2011年秋季MBA联考英语阅读练习题附答案Passage 1Some houses designed to be smart. Others have smart designs. An example of the second type of house won an Award of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects.Located on the shore of Sullivans Island off the coast of South Carolina,the award-winning cube-shaped beach house was built to replace one smashed to pieces by Hurricane Hugo 10 years ago.In September 1989, Hugo struck South Carolina ,killing 18 people and damaging or destroying 36,000 homes in the state.Before Hugo,many new houses built along South Carolinas shoreline were poorly constructed and enforcement of building codes wasnt strict, according to architect Ray Huff, who created the cleverly-designed beach house. In Hugos wake,all new shoreline houses are required to meet sricter, better-enforced codes. The new beach house on Sullivans Island should be able to withstand a Category 3 hurricane with peak winds of 179 to 209 kilometers per hour.At first sight,the house on Sullivans Island looks anything but hurricane-poor.Its redwood shell makes it resemble a large party lanntern at night, according to one observer.But looks can be deceiving.The houses wooden frame is reinforced with long steel rods give it extra strength.To further protect the house from hurricane damage, Huff raised it 2.7meters off the ground on timber pilings-long, slender columns wood anchored deep in the sand. Pilings might appear insecure, but they are strong enough to support the weight of the house .They also elevate the house aboe storm surges. The pilings allow the surges to run under the house instead of running into it. These swells of water come ashore at tremendous speeds and cause most of the damage done to beach-front buildings, said Huff.Huff designed the timber pilings to be partially concealed by the houses ground-to-roof shell.The shell masks the pilings so that the house doesnt look like its standing with its pant legs pulled up,said Huff. In the event of a storm surge,the shell should break apart and let the waves rush under the house, the architect explained.1. After the tragedy caused by Hurricane Hugo，new houses built along South Carolinas shoreline are required_ .A. to be easily reinforced.B. to look smarter in design.C. to meet stricter building standards.D. to be designed in the shape of cubes.2. The award-winning beach house is quite strong because_.A. it is strengthened by steel rods.B. it is made of redwood.C. it is in the shape of a shell.D. it is built with timber and concrete.3. Huff raised the house 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings in order to_.A. withstand peak winds of about 200km/hr.B. anchor stronger pilings deep in the sand.www .kaoyee .comC. break huge sea waves into smaller ones.D. prevent water from rushing into the house.4. The main function of the shell is_.A. to strengthen the pilings of the house.B. to give the house a better appearance.C. to protect the the wooden frame of the house.D. to slow down the speed of the swelling water.5. It can be inferred from the passage that the shell should be_.A. fancy-looking. B. waterproof.C. easily breakable. D. extremely strong.Passage 2When school officials in Kalkaska, Michigan , closed classes last week, the media flocked to the story, portraying the towns 2,305 students as victims of stingy（吝啬的）taxpayers .There is some truth to that: the property-tax rate here is one-third lower than the state average.But shutting their schools also allowed Kalkaskas educators and the states largest teachers union,the Michigan Education Association, to make a political point.Their aim was to spur passage of legislation Michigan lawmakers are debating to increase the states share of school funding.It was no coincidence that Kalkaska shut its schools two weeks after residents rejected a 28 percent property-tax increase.The school board argued that without the increase it lacked the $1.5 million needed to keep schools open.But the school system had not done all it could to keep the schools open .Officials declined to borrow against next years state aid ,they refused to trim extracurricular activities and they did not conisder seeking a smaller-perhaps more acceptable-tax increase.In fact,closing early is costing Kalkaska a significant amount, including $600,000 in unempolyment payments to teachers and staff and $250,000 in lost state aid .In February,the school system promised teachers and staff two months of retirement payments in case schools colsed early , a deal that will cost the district $275,000 more.Other signs suggest school authorities were at least as eager to make a political statement as to keep schools open .The Michigan Education Association hired a public relations firm to stage a rally marking the school closings,which attracted