Ⅳ. Reading Comprehension (60 points)

Directions:

There are four reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by five questions. For each question there are four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose one best answer and blacken the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.

Passage One

All the housewives who went to the new supermarket had one great ambition: to be the lucky customer who did not have to pay for her shopping. For this was what the notice just inside the entrance promised. It said: “Remember, once a week, one of our customers gets free goods. This May Be Your Lucky Day!”

For several weeks Mrs. Edwards hoped, like many of her friends, to be the lucky customer. Unlike her friends, she never gave up hoping. The cupboards in kitchen were full of things which she did not need. Her husband tried to advise her against buying things but failed. She dreamed of the day when the manager of the supermarket would approach her and say: “Madam, this is Your Lucky Day. Everything in your basket is free.”

One Friday morning, after she had finished her shopping and had taken it to her car, she found that she had forgotten to buy any tea. She dashed back to the supermarket, got the tea and went towards the cash-desk. As she did so, she saw the manager of the supermarket approach her. “Madam,” he said, holding out his hand, “I want to congratulate you! You are our lucky customer and everything you have in your basket is free!”

61. The housewives learnt about the of free goods _______.

A. on TV B. from the manager

C. at the supermarket D. from the newspaper

62. Mrs. Edwards ________.

A. is always very lucky B. had no friends

C. hoped to get free shopping D. gets disappointed easily

63. Mrs. Edwards’s husband tried to ________.

A. make her unhappy B. cheer her up

C. buy things with her D. stop her buying things

64. Mrs. Edwards went back to the supermarket quickly because she had to _______.

A. buy another thing B. talk to the manager

C. pay for her shopping D. find her shopping

65. Mrs. Edwards must have been ________.

A. pleased B. delighted C. proud D. disappointed

Passage Two

Deep inside a mountain near Sweetwater in East. Tennessee is a body of water known as the Lost Sea. It is listed by the Guinness Book of Would Records as the world’s largest underground lake. The Lost Sea is part of an extensive and historic cave system called Craighead Caverns.

The caverns have been known and used since the days of the Cherokee Indian nation. The cave expands into a series of huge rooms from a small opening on the side of the mountain. Approximately one mile from the entrance, in a room called “The Council Room,” many Indian artisfacts have been found. Some of the items discovered include pottery, arrowheads, weapons, and jewelry.

For many years there were persistent rumors of a large underground lake somewhere in a cave, but it was not discovered until 1905. In that year, a thirteen-year-old boy named Ben Sands crawled through a small opening three hundred feet underground. He found himself in a large cave half filled with water.

Today tourists visit the Lost Sea and ride far out onto it in glass-bottomed boats powered by electric motors. More than thirteen acres of water have been mapped out so far and still no end to the lake has been found. Even though teams of divers have tried to explore the Lost Sea, the full extent of it is still unknown.

66. The Lost Sea is unique because it is ________.

part of a historical cave system

the biggest underground lake in the world

listed in the Guinness Book of World Records

the largest body of water in Tennessee

67. The Craighead Caverns have been known ________.

A. through history B. since the time of the Indian nations

C. since 1905 D. since divers explored them

68. Who located the Lost Sea in recent times?

A. The Cherokee Indians. B. Tourists.

C. Ben Sands. D. Scientists.

69. What was found in “The Council Room”?

A. A small natural opening. B. A large cave.

C. Another series of rooms. D. Many old Indian objects.

70. It can be inferred from the passage that the Craighead Caverns presently serve as ____.

A. an underground testing site B. an Indian meeting ground

C. a tourist attraction D. a motor boat race course