Fast Reading Materials for Senior Grade

I. 完形填空(共20题；每小题1.5分，满分30分)

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

I never go shopping but I quarrel with my husband．We once needed a 6-foot-wide quilt．I

 21 him to a nearby supermarket．While wandering around, 　22　eyes often fell on the silk quilts worth about $200，but either the colors or the patterns　23  me．When I　24  at fl desirable one．I found I had lost my　25  shopper．I looked back and saw him talking with a girl 　26　．I got angry and went up to　27　him when something dazzled(眩目)me：a beautiful　28  quilt! My husband was asking a lot about the quilt and　29  it fire fully to make sure if it was 100％made of wool．I also joined him，but when I found the　30　  l withdrew(退缩).Alas，$500 ! At this time，three other assistants，who might have sensed my  31　with my husband, surrounded me and offered me a(n)  32　introduction to their goods.　33 to refuse their enthusiasm，I said to　34  ，“I’m waiting for you downstairs．”

I had thought he would go down on my heels，but waiting on and on　35  the lift，to see no figure of his，I had to stroll around waiting．A quarter later，there he came，a red quilt in his hand—the very woolen one! The very thing only for new couple! But he had bought it on his own．I couldn’t help getting angry and shouting at him．“Why? Do you have so much money as to　36  it about?”

“Don’t you think good things cost dear　37　wear well?”said my husband strongly．

“Are you sure fl twice dearer thing must last twice longer than a cheap one?”

　  “At least．there is no worry that it falls out of fashion　38  we get it．”

I was driven mad by him．I turned and went home  39　．But before 1 walked two or three steps he　40  me up and walked together with me，one hand dragging my arm and the other carrying the quilt．

21．A．carried　　B．showed　　　　 C．sent　　　　　　　D．dragged

22．A．people’s　　 B．my　　　　　　 C．his　　　　　　D．our

23．A．failed　　　　B．interested　　　　C．troubled　　　　　D．pleased

24．A．wandered　　　B．hesitated　　　　 C．stopped　　　　D．stared

25．A．other　　　　 B．fellow　　　　 C．following　　　　 D．next

26．A．model　　　　　B．customer　　　　　C．assistant　　　　 D．companion

27．A．quarrel with　B．stop　　　　　　　C．disturb　　　　D．spy on

28．A．fur　　　　B．cotton　　　　 C．silk　　　　　　　D．woolen

29．A．examining　　 B．thinking about　　C．1earning　　　　　D．testing

30．A．pattern　　B．color　　　　　　　C．quality　　　　D．price

31．A．relationship　B．opinion　　　　C．feelings　　　　　D．attitude

32．A．false　　　　 B．detailed　　　　　C．actual　　　　 D．exact

33．A．Willing　　B．Shy　　　　　　C．Ashamed　　　　D．Afraid

34．A．the girl　　　B．the shoppers　　　C．the assistants　　D．my husband

35．A．at　　　　 B．in　　　　　　 C．on　　　　　　 D．to

36．A．spend　　　　　B．waste　　　　　　 C．throw　　　　　　　D．use

37．A．but　　　　B．and　　　　　　C．so　　　　　　 D．or

38．A．when　　　　　B．as long as　　　　C．soon after　　　　D．before

39．A．hopelessly　　B．angrily　　　　C．1ater　　　　　　 D．slowly

40．A．kept　　　　　B．followed　　　　　C．checked　　　　D．caught

II. 阅读理解(共25小题。第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题1分；满分45分)

第一节 阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

A

London—For many years John Randolph hesitated at whether to cycle to the workplace 10 miles away every day until July 7，2005，when London’s underground and buses got exploded．

“I shouldn’t have waited until there came the threat of bomb，”said the 32-year-old manager of a restaurant．He said he had lost 7 pounds and saved￡185 bus fare since he began to use the bicycle．

London is quite different from Amsterdam and Copenhagen，where cycling to work is very common．It is only since the bombing event in which 52 lives were lost that London has rapidly been turning into an important cycling city．There are an increasing number of such cyclists as Randolph in London．They set up cycling clubs and websites，and call themselves“bomb dodgers (躲避炸弹者)”．

