第4部分：阅读理解(第31～45题，每题3分，共45分) 下面有3篇短文，每篇短文后有5道题。请根据短文内容，为每题确定1个最佳选项。
31、回答31-45题：
Is the Tie a Necessity?
Ties, or neckties, have been a symbol of politeness and elegance in Britain for centuries．But the casual Prime Minister Tony Blair has problems with them．Reports suggest that even the civil servants may stop wearing ties．So, are the famously formal British really going to abandon the neckties?
Maybe．Last week, the UK's Cabinet Secretary Andrew Turnbull openly welcomed a tieless era．He hinted that civil servants would soon be tree of the costliest 12 inches of fabric that most men ever buy in their lives.
In fact, Blair showed this attitude when he had his first guests to a cocktail party．Many of them were celebrities (知名人士) without ties, which would have been unimaginable even in the recent past.
For some more conservative British, the tie is a must for proper appearance．Earlier, Labor leader Jim Callaghan said he would have died rather than have his children seen in public without a tie．For people like Callaghan, the tile was a sign of being complete, of showing respect．Men were supposed to wear a tie when going to church, to work in the office, to a party - almost every social occasion.
But today, people have begun to accept a casual style even for formal occasions.
The origin of the tie is tricky．It started as something called simply a "band"．The term could mean anything around a man's neck．It appeared in finer ways in the 1630s．Frenchmen showed a love of this particular fashion statement．Their neckwear (颈饰)impressed Charles II, the king of England who was exiled(流放)to France at that time．When he returned to England in 1660, he brought this new fashion item along with him.
It wasn't, however, until the late 18th century that fancy young men introduced a more colorful, flowing piece of cloth that eventually became known as the tie．Then, clubs military institutions and schools began to use colored and patterned ties to indicate the wearer's membership in the late 19th century．After that, the tie became a necessary item of clothing for British gentlemen.
But now, even gentlemen are getting tired of ties．Anyway, the day feels a bit easier when you wake up without having to decide which tie suits you and your mood.
The tie symbolizes all of the following except
A．respect
B．elegance
C．politeness
D．democracy
32、 Why does Blair sometimes show up in a formal event without a tie?
A．Because he wants to make a show,
B．Because he wants to attract attention.
C．Because ties are costly.
D．Because he wants to live in a casual way.
33、 Which of the following is NOT a social occasion?
A．Going to church.
B．Going to work in the office.
C．Staying at home.
D．Going to a party.
34、 Who brought the Frenchmen's neckwear to Britain?
A．Tony Blair.
B．Charles ll.
C．Jim Callaghan.
D．Andrew Turnbull.
35、 When did British gentlemen begin to wear ties regularly?
A．After the late 19th century.
B．In the 1630s.
C．In 1660.
D．In the late 18th century.
36、回答36-50题：
Martin Luther King Jr．By the time the Montgomery Improvement Association chose the 26-year-old Martin Luther King Jr．as its leader, the hours-old bus boycott by the black citizens of Montgomery, Alabama, was already an overwhelming success．King would later write that his unanticipated call to leadership "happened so quickly that I did not have time to think in through．" "It is probable that if I had, I would have declined the nomination．"
Although press reports at the time focused on his inspiring oratory, King was actually a reluctant leader of a movement initiated by others．(The boycott began on DeC．5 1955．) His subsequent writings and private correspondence reveal man whose inner doubts sharply contrast with his public personA．In the early days of his involvement, King was troubled by telephone threats, discord within the black community and Montgomery's "get tough" policy, to which king attributed his jailing on a minor traffic violation．One night, as he considered ways to "move out of the picture without appearing a coward," he began to pray aloud and, at that moment, "experienced the presence of the God as I had never experienced Him before．"
He would later admit that when the boycott began, he was not yet firmly committed to Gandhian principles．Although he had been exposed to those teachings in college, he had remained skeptical．"I thought the only way we could solve our problem of segregation was an armed revolt," he recalleD．"I felt that the Christian ethic of love was confined to individual relationships．"
Only after his home was bombed in late January did king reconsider his views on violence．(At the time, he was seeking a gun permit and was protected by armed bodyguards．) Competing with each other to influence King were two ardent pacifists: Bayard Rustin, a black activist with the War Resisters League, and the Rev．Glenn E．Smiley, a white staff member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation．Rustin was shocked to discover a gun in King's house, while Smiley informed fellow pacifists that King's home was "an arsenal．"
What did King think of his nomination as leader of the Montgomery Boycott?
