阅读理解题

　　第4部分：阅读理解（第31～45题，每题3分，共45分）

　　下面有3篇短文，每篇幅短文后有5道题，每题材后面有4个选项。请仔细阅读短文并根据短文回答其后面的问题，从4个选项中选择一个最佳答案涂在答题卡相应的位置上。

　　第一篇

Volcanoes

　　There are thousands of volcanoes （火山） all over the world. What makes volcanoes? What happens?

　　The inside of the earth is very hot. Because it is very, very hot, the rock has melted like ice. It has become liquid, like water. It is always boiling, like water in a kettle. If you have seen a kettle boiling, you know that the steam and boiling water try to get out. The very hot melted rock inside the earth also tries to get out. Usually it cannot because the outside of the earth is too thick and strong.

　　But in some places the outside of the earth is thin and weak. Sometimes a crack appears. The hot melted rock, which we call "lava" （熔岩）, pushes out through the crack and bursts through. Steam and gas shoot up into the air and the hot melted lava pours out. Big pieces of rock may be thrown high into the air.

　　After a while the volcano becomes quiet again. The melted lava becomes hard. Later the same thing happens again and again. Each time more hot lava pours out on top of the cold lava and then becomes hard. In this way a kind of mountain is built up, with a hole down the middle. Perhaps the volcano will then be quiet. Perhaps it will start again hundreds of years later.

　　Vesuvius is the name of a very famous volcano in Italy. It first came to life many, many years ago. It was quiet for hundreds of years. Then in the year 79 it suddenly burst. A great cloud of smoke shot up into the sky with great burning rocks. Hot lava poured down its sides. About 3,000 people were killed.

　　This has happened again many times since that year. Sometimes no damage was caused, or only little damage. But there was serious damage in the years 472, 1631, 1794, 1861, 1872 and 1906. You can see that a volcano can stay alive for many years. There was also serious damage in 1914 but there has not been any since that year.

　　31 According to the passage, a volcano sends out

　　A boiling water.

　　B boiled water.

　　C melted rock.

　　D melted ice.

　　32 Lava bursts out where there is

　　A a crack in the earth.

　　B a mountain by the sea.

　　C a big fire.

　　D steam and gas.

　　33 When lava cools, it becomes

　　A liquid.

　　B water.

　　C smoke.

　　D hard.

　　34 According to the passage, Vesuvius has caused serious damage

　　A six times.

　　B seven times.

　　C eight times.

　　D nine times.

　　35 The phrase "stay alive" in the last paragraph can best be replaced by

　　A "burst out".

　　B "remain active".

　　C "come to life".

　　D "throw out lava".

　　第二篇

Laughter

　　There is an old saying in English: "Laughter is the best medicine". Until recently, few people took the saying very seriously. Now, however, doctors have begun to investigate laughter and the effects it has on the human body. They have found evidence that laughter really can improve people's health.

　　Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films, while doctors checked their heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, the heart rate and the rate of breathing; it also works several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach, and even the feet. If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial.

　　Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be capable of reducing the effect of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group which tolerated the pain for the longest time was 'the group which listened to a funny program. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce endorphins （内啡肽） in the brain. These are natural chemicals which diminish both stress and pain.

　　There is also some evidence to suggest that laughter helps the body's immune system, that is, the system which fights infection. In an experiment, one group of students watched a funny video while another group served as the control group - in other words, a group with which to compare the first group. Doctors checked the blood of the students in both groups and found that the people in the group that watched the video had an increase in the activity of their white blood cells, that is, the cells which fight infection.

　　As a result of these discoveries, some doctors and psychiatrists （精神病学家） in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they try to improve their patients' condition by encouraging them to laugh. They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter.

　　36 We learn from the first paragraph that laughter

　　A is good for one's health.

　　B is related to some illness.

　　C has been investigated long since.

　　D has no effect on the body.

　　37 Doctors have found that laughter

　　A keeps down blood pressure.

　　B has similar effects to physical exercise.

　　C decreases the heart rate.

　　D increases stress.

　　38 Which of the following statements is NOT true of laughter, according to the passage?

　　A It reduces pain.

　　B It exercises the body.

　　C It improves the body's immune system.

　　D It can cure cancer.

　　39 Ina laughter clinic, doctors

　　A laugh at their patients.

　　B encourage their patients to laugh.

　　C smile when they don't feel like laughing.

　　D never stop laughing.

　　40 The writer's attitude towards laughter is

　　A critical.

　　B doubtful.

　　C positive.

　　D negative.

　　第三篇

The Street Violinist （小提琴手）

　　I got up and dressed, stuck my violin under my jacket, and went out into the streets to try my luck. I wandered about for an hour, looking for a likely spot, feeling as though I were about to commit a crime. Then I stopped at last under a bridge near the station and decided to have a try.

　　I felt tense and nervous. It was the first time, after all. I drew the violin from under my coat like a gun. It was here, in Southampton, with trains rattling （咔嗒咔嗒地行驶） overhead, that I was about to declare myself. One moment I was part of the hurrying crowds, the next I stood apart, my back to the wall, my hat on the pavement before me, the violin under my chin.

　　The first notes （音符） I played were loud and raw, like a declaration of protest, then they settled down and began to run more smoothly and to stay more or less in tune. To my surprise I was neither arrested nor told to shut up. Indeed, nobody took any notice at all. Then an old man, without stopping, surreptitiously （偷偷摸摸地） tossed a penny into my hat as though getting rid of some guilty evidence.

　　I worked the streets of Southampton for several days, gradually acquiring the truths of the trade by trial and error. It was not a good thing, for instance, to let the hat fill up with money - the sight could discourage the patron: nor was it wise to empty it completely, which could also confuse him, giving him no hint as to where to drop his money. Placing a couple of pennies in the hat to start the thing going soon became a regular ritual, making sure, between tunes, to hide most of the earnings, but always leaving two pennies behind.

　　Old ladies were most generous, and so were women with children, shopgirls, typists and barmaids （酒吧女招待）. As for the men: heavy drinkers were always willing listeners and so were big guys with muscles. But never a man with a gentleman's hat, briefcase or dog: respectable types were the meanest of all. Except for retired army officers, who would yell "Why aren't you working, young man?" and then toss some money into the hat to hide their confusion.

　　41 How long did the author wander about in the streets before he stopped under a bridge?

　　A A day

　　B An hour

　　C All morning

　　D All afternoon.

　　42 The first time the author played the violin in the street, he expected

　　A he would become a great musician.

　　B he would get into trouble.

　　C people would be happy to give him money.

　　D people would stop and listen.

　　43 The first person who gave him money

　　A was an old lady.

　　B stopped and listened for a while.

　　C dropped the money by mistake.

　　D didn't want to be noticed.

　　44 According to the author, what is the best way to encourage people to give a street violinist money?

　　A To wear an attractive hat.

　　B To fill up the hat with money.

　　C To leave a couple of pennies in the hat.

　　D To empty the hat completely.

　　45 The retired army officers gave him money

　　A to show they were most generous.

　　B to show they were most respectable.

　　C to hide their confusion.

　　D to show they were rich.

　　【参考答案】

　　31. C　　32. A　　33. D　　34. C　　35. B

　　36. A　　37. B　　38. D　　39. B　　40. C

　　41. B　　42. B　　43. D　　44. C　　45. C