英语阅读作业

1、Passage 1 Everyone has heard of the San Andreas fault （断层）, which constantly threatens California and the West Coast with earthquakes. But how many people know about the equally serious New Madrid fault in Missouri? Between December of 1811 and February of 1812, three major earthquakes occurred, all

2、 centered around the town of New Madrid, Missouri, on the Mississippi River. Property damage was severe. Buildings in the area were almost destroyed. Whole forests fell at once, and huge cracks opened in the ground, allowing smell of sulfur（硫磺）to filter upward. The Mississippi River itself completel

3、y changed character, developing sudden rapids and whirlpools. Several times it changed its course, and once, according to some observers, it actually appeared to run backwards.Few people were killed in the New Marid earthquakes, probably simply because few people lived in the area in 1811; but the s

4、everity of the earthquakes are shown by the fact that the shock waves rang bells in church towers in Charleston, South Carolina, on the coast. Buildings shook in New York City, and clocks wer stopped in Washington, D.C. Scientists now know that America's two major faults are essentially differen

5、t. The San Andreas is a horizontal boundary between two major land masses that are slowly moving in opposite directions. California earthquakes result when the movement of these two masses suddenly lurches （倾斜） forward. The New Madrid fault, on the other hand, is a vertical fault; at some points, po

6、ssibly hundreds of millions of years ago, rock was pushed up toward the surface, probably by volcanoes under the surface. Suddenly, the volcanoes cooled and the rock collapsed, leaving huge cracks. Even now, the rock continues to settle downwards, and sudden sinking motions trigger （触发） earthquakes

7、in the region. The fault itself, a large crack in this layer of rock, with dozens of other cracks that split off from it, extends from northeastArkansas through Missouri and into southern lllinois. Scientists who have studied the New Madrid fault say there have been numerous smaller quakes in the ar

8、ea since 1811; these smaller quakes indicate that larger ones are probably coming, but the scientists say have no method of predictingwhen a large earthquake will occur.1. This passage is mainly about. A.the New Madrid fault in MissouriB.the causes of faults C.the San Andreas and the New Madrid faul

9、tsD.current scientific knowledge about fault2. The New Madrid fault is.A.a vertical faultB.a horizontal faultC.a more serious fault than the San Andreas faultD.responsible for forming the Mississippi River3. We may conclude from the passage that.A.California will become an island in futureB.the New

10、Madrid fault will eventually develop a mountain range in Missouri C.it is probably as dangerous to live in Missouri as in California D.A big earthquake will occur to California soon4. This passage implies that.A.horizontal faults are more dangerous than vertical faults.B.Vertical faults are more dan

11、gerous than horizontal faultsC.California will break into pieces by an eventual earthquakeD.Earthquakes occur only around fault areas 5. As used in the first sentence of the fourth paragraph, the word essentially means.A. greatlyB.basically C.extremely D.necessarilyPassage 2 In 1960-1961, Chad （乍得）

12、harvested 9800 tons of cotton seed for the first time in its history, and put out the flag a little too soon. The efforts of the authorities to get the peasants back to work, as they had slacked off （松懈） a great deal the previous year during independence celebrations, largely contributed to it. Also

13、, rains were well spaced, and continued through the whole month of October. If the 1961-1962 total is back to the region of 45000 tons, it is mostly because efforts slackened again and sowing was started too late. The average date of sowing is about July 1st. If this date is simply moved up fifteen

14、or twenty days, 30000 to 60000 tons of cotton are gained, depending on the year. The peasant in Chad sows his millet （小米） first, and it is hard to criticize this instinctive priority given to his daily bread. An essential reason for his lateness with sowing cotton is that at the time when he should

15、leave to prepare the fields he has just barely sold the cotton of the previous season. The work required to sow, in great heat, is psychologically far more difficult if one's pockets are full of money. The date of cotton sales should therefore be moved forward as much as possible, and purchases

16、of equipment and draught animals encouraged. Peasants should also be encouraged to save money, to help them through the difficult period between harvests. If necessary they should be forced to do so, by having the payments for cotton given to them in installments （分期付款）. The last payment would be ma

