎不知道人们会按错键或者计算机本身也会出故障。人们应该依靠自己的“内部计算机”，并且在他们觉得机器出故障时应该检查机器。

探询与常规性的双重检查和先前计算机时代一样，仍然是景气商业的一部分。或许每一台计算机都应携带着警告：尽管这台计算机为提供各种帮助作准备，但是他不应该被看成是基本思维和推理技能的取代物。

Q: it can be inferred from the passage that the author world disapprove of . complete dependence on computer for decision-making.

二十五、It remains to be seen whether the reserves of raw materials would be sufficient to supply a world economy which would have grown by 500 per cent. If the underdeveloped countries started using up petrol at the same rate as the industrialized areas, then world reserves would already be exhausted by 1985.

All this only goes to show just how important it is to set up a plan to conserve and divide up fairly natural resources on a world-wide scale

This is a matter of life and death because world population is exploding at an incredible rate. In the southern poor parts of the globe, the figures are enough to make your hair stand on end.]

By the year 2000, the southern parts of the world would then have a population greater than the total world population today. So we should start acting right now to bring births under control within fifteen years so that population levels off.

译文：我们仍能看出原材料的储备是否足以能供给已增长了百分之五百的世界经济。如果不发达国家也开始以和工业发达的地区同样的速度使用石油的话，那么到1985年，世界储备原料就已经耗光了。

所有这些只是表明制定一个世界规模的保护及合理使用自然资源的计划是多么的重要。

这是生死攸关的问题，因为世界人口正在以难以置信的速度巨增着。在世界南部的贫困地区，人口增长的数字足以让你毛骨悚然。

那么到2000年，世界南部地区的人口数要比今天全世界总人口数还要多。所以我们应该马上采取措施，在十五年内控制人口出生率，以便使人口增长速度稳定下来。

Q: what is the purpo98se of the author in writing this passage? To urge people to start taking action right away.

二十六、Security and commodity exchanges are trading posts where people meet who wish to buy or sell. The exchanges themselves do no trading, they merely provide a place where buyers and sellers can meet and conduct their business.

Wall Street, although the best known, is not the only home of exchanges in the United States. There are the cotton exchanges in New Orleans and Chicago; and grain exchanges, like the Chicago Board of Trade, provide market services for several kinds of products. These trading posts where products may be bought or sold are called commodity exchanges.

The security exchanges, on the other hand, are meeting places where stocks and bonds are traded. Like the commodity exchanges. They help serve the economic life of the country. But when their operations get out of hand, they may become very dangerous. In 1929, the security exchanges, or stock market, contributed to a crash a sudden, sharp decline in the value of securities. Many people lost fortunes; many corporations were bankrupted; many workers lost their jobs. The Crash of 1929 has been attributed to many causes, among them wild and unwise speculation by many people and dishonest practices on the part of some businessmen and of some members of the exchanges.

Today, however, investing through security exchanges and trading on commodity exchanges has been made safer by regulations set up by the exchanges themselves and by regulations of the United States government. Commodity Exchanges Commission operates through the Department of Agriculture; the Securities and Exchange Commission protect investors and the public against dishonest.

1.what is the passage mainly about? The passage is mainly about commodity and security

exchanges.

2.why do people meet at the commodity exchange? People meet at the commodity to buy and

sell goods.

3.what are commodity called? The commodity exchange are called the trading posts where

products may be bough or sold.

4.what happened to the stock market in 1929? A sudden, sharp decline in the value of

securities happened to the stock market.

5.what might be the case of the crash of 1929? The crash of 1929 might result from wild

and unwise speculation and dishonest practices.

6.why was not it so safe to invest in exchanges in the past? Because there were no

regulations.

7.what do you learn from the last paragraph? Inverting through security exchanges and

trading on commodity exchanges has been made safer by regulations.

二十七、In many businesses, computers have largely replaced paperwork, because they are fast, flexible and do not make mistakes and they are honest. Many banks advertise that their transactions are “untouched by human hands” and therefore safe from human temptation. But they also have no conscience, and the growing number of computer crimes shows they can be used to steal money from.

Even if they are caught, it is hard to punish them because there are no witnesses and often on evidence. The head teller at a New York City bank used a computer to steal more than one and a half billion dollars in just four years. No one noticed this theft because he moved the money from one account to another. This man was caught only when the police broke up an illegal gambling operation, his name was in the records.

