[英语考试]成都理工大学外国语学院英语阅读四级材料期末考试试题

[英语考试]成都理工大学外国语学院英语阅读四级材料期末考试试题成都理工大外语语院学国学<大英语精品语程学:四语语语语充材料>(CET-4 Reading Comprehension Supplementary Materials)Directions: There are 30 reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best answer to each question.Passage 1Exchange a glance with someone, then look away. Do you realize that you have made a statement? Hold the glance for a second longer, and you have made a different statement. Hold it for 3 seconds, and the meaning has changed again. For every social situation, there is a permissible time that you can hold a person's gaze without being intimate, rude, or aggressive. If you are on an elevator, what gaze-time are you permitted? To answer this question, consider what you typically do. You very likely give other passengers a quick glance to size them up (打量) and to assure them that you mean no threat.Since being close to another person signals the possibility of interaction. You need to emit a signal telling others you want to beleft alone. So you cut off eye contact, what sociologist Erring Goffman (1963) calls "a dimming of the lights." You look down at the floor, at the indicator lights, anywhere but into another passenger's eyes. Shouldyou break the rule against staring at a stranger on an elevator, youwill make the other person exceedingly uncomfortable, and you are likely to feel a bit strange yourself.If you hold eye contact for more than 3 seconds, what are youtelling another person? Much depends on the person and the situation.For instance, a man and a woman communicate interest in this manner. They typically gaze at each other for about 3 seconds at a time, then drop their eyes down for 3 seconds, before letting their eyes meet again. But if one man gives another man a 3-second-plus stare, he signals, "l know you", "l am interested in you," or "You look peculiar and I am curious about you." This type of stare often produces hostile feelings.1.It can be inferred from the first paragraph that___.A) every glance has its significanceB) staring at a person is an expression of interestC) a gaze longer than 3 seconds is unacceptableD) a glance conveys more meaning than words2. If you want to be left alone on an elevator, the best thing to do is___.A) to look into another passenger's eyesB) to avoid eye contact with other passengersC) to signal you are not a threat to anyoneD) to keep a distance from other passengers3. By "a dimming of the lights" (Line 13,Para.1 )Erving Goffmanmeans___.A) closing one's eyesB) turning off the lightsC) ceasing to glance at othersD) reducing gaze-time to the minimum4. If one is looked at by a stranger for too long, he tends tofeel___.A) depressedB) uneasyC) curiousD) amused5. The passage mainly discusses___.A) the limitations of eye contactB) the exchange of ideas through eye contactC) proper behavior in situationsD) the role of eye contact in interpersonal communication.Passage 2Geraldo Rivera is well known for his compassionate investigative reports on WABC-TV Eyewitness News. He has done exposes;揭露性语道,of NewYork City’s welfare hotels, the over-pricing of prescription drugs, and drug abuse. In 1971, he received the Associated Press Broadcaster of the Year awardfor the program Drug Crisis in East Harlem. He received the award again in1972 for the program Migrants, Dirt Cheap.His most famous expose however was done on the horrible conditionsat Staten Island’s Willowbrook State School. It is the world’s largest institution for the mentally disabled. His investigation began when he and his camera crew gained access to one of the buildings. Geraldo’s emotionally charged reports exposed the unsanitary;不语生的,conditions and neglectful, often abusive,treatment of the patients. He cried over what he discovered, and he made his viewers cry, too. The programs created a public plea for reform, and changes were made. Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York restored $20 million to the school’s slashed bud get. The programs—Willow brook earned him theScripps-Howard Award, an Emmy;埃米金像语,, and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award.Geraldo Rivera has continued working for the mentally disabled. He founded One-to-One, a charity ;慈善机,构that provides small group homes for thecare of the mentally disabled in the community. He hosts hugeoutdoor festivals for the mentally disabled in New York City’s Central Park. He also wrote a book about some of the courageous people he hasmet as an investigative journalist. It is called A Special Kind of Courage. As he himself says,“ I makeno pretense;语语, of objectivity. But I’m not just in the businessof making people cry. I’m in the business of change.”6. Geraldo Rivera is working as a(n)______.A.news reporter for a newspaper in New YorkA.investigative reporter for a special TV programB.investigative officer of the New York governmentC.philanthropist(慈善家) for the welfare of the mentally disabled7. How many awards did Rivera receive for his work?A.TwoB.ThreeC.FourD.Five8. Rivera’s investigation and expose on the conditions at Willowbrook StateSchool led to _____.A.the public concern and request for changesB.the improvement of the conditions