大学英语四级考试阅读经典真题练习

大学英语四级考试阅读经典真题练习89-cet4

Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)

Passage One

Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.

More than 30,000 drivers and front seat passengers are killed or seriously injured each year. At the speed of only 30 miles per hour it is the same as falling from a third-floor windows. Wearing a seat belt saves lives; it reduces your chance of death or serious injury by more than half.

Therefore drivers or front seat passengers over 14 in most vehicles must wear a seat belt. If you do not, you could be fined up to ￡50. it will not be up to the drivers to make sure you wear your belt. But it will be the driver?s responsibility to make sure that children under 14 do not ride in the front unless they are wearing a seat belt of some kind.

However, you do not have to wear a seat belt if you reversing your vehicle; or you are making a local delivery or collection using a special vehicle; or if you have a valid medical certificate which excuses you from wearing it. Make sure these circumstances apply to you before you decide not to wear you seat belt. Remember you may be taken to court for not doing so, and you may be fined if you cannot prove to the court that you have been excused from wearing it.

21. This text is taken from ________.

A) a medical magazine B) a police report C) a legal document D) a government information booklet

22. Wearing a seat belt in a vehicle ________.

A) reduces road accidents by more than half B) saves lives while driving at a speed up to 30 miles per hour

C) reduces the death rate in traffic accidents D) saves more than 15,000 lives each year

23. It is the driver?s responsibility to ________.

A) make the front seat passenger wear a seat belt B) make the front seat children under 14 wear a seat belt

C) stop children riding in the front seat D) wear a seat belt each time he drives

24. According to the text, which of the following people riding in the front dos not have to wear a seat belt?

A) Someone who is backing into a parking space.

B) Someone who is picking up the children from the local school.

C) Someone who is delivering invitation letters.

D) Someone who is under 14.

25. For some people, it may be better ________.

A) to wear a seat belt for health reasons B) not to wear a seat belt for health reasons

C) to get valid medical certificate before wearing a seat belt D) to pay a fine rather than wear a seat belt

Passage Two

Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

If you want to stay young, sit down and have a good think. This is the research finding of a team of Japanese doctors, who say that most of our brains are not getting enough exercise—and as a result, we are ageing unnecessarily soon.

Professor Taiju Matsuzawa wanted to find out why otherwise healthy farmers in northern Japan appeared to be losing their ability to think and reason at a relatively early age, and how the process of ageing could be slowed down.

With a team of colleagues at Tokyo National University, he set about measuring brain volumes of a thousand people of different ages and varying occupations.

Computer technology enabled the researchers to obtain precise measurements of the volume of the front and side sections of the brain, which relate to intellect (智能) and emotion, and determine the human character. (The rear section of the brain, which controls functions like eating and breathing, does not contract with age, and one can continue living without intellectual or emotional faculties.)

Contraction of front and side parts—as cells die off—was observed I some subjects in their thirties, but it was still not evident in some sixty- and seventy-year-olds.

Matsuzawa concluded from his tests that there is a simple remedy to the contraction normally associated with age—using the head.

The findings show in general terms that contraction of the brain begins sooner in people in the country than in the towns. Those least at risk, says Matsuzawa, are lawyers, followed by university professors and doctors. White collar workers doing routine work in government offices are, however, as likely to have shrinking brains as the farm worker, bus driver and shop assistant.

Matsuzawa?s findings show that thinking can prevent the brain from shrinking. Blood must circulate properly in the head to supply the fresh oxygen the brain cells need. “The b est way to maintain good blood circulation is through using the brain,” he says, “Think hard and engage in conversation. Don?t rely on pocket calculators.”

26. The team of doctors wanted to find out ________.

A) why certain people age sooner than others B) how to make people live longer

C) the size of certain people?s brains D) which people are most intelligent

27. On what are their research findings based?

A) A survey of farmers in northern Japan. B) Tests performed on a thousand old people.

C) The study of brain volumes of different people D) The latest development of computer technology.

28.The doctor?s test show that ________.

