Ⅳ. Reading Comprehension (60 points)

　　Directions: There are five reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by four questions. For each question there are four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose one best answer and blacken the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.

　　Passage One

　　Two hundred years ago, American students went to American schools. Like you, they studied arithmetic, spelling and geography. Unlike you, they also studied Greek and Latin. In fact, students spent more than half their time studying Greek and Latin.

　　The same was true for most students in Europe. Until the seventh century, all educated Europeans knew Latin. It did not matter if they lived in England or Italy or France or Spain. If they were educated, they knew Latin.

　　During the seventh century, educated Europeans began to study Greek as well as Latin. Greek and Latin had been the leading languages of the ancient Greeks and Romans. All educated Europeans were expected to know these languages.

　　To educated Europeans, the languages of the Greeks and the Romans were important. The ideas of the Greeks and Romans were also important. People knew that many of their own ideas had come from the Greeks and the Romans. To understand their own culture, they must understand its origin. They knew that those beginnings lay in the classical world.

　　Today we have so many things to study that few people have time to learn Greek and Latin. Few of you will study either language in school. Yet the ideas of the Greeks and the Romans are still important to us. These ideas still help to shape Western culture today. To understand our own culture, we must understand the culture of the classical world.

　　36. A good synonym for "origin" is

　　A. people B. future C. beginning D. culture

　　37. According to this passage, all educated Europeans of the seventh century were expected to study

　　A. physical science and chemistry

　　B. Greek and Latin

　　C. democracy and communism

　　D. French and Spanish

　　38. Today, most of people won't study either Greek or Latin because

　　A. they are no longer important

　　B. people do not have enough time

　　C. they are no longer existed

　　D. people can not learn them well

　　39. What can we conclude from this passage?

　　A. Greeks and Romans significantly influenced European culture.

　　B. The Greeks were the founders of democracy.

　　C. The Greeks and Romans were bitter enemies.

　　D. People of the classical world were barbaric and uneducated.

　　Passage Two

　　Would you eat a bacon, lettuce and love apple sandwich'?. You probably have eaten many of them. Love apple was the name used many years ago for the tomato.

　　The tomato is originally an American plant. It was found in South America by early Spanish explorers. The word tomato comes from the native Nahuatl word tomatl. But when it moved north, the plant earned a different name. Remarkably, the settlers in North America thought it was poisonous. They believed that to eat it was surely to die. It was said that deserted suitors would threaten to eat a tomato to cause their coldhearted lovers regret. Because of this legend, the settlers called the tomato a "love apple. " While people enjoyed other native plants such as corn and sweet potatoes, everyone avoided the tomato.

　　No one knows who first dared to eat a tomato. Perhaps someone was brave enough, or lovesick enough, to try out the truth of the rumors. Of course, whoever ate this fruit was perfectly safe. No one died from eating a love apple. Still, it was many years before the people fully believed that the tomato was a safe, and even good food. But its use did become common, and the plant was sent across the ocean to become part of many traditional European dishes.

　　40. The language from which we derived the word tomato is

　　A. Portuguese

　　B. Spanish

　　C. Nahuatl

　　D. European

　　41. North American people didn't eat tomatoes at first because

　　A. they had too much other food

　　B. they mistakenly thought they were poisonous

　　C. settlers ate only traditional European foods

　　D. no one liked the taste

　　42. The underlined word "suitor" in the second paragraph means

　　A. boyfriend

　　B. launderer

　　C. tailor

　　D. explorer

　　43. A good title for this passage would be

　　A. Life in Early America

　　B. What Happens to the Brokenhearted

　　C. The History of the Tomato

　　D. Vegetables in Our Diet