Some employees use the computer’s power to get revenge on employers they consider unfair. Recently a large insurance company fired its computer-tape librarian for reasons that involved her personal rather than her professional life. She was given thirty days notice. In those thirty days, she erased all the company’s computerized records.

Most computer criminals have been minor employees. As one official says, “I have the feeling that there is more crime out there than we are catching. What we are seeing now is all so poorly done, I wonder what the real experts are doing—the ones who really know how a computer works”.

1.what is the main idea of the passage? The main idea of the passage is about computer crimes.

2.why are transaction is many banks claimed to be safe? Transaction.. because they are untouched by human hands

3.how did the bank teller cover up his crime? The bank teller cover up his crime by claiming

a computer error or moving money from on account to another.

4.why is it hard to punish computer criminals? It is hard to punish computer criminals because there are no witnesses and often no evidence.

5.what must the librarian do thirty days after she received the notice? She must leave her job.

6.what did she do during her thirty days notice? She erased all the company’s computerized records.

7.according to the last paragraph, what kind of criminal are the police unable to catch. Compute experts.

8.what are the advantages and disadvant ages of the computer use in the businesses mentioned here? The advantages are that computers are fast, flexible and do not make mistakes and they are hones. The disadvantages are that computers have no conscience, they can used to steal money from by many computer criminals. It is hard to punish the criminals because there are no witnesses and no evidence.

二十八、The agricultural revolution in the nineteen century involved two things: the invention of labor-saving machinery and the development of scientific agriculture. Labor-saving machinery naturally appea red first where labor was scarce. “in Europe,” said Thomas Jefferson, “the object is to make the most of their land, labor being abundant; here it is to make the most of our labor, land being abundant. “it was in the united states, therefore, that the great advances in nineteenth-century agricultural machinery first came.

At the opening of the nineteenth century, with the exception of a crude plow, farmers could have carried practically all of the existing agricultural implements on their backs; by 1860, most of the machinery in use today had been designed in an early form. The most important of the early inventions was the iron plow. As early as 1790 Charles Newbold of New Jersay had been working on the idea of cast-iron plow and spent his entire fortune in introducing his invention. The farmers, however, were not interested in it , claiming

that the iron poisoned the soil and make the weeds grow. Nevertheless, many people devoted their attention to the plow, until in 1898 James Oliver of south bend, Indiana, turned out the first chilled-steel plow

1.what are the two things that the agricultural revolution in the nineteenth century

involved? They are the invention of labor-saving machinery and the development of scientific agriculture.

2.in the United States, the great advances in nineteenth-century agricultural machinery

first came because land was abundant and labor was scarce.

3.at the opening of the nineteenth century, the agricultural tools were so simple that

farmers could have carried practically all the agriculture implements on their backs except the of a crude plow.

4.why weren’t the farmers interested in cast-iron plow? The farmers weren’t interested

in cast-iron plow because they were afraid that the iron would poison the soil and make weeds grow.

5.what was invented in 1898? The first chilled-steel plow.

6.what does the phrase “make the most of …” in the first paragraph mean? It mean “make

full use of their land an their labor”.

7.what was the most important of the early inventions? The iron plow was the most important

of the early inventions.

二十九、Increasingly, over the past ten years, people—especially young people—have become aware of the need to change their eating habits, because much of the food they eat, particularly processed feeds, is not good for the health, consequently, there has been a growing interest in natural foods—foods which do not contain chemical additives and which have not been affected by chemical fertilizers.

Natural foods are vegetables, fruit and grain which have been grown in soil that is rich in organic matter. In simple terms, this means that the soil has been nourished by unused vegetable matter, which provides it with essential vitamins and minerals.

Natural foods also include animals which have been allowed to feed and move freely in healthy pastures. There are animal farms where thousands of chickens live crowded together in one building and are fed on food. Chickens kept in this way produce eggs which lack important vitamins.

There are other aspects of healthy eating which are now receiving increasing attention from experts on diet. Take, for example, the question of sugar. This is actually a non-essential food! Although a natural alternative, such as honey, can be used to sweeten food if this is necessary, we can in fact do without it. It is not that sugar is harmful in itself, but it does seem to be additive. There are no vitamins in it , no minerals and no fiber.

