Passage Three
Practically every serious study of Western history and the roots of the modern Western world starts with or very quickly focuses on the ancient Greeks and their achievements. Everything Western is not rightfully traced back to the Greeks. Christianity，though influenced by the great Greek thinker Plato and the Romans, is essentially near Eastern in spirit and content. Our Western legal system is probably more influenced by the Romans；and our prose literature comes from traditions that evolved well after the heyday of Greek civilization. Still，our poetry is inspired by ancient Greek poetry and virtually every ideal（traditional or modern）unique to the West is derived from the ancient Greeks—particularly ancient Athens.
Greek civilization came to be founded, in large part, on the ideals of freedom, optimism, secularism, rationalism, the glorification of both body and mind, and a high regard for the dignity and worth of the individual.
Though the ancient Greeks had a great deal of respect for their “gods”, they did not feel they were the slaves of the “gods” or that the “gods” were in control of their lives. Instead, the Greeks came to believe that the thoughts and actions of mankind were determined by human beings. That being the case, the Greeks strove to understand the world and to guide their future by rational and logical thoughts，not by superstitions or emotions. They believed that man was the greatest of creatures on earth and that both the body and the mind should be actively developed and encouraged to grow and become as strong as possible. Finally, the ancient Greeks felt that each separate and different person deserved to be treated fairly and justly. They believed that each person had his own dignity and worthiness that could never be taken away and should never be attacked, assaulted, suppressed, denied, or ignored by anyone else—even the highest of Kings or the most powerful of people.
Their culture was the first in the history of the West to be based upon the primacy of the intellect. They were the first to believe firmly in the supremacy of free inquiry. They investigated any and all subjects without fear and considered no issue or problem beyond the scope of man’ s reason and thought. To them the mind was supreme over faith or dogma and logic, and science was superior to superstition.
11. The main idea of this passage would be .
A. certain ancient Greeks who contributed to the development of Western culture
B. particular individuals among the ancient Greeks who produced peerless intellectual and aesthetic achievements
C. golden heritage of the ancient Greek civilization
D. models of perfection for the culture of the West
12. It can be inferred from the passage that the ancient Greeks were .
A. under the sway of mysticism
B. at the mercy of their passions
C. primarily concerned with human interests and values
D. given to a trust in the power of magical forces
13. The word “strove” in paragraph 3, sentence 3 is closest in meaning to .
A. studied B. learned C. believed D. endeavored
14. The word “dogma”at the end of the passage is closest in meaning to .
A. tenet B. tenure C. tenant D. taint
15. It can be inferred from the passage that the ancient Greek civilization .
A. inspired the Western prose literature
B. was the source from which mythology evolved
C. was the origin to which everything western is justifiably traced back
D. still serves as models of perfection for the culture of the West
Passage Four
Botany, the study of plants, occupies a peculiar position in the history of human knowledge. For many thousands of years it was the one field of awareness about which humans had anything more than the vaguest of insights. It is impossible to know today just what our Stone Age ancestors knew about plants, but from what we can observe of preindustrial societies that still exist, a detailed learning of plants and their properties must be extremely ancient. This is logical. Plants are the basis of the food pyramid for all living things, even for other plants. They have always been enormously important to the welfare of people, not only for food, but also for clothing, weapons, tools, dyes, medicines, shelter, and a great many other purposes. Tribes living today in the jungles of the Amazon recognize literally hundreds of plants and know many properties of each. To them botany, as such, has no name and is probably not even recognized as a special branch of knowledge at all.
Unfortunately, the more industrialized we become the farther away we move from direct contact with plants, and the less distinct our knowledge of botany grows. Yet everyone comes unconsciously on amazing amount of botanical knowledge, and few people will fail to recognize a rose, an apple, or an orchid. When our Neolithic ancestors, living in the Middle East about 10, 000 years ago, discovered that certain grasses could be harvested and their seeds planted for richer yields the next season, the first step in a new association of plants and humans was taken. Grains were discovered and from them flowed the marvel of agriculture; cultivated crops. From then on, humans would increasingly take their living from the controlled production of a few plants, rather than getting a little here and a little there from many varieties that grew wild—and the accumulated knowledge of tens of thousands of years of experience and intimacy with plants in the wild would begin to fade away.