17、de after proof that the peasant has planted before the deadline, the date being advanced to the end of June. Those who have done so would receive extra money whereas the last planters would not receive their last payment until later. Only the first steps are hard, because once work has started the p

18、easants continue willingly on their way. Educational campaigns among the peasants will play an essential role in this basic advance, early sowing, on which all the others depend. It is not a matter of controlling the peasants. Each peasant will remain master of his fields. One could, however, sugges

19、t the need for the time being of kind but firm rule, which, as long as it cannot be realized by the people, should at least be for the people.6. In 1960-1961, Chad had a good harvest of cotton because.A.the government greatly encouraged peasants B.rains favored the growth of cottonC.Both A）and B）D.C

20、had gained independence in the previous year7. We learn from the passage that the date of sowing cotton is usually.A. on June 15thB. on July 1st C. on July 15thD.on July 20th8. As used in the third sentence of the second paragraph,daily breadrefers to.A.breakfast B.bread and butterC.milletD.rice 9.

21、In order to help them through the difficult time between harvests the peasants have to.A.be encouraged to save moneyB.sell cotton in advance C.sow cotton in time D.plant millet first10. Which of the following is NOT true?A.Educational campaigns are very important to early sowing.B.Peasants should re

22、main the masters of their fields.C.Of all the advances that the writer hopes for, early sowing is the most important. D.Government might as well make good and firm rule for peasants.Passage 3 For most people learning to drive, the driving test arises ahead as a major barrier. It is also a general so

23、urce of conversation whenever drivers are gathered together. There are probably more tall stories about the driving test than about any other motoring subjects; the most remarkable thing about those stories is the number of times the old ones appear again, years after they were first heard, in new a

24、nd exaggerated forms. All driving examiners have had to pass a very strict selection process, followed by at least six weeks' training. In the course of this training the Department makes sure that their driving is of a consistently high standard. Driving test centers are chosen with equal care.

25、 It would be nice to have centers and examiners town by town. But this is just not possible, because the centers have to be at places where there is enough parking space for candidates (考生) and where there are enough test routes. Routes are carefully chosen to make sure that they are all roughly com

26、parable-the proportion of right and left turns, hills, pedestrian (行人) crossings and so on. The object of all this is to make sure, as far as possible, that all candidates in the driving test have to cope with the same sort of conditions whether they take the test in New York or California. The work

27、 that examiners do in actually carrying out tests is checked continuously by supervising examiners. This is to make as sure as possible that every candidate for the driving test has a proper and equal chance of showing the examiner, in the words of the Regulations, "that he is competent to driv

28、e without danger to and with due consideration for other users of the road." This is all that the examiner is concerned with. 11. It can be learned from the passage that _. A. whenever people learning to drive get together, they often talk about the driving test B. new and exaggerated stories a

29、bout the test are always appearing C. there are more tall stories about the driving test than any other subject D. the same stories about the test reappear years later 12. According to the passage, driving examiners _. A. are trained for six weeks, then have a difficult selection interview B. are gi

30、ven regular driving tests themselves by supervising examiners C. sometimes have more than six weeks' training D. are tested during the selection process to see if their driving is of a high standard 13. There isn't a test center in every town because _. A. some examiners can go to occasional

31、 centers from the permanent centers B. routes and conditions have to be the same everywhere C. there has to be enough parking space for the candidates and the examiners D. not every town could provide enough test routes close to permanent centers 14. We can judge from this passage that _. A. the det

32、ailed records are checked after each test by a supervising examiner B. sometimes candidates are tested by a supervising examiner C. it's true that some examiners never pass anyone on Thursday afternoons D. examiners are only concerned with a candidate's ability to drive 15. It can be inferre

33、d from this passage that _. A. test routes have roughly the same conditions everywhere B. candidate drivers pass the test C. all candidates are treated equally by the examiners during the test D. some test centers do not have enough parking spacePassage 4 We all listen to music according to our sepa

34、rate capacities. But, for the sake of analysis, the whole listening process may become clearer if we break it up into its component parts, so to speak. In a certain sense we all listen to music on three separate planes. For lack of a better terminology, one might name these: (1) the sensuous plane,

