大学英语4综合复习资料Part I Reading Comprehension Passage 1 For centuries Dutch engineers have been fighting a war against water. Their main enemy is the sea. A large part of the country is below sea level. In fact, Holland is also called the “Netherlands” which means “low land.” Very tall and strong walls, called dykes, have built to keep out the sea. But in very rough weather the sea may suddenly burst through a dyke. Great damage can be caused by floods when this happens.Three large rivers are also part of the problem. These rivers are the Rhine, the Maas and the Scheldt. They flow through Holland into the North Sea. They have cut many passages across the country. At low tides, the rivers flow into the sea as usual. But at high tide, the sea can flow into the rivers! This is because the land is so low.The battles against the water never end, but they have made Holland a bigger and bigger country. In order to prevent floods, the engineers take or reclaim land that was under water. The Dutch have been reclaiming land for seven hundred years.Land is usually reclaimed from a passage between islands. Two dykes are built across the passage, so they block the water between them. Then the engineers dig long canals and pump the water into them. At low tide, the canals empty the water into the sea.Because the land is so low, water from the sea and rivers can rise up through the ground. For this reason, the pumps continue working even the land has been drained (that is, when the water has been pumped away). The dykes contain gates, and through these the water is pumped out. In many parts of Holland, pumps must be working all the time. If they stopped, there will be very bad floods.1. Water is the main threat to Holland because _.A. the sea is too roughB. the land is lower than the seaC. the high and strong dykes can not keep the floods outD. the weather is too rough2. “Netherlands” means _.A. high landB. land of waterC. low land D. land of dykes3. Holland is threatened not only by the sea, but also by _.A. the floods from broken dykesB. the three riversC. the sea tidesD. many passages the three rivers have cut across the country4. The Holland claim land from the sea in order to _.A. prevent floodsB. make their country largerC. make their country more beautifulD. have more farmland5. If pumps stop working there will be very bad floods because _.A. the water will run back at high tideB. the sea may break the dykes in rough weatherC. the battle against water will never endD. the land is too low and water can rise up through the drained landPassage 2 Some people believe that international sport creates goodwill between the nations and that if countries play games together they will learn to live together. Others say that the opposite is true: that international contests encourage false national pride and lead to misunderstanding and hatred. There is probably some truth in both arguments, but in recent years the Olympic Games have done little to support the view that sports encourage international brotherhood. Not only was there the tragic incident involving the murder of athletes, but the Games were also ruined by lesser incidents caused principally by minor national contests. One country received its second-place medals with visible indignation after the hockey final. There had been noisy scenes at the end of the hockey match, the losers objecting to final decisions. They were convinced that one of their goals should not have been disallowed and that their opponents victory was unfair. Their manager was in a rage when he said, “This wasnt hockey. Hockey and the International Hockey Federation are finished.” The president of the Federation said later that such behavior could result in the suspension of the team for at least two years. The American basketball team announced that they would not yield first place to Russia, after a disputable end to their contest. The game had ended in disturbance. It was thought at first that the United States had won, by a single point, but it was announced that there were three seconds still to play. A Russian player then threw the ball from one end of the court to the other, and another player propped it into the basket. It was the first time the USA had ever lost an Olympic basketball match. An appeal jury debated the matter for four and a half hours before announcing that the result would stand. The American players then voted not to receive the silver medals. Incidents of this kind will continue as long as sport is played competitively rather than for the love of the game. The suggestion that athletes should compete as individuals, or in non-national teams, might be too much to hope for. But in the present organization of the Olympics there is far too much that encourages aggressive patriotism. 6. According to the author, recent Olympic Games have_