2023年广播电视大学电大大学英语B网考阅读理解.doc

大学英语（B）网考阅读理解
Passage 1
There was once an ant that was very thirsty. It ran here and there looking for some water but could not find any. Then suddenly, when the ant was almost ready to die of thirst, a large drop of water fell on it. The ant drank the water, which saved its life. The water was actually a tear from a young girl who was crying. Because of her sadness, the tear had magical qualities and suddenly the ant could speak the language of human beings. The ant looked up and saw the young girl sitting in front of a huge pile of seeds. “Why are you sad?” asked the ant.
“I’m the prisoner of the giant,” the girl told the ant. “He won’t let me go until I’ve made three separate heaps of grain, barley (大麦) and rye（黑麦）out of this huge pile of seeds in which they are all mixed together.”
“That will take you a month!” the ant said, looking at the huge pile of seeds.
“I know,” the girl cried, “and if I haven’t finished by tomorrow, the giant will eat me for his supper!”
“Don’t cry,” the ant said, “my friends and I will help you.”
Soon thousands of ants were at work, separating the three kinds of seeds.
The next morning, when the giant saw that the work had been done, he let the girl go.
Thus it was one of her tears that saved her life.
1. What is an ant?
A. A small animal. B. An insect. C. A bird D. A giant
2. When did the drop of water fall on the ant?
A. When it was looking for food. B. When it saved the ant’s life.
C. When it was nearly dying. D. When it looked up.
3. Why was the young girl crying?
A. Because of her sadness B. Because she saw the ant
C. Because the giant would let her go
D. Because the giant had given her an impossible job to do.
4. What would the giant do if the girl failed to do the work?
A. He would eat her B. He would let her go
C. He would take her away D. He would send her to prison
5. Who or what saved the girl’s life?
A. The giant. B. The ant. C. The ant’s friends D. Her tears.

Passage 2
Martin Luther King was a black minister, who became a great leader of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and1960s.
King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. When he was young, he was strongly influenced by Thoreau and Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of non-violent resistance. Having received a Ph. D (Doctor of Philosophy) from Boston University, he became a political and religious leader of the non-violent civil rights movement in 1955. On August 28, 1963, he led over 250,000 Americans on a march in Washington D.C. to fight for the Civil Rights Law to guarantee equality for all people, and delivered his best known speech “I Have a Dream” before the Lincoln Memorial. The “dream” is a dream of brotherly love and equality for the Black and White. Thus, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for peace in 1964, but he was murdered four years later.
Though he died, he was greatly respected and loved by the Americans, both the white and the black. By vote of Congress in 1968, the third Monday of every January is now a federal holiday in Luther King’s honor. He lives in people’s hearts forever.
1. Martin Luther King was murdered when he was _____ years old.
A. 64 B. 50 C. 39 D. 28
2. Martin Luther King was a _____.
A. political leader B. black minister C. religious leader D. all of the above
3. According to the passage which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Martin Luther King was killed in 1964.
B. Martin Luther King’s Day has been a federal holiday for more than 40 years.
C. Martin Luther King urged his people to get equality and freedom through violence.
D. Only black Americans loved Martin Luther King.
4. The underlined word “delivered” in the second paragraph could be replaced by _____.
A. gave B. threw C. announced D. published
5. What’s the best title for this passage?
A. Martin Luther King. B. How to Award the Nobel Prize
C. Civil Rights Movement D. Civil Rights Law