A) our brains shrink as we grow older

B) the front section of the brain does not shrink

C) sixty-year-olds have the better brains than thirty-year-olds

D) some people?s brains have contracted more than other people?s

29. The word “subjects” in Paragraph 5means ________.

A) something to be considered B) branches of knowledge studied

C) persons chosen to be studied in an experiment D) any member of a state except the supreme ruler

30. According to the passage, which people seem to age slower than the others?

A) Lawyers. B) Farmers. C) Clerks. D) Shop assistants.

Passage Three ★

Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.

On June 17, 1744, the officials from Maryland and Virginia held a talk with the Indians of the Six Nations. The Indians were invited to send boys to William and Mary College. In a letter the next day the refused the offer as follows:

We know that you have a high opinion of the kind of learning taught in your colleges, and that the costs of living of our young men, while with you, would be very expensive to you. We are convinced that you mean to do us good by your proposal; and we thank you heartily. But you must know that different nations have different ways of looking at things, and you will therefore not be offended if your ideas of this kind of education happen not t be the same as yours. We have had some experience of it. Several of our young people were formerly brought up at the colleges of the northern provinces: they were taught all your sciences; but, when they came back to us, they were bad runners, ignorant of every means of living in the woods… they were totally good for nothing.

We are, however, not the less obliged by your kind offer, though we refuse to accept it; and, to show our grateful sense of it, if the gentlemen of Virginia will send up a dozen of their sons, we will take care of their education, teach them in all we know, and make men of them.

31. The passage is about ________.

A) the talk between the Indians and the officials B) the colleges of northern provinces

C) the educational values of the Indians D) the problems of the Americans in the mid-eighteenth century

32. The Indians? chief purpose in writing the letter seems to be to ________.

A) politely refuse a friendly offer B) express their opinion on equal treatment

C) show their pride D) describe Indian customs

33. According to the letter, the Indians believed that ________.

A) it would be better for their boys to receive some schooling B) they were being insulted

by the offer

C) they knew more about science than the officials D) they had a better way of educating young men

34. Different from the officials? view of educat ion, the Indians thought ________.

A) young women should also be educated B) they had different goals of education

C) they taught different branches of science D) they should teach the sons of the officials first

35. The tone of the letter as a whole is best described as ________.

A) angry B) pleasant C) polite D) inquiring

Passage Four

Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.

In what now seems like the prehistoric times of computer history, the earth?s postwar era, there was quite a wide-spread concern that computers would take over the world from man one day. Already today, less than forty years later, as computers are relieving us of more and more of the routine tasks in business and in our personal lives, we are faced with a less dramatic but also less foreseen problem. People tend to be over-trusting of computers and are reluctant to challenge their authority. Indeed, they behave as if they were hardly aware that wrong buttons may be pushed, or that a computer may simply malfunction (失误).

Obviously, there would be no point in investing in a computer if you had to check all its answers, but people should also rely on their own internal computers and check the machine when they have the feeling that something has gone wrong.

Questioning and routine double-checks must continue to be as much a part of good business as they were in pre-computer days. Maybe each computer should come with the warning: for all the help this computer may provide, it should not be seen as a substitute for fundamental thinking and reasoning skills.

36. What is the main purpose of this passage?

A) To look back to the early days of computers.

B) To explain what technical problems may occur with computers.

C) To discourage unnecessary investment in computers.

D) To warn against a mentally lazy attitude towards computers.

37. According to the passage, the initial concern about computers was that they might ________.

A) change our personal lives B) take control of the world

C) create unforeseen problems D) affect our businesses

38. The passage recommends those dealing with computers to ________.

A) be reasonably doubtful about them B) check all their answers

C) substitute them for basic thinking D) use them for business purposes only

39. The passage suggests that the present-day problem with regard to computers is ________.

A) challenging B) psychological C) dramatic D) fundamental

40. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would disapprove of ________.

A) investment in computers B) the use of one?s internal computer

C) double-check on computers D) complete dependence on computers for decision-making

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Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)

Passage One

Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.

