III. Reading Comprehension
Section A There are two reading passages in this section. Each passage is followed by 5 questions. Each question is provided with four answers marked A, B, C, and D. Choose the ONE that best answers the question. Passage 1
A friend of mine named Paul received an automobile from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it. “Is this your car, Mister?” he asked.
Paul nodded. “My brother gave it to me for Christmas.” The boy was astounded. “You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn?t cost you nothing? Boy, I wish….” He hesitated.
Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the lad said jarred Paul all the way down to his heels. “I wish,” the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like that.”
Paul looked at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively he added, “Would you like to take a ride in my automobile?” “Oh yes, I?d love that.”
After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes aglow, said, “Mister, would you mind driving in front of my house?”
Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the lad wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big automobile. But Paul was wrong again. “Will you stop where those two steps are?” the boy asked.
He ran up the steps. Then in a little while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled brother. He sat him down on the bottom step, then sort of squeezed up against him and pointed to the car.
“There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn?t cost him a cent. And some day I?m gonna give you one just like it…, then you can see for yourself all the pretty things in the Christmas windows that I?ve been trying to tell you about.”
Paul got out and lifted the lad to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began a memorable holiday ride. That Christmas Eve, Paul learned what Jesus meant when he had said: “It is more blessed to give….”
51. “…a street urchin was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it” implies that he an automobile of this kind. A. often saw thought of
52. Paul looked at the boy…, then impulsively he added, “….”
A. he did this without planning and thinking B. he did this with careful thinking C. he was impelled by his brother to do this D. he was forced by his mother to do this
B. had often seen
C. had rarely seen D. had never
53. He…squeezed up against him and pointed to the car. A. moved closer and touched him C. pushed him nearer to the car
B. held him tightly in his arms
D. pulled him closer and supported him
54. That Christmas Eve, Paul learned…. A. For that Christmas Eve
B. On that Christmas Eve D. At that Christmas Eve
C. After that Christmas Eve
55. …, Paul learned what Jesus meant when he had said: “….” A. gained knowledge of what Jesus meant to say B. was able to study what Jesus meant to say C. memorized what Jesus meant in saying D. came to know what Jesus meant in saying Passage 2
Britain has laws to make sure that women have the same opportunities as men in education, jobs and training. But it?s still unusual to find women doing dirty or heavy jobs.
Nikki Henriques is a car maintenance engineer in London. She used to be a secretary. Barty Phillips, a journalist with The Observer, a Sunday newspaper, asked her why she wanted to work with cars.
“My first reason was independence,” she said. “I also wanted to use my hands, and I like learning about how things work. Many people prefer to have a woman repair their cars, too.”
Nikki didn?t find it easy to become a car maintenance engineer. She went to a Government Skill Centre—a special sort of college where people can learn a new job—for twenty weeks. “For ten weeks I was the only woman among four hundred men, and some of them were rude to me, just because of my sex. It was also very tiring—from 8 in the morning to 5 at night, with only 30 minutes for lunch.” Now Nikki works free-lance—that is, she?s self-employed, working for herself and not for a garage or a company.
Barty Phillips also spoke to Rose, who works as a general builder in Sheffield, an industrial town in the north of England. Like Nikki, Rose used to be a secretary. “I didn?t enjoy it at all,” she said. “I wanted to do more practical work, and I wanted to be self-employed.”
Rose joined a women?s building co-operative, and she learnt her job from other people and from experience. However, many of the women in her group have been specially trained. Most of the jobs they do are improvements to buildings and general repairs.
“People often say, ?Oh, women aren?t strong enough,? but I don?t think strength is important,” said Rose. “The important thing is to get used to doing a different sort of work.”
Rose would like more women to come into the building industry. “Everything built at the moment is a product of man?s world. If women become builders, they will be able to understand the production of their houses and their towns.”
56. There are laws in Britain to help women _____ .
A. get higher pay than men B. enjoy more freedom than men C. do whatever they like to do
D. have equal chances with men in education and work 57. The work of ______ is considered dirty or heavy. A. a newspaper journalist C. a company manager
B. a car maintenance engineer
D. an office secretary
58. The job of a car maintenance engineer is to _________. A. manufacture cars
B. sell cars
C. keep cars for others D. repair cars
59. The most important reason for Nikki to be a car maintenance engineer is that ______ .
A. she wants to be independent C. she likes to use her hands
B. she has to make her own living D. she wants to get the same pay as men
60. Rose, who works as a general builder, ______ . A. believes women are as strong as men B. admits women are much weaker than men C. wants more women to become builders D. thinks women can learn more from practical work
College English Test for Non-English Majors of Adult Education （英语三模拟题2）