篇章閱讀長難句解析
◆第一章◆ 篇章閱讀
閱讀理解部分的分?jǐn)?shù)權(quán)重為35%,時間40分鐘,由三種題型構(gòu)成:仔細(xì)閱讀理解、選詞填空和長篇閱讀。目前的四級閱讀題,題型增加、題量加大、速度要求加快是最顯著的特點。因此,如何提高閱讀速度和效率就成為決勝四級考試閱讀理解題的關(guān)鍵,而獲取成功最直接、最有效的方法就是掌握一些解題技巧。
一、篇章閱讀解題思路與技巧
1.扎實的語言基本功
1)詞匯量是基礎(chǔ)。首先必須牢牢掌握英語四級考試大綱規(guī)定的詞匯,重在靈活運(yùn)用、切忌死記硬背。英語中的一詞多義現(xiàn)象很普遍,同一單詞在不同語境下會有不同的意思。因此,在記憶單詞時一定要靈活。其次要注意積累英語短語。英語四級閱讀中會出現(xiàn)大量短語,有些短語的意思和構(gòu)成該短語的單詞的字面意思相去甚遠(yuǎn),較難掌握,而這又恰恰是考試的重點,因此,熟練掌握考綱規(guī)定的短語也是考生必須具備的能力。再者要適時注意擴(kuò)充詞匯量,應(yīng)通過課外閱讀英文報刊雜志、瀏覽英文網(wǎng)站等方式增加詞匯儲備,只有不斷積累詞匯量才能在閱讀時得心應(yīng)手。
2)句法是關(guān)鍵。掌握充足的詞匯并不等于看懂文章。目前,英語四級閱讀理解文章中的句子結(jié)構(gòu)趨向復(fù)雜化,長句多、難句多。讀懂長難句,關(guān)鍵是從結(jié)構(gòu)入手,首先理解句子主干的意思,找出句子的“主謂賓”;其次,分析句子的修飾成分,找出句子的“定狀補(bǔ)”;經(jīng)過這兩個步驟才能準(zhǔn)確把握整個句子的意思。
2.常用解題思路與技巧
《大學(xué)英語四級考試大綱》規(guī)定,閱讀理解部分的目的是測試學(xué)生通過閱讀獲取信息的能力,既要求準(zhǔn)確,也要求有一定的速度。測試的主要能力包括:掌握所讀材料的主旨和大意;了解說明主旨和大意的事實和細(xì)節(jié);既理解字面的意思,也能根據(jù)所讀材料進(jìn)行一定的判斷和推論;既理解個別句子的意思,也理解上下文的邏輯關(guān)系,而上述能力的檢測又主要通過主旨題、細(xì)節(jié)題、推斷題、語義題和是非題等題型來實現(xiàn)。下面就圍繞這些不同的題型介紹相關(guān)的解題技巧。
1)主旨題:主旨題在四級考試中所占比例僅次于事實細(xì)節(jié)題和推理判斷題。這類題型主要測試考生對文章的中心思想或段落大意的理解,是對考生綜合歸納能力的考查。此類問題常見的提問方式有:
What is themain topic/idea of the passage?
What is the passagemainly about?
The best title of the article is_____.
What can we learn from the passage?
解題技巧:首先要確定有無主題句(topic sentence)。文章的主題句通常位于首段或尾段,有時也出現(xiàn)在文章的中間段落。如有主題句,就能很容易確定文章或段落的主題從而選出正確的答案。如果文章中沒有明顯的主題句,就應(yīng)帶著問題細(xì)讀文章的首段和尾段找出其中心,抓住每個段落的主題句,明確文章的中心思想。注意:如果文章主旨題出現(xiàn)在第一題,先不要做這道題,把后面的題做完后再回頭做第一題,這樣可以節(jié)省很多時間。
2)細(xì)節(jié)題:四級考試閱讀理解中出現(xiàn)頻率最高的就是事實細(xì)節(jié)類試題。事實或細(xì)節(jié)是文章中用來論證或說明主題的依據(jù)。這類試題主要考查考生是否掌握了作者用來闡述主題的有關(guān)事實和細(xì)節(jié),對文章的理解是否全面、透徹。這類問題不摻雜主觀內(nèi)容而是針對文章的某個具體細(xì)節(jié)如:時間、地點、人物、原因、結(jié)果、條件、現(xiàn)象等的提問。這類題常見的提問方式有:
When(Where,Who,Why,What,How)…?
What is said about…?
All of the following arementioned in the passage except______.
According to the passage,the best answer to…is_____.
The author says…because_____.
Which of the followingmay be the best reason for______?
解題技巧:一般來說此類題的答案均可在文章中找到。但是答案的表述常常不是文章中的原話,而是使用同義的詞語或句子進(jìn)行轉(zhuǎn)述。因此,在回答此類問題時,應(yīng)首先仔細(xì)閱讀題目,弄清題目的具體要求,以及所給的四個選項,然后在題目或選項中確定關(guān)鍵詞,再利用關(guān)鍵詞回文章中定位,找出文章中相對應(yīng)的細(xì)節(jié)性句子,與四個選項進(jìn)行對照,以確定正確答案。關(guān)鍵詞的確定也有技巧。如果題目或選項中有專有名詞(人名、地名等)、數(shù)字(年代、時間等)要將此定位為關(guān)鍵詞。如果題目或選項中沒有明顯的詞,可以定位主要的名詞或動詞為關(guān)鍵詞。
3)推斷題:推斷題不同于主旨題和細(xì)節(jié)題,需要根據(jù)文章中提供的信息進(jìn)行綜合的推理分析,然后推出作者的隱含之義。這類題往往難以對付,是考生失分較多的題型。推斷題通常包括以下四個方面的內(nèi)容:
(1)針對文章中的某個細(xì)節(jié)進(jìn)行推斷。
(2)根據(jù)文章推測作者的觀點、目的、態(tài)度和思路。
(3)推斷文章中沒出現(xiàn)的前一段或下一段的內(nèi)容。
(4)針對文章人物性格的推斷。
這類題常見的提問方式有:
By saying…,the author suggests that____.
What’s the author’s attitude towards…?
From the passage,it can be inferred that_____.
What does the author think of…?
What dowe learn from the first paragraph?
解題技巧:在做推斷題時切忌憑主觀臆斷進(jìn)行推測,推理必須基于文章中的具體事實與細(xì)節(jié)。所以在做此類題時,雖然在文章中不能直接找到答案,但是一定要在文章中找到推測的依據(jù)進(jìn)行合理嚴(yán)密的推斷。如果是針對文章中的某個細(xì)節(jié)進(jìn)行推斷,就要先在文章中找到該細(xì)節(jié)所在的句子,在正確理解該句的基礎(chǔ)上推斷出未知的事實。如果是根據(jù)文章推測作者的觀點、目的、態(tài)度和思路,應(yīng)首先確定文章的中心思想,然后根據(jù)中心和作者所陳述的事實及細(xì)節(jié)進(jìn)行推斷。作者態(tài)度大致分為三種:①支持或贊同;②中立或客觀;③懷疑、批評或反對。做此類題應(yīng)尋找作者直接評價的語句或者表達(dá)感情色彩的形容詞、動詞及副詞,此外還要熟悉下列常用態(tài)度詞匯的表述:
positive(肯定的) negative(否定的) neutral(中立的)
subjective(主觀的) objective(客觀的)
favorable(支持的) opposite(相反的) indifferent(漠不關(guān)心的)
partial/biased(偏頗的,有偏見的) impartial/fair(公正的)
suspecting/suspicious/doubtful(懷疑的)
4)語義題:所謂語義題就是從文章的某句話中選出一個單詞、短語或詞組進(jìn)行提問,要求考生對其進(jìn)行一定的分析,推測其在文章中的特定含義。常見的提問方式有:
The word“…”in line…probablymeans_____.
Which of the following has the closestmeaning to“…”?
The author uses the expression“…”to refer to_____.
The word“…”can be best replaced by_____.
解題技巧:在解這類題時,首先要找到該詞或短語所在的句子,然后確定單詞的詞性以及單詞、短語等在句子中所起的語法作用,明確整個句子的含義,同時對上下文進(jìn)行認(rèn)真的分析,以確定上下文中是否有該詞的定義、同義詞、近義詞或反義詞,從而判斷出正確答案。還可根據(jù)上下文邏輯關(guān)系,聯(lián)系日常生活中的有關(guān)常識,分析出合理的場景因素推斷單詞或短語的含義。此外,還可以利用構(gòu)詞法的知識,尤其是詞綴法來猜測詞義。
5)是非題:是非題主要考查考生對某個特定細(xì)節(jié)的判斷辨知能力。要求考生根據(jù)文章的內(nèi)容,對所提問題真實與否,在文章中是否提及等作出正確的判斷。此類題常見的提問方式有:
Which of the following statements is TRUE/NOT TRUE?
