Passage 1

　　How often one hears children wishing they were grown up, and

　　old people wishing they were young again. Each age has its pleasures and

　　its pains, and the happiest person is the one who enjoys what each age

　　gives him without wasting his time in useless regrets.

　　Childhood is a time when there are few responsibilities to make

　　life difficult. If a child has good parents, he is fed, looked after and loved,

　　whatever he may do. It is impossible that he will ever again in his life be

　　given so much without having to do anything in return. In addition, life is

　　always presenting new things to the child — things that have lost their

　　interest for older people because they are too well-known. But a child has

　　his pains: he is not so free to do what he wishes to do; he is continually

　　being told not to do things, or being punished for what he has done

　　wrong.

　　When the young man starts to earn his own living, he can no

　　longer expect others to pay for his food, his clothes, and his room, but has

　　to work if he wants to live comfortably. If he spends most of his time

　　playing about in the way that he used to as a child, he will go hungry. And

　　if he breaks the laws of society as he used to break the laws of his parents,

　　he may go to prison. If, however, he works hard, keeps out of trouble and

　　has good health, he can have the great happiness of building up forhimself his own position in society.

　　1. According to Paragraph 2, the writer thinks that _______.

　　A. life for a child is comparatively easy

　　B. a child is always loved whatever he does

　　C. if much is given to a child, he must do something in return

　　D. only children are interested in life

　　2. After a child grows up, he_____.

　　A. will have little time playing

　　B. has to be successful in finding a job

　　C. can still ask for help in time of trouble

　　D. should be able to take care of himself

　　3. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the

　　passage?

　　A. People are often satisfied with their life.

　　B. Life is less interesting for old people.

　　C. Adults are freer to do what they want to do.

　　D. Adults should no longer rely on others.

　　4. The main idea of the passage is that ______.

　　A. life is not enjoyable since each age has some pains

　　B. young men can have the greatest happiness if they work hard

　　C. childhood is the most enjoyable time in one’s life

　　D. one is the happiest if he can make good use of each age in his life5. The paragraph following the passage will most probably discuss

　　______.

　　A. examples of successful young men

　　B. how to build up one’s position in society

　　C. joys and pains of old people

　　D. what to do when one has problems in life

　　1. A 【解析】第二段的主題句是第一句：童年是這樣一段時光，不必

　　擔負什么責任，生活也不會很艱難。與它意思一致的選項為 A“生活

　　對孩子來說相對容易”。

　　2. D【解析】D 選項全面概括了孩子長大后所應做的事情是照顧自己，

　　而 A、B、C 選項只是各說明了某一具體方面。

　　3. A【解析】選項 A 認為人們對自己的生活經常感到滿意，但文章第

　　一段談到“每個年齡段都有自己的快樂與痛苦，所以選項 A 的陳述

　　與原文不一致。

　　4. D【解析】文章的主旨在第一段最后一句體現出來：每個年齡段都

　　有自己的快樂與痛苦，最快樂的人就是在每個年齡段該做什么就去做

　　什么的人，是那些不會把時光浪費在無用的悔恨中的人。

　　5. C【解析】文章的第一段點明主題：每個年齡段都有自己的快樂與

　　痛苦，最快樂的人就是在每個年齡段該做什么就去做什么的人。第二、

　　三段分別談到了童年和青年時期的快樂與痛苦，按照年齡分段，接下

　　來的段落中將會談到老年階段的快樂與痛苦。

　　Passage 2A great difference between American social customs and those of

　　other countries is the way in which names are used.Americans have little

　　concern for"rank”,especially socially.Most Americans do not want to be

　　treated in any especially respectful way because of their age or social

　　rank; it makes them feel uncomfortable.Many Americans even find the

　　terms “Mr.”,“Mrs”or “Miss" too formal.People of all ages may prefer to

　　be called by their first names."Don't call me Mrs Smith.Just call me

　　Sally." using only first names usually indicates friendliness and

　　acceptance.However, if you do not feel comfortable using only first

　　names, it is quite acceptable to be more formal.Just smile and say that

　　after a while you will use first names but you are accustomed to being

　　more when you first meet someone.

