英语阅读（十四）
A
Tokyo: Our kids, the Japanese government announced, have forgotten
how to behave. They can’t be bothered with housework. If they see someone being
wronged, they probably look the other way.
Few countries have placed more importance on being well-behaved in
public than Japan. The simplest requests for directions often result in guided
tours. Smiling shop-keepers are still the rule. Lost wallets usually make their
way back to their owners.
But according to recent surveys, all that may be going the way of
the ancient hair-do(发式). And Japan’s
government has gone into something of a crisis mode (危急时刻).
A Japanese Education Ministry survey formed late in 1999 and made
public last month found that Japan moves behind other nations in reaching
youngsters right from wrong.
It also reported that Japanese children are less helpful and
do far less housework than their foreign peers(同龄人) in all classes. But they are better about taking dirty
dishes to the kitchen after dinner.
In addition, Japanese kids are more likely to dye their hair
and carry cell phones than American and Chinese kids, according to another
survey, by a Tokyo-based think-tank(专家小组).
Children in about 8 percent of public school classrooms are
so disorderly that teachers cannot hold lessons, further recent reports show.
Children refuse to sit, to listen or to stop talking. Older and middle-aged
Japanese continue to have a solid sense of good manners and social justice(正义), says Professor Yoshina Hirano from Shinshu University, who
was appointed to direct the ministry’s survey. Despite the knowledge of good
manners among adults, the breakdown in manners may be spreading, he said.
1．From the first paragraph, we can infer that .
A．the Japanese government
has gone bad
B．kids in Japan have a bad
memory
C．kids in Japan seldom
help their parents with housework
D．kids in Japan are too
busy to help others
2．The second paragraph seems to show us that .
A．the education system of
Japan is better than that of any other country
B．shopkeepers in Japan are
too kind to their customers
C．Japanese kids often find
wallets on their way customers
D．Japanese adults in
public places act politely to each other
3．The underline phrase “made public” in this passage
means .
A．known to all
B．used by everyone
C．related to everyone
D．found wash dishes after
dinner
4．It is implied in this passage that Japanese kids .
A．spend much time doing
their homework
B．lead an advanced modern
life
C．have their hair cut too
often
D．often wash dishes after
dinner
B
Some years ago industries had more freedom than they have
now, and they did not need to be as careful as they must be today. They did not
need to worry a lot about the safety of the new products that they developed.
They did not have to pay much attention to the health and safety of the people
who worked for them. Often new products were dangerous for the people who used
them; often conditions in the work place had very bad effects on the health of
the workers.
Of course sometimes there were real disasters which showed
the need foe changes. Also scientists who were doing research into the health
of workers sometimes produced information which governments should pay
attention to. At such time, there were inquiries(调查) into the cause of the disaster or the problems. New safety
rules were often introduced as a result of these inquiries; however, the new
rules came too late to protect the people who died or who became seriously ill.
Today many governments have special departments which
protect customers and workers. In the US, for example, there is a department
which tests new planes and gives warnings about possible problem. It also makes
the rules that plane producers must follow. Another department controls the
foods that companies sell. A third department looks at the places where people
work, and then reports any companies that are breaking laws which protect the
health and safety or workers. Of course, new government departments and new
laws cannot prevent every disaster or illness, but they are having some good
results. Our work places are safer and cleaner than before. The planes and cars
which we use for travel are better. Producers are thinking more about the
safety and health of the people who buy and use their products.
5．I can be concluded from the passage that in the
past .
A．companies were free to
put out any products they wanted to
B．workers often got ill
because of the poor working conditions
C．many people were killed
by the dangerous products
D．industries were not as
careful in management as they are today
6．It suggests in the passage that .
A．governments and
companies had different thoughts about the safety of products
B．governments paid little
attention to the safety of products
C．government officials
often did not listen to scientists
D．in the past no safety
laws were introduced by governments
7．Some years ago safety rules .
A．came into being as a
result of the workers’ demand
B．were effective enough to
protect workers and customers
C．were put forward because
of scientists’ advice
D．were introduced because
quite a number of people were killed
8．The special departments protect customers and workers in many
ways except by .
A．designing new
products
B．controlling the sale of
products
C．asking
questions
D．testing new products
C
E-mail systems at thousands of companies and government
offices around the world were attacked by a virus(病毒) called “Melissa” that disguises itself as an “important
message ”from a friend.
Even though there was a weekend warning, more than
50,000 companies at about 100 places around the world have been attacked by the
virus, computer experts said on Monday.
The virus began to show up last Friday and spread rapidly
the next first work day by making computers send off dozens of e-mails
containing the virus. Although the virus has no long lasting damage to a
computer, its effects were far-reaching.
Michael Vatis, a senior US official said military(军事的) and government computers were damaged, along with thousands
of the other institution’s systems.
The body of e-mail message says, “here is what you ask for-”
Once the user opens it, the virus digs into the user’s address book and sends
out messages to the first 50 addresses. The reason the virus spreads so rapidly
is that you’re getting it from people you know and trust. So anyone who gets an
unexpected e-mail with “Important Message” subject line is advised not to open
it and to delete(删除) it immediately.
9．The virus spreads rapidly because .
A．it makes computers work
without stop
B．it carries a word
“Important Message”
C．it sends out message to
dozens of computers at one time
D．it attacked military and
government offices
10．The underlined word “disguise” most probably means
“ .”
