70天攻克考研英语阅读DAY58

DAY58
Reading comprehension
Direction： In this part， there are four passages followed by questions or unfinished statements， each with four suggested answers marked A， B， C and D. Choose the one that you think is the correct answer.
Passage 1
Gambling， despite being a well known highly risky pursuit that has caused many tragedies does not scare gamblers away； instead， many consciously join the legion of gamblers， in spite of possible failure in store for them.
How does a gambler get bogged down in such a risky occupation？ Most novices do not embrace an ambition to get rich through gambling. Instead， they might think gambling is merely an exciting game through which they can try their luck and bring excitement to their dull lives. Often， they win a small sum at the first several tries， and then became bold， daring to play for larger stakes. With certain encouraging “achievements”， they are now confident of their good luck and gambling skill. At this point， they are at a crossroads： a step forward to become a professional gambler， or a step backward to return to normal life.
Unfortunately， most of them get bogged down in gambling， because the greedy notion of getting something for nothing is their underlying motive. Openly， they deny that they have such a shameful motive， but in the recesses of their soul， there is an undeniable ambition to get great sums of money through gambling. However， I ve never heard of any myth about a person who got wealth and prestige through gambling. Instead， I ve heard many true stories about gamblers who ended their lives in misery. Once a person gets bogged down in gambling， it is rather hard for him to tear himself away from that evil. Throughout history， few gamblers have ever repented about gambling， which led them to tragedy — failure in business， destitution， family disintegration， divorce， suicide， crime， etc.
What should a person do to get rid of such a nightmare？ It is very easy. To prevent getting involved in gambling， the most effective means is to stop at the first try. It is easy for any intelligent person to stop at the first try but it is also easy for a person of weak will to receive an “invitation” to have a try. The novice often finds an excuse for the first try， thinking or murmuring， “this is the only and the last try.” In most cases， the novice will not stop at the first try — he will try again， and finally he will become an addict.
A “vindictive” psychology drives these new gamblers to be entrapped in gambling houses. As they lose some money，they get angry and try to “avenge” themselves， so that they play for higher stakes and lose more， until they sell all they have to get money and go back to the gambling house. Finally， they have debts beyond their capacity to pay. To dodge their debtors， they have to hide or escape， or take risky and criminal actions， for example， killing or threatening the debtors. Many gamblers end their lives in jail.
1. What's the meaning of “in store for them” in paragraph one？
A. Something （especially dangerous） is impending and would occur at any moment.
B. Something is accumulated or stored for future use.
C. Something is waiting for them.
D. Something would arise gradually and unnoticeably.
2. According to the author， gambling known as a highly risky field still attracts so many crazy gamblers is NOT because.
A. some people first treat it as an entertainment but gradually become an addict
B. they are attempted by surroundings
C. many have a motive to be rich through gambling
D. Gamblers find it difficult to constrain or wipe out gambling desire
3 From history， the psychological reason for a gambler s failure in everything is.
A. their refusal to feel regret for gambling
B. their weak will
C. their greedy notion
D. their addictive desire
4. In the last paragraph， a vindictive psychology actually refers to .
A. sense of unfair for their fate
B. sense of anger for their lucklessness
C. envious feeling about lucky gamblers
D. desire of taking revenge for themselves
5. The author wrote this essay to.
A. analyze gamblers psychological reason of gambling
B. criticize gamblers and gambling
C. warn gamblers to stay away from gambling
D. introduce the history of gambling
Passage 2
Stress experienced by a mother during pregnancy appears to influence how her baby s brain and nervous system will react to stressful events， according to researchers report. They believe this conditioning may increase a child s vulnerability to various physical and mental illnesses in later life.
“Factors related to medical， endocrine and psychosocial stress during human pregnancy may negatively impact fetal brain development and function，” report Dr. Pathik Wadhwa and colleagues from the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Their findings were presented at the 20th annual Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine held in San Diego， California， earlier this month.
Previous research has suggested that highly stressed pregnant mother have a higher risk of delivering premature and underweight infants， compared with less anxious mothers. In their study of 156 mother fetus pairs， the investigators sought to determine the relationship between an expectant mother s psychological state and her fetus response to stressful stimuli. To do so， they monitored fetal heart rate while disturbing the fetus with a vibroacoustic stimulator （a small vibrating device）， placed upon the mother s abdomen. These devices are commonly used by obstetricians to awaken a sleeping fetus. The authors report that “the magnitude and duration of the fetal heart rate changes in response to （the device） was greater in women with high levels of stress hormones， high levels of psychological stress， and low levels of social support” compared with women with less stress. Over time， fetuses appeared to become “habituated” to occasional vibroacoustic stimulation so that their stress responses， as indicated by increased heart rate， subsided with each new stimulation.
However， the research team reports that this learning process was “delayed” in fetuses carried by highly stressed women， in other words， their stress responses remained on “alert” node despite repeated stimulation. Wadhwa and his colleagues believe that these early neurological changes could also increase a child s lifelong vulnerability to “a host of （stress related） chronic mental and physical degenerative conditions，” including heart disease and its attendant risk of heart attack and stroke.
On the other side， high stress during pregnancy， also affect women s own psychological state after labor and birth. Dr. Pauline Slade， a psychologist at Sheffield University in northern England reports that pre natal mental problems of a mother to be is a cause for post traumatic stress symptom， which usually associates with war or other violence. “Giving birth involves high levels of fear and the possibility of harm，” she says in a telephone interview， “it s natural to be nervous.”Surprisingly， Slade adds the length of labor， degree of pain or type of intervention does not seem to be factors in whether a woman would suffer from trauma symptoms of the kind usually treated with psychological interventions. Much more important is how women perceive the labor and birth， along with pre existing or long term issues.
1. The author mainly argues that.。