英语阅读（五）
A
London — Lazy students can now give up on work altogether as two Oxford University students have made scores of A－grade essays（论文）on the website（网站）for students to copy．
The essays are on the new website，“revise it．”
The website includes an“Essaylab” designed to make cheating（舞弊）as effective and effortless as possible．
Its homepage announces to surfers（网上冲浪者）：“The revise it Essaylab is a bank of hundreds of A－Level essays covering popular topics．”
“Next time you are asked to write an essay，why not see what we have on the subject？If you are in a lazy state of mind you can even use our guide to write the essays and then just hand them in．”
Nick Rose and Jordan Mayo，both 19 and first from Manchester，spent much of their first year as students at the university setting up the website．There is no charge for downloading the essays．
“I have never been very good at essay writing，”Rose admitted．“We don't see the essay bank as a cheating way．It's a surprising valuable resource．You can learn a lot by reading other people's work on the subject．”
Among other tips，the website suggests inventing important speeches to give essays extra weight，“Popular people to quote（引用）are Douglas Hurd or Disraeli．”
Hurd was a foreign secretary in the 1980s and Disraeli a 19th century prime minister．
Teachers are expressing their opinions by email that they are angry about the website that“encourages students to cheat，” but students disagree．
According to Rose，“Exams are a fight．It's us against them．”
1．It can be inferred from this passage that ____ ．
A．students who visit the website“revise it”are all lazy
B．students in Oxford University are all lazy
C．websites in Oxford University are all set up by students
D．websites can provide people with different kinds of information
2．Nick Rose and Jordan Mayo set up their website for the purpose of ____ ．
A．helping students to cheat in exams
B．helping students to improve their writing
C．making money to pay for their schooling
D．making their teachers free
3．What Rose said at last suggests that in England ____ ．
A．it is difficult for students to pass their exams
B．it is difficult for teachers to finish their teaching
C．students are not satisfied with the education system
D．students are too lazy to learn anything
B
Old Americans are separated into two classes．Retirement（退休）can be either heaven or hell．“I do believe on the whole the retiree（退休者）of tomorrow will be wealthier and healthier than the same group of 30 years ago，”says Robert Friedland，director of the National Academy on Ageing．“But that's only part of the picture．”There is also a large group whose household income hasn't been growing very much．For them the future is unhappy．
“Nature is not always kind，”says Dr．Robert Butler，an expert in medical care of old people，who was founding director of the National Institute on Ageing．The relationship between socio-economic position and life expectancy（预期寿命）has been known for a long time．Race is also connected．And education is a powerful tool in lengthening life．
The reality is that poor people are sicker as they age because they live in dirty neighbourhoods and have dirty jobs，they are left unprotected from environmental pollution，and the pressure of being poor wears down people's health，”according to Karen Davis，president of the Commonwealth Fund，which studies health issues．
“Cigarette smoking has a great effect because it is more common in lower socio-economic groups，”says Elizabeth Whelan，president of the American Council on Science and Health．“If you live in a state of hopelessness and helplessness and don't think about the future，you are more likely to take up life－threatening habits．”
“Race and income have large effects on death，”a team of researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1996，after researching on 24 million whites and 2．1 million blacks．
With the exception（例外）of black women，the highest income group had the lowest death rates and the lowest income group had the highest death rates regardless of race．
For black women there was no consistent pattern across income groups．
4．“Retirement can be either heaven or hell” means “____”．
A．if an American is out of work，he or she will feel happy
B．if an American retires from his post，he will lead a miserable life
C．old people in America have to choose a life-style
D．some old people in America lead a hard life
5．According to Dr．Robert Butler's opinion，____ plays the most important role in people's life expectancy．
A．nature B．race C．education D．colour
6．Poor people often get ill as they grow old．The reason is that ____ ．
A．they live in the countryside
B．they work with their hands
C．their families are too large
D．they become weaker
7．What Elizabeth Whelan says means that ____ ．
A．smoking makes people poor and hopeless
B．smoking is very popular with poor people
C．poor people should give up smoking
D．rich people in America never smoke
C
London—A morning's train ride away，across the channel，English kids discuss the fact of Liverpool's football team in a Paris pub．
Some Parisians（巴黎人）even started to travel to work in London．
In the 19th century，Charles Dickens compared the two cities，London and Paris，in“A Tale of Two Cities”．These days，it might be“A Tale of One City”．
As jobs grew scarce（not equal to the demand）at home over recent years，perhaps 250，000 Frenchmen moved across the channel．With an undersea tunnel，they could travel between cities in three hours．The European Union freed them from immigration and customs．
Paris，rich in beauty，is more stylish．But London feels more full of life，and more fun until the pubs shut down．
“For me，the difference is that London is real，alive，” said Trevor Wheeler，a finacial consultant．
Chantal Jaouen，a professional designer，agrees．“I am French，but I'll stay in London，”she said．
There is，of course，the other view．Julie Lenoux is a student who moved to London two years ago．“I think people laugh more in Paris，”she said．
“Both cities have changed beyond recognition，”said Larry Collins，an author and sometimes a Londoner．
Like most people who know both well，he finds the two now fit together comfortably．
“I first fell in love with Paris in the 1950s．Things are so much more ordered，and life is better．”
But certainly not cheaper．
In some parts of London，rents can be twice those on Avenue Foch in Paris．
Deciding between London and Paris requires a lifestyle choice．
Like Daphne Benoit，a French journalism student with perfect English，many young people are happy to be close enough so they don't have to choose．
“I love Paris，my little neighborhood，the way I can walk around a centre，but life is so organized，”she said．“In London，you can be who you want．No one cares．”
8．According to people's opinions，we can find that ____ ．
A．Parisians enjoy English food more than their own
B．Londoners seldom travel to Paris on holidays
C．both cities have their advantages
D．young people prefer to live in London
