历年四级真题阅读理解2.docx

历年四级真题阅读理解2.docx

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历年四级真题阅读理解2

历年四级真题阅读理解

（2）

2003年6月

PassageOne

Questions21to25arebasedonthefollowingpassage:

Onaverage,Americankidsages3to12spent29hoursaweekinschool,eighthoursmorethantheydidin1981.Theyalsodidmorehouseholdworkandparticipatedinmoreofsuchorganizedactivitiesassoccerandballet（芭蕾舞）.Involvementinsports,inparticular,rosealmost50%from1981to1997:

boysnowspendanaverageoffourhoursaweekplayingsports;girlslaghalfthattime.Allinall,however,children’sleisuretimedroppedfrom40%ofthedayin1981to25%.

“Childrenareaffectedbythesametimecrunch（危机）thataffectstheirparents,”saysSandraHofferth,whoheadedtherecentstudyofchildren’stimetable.Achiefreason,shesays,isthatmoremothersareworkingoutsidethehome.（Nevertheless,childreninbothdouble-incomeand“malebreadwinner”householdsspentcomparableamountsoftimeinteractingwiththeirparents,19hoursand22hoursrespectively.Incontrast,childrenspentonly9hourswiththeirsinglemothers.）

Allworkandnoplaycouldmakeforsomeverymessed-upkids.“Playisthemostpowerfulwayachildexplorestheworldandlearnsabouthimself,”saysT.BerryBrazelton,professoratHarvardMedicalSchool.Unstructuredplayencouragesindependentthinkingandallowstheyoungtonegotiatetheirrelationshipswiththeirpeers,butkidsages3to12spentonly12hoursaweekengagedinit.

Thechildrensampledspentaquarteroftheirrapidlydecreasing“freetime”watchingtelevision.Butthat,believeitornot,wasoneofthefindingsparentsmightregardasgoodnews.Ifthey’respendinglesstimeinfrontoftheTVset,however,kidsaren’treplacingitwithreading.Despiteeffortstogetkidsmoreinterestedinbooks,thechildrenspentjustoveranhouraweekreading.Let’sfaceit,who’sgotthetime?

21.Bymentioning“thesametimecrunch”（Line1,Para.2）SandraHofferthmeans________.

A）childrenhavelittletimetoplaywiththeirparents

B）childrenarenottakengoodcareofbytheirworkingparents

C）bothparentsandchildrensufferfromlackofleisuretime

D）bothparentsandchildrenhavetroublemanagingtheirtime

22.Accordingtotheauthor,thereasongivenbySandraHofferthforthetimecrunchis_____.

A）quiteconvincingB）partiallytrue

C）totallygroundlessD）ratherconfusing

23.Accordingtotheauthorachilddevelopsbetterif______.

A）hehasplentyoftimereadingandstudying

B）heislefttoplaywithhispeersinhisownway

C）hehasmoretimeparticipatinginschoolactivities

D）heisfreetointeractwithhisworkingparents

24.TheauthorisconcernedaboutthefactthatAmericankids______.

A）areengagedinmoreandmorestructuredactivities

B）areincreasinglyneglectedbytheirworkingmothers

C）arespendingmoreandmoretimewatchingTV

D）areinvolvedlessandlessinhouseholdwork

25.Wecaninferfromthepassagethat______.

A）extracurricularactivitiespromotechildren’sintelligence

B）mostchildrenwillturntoreadingwithTVsetsswitchedoff

C）effortstogetkidsinterestedinreadinghavebeenfruitful

D）mostparentsbelievereadingtobebeneficialtochildren

PassageTwo

Questions26to30arebasedonthefollowingpassage:

HenryFord,thefamousU.S.inventorandcarmanufacturer,oncesaid,‘ThebusinessofAmericaisbusiness.”BythishemeantthattheU.S.wayoflifeisbasedonthevaluesofthebusinessworld.

FewwouldarguewithFord’sstatement.AbriefglimpseatadailynewspapervividlyshowshowmuchpeopleintheUnitedStatesthinkaboutbusiness.Forexample,nearlyeverynewspaperhasabusinesssection,inwhichthedealsandprojects,financesandmanagement,stockpricesandlaborproblemsofcorporationsarereporteddaily.Inaddition,businessnewscanappearineveryothersection.Mostnationalnewshasanimportantfinancialaspecttoit.Welfare,foreignaid,thefederalbudget,andthepoliciesoftheFederalReserveBankareallheavilyaffectedbybusiness.Moreover,businessnewsappearsinsomeoftheunlikeliestplaces.Theworldofartsandentertainmentisoftenreferredtoas“theentertainmentindustry”or“showbusiness.”

ThepositivesideofHenryFord’sstatementcanbeseenintheprosperitythatbusinesshasbroughttoU.S.life.OneofthemostimportantreasonssomanypeoplefromallovertheworldcometoliveintheUnitedStatesisthedreamofabetterjob.Jobsareproducedinabundance（大量地）becausetheU.S.economicsystemisdrivenbycompetition.Peoplebelievethatthissystemcreatesmorewealth,morejobs,andamateriallybetterwayoflife.

