Part II. Reading Comprehension
Directions: There are four passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice
Task 1
Strange things happen to time when you travel, because the earth is divided into twenty-four time zones, one hour apart. You can have days with more or fewer than twenty-four hours, and weeks with more or fewer than seven days.
If you make a five-day trip across the Atlantic Ocean, your ship enters a different time zone every day. As you enter each zone, the time changes one hour. Traveling west, you set your clock back; traveling east, you set it ahead. Each day of your trip has either twenty-five or twenty-three hours.
If you travel by ship across the Pacific, you cross the International Date Line. By agreement, this is the point where a new day begins. When you cross the line, you change your calendar(日历) one full day, backward or forward. Traveling east, today becomes yesterday; traveling west, it is tomorrow.
21. Strange things happen to time when you travel because ____.
A. no day really has twenty-four hours B. the earth is divided into time zones
C. time zones are not all the same size D. no one knows where time zones begin
22. The difference in time between zones is ___.
A. seven days B. twenty-four hours
C. one hour D. more than seven days
23. From this selection it seems true that the Atlantic Ocean ____.
A. is one time zone
B. is divided into twenty-four zones
C. is divided into five time zones
D. cannot be crossed in five days
24. If you cross the ocean going east, you set your clock ____.
A. ahead one hour in each new time zone
B. ahead one hour for the whole trip
C. back one full day for each time zone
D. ahead by twenty-three hours
25. The International Date Line is the name for____
A. the beginning of any new time zone
B. any point where time changes by one hour
C. the point where a new day begins
D. any time zone in the Pacific Ocean
Task 2
Air pollution can spread from city to city. It even spreads from one country to another. Some northern European countries have had "black snow" from pollutants that have traveled through the air from other countries and have fallen with the snow. So air pollution is really a global problem.
Air pollution can kill babies, older people, and those who have diseases with their breath. As found in cities, air pollution increases the risks of certain lung (肺) diseases.
Air pollution can cause both airplane and car accidents because it cuts down visibility. (可见度) There are other possible health dangers from air pollution that we don't know much about. For example, scientists are trying to find out whether chemicals that reach us from the air may cause changes in our cells. These changes might cause babies to be born with serious birth defects (缺欠) Scientists are trying to learn how all the many chemicals we are apt (易于的) to take into our bodies work. That is another reason why it is so important to begin to control pollution now instead of waiting until we learn all the answers.
Air pollution costs us a lot of money. It corrodes (腐蚀) our buildings. It damages farm crops and forests. It has a destructive effect on our works of art. The cost of all this damage to our government is great. It would be much more worthwhile, both for us and for the government, to spend our tax dollars on air pollution control.
26. Air pollution may lead to airplane accidents because
A. it may cause pilots to be ill B. engines may fail from dirt
C. visibility is reduced D. it brings a lot of black snow
27. Scientists are trying to find a link between pollution and
A. intelligence levels B. birth problems
C. man's behavior D. the nervous system
28. Scientists have not yet determined
A. all of the effects of pollution on the human body
B. the successful control of pollution
C. when the atmosphere first became polluted
D. how some snow becomes black
29. The author suggests that before air pollution becomes more serious,
A. some factories should be forced to stop operating
B. buildings should be protected
C. more trees should be planted in cities
D. more money should be spent in solving the problem
30. We can conclude that ____.
A. civilization may be destroyed if pollution is not controlled.
B. pollution is more serious in Europe than it is inAmerica.
C. most people do not know that pollution is a serious problem.
D. we should learn all the answers before we begin to control pollution
Task 3
Cycling for Air—With Love
Ted Schredd doesn't like cars. He wants people to stop driving because cars make the air dirty. Ted had an idea. He said, "I'm going to cycle around North America. I want to show everyone that cycling is a fun way to get around. If more people ride bikes, the air will be cleaner."
He left his hometown with $ 160 in his pocket. When he got to San Diego, he met another cyclist. The cyclist invited Ted to speak at a big meeting about the environment. He said, "We'll pay your airfare to Texas and we'll pay you to talk about your cycling trip.” Two hours later, Ted was on a plane to the environmental conference and to a big surprise!
While he was at the conference, he met Deanna. It was love at first sight! They talked for six hours straight.
The next day, Ted called Deanna and asked her to finish the trip with him. Deanna said yes, sold everything in her apartment, gave her notice at work, and was on the road with Ted 20 days later!
"It was difficult at first," said Deanna. "Ted got up every morning at 6:00 a.m., but I wanted to sleep until noon." After a few days, they started having fun. As they cycled from Florida to Montreal and then back to Vancouver, every day was an adventure. People paid for their food in restaurants and gave them extra money. Some people gave them $50 or $100. They slept in people's backyards and drank beer with motorcycle gangs.
On their way back to Vancouver, they stopped in Edmonton to visit Ted's relatives. During the stopover, they got married. People tied a "Just Married" sign and tin cans to the backs of their bikes. They now want to write a book about their trip. "We want people to know that you can be an environmentalist and still have fun," Schredd said.
31. Ted Schredd went cycling because
A. he loved adventure.
B. cycling was a lot of fun.
C. he wanted to find himself a wife.
D. he supported environmental protection.
32. Ted got paid for
A. giving a talk about his cycling trip
B. cycling throughout North America
C. traveling around North America by air
D. attending conferences on cycling
33. The "big surprise" he had at the confer
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