2020年公共英语三级考前阅读冲刺练习题及答案

2020年公共英语三级考前阅读冲刺练习题及答案

Part A

Directions ：

Read the following three texts. Answer the questions on each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Markyour answers on ANSWER SHEETl.

Text 1

It was fifteen past nine as Marie hurried into the office building where she was going to work.

Her bus had inched along through heavy morning traffic, making her a few minutes late for her very

first job. She decided to start out half an hour earlier the next day.

Once inside the lobby, she had to stand at the elevators and wait several minutes before she

could get on one going to the sixth floor. When she

finally reached the office marked "Smith Enter-

prises" , she knocked at the door nervously and waited. There was no reply. She tapped on the door

again, but still there was no answer. From inside the next office, she could hear the sound of

voices, so she opened the door and went in.

Although she was sure it was the same office she had been in two weeks before when she had

the interview with Mr. Smith, it looked quite different now. In fact, it hardly looked like an office

at all. The employees were just standing around chatting and smoking. In the front of the room,

somebody must have just told a good joke, she thought, because there was a loud burst of laughter as

she came in. For a moment she had thought they were laughing at her.

Then one of the men looked at his watch, clapped his hands and said something to the others.Quickly they all went to their desks and, in a matter of seconds, everyone was hard at work. No one paid any attention to Marie. Finally she went up to the man who was sitting at the desk nearest to the door and explained that this was her first day in the office. Hardly looking up from his work, he told her to have a seat and wait for Mr. Smith, who would arrive at any moment. Then Marie realized that the day's work in the office began just before Mr. Smith arrived. Later she found out that he lived in Connecticut and came into Manhattan on the same train every morning, arriving in the office at 9：35,so that his staff knew exactly when to start working.

46. Marie felt nervous when she knocked at the door because _ .

[A] it was her first day in a new job

[B] she was a little bit late for work

[C] she was afraid that she had gone to the wrong place

[D] there was no answer from inside the office

47. Marie could hardly recognize the office she went into as .

[A] she had been there only once

[B] Mr. Smith was not in the office

[C] nobody was doing any work

[D] the office had a new appearance

48. The people in the office suddenly started working because .

[A] they saw a stranger in the office

[B] their morning break was ended

[C] no one wanted to talk to Marie

[D] the boss was about to arrive

49. We can infer from the text that the employees of the enterprise . .

[A] would start their work by listening to a joke

. [B] were cold to newcomers

[C] were always punctual for work

[D] lacked devotion to the company

50. The best title for this text would be. .

[A] Punctual Like a Clock

[B] A Cold Welcome

[C] An Unpunctual Manager

[D] Better Late Than Never

Text 2

For most of us, dieting is a frustrating fact of life. With so much conflicting nutritional information about, it can be difficult to tell which weight-loss strategies really work. Let' s start by discounting these confusing myths.

1. All calories are created equal

What you eat, not how much, is the main factor behind weight gain, according to research.Calories from fat pack on the pounds. The reason： during digestion, the body burns many more calories metabolizing protein and carbohydrates than it does metabolizing fat.

2. Desserts are taboo

Cakes, pies and ice cream can sensibly be worked into a diet, the expert says. Moderation is the key. CVt down on other meals if you'll be eating out at a restaurant known for its rich sweets.Or indulge, but take only a few bites.

3. Fast foods are forbidden

A plain hamburger on a bun is still a healthful choice. So is grilled chicken or a green salad with low-cal dressing. But watch out for French fries, milkshakes and batter-dipped chicken or fish.

4. Fasting is the fastest diet

Some studies suggest that drastically reducing calorie intake switches the body into a " starvation

mode", which conserves calories and decreases your metabolic rate. The more frequently you deprive yourself of food, the better your body may get at storing calories. So,

in the long run, repeated fasting may actually undermine your weight-loss efforts.

5. To keep weight off, simply watch what you eat .

According to experts, exercise combined with dieting ensures weight Joss better than dieting alone does. Experts also agree that sticking with regular, moderate exercise is more important that occasional vigorous workouts are.

Obesity-researcher Kelly Brownell encourages patients to make a series of small physical efforts： taking the stairs

instead of the elevator and parking the car far from where

you are going and walking.

Most important, before getting caught up in dietary myths, let good sense shape your eating habits. Your body will thank you for it.

51. It cannot be inferred from the first paragraph that

_ .

[A] the information about dieting is always-

contradictory

[B] there are too many weight-loss strategies to choose from

[C] dieting is always troublesome to most people

[D] people should not believe the ideas of dieting

52. One of the elements to gain weight is _ .

[A] the amount of the food you eat

[B] over sleeping

[C] laziness

[D] the kind of food you eat

53. Which of the following saying is true about dieting?

[A] You can't eat sweets.

[B] Fast foods are not good.

[C] You should not neglect any meals.

