国家开放大学2024年秋季学期期末统一考试 英语阅读(2)试题

试卷代号:22156

2025年1月

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Part I Questions 1-10 are based on Passage 1.(30 points, 3 points each)

Passage 1 Lightning

Every second of every day, all over the world, there are more than 100 lightning bolts striking the earth. That's about ten million lightning bolts in one day! Lightning amazes us, but it can also frighten us.We have good reason to be afraid of lightning.Every year,about 100 people in the United States and Canada die from lightning, and another 300 are injured. It is strange that of all the people who die from lightning, 84 percent are men. Lightning is the main cause of forest fires; it starts more than 9,000 fires each year.

Lightning is electricity inside a cloud. Scientists do not know exactly what makes this electricity. But they know that the electricity inside a cloud can be as much as 100 million volts. From this extremely strong electricity, a lightning bolt, like a streak of bright light, comes down from the sky.Its temperature can reach 50, 000 degrees Fahrenheit (27, 760 degrees Celsius) within a few millionths of a second. That's almost five times the temperature on the sun's surface.

A lightning bolt is very [quick.It](quick.It) can move at a speed of 87,000 miles (140, 000 kilometers) per second. A rocket traveling at this speed would reach the moon in 2.5 seconds. With the lightning bolt, we usually hear thunder, which is the sound of hot air exploding. Lightning and thunder happen at exactly the same time, but we see lightning first because light travels almost a million times faster than sound.

Lightning often strikes tall buildings. However,many buildings have lightning rods to protect them from lightning. When lightning strikes, the electrieity goes safely down the metal rod to the ground. Benjamin Franklin,the American statesman,invented the lightning rod in 1750. That is why buildings like the Empire State Building in New York City are safe. Lightning may hit this building as many as 25times a year.

If you see thunder and lightning coming,here are some things you can do to protect yourself. Go inside a house,get into a car, or go under a bridge. If you cannot find shelter,go to the lowest point on the ground.If you are outside,remember that trees attract lightning, especially tall trees. Never go under a tall tree that stands alone. If you are in a field, drop to your knees, bend forward, and put your hands on your knees. Do not lie down because the wet ground can carry lightning.Stay away from a lake, an ocean, or any other water.Don't touch or go near anything metal, such as a metal fence, golf clubs, or bicycles, because metal attracts lightning very quickly. Don't use a telephone except in an emergency.

They say that lightning never hits the same place twice,but this is not true.One man,Roy Sullivan, was hit by lightning seven different times in his life. He was injured each time but did not die. He died in 1983, but not from lightning. He killed himself because he loved a woman, but she didn't love him!

Directions:

Complete these sentences with the words or phrases in the box. Note that Three of the words from the box will not be used.

shelter lightning bolts

frighten

attract

protect

injured

exploding

amaze

1.A sky with lightning looks powerful,maybe even beautiful,and it might you.

答案：amaze

2. A big storm with thunder and lightning can you because it is dangerous.

答案：frighten

3. When lightning strikes people, they can be or die.

答案：injured

4. Thunder sounds as if fireworks are

答案：exploding

5. In a storm, you should find from the bad weather.

答案：shelter

Directions:

Decide if the fllowing statements are True (T) or False (F).

6. Lightening happens a hundred times every day.

答案：F

7. Lightening and thunder happen at the same time.

答案：T

8. People can do nothing to prevent lightning from striking tall buildings.

答案：F

9.Lightning is electricity inside a cloud.

答案：T

10. People should go under a tall tree at the sight of lightening.

答案：F

Part II Questions 11-20 are based on Passage 2. (30 points, 3 points each)

Passage 2 Right Brain, Left Brain

Leonardo da Vinci, Prince William, and Julia Roberts have something in common. What is it? They are all left-handed! Today about 15 percent of the population is left-handed. But why are people left-handed? The answer may be in the way the brain works.

Our brain is like a message center. Each second, the brain receives more than a million messages from our body and knows what to do with them. People think that the weight of the brain tells how intelligent you are,but this isn't true. Albert Einstein's brain weighed 1, 375 grams, but less intelligent people may have heavier brains. What is important is the quality of the brain. The brain has two halves - the right brain and the left brain. Each half is about the same size. The right half controls the left side of the body, and the left half controls the right side of the body. One half is usually stronger than the other. One alf of the brain becomes stronger when you are a child and usually stays the stronger half for the rest of your life.