　　Very often, introductions are made using both first and last names: "

　　Mary Smith, this is John Jones."In this situation you are free to decide

　　whether to call the lady"Mary”or "Miss Smith” . Sometimes both of you

　　will begin a conversation using last names,and after a while one or both

　　of you may begin using first names instead.You have a choice: if you

　　don't want to use first names so quickly,no one will think it impolite if

　　you continue according to you own custom.

　　6.In the first paragraph the author tells us that( )

　　A.Americans do not talk about rank,especially socially

　　B.Americans feel uncomfortable when talking about rankC.Americans take interests in social customs

　　D.Americans don' t care much about social rank

　　7.According to the passage,most Americans feel( ) when they are

　　treated especially respectfully owing to their age or social rank.

　　A.sick

　　B. sorry

　　C.uneasy

　　D.embarrassed

　　8.Which of the following statements in NOT true?

　　A.The way names are used in America is different from those of other

　　countries.

　　B.Many Americans are used to being called by their first names.

　　C.It shows friendliness and kindness to use only first names.

　　D.When you talk to people in the United States, you have to use their first

　　names.

　　9.If an American lady say "Don’ t call me Mrs Smith, just call me Sally."

　　that shows( )

　　A.she is not a married woman

　　B.she prefers to be called "sally"

　　C.she is not Mrs Smith

　　D.she likes to be more formal

　　10.The passage you’ve just read would most likely be found in a(

　　)

　　A.guide-book for tourists

　　B.book about American history

　　C.notice

　　D.short story

　　答案解析∶

　　6.D 第一段講道美國人很少關注“級別”，特別是在社交方面。多數

　　美國人不想因其年長或者級別高而受到特別的尊敬。這種特別的尊敬會讓他們感到局促不安。比較四個選項，D 的意思最準確、最符合原

　　文。

　　7.C第一段原文提到多數美國人因其年長或者級別高而受到特別的尊

　　敬時會感到局促不安。所以選 C?！皍ncomfortable”在本文中應該理

　　解為“局促不安的”(ill at ease; uneasy).

　　8.D 第一段結尾提到如果只稱呼名字你會感到不安，正式一些是完全

　　可以接受的。只要微笑著說過一會兒你會稱呼名字，但是第一次見面

　　你習慣于比較正式的稱呼。所以與美國人談話并不一定必須(have to)

　　稱呼名字。

　　9.B 從引文的上下文中可以推斷出“

　　Mrs.Smith”是比較正式的稱呼，

　　而美國人更喜歡直接稱呼名字。所以選擇 B

　　10.A 本文主要介紹美國的社會習俗―社交場合的稱呼，與歷史無關、

　　不是通知的形式、更不是短篇小說。所以最可能出現在旅游指南上。

　　Passage 3

　　Some psychologists(心理學家)maintain that mental acts such as

　　thinking are not performed in the brain alone, but that one's muscles also

　　participate. It may be said that we think with our muscles in somewhat

　　the same way that we listen to music with our bodies.

　　You surely are not surprised to be told that you usually listen to

　　music not only with your ears but with your whole body. Few people can

　　listen to music without moving their body or, more specifically, some partof their body. Often when one listens to a symphonic concert on the radio,

　　he is attracted to direct the orchestra(樂隊)even though he knows there

　　is a good conductor on the job.

　　Strange as this behavior may be, there is a very good reason for it.

　　One cannot derive all possible enjoyment from music unless he

　　participates, so to speak, in its performance. The listener "feels" himself

　　into the music with more or less noticeable motions of his body.

　　The muscles of the body actually participate in the mental process

　　of thinking in the same way, but this participation is less obvious because

　　it is less noticeable.

　　11. Some psychologists think that thinking is __________.

　　A. not a mental process

　　B. more of a physical process than a mental action

　　C. a process that involves our entire bodies

　　D. a process that involves the muscles as well as the brain

　　12. The process of thinking and that of listening to music are similar in

　　that__________.