Oceanography has been defined as “The application of all sciences to the study of the sea”.

Before the nineteen century, scientists with an interest in the sea were few and far between. Certainly Newton considered some theoretical aspects of it in his writings, but he was reluctant to go to sea to further his work.

For most people the sea was remote, and with the exception of early intercontinental travelers or others who earned a living from the sea, there was little reason to ask many questions about it, let alone to ask what lay beneath the surface. The first time that question “What is at the bottom of the oceans?”

had to be answered with any commercial consequence was when the laying of a telegraph cable from Europe to America was proposed. The engineers had to know the depth profile (起伏形状) of the route to estimate the length of cable that had to be manufactured.

It was to Maury of the US Navy that the Atlantic Telegraph Company turned, in 1853, for information on this matter. In the 1840s, Maury had been responsible for encouraging voyages during which soundings (测声) were taken to investigate the depths of the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Later, some of his findings aroused much popular interest in his book The Physical Geography of the Sea.

The cable was laid, but not until 1866 was the connection made permanent and reliable. At the early attempts, the cable failed and when it was taken out for repairs it was found to be covered in living growths, a fact which defied contemporary scientific opinion that there was no life in the deeper parts of the sea.

Within a few years oceanography was under way. In 1872 Thomson led a scientific expedition (考察), which lasted for four years and brought home thousands of samples from the sea. Their classification and analysis occupied scientists for years and led to a five-volume report, the last volume being published in 1895.

21. The proposal to lay a telegraph cable from Europe to America made oceanographic studies take on ________.

A) an academic aspect B) a military aspect

C) a business aspect D) an international aspect

22. It was ________ that asked Maury for help in oceanographic studies.

A) the American Navy B) some early intercontinental travelers

C) those who earned a living from the sea D) the company which proposed to lay an undersea cable

23. The aim of the voyages Maury was responsible for in the 1840s was ________.

A) to make some sounding experiments in the oceans B) to collect samples of sea plants and animals

C) to estimate the length of cable that was needed D) to measure the depths of the two oceans

24. “Defied” in the 5th paragraph probably means “________”.

A) doubted B) gave proof to C) challenged D) agreed to

25. This passage is mainly about ________.

A) the beginnings of oceanography B) the laying of the first undersea cable

C) the investigation of ocean depths D) the early intercontinental communications

Passage Two ★

Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

Normally a student must attend a certain number of courses in order to graduate, and each course which he attends gives him a credit which he may count towards a degree. In many American universities the total work for a degree consists of thirty-six courses each lasting for one semester. A typical course consists of three classes per week for fifteen weeks; while attending a university a student will probably attend four or five courses during each semester. Normally a student would expect to take four years attending two semesters each year. It is possible to spread the period of work for the degree over a longer period. It is also possible for a student to move between one university and another during his degree course, though this is not in fact done as a regular practice.

For every course that he follows a student is given a grade, which is recorded, and the record is available for the student to show to prospective employers. All this imposes a constant pressure and strain of work, but in spite of this some students still find time for great activity in student affairs. Elections to positions in student organizations arouse much enthusiasm. The effective word of maintaining discipline is usually performed by students who advise the academic authorities. Any student who is thought to have broken the rules, for example, by cheating has to appear before a student court. With the enormous numbers of students, the operation of the system does involve a certain amount of activity. A student who has held one of these positions of authority is much respected and it will be of benefit to him later in his career.

26. Normally a student would at least attend ________ classes each week.

A) 36 B) 20 C) 12 D) 15

27. According to the first paragraph an American student is allowed ________.

A) to live in a different university B) to take a particular course in a different university

C) to live at home and drive to classes D) to get two degrees from two different universities

28. American university students are usually under pressure of work because ________.

A) their academic performance will affect their future careers B) they are heavily involved in student affairs

C) they have to observe university discipline D) they want to run for positions of authority

29. Some students are enthusiastic for positions in student organizations probably because ________.

A) they hate the constant pressure strain of their study

B) they will then be able to stay longer in the university

C) such positions help them get better jobs

D) such positions are usually well paid

30. The student organizations seem to be effective in ________.

A) dealing with the academic affairs of the university

B) ensuring that the students observe university regulations

C) evaluating students? performance by bringing them before a court

D) keeping up the students? enthusiasm for social activities

Passage Three ★

Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.

