专练十六 阅读理解

A

When I was 12， my father came and spoke to my seventh-grade class. I remember feeling proud， for my school was happy to receive a visit from a university professor， but I also recall feeling embarrassed ― at my dad’s accent and his refugee （难民） origins.

My dad died a few days ago. He has taught me what a gift fatherhood is. I know I am lucky to have had such loving and caring parents. Yet there’s another reason why I feel thankful to my father ― it was his willingness to leave everything familiar behind to go to a new world that helped to make me the person I am today.

My father， now an American， was born in a country that no longer exists. The family was living on a property of thousands of acres ― and then came World War II. My father was arrested by the Nazis， but he later fled from the prison.

Without any money， my father arrived in Romania but saw that that country would neither afford a future for him nor for his children. So he headed toward the West. Two years later， he fled to France. My father found that despite his fluent French and university education， France did not welcome refugees. So he went to the United States ― referred to as a land of opportunity at that time. It was then that he began to teach himself an eighth language.

My father worked at an Oregon logging camp. After he had earned some money and picked up English， he started university all over again at the age of 34. He earned a doctor’s degree from the University of Chicago， and then began his career as a political science professor.

My friends often ask me what they should buy for their fathers for their birthdays. My advice is simple： Celebrate the meaning of fatherhood with something simpler， deeper and truer than a store-bought card. Speak and hug from your heart and soul.

1. When the author’s father came to make a speech at his school， he felt .

A. surprised B. mixed

C. puzzled D. concerned

2. The author feels thankful to his father because .

A. he took him to different countries in the world

B. he didn’t look down upon refugees

C. he lived on a property of thousands of acres

D. he truly cared for his children’s opportunities

3. We can learn from the passage that .

A. the author’s father got his doctor’s degree befure he arrived in the U.S.

B. Romania provided foreigners with good opportunities at that time

C. the author’s father had a good command of French when he arrived in the U.S.

D. the author’s father worked at an Oregon logging camp at the age of 34

4. Which of the following may be the best birthday gift to Father according to the author？

A. A big party. B. A nice dinner.

C. Sincere words. D. A well-decorated card.

B

Listen carefully， working people， we would like to tell you something that could save your precious time and money！ Best of all， it is free！

It’s “no”.

What do you ask？ We’ll say it again： “No”.

Sweet and simple “no”.

Say “no” at your office and see how quickly that pile of work on your desk disappears.

“Saying ‘no’ to others means you are saying ‘yes’ to yourself， ” said Leslie Charles， a professional speaker from East Lansing， Michigan.

“Time is precious. People are spending money buying time. And yet we are willing to give up our time because we can’t say ‘no’.”

Susie Watson， a famous writer， said people who always say “yes” need to say “no” without guilt or fear of punishment. “I would rather have someone give me a loving ‘no’ than an obligated ‘yes’， ” she said.

Susie Watson says she feels “no” obligation to give an explanation when she says “no” either socially or professionally. Does she feel guilty about it？ “Not at all， ” said Watson， who is director of advertising and public relations at Timex Corp in Middlebury， Conneticut. “Most people are afraid of saying ‘no’... My advice is to say ‘yes’ only if you don’t mean ‘no’.”

Watson said “no” is the most effective weapon against wasting time. “Every year there are more demands on your time ... Other people are happy to use up your time， ” Watson said. Time saving appears to be “no’s” greatest friend.

“No” can be your new friend， a powerful tool to take back your life. “No” may even take you further in the business world than “yes”.

“No” is power and strength. “No” now seems completely correct. “Saying ‘no’ isn’t easy. But finally it’s greatly liberating，” Charles said. But， he added， a “no” project needs to be worked on every day because it is hard to change long-term habit.

But， he also warns： “Don’t go to extremes. Don’t find yourself saying ‘no’ to everything. In return you should learn to hear ‘no’.”

5. The sentence “Saying ‘yes’ to yourself” means .

A. you are selfish and treat others rudely

B. you can have more time to play with others

C. you needn’t care about other’s feeling if you are happy

D. you can deal with your business as you have planned

6. When you say “no” to others you should say it in a .

A. secret way B. polite way

C. proud way D. guilty way

7. In Watson’s opinion， people can save much time on condition that .

A. they say “no” at a suitable time

B. they say “no” as much as possible

C. they are afraid of saying “no”

D. they make others angry at them

8. If a person says “no” to everything， the result he or she will receive may be that he or she .

A. enjoys a wonderful life

B. makes a lot of money

C. faces difficulty in life

D. forgets to say “yes” in the end

C

They aren’t even 5mm long and can’t fly or jump. Yet bedbugs（臭虫） make homeowners and business owners afraid. Well， not all business owners. Some see money in these little bloodsuckers.

Missy Henriksen， who speaks for the National Pest（害虫） Management Association， said， “We are now seeing bedbugs in what we would consider to be atypical locations： schools and hospitals， shops， movie theaters， where bedbugs couldn’t go in the past. So， as the numbers have grown， those bedbugs are spreading out and traveling along with people.” Now the United States is not the only country affected.

Jeff White， an insect expert， hosts Bedbug TV on the website Bedbug Central. He said that what had caused this rapid expansion of bedbug infections was the lack of public awareness.

