英语四级练习资料快速阅读.pdf

Reading Comprehension（Skimming and Scanning）Directions:In this part,you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer thequestions.For questions/7,choose the best answer from the four choices marked A）,B）,C）and D）.For questions 8-10,complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.ONERight and Left-handedness in HumansWhy do human,quite different from the other animal species,display a distinct left orright-handedness?Not even our closest relatives among the apes（猿）possess such decided lateral（横向的）（不对称），as psychologists call it.Yet about 90 per cent of every humanpopulation that has ever lived appears to have been right-handed.Professor Bryan Turner atDeakin University has studied the research literature on left-handedness and found thathandedness goes with sidedness.So nine out of ten people are right-handed and eight areright-footed.He noted that this distinctive asymmetry in the human population is itself systematic.“Humans are able to think about things in categories;black and white,up and down,left and right.Its a system of signs that enables us to categorize phenomena that are essentially ambiguous.The Genetic or Inherited ElementResearch has shown that there is genetic or inherited（继承的）element to handedness.Butwhile left-handedness tends to appear in families,neither left nor right handers will automaticallyproduce children with the same handedness;in fact about 6 per cent of children with tworight-handed parents will be left-handed.However,among two left-handed parents,perhaps 40 percent of the children will also be left-handed.With one right and one left-handed parent,15 to 20per cent of the children will be left-handed.Even among identical twins who have exactly thesame genes,one in six pairs will differ in their handedness.Researchers Turning to the BrainWhat then makes people left-handed if it is not simply because of genetic cause?Otherfactors must be at work and researchers have turned to the brain for clues.In the 1860s the Frenchsurgeon and anthropologist（人类学家），Dr Paul Broca,made the remarkable finding that patientswho had lost their powers of speech as a result of a stroke（a blood clot in the brain）had paralysis（瘫痪）of the right half of their body.He noted that since the left hemisphere（半球）of the braincontrols the right half of the body,and vice versa,the brain damage must have been in the brainsleft hemisphere.Psychologists now believe that among right-handed people,probably 95 per centhave their language centre in the left hemisphere,while 5 per cent have right-sided language.Left-handers,however,do not show the reverse pattern but instead a majority also have theirlanguage centre in the left hemisphere.Some 30 per cent have right hemisphere language.The Evolution of Speech Went with Right-handed PreferenceDr Brinkman,a brain researcher at the Australian National University in Canberra,hassuggested that evolution of speech went with right-handed preference.According to Brinkman,asthe brain evolved,one side became specialized fbr fine control of movement（necessary forproducing speech）and along with this evolution came right-handed preference.According toBrinkman,most left-handers have left hemisphere dominance but also some capacity in the righthemisphere.She has observed that if a left-handed person is brain-dam aged in the left hemisphere,the recovery of speech is quite often better than a right-handed one is.And this is explained by thefact that left-handers have more capacity for speech function in the right hemisphere.In herstudies of macaque monkeys（短尾猴）Brinkman has noticed that primates（monkeys）seem tolearn a hand preference from their mother in the first year of life but this could be one hand or theother.In humans,however,the specialization in function of the two hemispheres results indifferences in the structure of human brain;areas that are involved with the production of speechare usually larger on the left side than on the right.Since monkeys have not acquired the capacityfbr speech,one would not expect to see such a difference,but Brinkman claims to have discovereda trend in monkeys towards the asymmetry that is clearly observed in the human brain.Development of the Brain May Lead to HandednessTwo American researchers,Geschwind and Galaburda,studied the brains of human anddiscovered that the difference between left and right asymmetry exists before birth.But as thebrain develops,a number of things can affect it.Every brain is initially female in its organizationand it only becomes a male brain when the male fetus（胎儿）begins to produce hormones（荷尔蒙）.Geschwind and Galburda knew that different parts of the brain mature at different rates;theright hemisphere develops first,then the left.Moreover,a girls brain develops somewhat fasterthan that of a boy.So,if something happens to the brains development during pregnancy,it ismore likely to be affected in a male and the hemisphere more likely to be involved is the left.Thebrain may become less different and this in turn could result in left-handedness and thedevelopment of certain superior skills that have their origins in the left hemisphere such as logic,rationally and abstraction.It should be no surprise then that among mathematics and architects,left-handers tend to be more common and there are more left-handed males than females.Prejudice against Left-handed PeopleThe results of this research may be some consolation（安慰）to left-handers who have forcenturies lived in a world that is designed to suit right-handed people.However,what is alarming,according to Mr.Charles Moore,a writer and journalist,is the way the word“right“reinforces itsown advantages.