英语阅读理解20篇.pdf

Passage 1In 1939 two brothers,Mac and Dick McDonald,started a drive-in restaurant in SanBernadino,California.They carefully chose a busy comer for their location.They had run theirown businesses for years,first a theater,then a barbecue（烤肉）restaurant,and then anotherdrive-in.But in their new operation,they offered a new,shortened menu:French fries,hamburgers,and sodas.To this small selection they added one new concept:quick service,no waiters orwaitresses,and no tips.Their hamburgers sold for fifteen cents.Cheese was another four cents.Their French friesand hamburgers had a remarkable uniformity,for the brothers had developed a strict routine forthe preparation of their food,and they insisted on their cooks sticking to their routine.Their newdrive-in became incredibly popular,particularly for lunch.People drove up by the hundredsduring the busy noontime.The self-service restaurant was so popular that the brothers had allowedten copies of their restaurant to be opened.They were content with this modest success untiltheymet Ray Kroc.Kroc was a salesman who met the McDonald brothers in 1954,when he was selling milkshake-mixing machines.He quickly saw the unique appeal of the brothers fast-food restaurantsand bought the right to franchise（特许经营）other copies of their restaurants.The agreementstruck included the right to duplicate the menu.The equipment,even their red and white buildingswith the golden arches（拱门）.Today McDonalds is really a household name.Its names for its sandwiches have come tomean hamburger in the decades since the day Ray Kroc watched people rush up to orderfifteen-cent hamburgers.In 1976,McDonald*s had over$1 billion in total sales.Its firsttwenty-two years is one of the most incredible success stories in modern American businesshistory.1.This passage mainly talks about.A）the development of fast food servicesB）how McDonalds became a billion-dollar businessC）the business careers of Mac and Dick McDonaldD)Ray Kroc*s business talent2.Mac and Dick managed all of the following businesses e x c e p t.A)a drive-inB)a cinemaC)a theaterD)a barbecue restaurant3.We may infer from this passage that.A)Mac and Dick McDonald never became wealthy fbr they sold their idea to KrocB)The location the McDonalds chose was the only source of the great popularity of theirdrive-inC)Forty years ago there were numerous fast-food restaurantsD)Ray Kroc was a good businessman4.The passage suggests t hat.A)creativity is an important element of business successB)Ray Kroc was the close partner of the McDonald brothersC)Mac and Dick McDonald became broken after they sold their ideas to Ray KrocD)California is the best place to go into business5.As used in the second sentence of the third paragraph,the wordu ni q ue me an s.A)specialB)financialC)attractiveD）peculiarPassage!Youre busy filling out the application form for a position you really need;lets assume you once actuallycompleted a couple of years of college work or even that you completed your degree.Isnt it tempting to lie just alittle,to claim on the form that your diploma represents a Harvard degree?Or that you finished an extra couple ofyears back at State University?More and more people are turning to utter deception like this to land their job or to move ahead in theircareers,for personnel officers,like most Americans,value degrees from famous schools.A job applicant may havea good education anyway,but he or she assumes that chances of being hired are better with a diploma from awell-known university.Registrars at most well-known colleges say they deal with deceitful claims like these at therate of about one per week.Personnel officers do check up on degrees listed on application forms,then.If it turns out that an applicantslying,most colleges are reluctant to accuse the applicant directly.One Ivy League school calls them impostors（骗子）；another refers to them asspecial cases.One well-known West Coast school,in perhaps the most delicatephrase of all,says that these claims are made by no such people.To avoid outright（彳切底的）lies,some job-seekers claim that they attended or were associated with a collegeor university.After carefully checking,a personnel officer may discover that attending means being dismissedafter one semester.It may be that being associated with a college means that the job-seeker visited his youngerbrother for a football weekend.One school that keeps records of false claims says that the practice dates back atleast to the turn of the century-thats when they began keeping records,anyhow.If you dont want to lie or even stretch the truth,there are companies that will sell you a phony（假的）diploma.One company,with offices in New York and on the West Coast,will put your name on a diploma from anynumber of non-existent colleges.The price begins at around twenty dollars for a diploma from Smoot StateUniversity.The prices increase rapidly fbr a degree from the University of Purdue.As there is no Smoot State andthe real school in Indiana properly called