1、英语阅读(二)自考题-19 及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、BPART ONE/B(总题数：0，分数：0.00)二、B(总题数：0，分数：0.00)三、BPassage One/B(总题数：1，分数：10.00)Lets take the orthodox definition of the word bargain. It is something offered at a low and advantageous price. It is an opportunity to buy something at a lower price than it is rea
2、lly worth. A more recent definition is: a bargain is a dirty trick to extort money from the pockets of silly and innocent people.I have never attended a large companys board meeting in my life, but I feel certain that discussion often takes the following lines. The cost of producing a newfor example
3、toothpaste would make 80p the decent price for it, so we will market it at 1.20. It is not a bad toothpaste (not specially good either, but not bad), and as people like to try new things it will sell well to start with; but the attraction of novelty soon fades, so sales will fall. When that starts t
4、o happen we will reduce the price to 1.15. And we will rush to buy it even though it still costs forty-three per cent more than its fair price.Sometimes it is not 5p OFF but 1p OFF. What breathtaking impertinence to advertise 1p OFF your soap or washing powder or dog food or whatever. Even the poore
5、st old-age pensioner ought to regard this as an insult, but he doesnt. A bargain must not be missed. To be offered a “gift“ of one penny is like being invited to dinner and offered one single pea (tastily cooked), and nothing else. Even if it represented a real reduction it would be an insult. Still
6、 people say, one has to have washing powder (or whatever) and one might as well buy it a penny cheaper. When I was a boy in Hungary a man was accused of murdering someone for the sake of one pengo, the equivalent of a shilling, and pleaded guilty. The judge was outraged, “To kill a man for a shilli
7、ng!. What can you say in your defense?“ The murderer replied: “A shilling here., a shilling there.“ And thats what todays shopper says, too: “A penny here,., a penny there.“The real danger starts when utterly unnecessary things become “bargains“. There is a huge number who just cannot resist bargain
8、s and sales. Provided they think they are getting a bargain they will buy clothes they will never wear, furniture they have no space for. Old ladies will buy roller-skates and nonsmokers will buy pipe-cleaners. And I once heard of a man who bought an electric circular saw as a bargain and cut off tw
9、o of his fingers the next day. But he had no regrets: the saw had been truly cheap.Quite a few people actually believe that they make money on such bargains. A lady I know, otherwise a charming and seemingly sane girl, sometimes tells me stories such as this: “I have had a lucky day today. I bought
10、a dress for 120, reduction from 400; I bought a suitcase for 40, reduced from 120 and I bought a beautiful Persian carpet for 600, reduced from 900.“ Perhaps she may add vaguely that she has been a trifle extravagant, but it will never occur to her that she actually wasted 760. She feels as though s
11、he has made 600. She also feels, I am sure, that if she had more time for shopping, she could make a living out of it.Some people buy in bulk because it is cheaper. At certain moments New Zealand lamb chops may be 3p cheaper if you buy half a ton of them, so people rush to buy a freezer just to find
12、 out later that it is too small to hold half a ton of New Zealand lamb. I once knew a couple who could not resist buying sugar in bulk. They thought it a tremendous bargain, not to be missed, so they bought enough sugar for their lifetime and the lifetime of their children and grandchildren. When th
13、e sugar arrived they didnt know where to store ituntil they realized that their loo was a very spacious one. So that was where they piled up their sugar. Not only did their guests feel rather strange whenever they were offered sugar to put into their coffee, but the loo became extremely sticky.To of
14、fer bargains is a commercial trick to make the poor poorer. When greedy fools fall for this trick, it serves them fight. All the same, if bargains were prohibited by law our standard of living would immediately rise by 7.39 per cent.（分数：10.00）(1).The word “bargain“ in a common sense means _. A. buyi
15、ng something at lower price B. paying the seller the affordable price C. refusing to pay when the price is high D. buying something at higher price（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(2).The toothpaste at 80p is marketed with a price at 1.20 because _. A. 1.20 is not an affordable price for common people B. the seller
16、 wants to make the most benefits out of this product C. it will sell well first, then the sales will fall after some time D. the seller could earn benefits from other expensive products（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(3).The main idea of Para. 4 is _. A. people love to buy products at a bargain price B. there is a
17、 risk for people to buy products blindly C. the number of people who buy bargains is rising D. it is harmful for people to buy bargained goods（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(4).The example of the girl who “actually wasted 760“ is to prove that _. A. people like to buy cheap stuff to save their money B. the girl i
