閱讀理解題

　　第一篇

A Ride in a Cable-car

　　A ride in a cable-car is one of the most exciting and enjoyable experiences a child can have. In Switzerland, which is the home of the cable-car, it is used mostly to take tourists up the slope of a mountain, to a restaurant from which one can have a bird's-eye view of the surrounding country, or to the top of a ski-run, from which, in winter, skiers glide down the snow-covered slope on skis. In Singapore, however, the cable-car takes one from the summit of a hill on the main island to a low hill on Sentosa, a resort island just off the southern coast.

　　The cable-car is really a carriage which hangs from a strong steel cable suspended in the air. It moves along the cable with other cars on pulleys, the wheels of which are turned by electric motors. The cars are painted in eye-catching colours and spaced at regular intervals. Each car can seat up to six persons. After the passengers have entered a car, they are locked in from outside by an attendant. They have no control over the movement of the car.

　　Before long, the passengers get a breath-taking view through the glass windows of the modern city, the bustling harbour, and the several islands off the coast. The car is suspended so high in the air that ships on the sea look like small boats, and boats like toys. On a clear day, both the sky above and the sea below look beautifully blue.

　　In contrast to the fast-moving traffic on the ground, the cars in the air move in a leisurely manner, allowing passengers more than enough time to take in the scenery during the brief trip to the island of Sentosa. After a few hours on Sentosa, it will be time again to take a cable-car back to Mount Faber. The return journey is no less exciting than the outward trip.

　　1 The cable-car in Singapore takes visitors to

　　A the summit of a mountain.

　　B a mountainous area.

　　C a resort island.

　　D a snow-covered mountain.

　　2 Which of the following about the cable-car is true?

　　A It moves along a steel cable.

　　B It is operated by a skier.

　　C It is controlled by a passenger.

　　D It moves in a tunnel.

　　3 The passengers can get a bird's-eye view because the car

　　A is painted in eye-catching colours.

　　B is supsponded high in the air.

　　C seats up to six persons

　　D looks so tiny in the sky.

　　4 The car in the air moves

　　A slowly.

　　B quickly.

　　C unsteadily.

　　D staggeringly.

　　5 The word "eye-catching" in paragraph 2 means

　　A respectable.

　　B predictable.

　　C noticeable.

　　D variable.

　　第二篇

Eat to Live

　　A meager diet may give you health and long life, but it's not much fun-and it might not even be necessary. We may be able to hang on to most of that youthful vigor even if we don't start to diet until old age.

　　Stephen Spindler and his colleagues from the University of California at Riverside have found that some of an elderly mouse's liver genes can be made to behave as they did when the mouse was young simply by limiting its food for four weeks. The genetic rejuvenation won't reverse other damage caused by time for the mouse, but could help its liver metabolize drugs or get rid of toxins.

　　Spindler's team fed three mice a normal diet for their whole lives, and fed another three on half-rations. Three more mice were switched from the normal diet to half-feed for a month when they were 34 months old-equivalent to about 70 human years.

　　The researchers checked the activity of 11,000 genes from the mouse livers, and found that 46 changed with age in the normally fed mice. The changes were associated with things like inflammation and free radical production-probably bad news for mouse health. In the mice that had dieted all their lives, 27 of those 46 genes continued to behave like young genes. But the most surprising finding was that the mice that only started dieting in old age also benefited from 70 per cent of these gene changes.

　　"This is the first indication that thee effects kick in pretty quickly," says Huber Warner from the National Institute on Aging near Washington, D C.

　　No one yet knows if calorie works in people as it does in mice, bus Spindler is hopeful. "There's attracting and tempting evidence out there that it will work," he says.

　　If it does work in people, there might be good reasons for rejuvenating the liver. As we get older, out bodies are les efficient at metabolizing drugs, for example. A brief period of time of dieting, says Spindler, could be enough to make sure a drug is effective.

