大学英语快速阅读1-50.pdf
雅思快速阅读训练也可供四、六级考试，托福考试使用内部培训资料，一线在职教师倾力编写1.ACADEMY AWARDS-THE OSCARS(Time Limit:3 minutes 30 seconds)The Academy Awards,affectionately(亲切地)known as the Oscars,are the oldest,bestknown,most influential and famous of film awards.The awards have been presented annually(thefirst awards ceremony was held in May of 1929)by a non-profit professional organization-theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences(AMPAS),based in Beverly Hills,California,andfounded in 1927.Price waterhouse has managed the Academy Awards balloting(投票选举)processsince 1935-all but the first six years of the Oscars.Ever since 1941,when their now-famousconfidential(秘密的)envelope system was introduced,marking the first year of complete secrecy,“the Envelope Please“has become a familiar phrase that has been associated with the AcademyAwards ceremony.Except for the early years of the institution,the awards honored films made during theprevious 12-month calendar year.At first,to be eligible(有资格的)for an award,a film had toopen in Los Angeles during the twelve months ending on July 31 of the preceding yea匚 To alloweach ceremony to cover films fbr a single calendar year-matching the eligibility period,the1932/33 awards were based on a 17-month qualifying period.Ever since then,beginning with the1934 awards ceremony,all awards have been based on openings in the previous calendar year.Until 1954,the Oscars were presented mostly on a Thursday evening.From 1955 to 1958,theywere presented on a Wednesday.From 1959 until 1998 the Oscars were,with a few exceptions,presented on a Monday night.Only since 1999 has the Awards ceremony taken place on a Sunday(traditionally in March).In 2004,the ceremony was moved even earlier to improve ratings and tobe more relevant to the awards seasonThe establishment of the Academy(and its awards system)has had a major effect andinfluence upon the film industry,due to the enormous boost a nomination(提名)or award(for afilm or actor)creates,by giving prestige and bottom-line profits to a studio or performer.Studioshave often engaged in expensive marketing and advertising campaigns to sway votes.Althoughthe Academy has with limited success,tried to limit the influences of pressure groups andpromotion,box office gross receipts,studio public relations and marketing,sentimentality andpersonal popularity,those influences have had a decided effect upon the outcome of some of thepoll results.Especially since the 80s,moneymaking formula-made successful films have oftenbeen crowd-pleasing titans(大片)but they havent necessarily been great films with depth orcritical acclaim(赞誉)by any measure.(425 words)Comprehension ExercisesI.Choose the best answers to the following questions.1.When were the first Academy Awards presented?A.1935 B.1927.C.1929 D.1934.2.Why did the qualifying period of a film made in 1932 last for 17 months?A.A new awards system started to make sure that the films had opened during the twelve monthsending on July 31 in the previous year.B.A new rule was put into operation that each ceremony should cover the films made in a singlecalendar year.C.Some changes were made so that the ceremony was moved earlier to improve ratings.D.An agreement was not reached on when the ceremony was held.3.Which of the following can be regarded as a major effect of the Academy Awards upon the filmindustry?A.A film,if winning the Academy Awards,will do quite well at the box office.B.Studios often carry out advertising campaigns to win the favor of the public.C.The film industry has put economic benefits above all others.D.A studio or an actor will try every means to affect the outcome of the poll results.4.The word sway in Line 9,Para 3 means.A.promote B.influenceC.distribute D.recollect5.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?A.The Academy Awards have done a lot to revolutionize the film industry.B.The Academy awards system is fair and free from any outside pressures and influences.C.The award-winning films are not always applauded by audience.D.Some people,including the author,dont think much of the award-winning films.II.Complete the following sentences with the information given in the passage.1.People dont know who will win the Academy Awards until is opened.2.Studios often carry out some to persuade people to vote for their films.3.Studios and performers will become and when the Academy Awards goto them.4.A film has to go through a before it enters the competition for the Academy Awards.5.The Academy Awards ceremony is held once.2.Life or Death(Time Limit:3 minutes 10 sounds)How would you feel if a loved one were killed?Would you want the murderer executed,orwould having the killer in prison be enough?This question has been asked many times,but peopleare not in agreement about the ultimate punishment.We all know that it is wrong to take a humanlife,but if our government does the killing,is it still a crime?Some people say that thegovernment dose not have the right to end someones life,but several reasons