大学英语六级阅读训练

大学英语六级阅读训练

Every day 25 milion U. S. children ride school buses. The safety record for these buses is much better than for passenger cars; but nevertheless, about 10 children are killed each year riding on large school buses, and nearly four times that number are killed outside buses in the loading zones. By and large, however, the nation's school children are transported to and from school safely.

Even though the number of school bus casualties(死亡人数) is not large, the safety of children is always of intense public concern. While everyone wants to see children transported safely, people are divided about what needs to be done—particularly whether seat belts should be mandatory (强制性的)?

Supporters of seat belts on school buses argue that seat belts are necessary not only to reduce death and injury, but also to teach children lessons about the importance of using them routinely in any moving vehicle. A side benefit, they point out, is that seat belts help keep children in their seats, away from the bus driver.

Opponents of seat belt installation suggest that children are already well protected by the school buses that follow the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) safety requirement set in 1977. They also believe that many children won't wear seat belts anyway, and that they may damage the belts or use them as weapons to hurt other children.

A new Research Council report on school bus safety suggests that there are alternate safety devices and procedures that may be more effective and less expensive. For example, the study committee suggested that raising seat backs four inches may have the same safety effectiveness as seat belts.

The report sponsored by the Department of Transportation at the request of Congress, reviews seat belts extensively while taking a broader look at safety in and around school buses.

1. Each year, children killed outside buses in the loading zones are about_______.

A. 10

B. 40

C. 30

D. 50

2. Which of these words is nearest in meaning to the words "are divided" in Paragraph

A. disagree

B. separate

C. arrange

D. concern

3. According to the passage, who has the greatest degree of control of the school buses' "safety"?

A. A New Research Council.

B. The Department of Transportation.

C. The Medical Organizations.

D. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

4. It may be inferred from this passage that_______.

A. many of the opponents of seat belt installation are parents and officials of the Department of Transportation

B. proposal of seat belts on school buses would be seriously considered

C. an alternate safety device (raising seat backs four inches) may be taken into

consideration

D. The Department of Transportation may either take the idea of seat belts or other measures when it reviews the whole situation

5. The best title which expresses the idea of the passage is_______.

A. Making School Buses Even Safer for Children

B. Seat Belts Needed on School Buses

C. Alternate Safety Devices and Procedures

D. Safety in and around School Buses

答案

1. B

2. A

3. D

4. D

5. A

According to the latest research in the' United States of America, men and women talk such different languages that it is like people from two different cultures trying to communicate. Professor Deborah Tannen of Georgetown University, has noticed the difference in the style of boy's and girl's conversations from an early age. She says that little girls' conversation is less definite than boys' and expresses more doubts. Little boys use conversation to establish status with their listeners.

These differences continue into adult life, she says. In public conversations, men talk most and interrupt other speakers more. In private conversations, men and women speak in equal amounts—although they say things in a different style. Professor Tannen believes that, for woman, private talking is a way to establish and test intimacy. For men, private talking is a way to explore the power structure of a relationship.

Teaching is one job where the differences between men's and women's ways of talking show. When a man teaches a woman, says Professor Tannen, he wants to show that he has more knowledge, and hence more power in conversation. When a woman teaches another woman, however, she is more likely to take a sharing approach and to encourage her student to join in.

But Professor Tannen does not believe that women are naturally more helpful. She says women feel they achieve power by being able to help others. Although the research suggests men talk and interrupt people more than women, Professor Tannen says, women actually encourage this to happen because they believe it will lead to more intimacy and help to establish a relationship.

Some scientists who are studying speech think that the brain is pre?programmed for language. As we are usually taught to speak by women, it seems likely that the brain must have a sexual bias(倾向性) in its programming,

otherwise male speech patterns would not arise at all.

1. In the opinion of the writer, women encourage men to talk because

A. it will lead to more intimacy and help to establish a relationship

B. it will help to establish status with their listeners

C. it will help to express more clearly

D. it will help to communicate better

2. There are_______in little girls' conversation than in boys'.

A. fewer doubts

B. more demands

C. more doubts

D. fewer uncertainties

3. Some scientists believe that brain is pre-programmed for language. The word "pre programmed" means_______.

A. programmed already

B. programmed before one is born

C. programmed early

D. programmed by women

4. In private conversation, women speak

A. the same things as men

B. less than men

C. more than men

D. as much as men

5. The theme of this article is _______.

A. women are naturally more helpful

B. men and women talk different languages

C. men talk most and interrupt other speakers more

D. little girls' conversation is less definite

答案

1. A

2. C

3. B

4. D

5. B

Every day, the news of the world is relayed to people by over 300 million copies of daily papers, over 400 million radio sets, and over 150 million television sets. Additional news is shown by motion pictures, in theatres and cinemas all over the world. As more people learn what the important events of the day are, fewer are still concerned exclusively with the events of their own household. As the English writer John Donne put it nearly four hundred years ago, "no man is an island. " This idea is more appropriate today than it was when Donne lived. In short, wherever he lives, a man belongs to some society; and we are becoming more and more aware that whatever happens in one particular society affects, somehow, the life and destiny of all humanity.

Newspapers have been published in the modern world for about four hundred years. Most of the newspapers printed today are read in Europe and North America. However, soon they may be read in all parts of the world, thanks to the new inventions that are changing the techniques of newspaper publishing.

Electronics and automation have made it possible to produce pictures and text far more quickly than before. Photographic reproduction eliminates the need for type and printing presses. And fewer specialists, such as type-setters, are needed to produce a paper or magazine by the photo-offset (照相平板胶印) method. Therefore, the publishing of newspapers and magazines becomes more economical. Furthermore, photo-copies can be sent over great distances now by means of television channels and satellites such as Telstar. Thus, pictures can be brought to the public more quickly than previously.

Machines that prepare printed texts for photo-copies are being used a great deal today. Thousands of letters and figures of different sizes and thicknesses can now be arranged on a black glass disc that is only eight inches in diameter, to be printed in negative form(white on a black background). The disc on the machine turns constantly at the rate of ten revolutions a second. A beam of light from a slroboscopic (频闪的) lamp shines on the desired letters and figures for about I wo-millionths of a second. Then the image of the letters and figures that were illuminated is projected onto a film through lenses. The section of film is large enough to hold the equivalent of a page of text. There is a keyboard in front of the machine that is similar to the keyboard of a typewriter, and

the machine operator has only to strike the proper keys for the image of the corresponding letters to be immediately transferred to the film. The negative image on the film can quickly be transferred onto paper. This method makes it as easy to reproduce photographs and illustrations as it is to reproduce the text itself.

