专四阅读理解练习.docx

练习一1. Racket, din clamor, noise, whatever you want to call it, unwanted sound is Americas most widespread nuisance. But noise is more than just a nuisance. It constitutes a real and present danger to peoples health. Day and night, at home, at work, and at play, noise can produce serious physical and psychological stress. No one is immune to this stress. Though we seem to adjust to noise by ignoring it, the ear, in fact, never closes and the body still respondssometimes with extreme tension, as to a strange sound in the night.The annoyance we feel when faced with noise is the most common outward symptom of the stress building up inside us. Indeed, because irritability is so apparent, legislators have made public annoyance the basis of many noise abatement programs. The more subtle and more serious health hazards associated with stress caused by noise traditionally have been given much less attention. Nevertheless, when we are annoyed or made irritable by noise, we should consider these symptoms fair warning that other thing may be happening to us, some of which may be damaging to our health.Of many health hazards to noise, hearing loss is the most clearly observable and measurable by health professionals. The other hazards are harder to pin down. For many of us, there may be a risk that exposure to the stress of noise increases susceptibility to disease and infection. The more susceptible among us may experience noise as a complicating factor in heart problems and other diseases. Noise that causes annoyance and irritability in health persons may have serious consequences for these already ill in mind or body.Noise affects us throughout our lives. For example, there are indications of effects on the unborn child when mothers are exposed to industrial and environmental noise. During infancy and childhood, youngsters exposed to high noise levels may have trouble falling asleep and obtaining necessary amounts of rest.Why, then, is there not greater alarm about these dangers? Perhaps it is because the link between noise and many disabilities or diseases has not yet been conclusively demonstrated. Perhaps it is because we tend to dismiss annoyance as a price to pay for living in the modern world. It may also be because we still think of hearing loss as only an occupational hazard.1.In Paragraph 1, the phrase “immune to” are used to mean _.A.unaffected byB.hurt byC.unlikely to be seen byD.unknown by2.The authors attitude toward noise would best be described as _.A.unrealisticB.traditionalC.concernedD.hysterical3.Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage?A.Noise is a major problem; most people recognize its importance.B.Although noise can be annoying, it is not a major problem.C.Noise is a major problem and has not yet been recognized as such.D.Noise is a major problem about which nothing can be done.4.The author condemns noise essentially because it _.A.is against the lawB.can make some people irritableC.is a nuisanceD.in a ganger to peoples health5.The author would probably consider research about the effects noise has on people to be _.A.unimportantB.impossible.C.a waste of moneyD.essential2. The case for college has been accepted without question for more than a generation. All high school graduates ought to go, says conventional wisdom and statistical evidence, because college will help them earn more money, become “better” people, and learn to be more responsible citizens than those who dont go.But college has never been able to work its magic for everyone. And now that close to half our high school graduates are attending, those who dont fit the pattern are becoming more numerous, and more obvious. College graduates are selling shoes and driving taxis; college students interfere with each others experiments and write false letters of recommendation in the intense competition for admission to graduate school. Other find no stimulation in their studies, and drop outoften encouraged by college administrators.Some observers say the fault is with the young people themselvesthey are spoiled and they are expecting too much. But that is a condemnation of the students as a whole, and doesnt explain all campus unhappiness. Others blame the state of the world, and they are partly right. We have been told that young people have to go to college because our economy cant absorb an army of untrained eighteen-year-olds. But disappointed graduates are learning that it can no longer absorb an army of trained twentytwo-year-olds, either.Some adventuresome educators and watchers have openly begun to suggest that college may not be the best, the proper, the only place for every young person after the completion of high school. We may have been looking at all those surveys and statistics upside down, it seems, and through the rosy glow of our own remembered college experiences. Perhaps college doesnt make people intelligent, ambitious, happy, liberal, or quick to learn thingsmay it is just the other way around, and intelligent, ambitious, happy, liberal, quick-learning people are merely the ones who have been attracted to college in the first place. And perhaps all those successful college graduates would have been successful whether they had gone to college or not. This is heresy to those of us who have been brought up to believe that if a little schooling is good, more has to be much better. But contrary evidence is beginning to mount up.1.According to the author, _.A.people used to question the value of college education.B.people used to have full confidence in higher education.C.all high school graduates went to college.D.very few high school graduates chose to go to college.2.In the 2nd paragraph, “those who dont fit the pattern” refer to_.A.high school graduates who arent suitable for college education.B.college graduates who are selling shoes and driving taxis.C.college students who arent any better for their higher education.D.high school graduates who failed to be admitted to college.3.The dropout rate of college students seems to go up because_.A.young people are disappointed with the conventional way of teaching at college.B.many people are required to join the army.C.young people have little motivation in pursuing a higher education.D.young people dont like the intense competition for admission to graduate school.4.According to the passage, the problems of college education partly originate in the fact that_.A.society cannot provide enough jobs for properly trained graduates.B.High school graduates do not fit the pattern of college education.C.Too many students have to earn their own living.D.College administrators encourage students to drop out.5.In this passage the author argues that_.A.more and more evidence shows college education may not be the best thing for high school graduates.B.College education is not enough if one wants to be successful.C.College education benefits only the intelligent, ambitious, and quick-learning people.D.Intelligent people may learn quicker if they dont go to college.3. What we know of prenatal development makes all this attempt made by a mother to mold the character of her unborn child by studying poetry, art, or mathematics during pregnancy seem utterly impossible. How could such extremely complex influences pass from the mother