The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, so when the left brain is stronger, the right hand will be strong and the person may be right-handed. The left half controls speaking, so a person with a strong left brain may become a good speaker, professor, lawyer, or salesperson. A person with a strong left brain may have a strong idea of time and will probably be punctual. The person may be strong in math and logie and may like to have or do things in order. He or she may remember people's names and like to plan things ahead of time. He or she may be practical and safe. If something happens to the left side of the brain, the person may have problems speaking and may not know what day it is. The right side of his or her body will become weak. When the right side of the brain is stronger,the person wil have a strong left hand and may be left-handed. The person may prefer art, music, and literature. The person may become an artist, a writer, an inventor, a film direetor, or a photographer. The person may recognize faces but not remember names. The person may not love numbers or business. The person may like to use his or her feelings and not look at logic and what is practical. If there is an accident to the right side of the brain, the person may not know where he or she is and may not be able to do simple hand movements.

This does not mean that all artists are left-handed and all accountants are right-handed. There are many exceptions. Some right-handers have a strong right brain, and some left-handers have a strong left brain. The best thing would be to use both right and left sides of the brain. There are people who learn to do two things at the same time. They can answer practical questions on the telephone (which uses the left brain) and at the same time play the piano (which uses the right brain),but this is not easy to do!

Directions:

Fill in each blank of the text summary with an appropriate word or phrase from the box. Please note that five words or phrases from the list will not be used.

a. salesperson b.evidence c. quality d. practical e. creative

f. literature g.logic h.accident i. tend j.intelligence

k. exceptions 1. influence m.common n. dominance o. lawyer

The relationship between the weight of the brain and 11 is frequently a topic of research. However, what relly matters is the_12_of the brein. Have you ever heard people say that they13 to be more of a right-brain or left-brain thinker? According to the theory of left-brain or right-brain 14,each side of the brain controls different types of thinking. In addition,people are said to prefer one type of thinking over the other.

Generally speaking, people described as "left-brained" are told that they may be strong in language, math and_15 .They may like to do things in order or plan things in advance. So a person with a strong left brain may become a professor, lawyer or_16_.But if the left side of their brain can't work normally, they will have problems speaking, it will also influence the right side of their body. Those who are described as "right-brained", on the other hand, are told that their talents are more on the 17 side of things, such as art, music, and 18 .They tend to use their feelings and not look at what is 19 .However,there exist many 20 ,which means that not all artists are left-handed and not all teachers are right-handed. So the good thing would be that both sides of the brain work together.

11. 答案：j

12. 答案：c

13. 答案：i

14. 答案：n

15. 答案：g

16. 答案：a

17. 答案：e

18. 答案：f

19. 答案：d

20. 答案：k

Part III Questions 21-30 are based on Passage 3. (20 points, 2 points each)

Passage 3

The first job I ever had was as a waitress.I did it the summer before I started at university, when I was eighteen.I was working in a wery nice hotel in a small town in Seotland where there are a lot of tourists in summer so they were taking on extra staff. I arrived there in the evening and met some of the other girls who were working at the hotel- we all lived in a little house opposite the hotel. Anyway, they were all really friendly and we had dinner together and then sat around chatting and drinking coffee - I didn't go to bed until after one o'clock in the morning.I had to be at work in the dining room at seven thirty in the morning to start serving breakfast. Well, I didn't wake up till seven fifteen! So I threw my clothes on and rushed over to the hotel. I must have looked a real mess because the headwaiter just looked at me and told me to get to the bathroom to tidy myself up - I was so embarrassed!

The first thing I learned was that there were these two heavy swing doors into the kitchen from the restaurant - one for going into the kitchen and one for going out, so that the waiters coming in didn't bump into the ones going out. Anyway, that morning I was so frightened of the head waiter that I didn't listen properly to what he was saying, so when one of the waiters asked me to give him a hand and take two plates of eggs and bacon and an orange juice out to the restaurant, I went straight towards the wrong door and collided with another waiter coming in! You can't imagine the mess -eggs,bacon and orange juice all over the floor,the door,the waiter and me. The other waiter thought it was quite funny,but the head waiter was furious and made me clear everything up straight away in case someone slipped and fell.

After serving breakfast, at about ten o'clock, we had our own breakfast. I was starving by then, and just wanted to sit down and eat quietly. But some of the waiters started making fun of my English accent - they were all Scottish.I thought they were just trying to cheer me up and have a joke,but I was so upset and hungry that I just rushed off to the bathroom in tears! I thought everybody hated me! By the time I came back,they had cleared up all the breakfast things,and I hadn't had a chance to eat anything!

Well, straight away we started getting the dining room ready for lunch -cleaning the silver, setting the tables, hovering the floor. The room had a beautiful view over a river with the mountains behind, but of course, as soon as I stopped work to have a look out of the window, the headwaiter spotted me and told me off again.

