大学英语四级阅读2.pdf

成都理工大学外国语学院V 大学英语精品课程:四级阅读补充材料(CET-4 Reading Comprehension SupplementaryMaterials)Directions:There are 30 reading passages in this part.Each passage is followed bysome questions or unfinished statements.For each of them there are four suggestedanswers marked A,B,C and D.Choose the best answer to each question.Passage 1Exchange a glance with someone,then look away.Do you realize that youhave made a statement?Hold the glance for a second longer,and you havemade a different statement.Hold it for 3 seconds,and the meaning has changedagain.For every social situation,there is a permissible time that you can hold apersons gaze without being intimate,rude,or aggressive.If you are on anelevator,what gaze-time are you permitted?To answer this question,considerwhat you typically do.You very likely give other passengers a quick glance tosize them up(打量)and to assure them that you mean no threat.Since beingclose to another person signals the possibility of interaction.You need to emita signal telling others you want to be left alone.So you cut off eye contact,what sociologist Erring Goffman(1963)calls Ma dimming of the lights.Youlook down at the floor,at the indicator lights,anywhere but into anotherpassengers eyes.Should you break the rule against staring at a stranger on anelevator,you will make the other person exceedingly uncomfortable,and youare likely to feel a bit strange yourself.If you hold eye contact for more than 3 seconds,what are you telling anotherperson?Much depends on the person and the situation.For instance,a man anda woman communicate interest in this manner.They typically gaze at eachother for about 3 seconds at a time,then drop their eyes down for 3 seconds,before letting their eyes meet again.But if one man gives another man a3-second-plus stare,he signals,H1 know you,H1 am interested in you,or”Youlook peculiar and I am curious about you.This type of stare often produceshostile feelings.1.It can be inferred from the first paragraph that_.A)every glance has its significanceB)staring at a person is an expression of interestC)a gaze longer than 3 seconds is unacceptableD)a glance conveys more meaning than words2.If you want to be left alone on an elevator,the best thing to do is_.A)to look into another passenger*s eyesB)to avoid eye contact with other passengersC)to signal you are not a threat to anyoneD)to keep a distance from other passengers3.By a dimming of the lights(Line 13,Para.l)Erving Goffman means_.A)closing ones eyesB)turning off the lightsC)ceasing to glance at othersD)reducing gaze-time to the minimum4.If one is looked at by a stranger for too long,he tends to feel_.A)depressedB)uneasyC)curiousD)amused5.The passage mainly discusses_.A)the limitations of eye contactB)the exchange of ideas through eye contactC)proper behavior in situationsD)the role of eye contact in interpersonal communication.Passage 2Geraldo Rivera is well known for his compassionate investigative reports onWABC-TV Eyewitness News.He has done exposes(揭露性报道)of New YorkCitys welfare hotels,the over-pricing of prescription drugs,and drug abuse.In1971,he received the Associated Press Broadcaster of the Year award for theprogram Drug Crisis in East Harlem.He received the award again in 1972 forthe program Migrants,Dirt Cheap.His most famous expose however was done on the horrible conditions atStaten Islands WillowbrookStateSchool.It is the worlds largest institution forthe mentally disabled.His investigation began when he and his camera crewgained access to one of the buildings.Geraldos emotionally charged reportsexposed the unsanitary（不卫生的）conditions and neglectful,often abusive,treatment of the patients.He cried over what he discovered,and he made hisviewers cry,too.The programs created a public plea for reform,and changeswere made.Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York restored$20 million tothe schoofs slashed budget.The programs-Willow brook earned him theScripps-Howard Award,an Emmy（埃米金像奖）,and the Robert F.KennedyJournalism Award.Geraldo Rivera has continued working for the mentally disabled.He foundedOne-to-One,a charity（慈善机构）that provides small group homes for thecare of the mentally disabled in the community.He hosts huge outdoor festivalsfor the mentally disabled in New York Citys Central Park.He also wrote abook about some of the courageous people he has met as an investigativejournalist.It is called A Special Kind of Courage.As he himself says,“I makeno pretense（矫饰）of objectivity.But Im not just in the business of makingpeople cry.Im in the business of change/6 7 B 9.6.Geraldo Rivera is working as a（n）_.A.news reporter for a newspaper in New YorkB.investigative reporter for a special TV programC.investigative officer of the New York governmentD.philanthropist（慈善家）for the welfare of the mentally disabled7.How many awards did Rivera receive for his work?A.TwoB.ThreeC.FourD.Five8.Riveras investigation and expose on the conditions atWillowbrookStateSchool led to_.A.the public concern and request