[D] Fasting is always helpful

54. The phrase "starvation mode" means .

[A] being very hungry

[B] eating what you like when you are hungry

[C] weight-loss efforts

[D] being ready to eat

55. The word "shape" in the last sentence means .

[A] break [B] form

[C] get rid of [D] change

Text 3

Labor force is defined as being the total number of people who are available to work and earn income. This definition includes everyone who is employed or seeking paid employment,so it includes employees and the self-employed. Labor is one of the country's resources which can be combined with other resources to produce the goods and services required by the community. .

Though the size of the workforce relies greatly on the size of the total population,there are several other aspects which also affect it. The age distribution of the total population has a very marked effect on the available workforce. If the population has a high proportion of very young people or of those too old to work,then the available workforce would be lower than if there were an evenly spread age distribution.If the population grows rapidly from natural increase,i. e. the number of births greatly exceeds the number of deaths,then as a total population increases, the proportion in the workforce declines.

Sometimes a population is described as aging,which means that the birth rate is either falling or growing very slowly,and as people retire from the workforce, there are inadequate numbers of young people entering it to take place of those who are leaving it. The population is top-heavy with older people. So the percentage of the population in the workforce declines when there is either a rapid increase in births or a falling birth rate. '

The age distribution of the population has several important influences on the economy. If the population is aging and there is an increase in the number of people

retiring without a corresponding increase in the number entering the workforce,this raises the problem of the ability of the economy to provide a reasonable level of social services to the retired group. If the aged are to be cared

for in special homes or hotels,finance must be available for that purpose. If the size of the workforce is small relative to the total population,then the government tax receipts are relatively low and either the govemment has less money available to it or the workforce members have to be taxed more heavily.

56. Labor force is composed of .

[A] people who are available to work and earn income

[B] self-employed people only

[C] only those who are looking for an employment

[D] only the employees

57. The factor which does NOT influence the size of the worldorce is _ .

[A] the size of population

[B] age distribution of the population

[C] national economy

[D] natural increase

58. The conclusion which can be drawn safely from the second paragraph is that _

[A] a population growth from natural increase leads to a greater proportion of the work-force

[B] a large population does not necessarily mean a higher proportion of workforce

[C] the larger the number of the aged in a population,the higher the proportion of the workforce

[D] if the population has an evenly spreaded age distribution,the workforce will be lower

59. When a population is said to be aging,_ .

[A] more people are retiring than people entering the workforce

[B] the birth rate is growing '

[C] there is an oversupply of workforce

[D] young people outnumber old people

60. The population which is top-heavy with older people poses a problem to _ .

[A] the government [B] the economy

[C] the workforce [D] all of the above

Part B

Directions ：

Read the following discussion. among five people about workplace dress, for questions 61 t0 65,match the name of each person. (61 t0 65) to one of the statements (A to G ) given below. Mark you answers on. you.r ANSWER SHEETl.

Marian ：

I have a friend who is a team leader of about 25 employees who are primarily women. She' s found a trick that works for her most of the time, but -not always. Those staff who appear in much less than professional dressing are asked if their mother and father would think appropriate a picture of them dressed in what they believe is "OK" for work. If they say "yes", she then takes a picture and asks them to send it home. Having a camera helps. Having a visual proof drives her message home.

Catherine ：

I think it really boils down to a moral question. Is it morally "right" to use our body to move ahead in business? Or should we instead emphasize intelligence, capabilities, creative and independent thought, professionalism, and other such qualities which many, many women possess, but whom are routinely neglected for promotions and are never glorified or emphasized in our culture. It' s okay to be a tough, competent lawyer like Ally Mcbeal, but you won't get noticed unless you look good in really short skirts. Having a nice body is a plus, but I think that there are tons and tons of styles of dress which can show off a nice body in a professional way.

Roget：

A lot of employees have finally gotten the message about inappropriate (不合适的) dress-down items such as jeans, shorts, revealing tops, etc. They are starting to wear the proper dress-down clothes. However, wearing the appropriate dress-down clothes doesn' t mean you're excused from ironing and it's certainly no license to wear dirty clothes. Wash and

iron people! And guys, tuck your shirts in and put on a pair

of socks!

Briggs：

I work in a large company that has adopted the business code. They have an outline of what is acceptable and what is not. On it you find the typical, no blue jeans, no mini-

skirts, no bare feet or legs and that type of thing. I guess

I agree with Jessica. Anyone with common sense knows how to dress appropriately for whatever environment he or she works in. I am a casual person by nature but I tend to wear the business dress in my office. I do see some people in my building wearing casually and they look strange there.

BiH：

You're forgetting the most important point-it's "their" business. They are the ones who have put financial resources on the line： who have a whole bunch to lose if the business goes bad： who are providing employment for others. Therefore, they get to make the rules. If that includes a dress code,

then that's their right. If you'd like a different dress

code-start your own business.

