III. 阅读理解。(2X15=30)

A

You’ve just got a new computer and you are delighted with it. It is doing everything you want it to do. But what are you going to do with your old computer?

In the past consumers have often paid high prices for their old computers, but how much do you think these computers are worth now? Few people want to buy a computer which has become out-of-date or has been replaced by a newer mode. Unfortunately, the only thing you can do with a computer which you have ad for five or six years is to throw it away with your other garbage.

What do many people do when they try to sell their old computers? Foolishly, they take into account its original cost and then reduce the price according to the age of the computer rather like a second-hand car. They forget that new computers are becoming cheaper every day, making old computers almost worthless. In 1985, for example, a good computer cost over $4,000. Then years later its owner would be lucky to get $ 400.

One well-known computer magazine recently compiled a list of 10 things to do with an old computer. One suggestion was to donate it to charity or give it as one of the small prizes in a competition. The final suggestion was to keep it in a safe place and hope that it would become a collector’s item in 15 or 20 years — though the article in the magazine admitted that in 15 or 20 years, there may be so many old computers that they will all be worthless.

  1. What does the underlined part mean?

A. Fashionable       B. No longer fashionable       C. Second hand      D. Worthless

  2. The best way to do with an old computer is _________.

       A. to throw it away                                                 B. to evaluate it and sell it     

C. to donate it to the poor                                         D. keep it at home

  3. How many ways are mentioned in the passage to do with an old computer?

       A. 10                    B. 12                                   C. 5                      D. 4

  4. The title of the passage could be __________.    

A.  Throw Away Your old computer                   

B.   How Much Does An Old Computer Cost Now?

C.  My Old Computer

D.  Unless Computer

B

    The money for the space program of the United States has been questioned by some people. There are suggestions that the money could be better spent elsewhere. Some people believe that the Apollo to the moon could have been better and more cheaply done by robots. Their arguments may have some value. It is true, however, that never in history was mankind so united or so focused on one event as when Neil A. Armstrong climbed down a ladder from the Apollo and stepped onto the moon. The effect of feelings of this event is something to be considered when we look at the space program. President Nixon spoke these words to the astronauts, “… all the people on this earth are truly one — one in the pride in what you have done ….” “We came in peace of all mankind.”  These words give noble ideas that we on earth must try to achieve in our daily lives. Perhaps the writer Archibald Macleish made the best comment as to what the moon flight — Apollo might mean for all mankind. He wrote that to see the earth as it truly is, small and beautiful, to see ourselves as brothers, brothers who know they are truly brothers.

  5. The writer believes that _____.

      A. the space program is worthless

      B. President Nixon made the best comment about the Apollo

      C. The effect of feelings of the event of the moon landing is important in judging its cost

      D. Archibald Macleish is a great writer

  6. The writer suggests that _____.

A.  the space flight should be questioned             

B. all the people on the earth watch TV

C. the moon flight may help us to see ourselves as brothers 

D. the astronauts came in peace

  7. The word “elsewhere” in the passage means _____.

   A. other programs           B. other countries          C. other places              D. other states

C

    Life gets noisier every day and very few people can be free from noise of some sort or another. It doesn’t matter where you live ------ in the middle of a modern city or a far-away village ---- the chances are that you will be disturbed by jet planes, transistor radios, oiled-powered engines, etc. We seem to be getting used to noise, too. Some people feel quite lonely without background music while they are working.

Scientific tests have shown that total silence can be a very frightening experience for a human being. However, some people enjoy listening to pop music which is very loud, and this can do harm to their eardrums. The noise level in some discs is far above the usual safety level for heavy industrial areas.

One recent report about noise and concentration suggested that although a lot of people say that any noise disturbs their concentration, what really influences the ability to concentration is a change in the level of noise. It goes on to say that a background noise which doesn’t change too much(music, for example many even help to concentrate.)

  8. According to this passage, the noise pollution ___________

A. has become the worst in the countryside.  B. has become better in big cities.

C. has spread from cities to villages.       D. has been controlled in modern cities.

  9. What does background music refer to?

A.  Music played while people are working 

B. Music played in the backyard.

C. Noise that continues while you are listening to other noises.

D. Music used to help people to concentrate.

  10. Some people have their hearing harmed

A. while listening to pop music                B. in complete silence 

C. when speaking loudly                      D. while watching TV

  11. Which of the following isn’t included among the things causing noise?

A. bicycles          B. motorcycles           C. electric engines        D. jet planes

                                 D

    I hear many parents saying that their teenagers are rebellious (反叛的). I wish it were so. At your age you ought to be growing away from your parents. You should be learning to stand on your own two feet. But take a good look at the present rebellion. It seems that teenagers are all taking the same way of showing that they disagree with their parents. Instead of striking out bravely on their own, most of them are trying to seize at one another’s hands for safety.

     They say they want to dress as they please. But they all wear the same clothes. They set off in new directions in music. But somehow reason for thinking or acting in thus-and-such a way is that the cords is doing it. They have come out of their cocoon --- into a larger cocoon.

     It has become harder and harder for a teenager to stand up against the popularity wave and to go his or her own way. Industry has firmly opened up a teenage market. These days every teenager can learn from newspapers and TV what a teenager should have and be. And many of today’s parents have come to award high marks for the popularity of their children. All this adds up to great difficulty for the teenager who wants to find his or her own path.

     But the difficulty is worth getting over. The path is worth following. You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party. You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records. You may have some thoughts that you don’t care to share at once with your classmates. Well, go to it. Find yourself. Be yourself. Popularity will come --- with the people who respect you for who you are. That’s the only kind of popularity that really counts.

  12. The writer’s purpose in writing this passage is to tell __________.

A. readers how to be popular in the world. 

B. teenagers how to learn to decide things for themselves.

C. parents how to control and guide their children.

D. people how to understand and respect each other.

  13. According to the writer, many teenagers think they are brave enough to act on their 

     own, but in fact, most of them ___________.

      A. have much difficulty in understanding each other. 

B. are not sure of themselves.

C. dare not do things.                     

D. are very much afraid of getting lost.

  14. During the teenage years, one should learn to ____________.

A. become different from others in as many ways as possible   

B. find one’s real self 

C. get into the right reason and become popular                        

D. rebel against parents

15.   Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

 A. There is no popularity that really counts.

B. What many parents are doing is actually keeping their children from finding their paths.

C. It is not necessarily bad for a teenager to disagree with his or her classmates.

D. Most teenagers say they want to do what they like to do, but in fact they do the same.