Passage One
What makes a person famous? This is a mystery that many people have pondered. All kinds of myths surround the lives of well-known people.
Most people are familiar with the works of William Shakespeare, one of the greatest English writers of the sixteenth century. Yet how many know Shakespeare the person, the man behind the works?
After centuries of research, scholars are still trying to discover Shakespeare\'s personal history. It is not easily found in his writings. Authors of the time could not protect their works. An acting company, for example, could change a play if they wanted to. Nowadays writers have copyrights that protect their work.
Many myths arose about Shakespeare. Some said he had no formal education. There are rumors that he left home when accused of stealing a horse. Others believe that he began his career by tending the horses of wealthy men.
All of these myths are interesting, but are they true? Probably not. Shakespeare\'s father was a respected man in Stratford, a member of the town council, He sent young William to grammar school. Most people of Elizabethan times did not continue beyond grammar school; so, Shakespeare did have, at least, an average education.
Some parts of Shakespeare\'s life will always remain unknown. The Great London Fire of 1666 burned many important documents that could have been a source of clues. We will always be left with many questions and few facts.
1. This passage deals with ______.
A. the Great London Fire B. the lost documents of Shakespeare C. scholars of Shakespeare D. Shakespeare\'s personal history
2. Parts of Shakespeare\'s life continue to remain a mystery because ______.
A. people are not interested B. researchers do not have the expertise to find the facts C. writers had no claim over their works D. the Great London Fire burned important documents
3. From this passage we can infer that Shakespeare ______.
A. was a horse thief B. had no education C. is surrounded by myths D. was popular in Stratford 4. The first sentence arouses interest by presenting ______.
A. a direct statement B. a question C. an emotional appear D. a contrast
第一篇 [答案] D D C B
[解析] 1．短文的第二段和第三段的第一句点明了主题：这篇文章涉及的是莎士比亚的个人经历。随后的段落从谣传和教育等几个方面估计他的个人经历会是怎样的。选项D是正确的。选项A和B提及的伦敦大火及丢失的文件只是莎士比亚身世之谜的一个原因，并不是通篇的主题。选项C提及的莎士比亚学者应该是希望弄清楚莎士比亚身世的人，而不是本文的主题。
2．最后一段。第一句就点明莎士比亚的部分身世恐怕将永远成为一个谜。随后的句子是说明原因：伦敦的大火烧毁了重要文件。选项D是对的。选项A与文章提及的事实相反。人们不是对莎士比亚的身世不感兴趣，而是很感兴趣。选项B认为研究者没有专门的技术发现事实。选项C说，作者们不在自己的作品中提及自己的身世。第三段提及要想在莎士比亚的作品中找到有关他身世的蛛丝马迹并不容易，因为他那个时代，演艺公司可以任意修改作者们的作品。由此可见，文章要说的是，作者很有可能会在自己的作品中提及自己的身世，不是不提及。
3．选项A在第四段提及，但那只是谣传，并不能证明。选项B在第五段提及，莎士比亚至少念完了中等学校，而不是没受过任何教育。选项C是正确的。通篇都讲的是谜一样的莎士比亚的身世。各种谣传，各种猜测。选项D点明是在莎士比亚的出生地，他很受欢迎。根据文章的第二段，受公众喜爱的应该是他的父亲。
4．比较明显，选项B是正确的。文章的第一句以问句开头，吸引读者。
Passage Two
If you\'ve gone to the same seashore for several years, you may have noticed that the beach gets smaller every year. The wind and the waves carry the beach out to sea, bit by bit. Most shore towns try to fight the beach changes caused by ocean currents and the tides. Some dig sand out of backwater bays and dump it on the beachfront. Others build wooden piers and jetties made to keep currents away from the beach. A type of artificial sand that has been developed might be able to slow down beach erosion. Strangely, this new kind of sand is made of ground glass! You might think that walking barefoot on ground glass would be painful. But it\'s not. The reason is very simple. Sand and glass are made of the same kind of material, called silicate. When glass is ground very finely, you get a sand-like substance that is harder than real sand. The size of the pieces can be controlled. Larger pieces won\'t be as easily affected by the wind and waves. So, a beach covered with artificial sand would last longer than a beach with real sand. A wonderful thing about artificial sand is that it can be made from waste glass. But making artificial sand costs three times as much as using conventional methods of beach protection. So, it is not likely that sand made of glass will be used in the near future.
5. The subject of this passage is ______.
A. summer vacations B. the seashore C. artificial sand D. sand and water
6. Ground glass is ______.
A. hard to walk on B. similar to sand but harder C. difficult to make D. found in nature
7. The passage suggests that artificial sand is ______. A. not nice looking B. the best way to slow down erosion C. a foolish idea D. too costly to ever be used
8. In the first sentence, the author gets the reader\'s attention by ______.
A. referring to something the reader might be familiar with B. telling a fact that is very humorous C. saying something very surprising D. asking a question
第二篇
[解析] 5．第三段。有些人在宾馆或野营地预订了房间，他们可以把车开进公园，但只能把车停在车场。选项A是正确的。
6．前两段一直在讲汽车给公园带来的问题，由于汽车带来很大噪音，大部分的汽车都将被拒绝进入公园。所以，喜欢开车的人应不喜欢这些变化。选项B是正确的。
7．第二段提到汽车带来很大的噪音，甚至影响人们的交流，彼此听不清对方说话。由此看来，大量减少公园内的车辆可以使公园比以前安静。第一段提到，有时由于汽车太多，影响到公园里人数的增加。所以，改变后的公园，因为车辆的减少，人可能有所增加而不是减少(选项B)。大多数车辆会被拒之门外，而不是所有的车(选项C)。因为计划新建自行车道。所以不可能人人都步行(选项D)。选项A是正确的。
8．全文的主要焦点是阻止尽可能多的汽车进入这个国家公园，是有关在这个公园实施的汽车禁令，因此选项C是正确的。A和B选项都不是全文的主题，只是其中一个方面。选项D则太绝对。
