阅读理解三则

(A)

Over a third of ones life is spent sleeping with ones head on a pillow（枕头)． A good pillow， in its right height and composition， has important effects on ones sleep and health． There is an old way of medical treatment（治疗） called “smell the medicine to cure（治愈） the disease” which means that people smell medicines while asleep for disease treatment． In China， since ancient times， people have put plants into pillows for their health． Medicinal pillows get medical treatment closely with peoples life and keep the people working in process． Back in the Tang Dynasty（AD 618—907）， the famous Chinese doctor Sun Simiao made medicinal pillows to treat aches in the neck and head， getting good results． The medicine that should be put into the pillow should be carefully chosen according to ones illness．

Pillows filled with the skins of beans， seeds， dried flowers and wheat are good for the eyesight and keeping the mind clear， since their smell helps one go to sleep． Furthermore， in South China， a strange pillow has long been popular during hot seasons． Peasants collect silk-worm excrement（排泄物） and fill pillows with it． Such pillows then fetch a high price，because people believe they can successfully cool their babies．

1. What does the underlined word “composition” (in Paragraph 1) mean？

____.

A． The students homework

B． The color of a pillow

C． What is filled inside a pillow

D． The pictures drawn on a pillow

2. What kind of pillows are good for eyesight？____.

A． Those filled with medicine

B． Those filled with silkworm excrement

C． Those filled with the skins of beans， seeds， dried flowers and

wheat

D． Those expensive ones

3. Why do the pillows full of silkworm excrement sell well？____.

A． They are clean and good for the eyesight

B． Babies feel cool with the heads on the pillows in hot weather

C． They look nice

D． They cant be found easily

4. Whats the best title for the passage？____

A． Pillows on Sale. B． Pillows Can Cure Illness.

C． Pillows Are Necessary. D． How Is a Pillow Made？

(B)

Wang Lihuan， a 15-year-old senior high school student from Chongqing beat 30 other competitors in Beijing to take home the top prize in the first “21st Century Cup” National High School English Speaking Competition， held by China Daily． The schoolgirls prize was an expenses paid trip to the international English-speaking competition， to be held in London in May 2003． It will be the first time that a Chinese student will have taken part in the international one．

Yesterday， competitors from around China presented a prepared speech on the topic “Learning English—My Personal Story” and each answered two questions that they picked out before going on stage． The topics came from all kinds of fields． All the competitors did a pretty good job， said Helen， the English language teaching manager of the British Council， who was a judge in the competition． She said it was amazing that the high school students in China could use English so well． However， what surprised the judges most was not the students excellent English but their wide range of knowledge． “I was afraid that the questions would be too difficult for them，” said Nie Lisheng， editor in chief（主编） of 21st Century， the organizer of the competition． “But soon I found that I didnt have a single reason to worry， for they seemed to know quite a lot about things such as the solar system or AIDS prevention，” added Nie．

Huang Qing， another judge， said：“It shows how much the students care about the world around them instead of only for their studies． I was quite surprised that the students could deal with questions with such deep thought and a global view．” Another four students won a one-week study trip to Australia or Singapore．

1. The underlined word “beat” (in Paragraph 1) means “____”．

A． kill B． follow C． defeat D． help

2. The students ____ have attended the competition in Beijing．

A． all over the world B． only from Chongqing

C． all over the country D． only from Beijing

3. Wang Lihuan won the top prize because ____．

A． she has wide knowledge， besides her good oral English

B． her oral English is good

C． she is a girl student

D． she likes English

4. How many students in all won the prizes？____.

A． 1 B． 3 C． 4 D. 5

(C)

Just like the Abu Simbel， in Aswan， Egypt， the Temple of Zhang Fei had to go upstream to a high place along the Yangtze River， as a result of the rising water level， as the Three Gorges Project is being built． Standing for centuries on the northern bank of the Yangtze River， the temple had showed the Three Kingdoms period（AD 220—280） of Chinas history． Before the project， the engineers had visited the Abu Simbel in Egypt． They would do as the ancient Egyptians had done． It will be rebuilt in its copy form．

On October 8， the temple was being torn down piece by piece． More than 300 workers and experts have been working round the clock． Bricks， wooden rails， stone figures， even time-worn stone steps have been removed with great care． Each piece is wrapped in cloth and loaded onto lorries（卡车） and ships and carried to the new temple site． The cost of the project is to be at least 70 million yuan． The new place is 32 kilometres upstream on the Yangtze．

Zhang Fei， a brave character， in the Three Kingdoms period in the Chinese classic “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” is a household name among the Chinese people． Zhang has been worshipped（崇拜) as a god of protection， especially by the fishermen on the Yangtze River． The temple is regarded as a cultural treasure and must-see for the 200,000 or so visitors each year． On October 4， thousands of visitors from home and abroad celebrated Zhangs 1，843rd birthday in the temple．

Every removed part will be treated with marks and numbers to make sure that it is put back in its exact original place．

1. Which of the following is NOT true？____.

A． Zhang Fei is popular with the old and the young

B． The temple is moved only because of fewer visitors

C． When we visit the temple， we learn a lot of the history of the

Three Kingdoms period

D． The whole temple is removed piece by piece

2． Whats the meaning of the underlined words “round the clock” in

Paragraph 2？____.

A． In the worksite B． In a hurry

C． Day and night D． Without any meals

3. Which of the following is Zhang Feis character？____.

A． Kind B． Clever C． Brave D． Foolish

4. Why is the temple moved？____.

A． The temple is an old Chinese culture building

B． It is a must-see for visitors in that area

C． It may be covered by water

D． All of the above

Key(1)