2007.06.14日更新（B级）
第4部分：阅读理解（第31～45题，每题3分，共45分）
下面有3篇短文，每篇幅短文后有5道题，每题后面有4个选项。请仔细阅读短文并根据短文回答其后面的问题，从4个选项中选择一个最佳答案涂在答题卡相应的位置上。
第一篇
The Discovery of Genes
Perhaps you may have wondered why you look like your father or mother, while your sister looks like an aunt or even one of your grandparents. The way you look, talk and move and how tall you will grow depend mostly upon the very small particles called genes, which are found in the cells of your body: You get these genes from your parents. Each time they reproduce (生育) they pass along a set of genes. But each new set may be a little different from the previous sets. So when parents have a number of children, they will find that each child looks somewhat like themselves but with individual features too.
In the past nobody really understood why members of the same family resembled each other. All through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries many scientists tried to find out how the features of living things were passed on to the next generation. Then in the 1860s one man succeeded in finding out the answer. He was Gregor Mendal, an Austrian who was very interested in growing plants.
He experimented with pea (豌豆) plants. He found that there was something in the parent plant that gave the Offspring (后代) certain features, such as tallness or shortness. This "something" is now called genes. He also discovered that of all the features of a plant which were passed on to another generation, some were stronger than Others. In such a case the stronger features would be dominant in the new plants. He proved this by crossing a purple-flowered plant with a white-flowered plan－the first new generation all had purple flowers. But when seeds from the new purple-flowered plants grew up, one plant of this generation was white. So although the white features did not show in the plants of the first generation, it had been there all the time.
Mendal published his findings in 1866, but it was only In 1900 that the importance of his work was recognized. Scientists realized that his theories on heredity (遗传) could also be applied to all forms of life, including humans.
31 The way one looks, talks and moves depends
A completely on his own genes.
B largely on his parents' genes.
C mostly on his brothers' genes.
D mainly on his sisters' genes.
32 Brothers and sisters often look a bit different from each other because
A they have somewhat different genes.
B their father's genes are different from their mother's.
C their parents want them to have individual features.
D they were born in different places.
33 What can be concluded from the second and third paragraphs?
A A number of scientists found genes in the 18th and 19th centuries.
B Scientific discoveries were made one after another in the 18th and 19th centuries.
C Many scientists succeeded in finding out how the features of living things were passed on to the next generation in the 18th and 19th centuries.
D It took a long time for scientists to find out why members of the same family look like each other.
34 The main idea of the third paragraph is
A the formation of a gene.
B the characteristic features of plants.
C Mendal's important findings,
D Mendal's hard work.
35 Medal's theories on heredity
A are only applicable to pea plants.
B are only applicable to animals.
C are applicable to all forms of life.
D are only applicable to humans.
第二篇
Lifetime Employment in Japanese Companies
In most large Japanese companies, there is a policy of lifetime employment. What this means is that when people leave school or university to join an enterprise, they can expect to remain with that organization until they retire. In effect, the employee gets job security for life, and can only be fired for serious mistakes in work. Even in times of business recession, he or she is free from the fear of being laid off.
One result of this practice is that the Japanese worker identifies closely with his company and feels strong loyalty to it. By working hard for the company, he believes he is safeguarding his own future. It is not surprising that devotion to one's company is considered a great virtue in Japan. A man is often prepared to put his firm's interests before those of his immediate family.
The job security guaranteed by this system influences the way employees approach their work. They tend to think in terms of what they can achieve throughout their career. This is because they are not judged on how they are performing during a short period of time. They can afford to take a longer perspective than their Western counterparts.
This marriage between the employee and the company – the consequence of lifetime employment - may explain why Japanese workers seem positively to love the products their company is producing and why they are willing to stay on after work, for little overtime pay, to participate in earnest discussions about the quality control of their products.
36 Lifetime employment in the Japanese company means that the employee
A leaves his company only when business is bad.
B gets a job soon after he leaves school or university.
C can work there throughout his career.
D can have his serious mistakes in work corrected.
37 Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?
A Family and company interests are equally important.
B The Japanese worker is very loyal to his company.
C One's future is guaranteed through hard work.
D Devotion to, one's company is encouraged.
38 Lifetime employment influences one's
A achievements at work.
B performance at work.
C career options.
D attitude toward work.
39 The Japanese worker is fond of his company's products because of
A his marriage with the daughter of the president.
B the close link between him and his company,
C his willingness to work overtime.
D his active participation in quality control.
40 The passage mainly discusses
A how lifetime employment works in Japan.
B what benefits lifetime employment has brought to Japanese workers.
C what lifetime employment is.
D how lifetime employment is viewed.
第三篇
Are You s Man or a Mouse?
Are you a man or a mouse? When people ask this question they want to know if you think you are a brave person or a coward (懦夫). But you will never really know the answer to that question until you are tested in real life. Some people think they are brave, but when they come face to face with real danger, they act like cowards. Other people don't think of themselves as brave, but when they meet danger, they act like heroes.
Lenny Brown had always thought' of himself as a nervous person. He got worried before examinations. He worried about his job and his health. All he wanted in life was to be safe and healthy.
On 15 January 1982, a plane crashed into the Potomac River in Washington. Lenny went to the river to see what was happening. Then he saw a woman in the ice-cold water. Suddenly Lenny did not feel afraid. He kept very calm and did a very brave thing. He jumped into the river, swam to the woman, and kept her head above the water. Seventy-eight people died that day. Thanks to Lenny Brown, it was not seventy-nine.
When you are in a very dangerous situation and feel afraid, the body automatically produces a chemical in the blood. This chemical is called adrenalin (肾上腺素). With adrenalin in the blood system, you actually feel stronger and are ready to fight or run away. However, when you are absolutely scared, the body can produce too much adrenalin. When this happens, the muscles (肌肉) become very hard and you find that you cannot move at all: you are filled with fear. That is why, when we are very frightened, we sometimes say that we are "like a stone".
41 The question "Are you a man or a mouse?" really means to ask whether you believe
A you are a tall person or a short one.
B you are a brave person or a coward.
C you are a human being or an animal.
D you enjoy real life or not.
42 According to Paragraph 1, you could only tell whether you are really brave
A taking an examination.
B acting like a mouse.
C being tested in real life.
D jumping into a river.
43 The writer gives the example of Lenny Brown to show that
A it is dangerous to see a plane crash into a river.
B women are afraid of being drowned in ice-cold water.
C a man may find how brave he actually is when faced with danger.
D Lenny was brave to save seventy-nine lives.
44 According to the passage, the adrenalin level in your blood rises when
A you face danger.
B you feel tired.
C you are calm.
D you are hungry.
45 The last paragraph tells us that when you are absolutely scared,
A you will work hard.
B you may die and become a stone.
C you cannot move at all.
D you may want to find a stone.
答案回复可见
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31. B 32. A 33. D 34. C 35. C
36. C 37. A 38. D 39. B 40. A
41. B 42. C 43. C 44. A 45. C
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