大学英语测试卷2

Reading Comprehension

Have you ever suddenly felt that someone you knew was in trouble ― and he was? Have you ever dreamed something that came true later? Maybe you have ESP(超感官知觉).

ESP stands for Extra Sensory Perception. It may be called a sixth sense. It seems to let people know about events before they happen, or events that are happening some distance away.

Here is an example: A woman was ironing clothes. Suddenly she shouted, “My father is dead! I saw him sitting in the chair!” Just then, a telephone came. The woman’s father had di ed of a heart attack. He had died sitting in a chair.

There are thousands of stories like this on record. Scientists are studying them to find out what is behind these strange mental messages. Here’s another example —— one of hundreds of dreams that have come true.

A man dreamed he was walking along a road when a horse and carriage came by. The driver said, “There’s room for one more.” The man felt the driver was Death, so he ran away. The next day, the man was getting on a crowded bus. The bus driver said, “There’s room for one more”. Then the man saw the driver’s face was the same face he had seen in the dream. He wouldn’t get on the bus. As the bus drove off, it crashed and burst into fires. Everyone was killed!

Some people say stories like these are lies or coincidences. Others, including some scientists, say that are ESP in real. From studies of ESP, we may someday learn more about the human mind.

【小题1】ESP lets people know about _________.

A．their dream B．events after they happen

C．events before they happen D．heart illness

【小题2】The example of the man shows the ability to _______. A．avoid traffic accidents

B．know the good and bad of a person

C．know about the events happening some distance away

D．sense a danger that will happen later on

【小题3】The best title of this passage is _________.

A．Sixth Sense B．The Human Mind

C．A Big Lie D．A Terrible Dream

Have you ever wondered how to get out of baby-sitting with your youngest brother or sister?

Keep on thinking. Maybe you can figure out a machine that will baby-sit for you. That’s what a scientist, Dr. B.F. Skinner, has done. He has made a machine to mind babies.

He calls this machine a “baby box.” The baby box is about as big as a crib(小床). It is enclosed by glass on the sides and on top. The bottom of the box is like the floor of a crib.

It is always the same temperature in the box. This means that in winter the baby never needs extra clothes or covers. Because the baby doesn’t have to w ear heavy clothes, it can move around freely. In summer the baby never gets too hot. It is also less likely to get sick —because there are no drafts in the box.

In the box, the baby can’t hear any outside noises. But you can always hear the baby if it cries. And taking care of the baby box is easy too. To clean it, you just press a switch. The sheet on the bottom of the box rolls through until a clean sheet appears.

To try out a baby box, Dr. Skinner uses it for his baby daughter! He says she likes it very much. She plays in the box and sleeps in it, just as other children stay in playpens or cribs. She will use the baby box until she is about three years old. One question is this: when she finally leaves the baby box, how will she like our world of dirt and noise?

1．The best title for this passage is _______.

a. Dr. B.F. Skinner

b. Dr. Skinner’s Daughter

c. A Machine For Minding Babies

d. The Crying Baby

2．By flipping a switch, you can _______.

a. clean the box

b. stop the baby from crying

c. change the temperature in the box

d. rock the baby to sleep 3．In summer, the baby never gets too hot, because ________.

a. the baby doesn’t wear extra clothes

b. there are no drafts in the box

c. the temperature in the box remains the same

d. the box is enclosed on all sides

4．A strong argument against the use of such a baby box might be _______.

a. the baby will be unable to play in playpens

b. the baby cannot hear any sound

c. brothers and sisters will be kept away from the baby

d. the baby will have a hard time getting used to our outside world 5．In this passage, “baby-sit”probably means _______.

a. letting the baby sit

b. sitting babies

c. a baby chair

d. taking care of babies

What makes an airplane fly? Not its engine nor its propeller, but its shape. This may sound odd, but a glider can fly without an engine, propellers or even a pilot. What keeps an airplane up is the way its shape acts on the air.

An airplane wing is curved and tilted at such an angle that it catches the air and pushes it down. The air, like anything that is pushed, pushes back. Here, it pushes back up against the bottom of the wing. This gives the plane some of its lift.

At the same time, the tilt of the wing pushes the air up and over the top of the wing. This leaves an airless space just above the surface of the top of the wing. The air below pushes the wing up into the airless space. This gives the airplane most of its lift.

It may sound magical, bu t it’s not. If you push against anything, that thing pushes back against you. What happens when you fire a rifle? The rifle pushes the bullet forward, and the bullet kicks the rifle backward.

Because you can’t see air, you may think of it as nothing, as em pty space. But air is real stuff, and it has weight.