Do you find getting up in the morning so difficult that it?s painful? This might be called laziness, but Dr. Kleitman has a new explanation. He has proved that everyone has a daily energy cycle.

During the hours when you labor through your work you may say that you?re “hot”. That?s true. The time of day when you feel most energetic is when your cycle of body temperature is at its peak. For some people the peak comes during the afternoon. For others it comes in the afternoon or evening. No one has discovered why this is so, but it leads to such familiar monologues (自言自语) as: “Get up, John! You?ll be late for work again!” The possible explanation to the trouble is that John is at his temperature-and-energy peak in the evening. Much family quarrelling ends when husbands and wives realize what these energy cycles mean, and which cycle each member of the family has. You can?t

change your energy cycle, but you can learn to make your life fit it better. Habit can help, Dr. Kleitman believes. Maybe you?re sleepy in the evening but feel you must stay up late anyway. Counterac t (对抗) your cycle to some extent by habitually staying up later than you want to. If our energy is low in the morning but you have an important job to do early in the day, rise before your usual hour. This won?t change your cycle, but you?ll get up steam (鼓起干劲) and work better at your low point.

Get off to a slow start which saves your energy. Get up with a leisurely yawn and stretch. Sit on the edge of the bed a minute before putting your feet on the floor. Avoid the troublesome search for clean clothes by laying them out the night before. Whenever possible, do routine work in the afternoon and save tasks requiring more energy or concentration for your sharper hours.

31. If a person finds getting up early a problem, most probably ________.

A) he is a lazy person B) he refuses to follow his own energy cycle

C) he is not sure when his energy is low D) he is at his peak in the afternoon or evening

32. Which of the following may lead to family quarrels according to the passage?

A) Unawareness of energy cycles.

B) Familiar monologues.

C) A change in a family member?s energy cycle.

D) Attempts to control the energy cycle of other family members.

33. If one wants to work more efficiently at his low point in the morning, he should ________.

A) change his energy cycle B) overcome his laziness

C) get up earlier than usual D) go to bed earlier

34. You are advised to rise with a yawn and stretch because it will ________.

A) help to keep your energy for the day?s work B) help you to control your temper early in the day

C) enable you to concentrate on your routine work D) keep your energy cycle under control all day

35. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

A) Getting off to work wit a minimum effort helps save one?s energy.

B) Dr. Kleitman explains why people reach their peaks at different hours of day.

C) Habit helps a person adapt to his own energy cycle.

D) Children have energy cycles, too.

Passage Four ★

Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.

We find that bright children are rarely held back by mixed ability teaching. On the contrary, both their knowledge and experience are enriched. We feel that there are many disadvantages in streaming (把…按能力分班) pupils. It does not take into account the fact that children develop at different rates. It can have a bad effect on both the bright and the not-so-bright child. After all, it can be quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade!

Besides, it is rather unreal to grade people just according to their intellectual ability. This is only one aspect of their total personality. We are concerned to develop the abilities of all our pupils to the full, not just their academic ability. We also value personal qualities and social skills, and we find that mixed-ability teaching contributes to all these aspects of learning.

In our classrooms, we work in various ways. The pupils often work in groups: this gives them the opportunity to learn to co-operate, to share, and to develop leadership skills. They also learn how to cope with personal problems as well as learning how to think, to make decisions, to analyze and evaluate, and to communicate effectively. The pupils learn from each other as well as from the teacher.

