1、公共英语五级-阅读理解(八)及答案解析(总分：30.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、练习七(总题数：0，分数：0.00)二、Part A(总题数：0，分数：0.00)三、Text 1(总题数：1，分数：5.00)The role of the federal government in preventing adolescent drug use was a central issue of the 1996 presidential campaign. Bob Dole criticized the Clinton administration for reducing the staff
2、of the Office of National Drug Control Policy while Clinton criticized attempts by the Republican majority in Congress to cut federal support of drug-prevention programs. It seemed as though everyone wanted to be seen as favoring federal spending on drug prevention, and in particular, drug education
3、.Indeed, 65 percent of congressional candidates polled in 1996 by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America ranked prevention programs as the number one priority in reducing the countrys drug problem, compared to just 9 percent for both prohibition and treatment. By the close of 1996, Republican
4、s had abandoned their attempts to reduce the federal prevention budget and Clinton had secured extra funds for drug-education programs within the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education.There is no mystery in the bi-partisan popularity of such education programs. Rece
5、ntly completed large-scale surveys have shown that illegal drug use among young people increased in the past three years, following more than a decade of steady decline.Advocates of drug education argue that federally funded initiatives of the past 10 years contributed, at least in part, to the decl
6、ine in adolescent drug taking, and that cuts in federal spending led to the recent increased use. However, unlike other aspects of drug control policy, prevention or education has been hardly analyzed. Law enforcement and prohibition efforts have been the subject of debate in both the popular press
7、and academic circles. In contrast, prevention is simply assumed to be a praiseworthy enterprise, and the claims of its advocates are uncritically accepted by the press and policy makers.Despite claims to the contrary, available data do not support the view that the decline in adolescent drug use tha
8、t occurred between the early1980s and early 1990s was influenced by the level of federal spending on drug-education activities. Indeed, if one takes into account the fact that the effects of spending do not manifest themselves in actual behavior for at least three years, then increased spending coin
9、cided with increased drug use. The massive increase in federal spending that occurred in the mid-1980s drew a lot of people and programs into the drug-prevention arena in an indiscriminate manner. A good deal of this money went to people with limited experience and expertise in drug prevention. It i
10、s thus hardly surprising that we often get more, not less, drug use as a result of these activities.（分数：5.00）(1).In the 1996 presidential campaign,（分数：1.00）A.both political parties tried to give the impression of supporting drug education.B.the Clinton government was criticized for spending governme
11、nt money on drug problem.C.Republican majority insisted on reducing federal support for drug prevention programs.D.adolescent drug use was criticized by both the Democrats and the Republicans.(2).What happened in 1996 as described in paragraph 2?（分数：1.00）A.65% of congressional candidates took the op
12、inion poll instituted by an anti-drug organization.B.Most congressional candidates regarded reducing drug use as the most important issue for the government.C.The President obtained additional financial support for drugeducation programs from the Department of Education.D.Republicans no longer tried
13、 to prevent government from spending large sums of money on drug education.(3).Drug use has caused such great concern of the politicians because（分数：1.00）A.it has become more and more serious in the past 10 years.B.there has been more adolescent drug use in the past 13 years.C.use of drug has been on
14、 the rise again in the past decade.D.there has been a recent reversal in the decline of drug use.(4).According to the writer, drug control policy should（分数：1.00）A.request more government funding.B.place more emphasis on prevention.C.be analyzed in greater detail.D.be debated on a larger scale.(5).Wh
15、ich of the following best conveys the main idea of the text?（分数：1.00）A.The failure of drug education for the American youth.B.The role of government in preventing adolescent drug use.C.The need of more federal support for drug prevention programs.D.Drug problem regarded as Number One priority in Ame
16、rica politics.四、Text 2(总题数：1，分数：5.00)California legislators have a chance to eliminate the states unjust and loop-hole-ridden newspaper sales tax, if a handful of Senate leaders will let them. The long-overdue repeal of this eight-year-old “temporary“ tax breezed through the General Assembly the oth
17、er day by a vote of 73-5. Senate leadership, however, appears determined to avoid any similar vote in its house. “Weve kind of always felt that if we could get to the rank and file in the Senate, repeal would pass,“ says Thomas W. Newton, general counsel for the California Newspaper Publishers Assoc
