III.Reading Comprehension (50 points)
Section A(30 points)
Directions: There are 2 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by
some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices
marked A，B，C and D. You are required to choose the ONE that best fits into the
statement. Mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line
through the center.
Passage 1
Questions 11-15 are based on the following passage.
Doctors believe that second-hand smoke may cause lung cancer in people who do not smoke.
Nonsmokers often breathe in the smoke from other people’s cigarettes. This is second-hand smoke. The US Environmental Protection Agency( 美国环保局 )reports that about fifty-three thousand people die in the United States each year as a result of exposure to second-hand smoke.
It is harder for children to avoid second-hand smoke. In the United States, nine million children under the age of five live in homes with at least one smoker. Research shows that these children are sick more often than children who live in homes where no one smokes. The damaging effects of second-hand smoke on children also continue as they grow up. The children of smokers are more than twice as likely to develop lung cancer when they are adults as children of nonsmokers. The risk is even higher for children who live in homes where both parents smoke.
People are becoming very aware of the danger of second-hand smoke. As a result, they have passed laws that prohibit people from smoking in many public places. Currently, 45 states in the US have laws that restrict smoking. The most well-known law doesn’t allow people to smoke on short native airline flights, i.e. flights within the country.
11. Compared with nonsmokers’ children, the children whose parents both smoke are likely to ______.
A. grow up more slowly
B. be sick under the age of five
C. develop lung cancer more often
D. become smokers more easily
12. Why are there laws made against smoking in public places in the US?
A. Because people are conscious of the danger of second-hand smoke.
B. Because more and more people don’t like smoke now.
C. Because parents don’t want their children to become smokers.
D. Because the government wants to limit the production of cigarettes.
13. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. The number of smoker’s children is twice greater than that of nonsmokers’ children.
B. People are now not allowed to smoke on short airline flights in the US.
C. Adults whose parents smoked when they were children develop cancer less frequently.
D. Second-hand smoke is not as dangerous as first-hand smoke.
14. From the passage we can conclude that______ .
A. the main cause of lung cancer is second-hand smoke
B. most people know nothing about the danger of second-hand smoke
C. public places are dangerous for people to stay
D. children suffer most from second-hand smoke
15. The word “restrict” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.
A. limit B. permit
C. control D. persuade