加 加，（下意识土 也）he says,language tells people to think that anything on the right canbe trusted while anything on the left is dangerous or even evil.We speak of left-handedadvantages,and on the other hand according to Moore,“it is certain that left-hand,often develop astammer（口 吃）as they are robbed of their freedom of speech.However,as more research isundertaken on the causes of left-handedness,attitudes towards left-handed people are graduallychanging fbr the better.Indeed when the champion tennis player Ivan Lend was asked what theonly factor had improved his game,he said he would like to become a left-hander.1.Lateral asymmetry is a term used by psychologists to refer to the fact t hat.A）there are both left and right handed peopleB）there are distinctive left and right handed peopleC)less than half of the population is left-handedD)the overwhelming number of the people are right-handed2.proposed that handedness goes with sidedness,evidenced by that fact that most peopleare right-handed and right-footed.A)Professor Bryan Turner B)Dr Paul BrocaC)Dr Brinkman D)Geschwind and Galaburda3.With one right and one left-handed p a r e n t,o f the children are likely to be left-handed.A)about 40%B)about 30%C)less than 20%D)less than 15%4.How many of the left-handed people have their language center in the left hemisphere?A)5%B)30%C)70%D)95%5.In case of suffering damage to the left h e m is p h e re,fa r e better in the recovery ofspeech.A)right-handed people B)left-handed peopleC)most right-handed people D)most left-handed people6.What is discovered as the trend in monkeys according to Dr.Brinkman?A)Some monkeys have acquired the capacity for speech.B)Some monkeys display hand preference.C)Monkeys would not develop asymmetry in their brains.D)Monkeys seem to be picking human asymmetry.7.How does the brain develop according to Geschwind and Galaburda?A)The males brain develops faster than the females brain.B)Male brains are more likely to be affected in pregnancy.C)It is hard to determine what affects the growth of the brain.D)Hormones play a decisive role in developing the brain.8.About per cent of children with two right-handed parents will be left-handed.9.With two left-handed parents,about per cent of children will be right-handed.10.The right half of the body is controlled by of the brain.TWOUsing the Mind to Fight DiseasesPsychology has a new application in the field of medicine.Many doctors,together with theirpatients,are looking for alternative methods of treatment of physical problems.In large hospitalsand research centers,modern methods of therapy seem to focus on the physical disease withoutconsidering the patients mental state.Patients may feel that they are being treated impersonally,like broken machines.Some doctors have recognized this as a problem.They are now usingpsychological therapy with patients to use their own minds to fight their diseases.Because thepatient is working with the medicine and the doctors against the disease,his or her attitudechanges.The patient does not wait for the medicine and treatment to cure him or her,but insteadthe patient joins in the fight.Mental therapyThe doctor knows that a disease affects a patients body physically.The body of the patient(in this case,a man)changes because of the disease.He is not only physically affected,but as thephysician knows,he also has an emotional response to the disease.Because his mind is affected,his attitude and behavior change.The medical treatment might cure the patients physicalproblems,but the patients mind must fight the emotional ones.For example,the studies of onedoctor,Carl Simonton,M.D.,have shown that a typical cancer patient(in this case,a woman)haspredictable attitudes.She typically feels depressed,upset,and angry.Her self-image is poor andshe feels self-pity.As a result,her behavior changes.Because of her constant depression,she actsunfriendly toward her family,friends,doctors,and nurses.Such attitudes and behaviors preventthe patient from getting well.Therefore,a doctors treatment must help the patient change herattitudes.Simontons method emphasizes treatment of the whole patient by treating both the bodyand the mind.The attitude of a cancer patient who is receiving radiation therapy,an X-ray treatment,canbecome more positive.The physician who is following Simontons psychological