thereC.a considerable increase in the school’s budgetD.all of the aboverd 9. The term “One-to-One” in the 3paragraph refers to ______.A.an organization in the community that helps take better care of thementally disabledB.a device that helps mentally disabled behave themselvesC.an organization that provides homes for the mentally disabledD.a hospital that helps cure the mentally disabled10. The author suggests in this passage that_____.A.Rivera has always been objective in reporting what he findsB.Rivera never tries to conceal his own compassion in his reportingC.Rivera has changed people’s views on the disabledD.Rivera’s work and efforts have greatly improved the conditions of thedisabled in New York.Passage 3In the old days, children were familiar with birth and death as part of life. This is perhaps the first generation of American youngsters (年语人) who havenever been close by during the birth of a baby and have never experienced the death of a family member.Nowadays when people grow old, we often send them to nursing homes. When they get sick, we transfer them to a hospital, where children are forbidden to visit terminally ill patients-even when those patients are their parents. This deprives (剥语) the dying patient of significant family members during the last few days of his life and it deprives the children of an experience of death, which is an important learning experience.Some of my colleagues and I once interviewed and followed approximately 500 terminally iii patients in order to find out what they could teach us and how we could be of more benefit, not just to them but to the members of their families as well. We were most impressed by the fact that even those patientswho were not told of their serious illness were quite aware of its potential outcome.It is important for family members, and doctors and nurses to understand these patients' communications in order to truly understand their needs, fears, and fantasies (幻想). Most of our patients welcomed another human being with whom they could talk openly, honestly, and frankly about their trouble. Many of them shared with us their tremendous need to be informed, to be kept up-to-date on their medical condition and to be told when the end was near: We found out that patients who had been dealt with openly and frankly were better able to cope with the approach of death and finally to reach a true stage of acceptance prior to death.11. The elders of contemporary Americans___.A) were often absent when a family member was born or dyingB) were quite unfamiliar with birth and deathC) usually witnessed the birth or death of a family memberD) had often experienced the fear of death as part of life12. Children in America today are denied the chance___.A) to learn how to face deathB) to visit dying patientsC) to attend to patientsD) to have access to a hospital13. Five hundred critically ill patients were investigated with the main purpose of___.A) observing how they reacted to the crisis of deathB) helping them and their families overcome the fear of deathC) finding out their attitude towards the approach of deathD) learning how to best help them and their families14. The need of a dying patient for company shows___.A) his desire for communication with other peopleB) his fear of approaching deathC) his pessimistic attitude towards his conditionD) his reluctance to part with his family15. It may be concluded from the passage that___.A) dying patients are afraid of being told of the approach of deathB) most doctors and nurses understand what dying patients needC) dying patients should be truthfully informed of their conditionD) most patients are unable to accept death until it is obviously inevitablePassage4The oldest and simplest method, then, of describing differences in personality was to classify people according to types. Such a system is called a Typology.A famous example of this method was set forth in Greece about the year 400 B.C. A physician named Hippocrates theorized that there were four fluids, or humors, in the body. Corresponding to each humor, he believed, there existed a definite type of personality.The four humors were blood, yellow bile;汁,胆, black bile, and phlegm;液,黏. A person in whom all four humors were in perfect balance had a harmonious;和语的, personality. If a person had too much blood, he was called sanguine, or cheerful and optimistic. Someone with too much yellow bile was choleric, or irritable and easily angered. Too much black bile made a person melancholy, or depressed and pessimistic. An oversupply of phlegm caused a human being to be phlegmatic, or slow and unfeeling. Scientists have long since discarded Hippocrates’ fluid theory. But the names of the humors, corresponding to these temperaments;语,气, have survived and are stilluseful, to some extent, in describing personality.Other features of people, such as their faces and physiques, have also been used to classify personality. Today, however, personality theories and classifications may also include factors such as heredity, the environment, intelligence, and emotional needs. Psychology, biology, and sociology are involved in these theories. Because of