can be put forwardto defend the death penalty.The first reason for allowing the death penalty is for the sake of punishment itself.Thepunishment ought to reflect the seriousness of the crime.It therefore seems reasonable that thosewho commit the most serious crimes should be made to pay the ultimate price.Secondly,to preserve the death penalty is reasonable on financial grounds.The governmentshouldnt have to spend a lot of money on criminals.Next to the death penalty,the most severepunishment is a life sentence in prison,where the government has to take care of criminals untilthey die naturally.These criminals do not work,but they receive free housing and food.It is unfairto use taxpayers,money for such a purpose.The last argument for continuing the use of the death penalty is based on the nature andpurpose of government.If the government has the legitimate（合法的）power to make,judge,andcarry out the laws,it should also have the power to decide if criminals should die.The opponents（反对者）of the death penalty might say that nobody has the right to decidewho should die,including the government.However,when the government sends soldiers into war,in some way,it is deciding those soldiers fate;some will live and some will be killed.As long asthe government has a right to send its citizens to the battlefield,it has a right to put criminals todeath.There are,then,many good reasons to preserve the death penalty.If no punishment canreform a murder,then the death penalty is the best thing that can be done for that person and forsociety.（377 words）Comprehension ExercisesI.Choose the best answers to the following questions.1.How many reasons dose the writer give to preserve the death penalty?A.3B.4C.5D.62.What dose the writer want to express in this passage?A.People are not in agreement about the death penalty.B.The use of the death penalty should serve the interests of government.C.The government does not have the right to end someone life.D.There are some good reasons to preserve the death penalty.3.Which of the following is mentioned in order to justify the death penalty?A.Some more serious measures should be taken against a killer once jailed,since putting himin prison is not enough.B.The death penalty is the best way to separate criminals from society.C.Since the government cannot afford free housing and food for criminals,it is necessary topreserve the death penalty.D.Since the government has a right to send its citizens to war,it has the right to put criminalsto death.4.Which of the following statement is false according to the writer?A.Death penalty is the harshest form of punishment.B.Death penalty ought to be given when no punishment can reform a criminal.C.The government has no right to take the life of its citizens under any circumstances.D.It is reasonable to use harsh punishment for those criminals who commit serious crimes.II.Complete the following sentences with the information given in the passage.1.The writer of this passage argues that should be preserved for a number of goodreasons.2.The writer thinks that it is unfair to use to offer criminals free housing and food.3.The second most severe form of punishment is a.4.The writer suggests that death penalty be preserved for those who have c o m m itte d.5.Criminals who are punished with life sentences in prison are taken care of by the governmentunit t he y.3.Is Global Warming Harmful to Health（Time Limit:3 minutes 40seconds）Today few scientists doubt that the atmosphere is warming.Most also agree that the rate ofheating is accelerating and that the consequences of this temperature change could bring aboutmore and more problems and troubles.Even high school students can tell some projectedoutcomes:the oceans will warm,and glaciers will melt,causing sea levels to rise and salt water tooverflow settlements along many low-lying coasts.Meanwhile the regions suitable for farmingwill shift.Weather patterns should also become more unpredictable and storms more severe.Yet less familiar effects could be equally damaging.Notably,computer models predict thatglobal warming,and other climate changes it induces,will expand the incidence（发病率）anddistribution of many serious medical disorders.Disturbingly,these forecasts seem to be comingtrue.Heating of the atmosphere can influence health through several routes.Most directly,it cangenerate more,stronger and hotter heat waves,which will become especially harmful if theevenings fail to bring cooling relief.Unfortunately,a lack of nighttime cooling seems to be in thecards;the atmosphere is heating unevenly and is showing the biggest rises at night,in winter andat latitudes higher than about 50 degrees.In some places,the number of deaths related to heatwaves is projected to double by 2020.Prolonged heat can,moreover,enhance production of smogand the spread of allergens（过敏原）.Both effects have been linked to respiratory（呼吸的）symptoms.Global warming can also threaten human well-being profoundly,if somewhat less directly,byrevising weather patterns,particularly by increasing the frequency and intensity of floods anddroughts and by causing rapid changes in the weather.As the atmosphere has warmed over thepast century,droughts in arid（干旱的）areas have persisted longer,and massive bursts of rainfallhave become more common.Aside from causing death by drowning or starvation,these disasterspromote by various means the emergence,return and spread of infectious diseases（传染病）。