Passage 2
Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage:
When aluminum was first produced about a hundred and fifty years ago, it was so difficult to separate form the ores in which it was found that its price was higher than that of gold. The price remained high until a new process was discovered for refining the metal with the aid of electricity approximately three quarters of a century later. The new method was so much cheaper that aluminum because practical for many purposes, one of which was making pots and pans.
Aluminum is lightweight, rustproof and easily shaped into different forms. By mixing it with other metals, scientists have been able to produce a variety of alloys, some of which have the strength of steel but weigh only one third as much.
Today, the uses of aluminum are innumerable. Perhaps its most important use is in transportation. Aluminum is found in the engine of automobiles, in the hulls of boats. It is also used in many parts of airplanes. In fact, the huge “airbus” planes would probably never have been produced if aluminum did not exist. By making vehicles lighter in weight aluminum has greatly reduced the amount of fuel needed to move them, Aluminum is also being used extensively in the building industry in some countries.
Since aluminum is such a versatile (多用的) metal, it is fortunate that bauxite (鋁土礦), which is one of its chief sources, is also one of the earth’s most plentiful substances. As the source of aluminum is almost inexhaustible, we can expect that more and more uses will be found for this versatile metal.
6. The price of aluminum was sharply reduced when people discovered a new refining process with the aid of .
A. wind B. solar energy C. hydraulic power D. electricity
7. Aluminum is .
A. lightweight, rustproof but not easily shaped into different forms
B. heavyweight, rustproof and easily shaped into different forms
C. lightweight, rustproof and easily shaped into different forms
D. lightweight and easily shaped into different forms but it is easy to become rusty
8. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Aluminum is widely used in transportation.
B. Aluminum is also used in many parts of airplanes.
C. Aluminum is being used extensively in the building industry.
D. Aluminum is not used in its pure form.
9. Aluminum is found on earth mostly in the form of .
A. pure metal B. bauxite C. gold D. liquid
10. What is the passage talking about?
A. The features of aluminum and its functions. B. The process of aluminum.
C. The discovery of aluminum. D. The promising future of aluminum.
DCDBA
暫無解析
Theonlyproblemthestudentsarefacingatgraduationisthedismaljobmarket.
Which is safer-staying at home， traveling to work on public transport， or working in the office? Surprisingly， each of these carries the same risk， which is very low. However， what about flying compared to working in the chemical industry? Unfortunately， the former is 65 times riskier than the latter! In fact， the accident rate of workers in the chemical industry is less than that of almost any of human activity， and almost as safe as staying at home.
The trouble with the chemical industry is that when things go wrong they often cause death to those living nearby. It is this which makes chemical accidents so newsworthy. Fortunately， they are extremely rare. The most famous ones happened at Texas City (1947)，Flixborough (1974)， Seveso (1976)， Pemex (1984) and Bhopal (1984)。
Some of these are always in the minds of the people even though the loss of life was small. No one died at Seveso， and only 28 workers at Flixborough. The worst accident of all was Bhopal， where up to 3，000 were killed. The Texas City explosion of fertilizer killed 552. The Pemex fire at a storage plant for natural gas in the suburbs of Mexico City took 542 lives， just a month before the unfortunate event at Bhopal.
Some experts have discussed these accidents and used each accident to illustrate a particular danger. Thus the Texas City explosion was caused by tons of ammonium nitrate(硝酸銨)，which is safe unless stored in great quantity. The Flixborough fireball was the fault of management， which took risks to keep production going during essential repairs. The Seveso accident shows what happens if the local authorities lack knowledge of the danger on their doorstep. When the poisonous gas drifted over the town， local leaders were incapable of taking effective action. The Pemex fire was made worse by an overloaded site in an overcrowded suburb. The fire set off a chain reaction os exploding storage tanks. Yet， by a miracle， the two largest tanks did not explode. Had these caught fire， then 3，000 strong rescue team and fire fighters would all have died.
1.Chemical accidents are usually important enough to be reported as news because ____.
A.they are very rare
B.they often cause loss of life
C.they always occur in big cities
D.they arouse the interest of all the readers
2.Which of the following statements is true?
A.Working at the office is safer than staying at home.
B.Traverlling to work on public transport is safer than working at the office.
C.Staying at home is safer than working in the chemical industry.
D.Working in the chemical industry is safer than traveling by air.
3.According to passage， the chemical accident that caused by the fault of management happened at ____.
A.Texas city B.Flixborough C.Seveso D.Mexico City
4.From the discussion among some experts we may coclude that ____.
A.to avoid any accidents we should not repair the facilities in chemical industry
B.the local authorities should not be concerned with the production of the chemical industry
C.all these accidents could have been avoided or controlled if effective measure had been taken
D.natural gas stored in very large tanks is always safe
5.From the passage we know that ammonium nitrate is a kind of ____.
A.natural gas， which can easily catch fire
B.fertilizer， which can't be stored in a great quantity
C.poisonous substance， which can't be used in overcrowded areas
D.fuel， which is stored in large tanks
Paragraphs2and3explain________.
Nearlyallthefamiliescanmanagetomeetthesoaringtuitioncoststhroughvariousinvestmentplans.
Part III Cloze
Directions: There are twenty blanks in the following passage. For each blank there are four choices. Choose the one that best fits into the passage and then marks your answer on the Answer Sheet.
What makes a child speak a language has long been a puzzle to linguists. 61 speaking, there are two schools of linguists, both of whom try to explain 62 a child picks up a language so easily. The fact that a child picks a language 63 is 64 : At one year old, a child is able to say “bye-bye”; at two, he is able to use fifty; by there he begins to 65 tenses. The famous American linguist Noam Chomsky 66 that human being have a sort of built-in system for language use, and that the 67 is 68 . Children are not taught language 69 they are taught arithmetic. Other linguists, 70 , hold the view that a child learns 71 of his language from the hints in the environment. 72 , theorists of both schools 73 that there is a biological basis for language use. The 74 is which is more important, the inner ability or the environment. This is certainly a field 75 to be explored. Researchers from both schools are busy finding evidence to 76 their own theory, but 77 side is persuading the other.
It seems that in order to 78 why a child learns a language so easily, we have to 79 the joint efforts of both schools. Some linguist, like De Villiers, has recognized the value of cooperation, and 80 linguists of both sides to work together.
61. A. Surprisingly B. Personally C. Properly D. Roughly
62. A. that B. when C. why D. how
63. A. independently B. naturally C. without help D. with ease
64. A. confusing B. surprising C. questioned D. suspected
65. A. master B. study C. have D. get
66. A. doubts B. believes C. realizes D. criticizes
67. A. help B. teacher C. environment D. hint
68. A. quite essential B. very important C. not necessary D. only secondary
69. A. as B. for C. when D. though
70. A. in particular B. as a result C. however D. therefore
71. A. a little B. some C. nothing D. most
72. A. Before B. From now on C. Just now D. By now
73. A. suspect B. disagree C. agree D. realize
74. A. case B. argument C. problem D. question
75. A. waiting B. planning C. never D. unlikely
76. A. provide B. create C. supply D. support
77. A. not a B. one C. neither D. either
78. A. find out B. rule out C. search for D. look for
79. A. get rid of B. trust in C. rely on D. persist in
80. A. ordered B. criticized C. challenged D. urged