to the child? There is no connection between their nervous systems. Even the blood vessels of mother and child do not join directly. An emotional shock to the mother will affect her child because it changes the activity of her glands and so the chemistry her blood. Any chemical change in the mothers blood will affect the child for better or worse. But we can not see how a looking for mathematics or poetic genius can be dissolved in blood and produce a similar liking or genius in the child.In our discussion of instincts we saw that there was reason to believe that whatever we inherit must be of some very simple sort rather than any complicated or very definite kind of behavior. It is certain that no one inherits a knowledge of mathematics. It may be, however, that children inherit more or less of a rather general ability that we may call intelligence. If very intelligent children become deeply interested in mathematics, they will probably make a success of that study.As for musical ability, it may be that what is inherited is an especially sensitive ear, a peculiar structure of the hands or the vocal organs connections between nerves and muscles that make it comparatively easy to learn the movements a musician must execute, and particularly vigorous emotions. If these factors are all organized around music, the child may become a musician. The same factors, in other circumstance might be organized about some other center of interest. The rich emotional equipment might find expression in poetry. The capable fingers might develop skill in surgery. It is not the knowledge of music that is inherited, then nor even the love of it, but a certain bodily structure that makes it comparatively easy to acquire musical knowledge and skill. Whether that ability shall be directed toward music or some other undertaking may be decided entirely by forces in the environment in which a child grows up.1. Which of the following statements is not true?A. Some mothers try to influence their unborn children by studying art and other subjects during their pregnancy.B. It is utterly impossible for us to learn anything about prenatal development.C. The blood vessels of mother and child do not join directly.D. There are no connection between mothers nervous systems and her unborn childs.2. A mother will affect her unborn baby on the condition that _.A. she is emotionally shockedB. she has a good knowledge of inheritanceC. she takes part in all kind of activitiesD. she sticks to studying3. According to the passage, a child may inherit_.A. everything from his motherB. a knowledge of mathematics C. a rather general ability that we call intelligenceD. her mothers musical ability4. If a child inherits something from his mother, such as an especially sensitive ear, a peculiar structure of the hands or of the vocal organs, he will _.A. surely become musicianB. mostly become a poetC. possibly become a teacherD. become a musician on the condition that all these factors are organized around music5. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?A. Role of Inheritance. B. An Unborn Child.C. Function of instincts. D. Inherited Talents.4. Which is safer-staying at home, traveling to work on public transport, or working in the office? Surprisingly, each of these carries the same risk, which is very low. However, what about flying compared to working in the chemical industry? Unfortunately, the former is 65 times riskier than the latter! In fact, the accident rate of workers in the chemical industry is less than that of almost any of human activity, and almost as safe as staying at home.The trouble with the chemical industry is that when things go wrong they often cause death to those living nearby. It is this which makes chemical accidents so newsworthy. Fortunately, they are extremely rare. The most famous ones happened at Texas City (1947),Flixborough (1974), Seveso (1976), Pemex (1984) and Bhopal (1984).Some of these are always in the minds of the people even though the loss of life was small. No one died at Seveso, and only 28 workers at Flixborough. The worst accident of all was Bhopal, where up to 3,000 were killed. The Texas City explosion of fertilizer killed 552. The Pemex fire at a storage plant for natural gas in the suburbs of Mexico City took 542 lives, just a month before the unfortunate event at Bhopal.Some experts have discussed these accidents and used each accident to illustrate a particular danger. Thus the Texas City explosion was caused by tons of ammonium nitrate（硝酸铵）,which is safe unless stored in great quantity. The Flixborough fireball was the fault of management, which took risks to keep production going during essential repairs. The Seveso accident shows what happens if the local authorities lack knowledge of the danger on their doorstep. When the poisonous gas drifted over the town, local leaders were incapable of taking effective action. The Pemex fire was made worse by an overloaded site in an overcrowded suburb. The fire set off a chain reaction os exploding storage tanks. Yet, by a miracle, the two largest tanks did not explode. Had these caught fire, then 3,000 strong rescue team and fire fighters would all have died.1.Which of the following statements is true? A.Working at the office is safer than staying at home. B.Traverlling to work on public transport is safer than working at the office. C.Staying at home is safer than working in the chemical industry. D.Working in the chemical industry is safer than traveling by air.2.Chemical accidents are usually important enough to be reported as news because _. A.they are very rare B.they often cause loss of life C.they always occur in big cities D.they arouse the interest of all the readers3.According to passage, the chemical accident that caused by the fault of management happened at _. A.Texas city B.Flixborough C.Seveso D.Mexico City4.From the passage we know that ammonium nitrate is a kind of _. A.natural gas, which can easily catch fire B.fertilizer, which cant be stored in a great quantity C.poisonous substance, which cant be used in overcrowded areas D.fuel, which is stored in large tanks5.From the discussion among some experts we may coclude that _. A.to avoid any accidents we should not repair the facilities in chemical industry B.the local authorities should not be concerned with the production of the chemical industry C.all these accidents could have been avoided or controlled if effective measure had been taken D.natural gas stored in very large tanks is always safe练习二1. Chinese Americans today have higher incomes than Americans in general and higher occupational status. The Chinese have risen to this position despite some of the harshest discrimination and violence faced by any immigrants to the United States in the history of this country. Long confined to a narrow range of occupations they succeeded in those occupations and then spread out into other areas in later years, when opportunities finally opened up for them. Today much of the Chinese prosperity is due to the simple fact that they work more and have more (usually better) education than others. Almost one out of five Chinese families has three or more income earners compared to one out of thirteen for Puerto Ricans, one out of ten among American Indians, and one out of e