the complexity of human personality,present-day theories are often very different from one another. Psychologists vary in their ideas about what is most important in determining personality.16. This passage focuses on________.A.the history of the system of typologyB.important factors in determining personalityC.personality theory and classificationD.important features of human beings17. According to Hippocrates’ fluid theory, a person with a perfec t balance of all the four humors in him_________.A.was humorous and good at singingB.had a pleasant and agreeable temperamentC.would always be cheerful and optimisticD.seldom quarreled of fought with others18. Which of the following is NOT true?A.people with too much yellow bile were easily angeredB.the names of the four fluids are still used todayC.people with an oversupply of blood would easily get excitedD.many features of human beings have been used to classifypersonality19. Modern personality theories and classifications______.A.are often very different because personality itself is rathercomplicatedB.involve psychology , biology, and sociologyC.are based only on heredity, the environment, intelligence, andemotional needsD.all of the above20. In the forth-coming paragraphs, the author is most probably going to talk about____.A.some new interpretations of the Hisppocrates’ fluid theoryB.different opinions of psychologists about the factors in determiningpersonalityC.various definitions of typology given by different psychologistsD.the comparison between present-day personality theories andancientpersonality theoriesPassage 5Space is a dangerous place, not only because of meteors (流星) but alsobecause of rays from the sun and other stars. The atmosphere again acts as our protective blanket on earth. Light gets through, and this is essential for plants to make the food which we eat. Heat, too, makes our environment endurable. Various kinds of rays come through the air from outer space, but enormous quantities of radiation from the sun are screened off. As soon as men leave the atmosphere they are exposed to this radiation but their spacesuits or the walls of their spacecraft, if they are inside, do prevent a lot of radiation damage.Radiation is the greatest known danger to explorers in space. Theunit of radiation is called "rem". Scientists have reason to think that a man can put up with far more radiation than 0.1 rem without being damaged; the figure of 60 rems has been agreed on. The trouble is that it is extremely difficult to be sure about radiation damage -- a person may feel perfectly well, but the cells of his or her sex organs may be damaged, and this will not be discovered until the birth of deformed (畸形的) children or even grandchildren.Missions of the Apollo flights have had to cross belts of high radiation and, during the outward and return journeys, the Apollo crew accumulated a large amount of rems. So far, no dangerous amounts of radiation have been reported, but the Apollo missions have been quite short. We simply do not know yet how men are going to get on when they spend weeks and months outside the protection of the atmosphere, working in a space laboratory. Drugs might help to decrease the damage done by radiation, but no really effective ones have been found so far.21. According to the first paragraph, the atmosphere is essential to man in that___.A) it protects him against the harmful rays from spaceB) it provides sufficient light for plant growthC) it supplies the heat necessary for human survivalD) it screens off the falling meteors22. We know from the passage that___.A) exposure to even tiny amounts of radiation is fatalB) the effect of exposure to radiation is slow in comingC) radiation is avoidable in space explorationD) astronauts in spacesuits needn't worry about radiation damage23. The harm radiation has done to the Apollo crew members___.A) is insignificantB) seems overestimatedC) is enormousD) remains unknown24. It can be inferred from the passage that___.A) the Apollo mission was very successfulB) protection from space radiation is no easy jobC) astronauts will have deformed children or grandchildrenD) radiation is not a threat to well-protected space explorers25. The best title for this passage would be___.A) The Atmosphere and Our EnvironmentB) Research on RadiationC) Effects of Space RadiationD) Importance of Protection Against RadiationPassage 6Although the United Kingdom covers only a small area of the earth’s surface, it represents people of many different origins and cultures. Yet all of them are British indeed, it would be difficult to find anyone in modern Britain who could say with certainty that his ancestors had not come to the British Isles from somewhere else. Who, then, are today’s Britains and what kind of people are they?The history of human settlement in Britain goes back to the Stone Age hunters and gatherers who arrived from the European continent about 10,000 years ago. The peoples who followed them were settled agriculturalists who kept domestic animals and knew how to make simple pottery. Around 2000 BC these Stone Age people started to erect huge stone monuments, or henges, possibly