第二节（共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
71． But still there is a danger that grows every year．Airliners get larger．Some airplanes can hold over 300 passengers．And the air itself becomes more and more crowded．If one giant airliner crashed into another in mid-air, 600 lives could be lost．
72 ．Air traffic controllers tell the pilot exactly when to turn, when to climb, and when to come down．The air traffic controllers around a busy airport like London-Heathrow may handle 2500 planes a day．Not al of them actually land at the airport．Any plane that flies near the airport comes under the orders of the controllers there．__73__．
Recently such a disaster almost happened．__74__．One, with 69 passengers, had come from Toronto, and the other, with 176 passengers, from Chicago, An air traffic controller noticed on his radar screen that the two planes were too close to each other．He ordered one to turn to the right and to climb．But he made a mistake．He ordered the wrong plane to do this．Fifteen seconds later it flew directly in front of the second plane．They avoided each other by the smallest part of a second．The distance between them was less than that of a large swimming pool．__75__．
A． Even a small mistake on their part could cause a disaster．
B． Two large jets were flying towards the airport．
C． Nowadays people like traveling more by air than by car．
D． Today, air travel is far safer than driving a car on a bus motor-way．
E． This is an example of the danger that grows every year．
F． In a word, air travel is more dangerous, we should choose others．
G． From the moment an airliner takes off to the moment it lands, every movement is watched on radar screen．
You can deposit money in a building society and obtain yearly interest at a certain rate．You can also borrow money from a building society．What, then, is difference between a bank and a building society? In fact, a building society does not seem to be very different from a savings bank．Many people regularly save money by depositing small amounts monthly in a building society, just as other people regularly save money by depositing small amounts monthly in a savings bank．Some people deposit large amounts in a building society as an investment．They receive higher interest than they would receive from a savings bank; their money can be invested either in building society shares or in loans to the society．
These societies are controlled by law, but they are not government organizations．They were originally started to enable people to buy houses．One of their main purposes is to provide loans for buying or building houses．Many people prefer buying a house to paying rent, but some of them cannot afford to buy a house．To cover the cost they borrow the money from a building society．The loan plus the interest is paid back in monthly amounts over an agreed number of years．Probably the payments made in this way are no more than the rent of a rented house．But at the end of the stated period, when the debt is paid, the borrower becomes the owner of the house．To protect the building society from “bad debts” he must sign a statement to say that the house belongs to the society until the debt is paid．
A building society invests the savings of its shareholders in houses and property．Unlike a bank, it does not serve as a general clearing house （清算所） for every kind of exchange or business operation．Its activities are limited compared with those of a bank．
68．A building society is different from a bank in that ____．
A．the former is limited in its activities
B．the latter is limited in function compared with the former
C．a bank doesn’t serve as a general clearing house
D．a building society can protect itself from “bad debt”
69．Some people put large amounts of money in the building society because _______．
A．they can get more profit than they do in a bank．
B．they may choose between the form of building society shares and that of loans for their investment
C．they may enjoy shares and loans at the same time
D．they like the society
70．If you borrow money from the society to buy a house, ____．
A．you have to return the money to the building society the moment it is needed．
B．you have to sign an agreement to repay the loan after a number of years
C．what you pay back monthly for the loan would be less than the rent
D．the house doesn’t belong to you unless you have repaid all the debt
The case for college has been accepted without question for more than a generation．
All high school graduates ought to go, says conventional wisdom and statistical evidence, because college will help them earn more money, become “better” people, and learn to be more responsible citizens than those who don’t go．
But college has never been able to work its magic for everyone．And now that close to half our high school graduates are attending, those who don’t fit the pattern are becoming more numerous, and more obvious．College graduates are selling shoes and driving taxis; college students interfere with each other’s experiments and write false letters of recommendation in the intense competition for admission to graduate school．Others find no stimulation in their studies, and drop out ------ often encouraged by college administrators．
Some observers say the fault is with the young people themselves ----- they are spoiled and they are expecting too much．But that is a condemnation of the students as a whole, and does not explain all campus unhappiness．Others blame the state of the world, and they are partly right．We’ve been told that young people have to go to college because our economy cannot absorb an army of untrained 18-year-olds．But disappointed graduates are learning that it can no longer absorb an army of trained 22-year-olds, either．
Some adventuresome educators and campus watchers have openly begun to suggest that college may not be the best, the proper, the only place for every young person after the completion of high school．
We_may_have_been_looking_at_all_those_surveysand_statistics_upside_down,_it_seems,_and_through_the_rosy_glow_of_our_own_remembered_college_experiences．Perhaps college does not make people intelligent, ambitious, happy, liberal, or quick to learn things ----- maybe it is just the other way round, and intelligent, ambitious, happy, liberal, quick-learning people are only the ones who have been attracted to college in the first place．And perhaps all those successful college graduates would have been successful whether they had gone to college or not．This is heresy （异端邪说） to those of us who have been brought up to believe that if little schooling is good, more has to be much better．But contrary evidence is beginning to mount up．
64．According to the passage all of the following statements are true EXCEPT______．
A．about half of the high school graduates continue their studies at school
B．college graduates are believed to be able to earn more money
C．administrators often encourage college students to drop out
D．more and more young people are found unfit for college
65．Which of the following is one of some observers’ opinions?