All the following are true except______.
Which of the following is NOTmentioned(included,implied)in the passage?
All of the following statements have relevance to…except_____.
解題技巧:解此類題的主要方法是排除法,即對四個選擇項逐一對照分析以判斷出正確選項??焖贋g覽備選項,先運(yùn)用常識排除太絕對或不可能的選項,然后在選擇項中定位關(guān)鍵詞,迅速找到文章中相對應(yīng)的部分,細(xì)讀一下有關(guān)內(nèi)容,與文章內(nèi)容一致的即可肯定,不一致的即可否定。雖然這類問題主要涉及的是細(xì)節(jié),但我們不能忽視文章的中心,正確的答案是與文章的中心思想保持一致的。因此,回答這類問題時,要以中心思想為前提,與中心思想一致的可能是正確答案,反之可能是錯誤答案。
以上簡要介紹了英語四級閱讀理解測試中常見的試題類型及相應(yīng)的解題技巧。但是應(yīng)注意的是,在實際閱讀時,這些解題技巧的運(yùn)用并非是各自獨立的,而是相互依存、相互交叉的。因此,大家在平時的學(xué)習(xí)中要注重培養(yǎng)自己靈活運(yùn)用各種解題技巧的能力。
二、五大題型攻克篇章閱讀
第一大題型:主旨題
真題舉例1
Priscilla Ouchida’s“energy-efficient”house turned out to be a horrible dream.When she and her engineer husband married a few years ago,they built a﹩100,000,three-bedroom home in California.Tightly sealed to prevent air leaks,the house was equipped with small double-paned(雙層玻璃的)windows and several other energy-saving features.Problems began as soon as the couple moved in,however.Priscilla’s eyes burned.Her throat was constantly dry.She suffered from headaches and could hardly sleep.Itwas as though she had suddenly developed a strange illness.
Experts finally traced the cause of her illness.The level of formaldehyde(甲醛)gas in her kitchen was twice the maximum allowed by federal standards for chemical workers.The source of the gas?Her new kitchen cabinets and wall-to-wall carpeting.
The Ouchidas are victims of indoor air pollution,which is not given sufficient attention partly because of the nation’s drive to save energy.The problem itself isn’tnew.“The indoor environmentwas dirty long before energy conservation came along,”says Moschandreas,a pollution scientist at Geomet Technologies in Maryland.“Energy conservation has tended to accentuate the situation in some cases.”
The problem appears to bemore troublesome in newly constructed homes rather than old ones.Back in the days when energy was cheap,home builders didn’t worry much about unsealed cracks.Because of such leaks,the air in an average home was replaced by fresh outdoor air about once an hour.As a result,the pollutants generated in most households seldom build up to dangerous levels.
Q:This passage is most probably taken from an article entitled“___________”.
A)Energy Conservation
B)Houses Building Crisis
C)Air Pollution Indoors
D)Traps in Building Construction
真題舉例2
Americans are proud of their variety and individuality,yet they love and respect few thingsmore than a uniform,whether it is the uniform ofan elevator operator or the uniform ofa five-star general.Why are uniforms so popular in the United States?
Among the arguments for uniforms,one of the first is that in the eyes ofmost people they look more professional than civilian(百姓的)clothes.People have become conditioned to expect superior quality from aman whowears a uniform.The television repairman whowears a uniform tends to inspiremore trust than one who appears in civilian clothes.Faith in the skill of a garage mechanic is increased by a uniform.What easier way is there for a nurse,a policeman,a barber,or a waiter to lose professional identity(身份)than to step out of uniform?
Uniforms also have many practical benefits.They save on other clothes.They save on laundry bills.They are tax-deductible(可減稅的).They are oftenmore comfortable andmore durable than civilian clothes.
Primary among the arguments against uniforms is their lack of variety and the consequent loss of individuality experienced by people whomustwear them.Though there aremany types of uniforms,the wearer of any particular type is generally stuck with it,without change,until retirement.When people look alike,they tend to think,speak,and act similarly,on the job at least.
Uniforms also give rise to some practical problems.Though they are long-lasting,often their initial expense is greater than the cost of civilian clothes.Some uniforms are also expensive to maintain,requiring professional dry cleaning rather than the home laundering possible withmany types of civilian clothes.
Q:The best title for this passage would be_____.
A)Uniforms and Society
B)The Importance ofWearing a Uniform
C)Practical Benefits ofWearing a Uniform
D)Advantages and Disadvantages of Uniforms
第二大題型:細(xì)節(jié)題
真題舉例1
Communications technologies are far from equalwhen it comes to conveying the truth.The first study to compare honesty across a range of communicationmedia has found thatpeople are twice as likely to tell lies in phone conversations as they are in emails.The fact thatemails are automatically recorded—and can come back to haunt(困擾)you—appears to be the key to the finding.
Jeff Hancock of Cornell University in Ithaca,New York,asked 30 students to keep a communications diary for a week.In it they noted the number of conversations or email exchanges they had lastingmore than 10 minutes,and confessed to how many lies they told.Hancock then worked out the number of lies per conversation for eachmedium.He found that liesmade up 14 percent of emails,21 percent of instantmessages,27 percent of face-to-face interactions and an astonishing 37 percent of phone calls.
His results,to be presented at the conference on human computer interaction in Vienna,Austria,in April,have surprised psychologists.Some expected e-mailers to be the biggest liars,reasoning thatbecause deceptionmakes people uncomfortable,the detachment(非直接接觸)of e-mailing wouldmake it easier to lie.Others expected people to liemore in face-toface exchanges because we aremost practiced at that form of communication.
But Hancock says it is also crucialwhether a conversation is being recorded and could be reread,and whether occurs in real time.People appear to be afraid to liewhen they know the communication could later be used to hold them to account,he says.This is why fewer lies appear in email than on the phone.
People are alsomore likely to lie in real time—in an instantmessage to phone call,say—than if they have time to think of a response,says Hancock.He found many lies are spontaneous(脫口而出的)responses to an unexpected demand,such as:“Do you likemy dress?”
Hancock hopes his research will help companies work out the best ways for their employees to communicate.For instance,the phonemightbe the bestmedium for saleswhere employees are encouraged to stretch the truth.But,given his result,work assessment,where honesty is a priority,might be best done using email.
Q1:According to the passage,why are peoplemore likely to tell the truth through certainmedia of communication?
A)They are afraid of leaving behind traces of their lies.
B)They believe that honesty is the best policy.
C)They tend to be relaxed when using thosemedia.
D)They aremost practised at those forms of communication.
Q2:According to Hancock,the telephone is a preferablemedium for promoting sales because_____.
A)salesmen can talk directly to their customers
B)salesmen may feel less restrained to exaggerate
C)salesmen can impress customers as being trustworthy
D)salesmenmay pass on instantmessages effectively
真題舉例2
Psychiatrists(精神病專家)whowork with older parents say thatmaturity can be an asset in child rearing—older parents are more thoughtful,use less physical discipline and spend more time with their children.But raising kids takesmoney and energy.Many older parents find themselves balancing their limited financial resources,declining energy and failing health against the growing demands of an active child.Dying and leaving young children is probably the older parents’biggest,and often unspoken,fear.Having late-life children,says an economics professor,oftenmeans parents,particularly fathers,“end up retiringmuch later.”Formany,retirement becomes an unobtainable dream.
Henry Metcalf,a 54-year-old journalist,knows it takesmoney to raise kids.But he’s also worried that his energy will give out first.Sure,he can still ride bikes with his athletic fifth grader,but he’s learned that young at heart doesn’t mean young.Lately he’s been taking afternoon naps(午睡)to keep up his energy.“My body isaging,”saysMetcalf.“You can’t get away from that.”
Often,older parents hear the ticking of another kind of biological clock.Therapistswho work withmiddle-aged and older parents say fears about aging are nothing to laugh at.“They worry they’ll bemistaken for grandparents,or that they’ll need help getting up out of those little chairs in nursery school,”says Joann Galst,a New York psychologist.Butat the core of those little fears there is often amuch bigger one:“that they won’t be alive long enough to support and protect their child,”she says.
Many late-life parents,though,say their children came at just the right time.After marrying late and undergoing years of fertility(受孕)treatment,Marilyn Nolen and her husband,Randy,had twins.“We both wanted children,”says Marilyn,who was 55 when she gave birth.The twins have given the couple what they desired for years,“a sense of family.”
