Are you interested in seeing the beautiful fall foliage of New England but tired of traffic jams and overbooked hotels? Then this year forget the crowds in New England and see the beautiful colors of autumn in the Catskills.
These rugged mountains in New York State, just 90 miles northwest of New York City, are famous for the legendary tales of Rip Van Winkle, and more recently for the summer hotels that sprang up in the region during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Families trying to escape the heat of New York City found the Catskills to be the perfect place to stay for a month or so each summer. By the late 1950s there were over 500 resorts and hotels offering nighttime entertainment as well as all kinds of outdoor activities. Famous comedians like Jackie Gleason, Joan Rivers, and Sid Caesar all got their start touring the hotel clubs here. Since the introduction of air-conditioning and cheaper air travel, however, families have stopped coming to the Catskills in such large numbers, choosing instead more distant locations at different times of the year. Many of the Catskills hotels closed in the 1970s, but some remain and have expanded and changed their facilities to meet the needs of today’s visitors.
Currently, there are many activities available to the traveler besides witnessing the changing colors of the leaves. There is an all-organic sheep farm where visitors can see how a traditional sheep farm operates. There are also hundreds of miles of scenic drives in the area. Route 42, for instance, is an excellent site for spotting bald eagles. For more information on vacations in the Catskills, call the Office of Public Information. 61.The author’s main purpose is to ________. A. promote the Catskills as a vacation destination B. introduce visitors to famous Catskills entertainers C. describe the history of the Catskills region
D. compare the Catskills to New England
62.The word “rugged” underlined in Paragraph 2 means ________. A. barren B. rough C. tall D. lush
63.According to the passage, the decline in the number of resorts in the 1970s was caused by ________.
A. television B. shorter vacations C. affordable air travel D. more traffic 64.The phrase “sprang up” underlined in Paragraph 2 refers to something that has ________. A. burst forth B. spread out C. operated vigorously D. joined together 65.In what season would a tourist most likely have visited the Catskills in the 1950s? A. Fall. B. Winter. C. Spring. D. Summer. 66.The author’s tone in this passage is ________.
A. light and encouraging B. informative and scientific C. humorous and skeptical D. regretful and reminiscent 67.From the passage, what might a visitor be lucky enough to do? A. See fall leaves in color. B. See a kind of bird. C. Work on a sheep farm. D. Drive on scenic roads. 68.The word “drives” underlined in Paragraph 3 refers to ________. A. excursions B. tracks C. paths D. canyons 69.The word “spotting” underlined in Paragraph 3 means ________.
A. photographing B. seeing C. painting D. shooting 70.The author implies that in the Catskills there are few ________. A. leaves B. eagles C. people D. Sheep
Questions 71-80 are based on the following passage.
First, of course, it is plain that in a few years everyone will have at his elbow several times more mechanical energy than he has today.
Second, there will be advances in biological knowledge as far-reaching as those that have been made in physics. We are only beginning to learn that we can control our biological environment as well as our physical one. Starvation has been prophesied twice to a growing world population: by Malthus about 1.8 billion and by Crookes about 1.9 billion. It was headed off the first time by taking agriculture to America and the second time by using the new fertilizers. Soon starvation will be headed off by the control of the diseases and the heredity of plants and animals — by shaping our own biological environment.
And third, I come back to the haunting theme of automation. The most common species in the factory today is the man who works or minds a simple machine — the operator. Before long he will be as extinct as the hand-loom weaver and the dodo (老古董). The repetitive tasks of industry will be taken over by the machines, as the heavy tasks were taken over long ago; and the mental tedium will go the way of physical exhaustion. Today we still distinguish, even among repetitive jobs, between the skilled and the unskilled, but in a few years to come all repetition will be unskilled. We simply waste our time if we oppose this change. 71.This article was written to ________.
A. warn us of impending starvation B. present facts about life in the near future C. oppose biological advances D. warn of the danger of automation 72.In the coming years, people will ________.
A. have more machines at their disposal B. experience starvation
C. never work D. have fewer machines at their disposal 73.Advances in biological knowledge have ________.
A. kept pace with those in physics B. been responsible for the invention of new machines C. surpassed those in physics D. lagged behind those in physics 74.We are beginning to learn that we ________. A. can control our physical environment B. can never control our biological environment C. have no control over our physical environment
D. can control both our biological and physical environments 75.In the near future, starvation will be prevented by ________.
A. Chinese agriculture B. use of new fertilizers
C. control of the diseases and the heredity of plants and animals D. vitamin pills 76.Which of the following is NOT true? A. The mental tedium will not exist in the end. B. Hand-loom weaver is the thing of the past. C. Automation is an out-of-date topic today.
D. Physical burden in the factory has already been replaced. 77.The author believes before long, machines will ________.
A. actually replace unskilled workers B. have learned to think for us C. be shaped like robots D. no longer be needed 78.The repetitive tasks of industry lead to ________.
A. physical exhaustion B. mental stimulation C. mental exhaustion D. physical extinction
79.If the author’s predictions are realized, the demand for unskilled workers will be ________.
A. very high B. very low C. the same as today D. constantly rising