高级英语自学考试练习题三.doc

2011年高级英语自学考试练习题三
PartⅠ Vocabulary(20%)
Directions A: There are 10 incomplete sentences in this section. For each sentence there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one answer that best completes the sentence.
1. ______ friends helped him to get appointed ambassador to France.（ ）
A. Efficient B. Influential
C. Impressive D. Effective
2. When you go abroad to study or work, you must ______new customs.（ ）
A. address yourself to B. adapt yourself to
C. replace yourself with D. convince yourself to
3. Nothing will stop us in our ______ for truth.（ ）
A. request B. appeal
C. quest D. query
4. Examinations are not the only means of ______a student’s ability.（ ）
A. assuming B. asserting
C. assigning D. assessing
5. It was a shrewd move______ to buy the house just before property prices started to rise.
（ ）
A. on her part B. at hand
C. at her expense D. on record
6. The behavior of this animal in hot weather is a ______that scientists are finding difficult to solve.（ ）
A. myth B. mystery
C. dispute D. fantasy
7. They tried to collect all the pictures they could ______ .（ ）
A. lay their hands on B. capitalize on
C. wash their hands of D. make the best of
8. There is little ______ that she will make a full recovery.（ ）
A. promise B. likelihood
C. foresight D. announcement
9. Mrs. Smith had ______ debts totally more than $20,000 when she died.（ ）
A. gone round with B. figured out
C. run up D. bound up with
10. It is ______to talk about these pop singers. People are now showing great interest in football.
（ ）
A. out of sorts B. out of line
C. out of order D. out of fashion
Directions B: There are 10 sentences in this section. In each sentence there is a word or phrase underlined. Below each sentence there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one answer that can replace the underlined part of each sentence without changing its original meaning.
11. The lawyer was on the track of new proof in the case, and he was sure of his convincing the jury in court.（ ）
A. testing the truth B. on the topic of
C. looking for D. asked for
12. The company is crying out for efficient executives to get it out of the crisis.（ ）
A. is missing B. badly needs
C. is grieving for D. sympathizes with
13. After such a confrontation between the two parties, any reconciliation would be out of the question.（ ）
A. within question B. impossible
C. without question D. possible
14. Strangely, Bill keeps his office neat as a pin, while his home is always in a state of chaos.
（ ）
A. disorder B. clarity
C. chorus D. charity
15. The work is not very profitable in terms of money, but I’m getting valuable experience out of it.（ ）
A. regardless of B. in regard to
C. in spite of D. in case of
16. Although he funded several health research institutions, he was first and last an engineer.
（ ）
A. in brief B. in short
C. at least D. all in all
17. The problem can be solved only if we are willing to compromise.（ ）
A. give up something B. work hand in hand
C. forgive each other D. support each other
18. The two partners will never reach an agreement if one does not modify its demands.
（ ）
A. clarify B. identify
C. neglect D. change
19. The dispute finally came down to a question of which side should be responsible for the loss.
（ ）
A. was passed along to B. was faced by
C. was reduced to D. was judged by
20. That was a wonderful experience, I never expected to come my way.（ ）
A. stand my way B. belong to me
C. get under my control D. happen to me
Part II Cloze (10%)Directions: There are 20 blanks in the following passage. For each blank there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the ONE that best fits into the passage.
The fact is significant. To what is it 1 ? In part, I suppose, to a general increase in 2 . The rich have always 3 their personal appearance. The 4 of wealth — such as it is — now allows those of the 5 who are less 6 than their fathers to do the same.

· The 7 of aging and eventual death must ultimately be accepted as the natural 8 of the life cycle, the old 9 their prescribed life spans and 10 way for the young. Much that is 11 in old age in fact derives from the reality of aging and the 12 of death.

· News of Harlem rioting 13 the multi-national student 14 there. The typical European 15 was unlike anything I had seen before. They had no homes or businesses to worry about proecting. They want to know why Negroes did not riot more often. 16 the only Negro in the summer 17 I felt embarrassed for a time. I was embarrassed because I did not have any 18 .