Kids of older dads are often smarter,happier and more sociable because their fathers are more involved in their lives.“The dads are older,moremature,”says Dr.Silber,“andmore ready to focus on parenting.”
Q1:The author gives the example of Henry Metcalf to show that_____.
A)many people are young in spirit despite their advanced age
B)taking afternoon naps is a good way tomaintain energy
C)older parents tend to be concerned about their aging bodies
D)older parents should exercisemore to keep up with their athletic children
Q2:What’s the biggest fear of older parents according to New York Psychologist Joann Galst?
A)Being laughed at by other people.
B)Slowing down of their pace of life.
C)Beingmistaken for grandparents.
D)Approaching of death.
第三大題型:推斷題
真題舉例1
New technology links the world as never before.Our planet has shrunk.It’s now a “global village”where countries are only seconds away by fax or phone or satellite link.And,of course,our ability to benefit from this high-tech communications equipment is greatly enhanced by foreign language skills.
Deeply involved with this new technology is a breed ofmodern businesspeoplewho have a growing respect for the economic value of doing business abroad.In modern markets,success overseas often helps support domestic business efforts.
Overseas assignments are becoming increasingly important to advancement within executive ranks.The executive stationed in another country no longer need fear being“out of sight and out of mind.”He or she can be sure that the overseas effort is central to the company’s plan for success,and that promotions often follow or accompany an assignment abroad.If an employee can succeed in a difficult assignment overseas,superiors will have greater confidence in his or her ability to cope back in the United States where cross-cultural considerations and foreign language issues are becomingmore and more prevalent(普遍的).
Thanks to a variety of relatively inexpensive communications devices with business applications,even small businesses in the United States are able to get into international markets.
English is still the international language of business.But there is an ever-growing need for people who can speak another language.A second language isn’t generally required to get a job in business,but having language skills gives a candidate the edge when other qualifications appear to be equal.
The employee posted abroad who speaks the country’s principal language has an opportunity to fast-forward certain negotiations,and can have the cultural insight to know when it is better tomovemore slowly.The employee at the home office who can communicate well with foreign clients over the telephone or by faxmachine is an obvious asset to the firm.
Q:What is the author’s attitude toward high-tech communications equipment?
A)Critical. B)Prejudiced. C)Indifferent. D)Positive.
真題舉例2
Several recent studies have found that being randomly(隨機(jī)地)assigned to a roommate of another race can lead to increased tolerance but also to a greater likelihood(可能性)of conflict.
Recent reports found that lodgingwith a studentof a different racemay decrease prejudice and compel students to engage inmore ethnically diverse friendships.
An Ohio State University study also found thatblack students livingwith awhite roommate saw higher academic success throughout their college careers.Researchers believe thismay be caused by social pressure.
In a New York Times article,Sam Boakye—the only black student on his freshman year floor—said that“if you’re surrounded by whites,you have something to prove.”
Researchers also observed problems resulting from pairing interracial students in residences.
According to two recent studies,randomly assigned roommates of different races aremore likely to experience conflicts so strained that one roommate willmove out.
An Indiana University study found that interracial roommateswere three times as likely as two white roommates to no longer live together by the end of the semester.
Grace Kao,a professor at Penn said she was not surprised by the findings.“Thismay be the first time that some of these students have interacted,and lived,with someone of a different race,”she said.
At Penn,students are not asked to indicate race when applying for housing.
“One of the great things about freshman housing is that,with some exceptions,the process throws you together randomly,”said Undergraduate Assembly chairman Alec Webley.“This is the definition of integration.”
“I’ve experienced roommate conflicts between interracial students that have both broken down stereotypes and reinforced stereotypes,”said one Penn resident advisor(RA).The RA of two years added that while some conflicts“provided more multicultural acceptance and melding(融合),”there were also“jarring cultural confrontations.”
The RA said that these conflicts have also occurred among roommates of the same race.
Kao said she cautions against forming any generalizations based on any one of the studies,noting thatmore background characteristics of the students need to be studied and explained.
Q:What can we learn from some recent studies?
A)Conflicts between students of different races are unavoidable.
B)Students of different races are prejudiced against each other.
C)Interracial lodging doesmore harm than good.
D)Interracial lodgingmay have diverse outcomes.
第四大題型:語義題
真題舉例1
Oceanography has been defined as“The application of all sciences to the study of the sea”.
Before the nineteenth century,scientists with an interest in the sea were few and far between.Certainly Newton considered some theoreticalaspects of it in hiswritings,buthewas reluctant to go to sea to further hiswork.
Formost people the sea was remote,and with the exception of early intercontinental travelers or others who earned a living from the sea,there was little reason to ask many questions about it,let alone to ask what lay beneath the surface.The first time that question “What is at the bottom of the oceans?”had to be answered with any commercial consequence was when the laying of a telegraph cable from Europe to Americawas proposed.The engineers had to know the depth profile(起伏形狀)of the route to estimate the length of cable that had to bemanufactured.
Itwas to Maury of the USNavy that the Atlantic Telegraph Company turned,in 1853,for information on thismatter.In the 1840s,Maury had been responsible for encouraging voyages during which soundings(測聲)were taken to investigate the depths of the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.Later,some of his findings aroused much popular interest in his book The Physical Geography of the Sea.
The cable was laid,but not until 1866 was the connectionmade permanent and reliable.At the early attempts,the cable failed and when itwas taken out for repairs itwas found to be covered in living growths,a factwhich defied contemporary scientific opinion that therewas no life in the deeper parts of the sea.
Within a few years oceanography was under way.In 1872 Thomson led a scientific expedition(考察),which lasted for four years and brought home thousands of samples from the sea.Their classification and analysis occupied scientists for years and led to a five-volume report,the last volume being published in 1895.
Q:“Defied”in the 5th paragraph probablymeans“____”.
A)doubted B)gave proof to C)challenged D)agreed to
真題舉例2
Someday a stranger will read your e-mail without your permission or scan the websites you’ve visited.Or perhaps someonewill casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phone bills to find out your shopping preferences or calling habits.
In fact,it’s likely some of these things have already happened to you.Whowould watch you withoutyour permission?Itmightbe a spouse,a girlfriend,amarketing company,a boss,a cop or a criminal.Whoever it is,theywill see you in away you never intended to be seen—the 21st century equivalent of being caught naked.
Psychologists tell us boundaries are healthy,that it’s important to reveal yourself to friends,family and lovers in stages,at appropriate times.But few boundaries remain.The digital bread crumbs(碎屑)you leave everywheremake iteasy for strangers to reconstructwho you are,where you are and what you like.In some cases,a simple Google search can reveal what you think.Like itor not,increasinglywe live in aworld where you simply cannotkeep a secret.
The key question is:Does thatmatter?
Formany Americans,the answer apparently is“no”.
When opinion polls ask Americans about privacy,most say they are concerned about losing it.A survey found an overwhelming pessimism about privacy,with 60 percent of respondents saying they feel their privacy is“slipping away,and that bothersme.”
But people say one thing and do another.Only a tiny fraction of Americans change any behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy.Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths(收費站)to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that can track automobilemovements.And few turn down supermarket loyalty cards.Privacy economist Alessandro Acquistihas run a series of tests that reveal people will surrender personal information like Social Security numbers just to get their hands on a pitiful 50-cents-off coupon(優(yōu)惠券).
But privacy does matter—at least sometimes.It’s like health:When you have it,you don’t notice it.Only when it’s gone do you wish you’d donemore to protect it.
Q:What does the authormean by saying“the 21st century equivalent of being caught naked”(Lines 3-4,Para.2)?
A)People’s personal information is easily accessed without their knowledge.
B)In the 21st century people try everymeans to look into others’secrets.
C)People tend to bemore frank with each other in the information age.
D)Criminals are easily caught on the spotwith advanced technology.
第五大題型:是非題
真題舉例1
Ifwomen aremercilessly exploited(剝削)year after year,they have only themselves to blame.Because they tremble at the thought of being seen in public in clothes that are out of fashion,they are always taken advantage of by the designers and the big stores.Clotheswhich have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion.When you come to think of it,only a woman is capable of standing in front of a wardrobe(衣柜)packed full of clothes and announcing sadly that she has nothing to wear.
Changing fashions are nothingmore than the intentional creation of waste.Many women spend vastsums ofmoney each year to replace clothes thathave hardly been worn.Women who cannot afford to throw away clothing in thisway,waste hours of their time altering the dresses they have.Skirts are lengthened or shortened;neck-lines are lowered or raised,and so on.