Purdue University,the prices seem rather high fbr one sheet of paper.6.The main idea of this passage is that.A）employers arc checking more closely on applicants nowB）lying about college degrees has become a widespread problemC）college degrees can now be purchased easilyD）employers are no longer interested in college degrees7.According to the passage,special cases refer to cases wher e.A)students attend a school only part-timeB)students never attended a school they listed on their applicationC)students purchase false degrees from commercial filmsD)students attended a famous school8.We can infer from the passage that.A)performance is a better judge of ability that a college degreeB)experience is the best teacherC)past work histories influence personnel officers more than degrees doD)a degree from a famous school enables an applicant to gain advantage over others in job petition9.This passage implies that.A)buying a false degree is not moralB)personnel officers only consider applicants from famousschoolsC)most people lie on applications because they were dismissed from schoolD)society should be greatly responsible for lying on applications10.As used in the first line of the second paragraph,the word utter me a n s.A)addressB)thoroughC)ultimateD)decisivePassage 3Everyone has heard of the San Andreas fault(断层),which constantly threatens California and the WestCoast with earthquakes.But how many people know about the equally serious New Madrid fault in Missouri?Between December of 1811 and February of 1812,three major earthquakes occurred,all centered around thetown of New Madrid.Missouri,on the Mississippi River.Property damage was severe.Buildings in the area werealmost destroyed.Whole forests fell at once,and huge cracks opened in the ground,allowing smell of sulfur(硫磺)to filter upward.The Mississippi River itself completely changed character,developing sudden rapids and whirlpools.Severaltimes it changed its course,and once,according to some observers,it actually appeared to run backwards.Fewpeople were killed in the New Marid earthquakes,probably simply because few people lived in the area in 1811;but the severity of the earthquakes are shown by the fact that the shock waves rang bells in church towers inCharleston,South Carolina,on the coast.Buildings shook in New York City,and clocks wer stopped inWashington,D.C.Scientists now know that Americas two m句 or faults are essentially different.The San Andreasis a horizontal boundary between two major land masses that are slowly moving in opposite directions.Californiaearthquakes result when the movement of these two masses suddenly lurches(倾斜)forward.The New Madrid fault,on the other hand,is a vertical fault;at some points,possibly hundreds of millions ofyears ago,rock was pushed up toward the surface,probably by volcanoes under the surface.Suddenly,thevolcanoes cooled and the rock collapsed,leaving huge cracks.Even now,the rock continues to settle downwards,and sudden sinking motions trigger(触发)earthquakes in the region.The fault itself,a large crack in this layerof rock,with dozens of other cracks that split off from it,extends from northeast Arkansas through Missouri andinto southern Illinois.Scientists who have studied the New Madrid fault say there have been numerous smaller quakes in the areasince 1811;these smaller quakes indicate that larger ones are probably coming,but the scientists say have nomethod of prcdictingwhcn a large earthquake will occur.11.This passage is mainly about.A)the New Madrid fault in MissouriB)the San Andreas and the New Madrid faultsC)the causes of faultsD)current scientific knowledge about faults12.The New Madrid fault is.A)a horizontal faultB)a vertical faultC)a more serious fault than the San Andreas faultD)responsible for forming the Mississippi River13.We may conclude from the passage that.A)it is probably as dangerous to live in Missouri as in CaliforniaB)the New Madrid fault will eventually develop a mountain range in MissouriC)California will become an island in futureD)A big earthquake will occur to California soon14.This passage implies that.A)horizontal faults aie more dangerous than vertical faults.B)Vertical faults are more dangerous than horizontal faultsC)Earthquakes occur only around fault areasD)California will break into pieces by an eventual earthquake15.As used in the first sentence of the fourth paragraph,the word essentially me a ns.A)greatlyC)basicallyB)extremelyD)necessarilyPassage 4Those who welcomed the railway saw it as more than a rapid and comfortable means of passing.Theyactually saw it as afactor in world peace.They did not foresee that the railway would be just one more means forthe rapid movement of aggressive armies.None of them foresaw that the more weare togethcr-thc more chancesthere are of war.Any boy or girl who is one of a large family knows that.Whenever any new invention is put forward,those for it and those against it can always find medical men toapprove or condemn.The anti-railway group