18、s stupid on purchasing what she needs C. people actually make lots of money on bargains D. bargains are actually tricks which many people dont realize（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(5).What is the authors attitude towards bargain? _ A. Approving. B. Opposing. C. Indifferent. D. Neutral.（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.四、BPassage
19、 Two/B(总题数：1，分数：10.00)In the old days, when a glimpse of stockings was looked upon as something far too shocking to distract the serious work of an office, secretaries were men.Then came the First World War and the male secretaries were replaced by women. A mans secretary became his personal servant
20、 charged with remembering his wifes birthday and buying her presents; taking his suits to dry-cleaners; telling lies on the telephone to keep people he did not wish to speak to at bay; and, of course, typing and filing and taking short-hand.Now all this may be changing again. The microchip (集成块) an
21、d high technology is sweeping the British office, taking with it much better of the routine clerical work that secretaries did.“Once office technology takes over generally, the status of the job will rise again because it will involve only the high-powered workand then men will want to do it again.“
22、That was said by one of the executives (male) of one of the biggest secretarial agencies in this country. What he has predicted is already under way in the U. S.Once high technology has made the job of secretary less routine, will there be a male takeover?Men should beware of thinking that they can
23、walk right into better jobs. There are a lot of women secretaries who will do the job as well as theynot just because they can buy negligees (妇女长睡衣) for the bosss wife, but because they are as efficient and well-trained to cope with word processors and computers as men.（分数：10.00）(1).Before 1914 fema
24、le secretaries were rare because they _. A. were less efficient than men B. were not as serious as men C. liked stockings D. would have disturbed other office workers（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(2).Besides fulfilling other duties, a female secretary was expected to _. A. be her bosss memory B. clean her bosss
25、clothes C. do what her boss asked her to D. telephone her bosss wife（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(3).Secretaries, until recently, had to do a lot of work now done by _. A. machines B. other staff C. servants D. wives（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(4).A secretary in the future will _. A. be better paid B. have higher status C
26、 have less work to do D. have more work to do（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(5).The writer believes that before long _. A. both men and women will be qualified secretaries B. men will be better than machines C. men will take over womens jobs as secretaries D. women will operate most office machines（分数：2.00）A.B.C
27、D.五、BPassage Three(总题数：1，分数：10.00)Spelunking has been called “mountain climbing upside and down in the dark“. However, this description is not entirely accurate. The mountain climber knows where he is going. He climbs a mountain because it is there. A spelunker, on the other hand, doesnt know what
28、is there. All he sees when he enters a wild cave is a hole in the surface of the eartha very dark hole. Once he gets inside he may find it runs only a few hundred feet or, like one cave in Switzerland, more than 35 miles. He may find big hall, subway like tunnels rivers or strange and beautiful lime
29、stone formations.Some spelunkers have become famous for their discoveries. Several years ago Norbert Castreet, a Frenchman, was exploring a cave that had a rapidly flowing underground river. He followed the river until it went under a cave wall and disappeared. Wearing a bathing suit and a rubber ca
30、p, he dived into the river. He surfaced on the other side of the cave wall and found a huge hall untouched and undisturbed for tens of thousands of years.My wife and I became spelunkers almost by accident. We were driving down the Pan-American Highway to Mexico City when I noticed several black open
31、ings up in the mountains near the road. I stopped and asked what they were, and learned that they were a network of large caves. Following a guide, we were climbing slowly up the mountain. When we reached the top, a large opening appeared under an overhanging cliff. Inside was a smaller hole covered
32、 by a wooden door. Taking a gasoline lamp in one hand, the guide opened the door. We followed him down the smooth cement steps. Strange shapes moved on the walls as his lamp swung back and forth at each step.This was a limestone cave, formed hundreds of thousands of years ago by the slow dripping of
33、 water through the cracks of the rock. The guide pointed out formations that looked like horses, tigers, hands and plants.When we left the cave about an hour later, we saw a sign mentioning the National Speleological Society. Our interest awakened, we noted the address and wrote for further informat