treatment plansuggests that the patient imagine that he or she can see the tumor(肿瘤)in the body.In the mentalpicture,the patient sees a powerful beam of radiation like a million bullets of energy.Thepatient imagines the beam hitting the tumor cells and causing them to shrink.For another cancerpatient,Dr.Simonton might make another suggestion.This patient,with a different kind of cancer,needs to take capsules and pills several times a day.The doctor asks the patient to imagine themedicine going from the stomach into the bloodstream and to the cancer ceils.The patientimagines that the medicine is like an army fighting the diseased cells and sees the cancer cellsgradually dying.His or her blood carries away the dead cells.Both the medical therapy and thepatients positive attitude fight the disease.Doctors are not certain why this mental therapy works.However,this use of psychology doeshelp some patients because their attitudes about themselves change.They become more confidentbecause they use the power within their own minds to help stop the disease.Suggestion therapyAnother application of using the mind to help cure disease is the use of suggestion therapy.Before making the suggestion,the doctor helps the patients to concentrate deeply.The patient(inthis case,a man)thinks only about one thing.He becomes so unaware of other things around himthat he seems to be asleep.He is said to be in trance(昏睡).Then the physician makes”asuggestion“to the patient about the medical problem.The patients mind responds to thesuggestion even after the patient is no longer in the trance.In this way,the patient uses his mind tohelp his body respond to treatment.Suggestion therapy helpful for both adults and childrenDoctors have learned that this use of psychology is helpful for both adults and children.Forexample,physicians have used suggestion to help adults deal with the strong pain of somediseases.Furthermore,sometimes the adult patient(in this case,a woman)worries about herillness so much that the anxiety keeps her from getting well.The right suggestion may help thepatient to stop being anxious.Such treatment may help the patient with a chronic disease.Asthma(哮喘)is an example of a chronic disorder.Asthma is a disease that causes the patient to havedifficulty in breathing.The patient starts to cough and sometimes has to fight to get the air that heor she needs.Psychology can help relieve the symptoms of this disorder.After suggestion therapy,the asthma patient breathes more easily.Physicians have learned that the psychological method is very useful in treating children.Children respond quickly to the treatment because they are fascinated by it.For example,Dr.David R.Collison has worked with 121 asthmatic children in Sydney,Australia,and had goodresults.Twenty-five of the children had excellent results.They were able to breathe more easily,and they did not need medication.Another forty-three were also helped.The symptoms of theasthma occurred less frequently,and when they did,they were not as strong.Most of the childrenalso felt better about themselves.Doctors have also used suggestion to change habits likenail-biting,thumb-sucking and sleep-related problems.Response from the medical worldMany professional medical groups have accepted the medical use of psychology becausethey recognize its value.Nobody knows how suggestion works;however,doctors have learnedthat psychology has important applications in medicine.1.What is the possible fault of modem methods of therapy according to the passage?A)They fail to take into consideration the patients mental state.B)They seem to be confused about the patients mental state.C)They have misunderstanding about the physical disease.D)They have too much concern for the patients mental state.2.Working with the medicine and the doctors,patients are highly likely to experience significantchanges in t he i r.A)physical states B)attitudesC)emotional states D)recovery3.What is NOT mentioned as a predictable attitude of a typical cancer patient?A)Energized.B)Angry.C)Depressed.D)Upset.4.The method advocated by Dr Simonton focuses on.A)treating the patient as a healthy personB)treating the patient like a friendC)treating the whole patient both the body and the mindD)treating the mind of the patient5.The cancer patient is asked to imagine the tumor being attacked by radiation in asprovided by Dr.Simonton.A)a cancer removal operation B)a psychological treatmentC)a suggestion therapy D)a radiation therapy6.It is implied from paragraph four that the reaction of some doctors to the effect of mentaltherapy is g e n e r a l l y.A)affirmative B)suspiciousC)reserved D)supportive7.is a condition that affects the airways of the patient,causing breathing difficulties.A)A trance B)AsthmaC)A tumor D)Mental disorder8.From the last part of the passage,we can see both adults and children can benefit from9.Physicians have found that children make a quick response to suggestion therapy because10.Many professional medica