大学英语读写教程第1册unit 8 阅读理解三篇之欧阳法创编

unit 8

Part 1 Reading comprehension

Directions: Read the following passages carefully. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished sentences. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C, and D. Choose the best answer to each question.

Questions 1 to 5 are based on the same passage or dialog.

Manners evolved differently in different cultures. In earlier times there was a tendency for manners to become increasingly formal, and this was often viewed as progress. In the 18th and 19th centuries having good manners was seen as an important part of one's education and social class, and it was necessary to be taken as a lady or a gentleman to get ahead in the world.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, manners have gradually become more relaxed and informal. The hosting of dinners and other social gatherings are no longer the exclusive privilege of the wealthy elite (精英), and private clubs are being gradually replaced by more open meeting places. So the manners of the salon (沙龙) are gradually combining with the manners of the pub. Clothing is a good indication of the changes in manners, as can be seen in the following examples.

It is surprising that the wearing of hats indoors by males is once again becoming acceptable. Students in North America often wear baseball caps to class. In many countries the wearing of hats indoors by males was once acceptable even in very polite society, but over the years this became considered as a lower-class behavior and was thus discouraged in both the middle and upper classes. The young people who wear hats indoors do not realize they are actually restarting a very old cultural tradition.

A comparable development for females is the wearing of jeans. Many females now wear jeans on a daily basis, either at home or at work. Some see this as a symbolic declaration that they are now modern women, not girls or ladies. Some girls, like boys, wear baseball caps both indoors and outdoors.

Sneakers and shorts are now acceptable for either males or females in a variety of non-athletic situations. Some companies have rules requiring informal dress such as jeans or sneakers on Fridays (called "dress-down Friday" or "casual

Friday"), and others permit it almost all the time. In these companies, and many others, it is acceptable to call the bosses by their first names.

1.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. Changes of manners over time.

B. Formal manners in the earlier times.

C. Different manners in different cultures.

D. Development of manners in different classes.

2.In the 20th and 21st centuries, _________.

A. manners are not as formal as in the past

B. manners in a pub are getting more and more formal

C. proper clothing is a good indication of good manners

D. rich people no longer behave formally in social gatherings

3.According to the passage, "the manners of the salon" in paragraph 2 most

likely refers to __________.

A. Formal manners of drinking.

B. Informal manners of drinking.

C. Formal manners at social gatherings.

D. Informal manners at social gatherings.

4.According to the passage, nowadays wearing a hat indoors can actually be

viewed as _________.

A. a revolution

B. social progress

C. a worsening situation

D. a return to the old tradition

5.According to the author, today wearing hats indoors, and wearing jeans at

work mainly indicate that _________.

A. women are no longer inferior to men

B. people no longer pay attention to dressing details

C. people are getting more relaxed in terms of manners

D. some companies have lower requirements for their employees

Questions 6 to 10 are based on the same passage or dialog.

Between the 1950s and the early 1980s, the evolving role of Japanese women had been most obvious in their attitudes toward marriage and the family system. There had been a trend away from arranged marriages. Many young women admitted that they took paid employment mostly in order to find a husband on their own. In spite of this and other influences a 1982 figure showed that almost