閱讀理解強化練習

(A)

Famous Daughter， Seldom Heard

STANFORD， California—She may be the ultimate anomaly(異常的人或物) of the multimedia age， a household face whose voice has so seldom been heard that she could be a silent movie star. She was not yet 13 when she first slipped onto the national stage in her parents’ shadow， and at 21， having traveled the world at her parents’ side， she is barely better known than she was then.

On Sunday， when she became one of the crop of 1，600 graduates this year at Stanford University， Chelsea Victoria Clinton passed a milestone of adulthood in a nation that watched her grow up in wordless pantomime(啞劇).

“We’ve come a long way from when she turned 16 and radio stations called and offered to give her a car，” said Neel Lattimore， a former press spokesman for Hillary Rodham Clinton who was often charged with helping enforce the Clintons， fiercely protective no-press zone around their only child.

In her four years at Stanford， university officials have tried hard not to mention her name， let alone issue any information about her， but on the brink of(將要) graduation， some facts are known.

Chelsea Clinton earned a bachelor’s degree in history， with honors， and wrote her 150-page senior thesis on the Northern Ireland peace process. It includes interviews with a certain former U.S. president to whom the paper formally refers in the third person.

And following her father， Bill Clinton， before her， she is headed off to Oxford University in the fall， to pursue a master’s degree in a course of study that is not yet set but will apparently involve international relations and economics.

“She did an absolutely prodigious amount of work，” said her admiring thesis adviser， Professor Jack Rakove， Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution，” who taught a course on Thomas Jefferson that she took last year. “As you might expect， she’s really well-informed，” Mr. Rakove said. “If you talk books with her， you can be blown away by how much she knows.”

The Clintons have put their daughter at their side in times of joy， on election nights， at conventions(大會)， in campaigns and on state visits， and in times of trouble， most notably in the painful walk to the presidential helicopter after Mr. Clinton confessed infidelity in the Monica Lewinsky scandal(丑聞).

But with a handful of exceptions， most strikingly in impromptu comments in Tanzania when she told a group of young women of a “hopelessness and cynicism” that had a hold on some American youths， Miss Clinton has been seen and not heard， and there is no sign that her graduation will change that.

Through family spokesmen， Miss Clinton declined to be interviewed for this article and turned down other requests， including an offer to pose for the cover of Vanity Fair in circumstances of her choosing. Her mother， Senator Clinton， did not respond to repeated interview requests.

But Mr. Clinton， delighted at the prospect of a Father’s Day graduation， agreed to respond to written questions from The New York Times. He recalled a flood of memories of the birth， the first day of school， dance and piano recitals and an early science project on Jupiter of the daughter who， he said， “has her mother’s character and her father’s energy.”

“Perhaps even more than when Chelsea finished high school，” the former president wrote， “I think Hillary and I are graduating too， to a new phase in our relationship with Chelsea. We are excited about it， grateful that she still wants to spend time with us， and sure I’ll be learning a lot more as we tag along in her life.”

The Clintons were doing their best to blend in with other families at the ceremonies， though it was safe to say that the parents of most other graduates were not bunking at the home of Steve Jobs， the co-founder and chairman of Apple Computer.

1. Whose story does the passage mainly tell? ____.

A. Mr ClintonB. Mrs Clinton

C. Hillary Rodham ClintonD. Chelsea Clinton

2. Why does the author say Chelsea Clinton grew up in wordless pantomime in her early years? ____.

A. Because she was a silent film star

B. Because her parents often watched silent movies

C. Because her parents tried their best to keep her from being disturbed by the media

D. Because the public seldom heard of something about her

3. Chelsea Clinton wrote her senior thesis about ____ when she applied for(申請) a bachelor’s degree in history.

A. America’s historyB. British history

C. the Northern Ireland peace processD. the Southern Ireland peace process

4. Which of the following statements is true? ____.

A. Miss Clinton took a course on Thomas Jefferson last year

B. The Clintons have put their daughter at their side in times of joy because they think she is very useful

C. The Clintons don’t love their daughter

D. The Clintons always keep a good relationship with each other

(B)

Leading the Way

They may not have been at the heart of the action on court， but these cheerleaders know how important it is to make themselves heard.

“We have an unshakeable belief in the power of cheering to make a difference，” said Xu Chan， a Senior 2 girl at the High School Affiliated to Beijing Normal University. She has every reason to be confident. Xu and her schoolmates were named the best cheerleading team at the Reebok Beijing High School Basketball League Final on February 15.

