4. Passage Twenty-Five Online dating has just been revealed to be one of the most common ways to start a relationship. But new research reveals that the concept is still highly flawed (有缺陷的). An analysis of 400 studies into online dating shows that while it offers access to plenty of other singles， users can be overwhelmed and put off by the volume of choice， defeating the purpose. The research， by Northwestern University and published in the journal Psychological Science in the public interest， found that the processes involved don’t lend themselves to forming strong relationships. The findings also indicated that the concept of an online profile (介绍) is not entirely useful and “can result in treating potential partners as mere objects ”. Lead author Eli. J. Finkel explained， “Online dating is a terrific addition for singles to meet. However， there are two problems. ” First， studying over seemingly endless lists of profiles of people one does not know， as on Match.com， does not reveal much about them. Second， it “overloads people and they end up shutting down，” he said. He compared it to shopping at “supermarkets of love” and said psychological research shows people presented with too many choices tend to make lazy and often poor decisions. The study’s authors also questioned the algorithms ( 算法) employed by sites such as eHarmony.com to match people based on their interests or personality—comparing it to having a real estate agent of love. While the algorithm may reduce the number of potential partners from thousands to a few， they may be as unsuitable for each other as two people meeting at random， Dr. Finkel explained， adding the chances are no better than finding a relationship by walking into any bar. “There’s no better way to figure out whether you’re a match with somebody than talking to them over a coffee or beer，” Dr. Finkel said. Why is Dr. Finkel mentioned in the passage?

5. . Passage Twenty All friendships require a certain amount of chemistry. But when two people of the opposite sex become friends， sometimes those friendly feelings can start to resemble something more like sexual tension. Male-female friendships can be an emotional minefield of hidden desires. Does this mean you secretly want to jump into bed with all of your friends? Of course not. But do you ever wonder how many of them might be interested if the opportunity presented itself? Maybe you and your platonic (柏拉图式的) friendship are just a bad breakup and a bottle of wine away from crossing that boundary and hooking up (结合). So can two people of the opposite sex ever really be “just friends?” The Hollywood answer to this age-old question is a decisive HELL NO. On screen， male-female friendships always turn into something more. Harry and Sally， Chandler and Monica， Jim and Pam … … Do I need to go on? Even the characters in Just Friends wind up becoming much more than the film’s definitive title suggests. Cinematic stories dictate that when reasonably attractive men and women befriend one another， they are always on the road to romance， whether they realize it or not. But how much truth is there to this friendship as foreplay theory? It is not a whole lot. Real life isn’t a romantic comedy. Men and women go to school together， work together and hang out in plenty of platonic settings without falling hopelessly in love with one another. Last year， a close female friend of mine moved in with a new male roommate. My immediate reaction was， “You two are definitely going to sleep together.” It seemed to me that a single man and woman living under the same roof would inevitably end up doing it. Much to my surprise， the roommate romance never happened. Almost one year later， the two of them have never even come close to seeing each other naked. Instead， their way of life has come to resemble a sexless marriage. They cook for each other， argue over domestic chores and insist that they never， ever think about each other “that way.” In the last paragraph， the man and the woman ( ) .

A. never become close friends

B. end up sleeping together

C. end up with a sexless marriage

D. never have romance

4. Passage Nine Today anyone will accept money in exchange for goods and services. People use money to buy food， furniture， books， bicycles and hundreds of others they need or want. When they work， they usually get paid in money. Most of the money today is made of metal or paper. But people used to use all kinds of things as money. One of the first kinds of money was shells. Shells were not the only things used as money. In China， cloth and knives were used. In the Philippine Islands， rice was used as money. In some parts of Africa， cattle were one of the earliest kinds of money. Other animals were used as money， too. The first metal coins were made in China. They were round and had a square hole in the center. People strung them together and carried them from place to place. Different countries have used different metals and designs for their money. The first coins in England were made of tin. Sweden and Russia used copper to make their money. Later， other countries began to make coins of gold and silver. But even gold and silver were inconvenient if you had to buy something expensive. Again， the Chinese thought of a way to improve money. They began to use paper money. The first paper money looked more like a note from one person to another than paper money used today. Money has had an interesting history from the days of shell money until today. Why does the author say that even gold and silver were inconvenient if you had to buy something expensive?