No one can claim that the fashion industry contributes anything really important to society.Fashion designers are rarely concerned with vital things like warmth,comfort and durability(耐用).They are only interested in outward appearance and they take advantage of the fact thatwomen will put up with any amount of discomfort,as long as they look right.There can hardly be aman who hasn’tat some time in his life smiled at the sight of awoman shaking in a thin dress on a winter day,or delicately picking her way through deep snow in high-heeled shoes.
When comparingmen and women in thematter of fashion,the conclusions to be drawn are obvious.Do the constantly changing fashions of women’s clothes,one wonders,reflect basic qualities of inconstancy and instability?Men are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designers.Do their unchanging styles of dress reflect basic qualities of stability and reliability?That is for you to decide.
Q:According to the passage,which of the following statements is TRUE?_____.
A)New fashions in clothing are created for the commercial exploitation ofwomen.
B)He constant changes in women’s clothing reflect their strength of character.
C)The fashion industrymakes an important contribution to society.
D)Fashion designs should not be encouraged since they are only welcomed by women.
真題舉例2
It is hard to track the blue whale,the ocean’s largest creature,which has almost been killed off by commercialwhaling and is now listed as an endangered species.Attaching radio devices to it is difficult,and visual sightings are too unreliable to give real insight into its behavior.
So biologistswere delighted early this year when,with the help of the Navy,they were able to track a particular blue whale for 43 days,monitoring its sounds.This was possible because of the Navy’s formerly top-secret system of underwater listening devices spanning the oceans.
Tracking whales is but one example of an exciting new world just opening to civilian scientists after the cold war as the Navy starts to share and partly uncover its global network of underwater listening system built over the decades to track the ships of potential enemies.
Earth scientists announced ata news conference recently that they had used the system for closelymonitoring a deep-sea volcanic eruption(爆發(fā))for the first time and that they plan similar studies.
Other scientists have proposed to use the network for tracking ocean currents and measuring changes in ocean and global temperatures.
The speed of sound in water is roughly onemile a second—slower than through land but faster than through air.What is most important,different layers of ocean water can act as channels for sounds,focusing them in the same way a stethoscope(聽診器)does when it carries faint noises from a patient’s chest to a doctor’s ear.This focusing is themain reason that even relatively weak sounds in the ocean,especially low-frequency ones,can often travel thousands ofmiles.
Q:Which of the following is true about the U.S.Navy underwater listening network?
A)It is now partly accessible to civilian scientists.
B)It has been replaced by amore advanced system.
C)It became useless to themilitary after the cold war.
D)It is indispensable in protecting endangered species.
三、篇章閱讀長難句解析
大學(xué)英語四級考試的閱讀理解中,考生經(jīng)常會遇到一些長而難的句子。這樣的句子通常含有較多、較長的修飾成分、并列成分或從句,而句子長度的增加和結(jié)構(gòu)的復(fù)雜往往會打斷、干擾考生正常的閱讀習(xí)慣和思維方式,容易導(dǎo)致考生的閱讀障礙和理解困難,分析英語四級考試歷年真題,不難發(fā)現(xiàn)閱讀文章中總是出現(xiàn)不少這樣結(jié)構(gòu)復(fù)雜的句子。因此,讀懂長難句便成為決定四級閱讀理解成敗的又一關(guān)鍵??忌谄綍r的閱讀訓(xùn)練中應(yīng)結(jié)合真題,將長難句歸類并逐一加以分析,熟悉其句子類型,分清主謂賓和定狀補(bǔ),理清其句子成分,這樣才能抓住句子主干,切實提高閱讀能力。
(一)四級長難句的特點
1.增長主語或賓語
2.句首為分詞短語
3.多個謂語動詞連用
4.舉例作為插入語
5.多重復(fù)合句疊加(從句套從句)
(二)真題舉例解析
1.增長主語或賓語
一般來說,英語句子中主語或賓語一旦增長,就會加大讀者的理解難度。因此,考生在平時的閱讀訓(xùn)練時,就要學(xué)會抓住句子主干,有效地分解主謂成分,將其斷開之后各個擊破。
例1 Scott Hahn,cofounderwith Gregory of Rogan and Loomstate,which uses all-organic cotton,says high-quality sustainablematerials can still be tough to find.【主語增長】(2009,6)
【解析】________________
【譯文】________________
例2 Shoppers seldom complain to themanager orownerofa retail store,but instead will alert their friends,relatives,coworkers,strangers—and anyone who will listen.【賓語增長】(2008,12)
【解析】________________
【譯文】________________
2.句首為分詞短語
分詞短語作狀語位于句首在英語句子中比較常見,讀者閱讀時由于要區(qū)分分詞短語和主語之間的邏輯關(guān)系,因而增大了理解的難度,而且分詞短語本身往往又因摻入了插入語成分,造成理解上更加困難。所以,考生在平時的閱讀訓(xùn)練時,碰到這樣的長難句,要注意理清分詞短語與主語間的主動和被動關(guān)系。
例1 Assuming youmake it to the end of your natural term,about 78 years formen in Australia,you’ll die on average five years before a woman.(2008,12)
【解析】________________
【譯文】________________
例2 Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall,Ioffered suggestions for characters,conflicts and endings for her tales.(2007,12)
【解析】________________
【譯文】________________
3.多個謂語動詞連用
英語四級閱讀理解中,命題人往往會在有多個謂語動詞放在一起的句子處設(shè)題以增加考生的閱讀難度??忌粼陂喿x中遇到多個謂語動詞連用的情況,一定注意分清主句謂語動詞和從句的謂語動詞,剔除細(xì)枝末節(jié),使句子結(jié)構(gòu)簡明清晰,這樣理解起來就容易了。
例1 But the real truth is thatwe don’t know enough to relieve globalwarming,and—withoutmajor technological breakthroughs—we can’t domuch about it.(2008,6)
【解析】________________
【譯文】________________
例2 Scratchy throats,stuffy nosesand body achesall spellmisery,butbeing able to tell if the cause is a cold or flu(流感)may make a difference in how long the misery lasts.(2005,1)
【解析】________________
【譯文】________________
4.舉例作為插入語
插入語主要起補(bǔ)充或說明的作用,閱讀時通常會忽略不看。但如果根據(jù)文章問題回原文定位句子時,若定位的關(guān)鍵句子包含了插入語中的任何一種形式,則答案往往就在此處。
例1 As you sleep you pass through a sequence of sleep states—lightsleep,deep sleep and REM(rapid eyemovement)sleep—that repeats approximately every 90minutes.(2006,6)
【解析】________________
【譯文】________________
例2 Home builders can now use materials—such as paints that release significantly reduced amounts of organic compounds—that don’t destroy the quality of the air,water,or soil.(2006,6)
【解析】________________
【譯文】________________
5.多重復(fù)合句疊加(從句套從句)
多重復(fù)合句疊加,即一個長句子中包含了好幾種句式(并列的定語從句、狀語從句、介詞短語等)??忌襞龅竭@類句式時,一定注意分清主從句,理清句子邏輯,這對句子的正確理解至關(guān)重要。
例1 Girls are thus seen as less valuable than boys and are keptathome to do housework while their brothers are sent to school—the prophecy(預(yù)言)becomes self-fulfilling,trapping women in a vicious circle(惡性循環(huán))of neglect.(2006,6)
【解析】________________
【譯文】________________
例2 A code of conduct is hard to create when you’re living in a world in which everyone is exhausted from overwork and lack of sleep,and a world in which nice people are perceived to finish last.(2008,12)
【解析】________________
【譯文】________________
四、篇章閱讀練習(xí)
Exercise One
Passage One
If you are amale and you are reading this,congratulations:you are a survivor.According to statistics,you aremore than twice as likely to die of skin cancer than a woman,and nine timesmore likely to die of AIDS.Assuming youmake it to the end of your natural term,about 78 years formen in Australia,you will die on average five years before a woman.
There aremany reasons for this—typically,men take more risks than woman and are more likely to drink and smoke but perhapsmore importantly,men don’t go to the doctor.
“Men aren’t seeing doctors as often as they should,”says Dr.Gullotta,“This is particularly so for the over-40s,when diseases tend to strike.”
Gullotta says a healthyman should visit the doctor every year or two.For those over 45,it should be at least once a year.
Twomonths ago Gullotta saw a 50-year-oldman who had delayed doing anything abouthis smoker’s cough for a year.
“When I finally saw him it had already spread and he has since died from lung cancer,”he says.“Earlier detection and treatmentmay nothave cured him,but itwould have prolonged(延長)his life.”
According to a recent survey,95% ofwomen aged between 15 and early 40s see a doctor once a year,compared to 70% ofmen in the same age group.
