Passage 4 

1 From good reading we can derive pleasure, companionship, experience, and instruction. A good book may absorb our attention so completely that for the time being we forget our surroundings and even our identity. Reading good books is one of the greatest pleasures in life. It increases our contentment when we are cheerful, and lessens our troubles when we are sad. Whatever may be our main purpose in reading, our contact with good books should never fail to give us enjoyment and satisfaction.
2 With a good book in our hands we need never be lonely. Whether the characters portrayed are taken from real life or are purely imaginary, they may become our companions and friends. In the pages of books we can walk with the wise and the good of all lands and all times. The people we meet in books may delight us either because they resemble human friends whom we hold dear or because they present unfamiliar types whom we are glad to welcome as new acquaintances. Our human friends sometimes may bore us, but the friends we make in books need never weary us with their company. By turning the page we can dismiss them without any fear of hurting their feelings. When human friends desert us, good books are always ready to give us friendship, sympathy, and encouragement.
3 One of the most valuable gifts bestowed by books is experience. Few of us can travel far from home or have a wide range of experiences, but all of us can lead varied lives through the pages of books. Whether we wish to escape from the seemingly dull realities of everyday life or whether we long to visit some far-off place, a book will help us when nothing else can. To travel by book we need no bank account to pay our way; no airship or ocean liner or stream-lined train to transport us; no passport to enter the land of our heart's desire. Through books we may get the thrill of hazardous adventure without danger. We can climb lofty mountains, brave the perils of an ant-arctic winter, or cross the scorching sands of the desert, all without hardship. In books we may visit the studios of Hollywood; we may mingle with the gay throngs of the Paris boulevards; we may join the picturesque peasants in an Alpine village or the kindly natives on a South Sea island. Indeed, through books the whole world is ours for the asking. The possibilities of our literary experiences are almost unlimited. The beauties of nature, the enjoyment of music, the treasures of art, the triumphs of architecture, the marvels of engineering, are all open to the wonder and enjoyment of those who read.
1. In the first paragraph, we are told that ____.
A. we should always read good books, not bad ones
B. happiness can be derived only from reading
C. enjoyment and satisfaction can be achieved by reading good books
D. reading good books is very important in human life
2. Why is it that we sometimes forget our surroundings and even our identity while reading?
A. No one has come to disturb you. B. Everything is so quiet and calm around you.
C. The book you are reading is so interesting and attractive.
D. Your book is overdue; you are finishing it at a very fast speed.
3. According to the writer, ____ portrayed in books may become our companions and friends.
A. all characters, real and imaginary B. only real characters
C. only imaginary characters D. none of the characters
4. How would you account for the fact that people like their acquaintances in books even more?
A. They resemble human friends exactly. B. They are unfamiliar types we like.
C. They never desert us. D. They never hurt our feelings.
5. Which of the following is true?
A. Your wish to visit some far-off place can be realized through the pages of the books.
B. To escape from the dull realities of everyday life you should take up reading.
C. Books can always help you to live a colorful life.
D. You may obtain valuable experience from reading good books.
6. The phrase "to travel by book" means ____.
A. "to take books with you when you are going on a journey
B. "books will help you avoid accidents in traveling"
C. "to take imaginary journeys to the places mentioned in the book
D. "books will save you a lot of money on traveling"
7. “... the whole world is ours for the asking” implies that ____.
A. in books the world is more accessible to us B. we can ask to go anywhere in the world
C. we can make a claim to everything in this world
D. we can make a round-the-world trip free of charge