　　But Spindler isn't sure the trade-off is worth it. "The mice get less disease, they live longer but they're hungry," he says. "Even seeing what a diet does, it's still hard to go to a restaurant and say: 'I can only eat half of that'."

　　Spindler hopes we soon won't need to diet at all. His company, Life Span Genetics in California, is looking for drugs that have the effects of calorie restriction.

　　6 According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

　　A Eating less than usual might make us live longer.

　　B If we go on a diet when old, we may keep healthy.

　　C Dieting might not be needed.

　　D We have to begin dieting from childhood.

　　7 Why does the author mention an elderly mouse in paragraph 2?

　　A To describe the influence of old age on mice.

　　B To illustrate the effect of meager food on mice.

　　C To tell us how mice's liver genes behave.

　　D To inform us of the process of metabolizing drugs.

　　8 What can be inferred from paragraph 4?

　　A Dieting doesn't play any role in slowing down aging.

　　B Poor people necessarily live longer than rich people.

　　C Hungry people tend to commit suicide.

　　D Normally fed mice are prone to diseases.

　　9 Which of the following interested the researchers most?

　　A The mice that started dieting in old age.

　　B 27 of those 46 old genes that continued to behave like young genes.

　　C Calorie restriction that works in people.

　　D Dieting that makes sure a drug is effective.

　　10 According to the last two paragraphs, Spindler believes that

　　A calorie restriction is very important to young people

　　B seeing the effect of a diet, people will eat less than normal.

　　C dieting is not a go0d method to give us health and a long life.

　　D drugs do not have the effects of calorie restriction.

　　第三篇

Valuing Childhood

　　The value of childhood is easily blurred（模糊） in to say's world. Consider some recent developments: the child-murders in the Jonesboro, ark. Schoolyard shooting case were convicted and sentenced. Two boys, 7 and 8, were charged in the murder of an 11-year-old girl in Chicago.

　　Children who commit horrible crimes appear to act of their own will. Yet, as legal proceedings in Jonesboro showed, the one boy who was to address the court couldn't begin to explain his acts, though he tried to apologize. There may have been a motive - youthful jealousy and resentment. But a deeper question remains: why did these boys and others in similar trouble apparently lack any inner, moral restraint（束縛）?

　　That question echoes for the accused in Chicago, young as they are. They wanted the girl's bicycle, a selfish impulse（沖動(dòng)） common enough among kids.

　　Redemption（拯救） is a practical necessity. How can value be restored to young lives distorted（扭曲） by acts of violence? The boys in Jonesboro and in Chicago will be confined in institutions for a relatively short time. Despite horror at what was done children are not cannot be dealt with as adults, not if a people wants to consider itself civilized. That's why politicians' cries for adult treatment of youthful criminals ultimately miss the point.

　　But the moral void（真空） that invites violence has many sources. Family instability（不穩(wěn)定） contributes. So does economic stress. That void, however, can be filled. The work starts with parents, who have to ask themselves whether they're doing enough to give their children a firm sense of right and wrong. Are they really monitoring their activities and their developing processes of thought?

　　Schools, too, have a role in building character. So do youth organizations. So do law enforcement agencies, which can do more to inform the young about laws, their meaning. And their observance（遵守）

　　11 The two boys in Chicago were

　　A shot

　　B murdered.

　　C accused.

　　D set free

　　12 The boys Jonesboro and Chicago apparently lacked a sense of

　　A right and wrong

　　B humor.

　　C gratitude.

　　D safety.

　　13 According to politicians, when children commit crimes, they should be treated in the same way as

　　A murderers

　　B criminals

　　C victims.

　　D adults.

　　14 Which of the following does the writer cite as a source of moral void?

　　A Official corruption

　　B Social injustice.

　　C Family instability.

　　D Racial prejudice.

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

　　A Parents should give their children instruction in morality.

　　B Schools should help create a moral sense in children.

　　C Law enforcement agencies should do more to help children understand laws

　　D youth organizations have no role to play in building character.