A．He hadn't expected it.
B．He had to think about it carefully.
C．He would refuse to accept it.
D．He was prepared to accept it.
37、 Why was King unwilling to lead the movement at first?
A．Because he doubted if the boycott would be successful.
B．Because he was troubled with a traffic accident at that time.
C．Because he thought he was too young to be a leader.
D．Because he himself didn't start the boycott.
38、 Which of the following is Not mentioned as something that happened at the beginning of the black people's movement?
A．King was put into prison.
B．Black people disagreed with each other.
C．King's armed revolt proposal was turned down.
D．Black people found it hard to accept the policy pursued in Montgomery.
39、 Which of the following was the immediate cause that made King change his view on violence?
A．The education he received in college.
B．The attack of his home.
C．The influence of two active non-violence advocates.
D．The verdict of the Supreme Court.
40、 In Paragraph 4, the last sentence "King's home was 'an arsenal'" means
A．King's home was a place where people got together.
B．King's home was a place where people tested bombs.
C．King's home was a place where weapons were stored.
D．King's home was a place where bombs exploded.
41、回答41-55题：
Natural Medicine
Since earliest days, humans have used some kinds of medicines．We know this because humans have survived．Ancient treatments for injury and disease were successful enough to keep humans from dying out completely.
They were successful long before the time of modern medicine． Before the time of doctors with white coats and shiny (发亮的) instruments． Before the time of big hospitals with strange and wonderful equipment.
Many parts of the world still do not have university-educated doctors．Nor do they have expensive hospitals．Yet injuries are treated． And diseases are often cured, how? By ancient methods．By medicines that might seem mysterious, even magical (有魔力的)．Traditional medicines are neither mysterious nor magical, however.
Through the centuries, tribal (部落的) medicine men experimented with plants．They found many useful chemicals in the plants．And scientists believe many of these traditional medicines may provide the cure for some of today's' most serious diseases.
Experts say almost 80% of the people in the world use plants for health care．These natural medicines are used not just because people have no other form of treatment．They are used because people trust them．In developed areas, few people think about the source of the medicines they buy in a store．Yet many widely-used medicines are from ancient sources, especially plants．Some experts say more than 25% of modern medicines come, in one way or another, from nature.
Scientists have long known that nature is really a chemical factory．All living things contain chemicals that help them survive．So scientists' interest in traditional medicine is not new．But it has become an urgent concern．This is because the earth's supply of natural medicines may be dropping rapidly.
The passage indicates that ancient treatments for injury and disease were
A．much more successful than modern ones.
B．successful in all cases.
C．successful enough for humans to survive
D．of little help to humans
42、 Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A．Many big and modern hospitals are expensive.
B．Modern medicines are now available all over the world.
C．Traditional medicines are neither mysterious nor magical.
D．Humans have used some kinds of medicines since earliest days.
43、 It is believed by scientists that traditional medicine
A．can cure all kinds of diseases
B．are no longer useful for modern men
C．may cure some of today's most serious diseases.
D．are too cheap to be useful
44、 What do the majority of the people in the world use for health care?
A．plants
B．factory-produced chemicals
C．modern medicines
D．strange and wonderful equipment
45、 It can be seen from the passage that the earth's supply of natural medicines
A．may never be exhausted
B．is surprisingly big
C．may be dropping rapidly
D．is as rich as ever