for changesB.the improvement of the conditions thereC.a considerable increase in the schools budgetD.all of the above9.The term“One-to One in the 3rdparagraph refers to_.A.an organization in the community that helps take better care of thementally disabledB.a device that helps mentally disabled behave themselvesC.an organization that provides homes for the mentally disabledD.a hospital that helps cure the mentally disabled10.The author suggests in this passage that_.A.Rivera has always been objective in reporting what he findsB.Rivera never tries to conceal his own compassion in his reportingC.Rivera has changed peoples views on the disabledD.Riveras work and efforts have greatly improved the conditions ofthe disabled in New York.Passage 3In the old days,children were familiar with birth and death as part of life.This is perhaps the first generation of American youngsters（年轻人）who havenever been close by during the birth of a baby and have never experienced thedeath of a family member.Nowadays when people grow old,we often send them to nursing homes.When they get sick,we transfer them to a hospital,where children are forbiddento visit terminally ill patients-even when those patients are their parents.Thisdeprives（剥夺）the dying patient of significant family members during the lastfew days of his life and it deprives the children of an experience of death,whichis an important learning experience.Some of my colleagues and I once interviewed and followed approximately500 terminally iii patients in order to find out what they could teach us and howwe could be of more benefit,not just to them but to the members of theirfamilies as well.We weremost impressed by the fact that even those patientswho were not told of their serious illness were quite aware of its potentialoutcome.It is important for family members,and doctors and nurses to understandthese patients1 communications in order to truly understand their needs,fears,and fantasies(幻想).Most of our patients welcomed another human beingwith whom they could talk openly,honestly,and frankly about their trouble.Many of them shared with us their tremendous need to be informed,to be keptup-to-date on their medical condition and to be told when the end was near:We found out that patients who had been dealt with openly and frankly werebetter able to cope with the approach of death and finally to reach a true stageof acceptance prior to death.11.The elders of contemporary Americans_.A)were often absent when a fomily member was born or dyingB)were quite unfamiliar with birth and deathC)usually witnessed the birth or death of a family memberD)had often experienced the fear of death as part of life12.Children in America today are denied the chance_.A)to learn how to face deathB)to visit dying patientsC)to attend to patientsD)to have access to a hospital13.Five hundred critically ill patients were investigated with the main purposeof.A)observing how they reacted to the crisis of deathB)helping them and their families overcome the fear of deathC)finding out their attitude towards the approach of deathD)learning how to best help them and their families14.The need of a dying patient for company shows_.A)his desire for communication with other peopleB)his fear of approaching deathC)his pessimistic attitude towards his conditionD)his reluctance to part with his family15.It may be concluded from the passage that_.A)dying patients are afraid of being told of the approach of deathB)most doctors and nurses understand what dying patients needC)dying patients should be truthfully informed of their conditionD）most patients are unable to accept death until it is obviously inevitablePassage4The oldest and simplest method,then,of describing differences in personalitywas to classify people according to types.Such a system is called a Typology.A famous example of this method was set forth in Greece about the year 400B.C.A physician named Hippocrates theorized that there were four fluids,orhumors,in the body.Corresponding to each humor,he believed,there existed adefinite type of personality.The four humors were blood,yellow bile（胆 汁）,black bile,and phlegm（黏液）.A person in whom all four humors were in perfect balance had aharmonious（和i皆的）personality.If a person had too much blood,he wascalled sanguine,or cheerful and optimistic.Someone with too much yellowbile was choleric,or irritable and easily angered.Too much black bile made aperson melancholy,or depressed and pessimistic.An oversupply of phlegmcaused a human being to be phlegmatic,or slow and unfeeling.Scientists havelong since discarded Hippocrates9 fluid theory.But the names of the humors,corresponding to these temperaments（气 质）,have survived and are still useful,to some extent,in describing personality.Other features of people,such as their faces and physiques,have also beenused to classify personality.Today,however,personality theories andclassifications may also include factors such as heredity,the environment,intelligence,and emotional