四. 阅读理解(共15小题，每题3分，共45分)

　　阅读下列短文，然后根据短文的内容从每小题的四个选择项中选出最佳的一项, 并把它前面的大写字母填入左边的括号里。

　　A

　　For 30 years, Randy J. Murphy drove without being stopped by the police—and without a driver’s license (驾驶执照).

　　The 46-year-old man’s luck came to an end last May. On his way home from his job as a dishwasher, he turned up the radio in the car.

　　“I just turned the corner, and there was Mark,” Murphy said of the police officer who has since made such a difference in his life.

　　Officer Mark Taylor had stopped the car as he heard the blaring (震耳的) music. When he asked for a driver’s license, Murphy said that he didn’t have one.

　　Murphy told Taylor he couldn’t read well enough to tale the written part of the licensing test. “He said people just don’t help anymore. I told him if he was willing, I’d help him,” said Taylor. He gave Murphy his phone number. That afternoon Murphy called the officer.

　　For the next three months, the men met several times a week to review the questions which might appear in the test. When Murphy took the test, Taylor went with him. Murphy passed on his sixth attempt (尝试). He then sailed through the road test. On September 5, he got his license.

　　Taylor’s act of kindness won him the Officer of the Month award(奖) from the Knoxville Police Department. “People should help each other if they can,” Taylor said. “Randy did all the work. I just guided him along.”

　　Although Murphy has overcome the difficulty that kept him from getting a driver’s license, he hasn’t stopped there. “We still meet once a week to read,” Taylor said. “We’ve also become friends.”

　　“I’m glad he pulled me over now,” said Murphy.

　　( )51. Murphy was stopped by Taylor because_________.

　　A. the music hi his car was too loud

　　B. he drove without a driver’s license

　　C. he made a wrong turn at a corner

　　D. he listened to the radio while driving

　　( )52. After learning Murphy’s situation, Taylor decided ________.

　　A. to put an end to his luck B. to help him learn how to read

　　C. to take away his driver’s license

　　D. to stop him from doing silly things

　　( )53. In “he then sailed through the road test” sailed through is close in meaning to ______.

　　A. tried his best in B. nearly failed in

　　C. suffered a lot in D. easily succeeded in

　　( )54. According to Taylor, he helped Murphy pass the licensing test because _______.

　　A. he felt sorry for the bad situation of the poor

　　B. he wanted to win the Officer of the Month award

　　C. he hated to see people in need of help were not helped

　　D. he thought it was a policeman’s duty to help people read

　　B

　　You start to introduce an old friend to someone, and suddenly you can’t remember that someone’s name even though you sense it is just there in your memory. Or you can’t quite bring back the name of a film you just saw. Such tip-of-the-tongue or TOT incidents happen to almost everyone, notes Deborah Burke, a scientist at Pomona College in Claremont, California.

　　These lapses(失误) have noting to do with remembering the meaning of a word, but rather with its sound. “Often, the sound of a word is arbitrary (任意的) and senseless,” says Burke. This arbitrariness sometimes can make it difficult to bring back the word.

　　The best way to prevent the problem is to use the name of a person or object as frequently as possible. “I tell people to do what salespeople often do-repeat people’s name several times just before you plan to see them,” says Liz Zelinski of the University of South California in Los Angeles.

　　A TOT experience can seem worse when a similar-sounding(发音相似的)，but incorrect, word comes into your head unexpectedly and stays there. Burke tells the story of a student who was trying to remember the name of a particular car. The student wanted the word Winnebago, but she could only come up with rutabaga. When this happens, think of something else, suggests Burke. “If you stop feeling worried about it, the correct word sooner or later will come to you.”

　　( )55. People sometimes find it hard to bring back a word they know well, for __________.

　　A. it is impossible to remember every word

　　B. the pronunciation seldom matches the spelling

　　C. some words do not have any exact meaning

　　D. its sound is decided for no good reason

　　( )56. TOT incidents are more likely to happen ________.

　　A. with words similar in pronunciation

　　B. with the name of a strange person or object

　　C. when a word you don’t like gets into your mind

　　D. when you pay too much attention to certain subjects

　　( )57. When you cannot come up with the right word you’re trying to remember, you may ______.

　　A. think of more words of similar sound

　　B. stop feeling worried but keep thinking of it

　　C. do something else for a while and then try again

　　D. forget it for the moment and pay attention to something else

　　C

　　The Amish are often called the “Plain People.” Their home have no pictures on the walls, and no soft, comfortable furniture. The men wear dark trousers with white or blue shirts, and the women wear long dresses in dark colors. They ride in carriages pulled by horses.

