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全国2014年4月自学考试英语阅读(二)真题

课程代码：00596

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I. Reading Comprehension (50 points,2 points for each)

Directions: In this part of the test, there are five passages. Following each passage, there are five questions with four choices marked A, B,C and D． Choose the best answer and then blacken the corresponding letter on your Answer Sheet.

Passage One

Social anxiety is the single most common psychological problem, according to the 1986 results of the Stanford shyness inventory, a survey conducted by Philip G.Zimbardo, a professor of social psychology at Stanford University in California. At a party with strangers, for instance, three-quarters of adults feel anxious. “The best estimate is that 40 percent of all Americans suffer from shyness,” says Zimbardo.

How can you avoid being nervous when you meet people? Prepare. Preparation for any communication situation is a must. You’ve been invited to a big dinner party in two weeks. You know that one of the other guests is a politician. Scan the newspapers and magazines listen to newscasts for topics of conversation in political areas. Then at the party, pretend you’re an interviewer on talk show. Think of questions to ask what can’t be answered yes or no. “In your opinion, who...”“What do you think of...” Keep the momentum going.

Whether you’re delivering a speech, approaching your boss for a raise or an important social occasion, do your homework. The most polished, smoothly delivered, spontaneous-sounding talks are the result of many hours of work. The memorable one-liners and moving phrases that go down in history don’t come from last-minute bursts of inspiration.

If you’re making a presentation of any sort, begin preparing as far ahead of time as possible. “Good writing,” says Harvard University historian Richard Marius, “is a kind of wrestling with thought.” Begin the wrestling match early. Two days before your presentation is usually too late to go into the ring and come up with a winning idea.

“To communicate,” says New York Times columnist William Safire, “put your thoughts in order, give them a purpose use them to persuade, to instruct, to discover, to seduce.”

Prepare yourself as well as your material, giving special attention to your voice. A shrill, nasal tone strikes your listeners like chalk screeching on a blackboard. By putting energy and resonance into your voice, you will have a positive effect. If your voice is timid or quivers with nervousness, you sense it, the audience hears it, and you see discomfort in their eyes. With energy and enthusiasm in your voice the listeners say ahhh, tell me more. You read approval.

Like your voice, your appearance is a communication tool. For example, if you are animated, you are most likely to see animated listeners. You give the audience the message: I’m glad I’m here I’m glad you’re here.

Your approach can, in fact, be a powerful weapon for deflecting hostility-from an audience, an interviewer, an employer. A benevolent aspect says I understand and conveys good will and positive expectations. It works.

Questions l-5 are based on Passage One.

1. According to paragraph 2, one can avoid shyness while talking to a politician at a party by ______.

A. listening to his talk B． reading newspapers to him

C. preparing in a advance D． asking him hard questions

2. In paragraph 3 the author suggests that we do our homework for an important social occasion because ______.

A. only careful preparation can make our talks polished

B．homework can help us learn from our own mistakes

C. we need inspiration for memorable and moving talks

D． it is necessary to avoid harsh criticism from the supervisors

3. Based on paragraph 4, when should you begin the preparation for a presentation?

A. Two days ahead of time. B． As early as possible.

C. When you are clearheaded. D． When you are not busy.

4. According to paragraph 6, what kind of voice is likely to win the audience’s approval?

A. A nasal tone. B． A shrill tone.

C. A quivering tone. D． An energetic tone.

5. What is the author’s attitude toward overcoming nervousness?

A. Critical. B． Negative.

C. Suspicious. D． Positive.

Passage Two

How many languages do you speak? One, maybe, two, you say? Wrong! If you speak English, you use words from at least 3 5 foreign languages. Surprised?

