第三篇
Weight on and off the Earth
We are so used to our life on the surface of the earth that it can be quite an effort for our mind to break free of all the ideas that we take for granted. Because we can feel that things are heavy, we think of "weight" as being a fixed quality in an object, but it is not really fixed at all. If you could take a one-pound packet of butter 4, 000 miles out from the earth, it would weigh only a quarter of a pound.
Why would things weigh only a quarter as much as they do at the surface of the earth if we took them 4,000 miles out into space? The reason is this: All objects have a natural attraction for all other objects; this is called gravitational attraction. But this power of attraction between two objects gets weaker as they get farther apart. When the butter was at the surface of the earth, it was 4,000 miles from the center. When we took the butter 4,000 miles out, it was 8,000 from the center, which is twice the distance. If you double the distance between two objects, their gravitational attraction decreases two times two. If you treble the distance, it gets nine times weaker (three times three) and so on.
So this is one of the first things we need to remember: that the weight of an object in space is not the same as its weight on the surface of the earth. What about the weight of our pound of butter on the surface of the moon? At the distance the pull of the earth is about 4,000 times smaller than it is here on the surface, so we can forget all about the earth-pull on our butter.
On the other hand, on the moon there will be an attraction between the butter and the moon: but the butter will weigh only about one-sixth as much as it does on the earth. This is because the moon is so much smaller than the earth. The amount of gravitational pull Hat a body produces depends on the amount of material in it .A packet of butter has a gravitational pull of its own; but this is very small in relation to the pull of something as large as the moon, or the earth, or the sun.
41 How much would four pounds of tea weigh if it was taken 4,000 miles out from the surface of the earth?
A 1 pound.
B 2 pounds.
C 3 pounds.
D 4 pounds.
42 We find it hard to break free from ideas connected with living on the earth because___________
A it demands too great an effort for us to do so.
B we are too familiar with the way things are to question the ideas.
C we have proved that those ideas are correct.
D we are so sure of ourselves that we never doubt anything on the earth.
43 According to the passage, "weight" should be understood in the sense that___________
A it is fixed if it is outside the earth's gravitational pull.
B it decreases four times when it is 4,000 miles from the earth's center.
C it varies with the change of the gravitational attraction between two objects.
D things increase in amount as they are closer to the earth's surface.
44 We do not feel the gravitational pull of a packet of butter because___________
A it is too small to have a gravitational pull of its own.
B its pull is so small that we tend to ignore it.
C its pull disappears in the presence of the earth's gravitation.
D it tends to melt and loses its gravitational pull.
45 The main idea of this passage is___________
A different weight systems in different places.
B freedom from traditional ideas.
C traveling from the earth to the moon.
D the effect of gravitation on weight.
参考答案：
31. C32. D33. C34. B35. A
36. C37. A38. D39. A40. C
41. A42. B43. C44. B45. D
五、补全短文(第46——50题，每题2分，共10分)
阅读下面的短文，文章中有5处空白，文章后面有6组文字，请根据文章的内容选择5组文字，将其分别放回文章原有位置，以恢复文章原貌。请将答案涂在答题卡相应的位置上。
How to Interview People
Interviewing (采访) is one of those skills that you can only get better at. You will never again feel so ill at ease as when you try it for the first time, and probably you'll never feel entirely comfortable trying to get from another person answers that he or she may be too shy to reveal. ___________(46) The rest is instinct, which can all be learned with experience.
The basic tools for an interview are paper and two or three well-sharpened pencils. But keep your notebook or paper out of sight until you need it. There's nothing less likely to relax a person than the arrival of someone with a note-taking pad. ___________(47) Take a while just to chat, judging what sort of person you're dealing with, getting him or her to trust you.
Never go into an interview without doing whatever homework you can. If you are interviewing a town official, know his voting record. If it's an actor, know what plays he has been in. ___________(48)
Many beginning interviewers are afraid that they are forcing the other person to answer questions and have no right to inquire about his personal secrets.___________(49) Unless the person really hates being interviewed, he is delighted that somebody wants to interview him. Most men and women lead lives that are uninteresting, and they grasp any chance to talk to an outsider who seems eager to listen.
This doesn't necessarily mean that it will go well. In general you will be talking to people who have never been interviewed before, and they will get used to the process awkwardly, perhaps not giving you anything that you can use. ___________(50) You will both even begin to enjoy it - proof that you aren't forcing your victim to do something he doesn't really want to.
A Come back another day; it will go better
B But at least half of the skill is mechanical
C As one philosopher interviewed in the film notes, they lack irony
D You will not be liked if you inquire about facts that you could have learned in advance.
E This fear is almost 100 percent unnecessary
F Both of you need time to get to know each other
参考答案：
46. B47. F48. D49. E50. A
六、完形填空(第51——65题，每题1分，共15分)
阅读下面的短文，文中有15处空白，每处空白给出了4个选项，请根据短文的内容从4个选项中选择1个最佳答案，涂在答题卡相应的位置上。
Cost as a Factor in Supply
In a purely competitive market, the supplier of goods and services has no control over the market price, because he produces too little to influence market conditions. With no difference between his products and the products___________ (51) his competitors, he will sell nothing if he charges above the market price and he will sell all if he charges at or___________(52) the market price. However, in considering the price, he must take the___________(53) of production into consideration. There are times when he may be willing to sell below his cost. This might happen when prices tumble for___________(54) he believes will be a short time. However, no business person can ___________(55) to lose money for a prolonged period. He must be constantly ___________(56) of his costs in relation to the market price if he is to compete successfully and earn a profit.
Many people have the impression that as production increases, costs per unit decrease. ___________(57) mass production has made this true in certain industries and at certain levels of production, ___________(58) logic and practical experiences have shown that costs per unit begin to rise beyond a certain level of production. Some economists___________(59) to this principle as the law of increasing costs.
The reason costs rise as production goes up is ___________(60). However, it is easy to recognize that as production goes up, the need for additional factors of production will also grow, ___________ (61) competitive bidding in the marketplace for the factors of production. If a producer needs ___________(62) skilled labor to produce more, and none of this labor is unemployed, the producer will have to get___________ (63) from other sources. This can be done by___________(64) higher wages. Higher bidding would also apply to the other factors of production. We must also recognize that not all labor is equally productive, ___________(65) not all land is equally fertile and not all ore (矿石) is equally rich in the mineral wanted.
51 A to B at C of D on
52 A below B beneath C over D above
53 A price B cost C worth D profit
54 A that B why C what D if
55 A afford B pretend C offer D decide
56 A sure B afraid C aware D suspicious
57 A Because B since C When D While
58 A both B neither C none D any
59 A resort B refer C turn D attend
60 A clear B simple C difficult D complex
61 A bringing B resulting in C including D carrying out
62 A less B numerous C more D many
63 A them B these C it D those
64 A offering B cutting C reducing D having
65 A as if B just as C because D while
参考答案：
51. C52. A53. B54. C55. A
56. C57. D58. A59. B60. D
61. B62. C63. C64. A65. B
