英语阅读竞赛网上试题之.docx

英语阅读竞赛网上试题之.docx

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英语阅读竞赛网上试题之

英语阅读竞赛网上试题之

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SkimmingandScanning

15Passages

Directions:

Inthispart,youwillhave15minutestogooverthepassagequicklyandanswerthequestionsonAnswerSheet1.

　　Forquestions1-7,mark

　　Y（forYES）ifthestatementagreeswiththeinformationgiveninthepassage;

　　N（forNO）ifthestatementcontradictstheinformationgiveninthepassage;

　　NG（forNOTGIVEN）iftheinformationisnotgiveninthepassage.

　　Forquestions8-10,completethesentenceswiththeinformationgiveninthepassage.

Passage1

TheHouseofLords

WelcometotheHouseofLords

OneofthemostfamiliarimagesoftheHouseofLordsistheStateOpeningofParliamentbyHerMajestytheQueen.Thisisasplendidandcolorfulceremonialoccasion.TheQueen'sSpeech（writtenbytheGovernment）setsoutParliament'sworkingagendaforthecomingyear.

ButtheHouseisnotjustaplacewheregrandceremoniestakeplace.TheHousehasexistedasaseparatechamberofParliamentsincethe14thcentury,andispartoftheoldestparliamentarydemocracyintheworld.Itisalsooneofthebusiest,secondonlytotheHouseofCommonsinthenumberofdaysandhoursitsits.

AmajortaskoftheHouseistoexamineandpasslegislation.TheHouseplaysakeyroleinrevisinglegislationsentfromtheCommons.Italsoinitiateslegislation,andsosharestheburdenofthelegislativeload.

Anotherimportantfunctionistoactasacheckongovernmentbyscrutinizingitsactivities.TheHousedoesthisbyaskingquestions,debatingpolicyand,throughitsselectcommittees,takingevidencefromministersandothers.

TheHousealsohasanimportantjudicialroleasthehighestCourtofAppealintheland.

MembersoftheHouse,collectively,haveanenormousbreadthofexperienceand,individually,arecharacterizedbyindependenceofthought.TheycomplementtheworkoftheelectedHouseofCommons,whichreflectspoliticalandconstituencyinterestsandwhich,unliketheLords,mustspendasubstantialamountoftimeonfinancialandpublicexpenditureissues.

ThisbriefguidegivesaflavoroftheHouse'sworkanditscontributiontoParliamentandthecountry.

TheHouseofLords—whatitdoes?

•Itprocessesandreviseslegislation.BillshavetogothroughvariousstagesinbothHousesbeforetheyreceiveRoyalAssentandbecomeActs.TheLordsspendsabouttwo-thirdsofitstimerevisingorinitiatinglegislation.

•ItactsasacheckontheGovernment.MembersquestiontheGovernmentorallyorbywrittenquestions,theydebatepolicyissuesandscrutinizesecondarylegislation.

•Itprovidesaforumofindependentexpertise.SpecialistCommitteesusemembers'wide-rangingexpertise.TheEuropeanUnionCommittee's7sub-committeesinvolvingover70memberswhovetproposedEuropeanlegislation.TheScienceandTechnologyCommitteeinvolvesover20Membersinexaminingsciencepolicy.TherearealsoCommitteesontheConstitutionandEconomicaffairs.

•ItactsasafinalcourtofAppeal.TheHouse,throughitsAppellateCommittee,fulfilsthisfunctionfortheUnitedKingdomincivilcasesandforEngland,NorthernIrelandandWalesincriminalcases.Itssittings,ontheCommitteecorridor,areopentothepublic.

Atypicalworkingday

TheChamberoftheHouseofLordsisthemainfocusforitswork,particularlypubliclegislationanddebates,butmuchwork,mainlybyselectcommitteesandonprivatelegislation,isdoneoutsidetheChamberincommitteeroomsinthemornings.

TheHousesitsat2.30p.m.untilnotlaterthan10p.m.onMondaysandTuesdays,at3p.m.onWednesdaysandat11a.m.onThursdays.IfitsitsonaFridayitusuallystartsat11a.m.

SomeimportantdatesinthehistoryoftheHouseofLords

•14thcentury—TheLordsbegintositinseparateHousefromtheCommons.MembersoftheHouseofLordsaredrawnfromtheChurch（LordsSpiritual）andfrommagnateschosenbytheMonarch（LordsTemporal）,whileCommonsmembersrepresenttheshiresandboroughs.

•15thcentury—LordsTemporalbecomeknownas"peers".

•18thcentury—ActsofUnionwithScotland（1707）andIreland（1800）entitleScottishandIrishpeerstoelectrepresentativestositintheLords.

•1834—ThePalaceofWestminster,includingtheHouseofLords,isdestroyedbyfire.RebuildingofthenewPalace,designedbySirCharlesBarryandAugustusPugin,beginsin1840.

•1847—TheHouseofLordsfirstsitsinitsnewchamber.

•1876—AppellateJurisdictionAct—CreatesLordsofAppealinOrdinary（LawLords）tocarryoutthejudicialworkoftheHouseasthefinalCourtofAppeal.

•1911and1949ParliamentActs—AllowsomebillstobecomeActswithouttheconsentoftheLordsandlimitthepowertodelayotherbillstooneyear.