35、(2) the expressive plane, (3) the sheerly musical plane. The simplest way of listening to music is to listen for the sheer pleasure of the musical sound itself. That is the sensuous plane. It is the plane on which we hear music without thinking, without considering it in any way. One turns on the ra

36、dio while doing something else and absent-mindedly bathes in the sound. A kind of brainless but attractive state of mind is engendered by the mere sound appeal of the music. Yes, the sound appeal of music is a potent and primitive force. This appeal to every normal human being is self-evident. The s

37、ensuous plane is an important one in music, a very important one, but it does not constitute the whole story. There is, however, such a thing as becoming more sensitive to the different kinds of sound stuff as used by various composers. For all composers do not use that sound stuff in the same way.

38、Dont get the idea that the value of music is commensurate with its sensuous appeal or that the loveliest sounding music is made by the greatest composer. If that were so, Ravel would be a greater creator than Beethoven. The point is that the sound element varies with each composer, that his usage of

39、 sound forms an integral part of his style and must be taken into account when listening. The listener can see, therefore, that a more conscious approach is valuable even on this primary plane of music listening. The second plane on which music exists is what I have called the expressive one. My own

40、 belief is that all music has an expressive power, some more and some less, but that all music has a certain meaning behind the notes and that the meaning behind the notes constitutes, after all, what the piece is saying, what the piece is about. This whole problem can be stated quite simply by aski

41、ng, “Is there a meaning to music?” My answer to that would be, “Yes.” And “Can you state in so many words what the meaning is?” My answer to that would be, “No.” Therein lies the difficulty. Simple-minded souls will never be satisfied with the answer to the second of these questions. They always wan

42、t music to have a meaning, and the more concrete it is the better they like it. The more the music reminds them of a train, a storm, a funeral, or any other familiar conception the more expressive it appears to be to them. This popular idea of musics meaning, stimulated and abetted by the usual run

43、of musical commentator, should be discouraged wherever and whenever it is met. Music expresses, at different moments, serenity or exuberance, regret or triumph, fury or delight. It expresses each of these moods, and many others, in a numberless variety of subtle shadings and differences. It may even

44、 express a state of meaning for which there exists no adequate word in any language. In that case, musicians often like to say that it has only a purely musical meaning. While listening, each listener feels for himself the specific expressive quality of a theme or, similarly, an entire piece of musi

45、c. And if it is a great work of art, dont expect it to mean exactly the same thing to you each time you return to it. Themes or pieces need not express only one emotion, of course. Take such a theme as the first main one of the Ninth Symphony, for example. It is clearly made up of different elements

46、. It does not say only one thing.Now, perhaps, the reader will know better what I mean when I say that music does have an expressive meaning but that we cannot say in so many words what that meaning is. The third plane on which music exists is the sheerly musical plane. Besides the pleasurable sound

47、 of music and the expressive feeling that it gives off, music does exist in terms of the notes themselves and of their manipulation. Most listeners are not sufficiently conscious of this third plane. It is very important for all of us to become more alive to music on its sheerly musical plane. After

48、 all, an actual musical material is being used. The intelligent listener must be prepared to increase his awareness of the musical material and what happens to it. He must hear the melodies, the rhythms, the harmonies, the tone colors in a more conscious fashion. But above all he must, in order to f

49、ollow the line of the composers thought, know something of the principles of musical form. Listening to all of these elements is listening on the sheerly musical plane. I have split up mechanically the three hypothetical, separate planes on which we listen merely for the sake of greater clarity. Act

50、ually, we never listen on one or the other of the three planes. What we do is to correlate them- listening in all three ways at the same time. It takes no mental effort, for we do it instinctively.In a sense, the ideal listener is both inside and outside the music at the same moment, judging it and

51、enjoying it, wishing it would go one way and watching it go another- almost like the composer at the moment he composes it; because in order to write his music, the composer must also be inside and outside his music, carried away by it and yet coldly critical of it. A subjective attitude is implied in both creating and listening to music.What the listener should strive for, then is a more active kind of listening. Whether you listen to Mozart or Duke Ellington, you can deepen your understanding of music only by being a more consci