第二部分：閱讀理解 (共15小題;每小題2分，滿分30分)

　　此部分共有3篇短文，每篇短文后有5個(gè)問(wèn)題，每個(gè)問(wèn)題后有4個(gè)選項(xiàng)，請(qǐng)你從A、B、C、D四個(gè)選項(xiàng)中，選出可以填入空白處的最佳選項(xiàng)，并用鉛筆將答題卡上的相應(yīng)字母涂黑。

　　Passage 1

　　In 1801, Thomas Jefferson was the first president to take the oath of office in the nation's permanent capital, Washington D. C. Although Washington was a new city, it was already familiar to President Jefferson. In fact, Jefferson had helped plan the capital's streets and public buildings. Besides being a city planner and architect, the new President was a writer, a scientist, and the inventor of several tools.

　　Jefferson lived in the Presidential Palace. The Palace was more than a home; it contained offices for the President and some of his staff and advisors. It also included dining and reception rooms, where the President could entertain congressmen. However, President Jefferson did not give many formal parties. This was partly because there was no First Lady. Jefferson's wife had died in 1782. But it was also because Jefferson liked to live in a simple fashion. Once, he showed up for an important meeting wearing old clothes and slippers! Neither Washington nor Adams would ever have dressed so casually.

　　Jefferson was different from the first two Presidents in other ways, too. He disagreed with them about how the country should be run, and about what part a President should play in running it.

　　11. According to the passage, the Presidential Palace was built to be ______.

　　A. an office building and home

　　B. a meeting place for congressmen

　　C. a home

　　D. an office building

　　12. According to the passage, Thomas Jefferson was all of the following except ______.

　　A. a writer

　　B. a city planner

　　C. the third president of the United States

　　D. a carpenter

　　13. Thomas Jefferson did not entertain very often in Washington D. C. because ______.

　　A. he did not have new clothes

　　B. the food there was bad

　　C. he did not enjoy carefully prepared parties and there was no First Lady

　　D. his wife did not like it

　　14. Which of the following statements about Washington D. C. is true?

　　A. It was not the first capital of the United States.

　　B. All the American presidents took the oath of office in Washington D. C.

　　C. There were many old streets in Washington D. C. before 1801.

　　D. Washington D. C. was planned by Thomas Jefferson.

　　15. It can be inferred from the passage that George Washington and John Adams both ______.

　　A. lived in the Presidential Palace

　　B. were rather formal gentlemen

　　C. were different from Thomas Jefferson only in how to run the country

　　D. dressed casually

　　Passage 2

　　Chess must be one of the oldest games in the world. An Arab traveler in India in the year 900 wrote that it was played "long, long ago". Chess was probably invented in India, and it has been played everywhere from Japan to Europe since 1400. The name "chess" is interesting. When one player is attacking the other's king, he says, in English, "check". When the king has been caught and cannot move anywhere, he says "check mate". These words come from Persian. "Shah mat" means "the king is dead". That is when the game is over, and one player has won.

　　Such an old game changes very slowly. The rules have not always been the same as they are now. For example, at one time the queen could only move one square at a time. Now she is the strongest piece on the board. It would be interesting to know why this has happened! Chess takes time and thought, but it is a game for all kinds of people. You don't have to be a champion in order to enjoy it. It is not always played by two people sitting at the same table. The first time the Americans beat the Russians was in a match played by radio. Some of the chess masters are able to play many people at the same time. The record was when one man played 400 games! It is said that some people play chess by post. This must make chess the slowest game in the world.

　　16. Which of the following is known to be true?

　　A. Chess is an old Indian traveling game.

　　B. Chess is the oldest game in the world.

　　C. Chess was played in Japan and Europe before 1400.

　　D. Chess was played in India long before 900.

　　17. One player has won the game when ______.

　　A. he attacks the other's king

　　B. he says some Persian words

　　C. the other player's king cannot move anywhere

　　D. he says "check" to the other player

　　18. Which of the following will you hear when one player has won the game?

　　A. "Shah mat".

　　B. "Check".

　　C. "The king is dead".

　　D. "Check mate".

　　19. Which of the following is NOT correct?

　　A. All kinds of people can play chess.

　　B. Only two people can play chess sitting at the same table.

　　C. Some people write to each other while playing chess.

　　D. The Russians lost the game played by radio.

　　20. According to the old rules of the game ______.

　　A. the queen was the strongest piece on the board

　　B. the king had to be attacked all the time

　　C. the queen could move no more than one square at a time

　　D. the king could not move anywhere

　　Passage 3

　　In the past 10 years, America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) has grown increasingly dependent on the rest of the world to supply players.

　　When Michael Jordan and Larry Bird won gold in Barcelona in 1992, the Americans were praised for teaching the world how to play basketball. This season, however, 20 percent of NBA rosters (花名冊(cè)) will be filled by non-Americans. NBA commissioner David Stern happily embraces the trend. On a visit to Paris in October, Stern outlined his vision for the future, which is likely to see Europe hosting NBA games by 2010.

　　The NBA is now planning to take China by storm.

　　“Our experience in China has been that it is going to be explosive in its growth,” said Stern. The strategy in China is TV. “We’ve made 14 deals in China with local and national networks on cable and satellite.” The success Chinese centre Yao Ming has paved the way for the NBA marketing blitz in China. The NBA, which is broadcasted in more than 200 countries in 42 languages, will put that to the test in October 2004 when the Houston Rockets play two pre-season games against the Sacramento Kings in Beijing market to compensate for tough times on home soil.

　　“It doesn’t matter where the players come from, all the NBA teams now know that they have to scout (尋找)internationally,” said Terry Lyons, the NBA’s vice-president of international public relations. “It has increased the level of competition here.” As Frenchman Tony Parker and Argentine Emanuel Ginobili showed in winning championship rings with the San Antonio Spurs last season, many people can earn the respect of their America peers. Others, such as Houston Rockets’ Chinese centre Yao Ming—No.1 draft pick in 2002—and the Detroit Pistons’ 18-year-old Serb Darko Milicic—number two overall in this year’s draft—are icons(偶像) in waiting. It is the ultimate (根本的) revolution—the rest of the world teaching the US how to play basketball.

　　21. According to the report, ________.

　　A. Michael Jordan is still playing a very important role in NBA

　　B. the part played by the foreign players in NBA will be great

　　C. Yao Ming is to play two Pre-season games in NBA

　　D. European countries will host the 2004 NBA games

　　22. The underlined phrase “take China by storm” has the meaning of _______.

　　A. NBA intends to make China its “marketing center”

　　B. NBA is planning to set up some training centers in China.

　　C. there’ll be a big storm when NBA comes to a China to play against the Sacramento Kings

　　D. the NBA’s live basketball games will be broadcasted on all the TVs in China.

　　23. What seems to be the biggest change that is happening to NBA?

　　A. NBA is expecting more foreign players to join the NBA league.

　　B. China’s rapid development in sports affects NBA.

　　C. Yao Ming has taken the place of Jordan.

　　D. The NBA will stop teaching the world how to play basketball.

　　24. When the writer talked of “home soil”, he was referring to _______.

　　A. farms in the States B. native Americans

　　C. the NBA training center D. the USA

　　25. Which of the following can be used as the best title for the passage?

　　A. The non-American basketball players

　　B. NBA is to coming to China

　　C. The foreign ties that bind the NBA

　　D. NBA is making big progress