“A lotofmen think they are invincible(不可戰(zhàn)勝的),”Gullotta says.“They only come in when a friend drops dead on the golf course and they think,‘Geez,if it could happen to him,…’”
Then there is the ostrich approach.“Some men are scared of whatmight be there and would rather not know,”says Dr.Ross Cartmill.
“Mostmen get their cars serviced more regularly than they service their bodies,”Cartmill says.He believesmost diseases that commonly affectmen could be addressed by preventive check-ups.
Regular check-ups for men would inevitably place strain on the public purse,Cartmill says.“But prevention is cheaper in the long run than having to treat the diseases.Besides,the ultimate cost is far greater:it is called premature death.”
1.Why does the author congratulate hismale readers at the beginning of the passage?
A)They aremore likely to survive serious diseases today.
B)Their average life span has been considerably extended.
C)They have lived long enough to read this article.
D)They are sure to enjoy a longer and happier live.
2.What does the author state is themost important reasonmen die five years earlier on average than women?
A)Men drink and smokemuchmore than women.
B)Men don’t seek medical care as often aswomen.
C)Men aren’t as cautions aswomen in face of danger.
D)Men aremore likely to suffer from fatal diseases.
3.Which of the following best completes the sentence“‘Geez,if it could happen to him,…’”(Line2,Para.8)?
A)It could happen tome,too. B)Ishould avoid playing golf.
C)Ishould considermyself lucky. D)Itwould be a bigmisfortune.
4.What does Dr.Ross Cartmillmean by“the ostrich approach”(Line1,Para.9)?
A)A casual attitude towards one’s health conditions.
B)A new therapy for certain psychological problems.
C)Refusal to getmedical treatment for fear of the pain involved.
D)Unwillingness to find out about one’s disease because of fear.
5.What does Cartmill say about regular check-ups formen?
A)Theymay increase public expenses.
B)They will savemoney in the long run.
C)Theymay cause psychological strains onmen.
D)They will enablemen to live as long aswomen.
Passage Two
High-quality customer service is preached(宣揚(yáng))by many,but actually keeping customers happy is easier said than done.
Shoppers seldom complain to themanager or owner of a retail store,but instead will alert their friends,relatives,co-workers,strangers-and anyone who will listen.
Storemanagers are often the last to hear complaints,and often find out only when their regular customers decide to frequent their competitors,according to a study jointly conducted by Verde group and Wharton school.
“Storytelling hurts retailers and entertains consumers,”said Paula Courtney,Presidentof the Verde group.“The store loses the customer,but the shopper must also find a replacement.”
On average,every unhappy customer will complain to at least four others,and will no longer visit the specific store.For every dissatisfied customer,a storewill lose up to threemore due to negative reviews.The resulting“snowball effect”can be disastrous to retailers.
According to the research,shoppers who purchased clothing encountered the most problems.Ranked second and third were grocery and electronics customers.
Themost common complaints include filled parking lots,cluttered(塞滿了的)shelves,overloaded racks,out-of-stock items,long check-out lines,and rude salespeople.
During peak shopping hours,some retailers solved the parking problems by getting moonlighting(業(yè)余兼職的)local police towork as parking attendants.Some hired flagwavers to direct customers to empty parking spaces.This guidance eliminated the need for customers to circle the parking lot endlessly,and avoided confrontation between those eyeing the same parking space.
Retailers can relieve the headaches by redesigning store layouts,pre-stocking sales items,hiring speedy and experienced cashiers,and having sales representatives on hand to answer questions.
Most importantly,salespeople should be diplomatic and polite with angry customers.
“Retailerswho’re responsive and friendly aremore likely to smooth over issues than those who aren’t so friendly.”said Professor Stephen Hoch.“Maybe something as simple as a greeter at the store entrance would help.”
Customers can also improve future shopping experiences by filing complaints to the retailer,instead of complaining to the rest of the world.Retailers are hard-pressed to improve when they have no idea what iswrong.
6.Why are storemanagers often the last to hear complaints?
A)Most customerswon’t bother to complain even if they have had unhappy experiences.
B)Customerswould rather relate their unhappy experiences to people around them.
C)Few customers believe the service will be improved.
D)Customers have no easy access to storemanagers.
7.What does Paula Courtney imply by saying“…the shoppermustalso find a replacement”(Line 2,Para.4)?
A)New customers are bound to replace old ones.
B)It is not likely the shopper can find the same products in other stores.
C)Most stores provide the same.
D)Not complaining to themanager causes the shopper some trouble too.
8.Shop owners often hiremoonlighting police as parking attendants so that shoppers_________.
A)can stay longer browsing in the store
B)won’t have trouble parking their cars
C)won’t have any worries about security
D)can find their cars easily after shopping
9.What contributesmost to smoothing over issueswith customers?
A)Manners of the salespeople.
B)Hiring of efficient employees.
C)Huge supply of goods for sale.
D)Design of the store layout.
10.To achieve better shopping experiences,customers are advised to________.
A)exert pressure on stores to improve their service
B)settle their disputeswith stores in a diplomatic way
C)voice their dissatisfaction to storemanagers directly
D)shop around and make comparisons between stores
Translate the follow ing sentences into Chinese:
1.According to statistics,you are more than twice as likely to die of skin cancer than a woman,and nine timesmore likely to die of AIDS.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
2.He believesmost diseases that commonly affectmen could be addressed by preventive check-ups.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
3.Store managers are often the last to hear complaints,and often find out only when their regular customers decide to frequent their competitors,according to a study jointly conducted by Verde group and Wharton school.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Exercise Two
Passage One
The January fashion show,called Future Fashion,exemplified how far green design has come.Organized by the New York-based nonprofit Earth Pledge,the show inspired many top designers to work with sustainable fabrics for the first time.Several have sincemade pledges to include organic fabrics in their lines.
The designers who undertake green fashion still face many challenges.Scott Hahn,cofounder with Gregory of Rogan and Loomstate,which uses all-organic cotton,says highquality sustainablematerials can still be tough to find.“Most designerswith existing labels are finding there aren’t comparable fabrics that can just replacewhat you’re doing and what your customers are used to,”he says.For example,organic cotton and non-organic cotton are virtually indistinguishable once woven into a dress.But some popular synthetics,like stretch nylon,still have few eco-friendly equivalents.
Those who domake the switch are finding they havemore support.Last year the influential trade show Designers&Agents stopped charging its participation fee for young green entrepreneurs(企業(yè)家)who attend its two springtime shows in Los Angeles and New York and gave special recognition to designers whose collections are at least 25% sustainable.It now counts more than 50 green designers,up from fewer than a dozen two years ago.Thisweek Wal-Mart is set to announce a major initiative aimed at helping cotton farmers go organic:it will buy transitional(過渡型的)cotton at higher prices,thus helping to expand the supply of a key sustainablematerial.“Mainstream is about to occur,”says Hahn.
Some analysts(分析師)are less sure.Among consumers,only 18% are even aware that ecofashion exists,up from 16% four years ago.Natalie Hormilla,a fashion writer,is an example of the unconverted consumer.When asked if she owned any sustainable clothes,she replied:“Not that I’m aware of.”Likemost consumers,she finds little time to shop,and when she does,she’s on the hunt for“cute stuff that isn’t too expensive.”By her own admission,green just isn’tyeton hermind.But—thanks to the combined efforts of designers,retailers and suppliers—one day itwill be.
1.What is said about Future Fashion?
A)It inspired many leading designers to start going green.
B)It showed that designers using organic fabricswould go far.
C)It served as an example of how fashion shows should be organized.
D)It convinced the public that fashionable clothes should bemade durable.
2.According to Scott Hahn,one big challenge to designerswho will go organic is that_________.
A)muchmore time is needed to finish a dress using sustainablematerials
B)they have to create new brands for clothesmade of organicmaterials
C)customers have difficulty telling organic from non-organicmaterials
D)quality organic replacements for synthetics are not readily available
3.We learn from Paragraph 3that designerswho undertake green fashion_________.
A)can attend various trade shows free
B)are readily recognized by the fashion world
C)can buy organic cotton at favorable prices
D)are gainingmore and more support
4.What is Natalie Hormilla’s attitude toward ecofashion?
A)She doesn’t seem to care about it.
B)She doesn’t think it is sustainable.
C)She is doubtful of its practical value.
D)She is verymuch opposed to the idea.
5.What does the author think of green fashion?
A)Green productswill soon gomainstream.
B)It has a very promising future.
C)Consumers have the final say.
D)Itwill appealmore to young people.
Passage Two
Scientists have devised away to determine roughly where a person has lived using a strand(縷)of hair,a technique that could help track the movements of criminal suspects or unidentified murder victims.