You shouldn’t be. Tim Morris is an English professor at the University of Texas, Arlinton. He says that when we speak English, we are using bits and pieces of many languages. Scholars estimate that one-third of the world’s languages are of Indo-European origin. These include English, French, Latin, German, Dutch, Celtic, and Slavic tongues. Back around AD 450, when Julius Caesar was alive, English as we know didn’t exist. English is relatively young. Its roots go back l,500 years to Britain. People there spoke Celtic. Then came Anglo-Saxon invaders.“These conquerors spoke languages closely related to older forms of Dutch.” Morris says. Dutch words like “woord”, “gas” and “man”, became the English equivalents “word”, “grass” and “man”. Anglo-Saxon “Anglish” became “English”.

But our story doesn’t end there. English continued to grow and change. When Norman French invaded Britain in 1066, the English vocabulary got an enormous boost. Scholars say that nearly half of all English words are French in their origin. Words like art, orange, taxi, tree and surprise are a few examples. When English colonists came to America in the 1700s, they encountered native Americans and their languages. Words like wigwam, teepee, chipmunk, possum, and tomahawk settled into the colonists’ vocabulary.

Centuries later, in the early 1900s, immigrants streamed to America’s shores. Italians taught us to say broccoli, macaroni, opera, and studio. Spanish speakers added mosquito, mustang, tortilloa, and alligator. Bagel, kosher, and pastrami came from those who spoke Yiddish. And yam, gorilla, and jitterbug were taken from African languages.

It’s impossible to say exactly how big the English language is. Even counting all the words in a dictionary won’t give you an accurate figure. But you may be interested to know that college-size editions like Merriam-Webster’s 10th Collegiate contain about 90,000 “headwords”. Headwords are main entries in bold print. Under a headword are plurals and various forms of that word, along with definitions. In a large dictionary, like the Oxford English Dictionary, are more than 250,000 headwords. Some say the true number of English words is twice of that. That’s a lot of words! But even a highly educated person uses only about 10% of them.

Questions 6-10 are based on Passage Two.

6. From the passage we know that ______.

A. English belongs to Sino-Tibetan family

B． English belongs to Indo-European family

C. English was spoken by people before AD 450

D． English was spoken by the Anglo-Saxon invaders

7. According to the passage, the origin of English can be dated back to ______.

A. the late 1700s B． the year 1066

C. the early 1900s D． 1,500 years ago

8. Of the following words, ______ is of Yiddish origin.

A． kosher B． tortilloa

C. possum D． woord

9. A large dictionary, like the Oxford English Dictionary, ______.

A. tells the true number of English words

B．gives 250,000 headwords without definition

C. fails to tell the true number of English words

D． fails to give the plural or singular form of headwords

10. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. In the mid-1900s, Italian immigrants streamed to America.

B．It’s quite common to come across an Italian word in English.

C. One-third of English words are borrowed from other languages.

D． Native American languages failed to exert any influence on English.

Passage Three

The estimates of the number of home-schooled children vary widely. The U.S. Department of Education estimates there are 250,000 to 350,000 home-schooled children in the country. Home-school advocates put the number much higher at about a million.

Many public school advocates take a harsh attitude toward home schoolers, perceiving their actions as the ultimate slap in the face for public education and damaging move for the children. Home schoolers harbor few kind words for public schools, charging shortcomings that range from lack of religious perspective in the curriculum to a herdlike approach to teach children.

Yet, as public school officials realize they stand little to gain by remaining hostile to the home-school population, and as home schoolers realize they can reap benefits from public schools, these hard lines seem to be softening a bit. Public schools and home schoolers have moved closer to tolerance and, in some cases, even cooperation.

John Marshall, an education official, says, “We are becoming relatively tolerant of home schoolers.” The idea is, “Let’s give the kids access to public school so they’ll see it’s not as terrible as they’ve been told, and they’ll want to come back.”

Perhaps, but don’t count on it, say home-school advocates. Home schoolers oppose the system because they have strong convictions that their approach to education-whether fueled by religious enthusiasm or the individual child’s interests and natural pace—is best.

