4、Halloween (October 31) is a holiday widely celebrated with different names in many countries. Although it originated as a religious holiday, it has lost its religious connections in the United States. It is now celebrated largely as a children's day, and many American children look forward to it for days and weeks beforehand.

The orange pumpkin is harvested at this time of year and is hollowed out, a funny face cut into it, and a candle placed inside as decorations in the window. City folks, nowadays, sometimes use paper pumpkins for decorations. Some years ago, the holiday was celebrated by dressing up in strange and frightening costumes and playing tricks on one's neighbors and friends, such as ringing door bells, throwing bits of corn on the window panes, and in other ways making minor disturbances. More recently, children come to the door to have friends and neighbors admire their costumes and guess who they are behind the false faces and receive treats of candy, fruit or cookies. They say, "Trick or Treat", meaning "I will play a trick on you if you do not give me a treat."

    This practice has even more recently developed into a significant international activity. Instead of or along with candy, the children collect money for UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund). This special collection of money by children for needy children throughout the world is known as "UNICEF Trick or Treat". Begun only recently, it results in several million dollars each year contributed to UNICEF. The collection box is orange, reminiscent of the pumpkin.

 

(1)、What does Halloween originate from?

A：A children's day.

B：A children's trick.

C：A religious day.

D：A UNICEF day.

答案：C

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\大学英语A\文科A

 

(2)、What is the symbol of Halloween?

A：Pumpkin

B：Candle

C：Costumes

D：Money

答案：A

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\大学英语A\文科A

 

(3)、The holiday was celebrated in the following ways some years ago EXCEPT ______.

A：putting on strange and frightening costumes

B：receiving treats of candy, fruit or cookies

C：playing tricks on one's neighbors and friends

D：ringing door bells

答案：B

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\大学英语A\文科A

 

(4)、Why do children collect money in the Halloween?

 

A：They love money.

B：They want to get enough money to buy themselves candy.

C：The adults are willing to give them money.

D：They want to help other children.

答案：D

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\大学英语A\文科A

 

(5)、The collection box is dyed orange because ______.

A：children love orange

B：orange stands for happiness

C：orange is the color of pumpkins

D：orange is loved by adults

答案：C

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\大学英语A\文科A

 

5、After a long period of studies, scientists are uncovering surprising new findings about dolphins. They believe that dolphins do "talk" to each other, whistling "names" among themselves and others in their group. They help one another when in trouble. Like bats, they use sound waves to "see". Because of these and many other findings, many scientists now place dolphins among the cleverest animals on earth.

Dolphins love to mimic. If we swim on our backs, they do too. If we dive, they follow. Once a trainer blew a puff of cigarette smoke against the window of an observation tank, a young dolphin suddenly swam to its mother, nursed a moment, and spit out a cloud of milk. It is even more surprising that dolphins are able to understand sign language. One of Herman's dolphins has mastered more than 50 sign words. For example, it understands the difference between "bring the surfboard to the person" and "bring the person to the surfboard."

Scientists are learning how dolphins "speak" to each other. "Each dolphin," says Peter Gyack "has its own 'signature' whistle." Dolphin can also mimic the signature of others.

Dolphins help one another. When birth-giving takes place, females gather to keep off sharks. Later, while the mother looks for food, they take care of the young dolphin, swimming in a circle.

Dolphins reach out to us in astonishing ways. What would the world be like without them?

 

 

(1)、To the best of our knowledge, dolphins are ______.

 

A：surprising fish

B：interesting animals

C：intelligent mammals

D：man's friends

答案：C

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\大学英语A\理科A

 

(2)、In the second paragraph, "nursed" means ______.

A：brought the mother something to eat

B：sucked milk from the mother dolphin

C：asked to be taken care of

D：gave some milk to her

答案：B

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\大学英语A\理科A

 

(3)、What was the young dolphin doing when it suddenly spit out a cloud of milk? It was ______.

A：having a little fun 

B：diving into the deep sea

C：playing "smoking"

D：copying "smoking"

答案：D

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\大学英语A\理科A

 

(4)、Which of the following do you think is more reasonable?

A：We are still in the early stage of learning about these animals.

B：We have little difficulty in understanding dolphins.

C：Man will be able to talk freely to dolphins in the near future.

D：Sign language is the only way to make dolphins understand us.

答案：A

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\大学英语A\理科A

 

(5)、What's the purpose of female dolphins' swimming in a circle?

A：The young dolphin needs friends to play with.

B：The young dolphin can play safely inside.

C：The mother will help them to learn swimming in a circle.

D：The mother will be free to meet the father.

答案：B

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\大学英语A\理科A

 

6、Old people are always saying that the young are not what they were. The same comment is made from generation to generation and it is always true. It has never been truer than it is today. The young are better educated. They have a lot of money to spend and enjoy more freedom. They are not so dependent on their parents. They think more for themselves and do not blindly accept the ideas of their elders. This is as it should be.

The old always assume that they know best for the simple reason that they have been around a bit longer. They don't like to feel that their values are being questioned or threatened. And this is precisely what the young are doing. They are questioning the assumptions of their elders. Office hours, for instance, are nothing more than enforced slavery. Wouldn't people work best if they were given complete freedom and responsibility? And who said that all men in the world should wear grey clothes and short hair? Why have the older generation so often used violence to solve problems? Why are they so unhappy and guilt-ridden in their personal lives? Haven't the old lost touch with all that is important in life?

    Traditionally, the young have turned to their elders for guidance. Today, the situation might be reversed. The old could learn a thing or two from their children. One of the biggest lessons they could learn is that enjoyment is not "sinful". Enjoyment is a principle one could apply to all aspects of life. It is surely not wrong to enjoy your work and enjoy your leisure. It is surely not wrong to live in the present rather than in the past or future.

 

(1)、What's the old generation's comment on the young?

 

A：The young are more knowledgeable about the world around than they were.

B：The young treat historical events as seriously as they do.

C：The young do not behave the way they did when they were young.

D：The young tend to use violence to solve their problems.

答案：C

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\大学英语A\文科A

 

(2)、The old people believe that ______.

A：the old values they have kept to should also change with the advancing society

B：they know more because they have experienced much more of life

C：young people are good successors to their ideas

D：young people should not continue to live the way they did

答案：B

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\大学英语A\文科A

 

(3)、The young are challenging traditional values EXCEPT in ______.

A：clothing fashion

B：traditional concepts

C：fixed working hours

D：marriage patterns

答案：D

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\大学英语A\文科A

 

(4)、We can infer from the 2nd paragraph that ______. 

 

A：the young generation differs from the old in their attitude toward life

B：the young generation seeks to possess more material wealth

C：the old are regretful for their past personal lives

D：the old have been trying to keep up with the modern life

答案：A

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\大学英语A\文科A

 

(5)、One important aspect the old should learn from the young is that ______.

 

A：they should fully enjoy life

B：they should expect a better future and cherish the hard past time

C：they should try to integrate leisure in work

D：they should learn to attach importance to material life

答案：A

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\大学英语A\文科A