Themethod relies on measuring how chemical variations in drinking water show up in people’s hair.
“You’re what you eat and drink,and that’s recorded in your hair,”said Thure Ceiling,a geologist at the University of Utah.
While U.S.diet is relatively identical,water supplies vary.The differences result from weather patterns.The chemical composition of rainfall changes slightly as rain cloudsmove.
Most hydrogen and oxygen atoms in water are stable,but traces of both elements are also present as heavier isotopes(同位素).The heaviest rain falls first.As a result,storms that form over the Pacific deliver heavier water to California than to Utah.
Similar patterns exist throughout the U.S.Bymeasuring the proportion ofheavier hydrogen and oxygen isotopes along a strand of hair,scientists can construct a geographic timeline.Each inch of hair corresponds to about twomonths.
Cerling’s team collected tap water samples from 600 cities and constructed amap of the regional differences.They checked the accuracy or the map by testing 200 hair samples collected from 65 barber shops.
Theywere able to accurately place the hair samples in broad regions roughly corresponding to themovement of rain systems.
“It’s not good for pinpointing(精確定位),”Ceding said.“It’s good for eliminating many possibilities.”
Todd Park,a local detective,said the method has helped him learn more about an unidentified woman whose skeleton was found near Great Salt Lake.
The woman was 5 feet tall.Police recovered 26 bones,a T-shirt and several strands of hair.
When Park heard about the research,he gave the hair samples to the researchers.Chemical testing showed thatover the two years before her death,shemoved about every twomonths.
She stayed in the Northwest,although the test could not bemore specific than somewhere between eastern Oregon and western Wyoming.
“It’s still a substantial area,”Park said.“But it narrows itway down forme.”
6.What is the scientists’new discovery?
A)One’s hair growth has to do with the amount ofwater they drink.
B)A person’s hairmay revealwhere they have lived.
C)Hair analysis accurately identifies criminal suspects.
D)The chemical composition of hair varies from person to person.
7.What does the authormean by“You’re what you eat and drink”(Line 1,Para.3)?
A)Food and drink affect one’s personality development.
B)Food and drink preferences vary with individuals.
C)Food and drink leave traces in one’s body tissues.
D)Food and drink are indispensable to one’s existence.
8.What is said about the rainfall in America’sWest?
A)There ismuchmore rainfall in California than in Utah.
B)The water it delivers becomes lighter when itmoves inland.
C)Its chemical composition is less stable than in other areas.
D)It gathersmore light isotopes as itmoves eastward.
9.What did Cerling’s team produce in their research?
A)A map showing the regional differences of tap water.
B)A collection of hair samples from various barber shops.
C)Amethod tomeasure the amount ofwater in human hair.
D)A chart illustrating themovement of the rain system.
10.What is the practical value of Cerling’s research?
A)It helps analyze the quality ofwater in different regions.
B)It helps the police determinewhere a crime is committed.
C)It helps the police narrow down possibilities in detective work.
D)It helps identify the drinking habits of the person under investigation.
Translate the follow ing sentences into Chinese:
1.Most designerswith existing labels are finding there aren’t comparable fabrics that can just replace what you’re doing and what your customers are used to.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
2.Last year the influential trade show Designers&Agents stopped charging its participation fee for young green entrepreneurs who attend its two springtime shows in Los Angeles and New York and gave special recognition to designerswhose collections are at least 25% sustainable.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
3.Scientists have devised away to determine roughlywhere a person has lived using a strand of hair,a technique that could help track themovements of criminal suspects or unidentified murder victims.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
4.Todd Park,a local detective,said the method has helped him learn more about an unidentified woman whose skeleton was found near Great Salt Lake.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Exercise Three
Passage One
Throughout this long,tense election,everyone has focused on the presidential candidates and how they’ll change America.Rightly so,but selfishly,I’m more fascinated by Michelle Obama and what shemight be able to do,not just for this country,but forme as an African-American woman.As the potential First Lady,she would have the world’s attention.And that means that for the first time people will have a chance to get up close and personal with the type of African-American woman they so rarely see.
Usually,the lives of black women go largely unexamined.The prevailing theory seems to be thatwe’re all hot-tempered single mothers who can’t keep a man.Even in the world of make-believe,black women still can’t escape the stereotype of being eye-rolling,oversexed females raised by our never-married,alcoholic(酗酒的)mothers.
These images have helped define the way all women are viewed,including Michelle Obama.Before she ever gets the chance to commit to a cause,charity or foundation as First Lady,hermost urgent and perhapsmost complicated dutymay be simply to be herself.
Itwon’t be easy.Because few mainstream publications have done in-depth features on regular African-American women,little is known aboutwhowe are,whatwe think and whatwe face on a regular basis.For better or worse,Michelle will represent us all.
Just as shewill have her critics,shewillalso havemillions of fanswho usually have little interest in the First Lady.Many African-American blogs havewritten aboutwhat they’d like to see Michelle bring to the White House—mainly showing the world that a black woman can support her man and raise a strong black family.Michelle will have to work to please everyone—an impossible task.But formany African-American women likeme,just a little of her poise(沉著),confidence and intelligence will go a long way in changing an image that’s been around for far too long.
1.Why does Michelle Obama hold a strong fascination for the author?
A)She serves as a rolemodel for African-American women.
B)She possessesmany admirable qualities of becoming a First Lady.
C)Shewill present to the world a new image of African-American women.
D)She will pay closer attention to the interests of African-American women.
2.What is the common stereotype of African-American women according to the author?
A)They are victims of violence.
B)They are of an inferior social group.
C)They use quite a lot of body language.
D)They live on charity and socialwelfare.
3.What domany African-Americanswrite about in their blogs?
A)Whether Michelle can live up to the high expectations of her fans.
B)How Michelle should behave as a public figure.
C)How proud they are to have a black woman in theWhite House.
D)WhatMichelle should do aswife and mother in theWhite House.
4.What does the author say about Michelle Obama as a First Lady?
A)Howevermany fans she has,she should remainmodest.
B)She shouldn’t disappoint the African-American community.
C)However hard she tries,she can’t expect to please everybody.
D)She will give priority to African-American women’s concerns.
5.What domany African-American women hope Michelle Obama will do?
A)Help change the prevailing view about black women.
B)Help her husband in the task of changingAmerica.
C)Outshine previous First Ladies.
D)Fully display her fine qualities.
Passage Two
When next year’s crop of high-school graduates arrive at Oxford University in the fall of 2009,they’ll be joined by a new face:Andrew Hamilton,the 55-year-old provost(教務(wù)長)of Yale,who’ll become Oxford’s vice-chancellor—a position equivalent to university president in America.
Hamilton isn’t the only educator crossing the Atlantic.Schools in France,Egypt,Singapore,etc,have also recently made top-level hires from abroad.Higher education has become a big and competitive business nowadays,and like so many businesses,it’s gone global.Yet the talent flow isn’t universal.High-level personnel tend to head in only one direction:outward from America.
The chief reason is that American schools don’t tend to seriously consider looking abroad.For example,when the board of the University of Colorado searched for a new president,it wanted a leader familiar with the state government,amajor source of the university’s budget.“We didn’t do any global consideration,”says Patricia Hayes,the board’s chair.The board ultimately picked Bruce Benson,a 69-year-old Colorado businessman and political activist(活動家)who is likely to dowell in themain task ofmodern university presidents:fund-raising.Fund-raising is a distinctively American thing,since U.S.schools rely heavily on donations.The fund-raising ability is largely a productof experience and necessity.
Many European universities,meanwhile,are still mostly dependent on government funding.But government support has failed to keep pace with rising student number.The decline in governmentsupporthasmade funding-raising an increasingly necessary ability among administrators and has hiring committees hungry for Americans.
In the past few years,prominent schools around theworld have joined the trend.In 2003,when Cambridge University appointed Alison Richard,another former Yale provost,as its vicechancellor,the university publicly stressed that in her previous job she had overseen“amajor strengthening of Yale’s financial position”.
Of course,fund-raising isn’t the only skill outsiders offer.The globalization of education meansmore universities will be seeking heads with international experience of some kind to promote international programs and attract a global student body.Foreigners can offer a fresh perspective on established practices.
6.What is the current trend in higher education discussed in the passage?
A)Institutionsworldwide are hiring administrators from the U.S.
B)A lot of political activists are being recruited as administrators.
C)American universities are enrollingmore international students.
D)University presidents are payingmore attention to funding-raising.
7.What is the chief consideration of American universitieswhen hiring top-level administrators?
A)Their political correctness. B)Their ability to raise funds.
C)Their fame in academic circles. D)Their administrative experience.
8.What do we learn about European universities from the passage?