needs.Psychology,biology,and sociology areinvolved in these theories.Because of the complexity of human personality,present-day theories are often very different from one another.Psychologistsvary in their ideas about what is most important in determining personality.16.This passage focuses on.A.the history of the system of typologyB.important factors in determining personalityC.personality theory and classificationD.important features of human beings17.According to Hippocrates,fluid theory,a person with a perfect balance ofall the four humors in him.A.was humorous and good at singingB.had a pleasant and agreeable temperamentC.would always be cheerful and optimisticD.seldom quarreled of fought with others18.Which of the following is NOT true?A.people with too much yellow bile were easily angeredB.the names of the four fluids are still used todayC.people with an oversupply of blood would easily get excitedD.many features of human beings have been used to classifypersonality19.Modern personality theories and classifications.A.are often very different because personality itself is rathercomplicatedB.involve psychology,biology,and sociologyC.are based only on heredity,the environment,intelligence,andemotional needsD.all of the above20.In the forth-coming paragraphs,the author is most probably going to talkabout.A.some new interpretations of the Hisppocrates,fluid theoryB.different opinions of psychologists about the factors in determiningpersonalityC.various definitions of typology given by different psychologistsD.the comparison between present-day personality theories andancient personality theoriesPassage 5Space is a dangerous place,not only because of meteors（流星）but alsobecause of rays from the sun and other stars.The atmosphere again acts as ourprotective blanket on earth.Light gets through,and this is essential for plantsto make the food which we eat.Heat,too,makes our environment endurable.Various kinds of rays come through the air from outer space,but enormousquantities of radiation from the sun are screened off.As soon as men leave theatmosphere they are exposed to this radiation but their spacesuits or the wallsof their spacecraft,if they are inside,do prevent a lot of radiation damage.Radiation is the greatest known danger to explorers in space.The unit ofradiation is called HremM.Scientists have reason to think that a man can put upwith far more radiation than 0.1 rem without being damaged;the figure of 60rems has been agreed on.The trouble is that it is extremely difficult to be sureabout radiation damage-a person may feel perfectly well,but the cells of hisor her sex organs may be damaged,and this will not be discovered until thebirth of deformed(畸形的)children or even grandchildren.Missions of the Apollo flights have had to cross belts of high radiation and,during the outward and return journeys,the Apollo crew accumulated a largeamount of rems.So far,no dangerous amounts of radiation have been reported,but the Apollo missions have been quite short.We simply do not know yet howmen are going to get on when they spend weeks and months outside theprotection of the atmosphere,working in a space laboratory.Drugs might helpto decrease the damage done by radiation,but no really effective ones havebeen found so far.21.According to the first paragraph,the atmosphere is essential to man inthat.A)it protects him against the harmful rays from spaceB)it provides sufficient light for plant growthC)it supplies the heat necessary for human survivalD)it screens off the falling meteors22.We know from the passage that_.A)exposure to even tiny amounts of radiation is fatalB)the effect of exposure to radiation is slow in comingC)radiation is avoidable in space explorationD)astronauts in spacesuits needn*t worry about radiation damage23.The harm radiation has done to the Apollo crew members_.A)is insignificantB)seems overestimatedC)is enormousD)remains unknown24.It can be inferred from the passage that_.A)the Apollo mission was very successfulB)protection from space radiation is no easy jobC)astronauts will have deformed children or grandchildrenD)radiation is not a threat to well-protected space explorers25.The best title for this passage would be_.A)The Atmosphere and Our EnvironmentB)Research on RadiationC)Effects of Space RadiationD)Importance of Protection Against RadiationPassage 6Although the United Kingdom covers only a small area of the earths surface,it represents people of many different origins and cultures.Yet all of them areBritish indeed,it would be difficult to find anyone in modern Britain whocould say with certainty that his ancestors had not come to the British Islesfrom somewhere else.Who,then,are todays Britains and what kind of peopleare they?The history of human settlement in Britain goes back to the Stone Agehunters and gatherers who arrived from the European continent about 10,000years ago.The peoples who followed them were settled agriculturalists whokept domestic animals and knew how to make simple pottery.Aroun