Ⅳ.Reading Comprehension(60 points)

　　Directions:There are five reading passages in this part.Each passage is followed by four questions.For each question there are four suggested answers marked A，B，C and D.Choose the best answer and blacken the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.

　　Passage One

　　The dog has always been considered man’s best friend. Always noted for being particularly faithful in watching over children, he also has his place by the fireside, in the cow pasture, on the sheep range(放牧區(qū)), and beside the hunter in forest. He is easy to train, works hard, and often performs astonishing feats. And in the frozen polar regions he was once the principal motive power, before being lately displaced by the plane and helicopter.

　　Because he howls or whines in the presence of impending death, the dog was once thought to have supernatural powers and believed to be capable of seeing gods and ghosts invisible to men. Actually, the basis for these beliefs lies in the hound’s sensibility to people’s feelings and his superior hearing ability and sense of smell, which enable him to detect signs hidden from human observation. His record of saving lives is outstanding, for he often gives warning of fire and other dangers not noticed by his master.

　　The dog’s major contribution, however, has been to medical research. Both his diet and his structure are comparable to those of the human being, and so he has been the subject of countless demonstrations and experiments. Open heart surgery has been made possible largely because of the dog. But his sacrifice has repaid his own species as well by safeguarding it from rabies(狂犬病), distemper, and other diseases.

　　36.The dog has always been noted for .

　　A.protecting children

　　B.assisting shepherds

　　C.helping hunters

　　D.herding cattle

　　A 事實細節(jié)題。文章第一段第二句前半句指出，狗總是以特別忠實地照看孩子而出名。

　　37.In the polar regions, the dog mainly .

　　A.carried supplies

　　B.provided companionship

　　C.tracked prey

　　D.herded caribou(馴鹿)

　　A 事實細節(jié)題。文章第一段最后一句指出，在寒冷的極地，在飛機和直升機出現(xiàn)之前，狗曾是主要的動力。也就是說，人們主要用狗去馱運物品。

　　38.Dogs are similar to human beings in .

　　A.size

　　B.structure

　　C.temperament

　　D.appearance

　　B 事實細節(jié)題。文章第三段第二句前半句指出，狗的飲食和身體結(jié)構(gòu)與人類很接近。

　　39.The article does not say whether the scientists’ experiments with dogs have .

　　A.benefited animals other than dogs

　　B.served man

　　C.helped other dogs

　　D.contributed to medical knowledge

　　A 事實細節(jié)題。文章最后指出，科學家們對狗的實驗使狗免于犬瘟、狂犬病之類的疾病，而沒有提及對其他動物有益。故選A。

　　Passage Two

　　The strange close understanding between twins is a familiar enough phenomenon. Often they seem to understand each other and share each other’s emotions to such an extent that one suspects some kind of thought communication.

　　What is not so widely known is that this special relationship often acts as brake on twins’ intellectual development. As they are partly isolated in their own private world, twins communicate less with adults than do other children. The verbal ability of a four-year old twin is typically six months behind that of a non-twin. The problem can be particularly severe in an underprivileged family, a one parent family for example, where there is little stimulation for children anyway.

　　Such children, while capable of mutual comprehension in a private language, often remain incomprehensible to outsiders and thus at a severe educational disadvantage. The only solution to the problem, cruel though it may seem, is to separate the twins thus forcing them to acquire ordinary speech helped and guided by sympathetic parents and teachers.

　　40.Many people don’t know that .

　　A.twins understand each other very well

　　B.twins are slow to learn to talk

　　C.twins are unlikely to do less well at school than other children

　　D.there exists more communication between twins

　　B 事實細節(jié)題。文章第二段指出，很多人還不知道，由于雙胞胎與其他人交際少導致一對四歲的雙胞胎兒童的語言能力明顯落后。故選B。

　　41.What’s the reason for twins to be at a disadvantage in their intellectual development?

　　A.They can only understand their own private language.

　　B.They communicate with outsiders less than non-twins.

　　C.There is little stimulation for them.