18、iation (CNPA). Senate president pro tem John Burton and other leaders know that, so they are hoping to keep the bill bottled up in committee until the Legislature adjourns in August.Certainly, neither Burton nor anyone else can make a compelling argument for keeping the tax. Sixteen states impose so
19、me kind of sales tax on newspapers, but Californias is uniquely, um, Californian in making odd distinctions about what kinds of newspapers do or do not get taxed. Its very creation was an example of legislative sausagemakinq at its worst. Back in 1991, California was in a budget crisis. With the sta
20、te deficit approaching $14.5 billion, legislators agreed to overturn the traditional sales tax exemptions for newspapers, magazines, bottle water, candy, and snack foods.The 8% sales tax was sold as a temporary, emergency measure to get out of a fiscal jam. As soon as it was passed, legislators bega
21、n to pare away at it. Free distribution newspapers were exempted within days. The next year, most weekly newspapers -those that publish fewer than 60 times a year -were exempted, as were magazines. Since then, the sales tax has been dropped on candy, snack foods, bottled water, and, yes, bunker fuel
22、. Whos left? About 135 daily and twice-weekly newspapers.One other thing has changed since 1991: Instead of facing a $14.5 billion deficit, California this year expect to rake in a surplus of $4 to $5 billion. Senate leaders talk as if repealing the tax amounts to giving a financial windfall to the
23、Los Angeles Times or some other big-city paper. Well, there are perhaps 10 of those in California. “The typical paper that is paying this tax is the 6,000-circulation daily Turlock Journal or the 11,000-circulation twice-weekly Sonoma IndexTribune,“ CNPAs Newton says. For these local papers, the sal
24、es tax is a real burden -especially since the Legislature in its wisdom has never taxed competing media. There is no sales tax on direct mail, yellow Pages, cable TV, radio, or the Internet. Sometimes the burden is fatal: Assemblyman Jack Scott says he was persuaded to repeal the tax after a communi
25、ty paper in his district folded.Californias sales tax on newspapers has done enough damage. It is time for president pro tem Burton to show some real leadership -by getting out of the way and letting state senators vote for repeal.（分数：5.00）(1).The word “repeal“ in the first paragraph probably means（
26、分数：1.00）A.termination.B.discrimination.C.justification.D.reinforcement.(2).According to the first paragraph, Senate president John Burton wanted to（分数：1.00）A.persuade a few more senate leaders to vote for the newspaper tax.B.pass the bill for imposing tax on California newspapers.C.prevent the Senat
27、e from voting for the bill of repeal.D.wait until August to have the legislature vote on the bill.(3).The criticism of the author about the sales tax is that（分数：1.00）A.it did not save the state from its budget crisis.B.it did not give exemptions to newspapers and magazines.C.it failed to make clear
28、what kinds of newspapers to tax.D.it only covered daily and semiweekly newspapers.(4).The author mentions cable TV, radio, and the Internet to show（分数：1.00）A.how much competition there is between different forms of media.B.how tax should be collected from other forms of media as well.C.why he regard
29、s it as unfair to keep the sales tax on the newspapers.D.what caused unfair competition between different types of media.(5).The tone of the text can best be described as（分数：1.00）A.supportive.B.satirical.C.pessimistic.D.humorous.五、Text 3(总题数：1，分数：5.00)There is a section of the Western Atlantic, off
30、the southeast coast of the United States, forming what has been termed a triangle, extending from Bermuda in the north to southern Florida, and then east to a point through the Bahamas to about 40 west longitude and then back again to Bermuda. This area occupies a disturbing and almost unbelievable
31、place in the worlds catalogue of unexplained mysteries. This is usually referred to as the Bermuda Triangle, where more than 100 planes and ships have literally vanished into thin air, most of them since 1945, and where more than 1,000 lives have been lost in the past twenty-six years, without a sin
32、gle body or even a piece of wreckage from the vanishing planes or ships have been found. Disappearances continue to occur with apparently increasing frequency, in spite of the fact that the seaways and airways are today more traveled, searches are more thorough, and records are more carefully kept.I
33、nvestigators of the Bermuda Triangle have long noted the existence of another mystery area in the worlds oceans, southeast of Japan, with a record and reputation indicative of special danger to ships and planes. Whether the ships have been lost from underwater volcanoes or sudden tidal waves, this a