Passage 3
My secret for staying young is simple. Put all attention to the part of your brain and keep it young and growing. Keep your mind awake and you’ll stay young all over. These are exciting times. Take an interest in the world around you, and stick to learning at least one new thing every day. No matter how old you are, it’s not too late to make your life more interesting. I know a housewife with no knowledge before she made herself into a well-known engineer. I know a retired electrical engineer who has become a highly-paid dress designer. Get over the idea that you are too old to go back to school. I know a man who entered medical college at 70. He got his degree with honors and became a famous doctor. Another man went to law school at 71 and now was an active lawyer. Staying young is easy for those, old or young, who live in the future. You can do it if you care enough to try. Keep your mind awake and active: that’s the only way.
1. According to the passage, that people’s brain of all ages remains young and growing is _____.
A. impossible B. a scientific fact C. a secret D. a wrong conclusion
2. It is wrong to for the old to _____.
A. think himself too old to go back to school. B. keep his mind awake.
C. try to stay young D. lead an active life
3. The passage says that the man who entered college at 70 _____.
A. was unthinkable B. became tired of his life
C. wanted to be a highly-paid man D. became famous in the medical circle
4. The only way to keep young is _____.
A. to go back to school B. not to consider one’s age
C. to live in the future D. to keep one’s mind awake and alive
5. The writer suggests that you should _____ learning at least one new thing every day.
A. take care of B. set out C. keep on D. turn to

Passage 4
If you travel by air across the center of Africa or South America, you fly over forests for thousands of kilometers. These great forests are the oceans of trees. There are thousands and thousands of different kinds of plants and animals.
However, the world's forests are getting smaller all the time. We are cutting down the trees because we need wood, and we need more farmland. Some people say that there will not be any forests like these in 20 or 30 years. What will happen if they disappear?
If we cut down our forests, a lot of plants and animals will disappear from the world. In a lot of places the new farmland will soon look like the old deserts. Crops will not grow there. It will not rain very often, and the weather will get very hot. Perhaps the climate of the world will change. This will be dangerous for everyone in the world. That is why we must take care of our forests.
6. The passage mainly tells us about ______.
A. the importance of taking care of plants
B. the result of cutting down the trees
C. the locations of great forests D. the reasons for forming the deserts
7. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Africa and South America are the oceans of trees.
B. Forests are homes for different kinds of animals.
C. Forests are usually several square kilometers large.
D. Different plants can't be found in the same forest.
8. The need for more wood and more land results in _____.
A. the change of the world climate
B. the disappearance of many plants and animals
C. more deserts and less farmland D. All of the above
9. What will happen in 20 or 30 years in some people's view?
A. We'll have more and greater forests.
B. We'11 have enough land to support our people.
C. We'11 have no forests like those in the center of Africa.
D. We'll have enough wood to do some cooking.
10. The writer thinks _________.
A. it dangerous to cut down the forests B. it necessary to protect the forests
C. it impossible to take care of the world D. it important to keep animals
Passage 5
Let’s watch the weather forecast on television. We may go to Scotland, we may go to Wales or London. We can decide after the forecast.
“Good morning, and here is the weather forecast for tomorrow. Northern Scotland will be cold, and there may be snow over High Ground. In the north of England it will be a wet day and rain will move into Wales and the Midlands during the afternoon. East Anglia（英国）will be generally dry, and it will be a bright clear day with sunshine, but it may rain during the evening. In the southwest it may be foggy during the morning, but the afternoon will be clear. It may be windy later in the day."
1. What is the speaker planning to do?
A. To go traveling within the country.
B. To listen to the weather forecast on the radio.
C. To watch the weather forecast on TV. D. To fly to Wales or London.
2. Can the speaker fly to Northern Scotland tomorrow morning, according to the weather forecast?
A. Yes, because it will be a fine day tomorrow.
B. Yes, because it won’t be foggy there tomorrow.
C. No, because it will be foggy there tomorrow.
D. No, because there will be a storm there tomorrow.
3. When is the speaker watching the forecast?
A. In the morning. B. At noon. C. In the afternoon. D. In the evening
4. What does the forecast mainly tell us?
A. The whole country will have fine weather tomorrow.
B. The whole country will have very bad weather tomorrow.
C. Within one day the weather varies from one part of the country to another, even within one district.
D. Weather changes a lot in Britain recently.
5. What can you infer from the passage?
A. The speaker will go to London. B. The speaker is in Northern Ireland now.
C. None of the places offers ideal weather tomorrow for travel.
D. East Anglia will have perfect weather tomorrow.