produced doctors who said that tunnels would be most dangerous topublic health:they would produce colds,catarrhs(粘膜炎)and consumptions.The deafening noise and the glareof the engine fire,would have a bad effect on the nerves.Further,being moved through the air at a high speedwould do grave injury to delicate lungs.In those with high blood-pressure,the movement of the train mightproduce apoplexy(中风).The sudden plunging of a train into the darkness of a tunnel,and the equally suddenrush into full daylight,would cause great damage to eyesight.But the pro-railway group was of course able toproduce equally famous medical men to say just the opposite.They said that the speed and swing of the trainwould equalize the circulation,promote digestion,tranquilize the nerves,and ensure good sleep.The actual rolling-stock was anything but comfortable.If it was a test of endurance to sit for four hoursoutside a coach in rain,or inside in dirty air,the railway offered little more in the way of comfort.Certainly thefirst-class carriages had cushioned seats;but the second-class had only narrow bare boards,while the third-classhad nothing at all;no seats and no roof;they were just open trucks.So that third-class passengers gained nothingfrom the few mode except speed.In the matter of comfort,indeed they lost;they did,on the coaches,have a seat,but now they had to stand all the way,which gave opportunities to the comic(滑稽的)press.This kind of thing:A man was seen yesterday buying a third-class ticket for the new London and Birmingham Railway.The state ofhis mind is being enquired into.A writer in the early days of railways wrote feelingly of both second-and third-class can iages.He made thesuggestion that the directors of the railways must have sent all over the world to find the hardest possible wood.Ofthe open thiid-class trucks he said that they had the peculiar property of meeting the rain from whatever quarter itcame.He described them as horizontal shower-baths,from whose searching power there was no escape.16.All boys and girls in large families know that.A)a boy and a girl usually fight when they are togetherB)people tend to be together more than they used lo beC)a lot of people being together makes fights likelyD)Railway leads the world to peace17.According to those who welcomed the railway,the railway itself should include all the followingexcept.A)the railway enables people travel fastB)the railway brings comfort to peopleC)the railway makes the world peacefulD)the railway leads the world to war as well.18.According to the anti-railway group,all the followings are true but.A)tunnels are dangerous to public healthB)the noise and the glare of the engine fire may affect peoples nervesC)the rapid speed through the air does damage to peoples lungsD)to those with high blood-pressure,the rapid speed of the train causes them to die19.We may safely conclude that.A)the author belongs to the anti-railway groupB)the author belongs to the fbr-railway groupC)the author speaks highly of the railwayD)the author may never take train because of its potential dangers20.What is the tone of this passage?A)PracticalB)SatiricalC)HumorousD)ExaggeratedPassage 5In 1960-1961,Chad(乍 得)harvested 9800 tons of cotton seed for the first time in its history,and put outthe flag a little too soon.The efforts of the authorities to get the peasants back to work,as they had slacked off(松懈)a great deal the previous year during independence celebrations,largely contributed to it.Also,rainswere well spaced,and continued through the whole month of October.If the 1961-1962 total is back to the regionof 45000 tons,it is mostly because efforts slackened again and sowing was started too late.The average date of sowing is about July 1st.If this date is simply moved up fifteen or twenty days,30000 to60()00 tons of cotton are gained,depending on the year.The peasant in Chad sows his millet(米)first,and itis hard to criticize this instinctive priority given to his daily bread.An essential reason for his lateness with sowingcotton is that at the time when he should leave to prepare the fields he has just barely sold the cotton of theprevious season.The work required to sow,in great heat,is psychologically far more difficult if ones pockets arefull of money.The date of cotton sales should therefore be moved forward as much as possible,and purchases ofequipment and draught animals encouraged.Peasants should also be encouraged to save money,to help them through the difficult period between harvests.If necessary they should be forced to do so,by having the payments for cotton given to them in installments(分期付款).The last payment would be made after proof that the peasant has planted before the deadline,the datebeing advanced to the end of June.Those who have done so would receive extra money whereas the last planterswould not receive their last payment until later.Only the first steps are hard,because once work has started the peasants continue willingly on their way.Educational cam