2014年专升本《英语》深度预测卷(1)

四、阅读理解
36、回答36-55题
A group of scientists rowing toward the center of a lake saw something shocking．They turned back as fast as they could．What had they seen?．The lake was boiling!
The group was investigating a crater lake in the mountains of St．Vincent．A crater hake is the　mouth of a volcano that has been dormant for some time and has filled with water．This particular crater was the tip of a volcano called Soufriere, which erupted last in 1902．Since　that time, it had not shown any signs of action．But in the fall of 1971, mountain climbers who had hiked near the lake returned to the lowlands with strange stories．They said the water had turned yellow and was giving off a smell like burnt eggs．A seething fog was rising from the lake's surface．Local scientists rushed to Soufriere to see if this might be the beginning of a new volcanic explosion．They found a huge black mass in the middle of the water．It was a great blab 1,000 feet　long and 300 feet wide．Lava had pushed up through the bottom of the lake and formed a new island．The investigators wanted to make sure that the volcano was safe, and that the lava would not
overflow into the surrounding countryside．But they could never reach the island to study it, because the lava was so hot that the water around it bubbled and boiled．

This passage is about________
A．mountain climbing
B．a boiling lake
C．a new volcanic island
D．a mysterious blab


37、 A crater lake is at the tip of a________
A．mountain
B．ridge
C．island
D．volcano


38、 We can conclude that________
A．the situation was nothing to be concerned about
B．Soufriere is still an active volcano
C．crater lakes are easy to hike to
D．Soufriere is a dead volcano


39、 The writer explains the boiling water by using________
A．myths
B．Humor
C．facts
D．arguments 

40、 回答40-59题
    When you imagine the desert,you probably think of a very hot place covered with sand．Although this is a good description for many deserts, Earth' s largest desert is actually a very cold place covered with ice: Antarctica．
    In order for an area to be considered a desert, it must receive very little rainfall．  More specifically, it must receive an average of less than ten inches of precipitation--which can be rain,sleet, hail, or snow--on the ground every year．Antarctica, the coldest place on earth, has an average temperature that usually falls below the freezing point．And because cold air holds less moisture than warm air, the air in Antarctica does not hold much moisture at all．  This is evident in the low precipitation statistics recorded for Antarctica．For example, the central part of Antarctica receives an average of less than two inches of snow every year．  
    The coastline of Antarctica receives a little bit more--between seven and eight inches a year．  Because Antarctica gets so little precipitation every year, it is considered a desert．
    When precipitation falls in hot deserts, it quickly evaporates back into the atmosphere．The air over Antarctica is too cold to hold water vapor, so there is very little evaporation．Due to this low rate of evaporation, most of the snow that falls to the ground remains there permanently, eventually building up into thick ice sheets．Any snow that does not freeze into ice sheets becomes caught up in the strong winds that constantly blow over Antarctica．  These snow-filled winds can make it look as if it is snowing．Even though snowfall is very rare there, blizzards are actually very common on Antarctica．

The main purpose of paragraph 1 is to ________
A．accept a conclusion
B．introduce an argument
C．provide a brief history
D．deny a common belief


41、 The best title for this passage would be________
A．Earth's Many Deserts
B．Antarctica: The Coldest Place on Earth
C．A Desert of Ice
D．Unusual Blizzards


42、 Africa' s Sahara Desert is the second-largest desert on earth．  Based on the information in the passage ,what characteristic must the Sahara share with Antarctica?
A．Low temperatures．
B．High temperatures．
C．Frequent blizzards．
D．Low precipitation．


43、 Based on the information in the final paragraph, it can be understood that blizzards in Antarctica are mainly the result of________
A．strong winds
B．large amounts of snowfall
C．low amounts of precipitation
D．freezing cold temperatures 

44、回答44-63题
Today, the Indianapolis 500, one of the world's most famous car races, takes about four hours to　run．If the Indy 500 had been held in 1895, it would have taken almost three days．The horseless　carriage had just been invented a short time before．Top speeds back then were much lower than they are today．For most people, just seeing a car move without a horse pulling it was thrilling enough．The driver's main concern was making sure the car didn't break down．One of the first car races was held in Chicago on Thanksgiving Day in 1895．Folks crowded the streets to gawk at the new machines．The route of the race went through the heart of town．The cars were to go out to a nearby suburb and back．The race covered a distance of about 54 miles．That's less than one-tenth the distance at Indy．The drivers cranked up their engines and prayed that they wouldn't break down．Then they were off．The race proved too much for some of the cars．Perhaps they couldn't withstand the high speeds．The winner of the contest was J．Frank Duryea．He finished the race a bit more than seven hours after he started．He had covered the grueling distance at an average speed of 7.5 miles per hour．That is slower than a modern marathoner can go on foot．Even so, as Duryea finished, the crowd went wild．

