大学英语第一单元试题与答案

Online HomeWork_U1B3I. Reading ComprehensionSection A Fast ReadingBack in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children. Justto keep food on the table for the family members, the father worked almost eighteen hours a day. Two of Albrecht Durer the Elder's children, Albrecht and Albert, wanted to pursue talent for art, but they knew that their father would never be financially able to send either of them to Nuremberg to study at the academy.After many discussions, the two boys decided to toss a coin. The loser would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother while he attended the academy. Then, when that brother who won the coin toss completed his studies, he would support the other brother at the academy, either with the sales of his artwork or, if necessary, also by laboring in the mines.They tossed a coin after coming back from church on a Sunday morning.Albrecht Durer won the toss and went off to Nuremberg. Albert went down into the dangerous mines and financed his brother, whose work at the academy was an almost immediate sensation. Albrecht's etchings (版画), woodcuts (木刻画) and oils were far better than those of most of his professors, and by the time he graduated, he was beginning to earn considerable fees for his commissioned works.When Albrecht Durer returned to his village, the family held a big dinner to celebrate Albrecht's homecoming. After the meal, Albrecht rose to drink a toast to his beloved brother for the sacrifice that had enabled Albrecht to fulfill his ambition. He said, “Albert, now it is your turn to go to Nuremberg to pursue your dream, and I will take care of you.”Albert rose and glanced down the long table at the faces he loved, and said softly, “No, brother. Look what four years in the mines have done to my hands! The bones inevery finger have been smashed at least once, and lately I have been suffering from arthritis (关节炎) so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less make delicate lines on canvas (画布) with a brush.”By now, Albrecht Durer's hundreds of masterful portraits, sketches and woodcuts hang in every great museum in the world, but most people are familiar with only one of Albrecht Durer's works. More than merely being familiar with it, you very well may have a reproduction hanging in your home or office.To pay homage to Albert, Albrecht Durer drew his brother's hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward. He called his drawing “Hands,”but the entire world immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and named it “The Praying Hands.”Statements based on the passage:T 1. The father of Durer family could not afford any child's study at the academy.F 2. Albrecht and Albert had to toss a coin to decide who should go to the academy,because one of them had to stay at home and help their father.F 3. Before deciding to toss a coin, Albrecht and Albert had many discussions with1 / 10their father.T 4. Albrecht achieved great success at the academy, and his works were even better than most of his professors'.F 5. Albrecht decided to support Albert's study at the academy with the sales of his artwork and by laboring in the mines.F 6. Albert said it was too late for him to go to the academy because he was no longer interested in art after working in the mines for many years.F 7. Although Albrecht had many masterful portraits, only one of them has received popular recognition.T 8. Among Albrecht's works, “Hands”is the one which is reproduced most.T 9. Albrecht created “Hands”in order to show respect and honor for his brother Albert.F 10. People renamed Albrecht's drawing “The Praying Hands”because they just wanted to pay homage to his great achievement.Section B Passage ReadingPassage 1Valentine's Day probably has its origin in the ancient Roman celebration called Lupercalia(牧神节). It was celebrated on February 15. In the Roman calendar February was in the spring. The celebration honored the gods Lupercus and Faunus as well as the twin brothers Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome. As part of the ceremony the priests paired up young men and women. The girls' names were placed in a box and each boy drew a girl's name. The couple was paired then until the next Lupercalia.In 260 AD the emperor Claudius II, called Claudius the Cruel, decided that young soldiers would only be distracted by marriage and so ordered that young men may not marry. Valentinus (Valentine), a Christian priest, defied the emperor and got married in secret. He was caught and executed on February 14, the eve of Lupercalia. His name became associated with young love forever after. In 496, Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honor him as Saint Valentine and it has been St. Valentine's Day ever since.In the Middle Ages some of the customs of the Lupercalia still persisted in spiteof the attempts of the Church to put an end to these non-Christian customs and Christianize