Reading Comprehension
Passage 1
A driver or carpenter in Indiahas to work about two hours to buy a kilogram of rice while his counterpart inAustria, and theNetherlandsneed work only fifteen minutes for it.
InBotswanaandGreece, forty minutes of driving earns a kilogram of rice. This is part of the data collected by the international Labor Office on hourly rates in forty-one occupations and consumer prices for a sample of household items in about 100 countries.
It is realized that international comparisons are difficult because of the different criteria（标准） used by different countries to gather statistics. Some items may be in great demand by workers in one country and not so much in another. But generally the data gives an idea of the value of the basic pay received for an hour’s work in various parts of the world in terms of food purchasing power. Consider a baker inBotswanafor example. He has to work almost two hours at the oven to earn one kilogram of bread, but a Canadian baker could earn the same loaf by working just ten minutes.
Sugar is considered a luxury（奢侈品） in Burma, where the majority of workers have to put in at least thirteen hours’ work before they can earn one kilogram of it. But the same amount of sugar could be had for ninety minutes’ work inNigeriaand for merely ten minutes inMexico.
Most of the wage earners in the market-economy countries, the study shows, can buy one kilogram of sugar with less than twenty minutes wages. And, for Austrian, and Canadian bakers and carpenters, an hour’s wage could buy ten kilograms of sugar.
In fact there is an enormous range in the working time necessary to earn various commodities. Butter can cost up to three hours’ work in some countries, but only requires twenty minutes in Australia and New Zealand. A carpenter in the USA earns enough to pay for fourteen dozen eggs in the time it would take his counterpart in Portugal to earn a dozen, and if a British carpenter feels like a liter of beer it will take him forty-five minutes to earn it -- three times as long as a worker in the Netherlands.
Questions 1-5 are based on passage 1
1. In what country does rice cost most in terms of working time?
A. India. B. Botswana.
C. Greece. D.Austria.
2. The underlined word “counterpart” refers to “________”.
A. time needed to produce rice inAustriaand theNetherlands
B. a driver or carpenter inAustriaand theNetherlands
C. a friend of an Indian driver or carpenter
D. rice produced inAustriaand theNetherlands
3. One of the difficulties in comparing some of the information provided in the passage is _______.
A. the different criteria used to classify occupations
B. the different demands for goods in different countries
C. the different ways of data collection by the International Labor Office
D. the different people who collected information
4. The writer claims that one valid way of judging differences is _______.
A. the same criteria used to collect statistics
B. the time taken to earn a kilogram of rice
C. the prices for a sample of household goods in different countries
D. the value of an hour’s work with regard to food purchasing power
5. What is the general topic of the passage?
A. A discussion of the economic situation in different countries.
B. A comparison of household goods prices in different countries.
C. A comparison of the cost of living and standards of living in different countries.
D.A discussion of the criteria for judging the standards of living in different countries.
Passage 2
More and more, the operations of our businesses, governments, and financial institutions are controlled by information that exists only inside computer memories. Anyone clever enough to modify this information for his own purposes can reap big reward. Even worse, a number of people who have done this and been caught at it have managed to get away without punishment.
It’s easy for computer crimes to go undetected if no one checks up on what the computer is doing. But even if the crime is detected, the criminal may walk away not only unpunished but with a glowing recommendation from his former employers.
Of course, we have no statistics on crimes that go undetected. But it’s disturbing to note how many of the crimes we do know about were detected by accident, not by systematic inspections or other security procedures. The computer criminals who have been caught may have been the victims of uncommonly bad luck.
Unlike other lawbreakers, who must leave the country, commit suicide, or go to jail, computer criminals sometimes escape punishment, demanding not only that they not be charged but that they be given good recommendations and perhaps other benefits. All too often, their demands have been met.
Why? Because company executives are afraid of the bad publicity that would result if the public found out that their computer had been misused. They hesitate at the thought of a criminal boasting in open court of how he juggled the most confidential records right under the noses of the company’s executives, accountants, and security staff. And so another computer criminal departs with just the recommendations he needs to continue his crimes elsewhere.