for religious purposes. Work on the henges continued into the Bronze Age, until about 1500BC. The mostimposing and mysterious of these ancient monuments is Stonehenge, on windswept Salisbury plain in southwest England.Easy communication between the islands and the continental mainland must have existed and, from earliest times, this encouraged migration. By the end of the Bronze Age, around 700BC, Celtic people had arrived from north-western Europe bringing with them a revolutionary new skill: ironworking. Celts continued to come and settle in Britain for about 500 years and, by the time the Romans first landed in 55BC, the Celtic culture was well established. The earliest written records of Britain’s inhabitants come from the Romans who eventually conquered the various Celtic kingdoms then flourishing in England, Wales and the Scottish Low-lands.26. In this passage the author intends to tell the origin of ____.A.the BritishB.the CeltsC.the EnglishD.the Romans27. From the passage we know that_______.A.everyone in Britain came from the British IslesB.almost everyone came to the British Isles from somewhere elseC.almost everyone in Britain had his or her family origin from theBritish IslesD.almost every British citizen had his or her family origin fromsomewhere else28. According to the passage, the earliest inhabitants in Britain were______.A.the earliest agriculturalistsB.CeltsC.Stone Age hunters and gatherersD.Romans29. Thanks to ______ we can learn about the earliest inhabitants in Britain.A.Celts from north-western EuropeB.Stonehenge on Salisbury plainC.The well-established Celtic cultureD.The Romans occupying the Celtic Kingdoms in Britain30. According to the passage which of the following is NOT true?A.There were already religious activities in ancient Britain.munication between the British islands and the continentalmainland was convenient in the earliest times.C.There were many Celtic Kingdoms in Britain when the Romans camein 55 BC.D.There were blacksmiths in Britain before 700 BC.Passage 7The concept of "environment" is certainly difficult and may even be misunderstood; but we have no handy substitute. It seems simple enough to distinguish between the organism and the surrounding environment and to separate forces acting on an organism into those that are internaland biological and those that are external and environmental. But in actual practice this system breaks down in many ways, because the organism and the environment are constantly interacting so that the environment is modified by the organism and vice versa (反之亦然).In the case of men, the difficulties with the environmental concept are even more complicated because we have to deal with man as an animal and with men as a bearer (持有者) of culture. If we look at man as an animal and try to analyze the environmental forces that are acting on the organism, we find that we have to deal with things like climate, soil, plants, and such-like factors common to all biological situations; but we also find, always, very important environmental influences that we can only class as "cultural", whichmodify the physical and biological factors. But men, as we know him, is always a bearer of culture; and if we study human culture, we find that it, in turn, is modified by the environmental factors of climate and geography. We thus easily get into great difficulties from the necessity of viewing culture, at one moment, as a part of the man and, at another moment, as a part of the environment.31. Which of the following words can best describe the popular understanding of "environment" as the author sees it?A) Elaborate.B) Prejudiced.C) Faultless.D) Oversimplified.32. According to the author the concept of "environment" isdifficult to explain because___.A) it doesn't distinguish between the organism and the environmentB) it involves both internal and external forcesC) the organism and the environment influence each otherD) the relationship between the organism and the environment is unclear33. In analyzing the environmental forces acting on man the author suggests that___.A) biological factors are less important to the organism than cultural factors to manB) man and other animals are modified equally by the environmental forcesC) man is modified by the cultural environment as well as by the natural environmentD) physical and biological factors exert more influence on other organisms than on man34. As for culture, the author points out that___.A) it develops side by side with environmental factorsB) it is also affected by environmental factorsC) it is generally accepted to be part of the environmentD) it is a product of man's biological instincts35. In this passage, the author is primarily concerned with___.A) the interpretation of the term "environment"B) the discussion on organisms and biological environmentC) the comparison between internal and external factors influencing manD) the evaluation of man's influence on culturePassage 8Together with earthquakes, volcanoes are phenomena which bothdelight and terrify the human mind at the same time. Some of the most beautiful mountains in the world, admired by all who see them, are