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，每道题后面都有4个选项。请仔细阅读短文并根据短文回答其后面的问题，从4个选项中选择1个最佳答案涂在答题卡相应的位置上。
My Fast Job
I was six when I joined my father and two elder brothers at sunrise in the hayfields of Eufaula, Oklahoma. By the time I was eight I was helping Dad fix up low-income rental properties. He gave me a penny for every nail I pulled out of old boards.
I got my first real job, at JM's Restaurant in town, when I was 12. My main responsibilities were clearing tables and washing dishes, but sometimes I helped cook.
Every day after school I would head to JM's and work until ten. Saturdays I worked from two until eleven. At that age it was unlucky going to work and watching my friends run off to swim or play. I didn't necessarily like work, but I loved what working allowed me to have. Because of my job I was always the one buying when my friends and I went to the local bar Tastee Freez. This made me proud.
Word that I was honest and hardworking got around town. A local clothing store extended credit to me although I was only in the seventh grade. I immediately charged a $ 68 sports coat and a $ 22 pair of trousers. I was making only 65 cents an hour, and I was already $ 90 in debt! So I learned early the danger of easy credit. I paid it off as soon as I could.
My first job taught me discipline, responsibility and brought me a level of personal satisfaction few of my friends had experienced. As my father, who worked three jobs, once told me, "If you understand sacrifice and commitment, there are not many things in life you can't have." How right he was!
31 When the author was a child, he was made to help his father work because___________
A the restaurant was short of hands.
B his family belonged to the low-income group.
C he wanted to earn some money.
D he was stronger than his two brothers.
32 At the age of 12, the author got a job at a restaurant and often worked till late at night because___________
A he liked that work.
B he didn't like playing.
C he was hard-working.
D he felt rewarded by doing that work.
33 The word "Word" in the sentence "Word that I was honest and-hard-working got around town in the fourth paragraph means___________
A statement.
B advice.
C news.
D promise.
34 When the author was in the seventh grade, he was in debt because___________
A he did not work any more.
B he bought clothes on credit.
C he was charged too much for the sports coat.
D he made little money at that time.
35 What does the author want to tell the reader by this text?
A If you know sacrifice and responsibility, you can have many things in life.
B Children from poor families usually have a very unhappy childhood.
C Children should be made to work and earn some money by themselves.
D You will learn discipline and responsibility by working early in life.
Ford's Assembly Line
When it comes to singling out those who have made a difference in all our lives, you cannot overlook Henry Ford. A historian a century from now might well conclude that it was Ford who most influenced all manufacturing, everywhere, even to this day, by introducing a new way to make cars one, strange to say, that originated in slaughterhouses (屠宰场).
Back in the early 1900's, slaughterhouses used what could have been called a "disassembly line". Ford reversed this process to see if it would speed up production of a part of an automobile engine called a magneto. Rather than have each worker completely assemble a magneto, one of its elements was placed on a conveyer, and each worker, as it passed, added another component to it, the same one each time. Professor David Hounshell of the University of Delaware, an expert on industrial development, tells what happened.
"The previous day, workers carrying out the entire process had averaged one assembly every 20 minutes. But on that day, on the line, the assemble team averaged one every 13minutes and 10 seconds per person. "
Within a year, the time had been reduced to five minutes. In 1913, Ford went all the way. Hooked together by ropes, partially assembled vehicles were towed (拖,拉) past workers who completed them one piece at a time. It hasn't long before Ford was turning out several hundred thousand cars a year, a remarkable achievement then. And so efficient and economical was this new system that he cut the price of his cars in half, to $ 260, putting them within reach of all those who, up until that time, could not afford them. Soon, auto makers and the world all copied him.
In fact, heencouraged them to do so by writing a book about all of his innovations, entitled Today and Tomorrow. The Age of the Automobile has arrived. Today, aided by robots and other forms of automation (自动化), everything from toasters to perfumes is made on assembly lines.
Which of the following statements about Henry Ford is NOT true____?
A.He introduced a new way of production.
B.He influenced all manufacturing.
C.He inspired other auto makers.
D.He changed a historian's mind.
37、The writer mentions "slaughterhouses" because they were the places where ____
A.Ford's assembly line originated
B.Ford made his first car
C.Ford readjusted the assembly line
D.Ford innovated the disassembly line
38、A magneto is a technical term for____
A.an automobile
B.a production line
C.a part of an automobile engine
D.a disassembly line
39、the phrase "turning out" in the last paragraph could be best replaced by____
A."producing"
B."selling"
C."buying"
D."fixing"
40、The invention of the assembly line enabled Henry Ford____
A.to create more jobs for the unemployed
B.to write a book on history
C.to reduce the price of his cars to $260
D.to cut the production of his cars by 50%
Play
Play is the principal business of childhood, and in recent years research has shown the great importance of play in the development of a human being. From earliest infancy, every child needs opportunity and the right materials for play, and the main tools of play are toys, Their main function is to suggest, encourage and assist play. To succeed in this they must be good toys, which children will play with often, and will come back to again and again. Therefore it is important to choose suitable toys for different stages of a child's development.
In recent years research on infant development has shown that the standard a child is likely to reach, within the range of his inherited abilities. is largely determined in the first three years of his life. So a baby's ability to profit from the right play materials should not be underestimated. A baby who is encouraged and stimulated, talked to and shown things and played with, has the best chance of growing up successfully.
In the next stage, from three to five years old, curiosity knows no bounds. Every type of suitable toy should be made available to the child, for trying out, experimenting and learning, for discovering his own particular ability. Bricks and jigsaws (七巧板) and construction toys; painting, scribbling (涂鸦) and making things; sand and water play; toys for imaginative and pretending play; the first social games for learning to play and get on with others.
But the third stage of playdevelopment -- from five to seven or eight years -- the child is at school. But for a few more years play is still the best way of learning, at home or at school. It is easier to see which type of toys the child most enjoys.
Until the age of seven or eight, play and work mean much the same to a child. But once reading has been mastered, then books and school become the main source of learning. Toys are still interesting and valuable, they lead on to new hobbies, but their significance has changed-to a child of nice or ten years, toys and games mean, as to adults, relaxation and fun.
The passage tells us that as a child grows up, ____
A.he should be allowed to choose his own toys
B.he should be given identical toys
C.he should be given different toys
D.he should be given fewer and fewer toys
42、 According to the passage, the abilities a child has inherited from his parents ____
A.determine his character
B.will not change after the age of three
C.partly determine the standard he is likely to reach
D.to a large extent determine the choice of toys
43、Who have the best chance of growing up successfully____?
A.Those who tend to overeat.
B.Those who are given a lot of toys.
C.Those who are given toys, talked to and played with.
D.Those who can share their toys with their playmates.
44、 We learn from the passage that a child has boundless curiosity ____
A.when he is two
B.when he is around four
C.when he is six
D.when he is eight
45、 The passage is mainly about ____
A.the importance of pre-school education
B.the importance of schooling
C.the role of play in a child's development
D.the choice of toys for adolescents
