GCT英语阅读训练

2011年工程硕士GCT英语阅读练习（一）Today only one person in five in the United States lives within 50 miles of his birthplace. Since the country was first settled, Americans have moved around a great deal, and are often far away from their parents. Because they have broken ties with their past at a young age, chosen their own occupations, established their own homes and developed their own lifestyles, few American children grow up closely surrounded by grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins as they do in Italy, Nigeria, or India, for example. This along with the fact that modern American families do not have servants has made the “baby-sitter” a vital part of the American scene. A “sitter” is someone who is hired to care for children for a specific length of time—usually relatively short—while the parents are out for an evening, going to a party or a course of study for example. Sometimes the baby-sitter is also hired for longer period, perhaps when the parents are away for a weekend. In such cases the “sitter” is like ly to be a mature and motherly woman. For short periods, teen-agers, college students, nursing students, and others are commonly employed on an hourly basis.From the point of view of convenience, the best sitters are often young people who live in your apartment building or close by in the neighborhood. This gives you a chance to meet the parents and see what they are like. If an emergency occurs, young sitters can call upon their parents quickly for help; you do not have to take them far to see them home at night or pay expensive taxi fares. Another advantage is that young people living close by can usually fill in quite readily on short notice or for short periods of time.In an apartment house you can ask the superintendent for permission to post a notice for a baby-sitter by the mailboxes. This is often the best way to find out if there is anyone in the building who is interested in baby-sitting. Retired people as well as students are often glad to earn a little money in this way and can be found by such a note.1. We can infer from the first paragraph that ______.A. the American is a movable and independent nationB. the Americans are often far away from their parentsC. the Children in Italy, Nigeria, or India doesn‟t feel like living with their parentsD. the Americans broke ties with their past at a young age2. A baby-sitter is a person who ______.A. helps to do houseworkB. is a cleaning womanC. looks after children while their parents are outD. takes care of babies and cooks for the family3. Who can be a baby-sitter?A. WomenB. ManC. College studentD. All the above4. It is advised that when you are out for short periods, you may hire ______ to be baby-sitters.A. motherly womenB. retired peopleC. young peopleD. mature women5. The best title for the passage is ______.A. American FamiliesB. Baby-SittersC. A Way of Earning Money for Young StudentsD. A Best Way to Find Baby-Sitters模拟二You‟re busy filling out the application form for a position you really need. Let‟s assume you once actually completed a couple of years of college work or even that you complet ed your degree. Isn‟t it tempting to lie just a little, to claim on the form that your diploma represents a Harvard degree? Or that you finished an extra couple of years back at State University? More and more people are turning to utter deception like this to land their job or to move ahead in their careers, for personnel officers, like most Americans, value degrees from famous schools. A job applicant may have a good education anyway, but he or she assumes that chances of being hired are better with a diploma from a well-known university.Registrars at most well-known colleges say they deal with deceitful claims like these at the rate of about one per week. Personnel officers do check up on degrees listed on application forms, then. If it turns out that an applicant is lying, most colleges are reluctant to accuse the applicant directly. One Ivy League school calls them “impostors (骗子)” ; another refers to them as “ special cases”. One well-known West Coast school, in perhaps the most delicate phrase of al l, says that these claims are made by “no such people”. To avoid outright (彻底的) lies, some job-seekers claim that they “ attended”or “ were associated with” a college or university. After carefully checking, a personnel officer may discover that “attending” means being dismissed after one semester. It may be that “being associated with” a college means that the job-seeker visited his younger brother for a football weekend. One school that keeps records of false claims says that the practice dates back at least to the turn of the century—that‟s when they began keeping records, anyhow. If you don‟t want to lie or even stretch the truth, there are companies that will sell you a phony diploma.One company, with offices in New York and on the West Coast, will put your name on a diploma from any number of nonexistent colleges. The price begins at around twenty dollars for a diploma from “Smoot State University”. The prices increase rapidly for a degree from the “University of Purdue”. As there is no Smoot State and the real school in Indiana is properly called Purdue University, the prices seem rather high for one sheet of paper.1. The main idea of this passage is that ______.A. employers are checking more closely on applicants nowB. lying about college degrees has become a widespread problemC. college degrees can now be purchased easilyD. employers are no longer interested in college degrees2. According to the passage, “special eases” refers to cases that ______.A. students attend a school only part-timeB. students never attended a school they listed on their