39. Shortly after that my mother reported that
Little-John-Carrie’s-other-nephew had started school on the same day and taken to it like a duck to water.
A. …and rushed to the activities there right away. B. …and begun to like school immediately. C. …and behaved himself naturally. D. …and stayed at school all day.
40. Toddy Beamish opposed everything he said by a monotonous but effective “So you say,” and drove him to the limit of his patience.
A. …these words provoked his anxiety. B. …this kept him from going to extremes.
C. …these words calmed him effectively and he became patient. D. …this annoyed him so much that he could no longer put up with it. IV. READING COMPREHENSION
Read the two passages and choose the most likely answer to each of the questions. Blacken the letter corresponding to your choice on the answer sheet. (2 points each, 20 points in all)
Passage One
Bike trailers are now becoming a popular mode of transportation. If you are wondering what a bike trailer is, it is a motorless wheeled frame attached to your bicycle. Its primary function is to help the bike rider in carrying additional load．Instead of carrying the load on the bike, it can now be carried on the bike
trailer which greatly reduces the strain placed on the bike. It is convenient, easy to use and it helps you live an active lifestyle.
Bike trailers are an alternative to carrying different sorts of loads. Instead of using your car to go to the nearby grocery store perhaps, why not use your bike trailer? It not only saves you money from the gas which should have been spent by your car, it also does the job of carrying your groceries.
Planning to get a bike trailer? Make sure to decide on what you are going to use it for first. Different bike trailers are made for different uses. There are a variety of bike trailers being commercially manufactured．The general trailers available in the market today are the general cargo trailer which is used to carry different sorts of loads from groceries to furniture, child passenger trailer which is used to carry a child, pet trailer which is used to carry cats or dogs, and canoe trailers which are used to carry long and narrow loads like canoes and surfboards.
If you want a trailer to carry cargo all around, then a cargo trailer would definitely suit your needs. If you want to take your child along with you while you ride your bike, then check out the different child trailers available in the market.
There are two types of bike trailers in the market today based on the number of wheels. The first is the single wheel trailer which can carry light to medium loads. It is popular among hikers since it is great for trail riding and narrow surfaces. It is also stable when making sharp turns at high speeds. The other type of trailer is the two-wheel trailer which obviously has two wheels. It can carry heavier loads than the single wheel type. When making sharp turns at high speeds it may roll over, so be sure to slow down before making the turns.
Caring for your bike trailer is easy and comparable to that of a bike. Cleaning the trailer requires water, soap and wax. Regularly check the tires for
abnormalities like low air pressure or wear and tear for this may cause accidents.
When you are out riding in your bike trailer, keep in mind that it is different from riding a bike. The responses are different. You may notice that your bike may be a bit unresponsive due to the extra load．Be sure to take trial runs in non-busy roads to get you acquainted with the new riding conditions.
Riding at night is more dangerous than riding during the daytime. Make sure that you have a front light and a rear light and that both are switched on. Be sure also to have front, back and side reflectors so that you would always be visible to traffic．
41. The passage mentions all the following aspects about a bike trailer EXCEPT ______.
A． its maintenance B． its price C． its definition D． its uses
42. Which of the following is an advantage of a bike trailer over a car? A． It can help reduce the weight on your riding. B． You don’t have to check the tires regularly. C． You don’t have to spend money on gas. D． It can carry groceries for you.
43. A two-wheel trailer should be a better choice than a single wheel trailer when ______.
A． you carry heavy loads B． you ride on a narrow surface C． your additional load is not heavy D． you make a sharp turn at high speed
44. Which of the following is a difference between riding in a bike trailer and riding a bike?
A． You need to check the tires regularly for a bike trailer. B． It is easier to ride in a trailer than riding a bike. C． A trailer requires water and wax for cleaning. D． A trailer cannot react as quickly as a bike.
45. What is the writer’s purpose in writing this passage? A． To provide information about bike trailers. B． To advertise for a new mode of transportation. C． To arouse your interest in more active lifestyle.
D． To advise you to be careful when riding in a bike trailer.
Passage 2
Martin was returning to work in his London office after spending two weeks with his brother over in New York. He was coming back with a heavy heart. It
was not just that it was the end of a wonderful holiday; it was not just that he invariably suffered badly from jet lag; it was that Monday mornings always began with a team meeting and, over the months, he had grown to hate them. Martin was aware that colleagues approached these meetings with hidden agendas; they enjoyed game-playing, and he knew that people were not being honest and open. The meetings themselves were bad enough-but then there was all the moaning afterwards. “The usual people say the usual things.” “I could have improved on that idea, but I wasn’t going to say.” “I was thinking of making a suggestion-but I couldn’t be bothered.”
As this morning’s meeting began, Martin braced himself for the usual moroseness (闷闷不乐) and monotony. But, as the meeting progressed, he became aware of a strange background noise. At first, he thought that he was still hearing the engine noise from the aircraft that had brought him back to London-he had had to sit over the wing and the noise was terrible. But, as he concentrated on the noise, it became a little clearer.
He realized-to his amazement-that he could hear what his colleagues were thinking as well as what they were saying. As he concentrated still harder, he found that he could actually hear what they were thinking at the same time as they were speaking. What surprised him, even more than the acquisition of this strange power, was that he discovered that what people were saying was not really what they were thinking. They were not making clear their reservations. They were not supporting views which they thought might be unpopular. They were not contributing their new insights. They were not volunteering their new ideas.
Martin found it impossible not to respond to his new knowledge. So he started to make gentle interventions, based more on what he could hear his colleagues thinking than on what he could hear them saying. “So, John, are you really saying …?” “Susan, do you really think that?” “Tom, have you got an idea