四、Reading Comprehension (75 points)Directions: There are four reading passages in this part.Each passage is followed by five questions.For each question there are four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D.Choose one best answer and blacken the corresponding letter on ANSWER SHEET Ⅰ.
June came and the hay (干草) was almost ready for cutting. On Midsummer's Eve, which was a Saturday, Mr. Jones went into Willington and got so drunk at the Red Lion that he did not come back until midday on Sunday. His men had milked the cows in the early morning and then had gone out chatting without bothering to feed the animals. When Mr. Jones got back, he immediately went to sleep on the living-room sofa with the "News of the World" over his face. When evening came, the animals were still not fed. At last, they could stand no longer. One of the cows broke into the door of the storehouse with her horns and all the animals began to help themselves to the grains.
It was just then that Mr. Jones woke up. The next moment he and his four men were in the storehouse with whips in their hands, whipping in all directions. This was more than the hungry animals would bear. Together, though nothing of the kind had been planned beforehand, they jumped upon their masters. Mr. Jones and his men suddenly found themselves being struck with the horns and kicked from all sides. The situation was quite out Of their control. They had never seen these animals act like this before. This sudden rebellion of the creatures, which they were used
to beating and whipping just as they chose, frightened them. After only a moment or two, they gave up trying to defend themselves. A minute later all five of them were in full fright down the road with the animals running after them joyfully.
第36题单选 The four men did not feed the cows because __________.
A. they had not cut the hay yet
B. M Jones wasn't at home
C. they did not have time to feed them
D. the cows had fed themselves
参考答案：B
参考解析：这是一个幽默小故事。第一段。文中说乔恩先生在仲夏夜喝醉了酒，直到第二天
第37题单选 The cows broke into the storehouse because __________.
A. they did not like their masters
B. M Jones forgot to lock the door
C. they were kept in the cow-house too long
D. they were too hungry to wait for the feed
参考答案：D
参考解析：第一段。牛一整天都没有吃到东西，实在忍受不了了，便冲破了仓库的门。
第38题单选 What the five men finally do with the cows?
A. They chased and drove the cows awa
B. They continued beating the cow
C. They gave up the defense and ran awa
D. They gave in and fed the cow
参考答案：C
参考解析：第二段。乔恩先生和他的四个工人手拿皮鞭冲入仓库抽打他们的牛。
第39题单选 We can learn from the passage that __________.
A. the cows often ran out to look for food
B. the cows often had fights with their masters
C. M Jones and his men often beat the cows
D. M Jones and his men often forgot to feed the cows
参考答案：C
参考解析：第二段。事情一发生，他们立刻人手一根鞭。作者描述他们从没见过这些牛如此大胆地反抗，以及描述他们已经习惯了随意鞭打这些牛。这些都证实了一点，即乔恩和他的工人经常鞭打牛。
It was sunrise on an August morning when the captain and his crew cast their nets some 50 miles south of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. As the net was pulled over, the contents were poured out followed by excited cries of "Coins! Coins!
" The fishermen quickly realized they had realized a fishermen's dream: sunken treasure! And not just any treasure, but early American silver dollars that had gone down 210 years earlier.
In 1784, at the end of the American Revolutionary War, a heavily armed ship was bund for the port of New Orleans. On board was a fortune in Spanish Silver Dollars. Hundreds of thousands of them were loaded for the trip to New Orleans, yet not a single one arrived. With no survivors from the ill-fated voyage, historians can only guess at what happened. Some say powerful storms took her down while others speculate it was treasure-hungry pirates (海盗) . Whatever happened, the secret -- along with a treasure valued near $100,000,000 in today's dollars -- was sent to a watery grave some 300 feet below the ocean's surface.
Spanish Silver Dollars were the favorite coins of colonial Americans. Widely used and accepted as payment in the thirteen colonies, the United States government gave them the status of official legal tender. Unfortunately, even though they were struck in large quantities, not many of them survive today. After the Civil War, the government withdrew them from circulation and they were melted down.
Due to the historic discovery of the treasure, GovMint.com is releasing these coins to the public for an amazingly low price. For a limited time, these authentic silver dollars are priced at$49 plus shipping and handling -- a dramatic reduction from the market price of this coin anywhere else worldwide.
第40题单选 What surprised the fishermen on an August morning?
A. Their net contained a big strange-looking fish.
B. They found the treasure sunken 210 years ago.
C. They found some pieces of a sunken ship in the net.
D. Their net suddenly got caught by something deep in the water.
参考答案：B
参考解析：这是有关海底宝藏的故事。第一段。渔民在墨西哥湾打鱼，渔网捞上来的不是鱼，而是沉入海底的宝藏——210年前沉入海底的美国银元。
第41题单选 What happened to the ship heading for New Orleans in 1784?
A. Loaded with too much cargo, it hit on the rock
B. Robbed by pirates, it lost $100,000,000's worth of good
C. It disappeared but nobody knew exactly what had happene
D. It was caught in a terrible Storm and went down into the ocea
参考答案：C
参考解析：第二段。叙述210年前发生的事。1784年，一艘满载的船出发去新奥尔良，船上装有大量的西班牙银元。然而却没有一枚到达目的地，也没有一个人生还。所以，没有人知道究竟发生了什么。有人认为是暴风雨导致它沉没(选项D)，有人认为是海盗抢了它(选项B)。两种原因都只是猜测，不是正确选项。选项A本文中没有提及。
第42题单选 What do we know about "Spanish Silver Dollars"?
A. Today one coin equals to 49 dollars in the world marke
B. They were widely used in America after the Civil Wa
C. Issued in small amounts, not many of them surviv
D. They were officially accepted in the 13 colonie
参考答案：D
参考解析：第三段。叙述西班牙银元在美国的历史。西班牙银元曾在美国的13个州广泛使用，并被认定为官方法定货币。选项D是正确的。选项A在第四段提及，与此题无关。选项B与原文相反。文中说内战后政府就把这些货币熔掉了。选项C前半部分与原文相反。文中说曾经的使用量是很大的。
第43题单选 In which section of a magazine would you probably find this article?
A. Sports
B. Housing
C. History
D. Fashion
参考答案：C
参考解析：这篇文章主要从历史的角度叙述了210年前沉入海底的美国银元。所以，应该在杂志的历史栏目里看到这篇文章。
2017成考：2017成人高考新手指南 成人高考报名条件 成人高考考试时间