A)The tuitions they charge have been rising considerably.
B)Their operation is under strict government supervision.
C)They are strengthening their position by globalization.
D)Mostof their revenues come from the government.
9.Cambridge University appointed Alison Richard as its vice-chancellor chiefly because_____________.
A)she was known to be good at raisingmoney
B)she could help strengthen its tieswith Yale
C)she knew how to attract students overseas
D)she had boosted Yale’s academic status
10.In whatway do top-level administrators from abroad contribute to university development?
A)They can enhance the university’s image.
B)They will bring with them more international faculty.
C)They will view a lot of things from a new perspective.
D)They can set up new academic disciplines.
Translate the follow ing sentences into Chinese:
1.Because few mainstream publications have done in-depth features on regular African-American women,little is known aboutwho we are,whatwe think and whatwe face on a regular basis.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
2.But formany African-American women like me,just a little of her poise,confidence and intelligence will go a long way in changing an image that’s been around for far too long.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
3.The decline in governmentsupporthasmade funding-raising an increasingly necessary ability among administrators and has hiring committees hungry for Americans.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
4.The globalization of education means more universities will be seeking heads with international experience of some kind to promote international programs and attract a global student body.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Exercise Four
Passage One
You never see them,but they’re with you every time you fly.They record where you are going,how fast you’re traveling and whether everything on your airplane is functioning normally.Their ability towithstand almost any disastermakes them seem like something out of the comic book.They’re known as the black box.
When planes fall from the sky,as a Yemeni airliner did on itsway to Comoros Islands in the India Ocean June 30,2009,the black box is the bestbet for identifyingwhatwentwrong. Sowhen a French submarine(潛水艇)detected the device’s homing signal five days later,the discovery marked a huge step toward determining the cause of a tragedy in which 152 passengerswere killed.
In 1958,Australian scientist David Warren developed a flight-memory recorder thatwould track basic information like altitude and direction.That was the firstmodel for a black box,which became a requirement on all U.S.commercial flights by 1960.Earlymodels often failed to withstand crashes,however,so in 1965 the devicewas completely redesigned and moved to the rear of the plane—the area least subject to impact—from its original position in the landing wells(起落架艙).The same year,the Federal Aviation Authority required that the boxes,which were never actually black,be painted orange or yellow to aid visibility.
Modern airplanes have two black boxes:a voice recorder,which tracks pilots’conversations,and a flight-data recorder,which monitors fuel levels,engine noises and other operating functions thathelp investigators reconstruct the aircraft’s finalmoments.Placed in an insulated(隔絕的)case and surrounded by a quarter-inch-thick panels of stainless steel,the boxes canwithstandmassive force and temperatures up to 2,000℉.When submerged,they’re also able to emit signals from depths of 20,000 ft.Experts believe the boxes from Air France Flight447,which crashed near Brazil on June 1,2009,are in water nearly that deep,but statistics say they’re still likely to turn up.In the approximately 20 deep-sea crashes over the past30 years,only one plane’s black boxeswere never recovered.
1.What does the author say about the black box?
A)It ensures the normal functioning of an airplane.
B)The idea for its design comes from a comic book.
C)Its ability to ward off disasters is incredible.
D)It is an indispensable device on an airplane.
2.What information could be found from the black box on the Yemeniairliner?
A)Data for analyzing the cause of the crash.
B)The total number of passengers on board.
C)The scene of the crash and extent of the damage.
D)Homing signals sent by the pilot before the crash.
3.Why was the black box redesigned in 1965?
A)New materials became available by that time.
B)Toomuch space was needed for its installation.
C)The earlymodels often got damaged in the crash.
D)The earlymodels didn’t provide the needed data.
4.Why did the Federal Aviation Authority require the black boxes be painted orange or yellow?
A)To distinguish them from the colour of the plane.
B)To caution people to handle them with care.
C)Tomake them easily identifiable.
D)To conform to international standards.
5.What do we know about the black boxes from Air France Flight 447?
A)There is still a good chance of their being recovered.
B)There is an urgent need for them to be reconstructed.
C)They have stopped sending homing signals.
D)They were destroyed somewhere near Brazil.
Passage Two
The 11 billion self-help industry is built on the idea that you should turn negative thoughts like“I never do anything right”into positive ones like“I can succeed”.But was positive thinking advocate Norman Vincent Peale right?Is there power in positive thinking?
Researchers in Canada justpublished a study in the journal Psychological Science thatsays trying to get people to thinkmore positively can actually have the opposite effect:it can simply highlight how unhappy they are.
The study’s authors,JoanneWood and John Lee of the University ofWaterloo and Elaine Perunovic of the University of New Brunswick,begin by citing older research showing that when people get feedback which they believe is overly positive,they actually feel worse,not better.If you tell your dim friend that he has the potential of an Einstein,you’re just underlining his faults.In one 1990s experiment,a team including psychologist Joel Cooper of Princeton asked participants to write essays opposing funding for the disabled.When the essayists were later praised for their sympathy,they felt even worse about what they had written.
In this experiment,Wood,Lee and Perunovic measured 68 students’self-esteem.The participantswere then asked to write down their thoughts and feelings for fourminutes.Every 15 seconds,one group of students heard a bell.When it rang,they were supposed to tell themselves,“Iam lovable”.
Thosewith low self-esteem didn’t feelbetter after the forced self-affirmation.In fact,their moods turned significantly darker than those of members of the control group,who weren’t urged to think positive thoughts.
The paper provides support for newer formsof psychotherapy(心理治療)thaturge people to accept their negative thoughts and feelings rather than fight them.In the fighting,we notonly often fail but can make things worse.Meditation(靜思)techniques,in contrast,can teach people to put their shortcomings into a larger,more realistic perspective.Call it the power of negative thinking.
6.What do we learn from the first paragraph about the self-help industry?
A)It is a highly profitable industry.
B)It is based on the concept of positive thinking.
C)Itwas established by Norman Vincent Peale.
D)It has yielded positive results.
7.What is the finding of the Canadian researchers?
A)Encouraging positive thinkingmay domore harm than good.
B)There can be no simple therapy for psychological problems.
C)Unhappy people cannot think positively.
D)The power of positive thinking is limited.
8.What does the authormean by“…you’re justunderlining his faults”(Line 4,Para.3)?
A)You are not taking hismistakes seriously enough.
B)You are pointing out the errors he has committed.
C)You are emphasizing the fact that he is not intelligent.
D)You are trying tomake him feel better about his faults.
9.What do we learn from the experiment ofWood,Lee and Perunovic?
A)It is important for people to continually boost their self-esteem.
B)Self-affirmation can bring a positive change to one’smood.
C)Forcing a person to think positive thoughtsmay lower their self-esteem.
D)Peoplewith low self-esteem seldom write down their true feelings.
10.What do we learn from the last paragraph?
A)The effects of positive thinking vary from person to person.
B)Meditationmay prove to be a good form of psychotherapy.
C)Different people tend to have differentways of thinking.
D)People can avoid makingmistakes through meditation.
Translate the follow ing sentences into Chinese:
1.So when a French submarine detected the device’s homing signal five days later,the discovery marked a huge step toward determining the cause of a tragedy in which 152 passengerswere killed.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
2.Modern airplanes have two black boxes:a voice recorder,which tracks pilots’conversations,and a flight-data recorder,which monitors fuel levels,engine noises and other operating functions that help investigators reconstruct the aircraft’s finalmoments.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
3.The study’s authors begin by citing older research showing that when people get feedback which they believe is overly positive,they actually feelworse,not better.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
4.The paper provides support for newer forms of psychotherapy thaturge people to accept their negative thoughts and feelings rather than fight them.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Exercise Five
Passage One
It is prettymuch a one-way street.While itmay be common for university researchers to try their luck in the commercialworld,there is very little traffic in the opposite direction.Pay has always been the biggest deterrent,as people with families often feel they cannot afford the drop in salary when moving to a university job.For some industrial scientists,however,the attractions of academia(學(xué)術(shù)界)outweigh any financial considerations.
Helen Lee took a 70% cut in salary when she moved from a senior post in Abbott Laboratories to a medical department at the University of Cambridge.Her main reason for returning to academia mid-career was to take advantage of the greater freedom to choose research questions.Some areas of inquiry have few prospects of a commercial return,and Lee’s is one of them.
The impact of a salary cut is probably less severe for a scientist in the early stages of a career.Guy Grant,now a research associate at the Unilever Centre for Molecular Informatics at the University of Cambridge,spent two yearsworking for a pharmaceutical(制藥的)company before returning to university as a post-doctoral researcher.He took a 30% salary cutbut felt it worthwhile for the greater intellectual opportunities.
