砂土作为筑路材料比砂性土好。 ()
A. 正确
B. 错误
What is mainly discussed in the text?
A. The story of Quyuan.
B. How to choose the best oarsmen.
C. The influence of dragon-boat race to the world.
Dragon-Boat Festival and dragon-boat race.
Part A
Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D . Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.
The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the three major Chinese traditional festivals, along with Spring Festival and the Moon Festival. Of the three, it is possibly the oldest, dating back to the Warring States Period. As the term suggests, dragon-boat is a boat caved like a dragon. The origin of the dragon-boat race is related to Quyuan, a senior official of Chu in the period of the Warring States. He hated the crafty sycophants in the important positions. At last, he was squeezed out by them and exiled. He threw himself into a river on the fifth of the fifth lunar month in 278 BC. The local people organized spontaneously to rescue him by rowing boat. However, the rescue ended in vain. This common practice developed into the dragon-boat sports to memorize Quyuan.
The dragon-boat race has become a custom since Tang Dynasty. To win the race, the following must be concerned about:
1. High quality wood. Heavy wood will affect the speed, so it is usually made of light wood.
2. Players with energy, endurance and rowing skills. The method to choose excellent oarsmen is interesting. Two contestants sit in the same boat back to back. They both row to the directions they are facing, and the one whose direction the boat moves to is the winner. He will be chosen as the player.
3. Excellent dispatch. Since there are scores or even a hundred oarsmen on a boat, they can not win the game until they are in the same step. A strong man beat a drum in the center of the boat, and the oarsmen unity the rhythm accordingly, which helps them to be in step to win the game.
Last but not least, an excellent coxswain is very important. The boat moves forward like a lightning once it sets off. It is not easy to adjust if it moves off the right direction.
Nowadays, dragon-boat race has been a world competitive game. The first world dragon boat championship was held in China in 1995. Every spring there are nearly 60 dragon boat races are held outside China in cities from Vancouver to Sydney, from Gdansk, Poland to Cape Town, South Africa. Canada alone has nearly 50 dragon boat teams and Germany has nearly 30. It is influencing the world with its special power.
Which of the following statements would the author be likely to agree?
A. The heavier the wood is, the better the boat is.
B. The stronger players are more likely to be chosen in the dragon boat race.
C. Good oarsmen can drive the boat in perfect direction.
D. The final result of the race is dependant on three conditions.
Nobody can be really free from the sound. Whether we live in the middle of a modern city or a faraway village, we are surrounded by sound every day such as the sounds from television and radio, household appliances, and traffic. Sound makes up a part of our life.
In fact, most of us can not bear total silence. Sound gives us a sense of safety and brings us joy. Scientific tests have also proved that total silence is a very frightening experience for human beings. A recent report shows that people feel quite lonely without background sound while they are working. The background sound which doesn't change too much may even help people to concentrate.
However, sometimes, sound is not helpful and joyful in people's life. Normally, we hear these sounds at safe levels that do not affect our hearing. However, when we are exposed to harmful noise—the sounds that are too loud or loud sounds that last a long time, sensitive structures in our inner ear can be damaged, causing hearing loss.
Besides, unpleasant sounds, particularly sudden and uneven ones, may cause fear and anger. Noise is a source of stress, which can lead to tiredness, irritability and headaches. Noise can also raise blood pressure, putting strain on the heart. People living in homes exposed to high levels of road-traffic noise were more likely to report having hypertension, according to a study in Environmental Health, The researchers estimate the noise levels for the addresses of more than 24,000 Swedish. They found that people exposed to an average traffic-noise level above 64 decibels (slightly louder than a normal conversation) were 52% more likely than people exposed to 45 decibels of road noise to report having high blood pressure, a key risk factor for heart disease, after removing age, socioeconomic status, and other variables. Noise exposure could cause hypertension by persistently elevating the body's level of stress hormones.
Now we know that noise is harmful to our health, but can we get used to the excessive noise? The answer is NO. If, after long exposure to excessive noise, we stop hearing it — because we have become deaf!
From the first and second paragraphs we learn that
A. sound is requisite in our life.
B. total silence does not really exist.
C. the background sound will distract our attention.
D. people had better work in an environment without any sound.