1、阅读同步练习试卷 34及答案与解析 一、 Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes, 40 points) Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. Each of the passages is followed by 5 questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best one and mark your answer on
2、the ANSWER SHEET with a single line through the center. 0 One of the most important social developments that helped to make possible a shift in thinking about the role of public education was the effect of the baby boom of the 1950s and 1960s on the schools. In the 1920s, but especially in the depre
3、ssion conditions of the 1930s, the United States experienced a declining birth rate every thousand women aged fifteen to forty-four gave birth to about 118 live children in 1920, 89. 2 in 1930, 75. 8 in 1936, and 80 in 1940. With the growing prosperity brought on by the Second World War and the econ
4、omic boom that followed it, young people married and established households earlier and began to raise larger families than had their predecessors during the Depression. Birth rates rose to 102 per thousand in 1946, 106. 2 in 1950, and 118 in 1955. Although economics was probably the most important
5、determinant, it is not the only explanation for the baby boom. The increased value placed on the idea of the family also helps to explain this rise in birth rates. The baby boomers began streaming into the first grade by the mid-1940 s and became a flood by 1950. The public school system suddenly fo
6、und itself overtaxed. While the number of schoolchildren rose because of wartime and postwar conditions, these same conditions made the schools even less prepared to cope with the flood. The wartime economy meant that few new schools were built between 1940 and 1945. Moreover, during the war and in
7、the boom times that followed, large numbers of teachers left their profession for better-paying jobs elsewhere in the economy. Therefore, in the 1950s and 1960s, the baby boom hit an antiquated (过时的 ,废旧的 ) and inadequate school system. Consequently, the “custodial (监护的 ,保管的 ) rhetoric“ of the 1930s
8、and early 1940s no longer made sense; that is, keeping youths aged sixteen and older out of the labor market by keeping them in school could no longer be a high priority for an institution unable to find space and staff to teach younger children aged five to sixteen. With the baby boom, the focus of
9、 educators and of laymen interested in education inevitably turned toward the lower grades and back to basic academic skills and discipline. The system no longer had much interest in offering nontraditional, new, and extra services to older youths. 1 What does the passage mainly discuss? （ A） The te
10、aching profession during the baby boom. （ B） Birth rates in the United States in the 1930s and 1940s. （ C） The impact of the baby boom on public education. （ D） The role of the family in the 1950s and 1960s. 2 The word “it“ in the sentence “it is not the only explanation for the baby boom“ refers to
11、 （ A） 1955 （ B） economics （ C） value （ D） the baby boom 3 The word “overtaxed“ in the sentence “The public school system suddenly found itself overtaxed“ means_. （ A） well prepared （ B） charged too much （ C） heavily burdened （ D） plentifully supplied 4 The public schools of the 1950s and 1960s faced
12、 all of the following problems EXCEPT （ A） a declining number of students （ B） old-fashioned facilities （ C） an inadequate number of school buildings （ D） a shortage of teachers 5 According to the passage, why did teachers leave the teaching profession after the outbreak of the war? （ A） They needed
13、 to be retrained. （ B） They were dissatisfied with the curriculum. （ C） Other jobs provided higher salaries. （ D） Teaching positions were scarce. 5 Three English dictionaries published recently all lay claim to possessing a “new“ feature. The BBC English Dictionary contains background information on
14、 1 000 people and places prominent in the news since 1988; the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary: Encyclopedic (百科全书 的 ) Edition is the OALD plus encyclopedic entries; the Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture is the LDOCE plus cultural information. The key fact is that all three dict
15、ionaries can be seen to have a distinctly “cultural“ as well as language learning content. That being said, the way in which they approach the cultural element is not identical, making direct comparisons between the three difficult. While there is some common ground between the encyclopedic/cultural
16、 entries for the Oxford and Longman dictionaries, there is a clear difference, Oxford lays claim to being encyclopedic on content whereas Longman distinctly concentrates on the language and culture of the English-speaking world. The Oxford dictionary can therefore stand more vigorous scrutiny (审视 )
