一、阅读理解（共 4 道试题，共 40 分。）V 1. How often one hears children wishing they were grown up, and old people wishing they were young again. Each age has its pleasures and its pains and the happiest person is the one who enjoys what each age gives him without wasting his time in useless regrets.
Youth is a time when there are few tasks to make life difficult. If a child has good parents, he is fed, looked after and loved whatever he may do. It is impossible that he will ever again in his life be given so much without having to do anything in return. In addition, life is always presenting new things to the child–—things that have lost their interest for older people because they are too well-known. But a child has his pains: he is not so free to do what he wishes to do; he is continually being told not to do things, or being punished for what he has done wrong.
When the young man starts to earn his own living, he can no longer expect others to pay for his food, his clothes, and his room, but has to work if he wants to live comfortably. If he spends most of his time playing about in the way that he used to as a child, he will go hungry. And if he breaks the laws of society as he used to break the laws of his parents, he may go to prison. If, however, he works hard, keeps out of trouble and has good health, he can have the great happiness of building up for himself his own position in society.
1). People can experience happiness if they ________ .
A. always think of the past and regret it
B. value the present
C. are no longer young
D. become old and have much experience
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2). When people were young, they used to _________ .
A. be in charge of many businesses
B. have few things to think about and take on
C. look after their younger sisters and brothers
D. face a lot of difficulties
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3). The pains of children lie in the fact that ________ .
A. no one helps them make right decisions
B. they are often beaten by their parents
C. they can not be accepted and praised by others
D. they are not allowed to do what they like to do
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4). Children are usually happy because _________ .
A. old people lose interest in them
B. they are free to do wrong
C. they are familiar with everything going on around them
D. things are new to them
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5). Which of the following is NOT needed for a young man to be happy?
A. Hard work.
B. Being free from troubles.
C. Wealth.
D. Health.
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2. If we were asked exactly what we were doing a year ago, we should probably have to say that we could not remember. But if we had kept a book and had written in it and account of what we did each day, we should be able to give an answer to the question.
It is the same in history. Many things have been forgotten because we do not have any written account of them. Sometimes men did keep a record of the most important happenings in their country, but often it was destroyed by fire or in a war. Sometimes there was never any written record at all because the people of that time and place did not know how to write. For example, we know a good deal about the people who lived in China 4,000 years ago, because they could write and leave written records for those who lived after them. But we know almost nothing about the people who lived even 200 years ago in central Africa, because they had not learned to write.
Sometimes, of course, even if the people cannot write, they may know something of the past. They have heard about it from older people, and often songs and dances and stories have been made about the most important happenings, and these have been sung and acted and told for many generations. For most people are proud to tell what their fathers did in the past. This we may call “remembered history”. Some of it has now been written down. It is not so exact or so valuable to us as written history is, because words are much more easily changed when used again and again in speech than when copied in writing. But where there are no written records, such spoken stories are often very helpful.
1). Which of the following ideas is not suggested in the passage?
A. “Remembered history”, compared with written history, is less reliable.
B. Written records of the past play the most important role in our learning of the human history.
C. A written account of our daily activities helps us to be able to answer many questions.
D. Where there are no written records, there is no history.
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2). We know very little about the central Africa 200 years ago because _______.
A. there was nothing worth being written down at that time
B. the people there ignored the importance of keeping a record
C. the written records were perhaps destroyed by a fire
D. the people there did not know how to write
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3). “Remembered history” refers to _______.
A. history based on a person’s imagination
B. stories of important happenings passed down from mouth to mouth
C. songs and dances about the most important events
D. both B and C
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4). “Remembered history” is regarded as valuable only when _______.
A. it is written down
B. no written account is available
C. it proves to be true
D. people are interested in it
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5). The passage suggests that we could have learned much more about our past than we do now if the ancient people had _______.
A. kept a written record of every past event
B. not burnt their written records in wars
C. told exact stories of the most important happenings
D. made more songs and dances
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3. We can see how the product life cycle works by looking at the introduction of instant coffee. When it was introduced, most people did not like it as well as “regular” coffee, and it took several years to gain general acceptance (introduction stage). At one point, though, instant coffee grew rapidly in popularity, and many brands were introduced (stage of rapid growth). After a while, people became attached to one brand and sales leveled off (stage of maturity). Sales went into a slight decline（衰退）when freeze-dried coffees were introduced (stage of decline).