34、ion. The reply informed that there were “grottoes“, local chapter of the society, all over the United States. We joined one that was near our home. Soon we were making our first trip through a wild, unmapped cave. That was 12 years ago. Since then I have explored caves in Europe, Central and South A
35、merica, and all over the United States.（分数：10.00）(1).According to the passage, the difference between spelunking and mountain climbing lies in the fact that _. A. the former does not know what to find in exploring while the latter does B. the former goes downward in most cases and the latter goes up
36、ward C. it is more dangerous to do spelunking than mountain climbing D. it is more exciting in spelunking than in mountain climbing（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(2).Which of the following statements is true about Norbert Castreet? _ A. He was famous for his discoveries of new caves. B. The cave he explored is fa
37、mous for its underwater river. C. He discovered a very old huge hall on the other side of the wall of the cave. D. The old hall he discovered had been used as a hidden place of some pirates.（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(3).The author and his wife _. A. had planned carefully for their first spelunking B. explore
38、d their first cave rather unexpectedly C. spent time looking for a suitable cave to start their first exploration D. were convinced by their friends that spelunking was a good sport（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(4).The author and his wife explored their first cave _. A. for several hours B. on their own C. just
39、for a short time D. with a guide and a guard（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(5).The author, and his wife joined the society of spelunking as they were _. A. recommended by their friends B. attracted by an advertisement C. encouraged by an article in the newspaper D. intrigued by a local chapter of the society（分数：2
40、00）A.B.C.D.六、BPART TWO/B(总题数：0，分数：0.00)七、B(总题数：1，分数：20.00)Directions: Scan the following passage and find the words which have roughly the same meanings as those given below. The number in the brackets after each word definition refers to the number of paragraph in which the target word is. Write t
41、he word you choose on the Answer Sheet.(1)By far, the most vulnerable older persons are women, who are more likely than men to lack basic literacy and numerical skills, less likely to have paid work, and less likely to be eligible for pensionswhere they are available. When women are eligible for pen
42、sions, because of their lower pay and interrupted work histories, they are more likely to receive lower pensions. Older women who have lost their partners greatly outnumber their male counter-parts. In some countries, widows are often denied access to or control over resources. Also, womens inherita
43、nce rights are poorly established in many societies. For these and other reasons, women, especially in developing countries, are much more likely to sink into poverty in their older years. Security schemes to alleviate poverty must take into account that most of the older poor are women, of whom man
44、y have limited experience in the labour force.(2) The demand for new skills and knowledge places older workers at a disadvantage, as their training and skills developed earlier in life become obsolete. But age discrimination compounds many of the difficulties older workers face in the labour market.
45、 Biased attitudes hamper the efforts of older workers to find new employment and discourage employers from providing them with training. However, there is evidence that prejudices against the abilities of older workers are unfounded, and that the average difference in work performance between age gr
46、oups is significantly less than the differences between workers within each age group.（分数：20.00）(1).open to emotional or physical danger or harm (para. 1)（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(2).the ability to read and write (para. 1)（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(3).qualified, suitable (para. 1)（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(4).somebody correspon
47、ding to another (para. 1)（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(5).to decline to grant or allow; refuse (para. 1)（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(6).right to inherit (para. 1)（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(7).to make something more bearable or less severe (para. 1)（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(8).out-of-date, not used any more (para. 2)（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(9).prejudi
48、ced (para. 2)（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(10).to prevent the free movement, action, or progress of (para. 2)（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_八、B(总题数：1，分数：20.00)Directions: In this section of the test, there are ten paragraphs. Each of the paragraph is followed by an incomplete phrase or sentence which summarizes the main idea of the paragraph. Spell out the missing letters of the word on your Answer Sheet.Paragraph OneGuns are far more lethal in several respects. A 14-year