Sometimes the pupils work in pairs; sometimes they work on inpidual tasks and assignments, and they can do this at their own speed. They also have some formal class teaching when this is appropriate. We encourage our pupils to use the library, and we teach them the skills they need in order to do this efficiently. An advanced pupil can do advanced work: it does not matter what age the child is. We expect our pupils to do their best, not their least, and we give them every encouragement to attain this goal.

36. In the passage the author?s attitude towards “mixed-ability teaching” is ________.

A) critical B) questioning C) approving D) objective

37. By “held back” (Line 1) the author means “________”

A) made to remain in the same classes B) forced to study I the lower classes

C) drawn to their studies D) prevented from advancing

38. The author argues that a teacher?s chief concern should be the development of the student?s ________.

A) personal qualities and social skills B) total personality

C) learning ability and communicative skills D) intellectual ability

39. Which of the following is NOT MENTIONED in the third paragraph?

A) Group work gives pupils the opportunity to learn to work together with other.

B) Pupils also learn to develop their reasoning abilities.

C) Group work provides pupils with the opportunity to learn to be capable organizers.

D) Pupils also learn how to participate in teaching activities.

40. The author?s purpose in writing this passage is to ________.

A) argue for teaching bright and not-so-bright pupils in the same class

B) recommend pair work and group work for classroom activities

C) offer advice on the proper use of the library

D) emphasize the importance of appropriate formal classroom teaching

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Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)

Passage One

Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.

You are a German living in Berlin. One day you?re walking down the street, minding your own business, when suddenly a stranger approached with a smile on his face. After stopping you, he holds a small electronic device close to his face and speaks slowly into it, saying, in English: “Can you tell me where I can buy some sauerkraut?” What should you do? (a) Run away; (b) Call the police; or, (c) Listen c losely for the device to say, in German, “Konnen Sie mir bitte sager, which Sauerkraut Kaufen Kann?”

The most appropriate response would be (c) because the person in front of you is only a tourist trying to enjoy himself. The device is said to be the world?s first portable transistor—a hand-held

microcomputer— that at the same time converts one spoken language into another.

The four-pound battery-operated product is called the V oice, and it is the creation of Advanced Products and Technologies an American electronics company. When the V oice is introduced in the United States in late April—at a price of $1,500—it will be capable of converting spoken English into Italian, German, French and Spanish. The product comes with separate cartridges (盒式储存器) for each of the four languages, which can be changed when the user travels from one country to another. The item will be sold in Europe soon after the U.S. Introduction, with cartridges that covert Italian, German, French and Spanish into English.

The V oice uses a microchip (微型集成块) and artificial Intelligence to translate Languages. It is started by voice command and produces voice output through a built-in speaker. Then the user makes a statement or asks a question, the V oice immediately repeats what has been said in another Language.

21. The stranger holding the V oice seems to be ________.

A) asking for some information B) greeting the German C) amusing himself D) practising his German

22. The German sentence “Konnen Sie Kann?” means ________.

A) “Why don?t you ask the policeman.” B) “Would you listen closely for the device to say?”

C) “Can you say it again, please?” D) “Can you tell me where I can buy some sauerkrau t?”

23. The word “speaker” in the last paragraph refers to ________.

A) the person who speaks to the device B) a component part of the Voice

C) the person who speaks German D) the speech produced by the V oice

24. Which of the following is NOT TRUE?

A) The voice is an invention of an electronics company. B) The voice is a hand-held translator.

C) The voice is new product in wide use. D) The voice is mainly a microcomputer.

25. The V oice can translate ________.

A) from German into any of the other four languages mentioned

B) from and into English by using the same cartridges

C) between any two of the above-mentioned languages

D) from English into any of the other four languages or the other way round

Passage Two

Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

Computers may one day turn night into day—with good old, natural sunlight.

Colossal computer-controlled mirrors, thousands of feet across, may one day orbit the earth, reflecting sunlight onto a darkened United States.

Some Scientists say that 16 of these mirrors, each about a half mile across, could aim their reflected light at one area on the earth that was about 200 miles by 300 miles. That much light would equal about 56 moons.