ThenegativesideofHenryFord’sstatement,however,canbeseenwhenthewordbusinessistakentomeanbigbusiness.Andthetermbigbusiness—referringtothebiggestcompanies,isseeninoppositiontolabor.ThroughoutU.S.historyworkingpeoplehavehadtofighthardforhigherwages,betterworkingconditions,andtherighttoformunions.Today,manyoftheoldlabordisputesareover,butthereisstillsomeemployeeanxiety.Downsizing—thelayingoffofthousandsofworkerstokeepexpenseslowandprofitshigh--createsfeelingsofinsecurityformany.

26.TheunitedStatesisatypicalcountry______.

A）whichencouragesfreetradeathomesandabroad

B）wherepeople’schiefconcernishowtomakemoney

C）whereallbusinessesaremanagedscientifically

D）whichnormallyworksaccordingtothefederalbudget

27.TheinfluenceofbusinessintheU.S.isevidencedbythefactthat______.

A）mostnewspapersarerunbybigbusinesses

B）evenpublicorganizationsconcentrateonworkingforprofits

C）Americansofallprofessionsknowhowtodobusiness

D）evenartsandentertainmentareregardedasbusiness

28.Accordingtothepassage,immigrantschoosetosettleintheU.S.,dreamingthat______.

A）theycanstartprofitablebusinessesthere

B）theycanbemorecompetitiveinbusiness

C）theywillmakeafortuneovernightthere

D）theywillfindbetterchancesofemployment

29.HenryFord’sstatementscanbetakennegativelybecause______.

A）workingpeoplearediscouragedtofightfortheirrights

B）therearemanyindustriescontrolledbyafewbigcapitalists

C）thereisaconflictingrelationshipbetweenbigcorporationsandlabor

D）publicservicesarenotrunbythefederalgovernment

30.Acompany’seffortstokeepexpenseslowandprofitshighmayresultin______.

A）reductioninthenumberofemployees

B）improvementofworkingconditions

C）fewerdisputesbetweenlaborandmanagement

D）ariseinworkers’wages

PassageThree

Questions31to35arebasedonthefollowingpassage:

ProfessorSmithrecentlypersuaded35people,23ofthemwomen,tokeepadiaryofalltheirabsent-mindedactionsforafortnight.Whenhecametoanalysetheirembarrassinglapses（差错）inascientificreport,hewassurprisedtofindthatnearlyallofthemfellintoafewgroupings.Nordidthelapsesappeartobeentirelyrandom（随机的）.

Oneofthewomen,forinstance,onleavingherhouseforworkonemorningthrewherdogherearringsandtriedtofixadogbiscuitonherear.“Theexplanationforthisisthatthebrainislikeacomputer,”explainstheprofessor.“Peopleprogrammethemselvestodocertainactivitiesregularly.Itwasthewoman’scustomeverymorningtothrowherdogtwobiscuitsandthenputonherearrings.Butsomehowtheactiongotreversedintheprogramme.”Aboutoneintwentyoftheincidentsthevolunteersreportedwerethese“programmeassemblyfailures.”

Altogetherthevolunteerslogged433unintentionalactionsthattheyfoundthemselvesdoing–anaverageoftwelveeach.Thereappeartobepeakperiodsinthedaywhenweareatourzaniest（荒谬可笑的）.Thesearetwohourssometimebetweeneighta.m.andnoon,betweenfourandsixp.m.withasmallerpeakbetweeneightandtenp.m.“Amongmenthepeakseemstobewhenachangeoverinbrain‘programmes’occurs,asforinstancebetweengoingtoandfromwork.”Womenonaveragereportedslightlymorelapses–12.5comparedwith10.9formen–probablybecausetheyweremorereliablereporters.

Astartlingfindingoftheresearchisthattheabsent-mindedactivityisahazardofdoingthingsinwhichweareskilled.Normally,youwouldexpectthatskillreducesthenumberoferrorswemake.Buttryingtoavoidsillyslipsbyconcentratingmorecouldmakethingsalotworse–evendangerous.

31.InhisstudyProfessorSmithaskedthesubjects______.

A）tokeeptrackofpeoplewhotendtoforgetthings

B）toreporttheirembarrassinglapsesatrandom

C）toanalysetheirawkwardexperiencesscientifically

D）tokeeparecordofwhattheydidunintentionally

32.ProfessorSmithdiscoveredthat______.

A）certainpatternscanbeidentifiedintherecordedincidents

B）manypeopleweretooembarrassedtoadmittheirabsent-mindedness

C）mentendtobemoreabsent-mindedthanwomen

D）absent-mindednessisanexcusablehumanweakness

33.“Programmeassemblyfailures”（Line6,Para.2）referstothephenomenonthatpeople___.

A）oftenfailtoprogrammetheirroutinesbeforehand

B）tendtomakemistakeswhentheyareinahurry

C）unconsciouslychangethesequenceofdoingthings

D）arelikelytomessthingsupiftheyaretootired

34.Welearnfromthethirdparagraphthat______.

A）absent-mindednesstendstooccurduringcertainhoursoftheday

B）womenareverycarefultoperformactionsduringpeakperiods

C）womenexperiencemorepeakperiodsofabsent-mindedness

D）men’sabsent-mindednessoftenresultsinfunnysituations

35.Itcanbeconcludedfromthepassagethat______.

A）peopleshouldavoiddoingimportantthingsduringpeakperiodsoflapses

B）hazardscanbeavoidedwhenpeopledothingstheyaregoodat

C）peopleshould