volcanoes. On the other hand, volcanoes have throughout history caused great destruction. The term volcano is associated with the island of Vulcano just north of Sicily. In classical times, this was thought to be the home of the god Vulcan—the god of destruction. Volcanoes have always been objects of mystery, and this is true today even despite the advances of science.A volcano is a kind of chimney, or “vent” which goes down to a liquid deep inside the earth, called “magma”. Three types of material come out of the vent: a hot liquid called lava, pieces of rock, and great quantities of gas. The lava and rock often collect round the vent and form what is known as the volcano’s cone. Volcanic eruptions vary between two extremes. In one, the lava comes quietly to the surface and flows away as a river, causing little damage except to objects directly in its path. On the other extreme great explosions occur, frequently blowing away the cone and causing great damage. The great majority of the world’s volcanoes are intermediate between these two extremes.There are several ways of classifying volcanoes. This is usually done according to the type of vent or the nature of the explosion. According to this latter classification, the most explosive type of volcano is the Pelean type, named after the eruption of Mount Pelee in the Lesser Antibes in 1902. The characteristic feature of this type is the so-called “glowing cloud”. This is a great cloud of red lava thrown from the volcano at high speed.36. Volcanoes______.A.delight people rather than terrify themB.either delight people or terrify themC.neither delight people nor terrify themA.delight people and, on the other hand, terrify them37. The first paragraph implies that in classical times____.A.there were a lot of volcanic eruptions on the island of VulcanoB.Vulcan lived on the island of VulcanoC.the island of Vulcano lay, and still lies today, just north of SicilyD.there were a lot of volcanic eruptions on the island of Sicily38. The word vent (Para. 2, Line 1)means_______.A.something like a chimney in the volcanoB.magma deep inside the earthC.the volcano’s coneva, rock, and gas39. According to this passage, most of the world’s volcanic eruptions_____.A.are extremely destructiveB.cause little damageC.are neither extremely destructive nor extremely nondestructiveD.are either extremely destructive or extremely nondestructive40. According to _____, the Pelean type is the most explosive typeof Volcano.A.the type of ventB.the nature of the explosionC.the colour of lavaD.the “glowing cloud”Passage 9If 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 andreason at a relatively early age, and how the process of ageingcould 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 without intellectual or emotional faculties.)Contraction of front and side parts--as cells die off--was observed in 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 simple remedy tothe 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 best way to maintain good bloodcirculation is through using the brain," he says, "Think hard and engage in conversation. Don't rely on pocket calculators."41. The team of doctors wanted to find out___.A) why certain people age sooner than othersB) how to make people live longerC) the size of certain people's brainsD) which people are more intelligent42. 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.43. The doctor's tests show that___.A) our brains shrink as we grow olderB) the front section of the brain does not shrinkC) sixty-year-olds have better brains than thirty-year-oldsD) some people's brains have contracted more than other44. The word "subjects" in Paragraph 5 means___.A) something to be consideredB) branches of knowledge studiedC) persons chosen to be studied in an experimentD) any member of a state except the supreme ruler45. According to the passage, which people seem to age slower than the others?A) LawyersB) FarmersC) ClerksD) Shop assistantsPassage 10It is difficult to imagine what life would be like without memory. The meanings of thousands of everyday perceptions, the bases for the decisions we make, and the roots of our habits and skills are to be found in our past experiences, which are brought into the present by memory.Memory can be defined as the capacity to keep information available for later use. It includes not only “remembering” things like arithmetic or historical facts, but also involves any change in the way an animal typicallybehaves. Memory is involved when a rat gives up eating grain because he has sniffed something suspicious in the grain pile. Memory is also involved when a six-year-old child learns to swing a baseball bat.Memory exists not only in humans and animals but also in some physical objects and machines. Computers, for example, contain devices for storing data for later use. It is interesting to compare the memory-storage capacity of a computer with that of a human being. The instant-access memory of a large computer may hold up to 100,000 ”words”---ready for instant use. An average U.S. teenager probably recognizes the meaning of about 100,000 words of English. However, this is but a。