[组图]Reading Comprehension

Questions 61 to 66 are based on the following passage:

61. You can choose any one of the  _______ cities where you will stay in centrally-located hotels for the break.

62. What else are included in the prices other than return British Airway scheduled flights from London and two nights in a three-star hotel, with breakfast?

63. Which number should you call if you want GREat value travel insurance?

64. When should you book if you want to have this European city holiday?

65.  _______  to  _______  supplements ￡12 per person.

66. To which two cities is the price of a flight from Heathrow the same?

Questions 67 to 72 are based on the following passage:

    In the summer of 1964, well-known writer and editor Norman Cousins became very ill. His body ached and he felt constantly tired. It was difficult for him to even move around. He consulted his physician, who did many tests. Eventually he was diagnosed as having ankylosing spondylitis, a very serious and destructive form of arthritis. His doctor told him that he would become immobilized and eventually die from the disease. He was told he had only a 1 in 500 chance of survival.

    Despite the diagnosis, Cousins was determined to overcome the disease and survive. He had always been interested in medicine and had read the work of organic chemist Hans Selye, The Stress of Life(1956). This book discussed the idea of how body chemistry and health can be damaged by emotional stress and negative attitudes. Selye's book made Cousins think about the possible benefits of positive attitudes and emotions. He thought, "If negative emotions produce (negative) changes in the body, wouldn't positive emotions produce positive chemical changes? Is it possible that love, hope, faith, laughter, confidence, and the will to live have positive therapeutic value?"

    He decided to concentrate on positive     emotions as a remedy to heal some of the symptoms of his ailment. In addition to his conventional medical treatment, he tried to put himself in situations that would elicit positive emotions. "Laugh therapy" became part of his treatment. He scheduled time each day for watching comedy films, reading humorous books, and doing other activities that would bring about laughter and positive emotions. Within eight days of starting his "laugh   therapy" program his pain began to decrease and he was able to sleep more easily. His body chemistry even improved. Doctors were able to see an improvement in his condition!He was able to return to work in a few months' time and actually reached complete recovery after a few years.

    Skeptical readers may question the doctor's preliminary diagnosis, but Cousins believes his recovery is the result of a mysterious mind-body interaction. His "laugh therapy" is a good example of one of the many alternative, or nonconventional, medical treatments people look to today.

67. When Norman Cousins was ill, his body _______  and he felt constantly _______ .

68. Norman Cousins' original diagnosis was _______ .

69. How did Norman Cousins react, or respond, to his diagnosis?

70. Please give some examples of Norman Cousins' "laugh therapy".

71. Within how many days did Cousins feel his pain decrease?

72. What was the result of Cousins' "laugh therapy"?

Questions 73 to 78 are based on the following passage:

    We can trace the origins of  New Year's celebrations back to the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians, at least 4,000 years ago. In Egypt, the Nile river signaled a new beginning for the farmers of the Nile as it flooded their land and enriched it with the silt(淤泥)   needed to grow crops for the next year. The Babylonians held their festival in the spring, on March 23, to kick off the next cycle of planting and harvest. The date January 1 was picked as the start of the year by Roman Emperor Julius Caesar when he established his own calendar in 46 BC.

    Around the world, different cultures have their own traditions for welcoming New Year. In Scotland, they celebrate Hogmanay, the Scottish New Year, usually  with GREat exuberance(兴高采烈). Both Edinburgh and Glasgow host street parties for 100,000 people. At midnight, there is the celebration of "First Footing", where gifts are exchanged. The Japanese hang a rope of straw across the front of their houses to keep out evil spirits and bring happiness and good luck. In Vancouver, British Columbia, Canadians enjoy the traditional polar bear swim. People of all ages don their swim suits and take the plunge, an event that is sure to get you started in the new year with eyes wide open.

    Did you know that one of the favorite modern American traditions, the Rose Bowl football game on New Year's Day, which began in 1902, had only one season before it was replaced by a Roman chariot(战车) race? The festivities date back to 1902, when a zoologist suggested that the Valley Hunt Club of Pasadena, California sponsor "an artistic celebration of the ripening of the oranges" at the beginning of the new year. They started with a parade of decorated horse drawn carriages, followed by athletic events in the afternoon, and an evening ball to announce the event winners and the most beautiful float of the parade. In 1916, college football competitions replaced all the events, including the chariot races. Today American people enjoy the elaborate Tournament of Roses Parade through Pasadena followed by the Rose Bowl game. In Florida, they have the Orange Bowl, Texas has the Cotton Bowl and Louisiana hosts the Sugar Bowl.

73. Who first celebrated New Year according to the passage?

74. The Scottish celebrated their New Year _______  with GREat exuberance.

75. How many seasons did the Rose Bowl football game have on New Year's Day before it was replaced?

76. The passage gives us four kinds of bowl games. They are  _______ ,  _______ ,_______  and  _______ .

77. Why do people celebrate New Year?

78. What time span is  covered  by  the passage?

Questions 79 to 84 are based on the following passage:
 
    The idea of a fish being able to generate electricity strong enough to light lamp bulbs—or even to run a small electric motor—is almost unbelievable, but several kinds of fish are able to do this. Even more strangely, this curious power has been acquired in different ways by fish belonging to very different families.

    Perhaps the best known are electric rays, of which several kinds live in warm seas. They possess on each side of the head, behind the eyes, a large organ consisting of a number of hexagonal shaped cells rather like a honeycomb. The cells are filled with a jelly-like substance, and contain a series of flat electric plates. One side, the negative side, of each plate, is supplied with very fine nerves, connected with a main nerve coming from a special part of the brain. Current passes from the upper, positive side of the organ downwards to the negative, lower side. Generally it is necessary to touch the fish in two places, completing the circuit, in order to receive a shock.