So far there are no reliable data to show how many people in London using bicycles。but according to London Transportation Administration(LTA), the number of London cyclists may increase by 52％，based on the volume of bicycles crossing the Thames．

Despite this，there are only 2％of Londoners riding bicycles every day，sharply compared to 20％in Copenhagen，and 28％in Amsterdam．The mayor of London Ken Livingstone，fl cycling amateur too，hopes that the percentage of cyclists will have gone up to 80％ by 2010．

“Shuttling through London，cycling is the quickest, cheapest and most environmentally friendly way．More and more Londoners are beginning to use bicycles．In the past five years，the number has doubled while traffic accidents have fallen by 40％．”

According to London Cycling Campaign，Livingstone attempts to rebuild London into a capital of bicycles，in which ease there win be much fewer traffic jams and pollution．There are now 273．mile-long cycle lanes，fl half of which have been built since 2000．Its goal is to build 560-mile-long cycle lanes by 2010．

41．Randolph lost 7 pounds________________________．

A．by taking buses　　　　　　　　 B．by riding fl bicycle

C．because of threat of bomb　　　 D．because of working in fl distant place

42．What has caused London to become a cycling city?

A．The bombing event．　　　　　　　　 B．Cycling clubs．

C．Cycling tourism．　　　　　　　　D．London Cycling campaign．

43．How many Londoners are using bicycles now?

A．52％　　　　B．28％　　　　　 C．20％　　　　　 D．2％

44．According to the mayor of London，all are the advantages of cycling except__________．

A．improvement of roads　　　　　　B．1ess pollution

C．saving money　　　　　　　　　　D．fewer traffic accidents

　B

Harry was a Scottish shepherd dog，who turned part of the happy family when Toney was 6，and ever since Toney has had a shadowing“brother”．Young as he was then，Tony was able to take good care of little Harry．Toney’s greatest pleasure of a day was taking Harry out to the meadow and playing with him．

One day，Toney was planning to buy a present for Harry when he found there was something

wrong with Harry：he kept being him to scratch(搔痒)his long hair，which lost its former gloss and large locks of which would fall when touched；what’s the worse，his mouth gave off bad breath，which was what Tony，who liked kissing him，couldn’t stand most．Is Harry ill? Mom also found Harry’s problem．At a weekend, Mum and Toney took Harry to an animal hospital．After an examination，the doctor found out the cause of the disease．In fact，it had something to do with Toney．That is，Toney had always fed Taney on his favorite snacks，so that he lost interest in pet feed．“A dog’s demand for protein(蛋白质)，fat and carbohydrate(碳水化合物)differs from that of a human being，”explained the doctor．“Most of human food is high in protein，which doesn’t agree with a dog, for his body calls for other microelements(微量元素)．So the big problem with human food is that it can’t supply pet animals with balanced nutrition．So you see，sometimes something good for one turns out bad for another．”

On the way home，holding Harry in Rarities Toney was silent a11 the way．In the past，when Mum had fed Harry on dog feed，Toney had thought Mum maltreated him，so he had often thrown“delicious”meat under the table stealthily, and shared all his snacks with him．Good friends should share everything．But this caused trouble to Harry．

“Let’s buy Harry pet feed，Mum，”said Toney；meanwhile he said to himself：1 will keep my Harry the healthiest puppy on earth．

45．The passage is mainly about___________．

A．the relationship between a boy and a pet dog

B．how to take care of a sick dog

C．a boy’s experience of keeping a dog

D．how to raise a dog

46．According to the doctor, what caused Harry’s illness?

A．Feeding him with dog feed．

B．Feeding him with the food lacking protein and fat．

C．Not supplying him with balanced nutrition．

D．Not supplying him with microelements．

47．Toney fed his delicious food to Harry，because__________．

A．he intended to supply him with balanced nutrition

B．he treated him as his good friend

C．he wished to keep him the healthiest

D．he thought Harry liked human food better

48．Which of the following do you think can best serve as the title of this passage?

A．Good Companions　　　　　　　　 B．Why Was Harry 1117

C．An Unforgettable Lesson　　　　 　 D．How To Be Good Friends

C

Maybe nobody on earth spends more time looking for things than my mother．She is always

“seeking”，but can never learn to lay things where they belong．It is my routine to wait for her to look for her keys or purse before going out．

There are so many things for Mum to look for every day．One weekend，Mum couldn’t find her glasses—these are what she has to look for several times fl day，for she can’t see without　them．She urged my brother and me to help her．We searched everywhere，beside her pillow，under the bed，in the quilt，behind the sofa cushions…，only failing to find them．Brother was tired and thirsty．He opened the fridge to fetch an iced drink，shouting“I dare say Mum’s glasses will be gone for ever…”when he froze dumbfounded(瞠目结舌)：right there lie the glasses!

One hour before，Mum had taken from the fridge a bag of frozen seafood for supper．She had take an off the glasses to read the directions on the hag and placed them in the fridge．When she finished reading，she closed the door and left，leaving the glasses“chilled”in the fridge．

Eye drops，nail-clippers，the calculator，the dictionary，the TV remote control are all among the frequently-sought objects．Mum knows I hate looking for things for her，so she seldom asks me for help．She，instead，often does searching herself in silence．I am accustomed to seeing her pacing up and down the house seeking and don’t trouble myself to ask her what she is looking for. Meanwhile，she gets along quite leisurely，now seeking a while and now reading a while and then seeking again…．

Should the house be as orderly as barracks(军营)one day，so that Mum needn’t take trouble to find her belongings，1 would feel quite uneasy．

49．From the passage，it is not so difficult to conclude that the writer_________．

A．hates her mother’s forgetfulness　 B．admires her mother’s forgetfulness

C．praises her mother’s forgetfulness D．is used to her mother’s forgetfulness

50．The underlined word“routine”(in Para．1)may mean“　　”．

A．a regular practice B．a daily job　 C．a usual way D．a common sense

51．Which of the following can best describe the mother’s character?

A．Forgetful but content with the current situation．

B．Forgetful but intending to get rid of it．

C．Forgetful but never recognizing her weakness．

D．Forgetful but proud of this．

52．What is the right order which shows the process that“my”Mother lost her key?

a．take off the glasses　　 b．fetching seafood　　　c．1ooking for the glasses

d．reading the directions　　　 e．closing the fridge

A．b，a，d，e，c  B．c，b，a，d，e　　C．b，d，a，e，c　　D．c，b，d，a，e

D

It is no exaggeration(夸张)to say that today’s American youths are the most creative and daring in the world．They dare to do whatever they want to：from setting up their dream kingdom to running successful corporations．According to the latest data，out of America’s total enterprises(企业)，11％are established and managed by the youths under 25．Here are some of their enterprises．

International Genealogy(寻根)Service

This enterprise is intended to provide an individual with the service to search for his or her ancestral home。or a company for the information about how their father，grandfather or forefather managed the company．It will turn their findings into a particular report or presswork so that the client(顾客)can keep it for long．

Key websites：www．flippinweb．com　　　　www．ci．nashua.nh..us

www．hometown．ao1．com　　 www．progenealogists．com

Fashion／Image Design Service

Fashion or image design industry is developing amazingly rapidly in USA，because many section managers or corporation CEOs who lose heir power or influence put their failures down to the fashion or image problems such as dressing，the style of conversation，manners or grace．They turn to a fashion corporation for advice on how to move their figures，how to communicate with others with eyes，how to match their speech and pronunciation with their statuses，how to dress to leave others good impressions…．

Key websites：www.fashioncampus．it　　　 www．comeprima-fashion．com

www．fashionsch001．kent．edu　　　origininc．tripod．com

Mystical Shopping Service Provider

Some goods can not be got in markets but demanded by certain customers，for example，a historical memorial，or an object which is not costly but of special significance to some customer，or a precious photo of an old building．The customer may put up a message online or phone am mystical shopping service provider and tell them what he or she wants．When the provider finds the object，he usually sends the customer a report or the photo of the object．If the customer wants to get the object，it may cost a lot more，but those who go mystical shopping are usually ready to pay the large sum．