· The investigation was not 19 so that veterans could 20 out their hearts or purge their souls; it was done to prove that the policy of the U.S. in Indochina is tantamount to genocide, and that not only the soldiers are responsible for what is happening, but that everyone here in America is responsible.

A. answers
E. completing
I. due
M. making
Q. prosperity
U. session
B. As
F. cultivated
J. for
N. poor
R. purge
V. spill
C. badly off
G. diffusion
K. imminence
O. process
S. unique
W. staged
D. community
H. done
L. jolted
P. progression
T. response
X. to

Part III Reading Comprehension (40%)
Directions: There are four passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Read each passage carefully and decide on the best answer.
Passage One
Henry Ford, the famous U. S. inventor and car manufacturer, once said, “The business of America is business.” By this he meant that the U. S. way of life is based on the values of the business world.
Few would argue with Ford’s statement. A brief glimpse at a daily newspaper vividly shows how much people in the United States think about business. For example, nearly every newspaper has a business section, in which the deals and projects, finances and management, stock prices and labor problems of corporations are reported daily. In addition, business news can appear in every other section. Most national news has an important financial aspect to it. Welfare, foreign aid, the federal budget, and the policies of the Federal Reserve Bank are all heavily affected by business. Moreover, business news appears in some of the unlikeliest places. The world of arts and entertainment is often referred to as “the entertainment industry” or “show business”.
The positive side of Henry Ford’s statement can be seen in the prosperity that business has brought to U. S. life. One of the most important reasons why so many people from all over the world come to live in the United States is the dream of a better job. Jobs are produced in abundance (大量地) because the U. S. economic system is driven by competition. People believe that this system creates wealth, more jobs, and a materially better way of life.
The negative side of Henry Ford’s statement, however, can be seen when the word business is taken to mean big business. And the term big business -- referring to the biggest companies, is seen in opposition to labor. Throughout U. S. history working people have had to fight hard for higher wages, better working conditions, and the right to form unions. Today, many of the old labor disputes are over, but there is still some employee anxiety. Downsizing--- the laying off of thousands of workers to keep expenses low and profits high --- creates feelings of insecurity for many.
41. The United States is a typical country______.（ ）
A. where all businesses are managed scientifically
B. which encourages free trade at home and abroad
C. which normally works according to the federal budget
D. where people’s chief concern is how to make money
42. The influence of business in the U. S. is evidenced by the fact that ______.（ ）
A. most newspapers are run by big businesses
B. even arts and entertainment are regarded as business
C. Americans of all professions know how to do business
D. even public organizations concentrate on working for profits
43. According to the passage, immigrants choose to settle in the U. S., dreaming that ______.
（ ）
A. they will make a fortune overnight there
B. they can be more competitive in business
C. they can start profitable business there
D. they will find better chances of employment
44. Henry Ford’s statement can be taken negatively because ______. （ ）
A. there is a conflicting relationship between big corporations and labor
B. there are many industries controlled by few big capitalists
C. public services are not run by the federal government
D. working people are discouraged to fight for their rights
45. A company’s efforts to keep expenses low and profits high may result in ______ .
（ ）
A. a rise in workers’ wages
B. improvement of working conditions
C. reduction in the number of employees
D. fewer disputes between labor and management
Passage Two
It’s no secret that many children would be healthier and happier with adoptive parents than with the parents that nature dealt them. That’s especially true of children who remain in abusive homes because the law blindly favors biological parents. It’s also true of children who suffer for years in foster homes (收养孩子的家庭) because of parents who can’t or won’t care for them but refuse to give up custody (监护) rights.
Fourteen-year-old Kimberly Mays fits neither description, but her recent court victory could eventually help children who do. Kimberly has been the object of an angry custody battle between the man who raised her and her biological parents, with whom she has never lived. A Florida judge ruled that the teenager can remain with the only father she’s ever known and that her biological parents have “no legal claim” on her.