The mirrors would be so high that they could catch the sun?s light as it was shining on the other side of the earth. The mirrors could orbit—thousands of miles high—at the same speed as the earth turns on its axis (轴). That way, the mirrors would always be over the same spot.

The aluminum-coated (涂铝的), plastic mirrors could be folded up and packed into a spaceship, according to the scientists. Once released a few hundred miles in space, the mirrors, powered by a solar-powered engine, could mark the rest of the trip into space on their own.

The scientists say that the computer-controlled mirrors could also be made to tilt (倾斜) slowly, so the reflected sunlight would sweep slowly along the surface of the earth. For example, as night fell, the mirrors could be tilted to light up Boston. Later on, as darkness spread slowly westward. Chicago, for example, then San Francisco could be lit up. The reflected sunlight would allow these cities to save up electricity. And in emergencies, such as power-failures, the mirrors could light up the affected area.

What no one knows yet is what effect this artificial daytime would have on plants, animals, and humans. Would it confuse some animals and harm plants that are used to regular day-night cycles? The scientists recommend that studies be done to find out what bad effects there might be.

26. The word “colossal” in Line 3 m ost likely means ________.

A) nuclear-powered B) orbiting C) giant D) spinning

27. Which of the following is NOT TRUE of the mirrors?

A) They would be made of plastic and coated with aluminum.

B) They could be launched directly into space.

C) They would stay in the same position over the earth.

D) They could reflect sunlight to a large area on the earth.

28. The reflected light should sweep slowly along the surface of the earth because the mirrors ________.

A) would be operated by solar-powered engines

B) would orbit thousands of miles high to catch the sun?s light

C) could move around the earth at the same speed as the earth turns on its axis

D) could be made to adjust their angles

29. The purpose for turning night into day is to ________.

A) confuse animals and plants B) light up more cities

C) save energy and deal with emergencies D) enable people to work longer hours

30. The writer of this passage ________.

A) gives an objective account of the mirrors B) seems to be much worried about the effect of the mirrors

C) is in favour of the wide use of the mirrors D) suggests that artificial daylight is harmful to living being

Passage Three

Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.

As supplier of most of the food we eat and of raw materials for many industrial processes, agriculture is clearly an important area of the economy. But the industrial performance of agriculture is even more important than this. For in nations where the productivity of farmers is low, most of the working population is needed to raise food and few people are available for production of investment goods or for other activities required for economic growth. Indeed, one of the factors related most closely to the per capital income (人均收入) of a nation is the fraction of its population engaged in farming. In the poorest nations of the world more than half of the population lives on farms. This

compares sharply with less than 10 per cent in Western Europe and less than 4 per cent in the United States.

In short, the course of economic development in general depends in a fundamental way on the performance of farmers. This performance in turn, depends on how agriculture is organized and on the economic environment, or market structure, within which it function. In the following pages the performance of American agriculture is examined. It is appropriate to begin with a conversation of its market structure.

31. This passage is most probably ________.

A) a news item B) part of an introduction of a book C) part of a lecture D) an advertisement

32. What is most important to agriculture is ________.

A) the amount of food it produces B) the per capital income of farmers

C) its industrial performance D) the production of investment goods

33. The word “this” in Line 4 refers to ________.

A) the provision of food and raw materials B) the productivity of farmers

C) the production of investment goods D) the economy as a whole

34. The performance of farmers essentially determines ________.

A) the size of the working population B) the organization of agriculture

C) the market structure D) the general development of economy

35. This passage will most probably be followed by a discussion of ________.

A) the structure of American farming population B) the market structure of American agriculture

C) the various functions of American agriculture D) the organization of American agriculture

Passage Four

Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.

Before 1945, hardly anyone outside of New Mexico had ever heard of Alamogordo. In 1960 its population numbered 21,723. Ever since 1898, when the town had been built by the Southern Pacific Railroad, Alamogordo had been a lonely town. The land around it was largely desert, and largely empty.

