Reading Comprehension

Directions: There are three passages in this part. Each passage is

followed by some questions. For each
of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on
the best choice.
Passage 1
In the summer of 1978 an English farmer named Ian Stevens was driving his
tractor through a field of wheat when he discovered something strange. Some of
his wheat was lying flat on the ground. The flattened wheat formed
a circle about six meters across. Around this circle were four smaller circles
of flattened wheat. In the following years more and more similar circles were
found in a field of wheat or corn. So people cannot help but ask the question:
What causes the circles?
At first, people suspected that the circles were a trick. To prove that the
circles were a trick, people tried to copy them: they tried to make circles
exactly like the ones the farmers had found. They couldn't do it. They couldn't
enter a field of grain without leaving tracks, and they couldn't flatten the
grain without breaking it. The circles are apparently not a trick.
Many people believe that beings from outer space are making the circles.
Some think that the beings are trying to communicate with us from far away and
that the circles are messages from them. Others believe that the beings have
actually landed on earth and that the circles are marks left by their
spaceships. Several times people reported seeing strange flying objects near
fields where circles later appeared.
Scientists say they're not sure what causes them. They have suggested several
theories. For example, some scientists say that "microbursts" of wind created
the circles. A microburst is a downward rush of cool air the same downward
rush of air that sometimes causes an airplane to crash. Others scientists say
that forces within the earth cause the circles to appear. But circles often
appear in forms. It is hard to believe that any natural force could create
those forms. And recently farmers have discovered not only circles but also
other shapes such as triangles in their fields. Could any natural force created
a perfect triangle in a field of grain?
In the summer of 1990 some scientists spent three weeks in the part of
England where many circles have appeared. They had all the latest high-tech
equipment. This equipment worth 1.8 million dollars recorded nothing. But
one night, as the scientists were watching a field, circles formed in the field
behind them. These circles are shown in the photograph. The scientists had
neither seen nor heard anything. (402 words)
1. What causes the circles?
A. Teenagers.
B. Farmers. C. Flying objects. D. None of the above.
2. The thing that proves that the circles were not a trick is that ________.
A. two men said they made the circles themselves
B. farmers were making the circles to attract tourists

C. people cannot copy the circles without leaving marks or breaking the grain
D. scientists suggest theories that support the idea that circles were made by
natural forces
3. The circles mean ________.
A. that beings from outer space are trying to communicate with human beings
B. that beings from outer space have visited the earth
C. that there do exist strange flying objects
D. none of the above
4.The only thing for the scientists to be happy about in the summer of 1990 is
possibly ________.
A. that they discovered how the circles were made
B. that they saw the circles with the help of the latest high-tech equipment
C. that they were able to show the circles in a photograph
D. none of the above
5. A proper title for this passage is ________.
A. An Unsolved Mystery B. Strange Flying Objects
C. The Power of Natural Forces D. The Discovery of Strange Circles
Passage 2
In the early days of sea travel, seamen lived entirely on salted meat and
biscuits. Many of them died of scurvy ( ), a disease of the blood which
causes swollen gums, pale white spots on the flesh and general exhaustion. On
one occasion, in 1535, an English ship arrived in Newfoundland with its crew
seriously ill. The men's lives were saved by Iroquois Indians who gave them
vegetable leaves to eat. Gradually it came to be realized that scurvy was
caused by some lack in the sailors' diet and Captain Cook, who was to discover
Australia and New Zealand, established the fact the scurvy could be avoided by
provision of fresh fruit for the sailors.
Nowadays it is understood that a diet which contains nothing harmful may yet
result in serious disease if certain important elements are missing. These
elements are called "vitamins". Quite a number of such substances are known and
they are given letters to identify them, A, B, C, D, and so on. Different
diseases are associated with deficiencies of particular vitamins. Even a slight
lack of Vitamin C, for example, the vitamin most plentiful in fresh fruit and
vegetables, is thought to increase significantly our possibility of getting bad
colds.
The vitamins necessary for a health body are normally supplied by a good
mixed diet, including a variety of fruit and green vegetables. It is only when
people try to live on a very restricted diet, say during extended periods of
religious fasting (), or when trying to lose weight, that it is necessary
to make special provision to supply the missing vitamins. (274 words)
1. Scurvy is a disease which causes ________.
A. loss of blood
B. swollen limbs
C. exhaustion
D. bright red spots on the flesh
2. A diet which contains nothing harmful ________.