The 12-member squad performed at every home match， their hot dances and passionate cheers pushing games to an exciting climax. They usually perform during time-outs and breaks. But while encouraging the team on court is important， the girls also have personal reasons for taking part. “Dancing is a good way to keep fit，” Xu said.

Xing Yue， a student at No. 50 High School， found that cheerleading has made her more organized. “I’m the oldest student on the team so I have to take charge when the teacher is not there，” she said. “I have to remind my teammates what they must do. As a result I have become more observant.”

However， many girls are unsure if they will be able to carry on cheerleading due to growing study pressures. For Wu Tong， a Senior 2 student at Hepingjie No. 1 High School， last week was definitely her swan song. Having failed to achieve the grades she’d hoped for， her parents have said the cheerleading must stop. But she will take away some happy memories of performing in the basketball league.

“We are the best， we believe in ourselves，” she said. “We didn’t win this time so I hope the girls go on to realize their dreams next year.”

1. About Xu Chan， which of the following descriptions is true? ____.

A. She is a university student

B. She has every reason to believe in herself

C. She was named the best cheerleading member

D. She competed in a basketball final held in Beijing

2. According to the passage， ____.

A. the cheerleading team perform at most home matches

B. the cheerleading team perform only during breaks

C. the girls perform not only for the team on court

D. cheerleading makes every member of the team more organized

3. Many girls doubt whether they will carry on cheerleading because ____.

A. they perform very bad in their study

B. their parents forced them to stop cheerleading

C. their study pressures are becoming greater and greater

D. they begin to realize the importance of their study

(C)

Do you remember last summer， when furious travelers were pounding on Congress to do something about airline customer service?Airlines promised to improve， and they adopted new standards just before Christmas. But as another summer nears， plenty of experienced travelers don’t see much improvement in customer service overall.

This month， the Department of Transportation’s(DOT) inspector general’s office will issue its first critical article on whether airlines are honoring their promises. One survey suggests problems:the number of complaints to the DOT about the top 10 airlines in the first quarter soared(劇增) 89% from a year ago.

Hit last summer by passenger complaints and the threat of consumer-protection laws by Congress， 14 airlines voluntarily agreed to adopt a set of basic customer-service standards called Customers First. From immediate refunds (退款) to truthful reservation agents to toilets that flush during onboard delays， the“12 commitments” to passengers were introduced as a major effort to improve service. Since then， airlines have been redesigning websites， retraining employees and upgrading technology.

Recently， DOT inspector general Kenneth Mead， at McCain’s request， sent 20 examiners to airports to document(證明) whether each airline is doing what it promised， Mead cautions(警告) travelers shouldn’t expect too much. Most of the promises are aimed at better communication with customers， not problems free flights.

“We think passengers， both business and leisure， perceive travel as more of a quarrel these days，” spokeswoman Shelly Sasson says. “Some of this is perception， but a lot is reality.” “And when improvements are made， it takes a long time for them to be noticed，” she says.

Now， the efforts may be working. During the first quarter， Delta had the second-lowest rate of complaints among the top 10 carriers. Still， its rate， along with other airlines， is up from last year. McCain and other lawmakers say new consumer protection laws aren’t out of the question if the industry’s voluntary program doesn’t work.

1. The passage tells us that ____.

A. passenger complaints increase though airlines have taken steps to improve air service

B. passenger complaints decrease for airlines have taken steps to improve air service

C. air service has been improved greatly though it is hard to notice by passengers

D. air service needs improving badly as the results of passenger complaints

2. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?____.

A. Government has sent officials to check any improvement the air service airlines have made

B. Some people suggest passengers show more understanding to airlines about their efforts to better air service

C. To improve air service doesn’t mean that there will no longer be any deficiencies in air traveling

D. It is thought that passengers should be patient when they are waiting for any

improvement made by airlines

3. Which of the following statements is closest in meaning to the sentence “Some of this is perception， but a lot is reality.”?(Para. 5) ____.

A. Some people’s complaints about air service are rather subjective， but most people’s are fairly objective

B. When people travel by air， they usually quarrel， which is a fact passengers all see

C. Some people take a biased view on air service because they don’t see facts

D. Most people saw facts， but a few people failed

4. The author has written the last paragraph mainly to mean ____.

A. the rate of complaints is going up in all airlines in spite of the efforts they made

B. improvements some airlines have made are not effective， which leads to more complaints

C. there’s no need to pass laws to improve airline customers service

D. some people are too aggressive when complaining about air service though airlines have made great efforts on it

5. In Paragraph 1， the phrase “pounding on” means “____”.

A. striking at B. urging

C. hitting D. soundings with loud noises

Key(1)