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Part I Reading Comprehension

Directions: In this part there are four passages. Each passage is followed by four comprehension questions. Read the passage and answer the questions. Then mark your answer on the Answer Sheet.

Passage One

Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage:

Animals react to the changing seasons with changes in mood and behavior and human beings are no exception. Most people find they eat and sleep slightly more in winter and dislike the dark mornings and short days. For some, however, symptoms (症状) are severe enough to damage their lives and to cause considerable stress. These people are suffering from SAD. The symptoms tend to start from around September each year lasting until April, but are at their worst in the darkest months.

The standard figure says that around 2% of people in Northern Europe suffer badly, with many more (10%) putting up with milder symptoms. Across the world the incidence (发生率) increases with distance from the equator (赤道), except where there is snow on the ground, when it becomes less common. More women than men are found having SAD. Children and young people can also suffer from it.

The problem stems from the lack of bright light in winter. Researchers have proved that bright light makes a difference to the brain chemistry, although the exact means by which sufferers are affected is not yet known.

As the cause is lack of bright light, the treatment is to be in bright light every day by using a lightbox or a similar bright treatment. (Going to a brightly-lit climate, whether skiing or somewhere hot, is indeed a cure). The preferred level of light is about as bright as a spring morning on a clear day and for most people sitting in front of a lightbox, allowing the light to reach the eyes, for between 15 and 45 minutes daily will be sufficient to alleviate the symptoms. The user does not have to stare at the light, but can watch TV or read a book, just allowing the light to reach the eyes. OUTSIDE IN have a complete range of suitable lights, all in line with the research findings from medical and academic facilities. They are all available on our pioneering HOME TRIAL SYSTEM.

1. What happens to SAD patients, according to the passage?

A、They eat more and sleep less.

B、They are cheerless and worried.

C、They react to the changing seasons.

D、They dislike long days with dark mornings.

2. In which month do SAD symptoms become worst?

A、December.

B、September.

C、April.

D、February.

3. Which of the following statements is false according to the passage?

A、Going skiing is one of the good cures for SAD.

B、The percentage of SAD sufferers is high in North Europe.

C、Doctors now know how lack of bright light causes SAD.

D、People of all ages and both sexes may suffer from SAD.

4. What does the word “alleviate” (Paragraph 4) most probably mean?

A、“cause”

B、“produce”

C、“show”

D、“reduce”

5. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?

A、Why people suffer from SAD.

B、How SAD patients can be treated.

C、How long an SAD treatment lasts.

D、Where people can go for SAD treatment.

Passage Two

Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage:

Increasingly, over the past ten years, people – especially young people – have become aware of the need to change their eating habits, because much of the food they eat, particularly processed foods, is not good for the health. Consequently, there has been a growing interest in natural foods.

Natural foods, for example, are vegetable, fruit and grain which have been grown in soil that is rich in organic (有机的) matter, in simple terms, this means that the soil has been nourished (滋养) by unused vegetable matter, which provides it with essential vitamins (维生素) and minerals. This in itself is a natural process compared with the use of chemicals and fertilizers, the main purpose of which is to increase the quantity – but not the quality – of foods grown in commercial farming areas.

Natural foods also include animals which have been allowed to feed and move freely in healthy farms. Compare this with what happens in the mass production of poultry: there are battery farms, for example, where thousands of chickens live crowded together in one building and are fed on food which is little better than rubbish. Chickens kept in this way are not only tasteless as food; they also produce eggs which lack important vitamins.

There are other aspects of healthy eating which are now receiving increasing attention from experts on diet. Take, for example, the question of sugar. This is actually a non-essential food. Although a natural alternative, such as honey, can be used to sweeten food if this is necessary, we can in fact do without it. It is not that sugar is harmful in itself. But the problem is that the quantity we use has grown steadily over the last two centuries and in Britain today each person consumes an average of 200 pounds a year! Yet all it does is provide us with energy, in the form of calories. There are no vitamins in it, no minerals, and no fiber.

6. Why do people now prefer natural foods?

A、Because they grow fast and cost less.

B、Because they fit people’s eating habits.

C、Because they are good to people’s health.

D、Because they are simply processed foods.

7. Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 2?

A、Fertilizers are important in growing natural foods.

B、Soil for natural foods usually lacks organic matter.

C、Natural foods are grown in commercial farming areas.

D、Chemicals are used to increase the quantity of foods grown.

8. What is the writer’s attitude towards chickens fed on battery farms?

A、Supportive.

B、Doubtful.

C、Hopeful.

D、Negative.

9. What is the most important point the writer wants to make about sugar?

A、People use it to sweeten food.

B、It gives us much-needed energy.

C、People take too much of it.

D、It is actually a kind of honey.

10. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word “diet” (Paragraph 4)?

A、“food”

B、“rice”

C、“animals”

D、“agriculture”

90. Health is the key of happiness. Only healthy people can enjoy their lives.

Passage Three

Questions11 to 15 are based on the following passage:

Friends play an important part in our lives, and although we may take the friendship for granted, we often don’t clearly understand how we make friends. While we get on well with a number of people, we are usually friends with only a very few – for example, the average among students is about 6 per person. In all the cases of friendly relationships, two people like one another and enjoy being together, but beyond that, the degree of intimacy between them and the reasons for their shared interest vary enormously. As we get to know people we take into account things like age, race, economic condition, social position, and intelligence. Although these factors are not of prime importance, it is more difficult to get on with people when there is a marked difference in age and background.

Some friendly relationships can be kept on argument and discussion, but it is usual for close friends to have similar ideas and beliefs, to have attitudes and interests in common – they often talk about “being on the same wavelength”. It generally takes time to reach this point. And the more intimately involved people become, the more they rely on one another. People want to do friends favors and hate to break a promise. Equally, friends have to learn to put up with annoying habits and to tolerate differences of opinion.

In contrast with marriage, there are no friendship ceremonies to strengthen the association between two people. But the supporting and understanding of each other that results from shared experiences and emotions does seem to create a powerful bond, which can overcome differences in background, and break down barriers of age, class or race.

11. What does the passage say about making friends?

A、People usually have fewer friends than they think.

B、People do not have to like each other to become friends.

C、People become friends when they get on well with each other.

D、People consider age and background unimportant in making friends.

12. Which of the following statements is true according to Paragraph 2?

A、Tolerance is vital to friendship.

B、Friends are usually interdependent.

C、Friends do not rely financially on each other.

D、Annoying habits are worse than promise breaking.

13. What does the passage imply about marriage?

A、There is no friendship involved in it.

B、There is usually a special occasion for it.

C、 It requires shared experiences and emotions.

D、It is a much closer relationship than friendship.

14. Which of the following contributes to friendship the most?

A、Similarities in class and race.

B、Similarities in age and background.

C、 Similarities in habits and beliefs.

D、Similarities in opinion and feelings.

15. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A、Friends and Friendship

B、Marriage and Friendship

C、Benefits from Friends

D、The Art of Making Friends