the holiday. Both men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear the names on their sleeves for a week. Today we still sometimes “wear our hearts on our sleeves”when we cannot concealour feelings.In the 1600s, it became common to give flowers, particularly the rose, as a sign of love as the “language of flowers”. This came to Europe from Turkey. The color and placement of the rose held a special significance--a red rose, for example, meant beauty. Flowers have been part of Valentine's Day ever since.D 11. What does the passage mainly tell us?A. The custom of Valentine's Day.2 / 10B. A story about how Valentinus defied the emperor.C. The relationship between marriage and religion.D. The origin of Valentine's Day.B 12. Young soldiers were not allowed to marry because the emperor was afraid that ______.A. they would associate with St. ValentineB. they wouldn't concentrate on their jobC. they would defy the emperor's orderD. they were too young to marryC 13. What does the word “defied”(underlined in Paragraph 2) probably mean?A. Followed.B. Tried to cheat.C. Refused to obey.D. Condemned.B 14. The day February 14 has been St. Valentine's day since ______.A. 260 ADB. 496 ADC. the founding of RomeD. the Middle AgesB 15. According to Paragraph 3, what does the phrase “wear our hearts on our sleeves”mean?A. To hide our true feelings.B. To show our true feelings openly.C. To demonstrate our love.D. To keep our feelings in our mind.Passage 2In Africa and Asia there is a very serious disease called schistosomiasis (血吸虫病). It is caused by a tiny worm which can penetrate the skin of a human being andcause a potentially serious illness. The larvae (幼虫) of these worms live in certaintypes of snails. When they are ready, the larvae leave the snails and enter the bodies of men and animals.In many African rivers there is a large animal called a hippopotamus. It looksrather like an enormous sausage with short legs and a big mouth. Hippos spend much of their time in the river and they do not seem to serve any purpose. Because of this, some African governments ordered that the great animals should be shot on sight to provide meat for local people. When hunters killed most of the hippos in some areas, the number of cases of the disease increased rapidly. There were outbreaks of the disease in areas which had not previously experienced it. At first, the health authorities could not understand the reason why the disease had spread. They made3 / 10investigations and discovered some very surprising facts.When they are in the water, hippos keep the muddy water in motion because they move about frequently. When they climb up on the river bank, they go in single file, making natural channels down which rain water can flow into the river. Without the hippos, mud gathered in the rivers and caused them to run over their banks. At the same time, rain water was unable to drain into the rivers easily, and this helped to produce floods. Certain types of water snail breed rapidly on flooded land, carrying with them the larvae which spread schistosomiasis.Now African governments are importing hippos so that Nature can do her work properly and keep the water snails under control. This is one example of what happens when Man interferes with the work of Nature.A 16. We know that a potentially serious illness is caused when ______.A. the skin of a human being is penetrated by a tiny wormB. the larvae of snails enter the bodies of human beingsC. human beings keep pet snailsD. human beings eat too much meat of hipposD 17. Why were hippos shot to death in Africa?A. Because they look like sausages with short legs and big mouth.B. Because some governments wanted to provide meat for local people.C. Because there were too many hippos in the river.D. Because they were considered useless.A 18. Why did schistosomiasis spread in some areas in Africa?A. Because many hippos were killed.B. Because there were too many channels in the river.C. Because the number of the larvae was increased.D. Because the water snails were kept under control.D 19. According to the passage, which of the following is true about African governments?A. They didn't build enough channels to drain the floods.B. They couldn't find out the connection between hippos and the spread of schistosomiasis.C. They are trying to kill water snails which carry the larvae with schistosomiasis.D. They are trying to control the spread of schistosomiasis in an eco-friendly way.C 20. Nature cannot do her work in a satisfactory way if ______.A. too many hippos are killedB. governments interfere with local peopleC. man interferes with the work of natureD. a disease spreads4 / 10Section C Reading in DepthIn the 1990s, everyone believed that education was the key to economic success.A college degree, even a postgraduate degree, was G for everyone who wanted a goodjob as one of those “symbolic analysts”.But computers are proficient at analyzing symbols。