    The strength of this shock depends on the size of the fish, but newly born ones only about 5 centimetres across can be made to light the bulb of a pocket FLASHlight for a few moments, while a fully grown torpedo gives a shock capable of knocking a man down, and, if suitable wires are connected, will operate a small electric motor for several minutes.

    Another famous example is the electric eel. This fish gives an even more powerful shock. The system is different from that of the torpedo in that the electric plates run longitudinally and are supplied with nerves from the spinal cord. Consequently, the current passes along the fish from head to tail. The electric organs of these fish are really altered muscles and like all muscles are apt to tire, so they are not able to produce electricity for very long. People in some parts of South America who value the electric  eel as food, take advantage of this fact by driving horses into the water  against which the fish discharge their electricity. The horses are less affected than a man would be, and when the electric eels have exhausted themselves, they can be caught without danger.

    The electric catfish of the Nile and of other African fresh waters has a different system again by which current passes over the whole body from the tail to the head. The shock given by this arrangement is not so strong as the other two, but is none the less unpleasant. The electric catfish is a slow, lazy fish, fond of gloomy places and grows to about 1 metre long; it is eaten by the Arabs in some areas.

    The power of producing electricity may serve these fish both for defence and attack. If a large enemy attacks, the shock will drive it away; but it appears that the catfish and the electric eel use their current most often against smaller fish, stunning them so that they can  easily be overpowered.

79. Some fish produce enough  _______  to drive electric motors.

80. The current of the torpedoes travels in a downward direction from the  _______ side of the organ, which is  _______ , to the  _______  side, which is  _______  .

81. Why can not the electric eel produce electricity for very long?

82. What does the strength of the shock mainly depend on?

83. The power of producing electricity may serve these fish both for ______ and ______ .

84. How many kinds of fish which can generate electricity are mentioned in this passage?

Questions 85 to 90 are based on the following passage:

   Ever since she appeared with Richard Gere in Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts has been hailed as one of the brightest stars in cinema. Today Roberts remains a huge draw at the box office and still commands a very high salary.

   She was born in Atlanta,Georgia. Though both mom and dad were experienced actors, Julia GREw up hoping to become a vet. That dream lasted until she graduated from high school, when, at 17, she joined her actress sister Lisa in New York to begin a career in acting. In 1986, her older brother Eric convinced a director to cast her in a drama: Blood Red and in 1988 she also appeared in an episode of television's Crime Story.

   That same year, Roberts had a small part in Mystic Pizza, to GREat acclaim, and was nominated for an Oscar in 1989's Steel Magnolias. The next year Pretty Woman arrived in theaters and she  became  a  superstar. The film broke box-office records and won a Best Actress Oscar nomination for Roberts.

   Two big hits followed Pretty Woman but Roberts had problems in her personal life: a wedding to Kiefer Sutherland was cancelled just days before the event was to take place in 1991. Over the next two years, Roberts would be seen on screen just once, with a brief appearance in The Player (1992).

   She married a songwriter, Lyle Lovett, but parted from him in less than two years. In 1996 she was again praised for her appearance with Woody Allen  in 1996's Everyone Says I Love You.

   No longer the highest-paid actress in Hollywood, Roberts nonetheless commands an eight-figure salary per picture, and 1997 saw her reclaim a large measure of her former box-office glory: the summer release My Best Friend's Wedding opened to the highest-ever single weekend tic-ket sales for a romantic comedy and earned her a Golden Globe nomination; and she shared top billing with famous actor Mel Gibson in the late-summer paranoia thriller Conspiracy theory. 1998 witnessed Roberts co-starring with fellow Ed Harris in the family drama Stepmom, but she was off to a good start in 1999 with a brace of successful romantic comedies: Notting Hill, in which she gave a fetching performance as a mega-star who falls for an unassuming bookstore owner (Hugh Grant); and Runaway Bride  with Gere. Her production company, Shoelace, is thriving, and she's been courted to star in everything from a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief to the based-on-a-true-story Australian outback odyssey From Alice to Ocean. She scored $12 million to star in the remake of George Cukor's The Women, in which she is set to co-star with actress über-cutie Meg Ryan, but the project has been slow to develop. Perhaps the added muscle of Roberts and Ryan as co-producers will speed things along.

85. Before she graduated from high school, Julia Roberts wanted to be _______ .

86. At what age did Julia Roberts begin a career in acting?

87. There is a family drama, Roberts co-starring , which is called _______ .

88. Which movie earned Roberts a Golden Globe nomination?

89. Because of the movie _______ , Roberts won a Best Actress Oscar nomination.

90. How many male actors who appeared  with Roberts are mentioned in this passage?

Keys:

71. Eight days. 72. He was able to overcome his disease. 73. Egyptians and Babylonians. 74. Hogmanay  75. Only one. 76. Rose Bowl; Orange Bowl; Cotton Bowl; Sugar Bowl  77. They hope things will change for the better. 78. From 4,000 years ago to the present.(or: About 2,000 BC.) 79. electricity 80. upper; positive; lower; negative 81. Because their electric organs tire as muscles do. 82. The size of the fish. 83. defence; attack 84. Three. 85. a vet 86. When she was 17. 87. Stepmom 88. My Best Friend's Wedding. 89. Pretty Women 90. Five.