Film, being light and small, can be sent rapidly to other places and used to print copies of the text where they are needed. Film images can also be projected easily on a movie or television screen. Television broadcasts are limited to an area that is within sight of the sending station or its relay ( 中继 ). Although television relays are often placed on hills and mountains so that they can cover a wider region, they still can not cover more land than one could see from the same hilltop on a clear day. However, the rays also go out into the atmosphere, and if there is a relay station on a satellite that revolves around the earth, it can transmit the pictures to any point on the earth from which the satellite is visible. Three satellites permanently revolving over the equator transmit any television program to any part of the earth. This makes it possible for world editions of newspapers to give the news in all countries at the same time. Some day it may be possible for a subscriber to a televised newspaper to press a button and see a newspaper page on his television screen. He could also decide when he wants the page to turn, and, by dialling different numbers such as those on a telephone dial, he could choose the language or the edition of the paper he wants to read. It seems strange to think that, even today, methods of the past are not entirely useless. For example, sometimes press agencies that use radio and Telstar use carrier pigeons to send messages between offices in large cities because the pigeons are not bothered by traffic problems.

It may be some time before television sets become common in the average homes in Africa and Asia. However, radio is already rapidly becoming accessible to thousands of people in these areas. And, now that good radios are being made with transistors, and their price is gradually dropping because of mass production, it may not be" too long before radios become commonplace in areas which have no newspapers. Transistors make it possible for people to carry small radios wherever they go, without need of electric current. Even television sets are now operating on transistors, and the pocket TV may soon be as widespread

as the pocket radio.

Now that scientific progress is making it possible to send the news to all the inhabitants of the earth, it will be important to consider what news is going to be sent to them. No matter what criteria are used in making the decision, a decision must be made, since no one would' have time to read or listen to an account of everything there is going on in the world!

People who have time to read several papers can already compare different reports of the same event. When an event has political significance, each paper reports it from the point of view of its own political beliefs or preferences. Ideally, of course, the expression of editorial opinion should be limited to the editorial page, and the news articles should be objective—telling the facts as completely as possible, without trying to give them a particular interpretation, or without otherwise trying to influence the reader's opinion. However, reporters and editors are only human, and if they have strong political beliefs it is almost impossible for them to hide them. If editors believe their point of view is best for the readers of their paper, what's to stop them from using the paper to try to influence public opinion? And if, some day, a world newspaper becomes a reality, will it be the most powerful press agencies that will choose the news to be sent out to all countries?

1. The expression "no man is an island" means that no man lives surrounded by water.

2. According to the author, it may not be long before people all over the world have access to newspapers.

3. The transferring of newspaper texts to film is time-consuming and costly.

4. Transistors are particularly useful because they are used in small radio and TV sets.

5. Television relays are often placed on a hilltop so that they can reach a satellite.

6. People are capable of knowing all the events going on in every part of the world.

7. If a world newspaper becomes a reality, it will take more responsibility for informing all the readers of the latest news in the world.

8. Newspapers have been published for about______.

9. Any television program could be transmitted to any part of the world by______.

10. It is ideal that the news articles______.

答案

1. N

2. Y

3. N

4. Y

5. N

6. N

7. NG

8. 400 years

9. satellites

10. be objective

In the last two hundred years there have been great changes in the method of production of goods. This is now also true of the building industry; for mechanization has been introduced. System building can save both time and money. The principle of system building is that the building is made from a set of standard units. These are either made at the building-site or at a factory. Some designers, in fact, are standardizing the dimensions of rooms. They are made in multiples of a single fixed length, usually ten centimeters. This is called a modular (标准件的) system, and it means that manufactures can produce standardized fittings at a lower cost. The most important fact about system building is its speed. A ten-storey flat, for example, can be completed in four months.

There are several new methods of system building. One is the panel method. In this case, the construction company sometimes erects a factory on the site. The walls and floors of the building, called panels, are cast in a horizontal or vertical position. Conduits

for electrical wires and sleeves for pipes are cast in the panels when they are being made. The moulds for making these castings are situated all around the building.

After the concrete panels are cast, they are allowed to set and harden for a week. Next they are lifted by a tower crane on to any section of the building. There the panels are cemented together at their joints and the floor covering is laid.

After the panels have been cemented together, the crane lifts a case into the area. It contains all the fittings to be installed, such as wash-basins, radiators and pipes. Finishing tradesmen, such as plumbers, plasterers, painters and electricians, follow behind to complete the work.

In some building developments, in some countries, whole flats with internal features like their bathrooms, bedrooms and connecting stairs, and weighing as much as twenty tons, are carried to the building-site ready-made. A giant overhead crane is used to lift them into position. In the future, this method may become more widespread.

1. The main difference between panel method and the method discussed in the last paragraph is_______.

A. the latter uses ready-made internal features

B. panels are cast in a level position

C. the former is used to build walls and floors while the latter to construct bathrooms or bedrooms

D. the former is more expensive than the latter

2. Which of these statements is TRUE of system building?

A. It employs more men.

B. It is difficult and dangerous.

C. It can save both time and money.

D. It means less mechanization.

3. According to the passage, the principle of system building is that_______.

A. construction methods are safer

B. buildings are made from a set of standardized units

C. similar buildings can be produced

D. all units are produced on the site

4. The usual fixed length in the modular system is_______.

A. twenty centimeters

B. ten millimeters

C. fifty centimeters

D. ten centimeters

5. What lifts the concrete panels onto the building?

A. Cranes.

B. Man-power.

C. Pulleys.

D. Hydraulic jacks.

答案

1. A

2. C

3. B

4. D

5. A

Etiquette (礼仪)

The origins of etiquette—the conventional rules of behavior and ceremonies observed in polite society—are complex. One of them is respect for authority. From the most primitive times, subjects(臣民) showed respect for their ruler by bowing, prostrating themselves on the ground, not speaking until spoken to, and never turning their backs

to the throne. Some rulers developed rules to stress even further the respect due to them. The emperors of Byzantium expected their subjects to kiss their feet. When an ambassador from abroad was introduced, he had to touch the ground before the throne with his forehead. Meanwhile the throne itself was raised in the air so that, on looking up, the ambassador saw the ruler far above him, haughty and remote.

