電大工商學位英語考試--閱讀理解練習6

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A

Geneva is situated between the Jura Range and the Alps on the western end of Lake Geneva. Capital of Peace is one of its names— the European headquarters of the United Nations lies here in Palais des Nations. Another worthy name for this city with a humanitarian tradition（人道主義傳統）and international character is the World’s Smallest Metropolis. Parks,splendid stores and lively streets in the old part of town and its 2000 — year history wait to be discovered.

he Jet d’Eau together with the Flower Watch are the main attractions every year for the tourists visiting Geneva. The Jet d’Eau has become the symbol(象徵)of Geneva for a long time. This is a 140 meters high water monument with a rich history. Eight 13,500—watt projectors light the grand column(圓柱)of the fountain in the evening, from early March until the second Sunday of October. The Flower Watch, which was created at the edge of the English Garden in 1955,reminds us about that Geneva is the birthplace of the Swiss clock and watch making, and that this industry has become internationally famous, as well through the quality of the watches as through their beautiful appearance.

Sails on Lake Geneva are also enjoyable. The Lake of Geneva, lying among the Alps, is a true inland sea, making possible a wide range of pleasant boat trips, you can relax and watch the beautiful scenes pass by.

56. Which of the following is NOT suitable for describing Geneva?

A. Capital of Peace.

B. Palais des Nations.

C. The World’s Smallest Metropolis.

D. The birthplace of the Swiss clock and watch making.

57. The Jet d’Eau in the second paragraph refers to ________ .

A. the water fountain B. the English Garden

C. a new scene with electric lighting D. the name of a famous watchmaker

58.What do we learn about the Lake of Geneva from the text?

A. It is the symbol of Geneva.

B. It lies among the Jura Range.

C. It has a direct passage to the ocean.

D. It is a large body of water of tourist interest.

B

Say you are a 17th century construction worker who’s worked long and hard to build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor.

Now say that the emperor orders your fingertips cut off so you can never build another one. Yes, that is the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous buildings in the world. And the tale behind the construction is just as impressive(印象深刻的) as the building itself.

First, there’s the emperor of northern India, Shah Jehan, also called the King of the World. In 1612, Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal. Madly in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years. But then sadness came. As Mumtaz was about to give birth to child number 14, she said she had heard her unborn baby cry out. It was a sign of death. And as Mumtaz lay dying, she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial(紀念物) to celebrate their love.

When the heartbroken Jehan appeared eight days after his wife’s death, his people were shocked to see that his coal-black hair had turned snow-white.

Putting away his sadness, Jehan ordered his wife’s dying wish carried out. More than 20,000 workers labored nearly 22 years to complete the construction. In 1653, Jehan placed Mumtaz’s remains in the center under the building.

And then, son number five, Aurangzeb, murdered his brothers and took over the power from his aging father. Hehan lived the rest of his days－eight years, to be exact － imprisoned not far from the Taj Mahal. Jehan was only allowed to climb onto the top of his prison to see the timeless treasure from a distance. But never again would he be allowed to visit it－until he was buried next to his wife.

Today 25,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day. Though the reason for building the tower was a strange, sad story, those who see its breath-taking beauty are reminded of the happiness that inspired(激發……的靈感) its construction.

59．The first two paragraphs were written to show that _____.

A.the Taj Mahal is an unusual historic building

B. ancient Indian emperors were cruel

C. construction workers led a hard life in ancient India

D. India has some of the most famous buildings in the world

60．The Taj Mahal was first built as _____.

A. a prison B. a gift to Mumtaz

C. a memorial building D. a tourist attraction

61．We learn from the text that Mumtaz probably died in _____.

A. 1626 B. 1632 C. 1634 D. 1653

62．The underlined word “happiness” in the last sentence refers to _____.

A. the married happiness of the emperor and his wife

B. The great pleasure Jehan once fund in exercising his power

C. the happiness Jehan felt on completing the Taj Mahal

D. the pleasure tourists experience when visiting the Taj Mahal.

C

A letter to Edward, a columnist(報刊專欄作家）

Dear Mr Expert:

I grew up in an unhappy and abusive home. I always Promised myself that I’d get out as soon as possible. Now, at age 20,I have a good job and a nice house, and I’m really proud of the independence I’ve achieved.

Here’s the problem: several of my friends who still live with their parents wish they had places like mine — so much so that they make mine theirs.

It started out with a couple of them spending the weekends with me. But now they seem to take it for granted that they can shou up any time they like. They bring boyfriends over, talk on the phone and stay out forever.

I enjoy having my friends here sometimes— it makes the place feel comfortable and warm— but this is my home, not a party house. I was old enough to move out on my own, so why can’t I seem to ask my friends to respect my privacy(隱私)?

Joan

Edward’s reply to Joan

Dear Joan:

If your family didn’t pay attention to your needs when you were a child, you probably have trouble letting others know your needs now.

And if you’ve gathesed yourfriends around you to rebuild a happy family atmosphere(氣氛),you may fear that saying no will bring back the kind of conflict you grew up with— or destroy the nice atmosphere you now enjoy. You need to understand that in true friendship it’s okay to put your own needs first from time to time.