A．The students expect so much that they are not satisfied with the hard college life．
B．The economic situation is so discouraging that the youth have to attend college．
C．College should improve because of so much campus unhappiness．
D．Colleges provide more chances of good jobs than anywhere else．
66．What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 5 mean?
A．Our college experience proves that those surveys are incorrect．
B．The surveys may remind us of our beautiful college experiences．
C．The surveys should all be re-examined according to our college experiences．
D．Our college experiences may make us misunderstand the results of the surveys．
67．What is the main purpose of this passage?
A．To argue against the idea that college is the best place for all young people．
B．To put forward an idea that college should not be the first choice．
C．To value young people’s further education in colleges．
D．To persuade young people into working after the completion of high school．
Does a drink a day keep heart attacks away? Over the past 20 years, numerous studies have found that moderate alcohol consumption, say, one or two beers, glasses of wine or cocktails daily helps to prevent coronary heart disease．Last week a report in the New England Journal of Medicine added strong new evidence in support of that theory．More important, the work provided the first solid indication of how alcohol works to protect the heart．
In the study, researchers from Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvad Medical School compared the drinking habits of 340 men and women who had suffered recent heart attack with those of healthy people of the same age and sex．The scientists found that people who sip one to three drinks a day are about half as likely to suffer heart attacks as nondrinkers are．The apparent source of the protection: those who drank alcohol had higher blood levels of high density lipoproteins （脂蛋白）, the so called good cholesterol （胆固醇）, which is known to prevent heart disease．
As evidence has mounted （增长）, some doctors have begun recommending a daily drink for patients of heart diseases．But most physicians are not ready to recommend a regular happy hour for everyone．The risks of teetotal ling （绝对戒酒） are nothing compared with the dangers of too much alcohol, including high blood pressure, strokes and liver troubles---not to mention violent behavior and traffic accident．Moreover, some studies suggest that even moderate drinking may increase the incidence of breast and colon cancer．Until there is evidence that the benefits of a daily dose （吸收剂量） of alcohol outweigh the risks, most people won’t be able to take a doctor’s prescription to the neighborhood bar or liquor store．
60．The report mentioned in the first paragraph indicates________．
A．the way in which alcohol can help the heart．
B．that a couple of cocktails daily can help stop heart problems
C．why alcoholic drinks are dangerous to one’s health
D．that reports on the advantages of alcohol were misled
61．Experiments showed that nondrinkers had___________．
A．larger amounts of good cholesterol B．smaller amounts of good cholesterol
C．higher blood pressure D．lower blood pressure
62．According to the passage, moderate drinking_______．
A．is recommended by most doctors for heart patients
B．should be allowed on prescription
C．is still not medically advisable
D．is not related to liver problems
63．The main theme of this passage is___________．
A．the change in recent drinking habits
B．the connection between cancer and alcohol
C．whether moderate drinkers outlive nondrinkers
D．whether alcohol may be good for one’s health
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，共40分）
第一节（共15题, 每小题2分，满分30分）
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。
Most people know that a wedding ring is symbolic of the bond of love and commitment between two people．But not everyone knows about the history behind this small yet powerful symbol．The history of the wedding ring goes back not just hundreds but thousands of years．No other currently practiced wedding tradition has been around as long．
The Egyptians were the first recorded civilization to use the wedding ring．In Egyptian hieroglyphics（象形文字） a circle represented eternity．Once a woman accepted the ring she became the “property” of the person who gave it to her and she was in a sense “his．” The first wedding ring could have been made of braided grass or hay （which would have been changed often）, ivory, bone, or leather．Eventually, metal was used, but the first wedding bands were crude（未加工的） and rough．However, the sentiment remained the same-eternal commitment and love．
The Egyptians wore the wedding ring on the left hand because it was believed that a vein in the left hand went straight to the heart．This tradition is still commonly practiced today in most parts of the world largely for practical purposes （most people are right handed．） It is worn on the fourth finger of the left hand．But there are some countries and groups which do not follow this tradition．In the Jewish faith, the wedding ring is put on the index finger．Roman Catholics traditionally wore their wedding band on the right hand, and in many countries and regions in Europe some people still follow this tradition．
It is interesting to note that in the long history of the wedding ring that it is only in the last century that men have begun to wear them．However, now both men and women show their love and commitment by exchanging rings on their wedding day．
Once you begin shopping for rings you may be amazed by the choices that await you．There are several different types of metals: traditional gold, white gold, platinum, and titanium．You can have an inscription put on the inside of the band if you like．Some people are even choosing a tattoo band．The styles vary from a simple, yet elegant band to an elaborate ring covered with jewels．If you do not buy the wedding and engagement rings as a set you will want to be sure the styles are compatible．Choose carefully because this choice will need to stand the test of eternity．
56．What’s the best title for this passage?