This passage deals with________
A．the Indianapolis 500
B．a new kind of car
C．an early auto race
D．the streets of Chicago


45、 Some cars didn't finish the race in Chicago because________
A．their engines broke down
B．the drivers were afraid of the high speed
C．the brakes jammed
D．they ran out of gas

46、 What can you conclude about the public's attitude toward auto race?
A．They were more impressed with slower speed．
B．They thought cars were unnecessary．
C．They enjoyed just seeing the cars．
D．They were easily bored．


47、 In this passage the word "gawk" means________
A．laugh
B．stare
C．frown
D．glare

48、 回答48-67题
    American Blacks experienced a revolution after 1945, a revolution in expectations．  Following World War Ⅱ , the steady movement toward first-class citizenship for Black people quickened, with significant actions taking place in courts of law, in voting booths, in restaurants and in the streets of the nation．
    A decade of intense civil rights activity was launched in 1954 when the United States Supreme Court declared segregated schools to be unconstitutional．  In 1955, Dr．  Martin Luther King, Jr． , effectively organized the Blacks of Atlanta, Georgia, in a bus boycott． The boycott lasted two years, and when it was over, Blacks no longer were degraded by being forced to sit or stand in the rear of buses．
    In 1960, a group of Black college students decided that they, as well as white persons, had the right to eat at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina．  This sit-in sparked an aggressive national movement and, in the next few years, thousands of young men and women--Black and White, North and South--overturned local laws and customs that had maintained segregation． Sit-ins, pray-ins, freedom rides, freedom marches and demonstrations to open all schools to Black children took place across the nation．

Several important actions took place to change the status of black people 
A．after World War Ⅱ
B．in 1954
C．before 1945
D．in 1960


49、  In which city was the bus boycott organized?
A．Georgia．
B．Greensboro．
C．North Carolina．
D．Atlanta．

50、
Who are the first to make the success of sit-in become true?
A．Black college students and whites．
B．First-class citizens．
C．The Blacks of Atlanta．
D．Young men and women in Greensboro．

51、
The best title for this passage could be 
A．Black History
B．Educational Opportunities for Blacks
C．The Fight for Equality
D．Civil Rights Workers of the '60s 

52、 回答52-71题
    Would you eat a bacon, lettuce and love apple sandwich'?． You probably have eaten many of them． Love apple was the name used many years ago for the tomato．
    The tomato is originally an American plant．  It was found in South America by early Spanish explorers． The word tomato comes from the native Nahuatl word tomatl． But when it moved north, the plant earned a different name． Remarkably, the settlers in North America thought it was poisonous． They believed that to eat it was surely to die． It was said that deserted suitors would threaten to eat a tomato to cause their coldhearted lovers regret． Because of this legend, the settlers called the tomato a "love apple． " While people enjoyed other native plants such as corn and sweet potatoes, everyone avoided the tomato．
    No one knows who first dared to eat a tomato． Perhaps someone was brave enough, or lovesick enough, to try out the truth of the rumors． Of course, whoever ate this fruit was perfectly safe． No one died from eating a love apple． Still, it was many years before the people fully believed that the tomato was a safe, and even good food． But its use did become common, and the plant was sent across the ocean to become part of many traditional European dishes．

 The language from which we derived the word tomato is 
A．Portuguese
B．Spanish
C．Nahuatl
D．European


53、  North American people didn't eat tomatoes at first because 
A．they had too much other food
B．they mistakenly thought they were poisonous
C．settlers ate only traditional European foods
D．no one liked the taste

54、
The underlined word "suitor" in the second paragraph means 
A．boyfriend
B．launderer
C．tailor
D．explorer

55、
A good title for this passage would be 
A．Life in Early America
B．What Happens to the Brokenhearted
C．The History of the Tomato
D．Vegetables in Our Diet