It is significant that nowadays fiber is considered to be an important part of a healthy diet. In white bread the fiber has been removed. Hence, modern experts on “healthy eating “ place the emphasis on the eating of whole meal bread and more vegetables.

1.why have people become more interested in natural foods? Because they no longer like

processed food .或原文.

2.what does soil that is rich in organic matter contain? It contain unused vegetable

matter which provides it with essential vitamins and minerals.

3.what can we get from natural foods? We can get more vitamins and minerals from natural

foods.

4.according to the author, what is harmful to the health? The use of chemical and

fertilizers is harmful to the health.

5.why cannot battery chickens be called “natural food”? battery chickens cannot be

called “” because they all live together and fed on food.

6.what do you learn from paragraph4? Sugar is a non-essential food. Eating much sugar

is harmful to people’s health.

7.what is fiber considered to be? Fiber is considered to be healthy diet.

8.what did modern exports emphasize? They emphasized us to eat whole meal bread and more

vegetables.

三十、Pollution is caused either by man’s release of completely new and often artificial substances into the environment, or by releasing greatly increased amounts of a natural substance, such as oil from oil tankers into the sea.

The whole industrial process which makes many of the goods and machines we need and use in our daily lives, is bound to create a number of waste products which upset the environmental balance, or the ecological balance as it is also known. Many of these waste products can be prevented or disposed of sensibly, but clearly while more and more new and complex goods are produced there will be new, dangerous wastes to be disposed of , for example, the waste products from nuclear power stations. Many people, therefore, see pollution as only part of a larger and more complex problem, that is, the whole process of industrial production and consumption of goods.

Whatever its underlying reasons, there is no doubt that much of the pollution caused could be controlled if only companies, individuals and governments would make more efforts. In the home there is an obvious need to control litter and waste, food comes wrapped up three or four times in packages that all have to be disposed of; drinks are increasingly sold in bottles or tins which can not be reused. This not only causes a litter problem but also is a great waste of resources. Advertising has helped this process by persuading many of us not only to buy thing we neither want nor need, but also to throw away much of what we do buy. Pollution and waste combine to be a problem everyone can help to solve by cutting out unnecessary buying, excess consumption and careless disposal of the products we use in our daily lives.

1.what is the main cause of pollution? The main cause of pollution is the release of artificial or natural substances into the environment.

2.what do you think will upset the environmental balance? Waste products.

3.in the writer’s view, the more new goods, the more pollution there will be.

4.many people see pollution as only pat of whole process of industrial production and consumption of goods.

5.much of the pollution could be controlled if only all sides concerned would make more efforts.

6.what can food packages, bottles and tins for drinks cause? Bottles and tins for drinks can cause both a litter problem and a waste of resources.

7.how can people help solve the problem of pollution? People can help solve problem of pollution by cutting out unnecessary buying , excess consumption and careless disposal to the products we use in our daily lives.

三十一、Aging is the process of growing old. It occurs eventually in every living thing.

The most familiar outward signs of aging may be seen in old people, such as the graying of the hair and the wrinkling of the skin. Signs of aging in a pet dog or cat include loss of playfulness and energy, a decline in hearing and eyesight. Plants age too.

Most body parts grow bigger and stronger, and function more efficiently during child hood. They reach their peak at the time of maturity. After that, they begin to decline. Bones gradually become lighter and more brittle. In the aged, the joints between the bones also become rigid and more inflexible.

All the major organs of the body show signs of aging. The brain works less efficiently. Old people often have trouble in remembering recent events.

One of the most serious changes of old age occurs in the arteries, the blood vessels that lead from the heart. They become thickened and constricted, allowing less blood to flow to the rest of the body. This condition accounts, directly or indirectly, for many of the diseases of the aged.

Aging is not a uniform process. There are great differences among people in their rate of aging. Even the cells of the body differ in the way they age. The majority of cells are capable of reproducing themselves many times during the course of a lifetime. Nerve cells and muscle fibers can never be replaced once they wear out.

Gerontologists believe the wearing out of the body is controlled by a built-in biological time-clock.

1.what is the main idea in the first paragraph? Aging occurs in every living thing after it has reached maturity.

2.what happens when the brain begins to age? They memorization begin to decline.

3.what does “the arteries” refer to? It refers to the paths along which blood flows to all part of the body.

4.many of the diseases of old people are the result of it means that not all people age at the same age.

5.what does the expression “again is not a uniform process” mean? It means that not all people age at the same age.

