成人英语三级

Part II Reading Comprehension (20 points)

Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. Each of the passages is followed by 5 questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best one and mark your answer on the ANSWER SHEET with a single line through the center.

Passage One

Jack Billabong is an aboriginal stockman. On Friday afternoon he was riding along the track towards the Henderson homestead. He was looking for a prize bull which had escaped from the Borrogee paddock. He reached the hills and saw at once that he could not go further.

The fire in the forest had gone out. But the air was still full of smoke and fallen trees had blocked the track. Jack was just going to turn back when he saw something moving in the smoke. He waited. It was a girl on a horse, and she was riding towards him.

“There’s a badly burnt man at the homestead,” the girl shouted. “He saved my life. Please help me to save him.”

The girl was Cathy Henderson. She had been on horseback for two hours. She had to jump over fallen trees that were still burnings. Her pony had fallen with her twice. She was thirsty and almost dead from want of sleep. But she rode back to the homestead with Jack immediately.

Joe Brook was unconscious when they reached him. They lifted him on to Jack’s horse. The ride back to Borrogee was terrible. Cathy was so tired that Jack had to tie her to her pony. The pony was tired too, but its courage was astonishing. It followed Jack right to Borrogee hospital. Nobody saw them arrive, because it was night.

“I’ve never seen a horse like that pony” Jack said, Cathy praised Jack Billabong, but she refused to say anything about the pony. “Joe will write about her in my story” she said.

But she did say one thing: “If Flame hadn’t returned to the homestead that afternoon, Joe and I would have died.”

16. Jack Billabong did not turn back because he saw _________.

A. a horse running towards him

B. a girl riding a horse towards him

C. something moving towards him

D. a fire burning towards him

17. Joe Brook was taken out of the homestead ___________.

A. in a state of unconsciousness

B. very easily

C. by Cathy’s horse

D. consciously by Cathy and Jack

18. Cathy refused to talk to reporters about the pony when she was in Borrogee Hospital because__________.

A. Jack asked her not to talk to them

B. She didn’t know what to talk about the pony

C. She was too weak to say anything

D. Joe would write about it in his writing

19. At last, Cathy owed her and Joe’s lives to “Flame”, which refers to ________.

A. the pony B. Jack

C. Jack’s horse D. the fire

20. The best title of this short story should be____________.

A. Bravery of a Lovely Pony

B. Heroism of a Young Girl

C. Courage of an Aboriginal Stockman

D. Rescue of Joe Brook

Passage Two

The ships in which men hunt whales are very strongly constructed. The crew must be both courageous and strong, because they are going to fight the biggest of all animals. Many of the whaling ships sail from Norway, which is famous for its sailors.

When a whaling ship reaches the whaling grounds (the part of the sea where whales are found). All the sailors keep a watch for whales. One at a time they stand high up on a mast so that they can see a great distance.

Whales breathe air as we do. When they breathe out, the air mixes with water, and a jet of water is shot up above the surface of the sea. The sailor up above watches for these jets of water. When he sees one of them, he shouts, “There she blows!”

Motor-boats, called whalers, are lowered to the water, and they speed off towards the whale, and try to get close to the whale while it is still on the surface. An exciting moment comes when a harpoon is shot. This is a sharp spear with hooks that prevents it from being pulled out after it has gone into the whale. It is fastened to a long, light but very strong rope, which is carefully placed in the boat so that it will run out smoothly.

As soon as the whale is struck by the harpoon, it drives deep under and swims away as fast as it can. It pulls the rope after it and the whaling boat follows on the surface at full speed. Soon the whale comes up to the surface to breathe. The whalers want to be near when it comes up, in order to shoot another harpoon at it.

There is always the danger that the whale may turn round and attack the boat which is following it. The whale has a very strong tail, with which it can attack the boat and destroy it. The whalers watch for the attack. They get out of the way as quickly as they can, and once more they attack. They get out of the way to fire the harpoon gun.

At last the whale tires itself out. The whalers follow it, so as to be near when the great whale floats dead on the sea. The whaling ship is brought close to the whale, and the whalers begin to cut out the blubber for which they have fought so hard. It is heated in large pots and the oil is poured into barrels or other containers in which it is stored. When the ship has a full load it returns to port.