16. Which of the following assumptions about early humans is expressed in the passage？
A. They divided knowledge into several fields.
B. They probably had extensive knowledge of plants.
C. They knew little about the environment they were living in.
D. They invented the term“botany”but had no idea of what it was about.
17. The phrase “properties of each” in paragraph 1 refers to the properties of .
A. each tribe B. each jungle
C. each plant D. each purpose
18. The author mentions “a rose, an apple, or an orchid” in paragraph 2 to .
A. make the passage more poetic
B. test the reader’s knowledge
C. illustrate the diversity of botanical life
D. give botanical examples that most readers will recognize
19. According to the passage, why has general knowledge of botany declined？
A. Industrialization has spoiled the natural environment.
B. Botany is no longer regarded as a special branch of science.
C. Research is unable to keep up with the increasing number of plants.
D. Direct contact with a variety of plants has decreased.
20. According to the passage，what was the first great step taken toward agriculture？
A. The invention of agricultural machinery.
B. The production of a controlled number of plants.
C. The discovery of certain grasses that could be harvested and replanted.
D. The close relationship between human beings and plants.
参考答案：
Passage Three
［短文大意］本文是一篇探讨古希腊文化方面的论说文。文章介绍了古希腊文明对后世文明，尤其是西方文明的深远影响。文中谈及希腊文明的内容，并着重阐述了古希腊人对个人尊严的重视、精神自由的崇尚和对现实理智的追索。
［题目解释］
11. C. 主旨题。可套用主旨≠细节和主旨≠部分内容的排除法做题公式来排除干扰项。文章的中心意思讲的是古希腊文明对后世文明，尤其是西方文明的影响和遗传（heritage），所以应选C。
12. C. 推断题。应从四个选项入手，逐一回查原文中相应信息所在位置，以判断其表述是否与原文相符。本题所要推断的是希腊人对magical power/mysticism和human values和passions的态度问题，这一部分内容集中在第三段。文章中说希腊人虽然十分尊崇他们的神，但并不是神的奴隶，也并不认为他们的命运掌握在神的手中，可见A和D项都不对。相反的，他们重视人自身的力量，相信未来主要是应当通过理性和有逻辑的行动来实现、来创造，而不是被感情所左右，所以B项也不符合题意，正确的选项为C。
13. D. 猜测词义题。可套用公式正确答案≈原文中对该词的解释。从原文中找到该词后，根据上下文确定其含义，然后到四个选项中找到它的同义或近义词，并放入原文中看是否适合。原文中说希腊人相信人的思维和行动都掌握在自己的手中，于是他们就努力地认识这个世界，希望通过理性和有逻辑的思想来引导自己的将来。strive to 在这里强调了他们花了时间、付出努力去进行追求，四个选项中endeavor to 表达了相同的意义，所以选D。
14. A. 猜测词义题。可套用公式正确答案≈原文中对该词的解释。从原文中找到该词后，如果是一个生词，可以根据文中用并列或转折等关系做出对该词含义的解释，猜出该词的意思来。然后到选项中找出意思最相近的一项。如果dogma对于你来说是一个生词，可以到原文中去判断它的意思。原文中faith和dogma之间用or来连接，说明两个词之间是并列关系，并且在意思上可以互相替换。因为 dogma是“教条，信条”的意思。虽然四个选项长得很像，但意思大不相同。tenet 与dogma意思相同，即“信条，信念，原则”；tenure指的是“（土地的）租用和占有；（土地的）使用期限”；tenant指的是“房客，租客”；taint指的是“污点”。
15. D. 推断题。应从四个选项入手，逐一回查原文相应信息点，以判断其表述是否与原文相符。A选项涉及的是第一段中关于散文文体的内容。文中提到了散文的例子是为了证明并非所有的西方文化都是来源于古希腊，譬如说散文就是在希腊文化高峰的后期才开始发展的。所以A项不正确。B项无法在原文中找到与之相对应的内容。虽然原文中提到了古希腊的神，但这是为了说明古希腊人不盲目迷信神灵时才提到的，并没有涉及神话的问题。C项与文章第一段第二句的内容正好完全相反，是错误的。文章用很大的篇幅阐述古希腊的人本主义思想，这在今日的西方世界甚至全世界仍然为人们称颂，可见D选项中所说的古希腊文明堪为后世楷模是正确的。
Passage Four
［短文大意］本文是一篇介绍植物学的说明文。文章认为植物学在人类历史上占据着独特的地位，人们早就对植物就有广泛的认识，它对于人们的生活也至关重要，但工业化程度越高，我们与植物的直接接触就越少，我们对植物学的认识就越模糊。
［题目解释］
16. B. 细节题。可套用公式正确答案≈原文中含有题干中心词的一句话—题干中心词。题干中的关键词为early humans，要回答该题，就应赶快回到原文去寻找和定位所需信息。从第一段中“a detailed learning of plants and their properties must be extremely ancient”和“Tribes living today in the jungles of the Amazon recognize literally hundreds of plants and know many properties of each.”可知，即使在远古时代人们就已经对植物有了广泛的认识。B正是此意。
17. C. 猜测词义题。可套用公式正确答案≈原文中对该词的解释。其实题干是在问“properties of each”中each，应该从前面所指的内容中去找，即“Tribes living today in the jungles of the Amazon recognize literally hundreds of plants and know many properties of each”。and之前的名词词组是hundreds of plants，这也是离代词each最近的名词词组。Each指的是hundreds of plants中任一种，即each plant。
18. D. 判断推理题。回查原文相关信息的位置，前文中“Yet everyone comes unconsciously on amazing amount of botanical knowledge”，每个人都无意识地学到了大量的植物学知识，那么随后的“few people will fail to recognize a rose，an apple，or an orchid”，应该是对前文的进一步说明，用具体的生动的例子来证实人们的植物知识。
19. D. 判断推理题。“general knowledge of botany declined”的原因，在第二段的段首提及。第二段的段首句就是“工业化程度越高，我们与植物的直接接触就越少，我们对植物学的认识就越模糊”。直接道出原因。
20. C. 细节题。可套用公式正确答案≈原文中含有题干关键词的一句话——题干关键词。选项中的关键词是“the first great step toward agriculture”。带着选项的关键词，回查原文相关信息，即发现文章第二段中“When our Neolithic ancestors，living in the Middle East about 10，000 years ago，discovered that certain grasses could be harvested and their seeds planted for richer yields the next season，the first step in a new association of plants and humans was taken.”便可知“the discovery of certain grasses that could be harvested and replanted”是农业发展迈出的第一步。