“The bulk of home schoolers just want to be left alone,” says Enge Cannon, associate director of the National Center for Home Education. She says，“Home schoolers choose that path for a variety of reasons, but religion plays a role 85 percent of the time.”

Professor Van Galen breaks home schoolers into two groups. Some home schoolers want their children to learn not only traditional subject matter but also “strict religious doctrine and a conservative political and social perspective. Not incidentally, they also want their children to learn-both intellectually and emotionally-that the family is the most important institution in society.”

Other home schoolers contend “not so much that the schools teach heresy(异端邪说), but that schools teach whatever they teach inappropriately,” Van Galen writes.“These parents are highly independent and strive to take responsibility for their own lives within a society that they define as bureaucratic and inefficient.”

Questions 11-15 are based on Passage Three.

11. According to the passage, home schoolers are ______.

A. those who advocate combining public education with home schooling

B． those who are educated at home by their parents instead of going to school

C. those who educate their children at home instead of sending them to school

D． those who engage private teachers to provide additional education for their children

12. Public schools are softening their position on home schooling because ______.

A. there isn’t much they can do to change the present situation

B．public schools cannot offer proper education for all children

C. they want to show their tolerance of different teaching systems

D．home schooling provides a new variety of education for children

13. Home-school advocates are of the opinion that ______.

A. things in public schools are not so bad as has often been said

B． their cooperation with public schools will improve public education

C. home schooling is superior and, therefore, they will not easily give in

D． their tolerance of public education will attract more kids to public schools

14. Most home schoolers’ opposition to public education stems from their ______.

A. devotion to religion

B．concern with the cost involved

C. respect for the interests of individuals

D． worry about the inefficiency of public schools

15. According to Van Galen, some home schoolers believe that ______.

A. public schools take a herdlike approach to teach children

B．teachers in public schools are not as responsible as they should be

C. public schools are the source of bureaucracy and inefficiency in modem society

D． public schools cannot provide an education that is good enough for their children

Passage Four

What will people use the Internet for? Shopping and banking will be big growth areas. Henley predicts that, from under 1% of all purchases today, it will account for 6.4% of purchases within four years, amounting to 42 billion. Sales have already started with dry goods such as books and CDs and, as people learn to trust it, will move on to regular purchases such as food. Iceland, the supermarket chain, began computer shopping trials two weeks ago and has already signed up at least 15,000 customers, ranging from busy executives to the housebound. When it links up with digital television, Iceland expects to double that immediately.

Yet internet-linked televisions and phones may be only the start. One potential breakthrough is Bluetooth named after a 10th century Danish king famed for his rotten front tooth and uniting warring factions in Denmark and Norway.

The modern Bluetooth allows an unlikely array of machines to talk to each other, so that a phone tucked away in a briefcase can remember to send out a signal that turns on a video machine 50 miles away, switches on the heating or starts the cooker. Cars, offices and kitchens will all speak to each other. In Finland, the idea of phones communicating with computerized tills so that you press a button and pay for your supermarket goods or drink from a vending machine is being tested.Said one enthusiast:“Your phone will be your remote control for life.”

As with all revolutions, there are reservations. Health concerns about mobile phones are unresolved, with microwave radiation linked to increased tiredness and headaches in one recent study in Sweden.

Some argue that more sophisticated entertainment at home will deepen antisocial “cocooning” trends, that internet grocery deliveries will kill off the last comer shops, and that a “couch potato” generation of children will grow even more over-fat.

The most significant impact, however, will be in the way we work. Adrian Hosford, director of millennial projects at BT, predicts it will encourage more people to work at home. “People have talked about telecommuting for years, but at last it makes economic sense. Many offices will turn into touchdown centers, where people will only occasionally call in. This is already the case for one in five at BT,” he said.

Questions 16-20 are based on Passage Four.

16. According to the passage, internet purchases ______.

A. will have great growth in dry goods

B．will be accepted by more and more people

C. will be used in Iceland, the supermarket chain

D． will become a major form of purchase within four years

17. What do we know about Bluetooth?

A. It is a talking software.

B．It is named after a Danish king.