Absolute rulers have, as a rule, made etiquette more complicated rather than simpler. The purpose is not only to make the ruler seem almost godlike, but also to protect him from familiarity, for without some such protection his life, lived inevitably in the public eye, would be intolerable. The court of Louis XIV of France provided an excellent example of a very highly developed system of etiquette. Because the king and his family were considered to belong to France, they were almost continually on show among their courtiers (朝臣). They woke, prayed, washed and dressed before crowds of courtiers. Even large crowds watched them eat their meals, and access to their palace was free to all their subjects.

Yet this public life was organized so carefully, with such a refinement of ceremonial, that the authority of the King and the respect in which he was held grew steadily throughout his lifetime. A crowd watched him dress, but only the Duke who was his first valet de chamber (贴身男仆) was allowed to hold out the right sleeve of his shirt, only the Prince who was his Grand Chamberlain could relieve him of his dressing gown, and only the Master of the Wardrobe might help him pull up his trousers. These were not familiarities, nor merely duties, but highly desired privileges. Napoleon recognized the value of ceremony to a ruler. When he became Emperor, he discarded the revolutionary custom of calling everyone "citizen", restored much of the Court ceremonial that the Revolution had destroyed, and recalled members of the nobility to instruct his new court in the old formal manners.

Rules of etiquette may prevent embarrassment and even serious disputes. The general rule of social precedence is that people of greater importance precede those of lesser importance. Before the rules of diplomatic precedence were worked out in the early sixteenth century, rival ambassadors often fought for the most honourable seating position at a ceremony. Before the principle was established that ambassadors of various countries should sign treaties in order of seniority, disputes arose as to who should sign first. The establishment of rules for such matters prevented uncertainty and disagreement, as to rules for less important occasions. For example, at an English wedding, the mother of the bridegroom should sit in the first pew or bench on the right-hand side of the church. The result is dignity and order.

Outside palace circles, the main concern of etiquette has been to make harmonious the behaviour of equals, but sometimes social classes have used etiquette as a weapon against intruders, refining their manners in order to mark themselves off from the lower classes.

In sixteenth-century Italy and eighteenth-century France, decreasing prosperity and increasing social unrest led the ruling families to try to preserve their superiority by withdrawing from the lower and middle classes behind barriers of etiquette. In a prosperous community, on the other hand, polite society soon absorbs the newly rich, and in England there has never been any shortage of books on etiquette for teaching them the manners appropriate to their new way of life.

Every code of etiquette has contained three elements: basic moral duties; practical rules which promote efficiency; and artificial, optional graces such as formal compliments to, say, women on their beauty or superiors on their generosity and importance.

In the first category are consideration for the weak and respect for age. Among the ancient Egyptians the young always stood in the presence of older people. Among the

Mponguwe of Tanzania, the young men bow as they pass the huts of the elders. In England, until about a century ago, young children did not sit in their parents' presence without asking permission.

Practical rules are helpful in such ordinary occurrences of social life as making proper introductions at parties or other functions so that people can be brought to know each other. Before the invention of the fork, etiquette directed that the fingers should be kept as clean as possible; before the handkerchief came into common use, etiquette suggested that, after spitting, a person should rub the spit inconspicuously (难以察觉的) underfoot.

Extremely refined behavior, however, cultivated as an art of gracious living, has been characteristic only of societies with wealth and leisure, which admitted women as the social equals of men. After the fall of Rome, the first European society to regulate behavior in private life in accordance with a complicated code of etiquette was twelfth-century Provence, in France.

Provence had become wealthy. The lords had returned to their castles from the crusades (十字军东征) , and there the ideals of chivalry (武士制度) grew up, which emphasized the virtue and gentleness of women and demanded that a knight (骑士) should profess a pure and dedicated love to a lady who would be his inspiration, and to whom he would dedicate his brave deeds, though he would never come physically close to her. This was the introduction of the concept of romantic love, which was to influence literature for many hundreds of years and which still lives on in a belittled form in simple popular songs and cheap novels today.

In Renaissance Italy too, in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, a wealthy and leisured society developed an extremely complex code of manners, but the rules of behavior of fashionable society had little influence on the daily life of the lower classes. Indeed many of the rules, such as how to enter a banquet room, or how to use a sword or handkerchief for ceremonial purposes, were irrelevant to the way of life of the average working man, who spent most of his life outdoors or in his own poor hut and most probably did not have a handkerchief, certainly not a sword, to his name.

Yet the essential basis of all good manners does not vary. Consideration for the old and weak and the avoidance of harming or giving unnecessary offence to others is a feature of all societies everywhere and at all levels from the highest to the lowest. You can easily think of dozens of examples of customs and habits in your own daily life which come under this heading.

1. Etiquette simply serves the purpose of showing respect for authority.

2. Louis XIV of France made etiquette very complicated to avoid familiarity.

3. People of all societies and social ranks observe the good manners of consideration for the weak and respect for age.

4. Napoleon discarded aristocratic privileges when he became Emperor of France.

5. Etiquette has been used to distinguish people from different classes.

6. In Europe, the newly rich have added new ingredients to etiquette while they are learning to behave appropriately for a new way of life.

7. After the sixteenth century, fights between ambassadors over precedence were a common occurrence.

8. Extremely refined behaviour had ______ on the life of the working class.

9. Basic moral duties are one of the_______of every code of etiquette.

10. According to the passage, the concept of romantic love was introduced in_______.

答案

I. N 2. Y 3. Y 4. N 5. Y 6. NG 7. N

8. little influence 9. three elements 10. twelfth-century Provence, France

The economy of the United States after 1952 was the economy of a well-fed, almost fully employed people. Despite__1__alarms, the country escaped any postwar depression and lived in a__2__of boom. An economic survey of the year 1955, a typical year of the 1950's, may be typical as__3__the rapid economic growth of the decade. The national output was__4__at 10 percent above that of 1954(1955 output was estimated at 392 billion dollars). The production of manufactures was about 40 percent more than it had__5__ in the years immediately following World War I . The country's business spent about 30 billion dollars for new factories and machinery. National income __6__ for spending was almost a third greater than it had been in 1950. Consumers spent about 256 billion dollars; that is about 700 million dollars a day, or about twenty-five million dollars every hour, all round the __7__ . Sixty-five million people held jobs and only a little more than two million wanted jobs but could not find them. Only agriculture__8__that it was not sharing in the boom. To some observers this was a sad reflection of the mid-1920's. As farmers' share of their products__9 __ , marketing costs rose. But there were, among the observers of the national economy, a few who were not as confident as the majority. Those few seemed to fear that the boom could not last long and would__10__lead to the opposite—depression.