A．History of rings B．Interesting facts about rings
C．Different beliefs about rings D．The meaning of the rings．
57．What may the word “eternity” in paragraph 2 probably mean?
A．Elegance B．Marriage C．Wedding D．Foreverness
58．Which is NOT true according to the passage?
A．The meaning of the rings remained unchanged．
B．One should be careful of choosing a ring in a shop from different kinds．
C．Jewish are so faithful to their beliefs to wear rings on the fourth finger．
D．Now most people in the world still follow Roman Catholics traditionally．
59．What can we infer from the passage?
A．Men were looked upon by women for thousands years．
B．Only women have the right to make themselves beautiful．
C．women wore rings thousands of years earlier than men．
D．You can have an inscription put on the inside the band．
第二节：完形填空（共20小题，每小题1.5分，共30分）
A lesson in caring
It was a cold evening and my daughter and I were walking up Broadway．I didn’t notice a guy sitting inside a cardboard box．But Nora did．She wasn’t even four, but she __36__ at my coat and said, “That man’s cold, Daddy, __37__ we take him home?”
I don’t remember my reply．But I do remember a sudden __38__ feeling inside me．I had always been delighted at how much my daughter noticed in her __39__, whether it was __40__ in flight or children playing．But now she was noticing __41__ and beggary．
A few days later, I saw an article in the newspaper about volunteers who picked up a food package from a nearby school on a Sunday morning and __42__ it to an elderly person．It was quick and easy．I __43__ us up．Nora was __44__ about it．She could understand the importance of food, so she could easily see how __45__ our job was．When Sunday came, she was ready, but I had to __46__ myself to leave the house to fetch the food package．On the way to the school, I fought an urge to turn __47__．The Sunday paper and coffee were waiting for me at home．Why do this? __48__, we phoned the elderly person we’d been appointed．She __49__ us right over．
The building was in a bad state．Facing us was a silver-haired woman in an old dress．She took the package and asked us to come in．Nora ran inside．I unwillingly followed．__50_ inside, I saw that the apartment belonged to someone poor．Our hostess showed us some photos． Nora played and when it came time to say good-bye, we three hugged, I walked home in tears．
Professionals call such a（n） __51__ a “volunteer opportunity”．They are opportunities, and I’ve come to see．Where else but as volunteers do you have the opportunity to do something __52__ that’s good for others as well as for yourself? Nora and I regularly serve meals to needy people and __53__ clothes for the homeless．Yet, as I’ve __54__ her grow over these past four years, I still wonder ------ which of us has __55__ more?
36．A．pulled B．glanced C．pointed D．aimed
37．A．would B．can C．need D．must
38．A．general B．funny C．heavy D．simple
39．A．area B．part C．eyesight D．world
40．A．insects B．animals C．plants D．birds
41．A．coldness B．illness C．suffering D．ignorance
42．A．delivered B．returned C．devoted D．posted
43．A．held B．hurried C．signed D．lined
44．A．casual B．sorry C．astonished D．excited
45．A．creative B．valuable C．shocking D．simple
46．A．warn B．stop C．allow D．push
47．A．back B．away C．up D．out
48．A．Therefore B．Obviously C．Still D．Also
49．A．called B．promised C．invited D．helped
50．A．Although B．Once C．Because D．Though
51．A．stay B．visit C．adventure D．challenge
52．A．fair B．famous C．difficult D．enjoyable
53．A．collect B．make C．order D．wear
54．A．let B．made C．watched D．noticed
55．A．increased B．benefited C．tried D．seized