If you could see air, you could see the tremendous downward push an airplane wing gives to thousands of pounds of air every minute. Even after an airplane has flown by, you could see the air still flowing downward and swirling about for many minutes.

1．The author’s purpose is _______.

a. to explain the use of propellers

b. to explain why an airplane

c. to compare gliders and airplanes

d. to explain the firing of a rifle

2．From the information in this article, you could not say that ______.

a. gliders must fly with pilots

b. air pushes back up against the bottom of an airplane wing

c. air is empty space

d. there is an airless space above the surface of an airplane wing 3．For a flying machine to keep up in the air, the most important thing is its ______.

a. engine

b. shape

c. propeller

d. pilot

4．An airplane is lifted up and pushed forward by _______.

a. gasoline

b. the air

c. the wings

d. the empty space

5．A word opposite in meaning to “tremendous”is ________.

a. medium

b. tiny

c. huge

d. brief

Do you know how astronauts eat while whirling through space? Their food comes in plastic tubes, and they eat it from the tubes. Why? Spacecraft food must be light and easy to store. It must also be non-spoilable. Many of the foods made for eating in a spaceship have been a success. In fact, everyone may soon be able to have them!

Scientists have learned to keep some foods from spoiling by removing the oxygen from them. This is done by pumping nitrogen gas into them, forcing nearly all the oxygen out. Without oxygen, bacteria cannot grow -- not can the foods spoil.

Freeze-drying is another way to keep food from spoiling. First the foods are frozen. Then they are dried. Fruits, vegetables, meat and even ice cream can be freeze-dried. Years later, you can just add milk or water, and they're ready to be eaten. And freeze-dried foods need no refrigeration!

Besides non-spoilable foods, scientists can now make foods from non-food materials. Coal, gas, and other non-foods have been turned into foods. By treating these materials with bacteria, scientists can produce rich proteins.

Experts say that four out of five of the world's people do not eat enough protein. Man-made proteins could help people in needy areas. But it should be a long time before any of us sit down to a bowl of coal and a glass of gas.

16. The best title for this selection is ________ . A) Food from Coal and Gas B) Non-Spoiling and New Foods C) Spacecraft Food D) The Shortage of Food

17. Freeze-dried foods ________ .

A) always contain meat

B) need refrigeration C) are dried and then frozen D) will not spoil 18. Which of the following is not a necessary property of spacecraft food? A) Light. B) Rich in water. C) Easy to store. D) Non-spoilable. 19. One solution to the world's food shortage problem could be found in _______ A) foods from non-food materials B) foods in plastic tubes C) freeze-dried foods D) eatable food packages 20. In this selection, "treating" probably means _________ . A) handling B) entertaining C) acting upon D) caring for

Some 12,000 cases of plant poisoning are reported every year in the United States. The actual __ (1) __ is probably much larger. Deaths

are __ (2) __, but a clear danger exists due to public __ (3) __ of the subject. Also, children may think that anything that __ (4) __ beautiful would probably taste __ (5) __, too.

Some plants have __ (6) __ edible and poisonous parts. Others may be __ (7) __ when raw but harmless when cooked.

We think __ (8) __ children as the usual victims of plant __ (9) __. But the growing interest in gathering __ (10) __ foods has increased the __ (11) __ faced by adults. Many books __ (12) __ the collection and cooking of wild foods __ (13) __ the positive side, and play down the possible __ (14) __.

Plant poisoning __ (15) __ one of two forms. One is dermatitis, in __ (16) __ the skin becomes irritated by __ (17) __ with a plant. The __ (18) __ is internal poisoning, which __ (19) __ when you eat a poisonous plant. The redness, itching and pain of dermatitis are annoying and unpleasant, __ (20) __ usually are much less dangerous than internal poisoning.

1. A) little B) report C) number D) amount

2. A) scarce B) plentiful C) unavoidable D) rare

3. A) ignorance B) understanding C) attention D) innocence

4. A) exists B) sounds C) looks D) feels

5. A) awful B) great C) beautiful D) bitter

6. A) few B) either C) both D) all

7. A) edible B) beautiful C) ugly D) poisonous

8. A) that B) of C) over D) about

9. A) growing B) gathering C) cooking D) poisoning

10. A) wild B) cheap C) daily D) tasty

11. A) chance B) attraction C) interest D) danger

12. A) at B) with C) on D) in

13. A) give B) have C) put D) get

14. A) conditions B) problems C) questions D) measures

15. A) gives B) takes C) carries D) shows

16. A) which B) it C) time D) case

17. A) cope B) touching C) contact D) connection

18. A) one B) another C) other D) opposite

19. A) attacks B) shows C) follows D) happens

20. A) so B) however C) but D) though