A. eventually

B. averaged

C. gradually

D. state

E. valued

F. form

G. declined

H. occasional

I. casual J. argued K. descended L. complained

M. clock N. available O. illustrating

答案

I. H 2. D 3. O 4. E 5. B 6. N 7. M 8. L 9. G 10. A

Hope is Healthy

You are about to go to the hospital for a routine surgical procedure. Which attitude is healthier?

A. "I'd better find out everything I can about this operation—you can never know too much. "

B. "Don't tell me the details. It's going to be fine. "

Answer B is supposed to be the wrong one. It's an example of what psychologists call "denial," a defence mechanism that minimizes uncomfortable information. Denial, they have argued, is stupid, self-defeating and ultimately dangerous.

But research is showing that answer B is a faster route to recovery. Denial—of a certain sort and at certain times—can be healthy. Of course, you do need to pay attention to some unpleasant facts. The trick is to know when it's helpful to worry and when it's counterproductive.

Out-and-out denial may be the best approach to surgery, according to Richard S. Lazarus, professor of psychology at the University of California at Berkeley. With Frances Cohen, Lazarus studied 61 patients about to undergo operations (all relatively common operations). In general, patients followed one of two mental strategies; "avoidance" or "vigilance. "

Typically, avoiders had not discussed their surgery in detail with anyone, didn't want to know about it and didn't dwell upon its risks.

In contrast, vigilant types were alert to every detail. Many sought out articles about their disorders. They wanted to know the risks of surgery, the risks if surgery was not performed, the surgical procedures, the potential complications and the likelihood of recurrence.

When Lazarus and Cohen compared the two groups after surgery, they found that avoiders got on much better. They had a lower incidence of postoperative complications such as nausea (恶心), headache, fever and infection. The net result: they were discharged sooner.

One reason may be that their denial make room for hope, or at least for a positive outlook, even under the grimmest of conditions. "Never deny the diagnosis, but do deny the negative opinion that may go with it," advises Norman Cousins, author of Anatomy of an Illness and The Healing Heart. Why? Because grim warnings about diseases come from statistics on the average case. Cousins believes that most patients, given hope and determination, have a good chance to transcend the averages.

Adds Dr. Hackett: "Deniers see the machines they're hooked up to as helping them to get well, not as a sign of a badly functioning heart. Those who feel most positive about their ability to get well tend to do better than those who fear and worry more. "

Of course, none of these researchers would conclude that denial is the best approach to all medical matters. A diabetic must monitor blood sugar; a kidney patient must keep track of dialysis (透析) ; a woman who finds a lump in her breast must not delay in having it diagnosed.

The question to ask yourself, Dr. Lazarus explains, is whether the information you gather will help you solve a problem, or whether there is little you can do to change things. In the first case, pay attention and act. In the second case, don't become preoccupied with the risks; anxiety can worsen your health.

Dr. Herbert Benson, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, points out that the overly vigilant patient's central nervous system becomes aroused into the fight-or-flight response. But since all the patient can do is lie there, his body suffers the classic damages of stress.

While studying people's reactions to medical stress, Temple University psychologist Suzanne Miller and University of Pennsylvania gynecologic oncologist (妇科肿瘤学 ) Charles E. Mangan placed 40 women about to undergo colposcopy (阴道镜检查) in two different groups, according to their coping style.

Miller's main interest was to see whether any of these women would cope better if they had extra information. She gave half of each group voluminous details about what would happen and how they would feel; she gave the rest only the basic facts. Overall, the results reinforced the benefits of avoidance. The women given minimal information felt more relaxed throughout the procedure than the women who knew more. (Oddly enough, the group desiring information complained that they would have liked even more. The very act of gathering details seemed to make them less anxious. )

Miller's research shows that different people react to news about their situations in very different ways. That means, she suggests, that people should seek as much or as little information as their individual coping style dictates.

Does the research on denial mean we should regress (倒退) to the days when physicians used to say, "Don't tell patients anything, because they don't really want to know?" Hardly. People have a right to know what is going to happen to them, and to take part in decisions about their treatment. But patients can get necessary information without learning a lot of nerve-racking details they don't need.

For example, a physician can say: "You have a suspicious Pap test. The next procedure is called colposcopy; it will take fifteen minutes. " The doctor doesn't need to describe everything a colposcope does, feels like or might find. Similarly, a woman should seek all the options if she has a suspicious Pap test, but once she makes a decision, she should not be obsessed about it.

You could summarize the research in a set of guidelines:

? In general, it is best to block out medical threats and worries when there is nothing you can do about them—say, after you've decided to undergo surgery. Don't dwell on all that could go wrong or visualize every fearful detail; concentrate instead on what is likely to go right.

? Be vigilant about matters that you can control, such as paying attention to signs of illness.

? Find out your personal disposition to avoid details or to acquire all information possible, and let your own inclination be your guide—but only up to a point. "Many of those who gather any and all facts are putting themselves through more stress than they need to," Miller says. She advises them to learn when their approach will only increase their anxiety. In those cases, they'd do better to turn off their radar. On the other hand, avoiders should recognize when it is valuable to gather more facts than they might like to.

The basic advice is clear: don't feel guilty if you decide to take the rosy view. Concentrating on the positive turns out to be medically sound.

1. It is suggested in the passage that if you were a vigilant patient, you should learn to adopt a new strategy of avoidance because it brings you less stress.

2. The doctors are discovering that the best medicine is often simply to deny the worst and expect the best.

3. Miller divided the women patients into two groups at will and provided each group with either detailed or basic information in order to find out who would get on better.

4. Based on the findings of the researches, doctors find it hard to decide whether they should tell patients anything about their illness.

5. Psychologists have changed their opinion that it is stupid and dangerous for people to deny uncomfortable information.

6. A tip for both deniers and vigilant patients is: avoid details or acquire much information following your own coping style, but only to a certain point.

7. It is unnecessary for patients to get information about their disorders because there is nothing they can do about their illness.

