大学英语技能培训阅读部分练习题.doc

Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)
Passage One
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.
Antarctica has actually become a kind of space station - a unique observation post for detecting important changes in the world’s environment. Remote from major sources of pollution and the complex geological and ecological systems that prevail elsewhere, Antarctica makes possible scientific measurements that are often sharper and easier to interpret than those made in other parts of the world.
Growing numbers of scientists therefore see Antarctica as a distant early warning sensor, where potentially dangerous global trends may be spotted before they show up to the north. One promising field of investigation is glaciology. Scholars from the United States, Switzerland, and France are pursuing seven separate but related projects that reflect their concern for the health of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet - a concern they believe the world at large should share.
The Transantarctic Mountain, some of them more than 14,000 feet high, divide the continent into two very different regions. The part of the continent to the “east” of the mountains is a high plateau covered by an ice sheet nearly two miles thick. “West” of the mountain, the half of the continent south of the Americas is also covered by an ice sheet, but there the ice rests on rock that is mostly well below sea level. If the West Antarctic Ice Sheet disappeared, the western part of the continent would be reduced to a sparse cluster of island.
While ice and snow are obviously central to many environmental experiments, others focus on the mysterious “dry valley” of Antarctica, valleys that contain little ice or snow even in the depths of winter. Slashed through the mountains of southern Victoria land, these valleys once held enormous glaciers that descend 9,000 feet from the polar plateau to the Ross Sea. Now the glaciers are gone, perhaps a casualty of the global warming trend during the 10,000 years since the ice age. Even the snow that falls in the dry valleys is blasted out by vicious winds that roar down from the polar plateau to the sea. Left bare are spectacular gorges, rippled fields of sand dunes, clusters of boulders (大圆石) sculptured into fantastic shapes by 100-mile an hour winds, and an aura of extraterrestrial desolation.
Despite the unearthly aspect of the dry valleys, some scientists believe that they may carry a message of hope for the verdant (草木繁茂的) parts of the earth. Some scientists believe that in some cases the dry valleys may soak up pollutants faster than pollutants enter them.
21. Antarctica is scientifically important in that ____.
A) it is a space station
B) it is an ideal place for the investigation of glaciology
C) there is the mysterious dry valley
D) it can help people detect global environmental changes
22. The reason for the disappearance of glaciers in the dry valley is ____.
A) that they’ve descended to the Ross sea
B) that they’ve been blasted out by vicious winds
C) the global warming trend ever since the ice age
D) that they’ve been changed into gorges, sand dunes and boulders
23. When the author calls Antarctica “distant early warning sensor”, he actually means that ____.
A) such equipment has been set up for scientific purpose
B) the research groups there are like such kind of sensors
C) potential global changes can be seen on Antarctica first
D) Antarctica is remote from other parts of the earth
24. Which of the following statements is true according to the article?
A) There is a cluster of island west of the Transantartic Mountain.
B) Scientific research on Antarctica only centers on the ice and snow there.
C) Dry valleys may be a place to dispose of our pollutants.
D) All the countries on earth should be concerned about the health of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. 25. The word “spotted” (2nd paragraph) can best be replaced by____.
A) placed B) noticed  C) fixed D) judged

Passage Two
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
The Carnegie Foundation report says that many colleges have tried to be “all things to all people”. In doing so, they have increasingly catered to a narrow minded careerism while failing to cultivate a global vision among their students. The current crisis, it contends, does not derive from a legitimate desire to put learning to productive ends. The problem is that in too many academic fields, the work has no context; skills, rather than being means, have become ends. Students are offered a variety of options and allowed to pick their way to a degree. In short, driven by careerism, “the nation’s colleges and universities are more successful in providing credentials (文凭) than in providing a quality education for their students.” The report concludes that the special challenge confronting the undergraduate college is one of shaping an “integrated core” of common learning. Such a core would introduce students to essential knowledge, to connections across the disciplines, and in the end, to application of knowledge to life beyond the campus.”
Although the key to a good college is a high quality faculty, the Carnegie study found that most colleges do very little to encourage good teaching. In fact, they do much to undermine it. As one professor observed: “Teaching is important, we are told, and yet faculty know that research and publication matter most.” Not surprisingly, over the last twenty years colleges and universities have failed to graduate half of their four-year degree candidates. Faculty members who dedicate themselves to teaching soon discover that they will not be granted tenure (终身任期), promotion, or substantial salary increases. Yet 70 percent of all faculty say their interests lie more in teaching than in research.
Additionally, a frequent complaint among young scholars is that “There is pressure to publish, although there is virtually no interest among administrators or colleagues in the content of the publications.”
26. When a college tries to be “all things to all people” (line 1, Para. I), it aims to ____.
A) satisfy the needs of all kinds of students simultaneously
B) focus on training students in various skills
C) encourage all sorts of people to attend college
D) make learning serve academic rather than productive ends
27. The word “core” (line 8, 1st paragraph) might mean____.
A) aim  B) unit C) center D) course
28. One of the reasons for the current crisis in American colleges and universities is that ____.
A) a narrow vocationalism has come to dominate many colleges
B) students don’t have enough freedom in choosing what they want to learn
C) skills are being taught as a means to an end
D) students are not interested in learning
29. American colleges and universities failed to graduate half of their four year degree candidates because ____.
A) most of them lack high quality faculties
B) students are becoming more and more lazy
C) there are not enough incentives for students to study hard
D) they attach greater importance to research and publication than to teaching
30. It can be inferred from the passage that high quality college education calls for ____
A) high quality faculties
B) a commitment to students and effective teaching
C) the cultivation of students’ interest in learning
D) dedication to research in frontier areas of knowledge