　　A. both are mental acts

　　B. muscles participate in both processes

　　C. both processes are performed by the entire body

　　D. we derive equal enjoyment from them

　　13. Few people are able to listen to familiar music without__________.A. moving some part of their body

　　B. stopping what they are doing to listen

　　C. directing the orchestra playing it

　　D. wishing that they could conduct music properly

　　14. The listener's way of "feeling" the music is__________.

　　A. the unnoticed motion of his muscles

　　B. "participating" in the performance

　　C. bending an ear to the music

　　D. being the conductor of the orchestra

　　15. According to the passage, muscle participation in the process of

　　thinking is__________.

　　A. Deliberate

　　B. apparent

　　C. Indistinct

　　D. impressive

　　答案解析：

　　11.D 事實細節題。第一段第一句提到一些心理學家認為精神活動如

　　思考不僅是大腦的活動，而且肌肉也參與其中，所以選 D。

　　12.B 事實細節題。第一段最后一句提到我們用肌肉思考與用身體聽

　　音樂在某種程度上是一樣的，所以選 B。

　　13.A 事實細節題。第二段中提到很少有人聽音樂時不扭動自己的身

　　體，所以選 A。

　　14.B 推理判斷題。第三段第二句提到如果一個人不參與到音樂中，也就是音樂演奏中，那他就無法從音樂中獲得所有的樂趣。

　　15.C 事實細節題。文章最后一句提到肌肉以同樣的方式參與了思考

　　的過程，但并不是十分明顯，因為它不是很容易被注意到。distinct“明

　　顯的，顯著的”，前綴 in 表示否定。indistinct“不明顯的，不顯著的”。

　　Passage 4

　　It is difficult to imagine what life would be like without memory.

　　The meanings of thou-sands of everyday perceptions . the bases for the

　　decisions we make, and the roots of our habits and skills are to be found

　　in our past experiences, which are brought into the present by memory.

　　Memory can be defined as the capacity to keep information available

　　for later use. It includes not only "remembering" things like arithmetic or

　　historical facts, but also involving any change in the way an animal

　　typically behaves. )Memory is involved when a rat gives up eating grain

　　be-cause he has sniffed something suspicious in the grain pile. Memory is

　　also involved when a six-year-old child learns to swing a baseball bat.

　　Memory exists not only in humans and animals but also in some

　　physical objects and ma-chines. Computers, for example, contain devices

　　for storing data for later use. It is interesting to compare the

　　memory-storage capacity of a computer with that of a human being. The

　　instant-access memory of a large computer may hold up to 100,000

　　"words"-ready for instant use. An average U.S. teenager probably

　　recognizes the meaning of about 100,000 words of English. However, thisis but a fraction of the total amount of information which the teenager has

　　stored. Consider, for example, the number of faces and places that the

　　teenager can recognize on sight.

　　The use of words is the basis of the advanced problem-solving

　　intelligence of human beings.

　　A large part of a person's memory is in terms of words and

　　combinations of words.

　　16. According to the passage, memory is considered to be__________.

　　A. the basis for decision making and problem solving

　　B. an ability to store experiences for future use

　　C. an intelligence typically possessed by human beings

　　D. the data mainly consisting of words and combinations of words

　　17. The comparison made between the memory capacity of a large

　　computer and that of a human being shows that __________.

　　A. the computer's memory has a little bigger capacity than a

　　teenager's

　　B. the computer's memory capacity is much smaller that an adult

　　human being's

　　C. the computer's memory capacity is much smaller even than a

　　teenager's

　　D. both A and B

　　18. The whole passage implies that__________.A. only human beings have problem-solving intelligence

　　B. a person's memory is different from a computer's in every respect

　　C. animals are able to solve only very simple problems

　　D. animals solve problems by instincts rather than intelligence

　　19. The phrase "in terms of" in the last sentence can best be replaced

　　by__________.