C. It is widely used in internet purchases.

D． It is a remote controller to turn on your phone.

18. The widespread use of Bluetooth might ______.

A. make people’s life more sophisticated

B． spare people more social time

C. be harmful to one’s health

D． violate people’s privacy

19. With the development of phone communication, it seems that ______.

A. people will have more time to stay at home

B． comer shops will be the only place for people to go

C. phone will help people to do all kinds of office work

D． children will be even more over-fat because of having potato

20. The most noticeable effect of Bluetooth will be on ______.

A. people’s diet B． people’s weight

C. people’s health condition D． people’s way of work

Passage Five

It is said that in England death is pressing, in Canada inevitable and in California optional. Small wonder. American’s life expectancy has nearly doubled over the past century. Failing hips can be replaced, clinical depression controlled, cataracts (白内障) removed in a 30-minute surgical procedure. Such advances offer the aging population a quality of life that was unimaginable when I entered medicine 50 years ago. But not even a great health-care system can cure death and our failure to confront that reality now threatens this greatness of ours.

Death is normal we are genetically programmed to disintegrate and perish, even under ideal conditions. We all understand that at some level, yet as medical consumers we treat death as a problem to be solved. Shielded by third-party payers from the cost of our care, we demand everything that can possibly be done for us, even if it’s useless. The most obvious example is late-stage cancer care. Physicians - frustrated by their inability to cure the disease and fearing loss of hope in the patient - too often offer aggressive treatment far beyond what is scientifically justified.

In 1950, the U.S. spent $12.7 billion on health care. In 2002, the cost will be $1,540 billion. Anyone can see this trend is unsustainable. Yet few seem willing to try to reverse it. Some scholars conclude that a government with finite resources should simply stop paying for medical care that sustains life beyond a certain age-say 83 or so. Former Colorado governor Richard Lamm has been quoted as saying that the old and infirm “have a duty to die and get out of the way” so that younger, healthier people can realize their potential.

I would not go that far. Energetic people now routinely work through their 60s and beyond, and remain dazzlingly productive. At 78, Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone jokingly claims to be 53. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is in her 70s, and former surgeon general C. Everett Koop chairs an Internet start-up in his 80s. These leaders are living proof that prevention works and that we can manage the health problems that come naturally with age. As a mere 68-year-old, I wish to age as productively as they have.

Yet there are limits to what a society can spend in this pursuit. Ask a physician, I know the most costly and dramatic measures may be ineffective and painful. I also know that people in Japan and Sweden, countries that spend far less on medical care, have achieved longer, healthier lives than we have. As a nation, we may be overfunding the quest for unlikely cures while underfunding research on humbler therapies that could improve people’s lives.

Questions 21-25 are based on Passage Five.

21. The first sentence of paragraph l implies that ______.

A. Americans enjoy a higher life quality than ever before

B． Americans are better prepared for death than other people

C. Americans are over-confident of their medical technology

D． Americans take a vain pride in their long life expectancy

22. The example of cancer patients is used by the author to show that ______.

A. medical resources are often wasted

B． some treatments are too aggressive

C. doctors are helpless against fatal diseases

D． medical costs are becoming unaffordable

23. What is the author’s attitude toward Richard Lamm’s remark?

A. Slight contempt. B． Reserved consent.

C. Strong disapproval. D． Enthusiastic support.

24. Which of the statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The author is already in his 80s.

B． Sumner Redstone chairs Viacom at 53.

C. Sandra Day O’Connor lives no longer than 70 years old.

D． The surgeon general C. Everett Koop is still active as a leader in his 80s.

25. What the author intends to express in this passage is ______.

A. death should be accepted as a fact of life

B． life beyond a certain age is not worth living

C. medicine will further prolong people’s lives

D． excessive demand increases the cost of health care

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