34、rea, often called the Devils Sea, enjoys an even more sinister reputation than the Bermuda Triangle in that the Japanese authorities have proclaimed it a danger zone.The Devils Sea had long been dreaded by fishermen, who believed it was inhabited by devils, demons, and monsters which seized the ship
35、s of the unwary. Aircraft and boats had disappeared in the area over a period of many years, but during the time when Japan was at peace, nine modern ships disappeared in the period of 1950 to 1954, with crews totaling several hundred persons, in circumstances characteristic (extensive air-sea searc
36、hes, lack of wreckage or oil slicks) of the happenings in the Bermuda Triangle.The Bermuda Triangle and the Devils Sea share a striking coincidence. The Bermuda Triangle includes almost at its western terminus, longitude 80 west, a line where true north and magnetic north become aligned with no comp
37、ass variation to be calculated. And this same 80 W changes its designation when it passes the poles, becoming 150 E. From the North Pole south, it continues on, passing east of Japan, and crosses the middle of the Devils Sea. At this point in the center of the Devils Sea, a compass needle will also
38、point to true north and magnetic north at the same time, just as it does at the western border of the Bermuda Triangle on the other side of the world.The unexplained losses in this Japanese equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle were instrumental in inspiring a governmentsponsored investigation of the a
39、rea, which took place in 1955. This expedition, with scientists taking data as their ship, the Kaiyo Maru No.5, cruised the Devils Sea, ended on a rather spectacular note -the survey ship suddenly vanished with its crew and the investigating scientists!（分数：5.00）(1).According to the first paragraph,
40、which of the following is true of the Bermuda Triangle?（分数：1.00）A.South Florida is at the northern tip of the triangle.B.The United States is on the southeast of the triangle.C.The east tip of the triangle is at about 40 west longitude.D.The Bermuda is at the south point of the triangle.(2).What hap
41、pened in the Devils sea?（分数：1.00）A.Aircraft and ships have disappeared mostly during peacetime.B.Ships disappeared with hundreds of crewmembers from 1950 to 1954.C.Nine fishing boats were wrecked with little trace in five years time.D.Sea and air searches have been conducted without finding any wrec
42、kage so far.(3).The Devils Sea is different from the Bermuda Triangle in that（分数：1.00）A.it has underwater volcanoes.B.it has been officially declared a dangerous zone.C.it is haunted by demons and monsters.D.it is especially dangerous to ships.(4).What do the Devils Sea and the Bermuda Triangle shar
43、e in common?（分数：1.00）A.At certain locations, the magnetic north and true north are in exactly the same direction.B.The compass needles would point to the North Pole with little variation.C.Longitude 80 west and 150 east become aligned near the North Pole.D.The western borders of the triangles change
44、 directions to the true north.(5).Which is the best word to describe the two triangular areas mentioned in the text?（分数：1.00）A.Dangerous.B.blysterious.C.Insignificant.D.Strategic.六、Part B(总题数：1，分数：5.00)It was supposed to have been a routine commercial flight over Peru. Flying at 7,000 feet, the plan
45、e had just passed through a minor electrical storm. Suddenly, without warning, a ball of dazzling light appeared off the starboard wing.16. _Inside the plane, the lights grew dim, and the beginning of panic was evident. In the cockpit, the compass was going defective and radio reception went dead. T
46、ransmission, however, remained unaffected.17. _The report reached the desk of Edward U. Condon of the University of Colorado. Doctor Condon is under contract to the Air Force and is the official watchdog for such aerial phenomen a.He immediately began checking the persons aboard the plane who had se
47、en the mysterious object.Putting together bits of information from each, he quickly dismissed the obvious explanations. It had not been an exceptionally bright planet, such as Venus or Jupiter, nor a plastic weather balloon. It had not acted at all like a meteor or a re-entering satellite. It was ob
48、viously not a strangely shaped cloud formation.For nearly 15 years, various groups have expounded the theory that UFOs are actually spacecraft from other worlds. On the surface, this appears to be the simplest explanation. I believe, however, that it is by far the hardest explanation to swallow.18.
49、_And, more importantly, there is the irrefutable fact that space is under constant surveillance. The United States maintains a large number of tracking stations. The Russians and Germans also keep their own tracking equipment in constant use.What then was this fiery ball of light that tracked the Peruvian airliner? I have always suspected that most UFO sightings could be explained by natural phenomena, and 1 personally believe that what the people on that plane saw was an aerial phenomenon as strange and enigmatic as UFOs themselves.Its name is “ball