　　A. "in connection with"

　　B. "expressed by"

　　C. "consisting"

　　D. "by means of"

　　20. The topic of the passage is:__________.

　　A. What would life be like without memory?

　　B. Memory is of vital importance to life.

　　C. How is a person's memory different from an animal's or a computer's?

　　D. What is contained in memory?

　　答案解析：

　　16.B 事實細節題。根據文章第二段的第一句，記憶力就是儲存信息

　　以供將來使用的能力。所以選 B。A、C、D 都是記憶力特點的一個

　　方面，不能單獨解釋記憶力。

　　17.C 推理判斷題。根據文章的第三段，一臺計算機存儲的“詞匯”能達

　　到 100,000 個;一個十幾歲的少年的詞匯量也能達到 100,000 個。然

　　而，根據文章，100,000 個單詞只是一個十幾歲的少年全部記憶存儲的一小部分。所以，計算機的“記憶”儲備量要比一個十幾歲的少年的

　　記憶存儲量小得多。因為比較是在計算機和青少年之間進行的，與成

　　年人無關，所以不能選 B。

　　18.C 推理判斷題。從文章第二段小老鼠的例子可判斷，動物也有記

　　憶，也有一定解決問題的智力，所以 C 是對的。根據文章最后一段

　　第一句提到的“高級智力 advanced intelligence”可知動物也有智力，只

　　是相比人類智力低而已，所以 A 說只有人類才有解決問題的智力是

　　不準確的;D 說動物解決問題靠本能而不靠智力也是不對的。而根據

　　文章的第三段，計算機在存儲“詞匯”方面和一個十幾歲的少年是一樣

　　的，所以 B 說計算機存儲和人腦記憶在各方面都不一樣是錯誤的。

　　19.B 推理判斷題。in terms of“根據;按照;用…來說”。如果不知道

　　該短語的意思，也可通過主語“一個人的大部分記憶”和“詞或詞組”之

　　間的關系來判斷。本句的意思是一個人的大部分記憶都是靠詞和詞組

　　表達出來的。

　　20.B 歸納概括題。文章的主題要根據內容來確定。第一段講的是記

　　憶的重要作用;第二段解釋記憶是什么及其表現;第三段講人類將記

　　憶功能運用到機器如計算機當中，并將人的記憶與計算機記憶進行比

　　較;第四段說大部分記憶都是通過詞匯表現的。四個選項當中只有 B

　　更貼近文章的主題，其他三個選項都只是文章涉及的一個方面，都不

　　具有概括性。

　　Passage 5

　　Today anyone will accept money in exchange for goods and services.People use money to buy food, furniture, books, bicycles and hundreds of

　　others they need or want. When they work,they usually get paid in

　　money.

　　Most of the money today is made of metal or paper. But people used

　　to use all kinds of things as money. One of the first kinds of money was

　　shells.

　　Shells were not the only things used as money. In China, cloth and

　　knives were used. In the Philippine Islands, rice was used as money. In

　　some parts of Africa, cattle were one of the earliest kinds of money. Other

　　animals were used as money, too.

　　The first metal coins were made in China. They were round and had

　　a square hole in the center. People strung them together and carried them

　　from place to place.

　　Different countries have used different metals and designs for their

　　money. The first coins in England were made of tin. Sweden and Russia

　　used copper to make their money. Later, other countries began to make

　　coins of gold and silver.

　　But even gold and silver were inconvenient if you had to buy

　　something expensive. Again the Chinese thought of a way to improve

　　money. They began to use paper money. (80)The first paper money

　　looked more like a note from one person to another than paper moneused

　　toda.Money has had an interesting history from the days of shell money

　　until today.

　　21. Which of the following can be cited as an example of the use of

　　money in exchange for services?

　　A. To sell a bicycle for $20.

　　B. To get some money for old books at a garage sale.

　　C. To buy things you need or want.

　　D. To get paid for your work.

　　22. Where were shells used as money in history?

　　A. In the Philippines.

　　B. In China.

　　C. In Africa.

　　D. We don't know.

　　23. Why, according to the passage, did ancient Chinese coins have a

　　square hole in the center?

　　A. Because it would be easier to put them together and carry them

　　around.

　　B. Because it would be lighter for people to carry them from place to

　　place.

　　C. Because people wanted to make it look nicer.

　　D. Because people wanted to save the expensive metal they were made

　　from.24. Why does the author say that even gold and silver were inconvenient

　　if you had to buy some- thing expensive?

