二、閱讀理解(11-30)

　　Last August, Joe and Mary Mahoney began looking at colleges for their 17-year-old daughter, Maureen. With a checklist of criteria in hand, the Dallas family looked around the country visiting half a dozen schools. They sought a university that offered the teenager's intended major, one located near a large city, and a campus where their daugh-ter would be safe.

　　"The safety issue is a big one," says Joe Mahoney, who quickly discovered he wasn't alone in his worries. On campus tours other parents voiced similar concerns, and the same question was always asked: what about crime? But when college officials always gave the same answer—— "That's not a problem here," Mahoney began to feel uneasy.

　　"No crime whatsoever?" comments Mahoney today."I just don't buy it. " Nor should he: in 1999 the U. S. Department of Education had reports of nearly 400,000 seri-ous crimes on or around our campuses."Parents need to understand that times have changed since they went to college," says David Nichols, author of Creating a Safe Cam-pus."Campus crime mirrors the rest of the nation. "

　　But getting accurate information isn't easy. Colleges must report crime statistics by law, but some hold back for fear of bad publicity, leaving the honest ones looking danger-ous."The truth may not always be obvious," warns S. Daniel Carter of Security on Cam-pus, Inc, the nation's leading campus safety watchdog group.

　　To help concerned parents, Carter promised to visit campuses and talk to experts around the country to find out major crime issues and effective solutions.

　　11.The Mahoneys visited quite a few colleges last August __________.

　　A.to express the opinions of many parents

　　B.to choose a right one for their daughter

　　C.to check the cost of college education

　　D.to find a right one near a large city

　　答案：B

　　12.It is often difficult to get correct information on campus crime because some colle-ges __________.

　　A.receive too many visitors

　　B.mirror the rest of the nation

　　C.hide the truth of campus crime

　　D.have too many watchdog groups

　　答案：C

　　13.The underlined word "buy" in the third paragraph means __________.

　　A.mind

　　B.admit

　　C.believe

　　D.expect

　　答案：C

　　14.We learn from the text that "the honest ones" in the fourth paragraph most probably refers to colleges__________.

　　A.that are protected by campus security

　　B.that report campus crime by law

　　C.that are free from campus crime

　　D.that enjoy very good publicity

　　答案：B

　　15.What is the text mainly about?

　　A.Exact campus crime statistics.

　　B.Crimes on or around campuses.

　　C.Effective solutions to campus crime.

　　D.Concerns about kids'campus safety.

　　答案：D

　　Short and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team.

　　"Football, tennis, ricket——anything with a round ball, I was useless," he says now with a laugh. But back then he was the object of jokes in school gym classes in England's rural Devonshire.

　　It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him. At first the teen went biking alone in a nearby forest. Then he began to cycle along with a runner friend. Gradually, Saunders set his mind to build up his body,increase his speed,strength and endurance. At age 18, he ran his first marathon.

　　The following year, he met John Ridgway, who became famous in the 1960s for row- ing an open boat across the Atlantic Ocean. Saunders was hired as an instructor atRidgway's School of Adventure in Scotland, where he learned about the older man's cold-water exploits (成就). Intrigued, Saunders read all he could about Arctic explorers and North Pole expeditions, then decided that this would be his future.

　　Journeys to the Pole aren't the usual holidays for British country boys, and many peo-ple dismissed his dream as fantasy."John Ridgway was one of the few who didn't say,"You are completely crazy, '" Saunders says.

　　In 2001, after becoming a skilled skier, Saunders started his first long-distance expe-dition toward the North Pole. He suffered frostbite, had a close encounter with a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit.

　　Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, andhe's skied more of the Arctic by himself than any other Briton. His old playmates would not believe the transformation.

　　This October, Saunders, 27, heads south to explore from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, an 1800-mile journey that has never been completed on skis.

　　16.The turning point in Saunders' life came when __________.

　　A.he started to play ball games

　　B.he got a mountain bike at age 15

　　C.he ran his first marathon at age 18

　　D.he started to receive Ridgway's training

　　答案：B

　　17.We can learn from the text that Ridgway __________.

　　A.dismissed Saunders' dream as fantasy

　　B.built up his body together with Saunders

　　C.hired Saunders for his cold-water experience

　　D.won his fame for his voyage across the Atlantic

　　答案：D

　　18.What do we know about Saunders?

　　A.He once worked at a school in Scotland.

　　B.He followed Ridgway to explore the North Pole.

　　C.He was chosen for the school sports team as a kid.

　　D.He was the first Briton to ski alone to the North Pole.

　　答案：A

　　19.The underlined word "Intrigued" in the third paragraph probably means __________.

　　A.Excited

　　B.Convinced

　　C.Delighted

　　D.Fascinated

　　答案：D

　　20.It can be inferred that Saunders' journey to the North Pole __________.

　　A.was accompanied by his old playmates

　　B.set a record in the North Pole expedition

　　C.was supported by other Arctic explorers

　　D.made him well-known in the 1960s

　　答案：B