More attention was paid to the quality of production in France at the time of Rene Coty. Charles Deschanel was then the financial minister. He stressed that workmanship and quality were more important than quantity for industrial production. It would be necessary to produce quality goods for the international markets to compete with those produced in other countries. The French economy needed a larger share of international market to balance its import and export trade.
French industrial and agricultural production was still inadequate to meet the immediate needs of the people, let alone long-ranged developments. Essential imports had stretched the national credit to the breaking point. Rents were tightly controlled, but the extreme inflation affected general population most severely through the cost of food. Food costs took as much as 80 percent of the worker's income. Wages, it is true, had risen. Extensive family allowances and benefits were paid by the state, and there was fulltime and overtime employment. Taken together, these factors enabled the working class to exist but allowed them no sense of security. In this discouraging situation, workmen were willing to work overseas for higher wages.
The government was unwilling to let workers leave the country. It was feared that migration of workers would reduce the labor force. The lack of qualified workers might hinder the improvement in the quality of industrial products produced. Qualified workers employed abroad would only increase the quantity of quality goods produced in foreign countries. Also the quantity of quality goods produced in France would not be able to increase as part of its ualified labor force moved to other countries.
1. The purpose of the passage is to_______.
A. explain the French government's emphasis on quality products
B. discuss Charles Deschanel's contribution to the French industrial development
C. compare the quality of French goods with that of foreign goods
D. show French workmen's enthusiasm to seek well-paid jobs in foreign countries
2. It can be inferred from the passage that at the time of Rene Coty .
A. France was still at the first stage of industrial development
B. French workers were better paid than the workers in any other European countries
C. the unemployment rate in France was comparatively higher than that in other European countries
D. French workers were able to live better with the increase in their wages
3. It is implied in the passage that at that time_______.
A. France had a very large share of international market
B. the import and export trade in France was making a successful advance
C. demand and supply in France was barely balanced
D. France was experiencing economic depression
4. Which of the following is the best indicator of the extreme inflation in France?
A. Eighty percent increase in the prices of consumer goods. B. High cost of food.
C. High rents for houses. D. Lack of agricultural products.
5. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A. Rents in France were tightly controlled.
B. France was flooding the international market with inferior product s.
C. French workers were prohibited from going abroad to find jobs.
D. The migration of French workers would hinder the improvement of quality in industrial production.
1. A 2. A 3. D 4. B 5. B
暫無解析
Passage 2
Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage:
When aluminum was first produced about a hundred and fifty years ago, it was so difficult to separate form the ores in which it was found that its price was higher than that of gold. The price remained high until a new process was discovered for refining the metal with the aid of electricity approximately three quarters of a century later. The new method was so much cheaper that aluminum because practical for many purposes, one of which was making pots and pans.
Aluminum is lightweight, rustproof and easily shaped into different forms. By mixing it with other metals, scientists have been able to produce a variety of alloys, some of which have the strength of steel but weigh only one third as much.
Today, the uses of aluminum are innumerable. Perhaps its most important use is in transportation. Aluminum is found in the engine of automobiles, in the hulls of boats. It is also used in many parts of airplanes. In fact, the huge “airbus” planes would probably never have been produced if aluminum did not exist. By making vehicles lighter in weight aluminum has greatly reduced the amount of fuel needed to move them, Aluminum is also being used extensively in the building industry in some countries.
Since aluminum is such a versatile (多用的) metal, it is fortunate that bauxite (鋁土礦), which is one of its chief sources, is also one of the earth’s most plentiful substances. As the source of aluminum is almost inexhaustible, we can expect that more and more uses will be found for this versatile metal.
6. The price of aluminum was sharply reduced when people discovered a new refining process with the aid of .
A. wind B. solar energy C. hydraulic power D. electricity
7. Aluminum is .
A. lightweight, rustproof but not easily shaped into different forms
B. heavyweight, rustproof and easily shaped into different forms
C. lightweight, rustproof and easily shaped into different forms
D. lightweight and easily shaped into different forms but it is easy to become rusty
8. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Aluminum is widely used in transportation.
B. Aluminum is also used in many parts of airplanes.
C. Aluminum is being used extensively in the building industry.
D. Aluminum is not used in its pure form.
9. Aluminum is found on earth mostly in the form of .
A. pure metal B. bauxite C. gold D. liquid
10. What is the passage talking about?
A. The features of aluminum and its functions. B. The process of aluminum.
C. The discovery of aluminum. D. The promising future of aluminum.
翻譯訓(xùn)練：
筷子(chopsticks)是中國傳統(tǒng)的獨(dú)具特色的進(jìn)食工具(diningutensils)，至今已有數(shù)千年的歷史。筷子在古代被稱為“箸”，大約從明朝開始才有了“筷子”的稱呼。筷子多為竹子制成，也有用木頭、象牙(ivory)、金屬或其他材料制作而成。它要么上方下圓，要么上下全圓而上粗下細(xì)。不管其形狀如何，筷子必須是成對使用的，并且兩只筷子的大小長短要相同。筷子是中國人日常生活的必備工具，它的發(fā)明充分反映了中國人民的智慧。
Passage 3
Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage:
The idea of a special day to honor mothers was first put forward in America in 1907. two years later a woman, Mrs. John Bruce Dodd, in the state of Washington proposed a similar day to honor the head of the family—the father. Her mother died when she was very young, and her father brought her up. She loved her father very much.