8. Patients generally fall into two groups: _______and_______.

9. "A diabetic must monitor blood sugar;" helps explain that_______to all cases.

10. All patients should pay attention to_______.

答案

I. N 2. Y 3. N 4. N 5. NG 6. Y 7. N

8. avoiders, deniers 9. denial is not the best approach 10. signs of illness

Every day 25 million U. S. children ride school buses. The safety record for these buses is much better than for passenger cars; but nevertheless, about 10 children are killed each year riding on large school buses, and nearly four times that number are killed outside buses in the loading zones. By and large, however, the nation's school children are transported to and from school safely.

Even though the number of school bus casualties(死亡人数) is not large, the safety of children is always of intense public concern. While everyone wants to see children transported safely, people are divided about what needs to be done—particularly whether seat belts should be mandatory (强制性的)?

Supporters of seat belts on school buses argue that seat belts are necessary not only to reduce death and injury, but also to teach children lessons about the importance of using them routinely in any moving vehicle. A side benefit, they point out, is that seat belts help keep children in their seats, away from the bus driver.

Opponents of seat belt installation suggest that children are already well protected by the school buses that follow the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) safety requirement set in 1977. They also believe that many children won't wear seat belts anyway, and that they may damage the belts or use them as weapons to hurt other children.

A new Research Council report on school bus safety suggests that there are alternate safety devices and procedures that may be more effective and less expensive. For example, the study committee suggested that raising seat backs four inches may have the same safety effectiveness as seat belts.

The report sponsored by the Department of Transportation at the request of Congress, reviews seat belts extensively while taking a broader look at safety in and around school buses.

1. Each year, children killed outside buses in the loading zones are about_______.

A. 10

B. 40

C. 30

D. 50

2. Which of these words is nearest in meaning to the words "are divided" in Paragraph

A. disagree

B. separate

C. arrange

D. concern

3. According to the passage, who has the greatest degree of control of the school buses' "safety"?

A. A New Research Council.

B. The Department of Transportation.

C. The Medical Organizations.

D. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

4. It may be inferred from this passage that_______.

A. many of the opponents of seat belt installation are parents and officials of the Department of Transportation

B. proposal of seat belts on school buses would be seriously considered

C. an alternate safety device (raising seat backs four inches) may be taken into

consideration

D. The Department of Transportation may either take the idea of seat belts or other measures when it reviews the whole situation

5. The best title which expresses the idea of the passage is_______.

A. Making School Buses Even Safer for Children

B. Seat Belts Needed on School Buses

C. Alternate Safety Devices and Procedures

D. Safety in and around School Buses

答案

1. B

2. A

3. D

4. D

5. A

For as long as humans have raised crops as a source of food and other products, insects have damaged them. Between 1870 and 1880, locusts ate millions of dollars' worth of crops in the Mississippi Valley. Today in the United States the cotton boll weevil damages about 300 million dollars' worth of crops each year. Additional millions are lost each year to the appetites of other plant-eating insects. Some of these are corn borers, gypsy moths, potato beetles, and Japanese beetles.

In modern times, many powerful insecticides(杀虫剂) have been used in an attempt to destroy insects that damage crops and trees. Some kinds of insecticides, when carefully used, have worked well. Yet the same insecticides have caused some unexpected problems. In one large area, an insecticide was used against Japanese beetles, which eat almost any kind of flower or leaf. Shortly afterward, the number of corn borers almost doubled. As intended, the insecticide had killed many Japanese beetles. But it had killed many of the insect enemies of the corn borer as well.

In another case, an insecticide was used in Louisiana to kill the troublesome fire ant. The insecticide did not kill many fire ants. It did kill several small animals. It also killed some insect enemies of the sugarcane borer, a much more destructive pest than the fire ants. As a result, the number of sugarcane borers increased and severely damaged the sugarcane crop.

To be sure that one insect pest will not be traded for another when an insecticide is used, scientists must perform careful experiments and do wide research. The experiments and research provide knowledge of the possible hazards an insecticide may bring to plant and animal communities. Without such knowledge, we have found that nature sometimes responds to insecticides in unexpected ways.

1. An insecticide was used in Louisiana to kill the troublesome______.

A. corn borer

B. Japanese beetle

B. gypsy moth D. fire ant

2. While it is not directly stated, the article suggests that______.

A. insecticides are not dangerous to any small animals

B. insecticides do not always accomplish their purposes

C. insecticides are no longer being used to kill insects

D. insecticides do no harm to people

3. On the whole, the article tells about______.

A. the appetites of plant-eating insects

B. the best way to kill boll weevils

C. the dangers in using insecticides

D. the best way to grow crops

4. Which statement does this article lead you to believe?

A. All changes are predictable.

B. Nothing ever changes in nature.

C. Nature is not always predictable.

D. Nature always serves man well.

5. Scientists perform careful experiments and do wide research because______.

A. they must learn to destroy all the insects that we need

B. they must be sure one insect pest is not traded for another

C. research keeps them from inventing new insecticide for the crops

D. research helps them find a way to kill all insects

答案

1. D

2. B

3. C

4. C

5. B

Computer Use in School Education

Accompanying the developments in computing as a subject for study there has been a corresponding growth in the use of the computer as an aid to teaching across the curriculum. The government offer of half-price computers led to the installation of a large number of school microcomputer systems at a time when there was very little educational software. At the same time there was an explosive demand for introductory courses, at first for secondary teachers and later, when the offer was extended to primary schools, for primary teachers. It would be impossible, and inappropriate, to make every teacher into a computer programming expert.

What the teacher needs to know is how to connect up a system. And how to load and run programs. Once these skills have been acquired the much more important topic of the evaluation of. computer-based teaching materials can be addressed.

The Unintelligent Machine

Over the past 20 years the amount of computing power available for a given sum of money has approximately doubled every two years, and it looks as if this trend will continue in the foreseeable future. On the other hand, the fundamental logical design of computers is much the same as at the beginning of this period. The revolution has been one of scale and cost rather than a change in the kinds of things which computers can do. One might have expected therefore that by now we would know the best way in which computers can be used to help with the educational process.

In the early sixties, programmed learning was looked on as the pathway to mechanize the learning process. But teaching machines of the time were inflexible and unresponsive. It was soon recognized that computers provide a much higher level of interaction with the student. Responses need not be restricted to multiple-choice button pushing, but can involve the recognition of words or numbers related to the context of the subject.