　　A. Because they are easy to steal.

　　B. Because they are difficult for people to obtain.

　　C. Because they are not easy to carry around.

　　D. Because they themselves are expensive, too.

　　25. Which do you choose as the best title for this passage?

　　A. Money and Its Uses

　　B. Different Things Used as Money

　　C. Different Countries, Different Money

　　D. The History of Money

　　答案解析：

　　21.D 常識經驗題。只有 D(工作換取錢)才是錢與服務的交換，其

　　余三項全是錢與商品的交換。

　　22.D 事實細節題。由于文章沒有提到貝殼最初是在哪里被用做貨幣

　　的，所以選 D。

　　23.A 事實細節題。見文章第四段的二、三兩句，中國古代的銅錢有

　　孔，主要是因為人們為了攜帶方便要將之串起來。所以選 A。

　　24.C 推理判斷題。由于金銀很重，如果要花很多錢買某件東西的話，

　　攜帶起來會很不方便。25.D 歸納概括題。本文章的寫作脈絡很清晰：先由今天的錢(紙幣

　　或硬幣)說起，引出世界上最早的錢(每個國家都有不同的物來充當

　　貨幣)，接著談到最早的硬幣，之后隨著錢的改進，出現了紙幣。最

　　后作者總結錢的發展是一段有趣的歷史?？梢娢恼碌闹饕獌热菔侵v錢

　　的發展歷史，所以選 D。

　　Passage 6

　　Long bus rides are like television shows. They have a beginning, a

　　middle, and an end—with commercials thrown in every three or four

　　minutes. The commercials are unavoidable. They happen whether you

　　want them or not. Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by outside

　　the bus window. "Buy Super Clean Toothpaste. "" Drink Root Beer. "

　　"Fill up with Pacific Gas." Only if you sleep, which is equal to turning the

　　television set off, are you spared the unending cry of "You Need It! Buy It

　　Now.! "

　　The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat exciting,

　　even if you've traveled that way before. Usually some things have

　　changed--new houses, new buildings, sometimes even a new road. (76)

　　The bus driver has a style of driving and it's fun to try to figure it out the

　　first hour or so. If the driver is particularly reckless or daring, the ride can

　　be as thrilling as a suspense story.Will the driver pass the truck in time? Will the driver move into the

　　right or the left-hand lane? After a while, of course, the excitement dies

　　down. Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride. Food

　　always makes bus rides more interesting. But you've got to be careful of

　　what kind of food you eat. Too much salty food can make you very thirsty

　　between stops.

　　The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning. You know it will

　　soon be over and there's a kind of expectation and excitement in that. The

　　seat, of course, has become harder as the hours have passed. (77)By now

　　you've sat with your legs crossed, with your hands in your lap, with your

　　hands on the armrests--even with your hands crossed behind your head.

　　The end comes just at the right time. There are just no more ways to sit.

　　26. According to the passage, what do the passengers usually see when

　　they are on a long bus trip?

　　A. Buses on the road.

　　B. Films on television.

　　C. Advertisements on the board.

　　D. Gas stations.

　　27. What is the purpose of this passage?

　　A. To give the writer's opinion about long bus trips.

　　B. To persuade you to take a long bus trip.

　　C. To explain how bus trips and television shows differ.

　　D. To describe the billboards along the road.

　　28. The writer of this passage would probably be in favor of__________.A. bus drivers who weren't reckless

　　B. driving alone

　　C. a television set on the bus

　　D. no billboards along the road

　　29. The writer feels long bus rides are like TV shows

　　because__________.

　　A. the commercials both on TV shows and on billboards along the road

　　are fun

　　B. they both have a beginning, a middle, and an end, with commercials in

　　every three or four minutes

　　C. the drivers are always reckless on TV shows just as they are on buses

　　D. both traveling and watching TV are not exciting

　　30. The writer thinks that the end of the ride is somewhat like the

　　beginning because both are__________.