In response to Mrs. Dodd’s idea that same year—1909, the state governor of Washington proclaimed (宣布) the third Sunday in June Father’s Day. The idea was officially approved by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916. in 1924, President Calvin Coolidge recommended national observance of the occasion “to establish more intimate (親密) relations between fathers and their children, and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations.” The red or white rose is recognized as the official Father’s Day flower.
Father’s Day took longer to establish on a national scale than Mother’s Day, but as the idea grained popularity, tradesmen and manufacturers began to see the commercial possibilities. They encouraged sons and daughters to honor their fathers with small thank-you presents, such as a tie or pair of socks, as well as by sending greeting cards.
During the Second World War, American servicemen stationed in Britain began to request Father’s Day greeting cards to send home. This generated a response with British card publishers. Though at first the British public was slow to accept this rather artificial day, it’s now well celebrated in Britain on the third Sunday in June in much the same way as in America.
Father’s Day seems to be much less important as occasion than the Mother’s Day. Not many of the children offer their fathers some presents. But the American fathers still think they are much better fated than the fathers of many other countries, who have not even a day for their sake in name only.
11. When did Father’s Day officially begin to have national popularity?
A. 1907 B. 1909 C. 1916 D. 1924
12. Who first started the idea of holding the Father’s Day?
A. Mrs. John Bruce Dodd B. Mrs. John Bruce’s Mother
C. The government of Washington. D. Some businessmen.
13. What flower will be popular on Father’s Day?
A. Lily B. Water Lily C. Red rose or white rose D. Sunflower.
14. Which statement is true, a according to this passage?
A. It took even longer for Mother’s Day to gain national popularity.
B. The businessmen helped to make Father’s Day popular.
C. Father’s Day is only celebrated in America.
D. Father’s Day is only a trick of the businessmen to make money.
15. What was the first reaction of the British publishing towards Father’s Day?
A. They thought highly of it and accepted it at once.
B. They just accepted it at once without any hesitation.
C. They just thought it a joke.
D. They thought it was too artificial and took a long time to accept.
Scattered through the seas of the world are billions of tons of small plants and animals called plankton. Most of these plants and animals are too small for the human eye to see. They drift about lazily with the currents, providing a basic food for many larger animals. Plankton has been described as the equivalent of the grasses that grow on the dry land continents, and the comparison is an appropriate one. In potential food value however, plankton far outweighs that of the land grasses. One scientist has estimated that while grasses of the world produce about 49 billion tons of valuable carbohydrates each year. The sea’s plankton generates more than twice as much.
Despite its enormous food potential, little effort was made until recently to farm plankton as we farm grasses on land. Now marine scientists have at last begun to study this possibility, especially as the sea’s resources loom even more important as a means of feeding an expanding world population.
No one yet has seriously suggested that “planktonburgers” may soon become popular around the world. As a possible farmed supplementary food source, however, plankton is gaining considerable interest among marine scientists.
One type of plankton that seems to have great harvest possibilities is a tiny shrimplike creature called krill. Growing to two or three inches long, krill provide the major food for the giant blue whale, the largest animal ever to inhabit the Earth. Realizing that this whale may grow 100 feet and weigh 150 tons at maturity, it is not surprising that each one devours more than one ton of krill daily.
Krill swim about just below the surface in huge schools sometimes miles wide, mainly in the cold Antarctic. Because of their pink color, they often appear as a solid reddish mass when viewed from a ship or from the air. Krill are very high in food value. A pound of these crustaceans contains about 460 calories—about the same as shrimp or lobster, to which they are related.
If the krill can feed such huge creatures as whales, many scientists reason, they must certainly be contenders as new food source for humans.
1.Which of the following best portrays the organization of the passage?
A.The author presents the advantages and disadvantages of plankton as a food source.
B.The author quotes public opinion to support the argument for farming plankton.
C.The author classifies the different food sources according to amount of carbohydrate.
D.The author makes a general statement about plankton as a food source and then moves to a specific example.
2.According to the passage, why is plankton regarded to be more valuable than land grasses?
A.It is easier to cultivate.
B.It produces more carbohydrates.
C.It does not require soil.
D.It is more palatable.
3.Why does the author mention “planktonburgers”?
A.To describe the appearance of one type of plankton.
B.To illustrate how much plankton a whale consumes.
C.To suggest plankton as a possible food sources.
D.To compare the food values of beef and plankton.
4.What is mentioned as one conspicuous feature of krill?
A.They are the smallest marine animals.
B.They are pink in color.
C.They are similar in size to lobsters.
D.They have grass like bodies.
5.The author mentions all of the following as reasons why plankton could be considered a human food source except that it is ___.
A.high in food value.
B.in abundant supply in the oceans.
C.an appropriate food for other animals.
D.free of chemicals and pollutants.
Thefirstparagraphisintendedto________.