In order to present information and questions to the student and to provide for appropriate branching, depending on the responses, some form of programming language is required. COURSEWRITER and later PILOT are " author languages" which allow someone without technical knowledge of computing to prepare programs of this kind. Text and graphics can be displayed, responses analyzed, and appropriate action taken.

A tool such as this might seem to put considerable power in the hands of the teacher and yet such systems are hardly used at all in our schools. One reason is that the preparation of course material using an author language is, like that for videodisc systems, a very time-consuming business. A figure of 20 to 100 hours of preparation is quoted for each hour of student time at the computer. Such an investment is only worthwhile if the material can be used by a large number of students, and that assumes that the necessary resources in time and hardware are actually available.

There is a more fundamental reason for lack of progress in computer-based tutorial systems and this relates to the fundamental lack of "intelligence" on the part of the computer. It is easy to generate drill and practice exercises which test a student's ability to produce response. It is quite another matter to provide useful advice if the

response is wrong. The human teacher has a mental model of the student and can make a reasonable estimate of why a particular wrong answer has been produced. The longer the teacher has been in contact with that student the better he or she is able to offer constructive advice. The kind of system discussed above has no such model of the student on which to make decisions, nor does it have access to the large body of subject knowledge which is held by the human teacher. Its responses therefore must be stereotyped and unintelligent.

Further evidence of the lack of machine intelligence is the failure to make computer " understand" natural language. We talk about " programming languages" for computers, but these are not languages in the ordinary sense. They are just systems of coding which provide a highly stylized way of writing down the solutions to particular sorts of problems. The tact that programs in these languages, although made up largely of English words and some well-known mathematical symbols, are unintelligible to the layC^f-ff W) reader indi?cates the gulf which still exists between the kind of verbal instructions which can be given to another human, and the coded instructions required by the compu?ter. One expert has argued that the construction of an intelligent machine is a logical impossibility. Many researchers in this area would dispute such a claim, but so far they cannot provide the essential demonstration to the contrary.

The development of " expert systems", which can provide advice and information on the basis of human experience which is fed into them, is one step in the direction of machine intelligence. However, such systems are limited to knowledge in a tightly defined domain, and cannot operate outside this area. Nevertheless, there may well be something here for education. The Computer in the Classroom

Where does this leave the computer as a tool for the teacher? Clearly teachers must exploit its strengths rather than complain about its weakness. However dull much drill and practice material may seem, children will often work at it for a considerable time without losing concentration. Rote learning (硬记硬背) is rightly out of favor in most educational contexts, but there are certain things which it is convenient to be able to recall instantly, and the computer can help us to remember them. The school pupil soon learns that the computer never gets tired, never loses its temper, will always respond almost instantaneously to any input, and does not display the pupil's ignorance to other people, and these factors help to provide a micro-environment within which the pupil is stable and secure.

The introduction of computers into primary schools has concentrated the minds of educators on the use of the machine as an aid to the teacher, without the distraction of computer studies as a subject in its own right. The computer is very good at storing and rearranging information, and the introduction of simple database manipulation packages has allowed teachers to present pupils with the opportunity to collect information which is of interest to them, to structure it appropriately, and to store it on the computer. From the files thus produced various reports can be generated. These packages can be used in a variety of areas of study, from history to science, and an introduction to them is now an important part of teacher education in the use of computers. Computers can also simulate (|模拟) various dynamic situations, and a number of packages exploit this ability. Even the adventure games, which are sold for amusement to home computer users, can be turned to advantage if the problem-solving aspects are emphasized and the pupils' activity is appropriately structured.

1. A computer has its limitations in the use as an aid to teaching.

2. It is likely that computers will take the place of human teachers in the future.

3. With the use of many computers in schools, the computer courses were in great demand.

4. Computers are more reliable than human teachers in many respects.

5. If focusing on problem-solving, pupils can get more amusement from the computer games.

6. There is an argument over the possibility of making computers as intelligent as human teachers.

7. The more fundamental factor that affects computer aided teaching is that it is time-consuming to prepare course materials.

8. Coursewriter and Pilot are______.

9. For constructive advice, students will have to rely on______.

10. The advantage of computer's capability of storing information has been displayed by the use of______.

答案

I. Y 2. NG 3. Y 4. Y 5. N 6. N 7. N

8. computer languages 9. human teachers 10. database manipulation packages

Analysis and Interpretation of the News

The newspaper must provide for the reader the facts, unalloyed, unslanted, objectively selected facts. But in these days of complex news it must provide more; it must supply interpretation, the meaning of the facts. This is the most important assignment confronting American journalism—to make clear to the reader the problems of the day, to make international news as understandable as community news, to recognize that there is no longer any such thing (with the possible exception of such scribbling as society and club news) as “local” news, because any event in the international area has a local reaction in manpower draft, in economic strain, in terms, indeed, of our very way of life.

There is in journalism a widespread view that when you embark on interpretation, you are entering choppy and dangerous waters, the swirling tides of opinion. This is nonsense.

The opponents of interpretation insist that the writer and the editor shall confine himself to the “facts”. This insistence raises two questions: What are the facts? And: Are the bare facts enough?

As to the first query. Consider how a so-called “factual” story cones about. The reporter collects, say, fifty facts; out of these fifty, his space allotment being necessarily restricted, he selects the ten, which he considers most important. This is Judgment Number One. Then he or his editor decides which of these ten facts shall constitute the lead of the piece (This is important decision because many readers do not proceed beyond the first paragraph.) This is Judgment Number Two. Then the night editor determines whether the article shall be presented on page one, where it has a large impact, or on page twenty-four, where it has little. Judgment Number Three.

Thus, in the presentation of a so-called “factual” or “objective” story, at least three judgments are involved. And they are judgments not at all unlike those involved in interpretation, in which reporter and editor, calling upon their general background, and their “news neutralism,” arrive at a conclusion as to the significance of the news.

The two areas of judgment, presentation of the news and its interpretation, are both objective rather then subjective processes—as objective, that is, as any human being can be. (Note in passing: even though complete objectivity can never be achieved, nevertheless the ideal must always be the beacon on the murky news channels.) Of an editor

is intent on slanting the news, he can do it in other ways and more effectively than by interpretation. He can do it by the selection of those facts that prop up his particular plea. Or he can do it by the pay he gives a story—promoting it to page one or demoting it to page thirty.

