专四阅读练习5TEXT AMost earthquakes occur within the upper 15 miles of the earth's surface. But earthquakes can and do occur at all depths to about 460 miles. Their number decreases as the depth increases. At about 460 miles one earthquake occurs only every few years. Near the surface earthquakes may run as high as 100 in a month, but the yearly average does not vary much. In comparison with the total number of earthquakes each year, the number of disastrous earthquakes is very small.The extent of the disaster in an earthquake depends on many factors. If you carefully build a toy house with an erect set, it will still stand no matter how much you shake the table. But if you build a toy house with a pack of cards, a slight shake of the table will make it fall. An earthquake in Agadir, Morocco, was not strong enough to be recorded on distant instruments, but it completely destroyed the city. Many stronger earthquakes have done comparatively little damage. A third and very serious factor is panic. When people rush out into narrow streets, more deaths will result.The United Nations has played an important part in reducing the damage done by earthquakes. It has sent a team of experts to all countries known to be affected by earthquakes. Working with local geologists and engineers, the experts have studied the nature of the ground and the type of most practical building code for the local area. If followed, these suggestions will make disastrous earthquakes almost a thing of the past.There is one type of earthquake disaster that little can be done about. This is the disaster caused by seismic sea waves, or tsunamis. In certain areas, earthquakes take place beneath the sea. These submarine earthquakes sometimes give rise to seismic sea waves. The waves are not noticeable out at sea because of their long wave length. But when they roll into harbors, they pile up into walls of water 6 to 60 feet high. The Japanese call them "tsunamis", meaning "harbor waves", because they reach a sizable height only in harbors.Tsunamis travel fairly slowly, at speeds up to 500 miles an hour. An adequate warning system is in use to warn all shores likely to be reached by the waves. But this only enables people to leave the threatened shores for higher ground. There is no way to stop the oncoming wave.81. We learn from the first paragraph that _______.A. depth suggests frequency of earthquakeB. depth suggests damage of earthquakeC. the annual number of earthquake varies muchD. the number of disastrous earthquake is striking each year82. The example of the earthquake in Agadir is used to illustrate that _______.A. people should keep a cool head when earthquakes comeB. it is one of the strongest earthquakes in historyC. a sound building construction and building sites really countD. people should avoid building a toy house with a pack of cards83. The United Nations' experts are supposed to _______.A. teach the locals how to escape from an earthquakeB. come to the rescue work whenever neededC. provide psychological aid for the survivorsD. work out a suitable pattern of building for the local area84. Which of the following statements about tsunamis is NOT true?A. The cause for tsunamis is an earthquake beneath the sea.B. Once rolling into harbours, they can be greatly disastrous.C. By preventing its coming, people can reduce the damage caused by tsunamis.D. The only thing people can do when tsunamis come is to leave as early as possible for a safer place.85. What is the main topic of the passage?A. A brief introduction of earthquake patterns.B. Efforts that people make to reduce earthquake damage.C. New patterns of earthquake disasters.D. Trends of development in tsunamis prevention.TEXT BWhen the German cruise ship Wilhelm Gustloff was hit by torpedoes (鱼雷) fired from a Russian submarine in the final winter of World War II, more than 10,000 people –mostly women, children and old people fleeing the final Red Army push into Nazi Germany –were packed aboard. An ice storm had turned the decks into frozen sheets that sent hundreds of families sliding into the sea as the ship tilted and began to go down. Others desperatelytried to put lifeboats down. Some who succeeded fought off those in the water who had the strength to try to claw their way aboard. Most people froze immediately.Now Germany's Nobel Prize-winning author Guenter Grass has revived the memory of the 9,000 dead, including more than 4,000 children – with his latest novel Crab Walk, published last month. The book, which will be out in English next year, doesn't dwell on the sinking; its heroine is a pregnant young woman who survives the catastrophe only to say later, "Nobody wanted to hear about it, not here in the West (of Germany) and not at all in the East." The reason was obvious. As Grass put it in a recent interview with the weekly Die Woche, "Because the crimes we Germans are responsible for were and are so dominant, we didn't have the energy left to tell of our own sufferings."The long silence about the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff was probably unavoidable – and necessary. By unreservedly owning up to their country's monstrous crimes in World War II, Germans have managed to win acceptance abroad, marginalize the neo-Nazis at home and make peace with their neighbors. Today's unified Germany is more prosperous and stable than at any time in its long, troubled history. For that, a half-century of willful forgetting about painful memories like the German Titanic was perhaps a reasonable price to pay. But even the most politically correct Germans believe that they have now earned the right to discuss the full historical record. Not to equate German suffering with that of its victims, but simply to acknowledge a terrible tragedy.86. Why was the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff a terrible tragedy in maritime history?A. It was attacked by Russian submarine.B. Most of its passengers were drowned.C. Its victims were mostly women and children.D. It caused a large number of casualties.87. The word "tilted" (Para.1) most probably means _______.A. leaned toward one sideB. fell apart all of a suddenC. broke into piecesD. shook vehemently88. The Wilhelm Gustloff tragedy was little talked about for more than half a century because Germans _______.A. wanted to win international acceptanceB. felt guilty for their crimes in World War IIC. couldn't get through the sorrow brought by the huge lossD. were afraid of offending their neighbors89. Which perspective does Guenter Grass choose to revive the memory of the Wilhelm Gustloff tragedy?A. The horrible scene of the torpedo