9．If more people move to a city，the result is that ____ ．
A．people become closer than before
B．the city becomes a wonderful place
C．everything is cheaper than before
D．they have to pay more money to live in a hotel
10．What's the meaning of the last sentence？
A．People can do everything in London．
B．People will feel lonely in London．
C．People in London enjoy living in different ways．
D．People in London enjoy a lawless life．
D
Until late in 20th century，most Americans spent time with people of generations．Now mid-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves．
That's because we group people by age．We put our three-year-olds together in day-care centers，our 13-year-olds in schools and sports activities，and our 80-year-olds in senior-citizen homes．Why？
We live away from the old for many reasons：Young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears of ageing and dying．It is much harder to watch someone we love disappear before our eyes．Sometimes it's so hard that we stay away from the people who need us most．
Fortunately，some of us have found our way to the old．And we have discovered that they often save the young．
A reporter moved her family onto a block filled with old people．At first her children were disappointed．But the reporter baked banana bread for the neighbours and had her children deliver it and visit．Soon the children had many new friends，with whom they shared food，stories and projects．“My children have never been less lonely，”the reporter said．
The young，in turn，save the old．Once I was in a rest home（养老院）when a visitor showed up with a baby．She was immediately surrounded．People who hadn't gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair．Even those who had seemed asleep woke up to watch the child．Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure．
Grandparents are a special case．They give grandchildren a feeling of security（安全）and continuity．As my husband put it，“My grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end．”Grandchildren speak of attention they don't get from worried parents．“My parents were always telling me to hurry up，and my grandparents told me to slow down，”one friend said．A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents：they are quieter，calmer，more trusting．
11．Now in an American family，people can find that ____ ．
A．children never live with their parents
B．not all working people live with their parents
C．aged people are supported by their grandchildren
D．grandchildren are supported by their grandparents
12．The reason that old people are left alone may be that ____ .
A．the old don't like to live in a big family
B．the young can't get enough money to support the old
C．different generations have different lifestyles
D．the old are too weak to live with the young
13．The fact that the reporter told us shows that ____ ．
A．old people in America lead a hard life
B．old people in America enjoy banana bread
C．she had no time to take care of her children
D．old people are easy to get along with
14．Seeing a baby，the old people got excited because ____ .
A．they had never seen a baby before
B．the baby was clever and beautiful
C．the baby brought them the image of life
D．the baby's mother would take care of them
15．Why do children not get attention from their parents？
A．Because they often make trouble and make their parents disappointed．
B．Because their parents are too busy to take care of them．
C．Because their parents have to take care of their grandparents．
D．Because their parents have been out of work for a long time．
E
The Gabon Viper is a snake that grows to two metres in length．It is black all over and as thick as a strong man's arm．When angry，it barks like a dog and spits poison．It is one of nature's most dangerous gifts to the world．Most people would prefer nature to keep gifts like that to itself．
Others think differently．They think that Gabon Vipers，along with other poisonous snakes，spiders and reptiles are perfect animal friends for their children．They believe that the neighbours will be envied if they keep a lion in the back yard．And they believe that no home is complete without a monkey or a parrot in a cage．That is why the trade in unusual pets is now worth over US ＄10 billion per year in spite of（尽管）being illegal in most countries．
The serious effect of the trade is the damage it does to the natural environment．Hunters catch young parrots by cutting down the trees which the birds use to make nests in．Baby monkeys always stay close to their mothers．So the hunters simply shoot the mothers．
These facts are now well known，but the trade continues．It seems that the strong desire to keep pets has deep roots in the human mind．Some psychologists（心理学家）say that it is a way for people to get closer to nature．People keep cats and dogs as a kind of historical echo（仿效）of the days when dogs were used to control sheep and cats were kept in the home to hunt mice and rats．As technology moves society further away from the natural world，the desire to keep in touch with it grows stronger．Dogs and cats become boring．Only snakes，bears，lions and other dangerous creatures satisfy some people's desire to get personal control over nature．
This is why there are now more tigers kept as pets in the United States than there are living naturally in the world．One result of this is an increase in attacks on humans．According to a report，“There is more chance of a child being killed by a Bengal Tiger in Texas than there is in Bengal．”
16．Some people keep dangerous animals in their back yards for the reason that ____ ．
A．they want to protect themselves from being killed
B．they want to show the fact that they will protect animals
C．they want to have the feeling of respect from their neighbours
D．they want to make a lot of money from the unusual animals
17．It can be concluded from this passage that ____ ．
A．keeping pets is very popular all over the world
B．keeping pets is very popular in some poor countries
C．keeping pets is against law in some rich countries
D．keeping pets costs a lot of money in some countries
18．Which may be the effective way to stop people catching animals from forests？
A．Stopping people cutting trees in forests．
B．Separating baby animals from their mothers．
C．Making people know the danger of their action．
D．Providing hunters with other jobs．
19．According to some psychologists' opinion we can find that ____ .
A．dogs and cats used to be the most popular pets
B．without animals human beings would feel lonely
C．it is not right for human beings to control nature
D．modern people should prefer dangerous animals to dogs and cats
20．The writer of this passage seems to show us his worry that ____ .
A．dangerous animals will kill more people over the world
B．some animals will disappear if people destroy their living places
C．modern technology will destroy the balance of nature
D．people will spend too much money on keeping pets
参考答案 (五) 1---5 DBCDC 6---10 DBCDC 11---15 BCDCB 16---20 CDCBB