閱讀理解

　　Silence is unnatural to man．He begins life with a cry and ends it in stillness．In between he does all he can to make a noise in the world, and he fears silence more than anything else．Even his conversation is an attempt to prevent a fearful silence．If he is introduced to another person, and a number of pauses occur in the conversation, he regards himself as a failure, a worthless person, and is full of envy(嫉妒)of the emptiest- headed chatterbox(喋喋不休的人)．He knows that ninety-nine percent of human conversation means no more than the buzzing of a fly, but he is anxious to join in the buzz and to prove that he is a man and not a waxwork figure(蠟塑人像)．

　　The aim of conversation is not, for the most part, to communicate ideas; it is to keep up the buzzing sound．There are, it must be admitted, different qualities of buzz; there is even a buzz that is as annoying as the continuous noise made by a mosquito(蚊子)? But at a dinner party one would rather be a mosquito than a quiet person．Most buzzing, fortunately, is pleasant to the ear, and some of it is pleasant even to the mind．He would be a foolish man if he waited until he had a wise thought to take part in the buzzing with his neighbors．

　　Those who hate to pick up the weather as a conversational opening seem to me not to know the reason why human beings wish to talk．Very few human beings join in a conversation in the hope of learning anything new．Some of them are satisfied if they are only allowed to go on making a noise into other people’s ears, though they have nothing to tell them except that they have seen two or three new plays or that they had food in a Swiss hotel．At the end of an evening during which they have said nothing meaningful for a long time, they just prove(證明)themselves to be successful conservationists．

(1)

According to the author, people make conversation to ________．

[　　]

A．

exchange ideas

B．

prove their value

C．

achieve success in life

D．

overcome their fear of silence

(2)

By “the buzzing of a fly”(Para．1), the author means “________”．

[　　]

A．

the noise of an insect

B．

a low sound

C．

meaningless talks

D．

the voice of a chatterbox

(3)

According to the passage, people usually talk to their neighbors ________．

[　　]

A．

about whatever they have prepared

B．

about whatever they want to

C．

in the hope of learning something new

D．

in the hope of getting on well

(4)

What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

[　　]

A．

To discuss why people like talking about weather．

B．

To encourage people to join in conversations．

C．

To persuade people to stop making noises．

D．

To explain why people keep talking．

答案：1．D;2．C;3．B;4．D;
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科目：高中英語 來源：天利38套《2009高考模擬試題匯編附加試題》、英語 題型：050

閱讀理解

　　Americans often try to say things as quickly as possible, so for some expressions we use the first letters of the words instead of saying each word．Many common expressions or long names are shortened this way．

　　BYOB is a short way of saying “bring your own bottle”．The letters BYOB are often found at the bottom of a written invitation to a simple social event or gathering friends．For example, I decide to have a party on a Sunday afternoon．I might write a note saying, “Please come to the party, and BYOB．” The bottle each person brings is what that person wants to drink at the party．

　　An invitation to a special event, such as a wedding, would never say BYOB．However, an invitation to an official or very special event often has other letters at the bottom of it．The letters are RSVP．The letters represent the French expression “repondez sil vous plait”．In English, the words mean “Respond if it pleases you”．Americans use the letters as a short way to say please answer this invitation．

　　Another expression ASAP is often heard in business offices．My boss might say she wants something done ASAP．It means as soon as possible．She also might tell me she wants something done by COB．That means she wants it finished by close of business, or the end of the workday．

　　Beginning letters often are used to represent the name of a university．A famous one is MIT．It is short for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology．Another major university is UCLA, almost no one ever says its real name, the University of California at Los Angeles．That takes too long．

　　Some American businesses are better known for the beginning letters of their name than for their complete names．For example, you may not have heard of the company called International Business Machines, but you probably have heard of the company by its short name IBM．And the American Telephone and Telegraph Company is much better known as AT & T．Many American government agencies are known by the beginning letters of their name, too．For example, the FBI is the Federal Bureau of Investigation．The FBI investigates criminal activity in the United States．Then there is the IRS, the Internal Revenue Service．It is not a very popular agency．It collects Federal taxes．Here is an example you already know－VOA．Yes, it is the short name of the “Voice of America”．

(1)

What is the main subject of this article?

[　　]

A．

The Voice of America．

B．

A short way of saying．

C．

Introduction of famous companies．

D．

Brief introduction of VOA．

(2)

Why do Americans try to use a short way of saying?

[　　]

A．

It’s easy to remember．

B．

They like to shorten long names．

C．

They try to say things as quickly as possible．

D．

They are told to do so．

(3)

How do Americans shorten their long names?

[　　]

A．

They use the first letters of the words instead of saying each word．

B．

They are told how to shorten them by authorities(權威)．

C．

They shorten long names as they like．

D．

Not mentioned in the article．

(4)

Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?

[　　]

A．

RSVP．

B．

COB．

C．

IRS．

D．

AT．

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