Because it was isolated and because the weather was almost always clear and peaceful, a spot of desert near Alamogordo was chosen as the last site for the first atomic bomb ever exploded. The secret name of the test was Zeo.

At dawn on July 16, 1945, the atomic bomb was set off. Observers agreed that they had witnessed something unlike anything ever seen by men before, a huge, colorful fireball, more brilliant than the sun flashing as it rose for miles into the air. Never before had men released so much power at one time, nor had any nation ever possessed weapon as terrible and destructive as the atomic bomb.

For several weeks, the test was kept secret. When an atomic bomb was dropped from an American plane on Hiroshima, Japan, newspapers and radio stations all over America told of the test of the bomb in New Mexico. Almost everybody was amazed to learn where the bomb had been made and tested; the deserts of the Southwest had hidden the secret well.

When news of the atomic bomb and its destructiveness was announced, people all over the world wondered what other new weapons were being prepared in the New Mexico desert. Some people doubted that the secret of making atomic bombs could be kept from other countries. Some even doubted the wisdom of using so powerful a weapon. But no one doubted that a new kind of war—and a new kind of world—had begun at Alamogordo, one summer morning in 1945.

36. What is the main topic of this passage?

A) The secret of Alamogordo B) A new kind of war.

C) The destructive force of the first atomic bomb. D) The selection of the test site for the first atomic bomb.

37. Which of the following is the main reason for choosing Alamogordo as the test site?

A) It always had an enjoyable climate. B) It was connected to other cities by a railway.

C) Its location would hide the secret well. D) It was situated in southwestern New Mexico.

38. When was the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima?

A) As soon as the secret was revealed B) At dawn on July 16, 1945

C) Immediately after the test D) Several weeks after the test

39. After the first atomic bomb explosion, everybody agreed that ________.

A) it was wise to choose Alamogordo as the test site

B) man had entered the age of nuclear warfare

C) it was not wise to use such a powerful weapon

D) it was not possible to keep the technology of making atomic bombs secret

40. The tone of this passage is of ________.

A) anxiety B) satisfaction C) encouragement D) fear

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Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)

Passage One ★

Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.

The aim of the teacher is to get his pupils as quickly as possible over the period in which each printed symbol is looked at for its shape, and arrive at the stage when the pupil looks at words and phrases, for their meaning, almost without noticing the shapes of the separate letters.

When a good reader is at work he does not look at letters, nor even at words, one by one however quickly; he takes in the meaning of two, three, or four words at a time, in a single moment. Watch carefully the eyes of a person who is reading, and it will be seen that they do not travel smoothly along the lines of print, but they move by jumps separated by very short stops. The eyes of a very good reader move quickly, taking long jumps and making very short halts (停顿); the eyes of a poor reader move more slowly, taking only short jumps and stopping longer at each halt. Sometimes, when he meets a difficulty, he even goes backwards to see again what has already been looked at once.

The teacher?s task is therefore clear: it is to train his pupils to take in several words at a glance (one eye-jump?) and to remove the necessity for going backwards to read something a second time.

This shows at once that letter-by-letter, or syllable-by-syllable, or word-by-word reading, with the finger pointing to the word, carefully fixing each one in turn, is wrong. It is wrong because such a method ties the pupil?s eyes down to a very short jump, and the aim is to train for the long jump. Moreover, a very short jump is too short to provide any meaning or sense; and it will be found that having struggled with three or four words separately, the pupil has to look at them again, all together

and in one group, in order to get the meaning of the whole phrase.

21. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the first paragraph?

A) Pupils should be trained to reach quickly the stage of reading without having to concentrate on the separate symbols.

B) Pupils should look at each printed symbol for its meaning as well as for its shape.

C) Teachers should help their pupils avoid looking at the shape of the printed symbols.

D) Teachers should tell their pupils the different stages of their study.

22. In a single moment, a good reader picks up ________.

A) several words B) several phrases C) several sentences D) several lines

23. According to the passage, which of the following is FALSE?

A) The eyes of a good reader make short halts and long jumps.