The importance of the product life cycle to marketers is this: Different stages in the product life cycle call for different strategies. The goal is to extend product life so that sales and profits do not decline. One strategy is called market modification. It means that marketing managers look for new users and market sections. Did you know, for example, that the backpacks that so many students carry today were originally designed for the military?
Market modification also means searching for increased usage among present customers or going for a different market, such as senior citizens. A marketer may re-position the product to appeal to new market sections.
Another product extension strategy is called product modification. It involves changing product quality, features, or style to attract new users or more usage from present users. American auto manufacturers are using quality improvement as one way to recapture world markets. Note, also, how auto manufacturers once changed styles dramatically from year to year to keep demand from falling.
1). According to the passage, when people grow fond of one particular brand of a product, its sales will __________.
A. decrease gradually
B. become unstable
C. improve enormously
D. remain at the same level
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2). The first paragraph tells us that a new product is ___________.
A. usually introduced to satisfy different tastes
B. often more expensive than old ones
C. often inferior to old ones at first
D. not easily accepted by the public
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3). Marketers need to know which of the four stages a product is in so as to __________.
A. work out marketing policies
B. increase its popularity
C. promote its production
D. speed up its life cycle
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4). The author mentions the example of “backpacks” (Line 4, Para.2) to show the importance of ___________.
A. increasing usage among students
B. exploring new market sections
C. pleasing the young as well as the old
D. serving both military and civil needs
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5). In order to recover their share of the world market, U.S. auto makers are ___________.
A. improving product quality
B. modernizing product style
C. re-positioning their product in the market
D. increasing product features
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4.
The view over a valley of a tiny village with thatched（草盖的）roof cottages around a church; a drive through a narrow village street lined with thatched cottages painted pink or white; the sight over the rolling hills of a pretty collection of thatched farm buildings — these are still common sights in parts of England. Most people will agree that the thatched roof is an essential part of the attraction of the English countryside.
Thatching is in fact the oldest of all the building crafts practiced in the British Isles（英论诸岛）. Although thatch has always been used for cottage and farm buildings, it was once used for castles and churches, too.
Thatching is a solitary（独自的）craft, which often runs in families. The craft of thatching as it is practiced toady has changed very little since the Middle Ages. Over 800 full-time thatchers are employed in England and Wales today, maintaining and renewing the old roofs as well as thatching newer houses. Many property owners choose thatch not only for its beauty but because they know it will keep them cool in summer and warm in winter.
In fact, if we look at developing countries, over half the world lives under thatch, but they all do it in different ways. People in developing countries are often reluctant to go back to traditional materials and would prefer modern buildings. However, they may lack the money to allow them to import the necessary materials. Their temporary mud huts with thatched roofs of wild grasses often only last six months. Thatch which has been done the British way lasts from twenty to sixty years, and is an effective defense against the heat.
1). Which of the following remains a unique feature of the English countryside?
A. Cottages with thatched roofs.
B. Churches with cottages around them.
C. Rolling hills with pretty farm buildings.
D. Narrow streets lined with pink or white houses.
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2). What do we know about thatching as a craft?
A. It is quite different from what it used to be.
B. It is in most cases handed down among family members.
C. It is practised on farms all over England.
D. It is a collective activity.
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3). Thatched houses are still preferred because of _________.
A. their durability
B. their easy maintenance
C. their cheap and ready-made materials
D. their style and comfort
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4). People in developing countries also live under thatch because ________.
A. they like thatched houses better than other buildings
B. thatch is an effective defense against the heat
C. thatched roof houses are the cheapest
D. thatched cottages are a big tourist attraction
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5). We can learn from the passage that _________.
A. the English people have a special liking for thatched houses
B. most thatched cottages in England are located on hillsides
C. thatching is a building craft first created by the English people
D. thatched cottages in England have been passed down from ancient times
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