That prospect is deeply troubling,because infectious illness is a genie（妖怪）that can be veryhard to put back into its bottle.It may kill fewer people in a short while than a raging flood or anextended drought,but once it takes root in a community,it is often hard to get rid of and caninvade other areas.Floods and droughts associates with global climate change could undermine health in otherways as well.They could damage crops,thereby reducing food supplies and potentiallycontributing to malnutrition（营养不良）。And they could force entire populations in developingcountries to leave their homeland,leading to overcrowding and the diseases connected with it,such as tuberculosis（肺结核）.（436 words）Comprehension ExercisesI.Choose the best answers to the following questions.1.According to the third paragraph,a lack of nighttime cooling seems to be.A.likely to happenB.a case in pointC.ridiculousD.paid attention to2.Heating of the atmosphere can influence health through the following routesexcept_A.more,stronger and hotter heat wavesB.nighttime coolingC.prolonged heatD.infectious diseases caused by natural disasters associated with global warming3.Infectious illness is a genie that can be very hard to put back into its bottlebecause_A.it may do great damage to health of human beings in a short whileB.it can threat human well-being once associated with floods and droughtsC.it may add to troubles causes by a raging flood or an extended droughtD.it is hard to wipe it out once it takes root in a community4.According to the last paragraph,floods and droughts associated with global climatechange undermine health in further ways.A.twoB.threeC.fourD.fiveII.Judge whether or not the following statement agree with the information given in the passage,and mark Y for YES,N for NO,or NG if information is not given in the passage.1.Few scientists agree that the rate of heading is speeding up.2.The forecasts that global warming will expand the incidence and distribution of manyserious medical disorders seem to be coming true.3.Floods and droughts associated with global climate change could make crops easy to beattacked by pests.4.Permanent shift of entire populations in developed countries could lead to overcrowdingand the disease connected with it.4.A Precious Moment(Time Limit:3minutes)“So,how do you develop a relationship?This question was asked of me when I was doinga Relationship Service seminar(讲座).I have to admit that the question caught me off guard for abrief second.We had been talking“theory“all day and this woman wanted some practicalmethods for developing any relationship.After pausing for a minute to collect my thoughts,I stated that the only thing I could do wasto tell her the truth from my experience.Somewhat shyly,I began to tell her the story of how mywife and I saved our relationship.My mind flashed back to a time when Karen and I were at aState Fair and I won two red velvet（天鹅）hearts as a prize in one of the midway games.I brokeapart the two hearts and gave one to Karen and kept one for myself.We had been married 10 years and we were going through a bit of a“flat spot“in ourrelationship.We still loved each other,but something was missing.Karen did not want the“flatness“to continue.So one day she came up with a plan.She took one of the hearts and hid it inmy towel while I was talking a shower.When I went to grab my towel,the red heart spilled out.As I bent down to pick it up,I was overcome with a rush of emotion that made me flash back tothe time when I won the red hearts and the love we felt for each other at that moment.I then hid the heart in her sock drawer.She hid it in my underwear drawer.I hid it in therefrigerator.She wrapped it in plastic wrap and hid it in the peanut butter.Hiding the heart becameas much fun as finding it.Each time we hid or found it was a moment to be treasured,Hke the firstmoment we fell in love or the first moment we kissed or the first moment we looked into ourchilds eyes.Each is a cherished（珍爱的）and precious moment.（350 words）Comprehension ExercisesI.Choose the best answers to the following questions.1.When asked So,how do you develop a relationship?”，the a ut hor.A.was cautious and unwilling to answer the question in a brief momentB.was well-prepared and could answer the question quicklyC.was unprepared and thus couldnt answer the question in a brief momentD.had to admit it was a difficult question2.The author told the woman his own experience in order to.A.prove that its far from easy to develop a relationshipB.show how people develop a relationshipC.convince her that he and his wife h