21. Why are ships in which men hunt whales very strongly constructed?

A. The sailors are big and strong.

B. They must have high masts.

C. Whales are very big animals.

D. They are made in Norway.

22. Why do the sailors stand high up on the mast?

A. They can see a long way.

B. The whale cannot reach them.

C. Whales are very big.

D. They can get close to the whale.

23. Why does the harpoon stay in the whale?

A. It goes in a long way.

B. It has hooks.

C. It is fastened to a strong rope.

D. It is carefully placed.

24. What does the whale do as it has been hit by the harpoon?

A. It comes up to the surface.

B. It follows the whaling boat.

C. It swims away on the surface at full speed.

D. It swims away deep under the water at full speed.

25. How can a struck whale attack and destroy a whaler?

A. with its great strength B. with a jet of water

C. with its strong tail D. with its breath

Passage Three

In order to learn to be one’s self, it is necessary to obtain a wide and extensive knowledge of what has been said and done in the world; critically to inquire into it; carefully to ponder over it; clearly to sift it; and earnestly to carry it out.

It matters not what you learn, but when you once learn a thing, you must never give it up until you have mastered it. It matters not what you inquire into, but when you inquire into a thing, you must never give it up until you have thoroughly understood it. It matters not what you try to think out, but when you once try to think out a thing, you must never give it up until you have got what you want. It matters not what you try to sift out, but when you once try to sift out a thing, you must never give it up until you have sifted it out clearly and distinctly. It matters not what you try to carry out, but when you once try to carry out a thing, you must never give it up until you have done it thoroughly and well.

If another man succeeds by one effort, you will use a hundred efforts. If another man succeeds by ten efforts, you will use a thousand efforts.

26. According to the author, the ultimate purpose of study is to learn to ________.

A. be one’s true self B. be a specialist

C. succeed in a profession D. become wealthy

27. First of all, one must __________.

A. act B. inquire

C. analyze D. obtain knowledge

28. The end of learning should be ___________.

A. thought B. inquiry

C. mastery D. analysis

29. A word that means almost the same as “sift out” is

A. ponder B. inquire

C. analyze D. carry out

30. According to the article, another man’s success should ________.

A. not be taken into consideration

B. spur us on to great efforts

C. make us envious

D. cause one to stop trying

Passage Four

Vienna—In spite of Iraq’s decision to stop oil deliveries, the 11-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will not increase production to make up the shortfall, ministers decided Tuesday in Vienna.

The 11 oil ministers decided to meet again on July 3 to discuss the Iraq temporary stop. The organization’s president, Charkid Khelil of Algeria, said after the meeting that stocks were high and prices were stable, so quota (配额) increases were not necessary.

The E.U. Commission has expressed concern about Iraq’s output stop. A speaker said OPEC had to take all possible measures to keep or lower the oil price.

Saudi Arabia’s Minister Ali-Nuaimi had earlier said there would not be any shortfall of oil in the market. The organization had already taken steps to fill the gap, he said. OPEC Secretary General Ali Rodriguez added that the period of the Iraq stop to export was not known, so other exporters were not going to lift quotas yet. If the market was destabilized (动摇), a suitable response would be made.

Iraq on Monday stopped shipments of crude oil to protest against the U.N. Security Council’s decision to extend the oil-for-food programme by only a month, instead of the normal six-month renewal (延期).

Just before the Vienna meeting, oil prices had gone up, with a barrel of OPEC crude oil selling for 27.05 dollars last Friday. North sea oil was at 29.26 dollars Monday evening.

OPEC wanted the oil price to stay within a margin of 22 to 28 dollars and achieved that with cuts in January and March that reduced 2.5 million barrels per day off quotas.

31. Iraq made the decision to stop oil deliveries because .

A. the U.N. Security Council has decided to shorten the time for the oil-for-food programme

B. oil price is too low in the international market

C. many oil wells were destroyed during the war in the late 1980s

D. it couldn’t get enough money to develop its economy

32. The attitude the E.U. Commission took towards Iraq’s output stop was .

A. active B. concerned C. cold D. surprising

33. “The organization” in Paragraph 2 refers to .

A. OPEC B. the E.U. Commission

C. APEC D. WTO

34. The 11 oil ministers decided to meet on July 3 so that .

A. they can persuade Iraq to continue oil production

B. they can have a discussion about the effects of Iraq’s temporary stop

C. they can have a talk with the U.N. Security Council

D. they can make up their minds to increase oil production

35. OPEC wanted the oil price to__________ immediately after Iraq’s crude oil output stop.

A. rise B. fall

C. stay rather stable D. fluctuate without limitation

（责任编辑：lqh）

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