阅读理解题

　　第一篇

Natural Medicines

　　Since earliest days, humans have used some kinds of medicines. We know this because humans have survived. Ancient treatments for injury and disease were successful enough to keep humans from dying out completely.

　　They were successful long before the time of modern medicine. Before the time of doctors with white coats and shiny (发亮的) instruments. Before the time of big hospitals with strange and wonderful equipment.

　　Many parts of the world still do not have university-educated doctors. Nor do they have expensive hospitals. Yet injuries are treated. And diseases are often cured. How? By ancient methods. By medicines that might seem mysterious, even magical (有魔力的). Traditional medicines are neither mysterious nor magical, however.

　　Through the centuries, tribal (部落的) medicine men experimented with plants. They found many useful chemicals in the plants. And scientists believe many of these traditional medicines may provide the cure for some of today's most serious diseases.

　　Experts say almost 80% of the people in the world use plants for health care. These natural medicines are used not just because people have no other form of treatment. They are used because people trust them. In developed areas, few people think about the source of the medicines they buy in a store. Yet many widely-used medicines are from ancient sources, especially plants. Some experts say more than 25% of modern medicines come, in one way or another, from nature.

　　Scientists have long known that nature is really a chemical factory. All living things contain chemicals that help them survive. So scientists' interest in traditional medicine is not new. But it has become an urgent concern. This is because the earth's supply of natural medicines may be dropping rapidly.

　　1 The passage indicates that ancient treatments for injury and disease were

　　A much more successful than modem ones.

　　B successful enough for humans to survive.

　　C successful in all cases.

　　D of little help to humans.

　　2 Which of the following statements is NOT true？

　　A Modern medicines are now available all over the world.

　　B Many big and modem hospitals are expensive.

　　C Traditional medicines are neither mysterious nor magical.

　　D Humans have used some kinds of medicines since earliest days.

　　3 It is believed by scientists that traditional medicines

　　A can cure all kinds of diseases.

　　B may cure some of today's most serious diseases

　　C are no longer useful for modem men.

　　D are too cheap to be useful.

　　4 What do the majority of the people in the world use for health care？

　　A Strange and wonderful equipment.

　　B Factory-produced chemicals.

　　C Modern medicines.

　　D Plants.

　　5 It can be seen from the passage that the earth's supply of natural medicines

　　A may never be exhausted.

　　B may be dropping rapidly.

　　C is surprisingly big.

　　D is as rich as ever.

　　第二篇

Memory Class

　　Stan Field knows what age can do to a person's memory, and he's not taking any chances with his. He chooses his food carefully and gets plenty of exercise. He also avoids stress, coca cola and cigarette smoke. What's more, at breakfast each morning, the 69-year-old chemical engineer swallows a plateful of pills in the hope of boosting his brain power.

　　Michelle Arnove is less than half Field's age, but no less concerned about her

　　memory. While working round the clock to finish a degree in film studies, the 33-year-old New Yorker had the alarming sensation that she had stopped retaining anything. "I couldn't even remember names," she says. "1 thought, 'Oh no, I'm over 30. It's all downhill from here'." Besides loading up on supplements, Arnove signed up for a memory-enhancing course at New York's Mount Siani Medical Center. And when she got there, she found herself surrounded by people who were just as worried as she was.

　　For millions of Americans, and especially for baby boomers (生育高峰期出生的人), the demands of the Information Age conflict with a sense of declining physical power. "When boomers were in their 30s and 40s, they launched the fitness boom," says Cynthia Green, the psychologist who teaches Mount Sinai's memory class. "Now we have the mental-fitness boom. Memory is the boomers' new life-crisis issue." And of course a major marketing opportunity. The demand for books and seminars has never been greater, says Jack Lannom, a Iongtime memory trainer whose weekly TV show,

　　"Mind Unlimited," goes out to 33 million homes on the Christian Network. Anxious consumers are rushing to buy do-it-yourself programs and supplement makers are trying to sell everything but sawdust (木屑) as a brain booster.