　　D.Adults don’t like to talk with them.

　　B 事實細節(jié)題。文章第三段第一句指出，雙胞胎之間交際太多，而與其他人交際過少，這使他們智力發(fā)展中存在很大的不足。

　　42.The author probably feels that twins’ problem .

　　A.can not be solved because solution is very cruel

　　B.can be solved because twins will be separated

　　C.can not be solved unless the twins are forced to live in an ordinary environment

　　D.can be solved if the adults communicate with them more often

　　C 事實細節(jié)題。文章最后一句的意思是，解決雙胞胎智力發(fā)展問題的唯一方法是將雙胞胎分開培養(yǎng)和教育。故C項符合題意。

　　43.The writer mentions all of the items listed below EXCEPT .

　　A.twins can help each other

　　B.twins share each other’s emotion

　　C.twins are able to understand each other in a private language

　　D.twins communicate less with their parents

　　A 事實細節(jié)題。作者在文中提到了雙胞胎可以擁有相同的情感，互相理解，與他人交流較少，而沒有提及雙胞胎之間可以互相幫助。故選A。

　　Passage Three

　　Have you ever argued with your loved ones over simple misunderstandings(誤解)? Little wonder. We often believe we’re more skillful in getting our point across than we actually are, according to Boza Keysar, a professor at the University of Chicago. In his recent study, speakers tried to express their meanings using unclear sentences. Speakers who thought listeners understood were wrong nearly half the time. Here’s some good advice to reduce misunderstanding:

　　(1)Don’t trust what you see from the listener. Listeners often nod, look at you or say “uhhuh” to be polite or move the conversation along. But it’s easy to consider these as signs of understanding.

　　(2)Train the editor(編輯) in your head. If you say, “Beth discusses her problems with her husband,” it’s not clear whether she’s talking to her husband or about him. Try instead, “Beth talks to her husband about her problems.” or “Beth talks to others about the problems with her husband.”

　　(3)Ask listeners to repeat your message. Introduce your request by saying “I want to be sure I said that right.” Questions like “How does that sound?” or “Does that make sense?” may also work.

　　(4)Listen well. When on the receiving end, ask questions to be sure you’re on the same page. After all, it isn’t just the speaker’s job to make his speech understood.

　　44.Why does the writer give us the advice?

　　A.We’re not skillful enough to make clear sentences.

　　B.Misunderstanding is damaging our normal lives.

　　C.Misunderstanding occurs now and then.

　　D.It’s impolite to say NO to others.

　　C 推理判斷題。由第一段可知，僅僅因為誤解而引起爭執(zhí)的情況時有發(fā)生，因而作者才給出了建議。

　　45.The writer suggests that when talking to others, the speaker should .

　　A.know that listeners will show him that they understand his words

　　B.express himself clearly even when he sees signs of understanding

　　C.notice listener’s signs of understanding

　　D.look directly into his listener’s eyes

　　B 推理判斷題。由第二段可知，聽者有時會有點頭等行為，但有時這只是他出于禮貌或使談話順利進行下去的表示，而并不代表他真正理解你所說的話，所以說話者即使看到表示理解的信號時也應該清楚地表達自己的觀點。

　　46.By training the editor in your head, the speakers are advised .

　　A.to get themselves trained by a good editor

　　B.to discuss problems with their husbands or wives

　　C.to express themselves in long but simple sentences

　　D.to make sure each sentence has only one meaning

　　D 推理判斷題。由第三段所舉的例子可知，有時一句話表達不清會有歧義，所以作者建議所講的話應該只有一個意思，以免發(fā)生歧義。

　　47.In the last paragraph, the words “you’re on the same page” mean that .

　　A.you’re following the speaker closely

　　B.you’re reading the same page as the speaker does

　　C.you should know which page the speaker refers to

　　D.your story is written on the same page as the speaker’s

　　A 句意理解題。由此句后面一句“make his speech understood”可知，“you’re on the same page”意為“你能跟得上說話者的思路，能理解說話者的意思”。