成人英语三级

2003年4月北京地区成人本科英语统考试题B卷

Part I Reading Comprehension （40%）

Directions： There are four passages in this Part. Each Passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A， B， C， D. You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Auswer Sheet with a single line through the center.

Passage l

Questions l to 5 are based on the following passage：

What will man be like in the future -in 5000 or even 50000 years from now？ We can only make a guess， of course， but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today. For man is slowly changing all the time. Let us take an obvious example. Man， even five hundred years ago， was shorter than he is today. Now， on average， men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is a relatively short period of time， so we may assume that man will continue to grow taller.

Again， in the modem world we use our brains a great deal. Even so， we still make use of only about 20% of the brain's capacity. As time goes on， however， we shall have to use our brains more and more， and eventually we shall need larger ones. This is likely to bring about a physical change tool the head， in particular the forehead， will grow larger.

Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact， we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over very long period of time it is likely that man's eyes will grow stronger. On the other hand， we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These， as a result， are likely to grow weaker. At the same time， however， our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life.

But what about hair？ It will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer.In the future，then，both sexes are likely to be bald.

Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at. This may well be true. All the same，in spite of all these changes， future man will still have a lot in common with us. He will still be a human being， with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.

1. The passage tells us about________.

[A]how man's life will be in the future

[B]how future man will look like

[C]the fact that man's organs will function differently in the future

[D]the fact that man is growing uglier as time passes

2. There is evidence that man is changing______.

[A]man has been growing taller over the past 500 years

[B]man has got stronger eyes than he ever had

[C]man's hair is getting thinner and thinner

[D]man's limbs are getting weaker because he tends to make less use of them

3. Man's forehead will grow larger because______.

[A]he will use of only about 20% of the brain's capacity

[B]the other 80% of his brain will grow in due time

[C]he had rather narrow forehead a few hundred years ago

[D]he will have to use his brain more and more as time goes on

4. Future man will probably_______.

[A]have smaller eyes

[B]see better

[C]have larger eyes

[D]gave to wear better glasses

5. The reason for believing that future man will be different is that he_______.

[A]is always

[B]hopes for a change

[C]never stops changing

[D]will live a different life

Passage 2

Questions 6 to 1O are based on the following passage：

People all over the world today are beginning to hear and learn more and more about the problem of pollution. Pollution is caused either by man's release of completely new and often artificial （人造）substances into the environment， or by releasing grealy increased amounts of a natural substance （物质），such as oil from oil tankers into the sea.

Whatever its underlying reasons， there is no doubt that much of the pollution caused could be controlled if only companies， individuals and governments would make more efforts. In the home there is an obvious need to control litter and waste. Food comes wrapped up there or four times in paekages that all have to be disposed of； drinks are increasingly sold in bottles or tins which cannot be reused. This not only causes a litter problem， but also is a great waste of resources， in termsof glass， metal and paper. Adverising has helped this process by persuading many of us no only to buy thing we neither want nor need，but also to throw away much of what we do buy. Pollution and waste combine to be a problem everyone can help to solve by cutting out unnecessary buying，excess use and careless disposal （处理） of the products we use in our daily lives.

6. The main cause of pollution is______.

[A]the release of artificial or natural substances into the environment

[B]the production of new industrial goods

[C]increased amounts of a natural substance

[D]our ever-increasing population

7. Much of the pollution could be controlled if only______.

[A]people would pay more attention to the problem

[B]governments would take effective measures

[C]all sides concerned would make more efforts

[D]farmers would use less artificial fertilizers

8. Food packages， bottles and tins for drinks can cause______.

[A]air and water pollution

[B]both a litter problem and a waste of resources

[C]to pay for the service

[D]to produce the receipt

9. Which of the following can not help solving the problem of pollution？

[A]Cutting out unnecessary buying

[B]Eating less

[C]Reduce excess use

[D]Carefully dispose our daily products.

10. What does the underlined word “litter” mean in paragraph 2 ？

[A]not many  [B]serious problem  [C]bits of waste things  [D]indtustrial pollution

Passage 3

Questions 11-15 are based on the following passage：

Thousands of years ago， in the middle of an ocean， miles from the nearest island， an undersea volcano broke

out. The hot liquid piled higher and higher and spread wider and wider. In this way， an island rose up in the sea.

As time went on， hot san and cool rains made the rock split and break to pieces， Sea waves dashed against the rock. In this way， soil and sand came into being.to grow taller.

Nothing lived on the naked soil. And then the wind and birds brought plant seeds， spiders and other little creatures there. Only plants could grow first. Only they， in sunlight， could produce food from the minerals of the soil， water and air. While many animals landed on the island， they could find no food. A spider spun its web in vain， because there were no insects for its web to catch. Insects couldn't stay until there were plants for them to eat. So plants had to be the pioneer life on this new island.

11. The passage centers on _______.

[A]how an undersea volcano broke out

[B]how an island rose up in the sea

[C]how soil was formed on a new island

[D]how life began on a volcano- produced island

12. According to the passage， the island got its first soil from ______.

[A]sea waves

[B]its own rock

[C]the sand brought by the wind

[D]cool rains

13 .The word “naked” （in para. 3） could be replaced by which of the f

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