Passage 6
As price and building costs keep rising, the "do-it-yourself" (DIY) trend in the U.S. continue to grow.
"We needed furniture for our living room," says John Ross, "and we just didn't have enough money to buy it. So we decided to try making a few tables and chairs." John got married six months ago, and like many young people these days, they are struggling to make a home at a time when the cost of living is very high.
The Rosses took a 2-week course for $ 280 at a night school. Now they build all their furniture and make repairs around the house.
Jim Hatfield has three boys and his wife died. He has a full-time job at home as well as in a shoe-making factory. Last month, he received a car repair bill for $ 420. "I was deeply upset about it. Now I've finished a car repair course, I should be able to fix the car by myself."
John and Jim are not unusual people. Most families in the country are doing everything they can to save money so they can fight the high cost of living. If you want to become a "do-it- yourselfer", you can go to DIY classes. And for those who don't have time to take a course, there are books that tell you how you can do things yourself.
1. We can learn from the passage that many newly married couple ______.
A. find it hard to pay for what they need
B. have to learn to make their own furniture
C. take DIY courses run by the government D. seldom go to a department store to buy things
2. John and his wife went to evening classes to learn how to ______.
A. run a DIY shop B. do it themselves in their spare time
C. do his own car and home repairs D. keep house and looks after his children
3. When the writer says that Jim has a full-time job at home, he means Jim ____.
A. makes shoes in his home B. does extra work at night
C. does his own car and home repairs
D. keeps house and looks after his children
4. Jim Hatfield decided to become a "do-it-yourselfer" when ______.
A. his car repairs cost too much B. the car repair class was not helpful
C. he could not possibly do two jobs D. he had to raise the children all by himself
5. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. The Joy of DIY. B. You Can Do It Too.
C. Welcome to Our DIY Course. D. Ross and Hatfield: Believers in DIY.

Passage 7
Mrs. Jones' telephone number was 3463, and the number of the cinema in her town was 3464, so people often made a mistake when they wanted the cinema.
One evening the telephone bell rang and Mrs. Jones answered it. A tired man said, "At what time does your last film begin?"
"I'm sorry," said Mrs. Jones, "but you have the wrong number. This is not the cinema."
"Oh, it began twenty minutes ago," said the man. "I'm sorry about that. Goodbye."
Mrs. Jones was very surprised, so she told her husband. Mr. Jones laughed and said, "The man's wife wanted to go the cinema, but he was feeling tired, so he telephoned the cinema. His wife heard HIM, but she didn't hear YOU. Now they will stay at home this evening, and the husband will be happy!"
1. Why do people often telephone Mrs. Jones when they want the cinema?
A. Because she lives next door to the cinema. B. Because she knows the cinema program very well.
C. Because the telephone company's computer goes wrong from time to time.
D. Because her telephone number is similar to that of the cinema.
2. Why was Mrs. Jones so surprised at a phone call one evening?
A. Because the call was from a stranger. B. Because the man on the phone knew her name.
C. Because the man on the phone asked a question and then answered it himself.
D. Because the man on the phone invited her to the cinema.
3. According to Mr. Jones, why didn't the man on the phone want to go to the cinema?
A. Because he had seen the film before.
B. Because he was feeling very tired that evening.
C. Because the film wasn't worth seeing. D. Because the film had started already.
4. What do you think the man's wife wanted to do that evening?
A. To go to the cinema with her husband.
B. To find out when the last film started.
C. To stay home with her husband. D. To eat out with her husband and then go to the cinema.
5. What can you conclude from the story?
A. The man on the phone was not interested in film.
B. The man on the phone was rather clever.
C. The man's wife was fond of films. D. The telephone companies are inefficient sometime