Now match each of the people (61 t0 65) to the

appropriate statement.

Note： there are two extra statements.

Statements

61.Marian [A] We shall not be moved.

62. Catherine [B] Money means freedom.

63. Roget [C] Photos taking are pleasant.

64. Briggs [D] There are people who are so careless about dressing.

65. Bill [E] Action speaks louder than words.

[F] It is our society that must be blamed.

[G] You should wear appropriately where you are.

Part A

Text1

参考译文

9点15的时候，玛丽急匆匆地走进她工作的办公大楼。她乘坐的

公车在早晨高峰期，慢得像蜗牛一样。所以她第一天上班就迟到了几

分钟。她决定明天提前半个小时出门。

她走进大厅后，不得不站在电梯那儿等上几分钟才能搭上电梯上6楼。当她最终到达标着“史密斯企业”的办公室时，她紧张地敲了敲门，等待着，但没人应。她又敲了两下还是没人应。她听到隔壁的办

公室里传出说话声，于是她打开门，走了进去。

虽然她肯定这就是两周以前她接受史密斯先生面试的那间办公室，但现在变化真的很大。实际上，这里根本就不像办公室。雇员们在四

下里站着，边抽烟边聊天。她猜一定是有人在屋子的前面讲了个很有

趣的笑话，因为她走进来的时候那边爆发出很大的笑声。刚开始她还

以为他们在笑她。

这时有个男人看了看表，拍了拍手并对其他人讲了几句话。在几

秒钟的时间内，每个人都迅速地回到他们的办公桌旁，开始努力工作

起来。没有人注意到玛丽。最后，她走向靠门口办公的一位男士，向

他说明她是第一天上班。那人几乎连头都没抬，只让她坐下等史密斯

先生，他随时都可能走进来。稍后她意识到原来员工们每天的工作都

是在史密斯先生走进来的前一刻才开始的。一段时间以后，玛丽得知

史密斯先生住在康涅狄格，每天早晨都乘同一趟火车来曼哈顿，9：35到达办公室，所以他的员工很清楚该什么时候开始工作。

答案及解析

46.B【解析】第一天上班迟到，所以紧张。

47.D【解析】由第三段中“…it looked quite different now”能够看出，办公室和以前相比，变化很大，答案选D。

48.D【解析】由末段中“Then Marie realized that the day's work in the office began just before Mr. Smith arrived”可知

选D.