1. The title that best expresses the ideas of this passage is

[A]. Interpreting the News. [B]. Choosing Facts.

[C]. Subjective versus Objective Processes. [D]. Everything Counts.

2. Why does the writer of an article select ten out of 50 available facts?

[A]. Space is limited. [B]. His editor is prejudiced.

[C]. The subject is not important. [D]. He is entering choppy and dangerous.

3. What is the least effective way of “slanting” news/

[A]. Interpretation. [B]. His editor is prejudiced.

[C]. Placement. [D]. Concentration.

4. Why should the lead sentence present the most important fact?

[A]. It will influence the reader to continue.

[B]. It will be the best way to write.

[C]. Some readers do not read beyond the first paragraph.

[D]. It will gratify the editor.

答案

[词汇]

1. unalloyed 纯粹的，没有杂物的

2. unslanted 无偏见的，不歪曲的

3. scribble 胡写，乱写;粗制滥造的文章

4. manpower draft 人力征用，券集

5. economic strain 经济紧张，压力

6. embark on 开始，从事

7. choppy 波浪滔滔的，变动频繁，紊乱

8. query 疑问，质问

9. come about 发生

10. allotment 分配

11. beacon 信标，灯塔，烽火

12. murky 阴暗的，(雾等)浓的

13. prop up 给……撑腰，支持

14. demote 使降级。相应词 promote

15. news neutralism 无倾向性新闻，新闻中立主义

16. lead (新闻等)导语，提要

[难句]

1. This is the most important assignment confronting American journalism—to make clear to the reader the problems of the day, to make international news as understandable as community news, to recognize that there is no longer any such thing (with the possible exception of such scribbling as society and club news) as “local” news, because any event in the international area has a local reaction in manpower draft, in economic strain, in terms, indeed, of our very way of life.

[结构简析] 主从句，句中连用三个不定式，是实际的主语，也就是this 的内容。后跟宾语或宾语从句。

[参考译文] 美国报界面临最重要的儿女物是向读者讲清今日存在的问题，使国际新闻像地区社区新闻一样明白易懂，使他们认识到不再有什么“本地”新闻这类事情(社团或俱乐部粗制滥造的文章可能要除外)，因为国际上任何新闻在人力征用，募集，经济负担，事实上在生活的各方面

都会引起地区反应。

2. There is in journalism a widespread view that when you embark on interpretation, you are entering choppy and dangerous waters, the swirling tides of opinion.

[结构简析] the swirling…是说明语。

[参考译文] 报界有一种普遍存在的观点：当你从事解释新闻的工作(对新闻进行解释时)，你就进入了波浪滔天，险情还生的水域，意见漩掀的浪潮。

3. And they are judgments not at all unlike those involved in interpretation, in which reporter and editor, calling upon their general background, and their “news neutralism,”arrive at a conclusion as to the significance of the news.

[结构简析] 句中有定语从句in which 修饰interpretation. 定从中calling on 分词短语作伴随状态，修饰reporter and editor。

[参考译文] 这些判断评价就像解释新闻多涉及的判断一样。在这里，记者和编辑要动用他们的新闻调查研究资源，他们一般的背景材料以及新闻“中立”态度来得出有关新闻意义的结论。

4. The two areas of judgment, presentation of the news and its interpretation, are both objective rather then subjective processes—as objective, that is, as any human being can be. (Note in passing: even though complete objectivity can never be achieved, nevertheless the ideal must always be the beacon on the murky news channels.) [结构简析] a note in passing 义;顺便说一句，附带的谈一下。

[参考译文] 这两个判断领域：提供新闻内容和解说新闻领域可不是主观过程，而是客观过程——也就是说，要像任何人能做到的那样客观。顺便说一句，就算达不到绝对的客观，那客观的理想必须始终如一的是迷雾漫漫新航道上的信标。

写作方法与文章大意

文章论及“新闻评价”问题。采用一般到具体手法。文章一开始就提出新闻要客观，真实的事实，解释要清楚，使读者明白今日世界的问题。国内外大事和我们生活休戚相关。然后讲述选材过程，版面布置。最后谈到提供和解说新闻中评价要客观。

【答案】

1. A. 解释新闻。文章虽提及两个领域(见难句译注4)，但重点在解释(见难句译注2)。提供是“解说”的前提，但作为标题不合适，因为它是作为“解释”的对比而写的。(见难句译注3 not at all unlike…及难句译注4 are both objective rather than…)

B. 选择事实。这只是提供新闻中一个具体步骤。

C. 主观对客观过程。也是一个具体方面(见难句译注4)。

D. 一切都要算在内。涉及面太广，文内没提及。

2. A. 版面空间有限。第四段三句：“举例说，记者收集50条新闻事实。他从50条中选出10条他认为是最重要的新闻，因为他的版面空间分配必定有所限制。”

B. 他的编辑有偏见。不对。

C. 他的文章主题不重要。不对。

D. 他进到了波浪滔天的危险水域(见难句译注2)。这是讲新闻解释。

3. A. 解说。最后一段最后三句：“如果编辑想要歪曲新闻，他可以采用其他办法，远比解说要有效的多。他可以通过选择支持他的观点的才，或通过他给每条新闻所定的位置达到歪曲的目的——提升到头版，或者降低到三十版。”这段话说明其它办法歪曲新闻比解说新闻来歪曲有效的多。

B. 选材。

C. 定位。

D. 集中。

4. C. 有些读者不读一段以下的问心，这是常识。有的读者就读大标题。

A. 它将影响读者继续读下去。

B. 这是最佳的写作方法。 D. 这会使编辑高兴。

Sensory Evaluation of Food

A Polish proverb claims that fish, to taste right, should three times—in water, in butter and in wine. The early efforts of the basic scientists in the food industry were directed at improving the preparation, preservation, and distribution of safe and

nutritious food. Our memories of certain foodstuffs eaten during the World War II suggest that, although these might have been safe and nutritious, they certainly did not taste right nor were they particularly appetizing in appearance or smell. This neglect of the sensory appeal of foods is happily becoming a thing of the past. Bow, in the book “Principles of Sensory Evaluation of Food,” the authors hope that it will be useful to food technologists in industry and also to others engaged in research into problem of sensory evaluation of foods. An attempt has clearly been make to collect every possible piece of information, which might be useful, more than one thousand five hundred references being quoted. As a result, the book seems at first sight to be an exhaustive and critically useful review of the literature. This it certainly is, but this is by no means is its only achievement, for there are many suggestions for further lines of research, and the discursive passages are crisply provocative of new ideas and new ways of looking at established findings.