Questions 6-10 are based on passage 2
6. It can be concluded from the passage that ______.
A. computer crimes are a rare problem in the operation of financial institutions
B. people commit computer crimes at the request of their company
C. computer criminals escape punishment because they can’t be easily detected
D. it is still impossible to detect computer crimes today
7. It is implied in the third paragraph that ______.
A. most computer criminals who are caught blame their bad luck
B. the rapid increase of computer crimes is a troublesome problem
C. most computer criminals are smart enough to cover up their crimes
D. many more computer crimes go undetected than are discovered
8. Which of the following statements is mentioned in this passage?
A. A strict law against computer crimes must be enforced.
B.Companies usually hesitate to uncover computer crimes to protect their reputation.
C. Companies will guard against computer crimes to protect their reputation.
D. Companies need to impose restrictions on confidential information.
9. What may happen to computer criminals once they are caught?
A. With a bad reputation they can hardly find another job.
B. They will be denied access to confidential records
C. They may walk away and easily find another job.
D. They must leave the country to go to jail.
10. The main idea of this passage is ______.
A. why computer crimes are difficult to detect by systematic inspections
B. why computer criminals are often able to escape punishment
C. how computer criminals manage to get good recommendations from their former employers
D. why computer crimes can’t be eliminated
Keys:
1. A 2. B 3. B 4. D 5. C
6. C 7. D 8. B 9. C 10. D
Reading Comprehension
Read the passage. Then answer the questions that follow.
A In recent years, the game of golf and golf tourism have grown in popularity in many places in the world. Golf, which traces its roots back to 15th centuryScotland, is often viewed as a pleasant and harmless way to relax in a natural setting. But golf courses are not natural developments. They are artificial constructions that have a big environmental impact. As a result, there is often controversy about the building of golf courses.
B Opponents of the use of land for golf courses bring up a number of environmental concerns. One is that a golf course covers a great deal of land, typically up to 200 acres, and in the process of developing this land into a golf course, it is common for fragile native ecosystems such as wetlands, rainforests, or coastal dunes to be destroyed. Indigenous grasses, shrubs, and trees are removed and replaced by foreign vegetation. The construction process causes soil erosion and results in the loss of biodiversity and habitat for wildlife. Another concern is the amount of chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers used to maintain the grass on a golf course once it is established. These chemicals can result in toxic contamination of the air, the soil, the surface water, and the underground water, and this in turn leads to health problems for people who live near the course or downstream from it, for people who work at the course, and even for the golfers. Yet another concern is that golf courses require an enormous amount of water every day. Their water consumption can lead to depletion of scarce fresh water resources. These and other concerns about golf courses have provoked protests, most recently in east and southeast Asia, against planned golf projects.
C Designers, developers, and operators of golf courses have become increasingly aware of the environmental issues and of the protests. Consequently, they have sponsored research into more environmentally sensitive ways of constructing and maintaining courses. They believe that it is possible to build golf courses which protect and preserve the natural features of the landscape and natural habitats for wildlife. Their suggested practices include using native trees and shrubs, planting types of grass that require less water and are best adapted to the local climate, and using reclaimed water. Proponents of golf courses believe that these “green” golf courses can actually provide environmental benefits to their sites.
D However, even a “green” golf course is likely to result in some environmental degradation and loss of habitat. Therefore, many biologists and wildlife ecologists, such as Lawrence Woolbright, a professor at Siena College in Albany, New York, contend that the best places to construct new golf courses are places that are already degraded, such as former landfills (garbage dumps) and old industrial sites, rather than on undeveloped land. A golf course that transforms a degraded site into a scenic landscape with wetlands and woodlands and habitat for wildlife could actually be a benefit to the environment.
For each question, choose the best answer based on the reading passage.
1. Which of the following is the best statement of the main idea of the reading passage?
A. Golf courses are artificial constructions, and are often built with no regard for the environment.
B. Controversies about golf courses affect the tourist trade.
C. Golf courses have significant effects on the environment, and these effects lead to controversy.
D. Golf and golf tourism are growing in popularity internationally, leading to a more negative effect on the environment.