49.D【解析】显而易见该公司职员对公司缺乏奉献精神。

50.A【解析】标题的选择应言简意赅，同时也可表达出作者的某

种感情色彩，如本文中作者的讽刺意味比较浓。

Text 2

参考译文

对绝大部分人来说，节食是人生中一件烦人的事情。因为众多相

关营养方面的信息相互矛盾，要讲出哪一种减肥措施真正奏效不是件

容易的事。先让我们从解开这些扰人的谜团开始。

1.所有食物产生的热量都是一样的。

吃什么而不是吃多少是长胖的主要原因。来自脂肪的热量(卡路里)使体重增加。原因是：在消化过程中，身体对蛋白质和碳水化合物的

代谢比对脂肪的代谢要消耗更多的热量。

2.餐后甜食是大忌。

蛋糕、馅饼和冰淇淋能够合理地加进日常饮食。关键在于适度。

如果你要去一家以甜食著称的饭店吃饭，那么你要在其他几顿饭上少

吃点。或者不加节制，但只能吃几小块。

3.禁用快餐食品。

面包夹一块纯精牛肉是有益健康的可供选择的食品。同样能够选

择烤鸡或拌有低卡调料的绿色色拉。但是要小心法式油炸土豆条，奶

昔和粘有用鸡蛋和牛奶调制成的面糊的鸡肉或鱼肉。

4.禁食是最见效的减肥法。

一些研究表明：迅猛地减少卡路里的摄入量可使你的身体处于一

种“饥饿状态”，这既保存了卡路里又使你的新陈代谢速度减慢。你

越不让自己吃东西，你的身体就越会储存热量。所以，从长远来看，

反复禁食也许实际上是在破坏你减肥努力的成果。

5.要减肥只需注重你的饮食。

根据专家的看法，锻炼结合节食比单独注重节食更能做到减肥。

专家们也同意坚持经常而又适度的锻炼比偶尔做些大运动量的锻炼更

重要。肥胖病研究者K鼓励病人做一系列少量的身体活动：以爬楼梯

代替坐电梯;把车停得尽量远一些。最重要的是，不要相信关于饮食的

一些不经之谈，让理智决定你的饮食习惯。你的身体会所以而感谢你。

答案及解析

51.D【解析】本题是推理题，因A、B、C项均能够从文中推出，D

则不能.故选D。

52.D【解析】本题是细节推理题，从对第—个谜团的破解中可推

知答案。

53.C【解析】本题是推理判断题，考查对全文的整体把握。可用

排除法，因A、B、D项均不对，故选C。

54.A【解析】本题考查对词汇的掌握。starvation mode意为“饥饿状态，”故选A。

55.B【解析】本题考查对词汇的掌握，shape做动词对有“便成形”的意思，故选B。

Text 3

参考译文

劳动力指的是能够实行工作并获取报酬的人的总数。这个定义包

括所有已经有工作和寻找有偿职业的人，所以它包括雇员和个体经营者。劳动力是一个国家的资源之一，和其他资源结合后就能够提供社

会所需要的商品和服务了。

即使劳动力的数量很大水准上取决于国家的总人口数，但其他方

面的因素也会对它造成影响。总人口的年龄分布对现有劳动力有显著

影响。如果人口中有很大一部分是因为太年轻或太老而无法工作的人，可用劳动力的数量就要少于年龄分布均匀的人口。如果人口的自然增

长速度过快，也就是说出生人数远远超过死亡人数，那么总人口数量

增加而劳动力的比率则下降。

有时，一个国家的人口会被描述成老龄化的人口，这就是说出生

率下降或者上升的速度都很缓慢，没有充足多的年轻人来填补退休劳

动力的空缺。人口年龄分布因为老年人数量多而变得不均衡。所以，

出生人口增长得过快或过缓，劳动力占总人口的比率都会下降。

人口年龄分布状况对经济有几个重要影响。如果人口正在老化，

退休的人数增加的同时就业的人数却没有相对应的增加，就会衍生出

没有经济水平为退休人口提供适当社会服务的问题。如果老年人得在

特定的福利院或是疗养院接受照顾，社会就必须为此提供经济支持。

如果劳动力人数相对于总人口数较小，政府的税收也会相对应较少，

结果就是或者政府没有充足的钱为老年人提供福利，或者劳动者的税

收负担加重。

答案及解析

56.A【解析】由文中首句对labor force的定义可知选A。

57.C【解析】由第二、三段可知影响劳动力规模的因素有the size of population,age distribution of the population以及natural increase.

58.B 【解析】第二段主要论述age disrribution对于劳动力规模的影响。

59.A【解析】见第三段的第一句话。

60.D【解析】由末段可知old people过度增加，会给三方面造成影响：the govemment,the economy以及the workforce.

Part B

参考译文：

下面几段文字阐述了对于在工作场合穿着过于随意的几种不同观点。

玛丽安：我有一个朋友领导着一个有25名员工的工作组，其中绝大部分都是女性。她想到一个“小诡对”.这个“小诡计”在绝大部分时候都是有用但不是所有时候都有用。她会问那些穿着过于随便的衣服来上班的人她们的父母是否会欣赏她们上班时闻所穿的自认为“还行”的衣服。如果她们回答说“是”，那么我的朋友会给她们拍照片然后让她们寄回家。照相机能帮上忙，视觉上的证据把她要传达的信息带回家。

凯瑟琳：我认为这归结到一个道德问题，从道德上来说，用我们的身体来使生意有所进展，是对的吗?还是我们应该强调明智、水平、创造力和独立思维、专业以及其他品质?很多女性都拥有这些品质，但是她们在我们的文化中不会受到推崇或重视，晋升无份。成为Ally Mcbeal那样强悍且有水平的律师也不错，但是你只有穿上超短裙看起

来很漂亮才会被人注重。拥有漂亮的身体是一种优势，但是我认为有无数的衣服能以职业的方式突显漂亮的身体。

罗杰：很多雇员最终收到了着装不合适的信息，比如说牛仔、短裤、暴露的上装等等。他们开始穿比较合适的休闲装上班。不过，穿合适的休闲装并不意味着不需要熨衣服，当然穿脏衣服也是不行的。真该把这些人洗一洗，熨一熨!男同胞们，把你们的衬衫扎进裤子里，并且穿上袜子。

布里格斯：我在一家引进了商业规则的大公司上班。公司对哪些衣着能够接受和哪些衣着不可接受有规定。你会从中发现很典型的一些规定。不准穿蓝色牛仔，不准穿迷你裙，不准赤脚或露腿，诸如此类。我同意杰西卡的说法。有常识的人都知道该怎样寄着才能与自己所工作的环境相适合。我生性随意，但是在办公室我会穿职业装。我在公司大楼里见过穿得很随便的人，他们在这种环境下显得很怪。

比尔：你忘了最重要的一点，那是他们自己的事情，是他们拿着财政资源去冒险，如果生意不好的话，他们会倾家荡产。他们给别人提供就业机会，如此，他们就能制定规则，如果这些规则也包括了衣着规定，那么那也是他们的权利。如果你喜欢别的衣着方式，那就自己开公司。

答案及解析：61.E 62.F 63.D 64.G 65.B