Of particular interest is the weight given to the psychological aspects of perception, both objectively and subjectively. The relation between stimuli and perception is well covered, and includes a valuable discussion of the uses and disadvantages of the Weber fraction of differences. It is interesting to find that in spite of many attempts to separate and define the modalities of taste, nothing better has been achieved than the familiar classification into sweet, sour salty and bitter. Nor is there as yet any clear-cut evidence of the physiological nature of the taste stimulus. With regard to smell, systems of classification are of little value because of the extraordinary sensitivity of the nose and because the response to the stimulus is so subjective. The authors suggest that a classification based on the size, shape and electronic status of the molecule involved merits further investigation, as does the theoretical proposition that weak physical binding of the stimulant molecule to he receptor site is a necessary part of the mechanism of stimulation.

Apart from taste and smell, there are many other components of perception of the sensations from food in the mouth. The basic modalities of pain, cold, warmth and touch, together with vibration sense, discrimination and localization may all play a part, as, of course, does auditory reception of bone-conducted vibratory stimuli from the teeth when eating crisp or crunchy foods. In this connection the authors rightly point out that this type of stimulus requires much more investigation, suggesting that a start might be made by using subjects afflicted with various forms of deafness. It is well-known that extraneous noise may alter discrimination, and the attention of the authors is directed to the work of Prof. H. J. Eysenck on the “stimulus hunger” of extroverts and the “stimulus avoidance” of introverts.

1. The reviewer uses a Polish proverb at the beginning of the article in order to

[A]. introduce, in an interesting manner, the discussion of food.

[B]. show the connection between food and nationality of food.

[C]. indicate that there are various ways to prepare food.

[D]. impress upon the reader the food value of fish.

2. The reviewers appraisal of “Principles of Sensory Evaluation of Food” is one of

[A]. mixed feelings. [B]. indifference

[C]. high praise. [D]. faint praise.

3. The writer of the article does not express the view, either directly or by implication, that

[A]. sharply defined classifications of taste are needed.

[B]. more research should be done regarding the molecular constituency of food.

[C]. food values are objectively determined by an expert “smeller”.

[D]. temperature is an important factor in the value of food.

4. The authors of the book suggest the use of deaf subject because

[A]. deaf people are generally introversive.

[B]. the auditory sense is an important factor in food evaluation.

[C]. they are more fastidious in their choice of foods.

[D]. All types of subjects should be used.

[词汇]

1. preservation 保鲜，保存

2. sensory appeal 感官的魅力

3. be provocative of 脱颖而出

4. exhaustive 详尽的，无遗漏的

5. discursive 推论的

6. be provocative of 引起……争论/兴趣等的

7. crisp 有力的，有劲的

8. perception 感觉，知觉，直觉

9. modality 方式

modality of taste (味)感觉到

10. discrimination 鉴别力

11. localization 地区性，定位

12. merit 值得……，有……价值

13. crunchy 嘎吱作响的

14. extraneous 外部的

15. extrovert 外向性格的人

16. introvert 内项性格的人

[难句]

1. although these might have been safe and nutritious, they certainly did not taste right nor were they particularly appetizing in appearance or smell.

[结构简析] in appearance or smell 应译成：色或香。

[参考译文] 虽然这些饭菜可能是安全又有营养，但是肯定味不正，特别是在色，香上难以增进食欲。

2. This it certainly is, but this is by no means is its only achievement, for there are many suggestions for further lines of research, and the discursive passages are crisply provocative of new ideas and new ways of looking at established findings.

[结构简析] 复合句。This 指前一句内容：书既详细又是对有关食品学的文字做了十分有用的评论……。 Be provocative of 引起……争论或兴趣。

[参考译文] 确实如此，可是这并不是书的唯一成就，因为书内有许多关于进一步研究范围的建议。推论性篇章及能令人非常感兴趣的看待现存成果的新观点和新方法。

3. The relation between stimuli and perception is well covered, and includes a valuable discussion of the uses and disadvantages of the Weber fraction of differences.

Weber fraction 为Ernest Heinrich Weber所著，他生于1795年，死与1878，是德国生理学家。

[参考译文] 书中详细论及刺激和感觉的关系。还包括了一篇很有价值的讨论文章：谈论威伯分数在评价差异上的缺点和实用性。

大学英语六级阅读理解专题训练

大学英语六级阅读理解专题训练 2016年下半年英语四六级迫在眉睫，同学们准备得如何了?下面是网提供给大家关于大学阅读理解专题训练，希望对大家的备考有所帮助。 What is it about Americans and food? We love to eat, but we feel 1 about it afterward. We say we want only the best, but we strangely enjoy junk food. We’re 2 with health and weight loss but face an unprecedented epidemic of obesity(肥胖). Perhaps the 3 to this ambivalence(矛盾情结) lies in our history. The first Europeans came to this continent searching for new spices but went in vain. The first cash crop(经济作物) wasn’t eaten but smoked. Then there was Prohibition, intended to prohibit drinking but actually encouraging more 4 ways of doing it. The immigrant experience, too, has been one of inharmony. Do as Romans do means eating what “real Americans” eat, but our nation’s food has come to be 5 by imports—pizza, say, or hot dogs. And some of the country’s most treasured cooking comes from people who arrived here in shackles. Perhaps it should come as no surprise then that food has been a medium for the nation’s defining struggles, whether at the Boston Tea Party or the sit ins at southern lunch counters. It is integral to our concepts of health and even morality whether one refrains from alcohol for religious reasons or evades meat for political 6 . But strong opinions have not brought 7 . Americans are ambivalent about what they put in their mouths. We have become 8 of our foods, especially as we learn more about what they contain. The 9 in food is still prosperous in the American consciousness. It’s no coincidence, then, that the first Thanksgiving holds the American imagination in such bondage(束缚). It’s w hat we eat—and how we 10 it with friends, family, and strangers—that help define America as a community today. A. answer I. creative B. result J. belief C. share K. suspicious D. guilty L. certainty E. constant M. obsessed F. defined N. identify

2019大学英语六级长篇阅读匹配练习题及答案(三)

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