39. Lessons (_____)_ easily were soon forgotten.

34. The terrible weather eventually (_____) our holiday

A. 　 destroyed

B. 　 damaged

C. 　 spoiled

D. 　 defeated

41. Someone is ringing the doorbell. Go and see(_____)_.

A. 　 who is he

B. 　 who he is

C. 　 who is it

D. 　 who it is

4. Passage Two When older people can no longer remember names at a cocktail party， they tend to think that their brainpower is declining. But a growing number of studies suggest that this assumption is often wrong. Instead，the research finds， the aging brain is simply taking in more data and trying to examine carefully a lot of information， often to its long-term benefit. Some brains do deteriorate with age. But for most aging adults， researchers say， much of what occurs is a gradually widening focus of attention that makes it more difficult to get hold of just one fact. Although that can be frustrating， it is often useful. “It may be that distractibility is not， in fact， a bad thing，” said Shelley H. Carson， a psychology researcher at Harvard. “It may increase the amount of information available to the conscious mind. ” For example， in studies where subjects are asked to read passages that are interrupted with unexpected words or phrases， adults 60 and older work much more slowly than college students. Although the students plow through the texts at a consistent speed regardless of what the out-of-place words mean， older people slow down even more when the words are related to the topic at hand. That indicates that they are not just stumbling (结结巴巴地念) over the extra information， but are taking it in and processing it. When both groups were later asked questions for which the out-of-place words might be answers， the older adults responded much better than the students. “For the young people， it’s as if the distraction never happened，” said a researcher of the review， Lynn Hasher， a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto. “But for older adults， because they’ve retained all this extra data， they’re now suddenly the better problem solvers. They can transfer the information they’ve soaked up from one situation to another.” Such tendencies can yield big advantages in the real world， where it is not always clear what information is important， or will become important. For instance， a seemingly irrelevant point or suggestion in a memo can take on new meaning if the original plan changes. Why could older people give better replies than college students in the experiment?

A. They were more experienced readers.

B. They absorbed more extra information.

C. College students couldn’t focus on the passage.

D. College students had no interest in the passage.

35. People who won’t work should be made (_____)_.

A. 　 to work

B. 　 work

C. 　 has been done

D. 　 to be working

1. Passage Twenty-Three Washington Irving was America’s first man of letters to be known internationally. His works were received enthusiastically both in England and in the United States. He was， in fact， one of the most successful writers of his time in the country， and at the same time winning the admiration of fellow writers like Scott in Britain and Poe and Hawthorne in the United States. The respect in which he was held was partly owing to the man himself， with his warm friendliness， his good sense， his urbanity， his gay spirits， his artistic integrity， his love of both the Old World and the New. Thackery described Irving as “a gentleman， who， though himself born in no very high sphere， was most finished， polished， witty; socially the equal of the most refined Europeans. ” In England he was granted an honorary degree from Oxford—an unusual honor for a citizen of a young， uncultured nation—and he received the medal of the Royal Society of Literature. America made him ambassador to Spain. Irving’s background provides little to explain his literary achievements. A gifted but delicate child， he had little schooling. He studied law， but without zeal， and never did practice seriously. He was immune to his strict Presbyterian home environment， frequenting both social gatherings and the theatre. The main point of the first paragraph is that Washington Irving was ( ) .

A. America’s first man of letters

B. a writer who had great success both in and outside his own country

C. a man who was able to move from literature to politics

D. a man whose personal charm enabled him to get by with basically inferior work

35. (_____)_ seeing the damage he had done, the child felt ashamed.

A. 　 By

B. 　On

C. 　 At

D. 　 For

41. This young tree could not have been damaged by accident; I believe it was done (_____)_.

A. 　 on principle

B. 　 on purpose

C. 　 on hand

D. 　 on duty

34. The teacher said that the earth (_____)_ around the sun.

A. 　 run

B. 　 ran

C. 　 runs

D. 　 was running

4. 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. According to the engineers， ( ) will be done by robots in the near future.

A. most of the farm work

B. some housework

C. all farm work

D. all the work

2. Passage Twenty-Eight On November 19， 1863， Abraham Lincoln went to Gettysburg in Pennsylvania to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery. The Civil War was still going on. There was much criticism of President Lincoln at the time. He was not at all popular. He had been invited to speak at Gettysburg only out of politeness. The principal speaker was to be Edward Everett， a famous statesman and speaker of the day. Everett was a handsome man and very popular everywhere. It is said that Lincoln prepared his speech on the train while going to Gettysburg. Late that night， alone in his hotel room and tired out， he again worked briefly on the speech. The next day Everett spoke first. He spoke for an hour and 57 minutes. His speech was a perfect example of the rich oratory of the day. Then Lincoln rose. The crowd of 15，000 people at first paid little attention to him. He spoke for only nine minutes. At the end there was little applause. Lincoln turned to a friend and remarked， “I have failed again.” On the train back to Washington， he said sadly， “That speech was a flat failure， and the people are disappointed” . Some newspapers at first criticized the speech， but little by little as people read the speech， they began to understand better. They began to appreciate its simplicity and its deep meaning. It was a speech which only Abraham Lincoln could have made. Today， every American school child learns Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address by heart. Now everyone thinks of it as one of the greatest speeches ever given in American history.Lincoln was invited to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery because he was ( ) .

A. a famous speaker

B. a very handsome man

C. President of the country

D. apopular statesman