Passage 5 

1 When Christian Barnard, a South African doctor, performed the first human heart transplant(移植) in 1967, the result was a worldwide moral debate on the ethics(道德) of transplanting organs. Hearts were not the first human organs to be transplanted but, in this case, if a donor gave his or her heart, he or she would obviously and necessarily die (or be dead). Kidney transplants, which were already quite common in 1967, often involved the transfer of a single kidney from a close living relative. The chances of survival(生存) of the donor(捐赠者) were somewhat diminished(减少/小) because he now had only one kidney and if that kidney were affected by disease, he would not have a healthy kidney in reserve(储备). Nevertheless, the donor would certainly not necessarily die.
2 Undoubtedly, another reason why the first heart transplant was so controversial(引起争议的) was the fact that we associate so many personality traits(个性特征) with the heart. Questions were asked of the type: "If a person had a different heart, would he still be the same person?", or "If doctors needed a dying person's heart, would they tend to declare him dead prematurely(过早地)?", and so on.
3 Today, not only hearts and kidneys, but also such extremely delicate organs as lungs and livers, are transplanted. These developments have led to a far higher or proportion of successful operations and this, in turn, has led to greater demand for transplants. At the same time, many of the original moral questions surrounding heart transplants have been almost forgotten.
4 However, as a result of the heavy demand for organs, a new moral dilemma has emerged. For example, in the United States there are many people who would survive if lungs were available for transplanting. In fact, about 80 % of them die before a suitable donor is found. In these circumstances who would decide if a donor were found whose lungs were equally suitable for two potential recipients(接受者)?
5 This problem is made worse by the fact that many patients, or their families, become desperate to find a donor. Some succeed in publicizing their situation in newspapers, to politicians or on television. Sometimes, as a result, suitable donors are found. But what would happen if another patient needed the organ more than the one who got the publicity? Who would decide if the other patient should get the organ? Would it be the doctors? Or the donor? Or the family who got the publicity? If such a dilemma developed it would be very difficult to resolve --- and it would be a matter of life or death to the patients involved.
1. Which of the following is true?
A. Kidney transplant operations were not common until 1967.
B. Kidneys for transplant operations had to come from dead people in 1967.
C. Kidney transplant operations were performed before heart transplant operations.
D. Heart transplant operations were as common as kidney transplant operations.
2. The first heart transplant Was controversial because
A. it was not so successful as people had thought
B. some people argued it was not moral to do so
C. the recipient died on the operation table D. it was the most difficult operation ever known
3. Improved medical techniques have resulted in
A. more people seeking organ transplants B. more chances of survival of the donor
C. even greater debate over whether or not to have organ transplants D. a new moral dilemma
4. What organs have been transplanted since 19677
A. Kidneys only. B. Kidneys and hearts.
C. Not only kidneys and hearts but lungs and livers. D. More than the organs mentioned above.
5. Moral questions now aroused over organ transplants are in 19677
A. twice as many as B. a lot fewer but more serious than
C. more crucial(激烈的) than D. not as serious as
6. According to the passage, the new moral dilemma is the result of .
A. a higher proportion of successful operations
B. too few human organs for too many potential recipients
C. the argument whether some delicate organs should be transplanted
D. so many failures in organ transplanting
7. How do you think the dilemma will develop?
A. The dilemma will remain unresolved.
B. The public (through the media媒体) will demand a fair resolution.
C. Those who are more desperate to find a donor will always be successful.
D. The doctors will have the final say.

Passage 6

1 Although Beethoven(贝多芬) could sit down and makeup music easily, his really great compositions(乐曲) did not come easily at all. They cost him a great deal of hard work. We know how often he rewrote and corrected his work because his notebooks are still kept in museums and libraries. He always found it hard to satisfy himself.
2 When he was 28, the worst difficulty of all came to him. He began to notice a strange humming in his ears. At first he paid little attention; but it grew worse, and at last he consulted doctors. They gave him the worst news any musician can hear: he was gradually going deaf. Beethoven was in despair; he was sure that he was going to die.
3 He went away to the country, to a place called Heiligenstadt, and from there he wrote a long farewell letter to his brothers. In this he told them how depressed(沮丧) and lonely(孤独) his deafness had made him. "It was impossible for me to ask men to speak louder or shout, for I am deaf," he wrote. "How could I possibly admit an infirmity in the one sense (hearing) which should have been more perfect in me than in others ... I must live like an exile(流放的人)." He longed to die, and said to death, "Come when you will, I shall meet you bravely."
4 In fact, Beethoven did something braver than dying. He gathered his courage and went on writing music, though he could hear what he wrote only more and more faintly. He wrote his best music, the music we remember him for, after he became deaf. The music he wrote was very different from any that had been composed before. Instead of the elegant(华众取宠) and stately （华而不实）music that earlier musicians had written for their wealthy listeners, Beethoven wrote stormy, exciting, revolutionary music, which reminds us of his troubled and courageous life. He grew to admire courage more than anything, and he called one of his symphonies the "Eroica"or heroic symphony英雄交响曲, "to celebrate the memory of a great man". Describing the dramatic opening notes of his famous Fifth Symphony, he said, "thus fate knocks on the door."
5 In time Beethoven went completely deaf, so deaf that he could not hear even the stormiest parts of his exciting music. But in those years he wrote more gloriously than ever. He could "hear" his music with his mind, if not with his ears. His friends had to write down what they wanted to say to him. He was lonely and often unhappy, but in spite of this, he often wrote joyful music. In his last symphony, the Ninth, a choir(合唱) sings a wonderful Hymn of Joy (欢乐颂). Because of his courage and determination to overcome his terrible disaster, his music has given joy and inspiration to millions of people.
1. To say that Beethoven was "in despair" means that he .
A. was very frightened B. was unhappy C. had given up hope D. was dying
2. Beethoven knew that he was going deaf .
A. after he had consulted doctors B. when he could not hear himself humming a tune
C. when he heard a humming noise D. when the humming noise grew louder
3. The word "infirmity" in the third paragraph means .
A. "weakness" B. "deafness" C . "illness" D. "loss"
4. An exile is a person who .
A. cannot hear properly B. has been sent away by force from his country
C. is suffering from a serious illness D. is depressed and lonely
5. In the fourth paragraph we are told that Beethoven .
A. died bravely B. began to write for wealthy listeners
C. courageously continued to write music D. regained his hearing
6. Which of these words best describes Beethoven's music composed when his hearing began to fail?
A. Stately and elegant. B. Stormy and exciting. C. Quiet and unhappy. D. Loud and noisy.
7. Which of the following titles best sums up the whole passage?
A. The story of Beethoven's life. B. Beethoven becomes deaf.
C. The music of Beethoven. D. Beethoven’s courageous triumph over tragedy.