A. may yet cause scurvy B. has plenty of vitamins

C. will usually result in serious disease
D. always ensures good health
3. Deficiencies of the various vitamins ________.
A. cause identical diseases
B. are not serious except in the case of vitamin C
C. cause different diseases
D. are often caused by scurvy
4. Fresh fruit and vegetables ________.
A. contain more vitamin C than any other food
B. decrease our resistance to colds
C. contain every kind of vitamin
D. increase our possibility of getting bad colds
5. A good mixed diet ________.
A. normally contains enough vitamins
B. still needs supplementing with
vitamins
C. is suitable for religious fasting
D. is often difficult to arrange
Passage 3
He had uncombed hair, dirty clothes, and only 35 cents in his pocket. In
Baltimore, Maryland, he got on a bus and headed straight for the restroom. He
thought that if he hid in the restroom, he could ride to New York without
paying. But a passenger at the back of the bus saw him. She tapped the person
in front of her on the shoulder and said, "There's a bum in the
restroom. Tell the bus driver." That passenger tapped the person sitting in
front of him. "Tell the bus driver there's a bum in the restroom," he said.
The message was passed from person to person until it reached the front of
the bus. But somewhere along the way, the message changed. By the time it
reached the bus driver, it was not "There's a bum in the restroom" but "There's
a bomb in the restroom." The driver immediately pulled over to the side of the
highway and radioed the police. When the police arrived, they told the
passengers to get off the bus and stay far way. Then they closed the highway.
That soon caused a 15-mile-long traffic jam. With the help of a dog, the police
searched the bus for two hours. Of course, they found no bomb.
Two similar-sounding English words also caused trouble for a man who wanted
to fly from Los Angeles to Oakland, California. His problems began at the
airport in Los Angeles's. He thought he heard his flight announced, so he
walked to the gate, showed his ticket, and got on the plane. Twenty minutes
after takeoff, the man began to worry. Oakland was north of Los Angeles, but
the plane seemed to be heading west, and when he looked out his window all he
could see was ocean. "Is this plane going to Oakland?" he asked the flight
attendant . The flight attendant was shocked. "No," she said. "We're
going to Auckland Auckland, New Zealand."
When a Korean woman who lives in the United States arrived at work one morning,
her boss asked her, "Did you get a plate?" "No..." she answered, wondering what
in the world he meant. She worked in an office. Why did the boss ask her about

a plate? At five o'clock, when she was getting ready to go home, her boss said,
"Please be on time tomorrow. You were 15 minutes late this morning." "Sorry,"
she said. "My car wouldn't start, and ..." Suddenly she understood. Her boss
hadn't asked her, "Did you get a plate?" He had asked, "Did you get up late?"
English is not the only language with similar-sounding words. Other
languages, too, have words that can cause misunderstandings, especially for
foreigners.
Auckland and Oakland. "A plate" and "up late". When similar-sounding words
cause a misunderstanding, probably the best thing to do is just laugh and learn
from the mistake. Of course, sometimes it's hard to laugh. The man who traveled
to Auckland instead of Oakland didn't feel like laughing. But even that
misunderstanding turned out all right in the end. The airline paid for the
man's hotel room and meals in New Zealand and for his flight back to
California. "Oh well," the man later said, "I always wanted to see New
Zealand." (551 words)
1. The 15-mile-long traffic jam was originally caused by ________.
A. the woman who tapped the person in front of her
B. the driver who radioed the police
C. the police who blocked the road
D. the change of the message from "there is a bum" to "there is a bomb"
2. Before he knew it, the man arrived in ________.
A. Oakland B. Auckland C. Los Angeles D. California
3. The word "plate" (Para.6) is more possibly associated with work in ________.
A. an office
B. a workshop C. a restaurant D. a shop
4. The sentence "Oh well, I always wanted to see New Zealand." reflects
________.
A. the man's sense of humor B. the man's frustration
C. the man's disappointment D. the man's despair
5. According to the passage one proper way to deal with a misunderstanding
caused by similar-sounding words is ________.
A. to have a sharp ear B. to learn a good pronunciation
C. to speak clearly and slowly D. to laugh and learn from it
Passage 4
Another example of the dangers of a restricted diet may be seen in the
disease known as "beri-beri" , which used to make large numbers of
Eastern peoples suffer who lived mainly on rice. In the early years of the 20th
century, a Dutch scientist called Eijkman was trying to discover the cause of
beri-beri. At first he thought it was transmitted by a germ (). He
was working in a Japanese hospital, where the patients were fed on rice which
had had the outer husk removed from the grain. It was thought this would
be easier for weak, sick people to digest.
Eijkman thought his germ theory was confirmed when he noticed the chickens
in the hospital yard, which were fed on scraps from the patients'
plates, were also showing signs of the disease. He then tried to isolate the

germ he thought was causing the disease, but his experiments were interrupted
by a hospital official, who ruled that the huskless polished rice, even though
left over by the patients, was too good for chickens. The chickens should be
fed on cheap rice with the outer covering still on the grain.
Eijkman noticed that the chickens began to recover on the new diet. He
began to consider the possibility that eating unmilled rice somehow prevented
or cured beri-beri even that a lack of some ingredient in the husk might be
the cause of the disease. Indeed this was the case. The element needed to
prevent beri-beri was shortly afterwards isolated from rice husks and is now
known as vitamin B. The milled rice, though more expensive, was in fact keeping
alive the disease the hospital was trying to cure. Nowadays, this terrible
disease is much less common thanks to our knowledge of vitamins. (313 words)
1. From the context, what do you think the author mentions in the paragraph
that is just before this first paragraph?
A. One example of the importance of vitamins.
B. One example of the necessity for the supplement of vitamins.
C. One example of the dangers of the restricted diet.
D. One example of the benefits of various vitamins.
2. The disease "beri-beri" ________.
A. kills large numbers of western peoples
B. is a vitamin deficiency disease
C. is transmitted by diseased rice D. can be caught from diseased chickens
3. The chickens Eijkman noticed in the hospital yard ________.
A. couldn't digest the huskless rice
B. proved beri-beri is transmitted by germs
C. were later cooked for the patients' food
D. were suffering from vitamin deficiency
4. Huskless, milled rice ________.
A. was cheaper than unmilled rice
B. was less beneficial to the body than unmilled rice
C. was more beneficial to the body than unmilled rice
D. cured beri-beri
5. The ingredient missing from milled rice ________.
A. was vitamin B
B. did not affect the chickens
C. was named the Eijkman vitamin
D. has never been accurately identified
Passage 5
Yinlan looked at the people sitting around the table and smiled with
satisfaction. Everyone in her family was there her children, her
grandchildren, and her new great-grandson, just one month old. Her whole family
had come to celebrate the Harvest Moon Festival ().
Yinlan had grown up in China, but she and her family now lived in San
Francisco, California. Although they lived in the United States, Yinlan's
family celebrated the Harvest Moon Festival just as Yinlan had in China. Then,
if the sky was clear, they always walked outside to admire the full moon.
Tonight there was not a cloud in the sky, and the full moon shone brightly.