　　The Amish have a saying: “The old way is the best way.” Although the Amish accept some new ideas- they use new medicines, for example- their way of life has not changed much in 300 years. They do not use electric lights, telephones or TVs.

　　Almost all Amish live on farms. They do not use modern machinery (机器)，yet their farms are successful because the Amish work hard and take good care of their land and animals. Their farms are always small. The Amish think it is wrong to have more land or more money than they need to live upon. A few years ago some Amish farmers discovered oil on their land. They immediately sold their land moved away, without telling anyone about the oil.

　　The Amish will not buy insurance (保险) of any kind. When there is trouble, they help one another. If an Amish farmer gets sick, friends and neighbors will milk his cows and plant his fields. If a house burns down, as many as 200 men will come and build a new house in one day.

　　People are curious about the lives of the Amish. Every year thousands of people visit the part of Pennsylvania where most Amish live. Usually the Amish are not happy about the visitors, but they tolerate(容忍) them. Perhaps the Amish understand that the visitors want to experience, at least for a few days, the quieter, simpler Amish way of life.

　　( )58. The Amish are called the “ Plain People” because they _______________.

　　A. live on plains B. live a simple life

　　C. do not like new ideas D. do not care about their clothes

　　( )59. Some Amish farmers left their land after discovering oil on it because they_______.

　　A. didn’t want to have more money than they needed

　　B. found the land not suitable for farming any more

　　C. were afraid of getting into trouble

　　D. didn’t need oil in their life

　　( )60. From the passage we know that the Amish people ______.

　　A. want to be separated from one another

　　B. used to take no medicines when they got ill

　　C. believe in what they have been doing for 300 years

　　D. keep small farms because they are easier to manage

　　( )61. What can be inferred form the passage?

　　A. The Amish way of life is considered to be the best for Americans

　　B. The coming of visitors greatly improves the life of the Amish people

　　C. People wonder at the Amish way of life

　　D. The Amish people are born to tolerate others.

　　D

　　Copernicus was born in Torun, Poland, on February19, 1473. Little is known about his early life except that his father died when he was 10. An uncle adopted (收养) him, his two sisters, and his brother. The uncle saw to it that the two boys received a good education. Copernicus went to the University of Cracow. There he studied such subjects as Latin, mathematics, and astronomy. It was probably at that time that he changed his Polish name, Niklas Kopernigk, to the Latin form of Nicolaus Copernicus. In 1946 Copernicus went to Italy, where he spent the next 10 years studying at various universities.

　　In Copernicus’ time people still believed that all things—the sun, the stars, and the planets—moved around the earth. It was an old belief that few men had ever questioned. Aristotle had based his theory of astronomy on his belief. Because the Church had long been the center of learning, the theory was also linked to religious (宗教的) beliefs.

　　In 1506 Copernicus returned to his homeland. A few years later he began to work for the Church. All those years Copernicus carried on his work on astronomy. He had just the most basic equipment and, like other scientists of his day, made observations with only his eyes. Still, using mathematics and logic (逻辑)，Copernicus worked out a different theory, which held that the planets went around the sun.

　　Copernicus did not announce his ideas. He did not want to make trouble. But he could not hide the scientific truth. So he talked about his theory with his friends, who strongly advised him to have his work published. His great book. On the Revolution of the Heavenly Bodies appeared at the very end of his life. Copernicus saw the first copy on the day he died, May 24, 1543.

　　( )62. Which of the following is TRUE about Copernicus?

　　A. He had two brothers and a sister

　　B. He used to be called Niklas Kopernigk

　　C. He lost his father soon after he was born

　　D. He spent 10 years at the University of Cracow

　　( )63. From the passage we can see that astronomy is _____________.

　　A. the life experience of great men

　　B. the movement of the stars and the planets

　　C. the scientific study of natural objects in space

　　D. the theories developed by scientists of old times

　　( )64. Copernicus developed his theory ________.

　　A. using various telescopes B. based on Aristotle’s beliefs

　　C. through observations and reasoning

　　D. under the encouragement of his friends

　　( )65. The writer of the passage wants us to know that ______________.

　　A. Copernicus did not tell about his theory until the day of his death

　　B. for many years Copernicus dared to do nothing openly against the Church

　　C. pushed by his friends Copernicus decided to write a book in May1543

　　D. shortly before he got back to Poland Copernicus started to work for the Church