A．dress up B．cover
up C．paint
D．notice
11．Which of the following
is TRUE according to the passage?
A．The computer attacked by
the virus won’t work properly
B．Thousands of computers
are attacked by the virus one by one
C．The “Important Message”
carries an important message from a friend
D．Any computer with an
e-mail system will be attacked by the virus
12．Which of the following is the best title for this passage?
A．Keep an Eye Open for the
Virus
B．Important Message is a
Virus
C．Message from Friends
Contains Virus
D．Virus Melissa Strikes
Hard and Fast
D
The Fourth “21st Century Cup” National English Speaking
Competition to be held in Shanghai.
Organizers:China Daily and Shanghai Broadcasting Network
China University English Speaking Association(CUESA)
Co-sponsors:English-speaking Union(ESU); Lotus Software(China) Co,
Ltd.;Times Publishing Group of
Singapore; Hilton Shanghai; Pearson Education; Foreign Language Teaching
&Research Press
Date:March 26(Friday), 1999
Place: Hilton Shanghai
Competition Format: Each student will present a prepared
speech on the given topic, followed by a three-minute offhand speech and a
three-minute question and answer period with the judges. Prepared speech
period:six minutes Offhand speech period: three minutes Q & A period: three
minutes
Speech Topic: People and Nature: In search of harmony(和谐) in a new age-your personal opinion
(Topics for the offhand speech will be given on the day of competition).
Prizes:Besides books and certificates(证书). The top two winners will be offered scholarship(奖学金) to travel to the annual international English-speaking
competition, which will be held by the English-speaking Union in London in May,
1999. The third and fourth place winners will be offered a study trip to
Singapore, sponsored by the Times Publishing Group. The fifth through the 10th
place winners will be offered cash prizes. All the competitors will receive
certificates from the English-speaking Union and book prizes provided by
Pearson Education and the Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press. The
teachers of the top two winners will also receive a one-year membership to the
International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language(IATEFL)
13．The main purpose of this passage is .
A．to invite you to take
part in the competition
B．to tell you some
information of the competition
C．to help to improve your
spoken English
D．to show you how to win
the competition
14.Suppose you get the sixth place, you’ll .
A．travel to London for
free
B．become a one-year member
of IATEFL
C．get some books and a
certificate
D．get a chance to study in
Singapore
15．An “offhand speech” is .
A．a speech not longer than
three minutes
B．a speech without
preparation
C．a speech with a piece of
paper in hand
D．a speech which is well
prepared before
16．Which of the following statements is wrong?
A．The competitors won’t
know what they will speak about until March 26, 1999
B．Each student must speak
on at least two topics
C．The time-limit for each
student is 12 minutes
D．Only two students can have
the chance for the international competition
E
How good are U.S. drivers?
The CBSTV “National Drivers” showed that many U.S. drivers have a
lot to learn. Here’s why:
CBS picked 1,799 samples to take the test in TV studios in New
York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Los Angeles. More than two out of five of the
drivers failed the test. And the average score was the lowest passing mark-51
points out of a possible 80.
Chicago drivers did best with an average of 53 points. Los
Angeles drivers came next with 52 points. New York and Philadelphia drivers
tied with 50 points – a failing score. Drivers with 50 points or less were
rated “poorly informed” by the judges.
Here are some of the test results: (1)Are men better informed
drivers than women? –Yes. Men averaged 52 points. Women got an average of 49.
(2)Are older drivers better informed than younger drivers? –No. Drivers under
26 averaged 52 points. Drivers from 27 to 45 averaged 51. Drivers over 45
failed with 48 points on average. (3)Does education make a difference? –Yes.
College graduates averaged 52 points. High school graduates averaged 50. Those
without high school diplomas got 48. And people who had taken driver education
courses scored an average of 53 points- three more than those who hadn’t.
(4)Does driving experience make a difference? –Yes. Drivers with three or more
year’s experience averaged 51 points. Drivers with less experience averaged 49.
Here are some surprising facts brought out by the
test:(1)More than one out of three drivers did not know that a blinking red
light means a full stop. (2) Three out of ten drivers did not know that an
eight – sided sign means stop. (3)More than two out of three drivers did not
know what to do when being “tailgated”(危险地紧接行驶). The answer:slow down, steer to the right, and let the
driver behind pass.
The results of the test were turned over to the National Safety Council.
They will help future safety planning.
17．The author’s surpose of writing the article is to .
A．prove some safe driving
tips for readers
B．show that men are better
drivers than women
C．force the readers to
take driver education courses
D．tell the readers the
present situation of U.S. drivers
18．From the information in the last paragraph but one, we can
see that .
A．most of the drivers
failed the driving test
B．experience makes
difference among drivers
C．quite a few drivers lack
some driving knowledge
D．older drivers are better
informed than younger drivers
19．Which of the following as a group was regarded “poorly
informed” by the judges?
A．High school graduate
drivers.
B．People who had taken
driving courses.
C．Drivers from 27 to 45
years of age.
D．Drivers with 3 or more
year’s experience.
20．We can infer from the text that .
A．women are better
informed than men
B．education makes no
diference in the pass rate of the drivers
C．Los Angeles drivers are
the best informed ones in America
D．the test results will be
used as a guide for future safety planning
参考答案(十四) 1---5 CDABB 6---10 BDACB 11---15ADBCA 16---20 BDCAD