attack.B. The ship's sinking in great detail.C. An interview with the weekly Die Woche.D. The survival of a young pregnant woman.90. It can be learned from the passage that Germans no longer think that _______.A. they will be misunderstood when talking about the Wilhelm Gustloff tragedyB. the Wilhelm Gustloff tragedy is a reasonable price to pay for the nation's past misdeedsC. Germany is responsible for the horrible crimes it committed in World War IID. it is wrong to equate their sufferings with those of other countriesTEXT CAn important discussion raging across the world is about the conflicting between smallholders and agribusiness corporations. Some critics say smallholders will be "exterminated" because of the unequal competition they face from large corporations for land and other resources.Agribusiness is defined as the sum of production and distribution of agricultural inputs, production operation within farms, warehousing, stocking and processing of agriculture products and byproducts. Davis and Goldberg, of Harvard, first put forward this definition in 1957. And they do not differentiate between large and small firms, and family and independently owned firms. The critics therefore are fuzzy.Buying and selling efficiently on a global scale in the long term is a game for well-prepared businesses in any industry. We must offer these opportunities to small farmers.Many researchers claim that smallholders' biggest challenge is how to add value to premium products in niche markets in which scale grains are not critical for success. As a small producer, a Swiss dairy farmer or an Ethiopian coffee grower can achieve success through premium or special products targeted at a particular group of consumers willing to pay more for those products. Organic and more recently fair-trade products fit well into this philosophy.Irrespective of the products, the challenge for the small producers is to target niche markets and to have a strong marketing capability. Interestingly, when large firms or professionally organized non-profit organizations (like Rain Forest and Agro Fair) opened their eyes to the niche areas they started growing faster.Governments in developing countries have spent lots of resources on structuring small growers' production areas, transferring land ownership rights to them and providing farms with investments and training. There have been successes, but unfortunately the percentage of failures is much larger, especially when most of the support turned out to be a blind help.91. Why are these critics fuzzy over the conflict between smallholders and agribusiness corporations?A. The definition of agribusiness has ignored the different scales of companies.B. The smallholders are to be got rid of in the future.C. Smallholders and agribusiness corporations are facing similar situation.D. Scale of a company is the key to market share.92. According to the passage, which one has NO relation with agribusiness?A. Tobacco planting.B. Warehousing.C. Edible oil processing.D. Eco-tourism.93. Which of the following statement is TRUE?A. Small businesses are left with no chance of winning the competition.B. Many critics are confused about the difference between smallholders and agribusiness corporations.C. Some critics hold a pessimistic attitude towards smallholders' future.D. Most governments have succeeded in working out useful ways to help small businesses out of difficulty.94. What does "niche market" (Para. 4) probably mean?A. A market producing peculiar things.B. A market with fierce competition for land and resources.C. A market specially set up for small businesses.D. A market more suitable for smallholders for its less fierce competition.95. How can smallholders survive the competition?A. By targeting markets ignored by the agribusinesses giants.B. By setting up an association to protect their interests.C. By turning to local governments for financial help.D. By forming non-profit organizations for faster growth. TEXT DWe dream for four hours every night, but may just be able to remember one dream every few days. It is every person's secret life and one we typically want to know more about. We want to tap into those nighttime fantasies that have us flying, saving the world and dating movie stars. And we'd like to both learn from and escape our nightmares, e.g. being chased by wild animals, falling off a cliff or sitting down to an exam we never studied for.Dream researchers find that pain is rarely experienced in dreams. And we do dream in color. But because it's so hard to remember dreams most people forget that fact. 70 to 80 percent of a dream's content comes from the previous day, though the elderly often dream of events of their teens and twenties. Women dream of males and females, and their dreams are often focused on relationships. Men's dreams focus more on males, success and failure.Today's dream experts agree with Sigmund Freud, who believed that dreams were the subconscious way of communicating with us and getting to know our dreams was a way to learn about ourselves. For instance, having nightmares means you are psychologically disturbed, suffering from stress, anxiety or depression. Nightmares can be stopped. One way to do this is by dealing with the problem. Confronting a bully at work could stop the dreams of their breaking into your house.Another way is to write dreams down, changing any detail that doesn't feel right. That could mean making the monster run away, or simply changing the color of the walls. Doing this helps get the fear out of nightmares, and they disappear.96. What does the phrase "tap into" (Para.1) probably mean?A. Take advantage of.B. Make use of.C. Explore.D. Examine.97. According to today's dream experts, which of the following statement is NOT correct?A. Dreams reflect one's subconsciousness.B. Nightmares result from psychological disturbance.C. Nightmares can be avoided.D. A good dream will bring good luck in the coming days.98. If meeting a bully at work, how should a person avoid dreaming about him at night?A. Change color of the walls.B. Deal with the problems with him boldly.C. Change a job.D. Stop him breaking into your house.99. What's probably the reason why we dream of flying?A. We work on the mechanics of flying.B. We cry for freedom.C. We are planning a travel by sea.D. We are suffering from loneliness.100. Which of the following methods is NOT mentioned to drive away nightmares?A. To ask for psychological counseling.B. To change the color of sleeping environment.C. To change any unpleasant detail by writing the dream down.D. To confront the tough problem or person.。