Key websites：www．boingboing．net/2003 03 01 archive．html

www2．usenetarchive．org/Dir63/File 175．html

www．britek．com．tw/2025-Masters-Degree-Education-Online．html

Reminder Service

Nowadays, the Americans are too busy．Afraid of forgetting their family members’，relatives’, 1overs’or friends’ birthdays，or other important days，they have these particular days listed and handed to a reminder service corporation，80 that it will remind them beforehand by  e-mails，phone calls or fax．

Key websites：www．candor．com/reminder　　　　　www．flower-hs．com

www．douzhe．com/does/jh／ll/68676．html

53．If you want to get a photo of an old building，you can get help from__________．

A．image design service　　　　　　　　B．mystical shopping service

C．genealogy service　　　　　　　　　 D．reminder service

54．If you want to get your grandfather’s image，you’d better go to__________．

A．www．fashionschoo1．kent．edu

B．www．douzhe．com/does/jh/11/68676．html

C．www. hometown．aol．com

D．www2．usenetarchive．org/Dir 63/File 175．html

55．Reminder service can remind you__________．

A．when to attend an important meeting

B．what to wear when attending your friend’s birthday party

C．when to hold your birthday party

D．what to send to your relative for his or her birthday

E

In daily life we often find such phenomenon：under pressure men often drink down while　women eat much chocolate or shop around；women often blame men for insensitivity or seldom　showing tender affection while men often accuse women of their slowness in reading road signs or wordiness．

Why are men and women so different in thinking modes? The Pierces，Australian experts in body language，give an amusing explanation of the question in their newly published book Adam’s Brain。Eve’s Brain．

■ Why do women like chatting while men prefer “saying to themselves”?

It is because a man’s brain is so well districted(分区)that a11 the input in formation is sorted and stored in certain areas while a woman’s doesn’t keep information this way，so that all the problems come forth at once．Consequently，when required to solve a problem，a man will say“Let me think it over” and then sit silently(or “talking inside”)and emotionlessly until he finds the answer；on the other hand，the only way out for a woman is to pour it out．

■ Why does a man often hide his feelings?

It is from a traditional custom and continuously strengthened by the social circumstances that a man should be brave and not show weakness，that is，a man should be“manly”．If a man shows his feelings such as shedding tears or complaining of his had luck，or jumping and shouting with joy，he is considered sissy or womanly．The education a man receives from a child is that he should control his feelings．This always puzzles a woman，who takes it for granted that one cries when sad。laughs when happy．When a woman sees a man down，she will go up to help，which is almost sure to hurt him because he thinks he is considered weak or pitiful．

■ The woman likes hearing“I love you”, but why is the man unwilling to say it?

It is not so difficult for a woman to say“I love you”, because her brain structure fills her world with feelings，emotions，communication and language．A woman can easily sense whether her feeling is friendship or love while a man can’t tell desire from love．Maybe what he does now is that he can’t quit this girl．A man doesn’t know he falls in love until several years passes．A woman is always the first one to know whether love exists，so in most essonite is the woman who ends the relationship．

56．What causes men to keep silent but women to talk a lot?

A．That men’s brain is well-organized while women’s poorly-organized．

B．That men hate showing weakness while women are rich in emotions．

C．That men are slow in expression while women strong in oral language．

D．That men like saying to themselves while women like sharing their feelings．

57．The underlined word“This”(in Para．4)refers to__________．

A．men’s controlling heir feelings　　B．the traditional custom

C．men’s being considered sissy　　　 D．men’s strange behavior(行为)

58．In which aspect can we infer a woman is stronger than a man according to the Pierces?

A．Thinking independently　　　　　　　B．Controlling her feelings

C．Communication　　　　　　　　　 D．Telling different feelings

59．According to the Pierces，once a man says“love”to a girl，___________．

A．it is certainly not love　　　　B．it is not necessarily love

C．it shows he really loves her　　D．he knows he can’t quit her

60．The purpose of this passage is_____________．

A．to explain an interesting phenomena B．to introduce a book

C．to present a new research　　　 D．to tell strange stories