B) The eyes of a bad reader take in the meaning of one word at a time.

C) The eyes of a bad reader take only short jumps.

D) The eyes of a good reader move steadily.

24. One may have to read something a second time if ________.

A) there is enough time B) one reads too fast C) the passage is very long D) one reads word by word

25. The main idea of the last paragraph is that ________.

A) word-by-word reading is highly inefficient

B) the pupil?s eyes should focus on groups of syllables instead of single syllables

C) pupils have to move their eyes back and forth when reading

D) finger pointing in reading helps the pupil concentrate on meaning

Passage Two

Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

Television has changed the lifestyle of people in every industrialized country in the world. In the United States, where sociologists have studied the effects, some interesting observations have been made.

Television, although not essential, has become an important part of most people?s lives. It alters peoples? ways of seeing the world; in many wa ys, it supports and sustains (维持) modern life. Television has become a baby-sitter, an introducer of conversations, the major transmitter of culture, a keeper of tradition. Yet when what can be seen on TV in one day is critically analyzed, it becomes evident that television is not a teacher but a sustainer; the poor quality of programming does not elevate (提高) people into greater understanding, but rather maintains and encourages the life as it exists.

The primary reason for the lack of quality in American television is related to both the history of TV programming development and the economics of TV. Television in America began with the radio. Radio companies and their sponsors first experimented with television. Therefore, the close relationship which the advertisers had with radio programs became the system for American TV. Sponsors not only paid money for time within programs, but many actually produced the programs.

Thus, in American society, television is primarily concerned with reflecting and attracting society rather than experimenting with new ideas. Advertisers want to attract the largest viewing audience possible, to do so requires that the programs be entertaining rather than educational, attractive rather than challenging.

Television in America today remains, to a large extent, with the same organization and standards as it had thirty years ago. The hope for further development and true achievement toward improving society will require a change in the entire system.

26. According to the author American television is poor in quality because ________.

A) advertisers are interested in experimenting with new ideas

B) it is still at an early stage of development, compared with the radio

C) the programs have to be developed in the interests of the sponsors for economic reasons

D) it is controlled by radio companies

27. The second paragraph is mainly about ________.

A) TV as the sustainer of American life B) TV as the major transmitter of culture

C) the educational effect of TV on society D) the strong influence and the poor quality of American TV

28. In the author?s view American TV should ________.

A) be critical but entertaining B) be creative and educational

C) change with the development of society D) attract as many viewers as possible

29. The author believes that television in the United States has become important to most people because _____.

A) it promotes family unity B) it helps them develop their speaking ability

C) it affects their life in many ways D) it challenges society

30. The author?s attitude towards American television is ________.

A) critical B) praising C) doubtful D) sympathetic

Passage Three ★

Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.

“... We are not about to enter the Information Age but instead are rather well into it.” Present predictions are that by 1990, about thirty million jobs in the United States, or about thirty percent of the job market, will be computer-related. In 1980, only twenty-one percent of all United States high schools owned one or more computers for student use. In the fall of 1985, a new survey revealed that half of United States secondary schools have fifteen or more computers for student use. And now educational experts, administrators, and even the general public are demanding that all students become “computer literate (慢点…的).” “By the year 2000 knowledge of computers will be necessary in over eighty percent of all occupations. Soon those people not educated in computer use will be compared to those who are print illiterate today.”

What is “computer literacy”? The term itself seems to imply soon extent of “knowing” about computers, but knowing what. The current opinion seems to be that this should include a general knowledge of what computers are, plus a little of their history and something of how they operate.

Therefore, it is vital that educators everywhere take a careful look not only at what is being done, but also at what should be done in the field of computer education. Today most adults are capable of utilising a motor vehicle without the slightest knowledge of how the internal-combustion engine works. We effectively use all types of electrical equipment without being able to tell their histories or to explain how they work. Business people for years have made good use of typewriters and adding machines, yet few have ever known how to repair them. Why, then, attempt to teach computers by teaching how or why they work?

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