applicationC. students purchase false degrees from commercial firmsD. students attended a famous school3. We can infer from the passage that ______.A. performance is a better judge of ability than a college degreeB. experience is the best teacherC. past work histories influence personnel officers more than degrees doD. a degree from a famous school enables an applicant to gain advantage over others in job competition4. This passage implies that ______.A. buying a false degree is not moralB. personnel officers only consider applicants from famous schoolsC. most people lie on applications because they were dismissed from schoolD. society should be greatly responsible for lying on applications5. The word “phony” (Para. 2) means ______.A. thoroughB. ultimateC. falseD. decisiveIt came as something of a surprise when Diana, Princess of Wales, made a trip to Angola in 1997, to support the Red Cross‟s campaign for a total ban on all anti-personnel landmines. Within hours of arriving in Angola, television screens around the world were filled with images of her comforting victims injured in explosions caused by landmines. “I knew the statistics,” she said. “But putting a face to those figures brought the reality home to me; like when I met Sandra, a 13- year-old girl who had lost her leg, and people like her.”The Princess concluded with a simple message: “We must stop landmines”. And she used every opportunity during her visit to repeat this message.But, back in London, her views were not shared by some members of the British government, which refused to support a ban on these weapons. Angry politicians launched an attack On the Princess in the press. They described her as “very ill-informed” and a “loose cannon” (乱放跑的人)The Princess responded by brushing aside the Criticisms: “This is a distraction (干扰) we do not need. AllI‟m trying to do is help.”Opposition parties, the media and the public immediately voiced their Support for the Princess. To make matters worse for the government, it soon emerged that the Princess‟s trip had been approved by the Foreign Office, and that she was in fact very well-informed about both the situation in Angola and the British government‟s policy regarding landmines. The result was a severe embarrassment for the government.To try and limit the damage, the Foreign Sec retary, Malcolm Rifkidnd, claimed that the Princess‟s views on landmines were not very different from government policy, and that it was “working towards” a worldwide ban. The Defense Secretary, Michael Portillo, claimed the matter was “a misinterpretation or misunderstanding.”For the Princess, the trip to this war-torn country was an excellent opportunity to use her popularity to show the world how much destruction and suffering landmines can cause. She said that the experience had also given her the chance to get closer to people and their problems.1. Princess Diana paid a visit to Angola in 1997 _____.A. to clarify the British government‟s stand on landminesB. to establish her image as a friend of landmine victimsC. to investigate the sufferings of landmine victims thereD. to voice her support for a total ban of landmines2. What did Diana mean when she said “... putting a face to those figures brought the reality home to me” (Line 5, Para. 1)?A. Meeting the landmine victims in person made her believe the statistics.B. She just couldn‟t bear to meet the landmine victims face to face.C. The actual situation in Angola made her feel like going back home.D. Seeing the pain of the victims made her realize the seriousness of the situation.3. Some members of the British government criticized Diana because _____.A. she had not consulted the government before the visitB. she was ill-informed of the government‟s policyC. they were actually opposed to banning landminesD. they believed that she had misinterpreted the situation in Angola4. How did Diana respond to the criticisms?A. She made more appearances on TV.B. She paid no attention to them.C. She rose to argue with her opponents.D. She met the 13-year-old girl as planned.5. What did Princess Diana think of her visit to Angola?A. It had caused embarrassment to the British government.B. It had greatly promoted her popularity.C. It had brought her closer to the ordinary people.D. It had affected her relations with the British government.Students who want to enter the University of Montreal‟s Athletic Complex need more than just a conventional ID card----their identities must be proved genuine by an electronic hand scanner. In some California housing estates, a key alone is insufficient to get someone in the door；his or her voiceprint must also be verified(确认). And soon customers at some Japanese banks will have to present their faces for scanning before they can enter the building and withdraw their moneys.All of these are applications of biometrics, a fast-growing technology that involves the use of physical or biological characteristic to identify individuals. In use for more than a decade at some high security government institutions in the United States and Canada, biometrics is rapidly popping up in the everyday world.Biometric security systems operate by storing a digitized record of some unique human feature. When a user wishes to enter or use the facility, the system scans the person‟s corresponding characteristics and attempts to match them against those on record. Systems using fingerprints, hands, voices, eyes, and faces are already on the market. Others using typing patterns and even body smells are in various stages of development.Fingerprints scanners are currently the most widely used type of biometric application, thanks to their growing use over the last 20 years by law-enforcement agencies. Sixteen