•1958LifePeeragesAct—Createsbaronies"forlife"formenandwomen;womensitintheHouseforthefirsttime.

•1963PeerageAct—Allowshereditarypeerstodisclaimtheirpeerages,andhereditarypeeressesandallScottishpeerstositintheHouse.

•1999HouseofLordsAct—Removestherightofallexcept92hereditarypeerstositandvoteintheHouse.

•2005ConstitutionalReformAct—SetsupaSupremeCourt（fromOctober2009）,separatingthejudicialandlegislativefunctions.

Members

UnlikeMPs,Lordsareunelectedandunpaid,exceptforcertainallowancestocoverattendancewhichisvoluntary.ThereisnoupperlimitonthetotalnumberofMembers.Currentlythereareabout700Members.Theyinclude26ArchbishopsandBishopsand92hereditarypeersunderthetermsoftheHouseofLordsAct1999.ApartfromthefixednumberofBishopsandhereditarypeers,numbersineachofthepartyandcrossbenchgroupsfluctuate.UptodatefigurescanbefoundontheInternet.

PartyGroups

Eachofthethreemainpartygroups,Conservative,LaborandLiberalDemocrat,hasaleader,whipswhoorganizethebusinessoftheHouseanddepartmentalspokesmenwhositonthefrontbench.Manypeershavenopartyaffiliationandareknownascrossbenchers.TheyhaveaConvenerbutnowhipsystem.TheirindependenceisadistinctivefeatureoftheHouseofLords.

TheLordSpeakerpresidesoverbusinessintheChamberandcanofferadvicebut,unliketheSpeakeroftheHouseofCommons,hasnopowertocontrolproceedingsastheHouseregulatesitself—keepingorderintheHouseistheresponsibilityofallthememberspresent.

OnParchment,inprint,onTVandonline

TheHouseofLords'businessisrecordedinavarietyofforms:

•Theday'sproceedingsareprintedintheOfficialReport,referredtoasHansardafteritsfirstprinter,andalsoavailablewithotherinformationat.

•ThetelevisingofParliamentwaspioneeredbytheHouseofLordsin1985andtheLords'proceedingscanbeseenonBBCParliament.

•Forliveweb-castofproceedingsgotowww.parliamentlive.tv.

•Archivesfrom1497,includingoriginalActsofParliament,arekeptintheHouseofLordsRecordOffice（TheParliamentArchives）,whichisopentothepublic.

Questions:

1.ThepassageisabriefguideoftheHouseofLords,whichgivesanintroductionoftheHouse'sworkanditscontributiontoParliamentandthecountry.

2.GrandceremoniesliketheStateOpeningofParliamentusuallytakesplaceintheHouseofLords.

3.TheHouseofCommonsplaysakeyroleinrevisinglegislationsentfromtheHouseofLords.

4.OnTuesdaystheHouseofLordssitsat2.30p.m.untilnotlaterthan10p.m.

5.Itisin1876thatwomenforthefirsttimesitintheHouseofLords.

6.TheMPsareunelectedandunpaid,exceptforcertainallowancestooverattendancewhichisvoluntary.

7.ThereisalimitonthetotalnumberofmembersintheParliament.

8.ThemainfunctionoftheHouseofLordsistoexamineandpass.

9.WhenBillsgothroughvariousstagesinbothHousesandfinallyreceiveRoyalAssent,theybecome___________.

10.________,LaborandLiberalDemocratarethethreemainpartygroupsintheUK.

Passage2

EnergyintheFuture

Greatsourcesofenergyareneededifgovernmentswanttodevelopindustryandmakelifemorecomfortable.However,fuelswhichareusedtoproduceenergyatthemomentwillsoonrunout.Itseemscertainthatpeoplewillhavetodependonnuclearpowerasthesourceofenergy.Butalotofpeopledonotwantthisformofenergy;theythinkitisdangerousandsowouldlikesomeothersourceofpower.Manysuggestionshavebeenmade;someofthemarenotverypracticalbutotherscouldbeusedsuccessfully.

Peoplewhoareagainstnuclearpowerwouldratherusetheforcesofnature,forexamplethewind,thesea,theriversandthesun.Itisstrangetothinkthatthesesourcesofenergywereusedlongagoforwindmillsorforwatermillsbutthenwerealmostforgotten.Hydro-electricityisprobablythemostusedformofenergysuppliedbynature.Yetonlyasmallpartofthewaterenergywhichcouldbeusedisindeedused.IncountriessuchasBritain,America,CanadaandRussia,therearegreatpossibilitiesfordevelopinghydro-electricitybutonlyasmallnumberofgeneratorshavebeenbuilt.

Hydro-electricitycannotbedevelopedincertaincountries,however,becausemountainsorhillsareneededtogivethenecessaryforcetothewaterasitfalls.Morethanthree-quartersoftheearthiscoveredbythesea,whichisalwaysmoving.Themovementofthewaterdependsonthemoonwhichpullsattheearth.Theseamovesfirstinonedirectionandthenbackagain;thismovementbackwardsandforwardsiscalledthe"tide".Insomepartsoftheworldthetideisverystrongandwatermovesveryquickly.Itispossibletoproduceelectricitybyusingtheforcesoftidestoturnthebladesofaturbine.Thissourceofpoweriscalled"tidalenergy".Itissurprisingtofindthatonlyonecountryintheworldproducesenergyinthisway: