閱讀理解題

　　第一篇

New Foods and the New World

　　In the last 500 years, nothing about people－not their clothes, ideas, or languages-has changed as much as what they eat. The original chocolate drink was made from the seeds of the cocoa tree （可可樹(shù)） by South American Indians. The Spanish introduced it to the rest of the world during the 1500's. And although it was very expensive, it quickly became fashionable. In London, shops where chocolate drinks were served became important meeting places. Some still exist today.

　　The potato is also from the New World. Around 1600, the Spanish brought it from Peru to Europe, where it soon was widely grown. Ireland became so dependent on it that thousands of Irish people starved when the crop failed during the "Potato Famine （饑荒）" of 1845-1846, and thousands more were forced to leave their homeland and move to America.

　　There are many other foods that have traveled from South America to the Old World. But some others went in the opposite direction. Brazil is now the world's largest grower of coffee, and coffee is an important crop in Colombia and other South American countries. But it is native to Ethiopia, a country in Africa. It was first made into a drink by Arabs during the 1400's.

　　According to an Arabic legend, coffee was discovered when a person named Kaldi noticed that his goats were attracted to the red berries on a coffee bush. He tried one and experienced the "wide-awake" feeling that one-third of the world's population now starts the day with.

　　1 According to the passage, which of the following has changed the most in the last 500 years?

　　A Food.

　　B Clothing.

　　C Ideology.

　　D Language.

　　2 "Some" in the last sentence of the first paragraph refers to

　　A some cocoa trees.

　　B some chocolate drinks.

　　C some shops.

　　D some South American Indians.

　　3 Thousands of Irish people starved during the "Potato Famine" because

　　A they were so dependent on potatoes that they refused to eat anything else

　　B they were forced to leave their homeland and move to America.

　　C the weather conditions in Ireland were not suitable for growing potatoes.

　　D the potato harvest was bad.

　　4 Which country is the largest coffee producer?

　　A Brazil.

　　B Colombia.

　　C Ethiopia.

　　D Egypt.

　　5 Which of the following statements is NOT true, according to the passage?

　　A One third of the world's population drinks coffee.

　　B Coffee is native to Colombia.

　　C Coffee can keep one awake.

　　D Coffee drinks were first made by Arabs.

　　第二篇

Teaching Poetry

　　No poem should ever be discussed or "analyzed", until it has been read aloud by someone, teacher or student. Better still, perhaps, is the practice of reading it twice, once at the beginning of the discussion and once at the end, so the sound of the poem is the last thing one hears of it.

　　All discussions of poetry are, in fact, preparations for reading it aloud, and the reading of the poem is, finally, the most telling "interpretation" of it, suggesting tone, rhythm, and meaning all at once. Hearing a poet read the work in his or her own voice, on records or on film, is obviously a special reward. But even those aids to teaching can not replace the student and teacher reading it or, best of all, reciting （背誦） it.

　　I have come to think, in fact, that time spent reading a poem aloud is much more important than "analyzing" it, if there isn't time for both. I think one of our goals as teachers of English is to have students love poetry. Poetry is "a criticism of life", and "a heightening （提升） of life". It is "an approach to the truth of feeling", and it "can save your life". It also deserves a place in the teaching of language and literature more central than it presently occupies.

　　I am not saying that every English teacher must teach poetry. Those who don't like it should not be forced to put that dislike on anyone else. But those who do teach poetry must keep in mind a few things about its essential nature, about its sound as well as its sense, and they must make room in the classroom for hearing poetry as well as thinking about it.

　　6 To have a better understanding of a poem, one should

　　A discuss it with others.

　　B analyze it by oneself.

　　C copy it down in a notebook.

　　D practise reading it aloud.

　　7 Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a function of poetry?

　　A Extending your life.

　　B Saving your life.

　　C Criticizing life.

　　D Heightening life.

　　8 According to the writer, one of the purposes of teaching English is to get students

　　A to understand life.

　　B to enjoy poetry.

　　C to become teachers.

　　D to become poets.

　　9 What does the last sentence in the third paragraph imply?

　　A More stress should be laid on the teaching of poetry.

　　B The teaching of poetry is more important than any other subject

　　C One cannot enjoy life fully without an understanding of poetry.

　　D Poetry is the foundation of all language and literature courses.

　　10 The phrase "make room" in the last paragraph could be best replaced by

　　A "build a booth".

　　B "provide equipment".

　　C "leave a certain amount of time".

　　D "set aside enough space".

　　第三篇

"Salty" Rice Plant Boosts Harvests

　　British scientists are breeding a new generation of rice plants that will be able to grow in soil containing salt water. Their work may enable abandoned farms to become productive once more.

　　Tim Flowers and Tony Yeo, from Sussex University's School of Biological Sciences, have spent several years researching how crops, such as rice, could be made to grow in water that has become salty.

　　The pair have recently begun a three-year program, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, to establish which genes enable some plants to survive salty conditions. The aim is to breed this capability into crops, starting with rice.

　　It is estimated that each year more than 10m hectares （公頃） of agricultural land are lost because salt gets into the soil and stunts （妨礙生長(zhǎng)） plants. The problem is caused by several factors. In the tropics, mangroves （紅樹(shù)林） that create swamps （沼澤） and traditionally formed barriers to sea water have been cut down. In the Mediterranean, a series of droughts have caused the water table to drop, allowing sea water to seep （滲透） in. In Latin America, irrigation often causes problems when water is evaporated （蒸發(fā)） by the heat, leaving salt deposits behind.

　　Excess salt then enters the plants and prevents them functioning normally. Heavy concentrations of minerals in the plants stop them drawing up the water they need to survive.

　　To overcome these problems, Flowers and Yeo decided to breed rice plants that take in very little salt and store what they do absorb in cells that do not affect the plants' growth. They have started to breed these characteristics into a new rice crop, but it will take about eight harvests before the resulting seeds are ready to be considered for commercial use.

　　Once the characteristics for surviving salty soil are known, Flowers and Yeo will try to breed the appropriate genes into all manners of crops and plants. Land that has been abandoned to nature will then be able to bloom again, providing much needed food in the poorer countries of the world.

　　11 Which of the following statements about Flowers and Yeo is true？

　　A They are students at Sussex University.

　　B They are rice breeders.

　　C They are husband and wife.

　　D They are colleagues at an institution of higher learning.

　　12 Flowers and Yeo have started a programme

　　A to find ways to prevent water pollution.

　　B to identify genes that promote growth in salty soil.

　　C to breed rice plants that taste salty.

　　D to find ways to remove excessive salt from soil.

　　13 Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a cause of the problem discussed in the passage？

　　A Natural barriers to sea water have been destroyed.

　　B the water table has gone down after droughts.

　　C Sea level has been continuously rising.

　　D Evaporation of water leaves salt behind

　　14 The word "affect" in Paragraph 6 could be best replaced by

　　A "influence"

　　B "effect"

　　C "stop"

　　D "present"

　　15 The attitude of the author towards the research project is

　　A positive

　　B negative.

　　C suspicious

　　D indifferent.

　　【參考答案】

　　1. A 2. C 3. D 4. A 5. B

　　6. D 7. A 8. B 9. A 10. C

　　11. D 12. B 13. C 14. A 15. A