　　A. Exciting

　　B. comfortable

　　C. tiring

　　D. boring

　　答案解析：

　　26.C 事實細節題。第一段提到在長途的公交車旅途中，會有各種鋪

　　天蓋地的廣告牌映人眼簾，和 C 一致。而 A.B.D 在第一段中都沒有

　　提到。

　　27.A 推理判斷題。這篇文章的結構比較清楚，作者就是講述自己對

　　長途公交車旅途(開始、途中、結尾)的感受，這和 A 一致。作者并沒

　　有表露出說服大家乘坐長途公交車的意思，所以 B 不對。作者只是說長途公交旅途像電視節目，并沒說明兩者的不同，C 也不對。第一

　　段描述了路邊的廣告牌，但不是全文的主要內容，D 太片面。

　　28.D 推理判斷題。第一段作者明顯地表現出了對鋪天蓋地的廣告牌

　　的反感，而 B.C 文中沒有提到，第二段第四句提到如果司機開車比較

　　冒險，會是個讓人興奮的旅程，從這里可看出作者不排斥愛冒險的司

　　機，故 A 也不對。

　　29.B 事實細節題。第一段第二句提到長途公交旅途和電視節目相似

　　的地方在于，他們都有開始、中途和結尾，并且每隔三、四分鐘插上

　　一段廣告，所以選 B.

　　30.A 事實細節題。最后一段提到結束和開始的相似之處在于結束時

　　有種期待和興奮的感覺，這和旅途剛開始是一樣的。

　　Passage 7

　　It was not much fun to travel on one of the old sailing ships. Life

　　was hard for both passengers and crew. 17th century sailing ships were

　　small and roiled heavily in rough seas, so most of the passengers were

　　seasick.

　　There were no toilets, and the spaces below deck where passengers

　　had to stay during gales were often not more than 5 foot high. Water was

　　scarce and the little water they got was brown and smelt terrible.

　　Food was a problem, too--there was only salted meat, ship's biscuitsand cheese, but the cheese was so hard that sailors often made buttons out

　　of it for their jackets and trousers. There were no vegetables or fruit, so

　　the people on board often fell ill.

　　The sailors, however, were a bit better off than the passengers. They

　　each had a bottle of beer a day, and they needed. The work they had to do

　　was hard and dangerous. Courage was needed, for the heavy sails had to

　　be set and taken down in all kinds of weather, and quite often sailors were

　　swept overboard in a gale. Almost the worst thing about the voyages was

　　the time they took up to 70 days for the journey across the Atlantic. Not

　　surprisingly, everybody was overjoyed when they at last approached land

　　and stepped ashore. But some ships never arrived.

　　31. In the 17th century__________.

　　A. life on old sailing ships was enjoyable

　　B. people enjoyed sailing old ships in rough seas

　　C. most of the passengers felt comfortable when the ship was rolling

　　D. it was very painful for both passengers and crew during the voyage

　　32. The passengers__________when the ship was heavily rolling.

　　A. slept well

　　B. could drink a lot of water

　　C. had to stay below deck

　　D. had a big room of more than 5 foot high

　　33. Which of the following statements is true about food?

　　A. Passengers had a lot of vegetables, but no fruit.

　　B. The sailors had four tins of beer a day.C. The people on the ship often fell ill because of the lack of food.

　　D. The food for the passengers was more and better than that for the crew.

　　34. The working condition of the sailors was very hard.__________.

　　A. They often had to set the sails in bad weather.

　　B. So they had less courage.

　　C. They were happy to be swept overboard in a strong wind.

　　D. A 70-day-journey across the Atlantic was their happiest thing.

　　35. When the people saw the land,__________.

　　A. only passengers were glad

　　B. the sailors had to swim ashore

　　C. they were surprised at the news that some ships never arrived

　　D. all of them were excited

　　答案解析：

　　31.D 事實細節題。第一段提到 17 世紀時因為船小、在海浪中顛簸得

　　厲害，航海生活對于乘客和船員都非常艱苦，而 A.B.C 恰好與之相反，

　　所以選 D.

　　32.C 事實細節題。第二段第一句話提到刮大風時，乘客們不得不待

　　在甲板下面不足 5 英尺高的地方，而 A.B.D 與航海生活艱苦相悖，所

　　以選 C.

