全国2007年1月高等教育自学考试《英语一》试题2

Passage 1

Drugs have BEC ome a political obsession(困扰) this election year. The House recently passed a bill that would impose a federal death penalty for drug-related murder. The House bill also calls for widespread mandatory drug testing and would permit the use of illegally gathered evidence in criminal trials. The Senate(参议院) is considering ways to bring the House bill to a quick vote, without going through the normally lengthy committee process.
Every politician is eager, it seems, to cast a tough antidrug vote before the election in November. It’s as if politicians feel they have to come up with some new and severe measure that hasn’t been tried before, in the hopes it will make the drug problem disappear. The death penalty for drug pushers or those who commit drug-related murders seems to be the favorite of conservatives this year. Now, a handful of liberals have come up with a radical approach at the other extreme: decriminalize drug use in the hopes that it will take the profit out of drug sales.
There aren’t any easy answers to the drug problem in America. And election years certainly aren’t conducive(有益于) to discussions of the hard truth of drug use. Drug dealers push their wares because there is a market for them in this country. Legalizing drugs won’t affect that market and, arguably, might increase it by removing the penalties.
Nancy Reagan was strongly criticized when she proposed a program to “just say ‘no’ to drugs.” But is there really any other answer? Americans are going to have to face up to some hard questions about ourselves and our values if we’re really going to eliminate drugs. Most of us, unfortunately, would rather talk tough or redefine the problem.

31．Which proposal was included in the House bill on drugs?
A．to punish drug-related murderers by death
B．to prohibit the use of drugs in any situation
C．to make mandatory drug testing illegal
D．to refuse to use illegally gathered evidence in criminal trials
32．What is the Senate trying to do?
A．fight the House bill
B．put forward another proposal
C．speed up the voting process
D．establish a committee before the vote
33．What are politicians eager to do, according to the author?
A．change their constituents’(选民)minds about drugs
B．delay a decision on the drug problem until November
C．find a way to make the drug problem disappear
D．limit the drug problem to a certain group of people
34．According to the author, what will happen to the drug market if we legalize drugs?
A．The hard truth about drugs will finally be faced.
B．Drug dealers won’t be able to sell drugs so easily.
C．Pushers may make more money.
D. It would benefit those who take drugs.
35．How do most Americans deal with the drug problem?
A．They generally support the “just say no”drug policy.
B．They would not touch drugs.
C．They really try to face the drug problem.
D．They only talk about it.

Passage 2
Men seem to have always taken an interest in meteorites(陨石),but not until the early nineteenth century were these objects considered worth preserving for scientific study.
In the beginning people believed that because meteorites fell from the heavens, they were either gods themselves or messengers from the gods. Thus the more civilized of early men carefully kept the meteorites, covering them with costly linens and printing them with oil. In many instances, the people built special temples in which the meteorites were to be worshiped. Meteorite worship was common long ago in the Mediterranean area, and in Africa, India, Japan, and Mexico, such worship still persists in some regions.
Although many people held meteorites in reverence(尊敬),particularly if they were seen to fall, other practical-minded individuals made good use of the durable and easily-worked alloy provided by nature in the nickel-iron meteorites. They frequently used this metal to make tools, and often pots and other utensils. Throughout history, meteoritic iron has been used in the manufacture of special swords, daggers, and knives for members of royalty. Attila and other early conquerors of Europe boasted of “swords from heaven.” As late as the end of the nineteenth century ,several swords were made from a Japanese iron meteorite at the command of a member of the Japanese court.
36．In the nineteenth century men began to _______.
A．study meteorites scientifically
B．preserve meteorites
C．take more than a casual interest in meteorites
D．investigate practical uses for meteoritic iron
37．The more civilized early men tended to _______.
A．have no interest in meteorites
B．preserve meteorites carefully
C．recognize what meteorites actually were
D．making practical use of meteorites
38．Meteorite worship was _______.
A．limited to small isolated tribes
B．common everywhere in the world
C．common throughout much of the world
D．limited to the least civilized of early men
39．Until the end of the nineteenth century meteoritic iron was used to _______.
A．build churches and temples
B．manufacture sturdy tools
C．provide special weapons for royalty
D．all of the above
40．Implied but not stated: _______.
A．Meteorite worship persists in some areas today
B．Since the nineteenth century, man has studied the composition of meteorites.
C．Only meteorites which were seen to fall were worshiped.
D．Meteorite worship was common in Japan in the nineteenth century.