2. Based on Paragraphs C and D, we can infer that a “green” golf course is one that ________.
A. consumes a great deal of water
B. is environmentally sensitive
C. is new and not degraded
D. has grass, shrubs, and trees
3. Based on the information in Paragraph C, we can conclude that ________.
A. it is certain that “green” golf courses have already been built
B. it is certain that “green” golf courses will be built in the future
C. it is not certain that any “green” golf courses have already been built or will be built in the future
D. opponents of golf courses accept the idea that “green” golf courses can actually provide environmental benefits to their sites
4. Based on Paragraph D, we can infer that the author of the passage ________ .
A. agrees with Lawrence Woolbright
B. disagrees with Lawrence Woolbright
C. is willing to accept some environmental degradation and loss of habitat
D. is opposed to all golf courses
5. What would be an appropriate title for this reading passage?
A. A Brief History of Golf
B. Golf’s Dirty Side
C. Why Make Golf Green?
D. The Beauty of Golf
Match each vocabulary word on the left with the correct definition on the right.
1. ____reflect A. among other countries
2. ____survive B. get knowledge from life (not books)
3. ____transit C. moving people or things across places
4. ____international D. stop something before it happens
5. ____invest E. put back, provide something again
6. ____experience F. in the opposite direction to the hands of a clock
7. ____replace G. throw back; give back an image of
8. ____prevent H. joining together of people or things
9. _____combination I.continue to live or exist
10. ____counterclockwise J. put money into a business in the hopes of making a profit
Fill in the blanks with words from the box below.
| access environment established focused global method predict residents solve transportation |
Asthma is usually common in countries where there is a lot of pollution in the 1 from industry and different types of 2 such as ships and trains. However, it has become a 3 problem; that is, countries with large rural areas also have high rates of asthma. A doctor inJamaicadecided to find out why asthma was increasing among young rural 4 where pollution didn’t seem to be a problem. She noticed that more children had asthma attacks when it was windy. She asked a scientist who was studying weather patterns to find out if there was a connection. The scientist, also a woman, developed a 5 of collecting what was blowing in the wind. Together they 6 a connection between the amount of dust in the wind and the number of asthmas attacks on the island. The scientist also discovered that some of the dust had actually blown toJamaicafrom the dry regions of Africa across theAtlantic Ocean. With a way to 7 when asthma attacks were going to occur, the doctor 8 on giving the rural population 9 to weather forecasts so that asthmatics would stay indoors on windy days. A public health campaign helped to 10 the problem and lower the number of asthma attacks.
Read the passage. Then answer the questions that follow.
A After a cold, snowy winter, many people look forward to the long hot days of summer. The normal heat of summer can be pleasant. However, it’s important to be aware that excessive—that is, too much—heat can be dangerous. There are other summer weather dangers, for example, tornadoes, lightning, and floods, but excessive heat kills more people each year than any of these. According to meteorologists (weather scientists), a heat wave is a period of excessive heat that lasts two days or more. A heat wave stresses people and can cause illnesses. These illnesses include heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. The people who are at the greatest risk during heat waves are the elderly, babies, and those with serious diseases.
B High humidity (moisture in the air) can make the effects of heat even more harmful. As humidity increases, the air seems warmer than it actually is because it’s more difficult for the body to cool itself through the evaporation of perspiration. During heat waves, meteorologists use the heat index to determine the level of danger. The heat index measures how hot it really feels when high humidity is added to the actual air temperature. As an example, if the air temperature is 95° F (Fahrenheit) and the humidity is 35%, the heat index is 98° F. But if the air temperature is 95° F and the humidity is 70%, the heat index is 124° F. Doctors say that even young, healthy people can die of heat stroke if they exercise outside when the heat index is high. During a heat wave, it’s best to take it easy, drink plenty of water, and stay out of the heat as much as possible.
Decide whether the following statements are true or false. Write “T” for True and “F” for False.
1. The main idea of Paragraph A is that too much heat can have dangerous effects.
2. The main idea of Paragraph B is that meteorologists use the heat index during heat waves.
3. In the passage, lightning is mentioned as an example of a summer weather danger.
4. Based on the information in the passage, young, healthy people are more likely to die from excessive heat than elderly people are.
5. The author wrote this passage in order to give people useful information about the weather in the summer.
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