Yinlan suggested that they all go outside. Her grandson helped her up from her
chair. As Yinlan and her grandson walked toward the door, she held on to his
arm and leaned against him for support. Yinlan was 86 years old. She had not
been well the past few months, and her family noticed that she seemed weak.
Two days after the Harvest Moon Festival, Yinlan died peacefully in her
sleep. Her family was sad but at the same time grateful. They felt happy that
they had been able to celebrate the Harvest Moon Festival with her one last
time. Everyone said it was remarkable that Yinlan had died just two days after
the holiday.
Actually, the timing of Yinlan's death was not remarkable at all. Recently
sociologistsstudied the death rate among elderly Chinese women in
California. They discovered that the death rate drops 35 percent before the
Harvest Moon Festival and then rises 35 percent. Sociologists believe that
these changes in death rate show the mind's power over the body. The Harvest
Moon Festival, when families gather, is important to elderly Chinese women.
Apparently some women are able to postponetheir deaths so that they can
celebrate the festival one last time.
Sociologists also studied the death rate of elderly Jewish men around the
time of Passover, a Jewish holiday. They discovered the same phenomenon.
Passover is a Jewish religious holiday that is a family holiday as well. On the
first two days of Passover, families gather in their homes for a ceremony
. It is an important event for elderly Jewish men so important that some
men postpone their deaths until after Passover.
The idea that people can postpone the time of their deaths is not new. Many
families tell stories of a relative who held on to life until after an
important event. They tell of grandmother who died after the birth of a
grandchild, a grandfather who died after his 92nd birthday party. The stories
people tell, however, are just that: stories. They are not proof that people
can postpone their deaths. The sociologists' work is important because the
sociologists studied facts, not stories. The facts the drop and rise in
death rates prove that people really can postpone their deaths.
One famous person who may have postponed his death was Thomas Jefferson. Thomas
Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, one of the most important U.S.
documents. The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776. Thomas
Jefferson died exactly 50 years later, on July 4, 1826. He died after asking
his doctor, "Is it the Fourth?"
Historians have always thought that Jefferson's death on the Fourth of July
was a remarkable coincidence . It now seems quite possible that the
timing of Jefferson's death was no coincidence at all. (597 words)
1. The story of Yinlan and her family indicates that ________.
A. the Chinese Harvest Moon Festival is good enough to postpone death
B. significant events can postpone death
C. the mind is stronger than the body
D. good mood can postpone death

2.
in
A.
B.
C.
D.
3.
A.
C.
4.
A.
B.
C.
D.
5.
A.
C.

The Jewish holiday Passover is similar to the Chinese Harvest Moon Festival
the sense that ________.
both of them can postpone death
both of them take place at the same time
both of them are a religious holiday
both of them are a family holiday
Thomas Jefferson's death on July the 4th was probably timed by ________.
his doctor
B. the Declaration of Independence
one famous person
D. himself
Which of the following is true?
The Jewish holiday Passover can only postpone the deaths of elderly women.
The Chinese Harvest Moon Festival can only postpone the deaths of old men.
It is facts not stories that prove people can postpone their deaths.
Family holidays of all kinds can postpone the deaths of old people.
A proper title for this passage is "________".
Saving the Old with a Family Holiday
B. Postponing Death
More Family Holidays, More Happiness D. What a Coincidence
Passage 6
A strict vegetarian is a person who never in his life eats anything derived
from animals. The main objection to vegetarianism on a long-term
basis is the difficulty of getting enough protein the body-building element
in food. If you have ever been without meat or other animal foods for some days
of weeks (say, for religious reasons) you will have notice that you tend to get
physically rather weak. You are glad when the fastis over and you get
your reward of a delicious meat meal.
Proteins are built up from about twenty food elements called "amino-acid"
() , which are found more abundantly in animal protein than in vegetable
protein. This means you have to eat a great deal more vegetable than animal
food in order to get enough of these amino-acids. A great deal of the vegetable
food goes to waste in this process and from the physiological point
of view there is not much to be said in favor of life-long vegetarianism.
The economic side of the question, though, must be considered. Vegetable
food is much cheaper than animal food. However, since only a small proportion
of the vegetable protein is useful for body-building purposes, a consistent
vegetarian, if he is to gain the necessary 70 grams ( ) of protein a day, has
to consume a great bulk of food than his digestive organs can comfortably deal
with. In fairness, though, it must be pointed out that vegetarians claim they
need far less than 70 grams of protein a day. (276 words)
1. A strict vegetarian ________.
A. rarely eats animal products
B. sometimes eats eggs
C. never eats any animal products
D. never eats protein
2. We feel weak when we go without meat and other animal products _____.
A. because we are reducing our food amount
B. because we do not get enough protein