　　But before you get out your checkbook, a few questions are in order. Does everyday forgetfulness signal declining brain function? Is "megamemory" (超强记忆) a realistic goal for normal people? And if you could have a perfect memory, would you really want it? Until recently, no one could address those issues with much authority, but our knowledge of memory is exploding. New techniques are revealing how different parts of the brain interact to preserve meaningful experiences. Biologists are trying to understand the underlying (潜在的) chemical processes and neuroscientists (神经系统科学家) are discovering how age, stress ,and other factors can disrupt them. No one is close to finding the secret to perfect recall, but as you'll see, that may be just as well.

　　6 What does Stan Field take at breakfast？

　　A Food only.

　　B Food and pills.

　　C Nothing.

　　D A plateful of pills only.

　　7 What is the meaning of "working round the clock"？

　　A Repairing clocks.

　　B Making clocks.

　　C Working with a clock nearby.

　　D Working day and night.

　　8 Many baby-boomers living in the Information Age feel that

　　A their financial status is declining.

　　B their political influence is declining.

　　C their physical power is declining.

　　D their will power is declining.

　　9 Which of the following does NOT indicate people's enhanced awareness of the importance of memory？

　　A More demand for books on memory.

　　B More demand for seminars on memory.

　　C More demand for memory-enhancing supplements.

　　D More demand for coca cola and cigarettes.

　　10 According to the writer， the secret to perfect memory

　　A has been found.

　　B will never be found.

　　C was found a long time ago.

　　D is not in sight yet.

　　第三篇

Knitting

　　My mother knew how to knit (编织), but she never taught me. She assumed, as did many women of her generation, that knitting was no longer a skill worth passing down from mother to daughter. A combination of feminism (女权主义) and consumerism (消费主义) made many women feel that such homely accomplishments were now out of date. My Grandmother still knitted, though, and every Christmas she made a pair of socks for my brother and me, of red wool. They were the ones we wore under our ice skates (冰鞋), when it was really important to have warm feet.

　　Knitting is a nervous habit that happens to be productive. It helped me quit smoking by giving my hands something else to do. It is wonderful for depression because no matter what else happens, you are creating something beautiful. Time spent in front of the television or just sitting is no longer time wasted.

　　I love breathing life into the patterns. It's true magic, finding a neglected, dog-eared old book with the perfect snowflake design, buying the same Germantown wool my grandmother used, in the exact blue to match my daughter's eyes; taking it on the train with me every day for two months, working enthusiastically to get it done by Christmas, staying up late after the stockings are filled to sew in the sleeves and weave in the ends.

　　Knitting has taught me patience. I know that if I just keep going, even if it takes months, there will be a reward. When I make a mistake, I know that anger will not fix it, that I just have to go back and take out the stitches (针脚) between and start over again.

　　People often ask if I would do it for money, and the answer is always a definite no. In the first place, you could not pay me enough for the hours I put into a sweater. But more important, this is an activity I keep separate from such considerations. I knit to cover my children and other people I love in warmth and color. I knit to give them something earthly that money could never buy.

　　Knitting gives my life an alternative rhythm to the daily deadline. By day I can write about Northern Ireland or the New York City Police Department and get paid for it, but on the train home, surrounded by people with laptops, I stage my little rebellion: I take out my old knitting bag and join the centuries of women who have knitted for love.

　　11 Why did many women feel that knitting was out of date？

　　A Because their mothers didn't teach them.

　　B Because they were influenced by feminism and consumerism

　　C Because they were feminists.

　　D Because they were consumerists.

　　12 The author wore the red socks her grandmother had knitted for her

　　A when she went to school.

　　B when she went sightseeing.

　　C when she celebrated Christmas.

　　D when she went skating.

　　13 The word "quit" in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

　　A "give up".

　　B "speed up".

　　C "slow down".

　　D "build up".

　　14 According to the passage， which of the following statements about knitting is NOT true？

　　A Knitting helps one get rid of bad habits.

　　B Knitting helps one get free from a bad mood.

　　C Knitting requires patience.

　　D Knitting is a profit-making business.

　　15 Which of the following is NOT the writer's purpose of knitting？

　　A To save money.

　　B To make full use of her leisure time.

　　C To enrich her life.

　　D To show her love for the family.

　　【参考答案】

　　1. B   2. A   3. B   4. D   5. B

　　6. B   7. D   8. C   9. D  10. D

　　11. B  12. D  13. A  14. D  15.A