閱讀理解題

　　第一篇

Sleepless at Night

　　It was a normal summer night. Humidity （濕氣） hung in the thick air.

　　I couldn't go to sleep, partly because of my cold and partly because of my expectations for the next day. My mum had said that tomorrow was going to be a surprise.

　　Sweat stuck to my aching body. Finally, I gathered enough strength to sit up. I looked out of my small window into the night. There was a big bright moon hanging in the sky, giving off a magic glow.

　　I couldn't stand the pressure anymore, so I did what I always do to make myself feel better. I went to the bathroom and picked up my toothbrush and toothpaste. I cleaned my teeth as if there was no tomorrow. Back and forth, up and down.

　　Then I walked downstairs to look for some signs of movement, some life. Gladiator, my cat, frightened me as he meowed （喵喵地唱出） his sad song. He was on the old orange couch （長沙發）, sitting up on his front legs, waiting for something to happen. He looked at me as if to say, "I'm lonely, pet me. I need a good hug （緊抱）." Even the couch begged me to sit on it.

　　In one movement I settled down onto the soft couch. This couch represented my parents' marriage, my birth, and hundreds of other little events.

　　As I held Gladiator, my heart started beating heavily. My mind was flooded with questions: What's life? Am I really alive? Are you listening to me? Every time I moved my hand down Gladiator's body, I had a new thought; each touch sang a different song.

　　I forgot all about the heat and the next day's surprise. The atmosphere was so full of warmth and silence that I sank into its arms. Falling asleep with the big cat in my arms felt all my worries slowly move away.

　　1 The author could not go to sleep partly because

　　A it was too cold.

　　B it was too dry.

　　C he had a cold.

　　D he had a fever.

　　2 What was the weather like that night?

　　A It was cool.

　　B It was windy.

　　C It was fine.

　　D It was cloudy.

　　3 The author brushed his teeth over and over

　　A to relieve himself of the pressure.

　　B to ease his toothache.

　　C to shake off the cold.

　　D to remove the dirt.

　　4 Gladiator was the name of

　　A a movie.

　　B a pet.

　　C a couch.

　　D a song.

　　5 What did the couch represent?

　　A A new thought.

　　B Different songs.

　　C A miserabletife.

　　D Happy memories.

　　第二篇

Florence Nightingale

　　Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy, while her wealthy English parents were traveling in Europe. As a child, she traveled to many places with her family and learned how to speak several languages.

　　When Nightingale was 17, she told her family that she was going to help sick people. Her parents did not approve, but Nightingale was determined.

　　She traveled to hospitals all over Europe. She saw that doctors were working too hard. She saw that patients died because they did not get enough care. Nightingale felt that women could be doing more to help doctors take care of sick people.

　　Nightingale knew that in order for nurses to do more, they needed special training in how to take care of sick people. Nightingale went to a hospital in Germany to study nursing. Then she returned to London and became the head of a group of women called Gentlewomen During Illness. These women cared for sick people in their homes.

　　In 1854, England was fighting a war with Russia. War reporters wrote about the terrible conditions in the hospitals that cared for the wounded. People demanded that something be done about it. A leader of the government asked Florence Nightingale to take some nurses into the war hospitals. So, in November 1854, Nightingale finally got to work in a hospital.

　　She took along 38 nurses whom she had trained herself.

　　At first, the doctors on the battlefields did not want Nightingale and her nurses in their hospitals. They did not believe that women could help. But in fact, the nurses did make a difference. They worked around the clock, tending the sick. Thanks to their hard work, many wounded soldiers survived.

　　After the war, Nightingale and her nurses were treated like heroes. Finally, in 1860, she started the Nightingale School for Nurses. In time, thanks to Florence Nightingale, nursing became an important part of medicine.

　　6 Florence Nightingale was born into a rich

　　A Italian family.

　　B Russian family.

　　C English family.

　　D German family.

　　7 Nightingale's parents did not approve of her decision

　　A to work as a doctor.

　　B to care for sick people.

　　C to fight in the war with Russia.

　　D to travel to hospitals all over Europe.

　　8 It was not until the war with Russia that Nightingale

　　A got to work in a hospital.

　　B began to study nursing.

　　C started to care for sick people In their homes.

　　D became the head of Gentlewomen During Illness.

　　9 On the battlefields Nightingale and her nurses proved to be

　　A as bad as the doctors had expected.

　　B quite generous.

　　C less than useful.

　　D very helpful.

　　10 Nightingale played a great role in

　　A the building of war hospitals.

　　B the education of women.

　　C the development of nursing.

　　D the improvement of working conditions for women.

第三篇

Human Space Exploration

　　While scientists are searching the cause of the Columbia disaster, NASA is moving ahead with plans to develop a new craft that would replace shuttles （航天飛機） on space station missions by 2012 and respond quickly to space station emergencies.

　　The space agency released the first set of mission needs and requirements several days ago for the orbital space plane （軌道航天飛機）, which would be designed to transport a crew of four to and from the International Space Station.

　　Although it includes few specifics, the plan states the orbiter （軌道航天飛機） will be safer, cheaper and require less preparation time than the shuttle. It would be able to transport four crew members by 2012——though it would be available for rescue missions by 2010. NASA says the craft should be able to transport injured or ill space station crew members to "definitive （決定性的） medical care" within 24 hours.

　　The release of the requirements showed NASA remains focused on the long-term priorities of space exploration, even as questions exist concerning the loss of Columbia and its seven-member crew on February 1, 2003.

　　Experts at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, have been working for years on a successor to the shuttle. The project, known as the Space Launch Initiative （倡議）, was divided last year into two parts——one focusing on a future launch vehicle, the other on a space station orbiter. The orbiter is expected to be ready sooner.

　　The program's managers say NASA officials have told them not to alter Space Launch Initiative in light of the Columbia disaster.

　　U.S. President George W. Bush asked Congress for about US $1 billion for Space Launch Initiative in 2004, funds that would be almost equally split between the Orbital Space Plane and Next Generation Launch Technology.

　　11 NASA plans to design the new space craft to

　　A control the International Space Station.

　　B carry astronauts to the International Space Station.

　　C transport equipment to the International Space Station.

　　D train astronauts in space flights.

　　12 Besides its main mission, the orbiter woulD also be useD as

　　A A medical research center.

　　B A space station.

　　C A space ambulance.

　　D A passenger plane.

　　13 The design of the orbiter indicates

　　A NASA's determination to continue space exploration.

　　B NASA's disadvantage in space technology.

　　C the great pressure from Congress on NASA.

　　D A heavy defeat for NASA.

　　14 When diD NASA start working on A successor to the shuttle?

　　A One year before the ColumbiA disaster.

　　B One year after the ColumbiA disaster.

　　C Immediately after the ColumbiA disaster.

　　D Years before the ColumbiA disaster.

　　15 According to the passage, the I billion funds, if granted, would

　　A be useD to rebuilD the International Space Station.

　　B be awardeD to the scientists working at NASA.

　　C be shareD by the two projects under the Space Launch Initiative.

　　D be spent on the investigation of the ColumbiA disaster.

　　【參考答案】

　　1. C 2. C 3. A 4. B 5. D

　　6. C 7. B 8. A 9. D 10. C

　　11. B 12. C 13. A 14. D 15. C