Question

Thousands of people began pouring into Pennsylvania from other states. They wanted to buy lottery tickets(彩票). The tickets cost only $ 0.9 each. But that small spending could bring them a reward of $ 90 million .That was the second largest lottery jackpot （积累奖金）in history.

More than 87 million tickets were bough t for the Pennsylvania lottery drawing. Those who bought tickets had to choose seven numbers from 1 to 80．The chance of winning was one in 9.6 million, but that little chance certainly didn’t affect ticket sales. In the last few days before the drawing, tickets were sold at the unbelievable rate of 500 per second.

Experts say many people buy lottery tickets because they just want to have a piece of the action. Others say the lottery is a stock market for poor people. It allows them to dream about wealth they’ll probably never have.

But many people believe lotteries are no better than legalized gambling. Some critics note that most people who play are poor and may not be able to afford the tickets.  There are also many addicts who take the game seriously. They may pour their life savings into lottery tickets. Some clubs have been formed to help them kick the habit.

    Politicians like lotteries because they provide money that would otherwise have to come from new taxes. The profits from lotteries are usually used to pay for education or programs for senior citizens. But critics say this arrangement just allows states to legalize vice, under the name of social progress. Whether you regard stock lotteries right or not, you cannot refuse to accept their extreme popularity with many Americans.

1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Buying lotteries may help people become wealthy overnight.

B.  Politicians like lotteries because they don’t have to pay extra taxes.

C．The profits from lotteries are usually used for the public.

D.  Some critics don’t like lotteries because many poor people waste money on them.

2.In just one hour in the last few days, the Pennsylvania lottery sold tickets totaling_______.

A．$ 16.2 million           B．$ 38.88 million 

C．$ 19.6 million           D．$ 87 million

3. The underlined word in the last paragraph refers to__________.

A. something profiyable 

B. something challenging

C. something immoral 

D.something easy

4. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A. To introduce the lotteries in Pennsylvania.

B. To persuade people not to buy lotteries.

C. To show the drawbacks of buying lotteries.

D. To tell us the different opinions on lotteries.

Answer

1.B

2.B

3.C

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：这篇文章讲述了许多人热衷于买彩票，但是痴迷于彩票会引发很多社会问题。所以销售彩票存在争议。

1.B细节理解题。根据最后一段第一句Politicians like lotteries because they provide money that would otherwise have to come from new taxes. 政客们喜欢彩票，因为他们将不必提供新税。故选B。

2.B根据But that little chance certainly did not affect tickets sales. 那小机会当然不会影响门票销售。In the last few days before the drawing , tickets were selling at the unbelievable rate of 500 per second .所以答案为B。

3.C词义猜测题。根据最后一段第三句critics say this arrangement just allows states to legalize vice, under the name of social progress. legalize使合法化；under the name of social progress在社会进步的名义下，可知划线词的意思应该是“恶习”。“批评者说，这种安排只允许这些州合法化”。故选C。

4.在社会进步的名义下，批评者说，这种安排只允许这些州合法化。No matter whether you regard state lotteries right or not , you can not refuse to accept their extreme popularity with many Americans ，不管你是否认为国家彩票是否正确，你不能拒绝接受他们的非常受欢迎的许多美国人。故选D。

【名师点评】要想答好题目，重在理解全文意思。这篇文章比较难，先看问题，再带着问题读短文，找出各段落的主旨句，理解全文内容，总结全文中心，然后再回到问题上来，很容易选出正确答案。

考点：考查社会现象类阅读