　　33.C 事實細節題。第三段最后一句話提到由于沒有蔬菜和水果，船

　　上的人經常生病，和 c 相符，可以排除 A.最后一段提到船員一天必須喝一瓶啤酒，而不是四聽，可知 B 不對。D 也不對，船員和乘客吃的

　　食物一樣差而少，只是為了工作需要而每天喝一瓶酒。

　　34.A 事實細節題。最后一段提到船員們不管在什么樣的天氣下，都

　　必須掛風帆和降帆，經常被大風吹到甲板上，工作十分辛苦，而 B.C.D

　　明顯不對，所以選 A.

　　35.D 事實細節題。倒數第二句話提到當船終于靠岸時大家都歡呼雀

　　躍，很興奮。最后一句話雖然提到有些船永遠不能到岸，但人們對此

　　不感到驚奇，故 C 不對，所以選 D.

　　Passage 8

　　No country in the world has more daily newspapers than the USA.

　　There are almost 2,000 of them, as compared with 180 in Japan, 164 in

　　Argentina and 111 in Britain. The quality of some American papers is

　　extremely high and their views are quoted all over the world.

　　Distinguished dailies like the Washington Post or the New York Times

　　have a powerful influence all over the country.

　　However, the Post and the Times are not national newspapers in the

　　sense that The Times is in Britain or LeMonde is in France, since each

　　American city has its own daily newspaper. The best of these present

　　detailed accounts of national and international news, but many tend to

　　limit them-selves to state or cite news.Like the press in most other countries, American newspapers range

　　from the "sensational",which feature crime, sex and rumor, to the serious,

　　which focus on factual news and the analysis of world events. But with

　　few exceptions American newspapers try to entertain as well as give

　　in-formation, for they have to compete with television.

　　Just as American newspapers give way to all tastes, so do they also

　　try and apply to readers for all political persuasions. (80) A few

　　newspapers support extremist groups on the far right and on the far left,

　　but most daily news papers attempt to attract middle-of-the-road

　　Americans who are essentially moderate. Many of these papers print

　　columns by well-known journalists of different political and social views,

　　in order to present a balanced picture.

　　As in other democratic countries American newspapers can be either

　　responsible or irresponsible, but it is generally accepted that the American

　　press serves its country well and that it has more than once bravely

　　uncovered political scandals (丑聞) or crimes, for instance, the Watergate

　　Affair. The newspapers drew the attention of the public to the fears of the

　　Vietnam War.

　　36. There are fewer national newspapers in __________.

　　A. Britain than in the USA

　　B. France than in Britain

　　C. the USA than in Britain or FranceD. France than in the USA or Britain

　　37. Most American newspapers try to entertain their readers

　　because__________.

　　A. they have to keep up a good relation with them

　　B. they have to compete with television

　　C. they have to write about crime, sex and rumor

　　D. they have to give factual news in an interesting way

　　38. Many American newspapers attract readers of different political

　　tendency by__________.

　　A. supporting extremist groups from time to time

　　B. inviting middle-of-the-road Americans to write articles for them

　　C. avoiding carrying articles about extremists

　　D. printing articles representing different political viewpoints

　　39. In this passage, the word "press" (Para. 2) means__________.

　　A. a machine for printing

　　B. the business of printing

　　C. great force

　　D. newspapers

　　40. The passage is mainly about__________.

　　A. the characteristics of American newspapers

　　B. thc development of American newspapers

　　C. the functions of American newspapers

　　D. the merits and shortcomings of American newspapers答案解析：

　　36.C 事實細節題。第一段后半部分提到美國每個城市都有自己的報

　　紙，而且很少有報紙把自己定位為像英國的《泰晤士報》那樣的國家

　　級媒體，所以選 C.

　　37.B 事實細節題。第二段最后一句話說美國報紙除了提供信息外也

　　努力去娛樂人們，因為它們必須和電視競爭。

　　38.D 事實細節題。第三段最后一句話提到許多美國報紙通過刊登持

　　不同政治和社會觀點的著名記者的文章來顯示它的公正，所以選 D.

　　39.D 詞匯理解題。因為此句話的主語是 American newspapers，由此

　　可推斷出 press 意思就是 newspapers.

　　40.A 推理判斷題。這篇文章通篇介紹了美國報紙的特點，如多數報

　　紙是州級或市級報紙，新聞涵蓋面廣，提供不同的政治和社會觀點而

　　力求公正，責任感強等，所以選 A.

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