Mr White says bedbugs nearly disappeared from the United States for fifty or sixty years. Now researchers are looking for faster， safer ways to control them without the kinds of poisons used in the past. The name is misleading. Bedbugs can also survive for a year out of beds without food ― that is blood.

Scientists say bedbugs are the most difficult pests to control. Last year， Americans spent almost two hundred and sixty million dollars on bedbug treatments. That was only five percent of total spending on pest control， but that number does not include other costs. In some way， the costs are also a big income. And some people have found that.

“I think the whole economic influence because of bedbugs is certainly much more significant. Many companies will often close in order to solve the problem.” Missy said. Bedbugs haven’t been shown to spread disease. But sometimes， people can feel discomfortable after being bitten.

Lately， however， another kind of bug has caught Americans’ attention. They appeared in the houses and offices in many states. They are harmless except to farms and gardens. But they smell bad only if you press them to death. It may be good news for bug killers.

9. According to the passage， bedbugs .

A. can spread many diseases

B. have a strong ability to live

C. once died out nearly fifty or sixty years ago

D. are easily to clean up without many tools

10. What does the underlined word “atypical” probably mean？

A. Secret B. Public

C. Humid D. Not usual

11. What can we infer from the passage？

A. The cost of killing bugs off will increase fast.

B. People don’t like bedbugs because of the bad smell.

C. Bedbugs exist in beds and completely feed on blood.

D. Poisons will lose effects on bedbugs after used too much.

12. What’s the best title for the passage？

A. The Most Difficult Peat to Control ― bedbugs.

B. With Bedbugs， Some People See Pests， Others See Profits.

C. The Influence of Bedbugs on the Global Economy.

D. The New ways to Control Bedbugs And Other Bugs.

D

10，527 people die a year in handgun related incidents in the United States. This number， by far， is larger than that in countries such as Sweden， Great Britain and Japan， where the numbers are 13，22， and 87 in turn.

What is the reason for such differences in numbers？ The latter mentioned countries have stricter gun control laws. Perhaps if our government adopted some of those laws， the number of deaths would drop accordingly.

I believe stricter gun control laws are necessary. People in the U.S. aren’t as strictly regulated by gun laws as our European neighbors. In the United States it takes anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks to get a permit to carry a handgun. However， in most crimes with a handgun， the gun doesn’t even have a license. More authority is necessary to control the illegal handling of handguns. In England， guns which are permitted for hunting are required to be signed out and to have their purpose of use stated.

I also feel the person requesting a license should first be educated on proper use. This would help to avoid any accidental shootings from occurring. They should be made aware of all the laws regarding the handling of firearms. To some this may seem severe. But as I stated earlier， these stricter laws do affect the difference between the U.S. and Europe in the amount of handgun related deaths.

In these controversial（有争议的） issues about gun control， it is my opinion that the United States should have stricter laws. If a criminal was convicted（定罪） for a gun related crime， he should be unable to purchase a gun. For ordinary citizens， if you want to purchase a gun， you should have a complete background check， take a course， and pass it to show that you are capable of using such dangerous equipment.

We have to struggle with the conflict between people’s rights and the authorities on their rights. The right to bear arms and the responsibilities that go with those rights are just one of the many of those struggles we American citizens have to face today. Had there been a better process to own a gun， many handgun related incidents may have been prevented.

13. Which of the following shows the organization of the passage？

A. ①②-③④⑤-⑥ B. ①②-③④-⑤⑥

C. ①-②③④⑤-⑥ D. ①-②③-④⑤-⑥

14. The underlined word “this” in the fourth paragraph refers to .

A. requesting a license for the gun

B. the education for gun users on proper use

C. the amount of handgun related deaths

D. making gun users aware of all the laws on handing firearms

15. What can we infer from the passage？

A. Great Britain has stricter gun control laws than Sweden.

B. Some people in the U.S. argue that it is their right to have a gun.

C. It takes a long time to get a permit to carry a handgun in the U.S.

D. Those proven guilty in a gun related crime are forbidden to have a gun in the U.S.

16. Which would be the best title for the passage？

A. Why More Deaths in the U.S.？

B. Guns Should Be Strictly Controlled in the U.S.

C. Stricter Gun Control Laws Are Needed

D. How Can We Deal with Gun Crimes？

E

With over 5，000 fuel cells providing heat and energy for traditional homes throughout Japan ，companies such as electronics giant Panasonic are in talks with EU governments about the possibility of bringing these proven energy and carbon-saving devices to market in Europe and elsewhere.

Panasonic has described the interest in its commercial fuel-cell project with the German ，Korean and UK governments as“strong”， and is confident that Japan，as the first to start commercial sales for homes last year， will be the first in bringing the technology into common use.

Fuel cells ― a technology that has been around for more than 100 years ― convert fuels such as hydrogen and natural gas into electricity through an electrochemical（电器化学的）reaction. The heat generated also warms buildings using gas-boiler-sized boxes known as cogeneration fuel cells.

The idea is to generate all of the heating and hot water and the majority of the electricity needed by a typical UK home ，without the need to be connected to the wasteful national grid.

Such efficient use of gas can save the consumer around 25%of his energy costs，and reduce each home’s CO2 emissions by up to 2.5 tons per year， according to the makers of the cells. They also claim customers can earn back the system’s relatively high initial cost， running at present into thousands of pounds ，within a few years through utility-bill savings.