17、for cultural bias than the Longman publication because the latter does not hesitate about viewing the rest of the world from the cultural perspectives of the English-speaking world. The cultural objectives of the BBC dictionary are in turn more distinct still. Based on an analysis of over 70 million
18、 words recorded from the BBC World Service and National Public Radio of Washington over a period of four years, their 1 000 brief encyclopedic entries are based on people and places that have featured (占显著地位 ) in the news recently. The intended user they have in mind is a regular listener to the Wor
19、ld Service who will have a reasonable standard of English and a developed skill in listening comprehension. In reality, though, the BBC dictionary will be purchased by a far wider range of language learners, as will the other two dictionaries. We will be faced with a situation where many of the user
20、s of these dictionaries will at the very least have distinct socio-cultural perspectives and may have world views which are totally opposed and even hostile to those of the West. Advanced learners from this kind of background will not only evaluate a dictionary on how user-friendly it is but will al
21、so have definite views about the scope and appropriateness of the various socio-cultural entries. 6 What feature sets apart the three dictionaries discussed in the passage from traditional ones? （ A） The combination of two dictionaries into one. （ B） The new approach to defining words. （ C） The incl
22、usion of cultural content. （ D） The increase in the number of entries. 7 The Longman dictionary is more likely to be criticized for cultural prejudice because_. （ A） its scope of cultural entries goes beyond the culture of the English-speaking world （ B） it pays little attention to the cultural cont
23、ent of the non-English-speaking countries （ C） it views the world purely from the standpoint of the English-speaking people （ D） it fails to distinguish language from culture in its encyclopedic entries 8 The BBC dictionary differs from Oxford and Longman in that_. （ A） it has a wider selection of e
24、ncyclopedic entries （ B） it is mainly designed to meet the needs of radio listeners （ C） it lays more emphasis on language than on culture （ D） it is intended to help listeners develop their listening comprehension skills 9 It is implied in the last paragraph that, in approaching socio-cultural cont
25、ent in a dictionary, special thought should be given to_. （ A） the language levels of its users （ B） the number of its prospective purchasers （ C） the different tastes of its users （ D） the various cultural backgrounds of its users 10 What is the passage mainly about? （ A） Different ways of treating
26、 socio-cultural elements in the three new English dictionaries. （ B） A comparison of peoples opinions on the cultural content in the three new English dictiona-ries. （ C） The advantages of the BBC dictionary over Oxford and Longman. （ D） The user-friendliness of the three new English dictionaries. 1
27、0 The ordinary family in colonial North America was primarily concerned with sheer (完全的 , 纯粹的 ) physical survival and beyond that its own economic prosperity. Thus, children were valued in terms of their productivity, and they assumed the role of producer quite early. Until they fulfilled this role,
28、 their position in the structure of the family was one of subordination and their psychological needs and capacities received little consideration. As the society became more complex, the status of children in the family and in the society became more important. In the complex, technological society
29、 that the United States has become each member must fulfill a number of personal and occupational roles and be in constant contact with a great many other members. Consequently, viewing children as potentially acceptable and necessarily multifaceted (多方面的，多样化的 ) members of society means that they ar
30、e regarded more as people in their own right than as utilitarian (功利主义的 ) organisms (社会成员 ). This acceptance of children as equal participants in the contemporary family is reflected in the variety of statutes protecting the rights of children and in the social and public welfare programs devoted ex
31、clusively to their well-being. This new view of children and the increasing contact between the members of society has also resulted in a surge (浪潮，波涛 ) of interest in child-rearing techniques. People today spend a considerable portion of their time conferring on the proper way to bring up children.