Passage Three
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
The U.S. birthrate began to decline in the middle 1950’s, resulting in a smaller college age population starting in the middle 1970’s.S4 Something else happened in the 1970’s: the price of oil increased tremendously, driving up the price of almost everything and making Americans aware that their large automobiles used a lot of gasoline. At the same time, foreign car manufacturers had begun to produce small fuel efficient cars in large quantities for the export market. Suddenly, the large, gas guzzling American cars were no longer attractive to American buyers, who began buying foreign cars by the thousands. The American automobile industry went into a recession.
Thousands of automotive workers were laid off, as were thousands of people in industries indirectly connected with the auto industry. People who are laid off tend to keep what money they have for necessities, like food and housing. They do not have the extra money needed to send their children to college. Their children cannot pay their own college costs, because during a recession they cannot find jobs. High unemployment means that more state funds must be used for social service - unemployment benefits and to aid dependent children, for example - than during more prosperous times. It also means that the states have fewer funds than usual, because people are paying fewer taxes. Institutions of higher education depend on two major sources of income to keep them functioning: tuition from students and funds from the states. At the present time, there are fewer students than in the past and fewer state funds available for higher education. The colleges and universities are in trouble.
31. What is the main idea of this passage?
A) The rising of oil price drove up the price of everything.
B) There were many reasons why higher education was in trouble in the 1970’s.
C) Birthrate began to decline in the USA in 1950’s.
D) High unemployment caused a lot of social problems.
32. The phrase “laid off” can best be replaced by which of the following?
A) Poor . B) Got rid of. C) Removed.  D) Unemployed.
33. American cars were not popular in their domestic markets because they were____.
A) small B) gas consuming C) fuel efficient D) not attractive
34. The colleges and universities were in trouble because of the following reasons except that ____.
A) they couldn’t get enough income to keep them running
B) young people couldn’t afford the tuition fees
C) keeping them running at the same level would cost much more
D) social services need more state funds because of the recession
35. All of the following statements are true EXCEPT ____.
A) young people couldn’t afford their own tuition in the 1970’s
B) it’s difficult for graduates from colleges to find a job in the 1970’s
C) fewer parents could afford to send their children to college because of the recession in 1970’s D) Birthrate dropped in the 1970’s because of the recession

Passage Four
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.
Within fifteen years Britain and other nations should be well on with the building of huge industrial complexes for the recycling of waste. The word rubbish could lose its meaning because everything that goes into the dumps would be made into something useful. Even the most dangerous and unpleasant wastes would provide energy if nothing else.
The latest project is to take a city of around half a million inhabitants and discover exactly what raw materials go into it and what go out. The aim is to find out how much of these raw materials could be provided if a plant for recycling waste were built just outside the city. This plant would recycle not only metal such as steel, lead and copper, but also paper and rubber as well.
Another new project is being set up to discover the best ways of sorting and separating the rubbish. When this project is complete, the rubbish will be processed like this: first, it will pass through sharp metal bars which will tear open the plastic bags in which rubbish is usually packed; then it will pass through a powerful fan to separate the lightest elements from the heavy solids; after that grounders and rollers break up everything that can be broken. Finally the rubbish will pass under magnets, which will remove the bits of iron and steel; the rubber and plastic will then be sorted out in the final stage.
The first full-scale giant recycling plants are, perhaps, fifteen years away. Indeed, with the growing cost of transporting rubbish to more distant dumps, some big cities will be forced to build their own recycling plants before long.
36. The main purpose of the passage is ____.
A) to show us a future way of recycling wastes
B) to tell the importance of recycling wastes
C) to warn people the danger of some wastes
D) to introduce a new recycling plant
37. How many stages are there in the recycling process?
A) 3. B) 4. C) 5. D) 6.
38. What is the main reason for big cities to build their own recycling plants?
A) To deal with wastes in a better way.
B) It’s a good way to gain profits.
C) It’s more economical than to dump wastes in some distant places.
D) Energy can be got at a lower price.
39. The first full-scale huge recycling plants ____.
A) have been in existence for 15 years B) takes 15 years to build
C) can’t be built until 15 years later D) will remain functioning for 15 years
40. Which of the following statements is true?
A) The word “rubbish” will soon disappear from dictionaries.
B) Dangerous wastes can be recycled into nothing but energy.
C) To recycle paper and rubber will still be impossible even with the new recycling methods.
D) Big cities will soon have their own recycling plants.

Part Ⅲ Vocabulary and Structure (20 minutes)
41. You ____ her in office last Friday; She’s been out of town for two weeks.
A) needn’t have seen  B) might have seen
C) must have seen D) can’t have seen
42. This candidate has far more chances of winning the election than ____ recommended by the organizer.
A) that B) the one  C) whom D) one
43.____ difficult it is to surmount the obstacles, we’re bound to achieve our goal.
A) As B) How C) So D) However
44. Many a time ____ not to play with fire but he turns a deaf ear to the warnings.
A) the child being told B) the child has been told
C) has been told the child D) has the child been told
45. He ____ writing the paper now. He hadn’t written a single word when I left him ten minutes ago. A) shouldn’t be B) can’t have finished
C) can’t be D) mustn’t have finished
46. Isn’t it lovely to think that I ____ myself on the sunny beach tomorrow at this time.
A) will enjoy B) am enjoying C) will be enjoying D) shall enjoy
47. Don’t you know it’s the first time he ____ this kind of meeting?
A) attends B) attended C) has attended D) is attending
48. If you ____ my advice, you ____ your failure now. You ____ your victory.
A) took ... wouldn’t cry over ... would celebrate
B) had taken ... wouldn’t h