I didn't make too bad a job of serving lunch- one of the waiters looked after me and showed me how to do things. One of the customers ordered some expensive white wine, and I gave him a bottle from the cupboard, not from the fridge, so it wasn't cold enough. But fortunately the other waiters hid the bottle I'd opened wrongly and I gave him another bottle from the fridge so the headwaiter didn't find out I would have been quite happy, but I had another problem, which was that I'd got up in such a hurry I just put on the shoes I'd been wearing the night before. Well, these shoes looked quite smart but they had really high heels, and after a few hours on my feet I was in agony and there was nothing I could do about it, there was certainly no time to go and change them. I can tell you I never wore those shoes to work again!

Anyway, after lunch we had our own lunch - I managed to get something to eat this time, and we were free in the afternoon.I went for a walk with one of the other girls and we got a bit lost so I didn't have time for any rest before we went back to work at six. By the time we finished serving dinner at about ten thirty I was completely exhausted. I'd never worked so hard in my life, I think. Of course, I stayed up chating with the other girls that night too, and most of the other nights I was there.I fell into bed at night and out of it at seven the next morning, but I loved the job after a while, believe it or not, and I even went back to work there the next year! I never got on very well with the headwaiter, though.

Directions:

Read passage 3 carefully and then deeide whether statements 21 - 30 are true or false. Write T for true and F for false against the number of the item on your answer sheet.

21. She had a big breakfast that morning.

答案：F

22. She couldn't bear being laughed at so she burst into tears.

答案：T

23. Together with others, she started getting the dining room ready for lunch, having little time to enjoy the beautiful scenery outside the window.

答案：T

24. She started doing everything all by herself.

答案：F

25. The headwaiter found out she had opened a bottle of wine wrongly.

答案：F

26. Her shoes looked smart and were very comfortable.

答案：F

27. In the afternoon she didn't take much rest even though she was free.

答案：T

28. She hated her job and never did it again.

答案：F

29. Actually she got on quite well with the headwaiter.

答案：F

30. She worked very hard and was exhausted that day.

答案：T

Part IV Questions 31-35 are based on Passage 4. (20 points, 4 points each)

Passage 4

Why do we cry? Can you imagine life without tears?

Not only do tears keep your eyes lubricated, they also contain a substance that kills certain bacteria so that they can't infect your eyes. Give up your tears, and you'll lose this spot defense. Nobody wants to give up the flood of extra tears you produce when you get something physical or chemical in your eyes.Tears are very good at washing this irritating material out. Another thing you couldn't do without your tears is cry from joy, anger or sadness. Humans are the only animals that produce tears in response to emotions, and most people say a good ery makes them feel better.

Many scientists, therefore,believe that crying somehow helps us cope with emotional situations. Tear researcher,Winifred, is trying to figure out how it happens. One possibility he says is that tears discharge certain chemicals from your body,chemicals that build up during stress. When people talk about crying it out,"I think that might actually be what they are doing",he says.If Winifred is right,what do you think will happen to people who restrain their tears? Boys,for example, cry only about a quarter as often as girls once they reach teenage years, and we all cry a lot less now than we did as babies. Could it possibly be that we face less stress? Maybe we've found other ways to deal with it,or maybe we just feel.

Directions:

Read Passage 4 and then try to give short answers to Questions 31 - 35. Write your answers on the Answer Sheet.

31. What are the functions of tears, according to the passage?

答案：Tears not only keep your eyes lubricated, but also contain a substance that kills certain bacteria so that they can’t infect your eyes.

32. What's the difference between human beings and other animals in regard to tears?

答案：Humans are the only animals that produce tears in response to emotions.

33. What is good about crying, according to some scientists?

答案：Crying can help us cope with emotional situations.

34. What is Winifred's job?

答案：He is a tear researcher.

35. How often do teenage boys cry compared with girls?

答案：Boys cry only about a quarter as often as girls do.

评分标准

(1)第一部分有10道题,每小题3分,共计30分,按参考答案阅卷,每小题做对得3分,做错不得分

(2)第二部分有10道题,每小题3分,共计30分,按参考答案阅卷,每小题做对得3分,做错不得分

(3)第三部分有10道正误判断题,每小题2分,共计20分,按参考答案阅卷,每小题做对得2分,做错不得分

(4)第四部分有5道简答题,每小题4分,共计20分,该部分具体评分标准如下:

对于字母拼写、大小写等错误,每处扣0.5分,5道题累计扣分不得超过5分。