A. Because they are easy to steal.

B. Because they are difficult for people to obtain.

C. Because they are not easy to carry around.

D. Because they themselves are expensive， too.

47. The peasant uses wood to build a house (_____) to store grains.

A. 　 where

B. 　 in which

C. 　 with which

D. 　 which

45. This problem requires (_____)_ with great care.

A. 　 being studied

B. 　 to study

C. 　 to have studied

D. 　 studying

1. Passage Seven A few centuries ago， people looked at the birds and wondered what it would be like to fly like them. There were stories of heroes who glued bird feathers on their arms and flew up into the sky. About 500 years ago， some people dreamed a different dream. Instead of flying up to the sky， they dreamed of falling from the sky! In the 15th century， Italian inventors designed a cone-shaped (雏形) device that was supposed to bring a man down safely from a great height. The operator held on to a handle with straps strapped to his waist. This was the first known design for a parachute (降落伞) . Even the great inventor Leonardo da Vinci sketched a type of parachute. His parachute design was in the shape of a pyramid (金字塔). Other inventors also sketched their own designs for a parachute. Unfortunately， these were only designs on paper and no one tested them . A Croatian inventor named Fausto Veranzio looked at Leonardo da Vinci’s parachute design and replaced the pyramid shape with one that looked like a sail from a ship. When Veranzio was 65 years old， he fell ill. Thinking he would not live longer， he decided to try out his parachute invention. He built his parachute using wood and cloth. Strapping his invention to his waist， he jumped off the tall bell tower in his city. He landed safely! He was supposedly the first man to successfully use a parachute. However， some people thought this story was not true. If that was the case， then the first person to successfully use a parachute would go to a Frenchman named Louis-Sebastien Lenormand in 1783 . The first known parachute was designed by ( ) .

A. Frenchmen

B. Italians

C. Croatians

D. Englishmen

33. The audience was touched (_____) word after watching the movie of Battle of Chosin Reservoir.

A. 　 with

B. 　 without

C. 　 by

D. 　 beyond

40. Theory is based on practice and (_____)_ serves practice.

A. 　 in turn

B. 　 in tone

C. 　 in return

D. 　 in practice

36. It’s no use(_____)_ your chickens before they are hatched.

A. 　 count

B. 　 to count

C. 　 counting

D. 　 of counting

3. Passage Twenty-Six Today just as technology changed the face of industry， farmers have undergone an “agricultural revolution” . On the farm of today， machines provide all the power. One of the most important benefits will be the farm computer. A few forward-looking farmers are already using computers to help them run their farms more efficiently. The computers help them keep more accurate records， so they can make better decisions on what crops to plant， how much livestock to buy， when to sell their products， and how much profit they can expect. Many computer companies have been developing special computer programs just for farmers. Programs are being written for hog (猪) producers， grain farmers， potato farmers， and dairy farmers. In the future， farmers will be able to purchase computer programs made to their needs. Because of the growing importance of computers on the farm， students at agricultural colleges are required to take computer classes in addition to their normal agricultural courses. There can be no doubt that farmers will rely on computers even more in the future. While the old-time farm depended on horse power， and modern farms depend on machine power， farms of the future will depend on computer power. Another technological advance which is still in the experimental stage is the robot， a real “mechanized hired hand” that will be able to move and， in some ways， think like a human being. Agricultural engineers believe that computer-aided robots will make startling changes in farming before the end of the century. Unlike farmers of the present， farmers of the future will find that many day-to-day tasks will be done for them. Scientists are now developing robots that will be able to shear (修剪) sheep， drive tractors， and harvest fruit. Even complex jobs will be done by robots. For example， in order to milk their cows， farmers must first drive them into the special barn (畜棚)， then connect them to the milking machines， watch the machines， and disconnect them when they are finished. In the future， this will all be done by robots. In addition， when the milking is completed， the robots will automatically check to make sure that the milk is pure. The complete mobilization of the farm is far in the future， but engineers expect that some robots will be used before long. Which of the following statements is true?

A. Farmers in the future will depend totally on computers.

B. Both computers and robots have been in use on today’s farms.

C. Farmers mainly use machines on their farms at present.

D. Students at agricultural colleges must take computer classes because they can do nothing without the help of computers on today’s farms.

2. Passage Five The appeal of advertising to buying motives can have both negative and positive effects. Consumers may be convinced to buy a product of poor quality or high price because of an advertisement. For example， some advertisers have appealed to people’s desire for better fuel economy for their cars by advertising automotive products that improve gasoline mileage. Some of the products work. Others are worthless and a waste of consumers’ money. Sometimes advertising is intentionally misleading. A few years ago， a brand of bread was offered to dieters with the message that there were fewer calories in every slice. It turned out that the bread was not dietetic， but just regular bread. There were fewer calories because it was sliced very thin， but there were the same number of calories in every loaf. On the positive side， emotional appeals may respond to a consumer’s real concerns. Consider fire insurance. Fire insurance may be sold by appealing to fear of loss. But fear of loss is the real reason for fire insurance. The security of knowing that property is protected by insurance makes the purchase of fire insurance a worthwhile investment for most people. If consumers consider the quality of the insurance plans as the message in the ads， they will benefit from the advertising. Each consumer must evaluate her or his own situation. Are the benefits of the product important enough to justify buying it? Advertising is intended to appeal to consumers， but it does not force them to buy the product. Consumers still control the final buying decision. The reason why the bread advertisement is misleading is that ( ) .

A. thin slices of bread could contain more calories

B. the loaf was cut into regular slices

C. the bread was not genuine bread

D. the total number of calories in the loaf remained the same