American states now use biometric fingerprint verification systems to check that people claiming welfare payments are genuine. Politicians in Toronto have voted to do the same, with a testing project beginning next year.Not surprisingly, biometrics raises difficult questions about privacy and the potential for abuse. Some worry that governments and industry will be tempted to use the technology to monitor individual behavior. “If someone used your fingerprints to match your health-insurance records with credit-card record showing that you regularly bought lots of cigarettes and fatty foods,” says one policy analyst, “you would see your insurance payments go through the roof.” In Toronto, critics of the welfare fingerprin t plan complained that it would force people to submit to a procedure widely identified with criminals.Nevertheless, support for biometrics is growing in Toronto as it is in many other communities. In an increasingly crowded and complicated world, biometrics may well be a technology whose time has come.1．According to the author, biometric technology is ______A．in the stage of theoretical study B．widely used in the worldC．about to be out of date D．developing rapidly2．What is one of the advantages of biometric technology?A．It better protects people‟s privacy.B．It helps people follow a healthy life style.C．It is cheaper than traditional methods. D．It identifies people more accurately.3．The author used the health insurance case mainly to ______A．illustrate the use of the technology B．give suggestions on buying insuranceC．draw attention to the problem of the technology D．emphasize the importance of healthy diet4．In which of the following situations is biometric technology NOT used?A．Computers are switched on by a voice order.B．Doctors diagnose disease through patients‟ voice.C．Museum doors are controlled by palm scanner.D．The police identify criminals through fingerprints.5．Which word would you use to describe the author‟s tone in this passage?A．Supportive B．ObjectiveC．Critical D．IndifferentSwansea University has become the first in Wales to launch a new Master‟s degree in Journalism and Media, where students study in three countries. The Erasmus Mundus Master‟s degree is broug ht together by five leading journalism institutions and universities in Europe.Postgraduate students will spend the first year in the Danish School of Journalism in Aarhus, Denmark, and in the University of Amsterdam and the second year in Swansea, Hamburg University or the City University in London. Representatives from each of the Universities meet at Swansea University, campus to sign the agreement. Students will become familiar with contemporary issues and debates in the area of European journalism and will be prepared for a career in the new, emerging global environment. Subjects covered will inc lude European media, European society and politics and the impact of globalization.By learning and living in at least three different European countries，students will be prepared for the challenge of working in a range of contexts in the new global information society. Students will be have the opportunity to specialize in one of three distinct areas of journalism: war and conflict, business and finance, and citizenship. Those choosing to specialize in war and conflict will study at Swansea in their second year.Independent experts from the European Commission have described the newly created master‟s course as quite unique, in so far as no other university offers a course in Journalism that opens the possibility to study in at least three countries: Professor Kevin Williams, Head of Media Studies at Swansea University said: “The aim i s to create a graduate program in journalism that combines the best of the European traditions of media science and journalism to create a degree that is European in origin and global in scope. We hope to produce alumni who will shape the future of global journalism.”Deadline for application for both the masters to start in August 2005 and for the Erasmus Mundus stipends （奖学金）for non-EU students is 1st March 2005.1. The Erasmus Mundus Master‟s degree in this passage is ______.A. a new Master's degree in ChemistryB. first launched in WalesC. brought by five leading European journalism institutions and universitiesD. only launched in three European universities2. From the second paragraph, we can know that postgraduate students in the program ______.A. will study in three countriesB. will meet at Swansea University campus to sign the agreementC. will have to debate with each otherD. will mainly study in environmental problems3. Students can specialize in one of three distinct areas of journalism EXCEPT ______.A. war and conflictB. businessC. citizenshipD. global information4. It can be inferred from Kevin Williams‟ remarks that ______.A. the new program will greatly widen the students‟ knowledg eB. the new program is still in test and has not been launchedC. the work of graduates of the program is to shape the future of global journalismD. the aim of the program is to create a world-recognized degree5. The best title for the passage can be ______.A. A New Master‟s Degree in UniversityB. One Course, Three CountriesC. Postgraduate Study in EuropeD. The Erasmus Mundus StipendsSome of the most popular attractions across America are the many free concerts offered to public throughout the year. These involve not only amateur performers, but professional artists as well. The public parks of many cities across the country usually have bandstands and large lawns. As a service to citizens, they rent out space to performers free of charge. Amateur groups, with nothing more than a desire to perform offer their talents freely to public. Semi-professional