6.what are the most familiar outward signs of aging in old people? The graying of the hair and the wrinkling of the skin.

7.what do Gerontologists believe? 原文.

8.according to the passage, what is responsible for many of the diseases of the old? The blood vessels that have become thickened and constricted.

三十二、Much of any manager’s times is taken up with meetings. There are meeting with colleagues to agree a course of action. There are meetings with superiors to report and to discuss future polices. There are meetings with subordinates. Many would say that there are far too many meetings: some would be even less polite. There can be no doubt that meeting are part of every manager’s life. He should know how to use these techniques to his own advantages.

It is sometimes suggested that when a manager can’t think what to do, he hold a meeting. But meetings in themselves are not an end product, no matter what some may think. They are merely one of many means of management communication. It may well be that a problem can be solved by a one-to-one discussion, or even by telephone. If the need can be met without a meeting, so be it.

Let us therefore define a meeting, in the management sense, as the gathering together

of a group of people for a controlled discussion, with a specific purpose. Each of those attending the meeting has a need to be there and both discussion and its result could not be so well achieved in any other way. It is often advisable to calculate the cost of a meeting. Do not have unnecessary people sitting in at meetings and do ensure that all meetings are both efficient and effective.

1.how many different kinds of meetings are mentioned in the first paragraph? Three

different kinds of……….

2.what is a meeting intended to be according to the passage? A meeting is intended to

be a controlled discussion with a definite purpose according to the passage.

3.what is the main idea of the first paragraph? The main idea …is that much of any

manager’s times is taken up with meetings.

4.what should a manger know in meeting? He should know how to cope with the meeting and

know the techniques of communication in meetings and know how to use them to his own advantages.

5.what is the definition given by the author of a meeting? The author defines a meeting

as the gathering of a group of people for a controlled discussion with a specific purpose.

6.when does a manager often hold a meeting? A manager often holds a meeting when he can’t

think what to do.

7.what is implied in the last few instances? It is often advisable to hold efficient and

effective meetings because meetings sometimes cost a lot.

三十三、The temperature of the sun is over 5000 degrees at the surface, but it rises to perhaps more than 16 million degrees at the center. The sun is so much hotter than the earth that matter can exist only as a gas, except at the core. In the core of the sun, the pressures are so great against the gases that, despite the high temperature, there may be a small solid core. However no one really knows, since the center of the sun can never directly observed.

Solar astronomers do know that the sun is divided into five layers or zones. Starting at the outside and going down to the sun, the zones are the corona, chromosphere, photosphere, convection zone, and finally the core. The first there zones are regarded as the Sun’s atmosphere. But since the sun has no solid surface, it is hard to tell where the atmosphere ends and the main body begins.

The sun’s ou termost layer begins about 10000 miles above the visible surface and goes out-ward for millions of miles. This is only part of the sun that can be seen during an eclipse. At any other time, the corona can be seen only when special instruments are used on c ameras and telescopes to shut out the glare of the sun’s rays.

The corona is brilliant, pearly white, filmy light, about as bright as the full Moon. Its beautiful rays are a sensational sight during an eclipse. The corona’s rays flash out in a brilliant fan that has wispy spike-like rays near the sun’s north and south poles. The corona is thickest at the Sun’s equator.

The corona rays are made up of gases streaming outward at tremendous speeds and reaching a temperature of more than 2 million degrees. The rays of gas thin out as they reach the space around the planets. By the time the sun’s corona rays reach the Earth, they are weak.

1.what does the first sentence in the first paragraph mean? The temperature of the sun

at the center is much hotter than that of the sun at the surface.

2.why does the passage suggest that the core of the sun should be solid? The core of the

sun should be solid because the pressures are very great in the center of the sun.

3.what are the three layers of the sun’s atmosphere? They are t he corona, chromosphere,

photosphere.

4.why is it hard to tell where the atmosphere ends and the main body begins? Because the sun has no solid surface.

5.how can we see corona when there is no eclipse? we can use special instruments on cameras and telescopes to shut out the glare of the sun’s rays.

6.what can be seen during an eclipse? The sun’s beautiful rays can be seen.

7.the appearance of corona is brilliant, pearly white, filmy light, about as bright as the full Moon.

8.what are corona rays made up of? The ….made up of gases streaming outward at tremendous speeds and reaching a temperature of more than 2 million degrees.

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