Be clear about the message you want to send. For example, “I really love your company but I also need some privacy. So please call before you come over.”

63. We can learn from the first letter that Joan Edward ________ .

A. lives away from her parents

B. takes pride in her friends

C. knows Mr Expert quite well

D. hates her parents very much

64.We can infer from the first letter that ________ .

A. Joan considers her friends more important than her privacy

B. Joan’s friends visit her more often than she can accept

C. Joan doesn’t like the parties at all

D. Joan dislikes the boyfriends her friends bring over

65. According to Mr Expert, why can’t Joan tell her friends her feelings?

A. She is afraid of hurting her friends.

B. She does not understand true friendship.

C. Her family experience stops her from doing so.

D. She does not put her needs first.

66. The underlined word “conflict” in the second letter means ________ .

A. dependent life B. fierce fight C. bad manners D. painful feeling

67.The second letter suggests that Mr Expert ________ .

A. is worried about Joan’s problem

B. warns Joan not to quarrel with her friends

C. advises Joan on how to refuse people

D. encourages Joan to be brave enough

D

Have you ever had the strange feeling that you were being watched? You turned around and ,sure enough, someone was looking right at you!

Parapsychologists(靈學家)say that humans have a natural ability to sense when someone is looking at them. To research whether such a “sixth sense”really exists, Robert Baker, a psychologist(心理學家)at the University of Kentucky, performed two experiments.

In the first one, Baker sat behind unknowing people in public places and stared at the backs of their heads for 5 to 15 minutes. The subjects（受試者）were eating, drinking, readingstudying, watching TV, or working at a computer. Baker made sure that the people could not tell that he was sitting behind them during those periods. Later, when he questioned the subjects, almost all of them said they had no sense that someone was staring at them.

For the second experiment, Baker told the subjects that they would be stared at from time to time from behind a two way mirror in a laboratory setting. The people had to write down when they felt they were being stared at and when they weren’t. Baker found that the subjects were no better at telling when they were stared at and when they weren’t .Baker found that the subjects were no better at telling when they were started at than if they had just guessed.

Baker concludes that people do not have the ability to sense when they’re being stared at.If people doubt the outcome of his two experiments, said Baker, “I suggest they repeat the experiments and see for themselves.”

68. The purpose of the two experiments is to ________ .

A. explain when eople can have a sixth sense

B. show how people act while being watched in the lab

C. study whether humans can sense when they are stared at

D. prove why humans have a sixth sense

69.In the first experiment, the subjects ________ .

A. were not told that they would be stared at

B. lost their sense when they were stared at

C. were not sure when they would be stared at

D. were uncomfortable when they were stared at

70.The underlined word “outcome” in the last paragraph most probably means ________ .

A. valu B. result C. performance D. connection

71. What can be learned from the passage?

A. People are born with a sixth sense.

B. The experiments support parapsychologists’idea.

C. The subjects do not have a sixth sense in the experiments.

D. People have a sixth sence in public places.

E

Besides giving off gases and dusts into the air, humans produce waste that is poured on the environment. Often, this waste produced by major industries and people is harmful to both nature and human life.

One of the main causes of the large amount of dangerous waste is that people do not realize how large a problem it is. Because it can be simply removed and sent to a landfill(廢渣填埋場),the problem is often believed to end there. In addition, industries have often shown an unwillingness to find ways to deal with dangerous waste because of the related expenses. Many industries and governments build simple landfills to store waste, and often just pour waste chemicals into nearby bodies of water. Often, chemicals used for industrial production cause dangerous forms of waste.The amount of these chemicals has increased greatly in the past, but it is often difficult and expensive to get rid of these chemicals or to store them in a way safe to human life and the environment.

Every year, major health problems result from dangerous waste. Sadly, it is often only after someone has died or become seriously ill that governments will take measures to reduce levels of harmful waste.

Some governments have realized how serious the dangerous waste problem is and are now trying to settle this problem. They are also trying to limit the amount of waste industries are allowed to produce.

Not only governments but ordinary people as well must work together to solve the problem. They can choose not to buy those products which require the production of dangerous waste, and produce less harmful waste themselves. Many scientists think that waste production can be cut. The waste can be reduced by at least one third using existing technologies and methods.

72. What would be the best title for the text?

A. Measures of Reducing Dangerous Waste

B. Danger of Harmful Waste to Mankind

C. Dangerous Waste and Water Pollution

D. Environmental Protection

73.According to the text, people ________ .

A. do not produce harmful waste in their daily life

B. do not know where to place the dangerous waste

C. are not clear about how serious the dangerous waste problem is

D. are not sure about where harmful waste ends

74.What troubles industries most in dealing with the dangerous waste problem?

A. How to get government support.

B. How to increase their production.

C. How to store harmful waste.

D. How to cut down the related costs.

75. What can be inferred from the passage?

A. The polluting industries are not allowed to sell their products.

B. Present technologies have settled the harmful waste problem.

C. Everyone should obey the government rules for the problem.

D. To solve the problem requires the efforts of the whole society.

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