artists are pleased to get the chance to perform before the public to perfect their craft and nurture the hope of being discovered before beginning a professional career. Famous professionals also give free concerts to make contact with their admiring fans. Often such concerts are sponsored by a large corporate organization and offered to the public free of charge as a cultural service and support for the arts.The free concerts feature all kinds of music from rock and roll, jazz, country-western to the classics. In addition, free performances may include the plays of Shakespeare or experimental theater of modern dramatists. In New York's Central Park there has long been a summer Shakespeare festival which draws huge crowds to the free performances.Of these concerts the ones held on a summer evening in the park are the most popular. They take on a festive air. Friends and groups gather together after work and spread out a blanket on the lawn facing the performers' stage. The early comers get the best locations and enjoy a picnic supper while it is still daylight. The free seating is on a first come basis. Therefore, by the time the concert begins, as many as five thousand or more people may be in attendance. The concerts usually begin at 8 p.m and are performed under the stars. The sound is made sufficiently loud so that no matter where one chooses to sit, he can hear very well. The only disturbance may be the sound of an overhead airplane on its final approach to an airport or the far-off siren(警笛声) of an ambulance on its way to the hospital. This matters little! What counts is to soak up the atmosphere created by the music and to be with friends in the fresh open air. The best part of it all is that it's free!1. Many American parks give free concerts on their lawns because they_______.A. have the necessary facilitiesB. can attract more visitorsC. want to serve the publicD. are in a position to invite musicians2. The concerts in parks are often financially supported by_______.A. the parks themselvesB. big organizationsC. professional musiciansD. music fans.3. For semi-professional artists, performing before the public is a good chance _________.A. to improve themselves in their careerB. to help train amateur performersC. to make friends with superstarsD. to get involved in profitable business4. The concerts can attract so many people mainly because__________.A. the attendants don't have to pay.B. the seating is on a first come basisC. they provide free picnic supperD. they are held in open air5. The phrase "soak up" in the last paragraph probably means__________.A. absorbB. warm upC. enjoyD. use upWhenever advertisers want you to stop thinking about the product and to start thinking about something bigger, better, or more attractive than the product, they use that very popular wore "like". The word "like'' is the advertiser's equivalent of the magician's use of misdirection."Like" gets you to ignore the product and concentrate on the claim the advertiser is making about it."For skin like peaches and cream" claims the ad for a skin cream. What is this ad really claiming? It doesn't say this cream will give you peaches-and-cream skin. There is no verb in this claim, so it doesn't even mention using the product. How is skin ever like "peaches and cream" '?Remember, ads must be read exactly according to the dictionary definition of words. This ad is making absolutely no promise for this skin cream. If you think this cream will give you soft, smooth, and youthful-looking skin, you are the one who has read the meaning into the ad.The wine that claims "It's like taking a trip to France" wants you to think about a romantic evening in Paris as you walk along the street after a wonderful meal in an intimate craft. Of course, you don' t really believe that a wine can take you to France, but the goal of the ad is to get you to think pleasant, romantic thoughts about France and not about how the wine tastes or how expensive it may be. That little word "like" has taken you away from crushed grapes into a world of your own imaginative making. Who knows, maybe the next time you buy wine, you'll think those pleasant thoughts when you see this brand of wine, and you'll buy it.How about the most famous "like" claim of all, "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should Ignoring the grammatical error here, you might want to know what this claim is saying.Whether a cigarette tastes good or bad is a subjective judgment because what tastes good to one person may well taste horrible to another. There are many people who say that all cigarettes taste terrible, other people who say only some cigarettes taste all right, and still others who say all cigarettes taste good.1. The word "like" in an ad often focuses the consumer's attention on ______.A. what the advertiser says about the productB. what magic the product really possessesC. why the advertiser promotes the productD. why the product is as good as promised2. The author suggests that language in ads should be understood ______.A. according to its dictionary definitionB. according to its contextsC. imaginativelyD. impartially3. To promote sales, advertisers often exploit consumers' ______.A. economic statusB. practical needC. emotional needD. social status4. Advertisers often use ambiguous language to ______.A. promise excellent qualityB. cash in on grammatical errorsC. appeal to consumers' rational judgmentsD. take advantage of consumers' imagination5. The best title for the passage would be ______.A. The Magic of "Like" in AdvertisingB. The Promise of "Like" in AdvertisingC. The Definition of "Like" in AdvertisingD. The Application of "Like" in Advertising2011年工程硕士GCT英语阅读练习参考答案（一）1. A。