The ruling, though it may yet be reversed, sets aside the principle that biology is the primary determinant of parentage. That’s an important development, one that’s long overdue.
Shortly after birth in December 1978, Kimberly Mays and another infant were mistakenly switched and sent home with the wrong parents. Kimberly’s biological parents, Ernest and Regina Twigg, received a child who died of a heart disease in 1988. Medical tests showed that the child wasn’t the Twigg’s own daughter, but Kimberly was, thus sparking a custody battle with Robert Mays. In 1989, the two families agreed that Mr. Mays would maintain custody with the Twiggs getting visiting rights. Those rights were ended when Mr. Mays decided that Kimberly was being harmed.
The decision to leave Kimberly with Mr. Mays rendered her suit debated. But the judge made clear that Kimberly did have standing to sue (起诉) on her own behalf. Thus he made clear that she was more than just property to be handled as adults saw fit.
Certainly, the biological link between parent and child is fundamental. But biological parents aren’t always preferable to adoptive ones, and biological parentage does not convey an absolute ownership that cancels all the rights of children.
46. What was the primary consideration in the Florida judge’s ruling?（ ）
A. The traditional practice. B. The parents’ feelings.
C. The biological link. D. The child’s benefits.
47. We can learn from the Kimberly case that ______.（ ）
A. foster homes bring children more pain and suffering than care
B. the biological link between parent and child should be emphasized
C. children are more than just personal possessions of their parents
D. biological parents shouldn’t claim custody rights after their child is adopted
48. The Twiggs claimed custody rights to Kimberly because ______.（ ）
A. they regarded her as their property
B. they were her biological parents
C. they felt guilty about their past mistake
D. they found her unhappy in Mr. Mays’ custody
49. Kimberly had been given to Mr. Mays ______.（ ）
A. for better care B. out of charity
C. by sheer accident D. at his request
50. The author’s attitude towards the judge’s ruling could be described as ______ .
（ ）
A. critical B. cautious
C. doubtful D. supportive
Passage Three
Professor Smith recently persuaded 35 people, 23 of them were women, to keep a diary of all their absent-minded actions for a fortnight. When he came to analyse their embarrassing lapses (差错) in a scientific report, he was surprised to find that nearly all of them fell into a few groupings. Nor did the lapses appear to be entirely random (随机的).
One of the women, for instance, on leaving her house for work one morning threw her dog her earrings and tried to fix a dog biscuit on her ear. “The explanation for this is that the brain is like a computer,” explains the professor. “People programme themselves to do certain activities regularly. It was the woman’s custom every morning to throw her dog two biscuits and then put on her earrings. But somehow the action got reversed in the programme.” About one in twenty of the incidents the volunteers reported were these “programme assembly failures.”
Altogether the volunteers logged 433 unintentional actions that they found themselves doing --- an average of twelve each. There appears to be peak periods in the day when we are at our zaniest (荒谬可笑的). These are two hours some time between eight a.m. and noon, between four and six p.m. with a smaller peak between eight and ten p.m. “Among men the peak seems to be when a changeover in brain ‘programmes’ occurs, as for instance between going to and from work.” Women on average reported slightly more lapses --- 12.5 compared with 10.9 for men --- probably because they were more reliable reporters.
A startling finding of the research is that the absent-minded activity is a hazard of doing things in which we are skilled. Normally, you would expect that skill reduces the number of errors we make. But trying to avoid silly slips by concentrating more could make things a lot worse --- even dangerous.
51. In his study Professor Smith asked the subjects ______ .（ ）
A. to analyse their awkward experiences scientifically
B. to keep a record of what they did unintentionally
C. to keep track of people who tend to forget things
D. to report their embarrassing lapses at random
52. Professor Smith discovered that ______.（ ）
A. many people were too embarrassed to admit their absent-mindedness
B. men tend to be more absent-minded than women
C. absent-mindedness is an excusable human weakness
D. certain patterns can be identified in the recorded incidents
53. “Programme assembly failures” (Line 7, Para. 2) refers to the phenomenon that people ______.（ ）
A. are likely to mess things up if they are too tired
B. tend to make mistakes when they are in a hurry
C. often fail to programme their routines beforehand
D. unconsciously ch