32、 It is now possible to influence the details of the socialization of another persons child by spreading the gospel (经典，福音 ) of current and fashionable theories and methods of child rearing. The socialization of the contemporary child in the United States is a two-way transaction between parent and c
33、hild rather than a one-way, parent-to-child training program. As a consequence, socializing children and living with them over a long period of time is for parents a mixture of pleasure, satisfaction, and problems. 11 Which of the following would be the best title for the passage? （ A） The Place of
34、Children in United States Society. （ B） The Children of Colonial North America. （ C） The Development of Cultural Values. （ D） The Child as a Utilitarian Organism. 12 What can be inferred from the passage about former schooling in colonial North America? （ A） It was generally required by law. （ B） It
35、 was considered relatively unimportant. （ C） It was improperly administered. （ D） It was highly disciplined. 13 Which of the following does the author mention as a cause of changes in the role of the child in the United States? （ A） An increase in technology. （ B） The growing complexity of the child
36、s psychological needs. （ C） A decrease in the childs intellectual capacities. （ D） The growing number of single parent families. 14 According to the passage, parents have become increasingly interested in_. （ A） their childrens future occupations （ B） having smaller families （ C） adoption for childl
37、ess couples （ D） child-rearing 15 In the fourth paragraph, what does the author mean by the clause “the socialization of the contemporary child in the United States is a two-way transaction“? （ A） There are two current methods of socializing children. （ B） Both parents play major role in the contemp
38、orary childbearing process. （ C） Socialization is a process shared by parents and their children. （ D） Raising children is both pleasurable and problematic. 15 Mankinds fascination with gold is as old as civilization itself. The ancient Egyptians es-teemed gold, which had religious significance to t
39、hem, and King Tutankhamun was buried in a solid-gold coffin 3 300 years ago. The wandering Israelites worshipped a golden calf, and the legendary King Midas asked that everything he touched be turned into gold. Not only is gold beautiful, but it is virtually indestructible. It will not rust or corro
40、de (受腐 蚀，侵蚀 ); gold coins and products fabricated from the metal have survived undamaged for centuries. Gold is extremely easy to work with; one ounce, which is about the size of a cube of sugar, can be beaten into a sheet nearly 100 square feet in size, and becomes so thin that light passes through
41、 it. An ounce of gold can also be stretched into a wire 50 miles long. Gold conducts electricity better than any other substance except copper and silver, and it is particularly important in the modern electronics industry. People have always longed to possess gold. Unfortunately, this longing has a
42、lso brought out the worst in the human character. The Spanish conquistadors (征服者 ) robbed palaces, temples, and graves, and killed thousands of Indians in their ruthless search for gold. Often the only rule in young California during the days of the gold rush was exercised by the mob (暴民 , 乌合之众 ) wi
43、th a rope. Even today, the economic running of South Africas gold mines depends largely on the employment of black laborers who are paid about 40 pounds a month, plus room and board, and who must work in conditions that can only be described as cruel. About 400 miners are killed in mine accidents in
44、 South Africa each year, or one for every two tons of gold produced. Much of golds value lies in its scarcity. Only about 80 000 tons have been mined in the history of the world. All of it could be stored in a vault (地窖 , 底下贮藏室 ) 60 feet square, or a supertanker. Great Britain was the first country
45、to adopt the gold standard, when the Master of the Mint, Sir Isaac Newton, established a fixed price for gold in 1717. But until the big discoveries of gold in the last half of the nineteenth century starting in California in 1848 and later in Australia and South Africa there simply wasnt enough gol
46、d around for all the trading nations to link their currencies to the precious metal. 16 The main idea of the first paragraph is that_. （ A） human beings began to love gold with the emergence of civilization （ B） the ancient Egyptians valued gold for its religious importance （ C） King Midas was a per
47、son who could turn everything into gold （ D） King Tutankhamnn buried a solid-gold coffin 33 centuries ago 17 Gold is highly valued because of its_. （ A） beauty （ B） rarity （ C） size （ D） both A and B 18 Even at present, in South Africa_. （ A） the black laborers are killed for mining gold （ B） the bl
48、ack laborers have got rid of the control of white rulers （ C） the black laborers who mine gold are still exploited cruelly （ D） the life of the black laborers is highly improved 19 In young California during the days of the gold rush_. （ A） people usually used a rope as a weapon （ B） it was very com
49、mon to hang people with a rope （ C） gold-mining areas were measured by miners with a rope （ D） laborers were often whipped with a rope as a punishment 20 Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned in the passage? （ A） As far as conductivity of electricity is concerned, gold is placed third. （ B） People usually think highly of gold because of its scarcity. （ C） The author thinks that gold is the source of all evils. （ D） All the trading nations began to adopt the gold standard during 1850 and 1899. 20 In