C. because vegetables do not contain protein

D. unless we take plenty of exercise
3. Proteins are built up from ________.
A. about twenty different foods
B. about twenty different vegetables
C. various fats and sugars
D. about twenty different amino-acids
4. Physiologically, life-long vegetarianism may not be good because ______.
A. it makes people very thin
B. the body must process too much
waste
C. the farmer lose money
D. vitamin-deficiency diseases may result
5. One thing in favour of vegetarianism is that ________.
A. vegetable food is easier to digest
B. animal food is less expensive
C. vegetable food is cheaper
D. it is good for the digestion
Passage 7
In 1913, the United States government launched ( ) a bold, new nickel.
Sculptor James Earle Fraser said his goal was to design a coin that would be
"truly American." In his search for symbols, he found none more distinctive
than the American buffalo. Choosing to show a native American on the other side
of the coin, Fraser said the new nickel had "perfect unity of theme."
Production of "Buffalo" or "Indian Head" nickels began in February 1913. A
single coining press at the Philadelphia Mintstarted turning out the
nickels at the rate of 120 a minute. But after the first examples were placed
in circulation, the New York Times condemned () them as a "bad."
Other critics said that the coin's "rough" surfaces would encourage
counterfeiters. But the most serious complaint about the nickel
had to do with its inability to stand heavy use. One coin collectors' magazine
predicted that the slightest wear would remove the date and the words Five
Cents "beyond understanding."
In 1938, the Department of Treasury staged a competition for a new nickel
picturing Thomas Jefferson. According to a news item of the day, the Bureau of
Indian Affairs didn't receive a single complaint from native Americans about
the design change. Collectors didn't seem to mind either. (212 words)
1. In the eyes of Fraser __________ is the most beautiful.
A. nickel
B. buffalo C. a Native American
D. unity of theme
2. In the second sentence, Paragraph 2, the word "press" means ________.
A. publication
B. newspaper C. machine D. the act of pushing down
3. The design of buffalo was modified ________.
A. because it was not able to stand heavy use
B. because the words Five Cents were "beyond understanding"
C. because the coin showed the buffalo standing on a small grassy hill
D. because the words were too high
4. According to one collectors' magazine using a native American and a buffalo
was ________.
A. a good idea B. a bad idea C. a perfect idea D. a forced ideae
5. It seemed that the new nickel picturing Thomas Jefferson ________.

A.
B.
C.
D.

won much praise from collectors

caused strong protests from American Indians
was OK both to the collectors and American Indians
was praised both by the collectors and American Indians
Passage 8
You must face the fact that in your inmost heart you hate the thought of
moving. It is easiest not to leave the rooms where your children passed through
their wonderful childhood and annoying teens to a friendly but slightly distant
community.
Until, suddenly one day, the distance is absolute and they are grown up and
gone. Then you find yourself living in too large a house, which consumes in its
maintenance too much energy and money. When we found ourselves in this
situation a few years ago, we determined to move while we still had the
strength and before the emotional tentacles ( ) that the old house had
wrapped around us became too powerful to be broken. Move while you can! But be
sure you really want to, and do not move too often. It is an exhausting
process.
Your first task is to find a house that will suit you. It must be smaller,
quieter, easier to run, and more conveniently placed for transport. Not so
small, though, that it will not elegantly accommodate ( ) your largest
pieces of furniture, and located not too far from the neighborhood where so
many friendships have been built up.
At last we found one: a late Victorian cottage, in a street where the
houses, all small, range from late 18th to mid 20th century. It was near enough
to where we wanted to live. It had no basement , which was a great
convenience for aging legs; there were only two floors above ground level: one
for ourselves and one where friends, children, and grandchildren could spread
themselves when they came to stay. Each floor had two rooms. There was a
kitchen on the ground floor, with the bathroom above it. (289 words)
1. The passage concerns ________.
A. buying a house for a newly married couple
B. buying a large house for a growing family
C. buying a better house when people have more money to invest ()
D. buying a smaller house for older people whose children have left home
2. The passage implies that grown-up children are _______.
A. more friendly to their parents when they are grown up
B. distant from their parents
C. friendly but not very close
D. annoying
3. The author decided to move ________.
A. when their house gave them too much work and cost too much to run
B. when they grew tired of their house
C. when they suddenly got the strength to do so
D. before the house collapsed

4.
A.
B.
C.
D.
5.
A.

The author advises people in his own situation ________.

to move into a very small house
to move somewhere where the largest possible pieces of furniture will fit
not to move too far from the main road
to choose somewhere not so noisy
According to the passage, their new house had _________.
two floors
B. three floors
C. four floors
D. two bathrooms