英语专业四级考试全真模拟试卷十四(2)

文章作者 100test 发表时间 2007:05:13 21:56:00
来源 100Test.Com百考试题网

PART ⅥREADING COMPREHENSION［30 MIN.］

SECTION A READING COMPREHENSION ［25 MIN.］

In this section there are four passages followed by questions or unfinished statements, each with four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that you think is the correct answer.
Mark your choices on your ANSWER SHEET.

TEXT A

On April the 18th, 1960, it was a few minutes after 5 o’clock in the morning. Most people in San Francisco were asleep, but the rattling of the milkmen’s carts and bottles meant that the city was waking to another busy day.
At that moment the land suddenly moved. The vibration was so strong that great buildings fell down, including the new seven-million-dollar City Hall, which the community had good reason to be proud of. Main water pipes burst. Cooking stoves overturned and electric wires flashed. The fires which started caused damage in large areas of the city.
What had happened? The rocks had broken apart along nearly three hundred miles of a crack in the earth of California, a feature of the physical map of that region known as a “fault”.
The damage was greatest in San Francisco which was near the center of the fault. Many buildings were destroyed by fire or by the earthquake itself, and hundreds of people were killed. Many people also died from diseases which broke out in the dirty camps later occupied by homeless people. The fires got out of control and, before they died out, four square miles of the city were burnt out.The loss of property was serious. The loss from fire alone amounted to 400,000,000 dollars, more than nine-tenths of the total damage. In those days this was an enormous sum. 
The effects of the earthquake were widespread. Rivers and streams began to run in new directions and their flow patterns were changed. Trees six feet in diameter were uprooted within half a mile of the central break. An area of wet fields on the side of a hill actually moved half a mile downwards. A road which crossed the fault burst apart and a gap of 21 feet remained between the broken ends.
The California earthquake is remembered because it was so sudden and because it occurred in a city, where the damage and destruction were plainly visible and where many people were killed simultaneously. Actually, deaths on American roads from car accidents are now greater in almost any week of the year, but we are so accustomed to road accidents that we do not pay much attention to them.
Scientists and engineers studied the effects of the San Francisco earthquake. The city was rebuilt, and new features were introduced to strengthen buildings and maintain a constant water supply in the event of another earthquake. The water mains were fitted with control values which would enable water to travel by different routes round broken places. Large underground tanks were constructed to supply water if normal supplies could not be tapped. Special measures were taken to prevent fires, which often do more damage than earthquakes themselves.
The San Francisco earthquake provided scientists with valuable information, since the effects of the break were visible and reports of the incident were an important contribution to the world’s store of knowledge about earthquakes.

66. The main cause of the great loss of property after the San Francisco earthquake in 1960 is ____.

A.falling buildings

B.broken pipes

C.fires

D.floods

67. One of the reasons why the California Earthquake is very impressive is that ____.

A. it was the first time that so many people were killed

B. it was over suddenly

C. the damage and destruction of the city could be easily seen

D. the damage and destruction of the city were nothing unusual

68. In paragraph 7, the author mentions road accidents in order to tell people____.

A. Americans are not afraid of traffic accidents

B. Americans take road accidents for granted because they do not observe trafficrules

C. speeding is the major cause of road accidents in America

D. road accidents actually kill more people than earthquake but are neglected in America

69. We can infer from the passage that scientists are ____.

A. writing reports

B. observing what happened to San Francisco

C. providing more information about the California Earthquake

D. learning more about earthquakes

TEXT B

Decades before the American Revolution of 1776, Jesse Fish, a native New Yorker,retreated to an island off St. Augustine, Florida, to escape unhappy family situation. In a time he became Florida’s first orange baron and his oranges were in great demand in London throughout the 1770’s. The English found them juicy and sweet and preferred them to other varieties, even though they had thin skins and were hard to peel.
There would probably have been other successful commercial growers before Fish if Florida had not been under Spanish rule for some two hundred years. Columbus first brought seeds for citrus trees to the New World and planted them in the Antilles. But it was most likely Ponce de León who introduced oranges to the North American continent when he discovered Florida in 1513. For a time, each Spanish sailor on a ship bound for America was required by law to carry one hundred seeds with him. Later, because seeds tended to dry out, all Spanish ships were required to carry young orange trees. The Spaniards planted citrus trees only for medicinal purpose, however, they saw no need to start commercial groves because or anges were so abundant in Spain.

70. What is the main topic of the passage?

A.The role of Florida in the American Revolution

B.The discovery of Florida by Ponce de León in 1513

C.The history ofthe cultivation of oranges in Florida

D.The popularity of Florida oranges in London in the 1770’s

71. According to the passage, Spanish vessels began to bring orange tree seedling to North America when ____.

A. the United States agricultural laws were revised

B. ambitious sailors began to smuggle seeds

C. doctors reported a lack of medical supplies

D. authorities realized that seeds did not travel well

72. According to the passage, Florida oranges were valued by the Spanish primarily____.

A. as a medium of exchange

B. for their unusual seeds

C. for their medical use

D. as a source of food for sailors

73. The Spaniards did not grow oranges commercially in the New World because ____.

A. oranges tended to dry out during shipping

B. Florida oranges were very small

C. there was no great demand for oranges in Europe

D. oranges were plentiful in their home country