四、阅读理解

　　根据以下内容，回答下面试题。

　　Passage One

　　There has been, in history, a man who was swallowed by a whale and lived to tell the tale. The man's name is James Bartley. The records to prove his unusual experience are in the British Admiralty.

　　Bartley was making his first trip on the whaling ship Star of the East. Suddenly the lookout sighted a huge sperm whale. The whalers knew it was a huge whale by the size of the spray it blew into the air. They lowered their small boats. James Bartley was in the first longboat. The men rowed until they were close to the whale. A harpoon was thrown and it found its mark. It sank into the whale's flesh. The maddened beast crashed into the boat, snapping its tail at the men and the wreckage of their boats. When the survivors were picked up, James Bartley was missing.

　　Shortly before sunset, the whale was finally captured. The sailors tied the whale's dead body to the side of the ship. Because of the hot weather it was important that they cut up the whale right away. Otherwise, the meat would begin to rot and oil would begin to spoil. When they got to the stomach, they felt something moving about wildly. They thought it would be a big fish still alive inside. But when they opened the stomach they found James Bartley. After this trip, Bartley settled in England, and never returned to sea.

　　第36题 This passage is mainly about__________.

　　A.how to hunt whales for their oil and meat

　　B.The hard and dangerous lives that whalers had to live

　　C.The duties of each man on a whaling ship

　　D.a man who was swallowed by a whale and lived

　　答案：D

　　第37题 The sailors knew that something was in the whale's stomach because__________.

　　A.they could feel it moving about wildly

　　B.The whale seemed very heavy

　　C.The whale was swelling at one spot

　　D.The captain heard Bartley yelling for help

　　答案：A

　　第38题 James Barfley probably never went to sea again because__________.

　　A.he wanted different kinds of adventures

　　B.of fright and shock

　　C.he was crippled by the whale

　　D.he often got seasick

　　答案：B

　　第39题 The author, in telling James Bartley's story, informs us by__________.

　　A.narrating the plain facts

　　B.referring to whaling in general

　　C.comparing whaling to other fishing

　　D.dramatically telling what happened

　　答案：D

　　根据以下内容，回答下面试题。

　　Passage Two

　　In ancient times wealth was measured and exchanged in things that could be touched: food ,tools, and previous metals and stones. Then the barter system was replaced by coins, which still had real value since they were pieces of rare metal. Coins were followed by fiat money, paper notes that have value only because everyone agrees to accept them.

　　Today electronic monetary systems are gradually being introduced that will transform money into even less tangible forms,reducing it to a series of "bits and bytes" ,or units of computerized information, going between machines at the speed of light. Already, electronic fund transfer allows money to be instantly sent and received by different banks, companies, and countries through computers and telecommunications devices.

　　第40题 According to the passage, which of the following was the earliest kind of exchange of wealth?

　　A.Bartered goods.　B.Fiat money

　　C.Coin currency　D.Intangible forms

　　答案：A

　　第41题 The author mentions food,tools and precious metals and stones together because they are all__________.

　　A.useful items　B.articles of value

　　C.difficult things to obtain　D.material objects

　　答案：D

　　第42题 According to the passage, coins once had real value currency because they__________.

　　A.represented a great improvement over barter

　　B.permitted easy transportation of wealth

　　C.were made of precious metals

　　D.could become collector's items

　　答案：C

　　第43题 Which of the following statements about computerized monetary systems is NOT supported by the passage?

　　A.They promote international trade.

　　B.The allow very rapid money transfers.

　　C.They are still limited to small transactions

　　D.They are dependent on good telecommunications systems.

　　答案：C

　　根据以下内容，回答下面试题。

　　Passage Three

　　Alaska, which was called Russian America before it was sold to U. S. A. ,joined the union as the forty-ninth state in 1959.

　　Alaska is now the largest of all the 50 states of the U. S..

　　It was in 1867 that President A. Johnson's Secretary of State(国务卿) ,Seward bought Alaska from the Russians at a cost of 7.2 million. The buying of the huge northern land mass seemed at first something foolishly done. Not only was Alaska difficult to reach, but it was also hard to bye in, and it appeared to have no importance in time of war. Besides, there are volcanoes there as Alaska hes on the Pacific" ring of fire". In Alaska large treeless areas are covered with snow all the year. For these reasons the buying of Alaska was called "Seward's Fooly" at that time.

　　However, in 1896 gold was found in Alaska, and people poured tin to the land quickly. Since then other important natural resources were discovered, including oil. Soon people changed their thinking about "Seward's Fooly". But most people visit Alaska in order to see the endless beauty of nature that the northern land discloses to them. For instance, there are a- bout 11,000 islands in Alaska. And in a certain area of Alaska the sun does not set for 82 days

　　every year.

　　第44题 Alaska belonged to__________before 1867.

　　A.Russia　B.America　C.Canada　D.Japan

　　答案：A

　　第45题 The buying of Alaska was first called__________.

　　A.a foolish thing　B.Seward's Fooly

　　C.Johnson's Fooly　D.President's Foolishness

　　答案：B

　　第46题 Volcanoes__________in Alaska as__________.

　　A.are not found ;large parts of the land is covered with snow

　　B.are not found ;it is at the northern top of America

　　C.are found; it is on the Pacific" ring of fire"

　　D.are found;there are so many islands

　　答案：C

　　第47题 Tourists came to Alaska to__________.

　　A.study its importance in war　B.study its volcanoes

　　C.enjoy its freezing weather　D.enjoy its beauty of nature

　　答案：C