Higher up the ladder,where a pay cut is usually more significant,the demand for scientistswith a wealth of experience in industry is forcing universities to make the transition(轉(zhuǎn)換)to academia more attractive,according to Lee.Industrial scientists tend to receive training thatacademics do not,such as how to build amultidisciplinary team,manage budgets and negotiate contracts.They are also well placed to bring something extra to the teaching side of an academic role that will help students get a job when they graduate,says Lee,perhaps experience in manufacturing practice or product development.“Only a small number of undergraduateswill continue in an academic career.So someone leaving university who already has the skills needed to work in an industrial lab has farmore potential in the jobmarket than someone who has spentall their time on a narrow research project.”
1.By“a one-way street”(Line 1,Para.1),the authormeans______.
A)university researchers know little about the commercialworld
B)there is little exchange between industry and academia
C)few industrial scientistswould quit to work in a university
D)few university professors arewilling to do industrial research
2.The word“deterrent”(Line 3,Para.1)most probably refers to something that______.
A)keeps someone from taking action B)helps tomove the traffic
C)attracts people’s attention D)brings someone a financial burden
3.Whatwas Helen Lee’smajor consideration when she changed her job in themiddle of her career?
A)Flexible work hours. B)Her research interests.
C)Her preference for the lifestyle on campus.D)Prospects of academic accomplishments.
4.Guy Grant chose to work as a researcher at Cambridge in order to_____.
A)do financiallymore rewarding work
B)raise his status in the academic world
C)enrich his experience inmedical research
D)exploit better intellectual opportunities
5.What contribution can industrial scientistsmake when they come to teach in a university?
A)Increase its graduates’competitiveness in the jobmarket.
B)Develop its students’potential in research.
C)Help it to obtain financial support from industry.
D)Gear its research towards practical applications.
Passage Two
Being sociable looks like a good way to add years to your life.Relationshipswith family,friends,neighbours,even pets,will all do the trick,but the biggest longevity(長壽)boost seems to come from marriage or an equivalent relationship.The effectwas firstnoted in 1858 by William Farr,whowrote thatwidows and widowers(鰥夫)were atamuch higher risk of dying than theirmarried peers.Studies since then suggest thatmarriage could add asmuch as seven years to aman’s life and two to a woman’s.The effect holds for all causes of death,whether illness,accident or self-harm.
Even if the odds are stacked against you,marriage can more than compensate.Linda Waite of the University of Chicago has found that amarried olderman with heart disease can expect to live nearly four years longer than an unmarriedman with a healthy heart.Likewise,a marriedman who smokesmore than a pack a day is likely to live as long as a divorcedman who doesn’t smoke.There’s a flip side,however,as partners aremore likely to become ill or die in the couple of years following their spouse’s death,and caring for a spouse with mental disorder can leave you with some of the same severe problems.Even so,the odds favour marriage.In a 30-year study of more than 10,000 people,Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School describes how all kinds of social networks have similar effects.
So how does itwork?The effects are complex,affected by socio-economic factors,healthservice provision,emotional support and othermore physiological(生理的)mechanisms.For example,social contact can boost development of the brain and immune system,leading to better health and less chance of depression later in life.People in supportive relationshipsmay handle stress better.Then there are the psychological benefits of a supportive partner.
A life partner,children and good friends are all recommended if you aim to live to 100.The ultimate social network is still being mapped out,but Christakis says:“People are interconnected,so their health is interconnected.”
6.William Farr’s study and other studies show that____.
A)social life provides an effective cure for illness
B)being sociable helps improve one’s quality of life
C)women benefitmore thanmen from marriage
D)marriage contributes a great deal to longevity
7.LindaWaite’s studies support the idea that____.
A)oldermen should quit smoking to stay healthy
B)marriage can helpmake up for ill health
C)themarried are happier than the unmarried
D)unmarried people are likely to suffer in later life
8.It can be inferred from the context that the“flip side”(Line 5,Para.2)refers to_____.
A)the disadvantages of beingmarried
B)the emotional problems arising from marriage
C)the responsibility of taking care of one’s family
D)the consequence of a brokenmarriage
9.What does the author say about social networks?
A)They have effects similar to those of amarriage.
B)They help develop people’s community spirit.
C)They provide timely support for those in need.
D)They help relieve people of their life’s burdens.
10.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A)It’s important thatwe develop a social network when young.
B)To stay healthy,one should have a proper social network.
C)Getting a divorcemeans risking a reduced life span.
D)We should share our social networkswith each other.
Translate the follow ing sentences into Chinese:
1.Higher up the ladder,where a pay cut is usuallymore significant,the demand for scientists with a wealth of experience in industry is forcing universities to make the transition to academiamore attractive,according to Lee.
_______________________
_______________________
2.So someone leaving university who already has the skills needed towork in an industrial lab has farmore potential in the job market than someone who has spent all their time on a narrow research project.
_______________________
_______________________
3.There’s a flip side,however,as partners aremore likely to become ill or die in the couple of years following their spouse’s death,and caring for a spouse with mental disorder can leave you with some of the same severe problems.
_______________________
_______________________
Exercise Six
Passage One
Several recent studies have found that being randomly(隨機(jī)地)assigned to a roommate of another race can lead to increased tolerance but also to a greater likelihood(可能性)of conflict.
Recent reports found that lodgingwith a studentof a different racemay decrease prejudice and compel students to engage inmore ethnically diverse friendships.
An Ohio State University study also found thatblack students livingwith awhite roommate saw higher academic success throughout their college careers.Researchers believe thismay be caused by social pressure.
In a New York Times article,Sam Boakye—the only black student on his freshman year floor—said that“if you’re surrounded by whites,you have something to prove”.
Researchers also observed problems resulting from pairing interracial students in residences.
According to two recent studies,randomly assigned roommates of different races aremore likely to experience conflicts so strained that one roommate willmove out.
An Indiana University study found that interracial roommateswere three times as likely as two white roommates to no longer live together by the end of the semester.
Grace Kao,a professor at Penn said shewas not surprised by the findings.“Thismay be the first time that some of these students have interacted,and lived,with someone of a different race,”she said.
At Penn,students are not asked to indicate race when applying for housing.
“One of the great things about freshman housing is that,with some exceptions,the process throws you together randomly,”said Undergraduate Assembly chairman Alec Webley.“This is the definition of integration.”
“I’ve experienced roommate conflicts between interracial students that have both broken down stereotypes and reinforced stereotypes,”said one Penn residentadvisor(RA).The RA of two years added thatwhile some conflicts“providedmoremulticultural acceptance and melding(融合)”,therewere also“jarring cultural confrontations”.
The RA said that these conflicts have also occurred among roommates of the same race.
Kao said she cautions against forming any generalizations based on any one of the studies,noting thatmore background characteristics of the students need to be studied and explained.
1.What can we learn from some recent studies?
A)Conflicts between students of different races are unavoidable.
B)Students of different races are prejudiced againsteach other.
C)Interracial lodging doesmore harm than good.
D)Interracial lodgingmay have diverse outcomes.
2.What does Sam Boakye’s remark mean?
A)White students tend to look down upon their black peers.
B)Black students can compete with their white peers academically.
C)Black students feel somewhat embarrassed among white peers during the freshman year.
D)Being surrounded by white peersmotivates a black student to work harder to succeed.
3.What does the Indiana University study show?
A)Interracial roommates aremore likely to fall out.
B)Few white students like sharing a room with a black peer.
C)Roommates of different races just don’t get along.
D)Assigning students’lodging randomly is not a good policy.
4.What does Alec Webley consider to be the“definition of integration”?
A)Students of different races are required to share a room.
B)Interracial lodging is arranged by the school for freshmen.
C)Lodging is assigned to students of different raceswithout exception.
D)The school randomly assigns roommateswithout regard to race.
5.What does Grace Kao say about interracial lodging?
A)It is unscientific tomake generalizations about itwithout further study.
B)Schools should be cautiouswhen making decisions about student lodging.
C)Students’racial background should be considered before lodging is assigned.
D)Experienced resident advisors should be assigned to handle the problems.
Passage Two
Globalwarming is causingmore than 300,000deaths and about 125 billion in economic losses each year,according to a reportby the Global Humanitarian Forum,an organization led by Kofi Annan,the former United Nations secretary general.
The report,to be released Friday,analyzed data and existing studies of health,disaster,population and economic trends.It found that human-influenced climate changewas raising the global death rates from illnesses including malnutrition(營養(yǎng)不良)and heat-related health problems.
But even before its release,the report drew criticism from some experts on climate and risk,who questioned itsmethods and conclusions.
Along with the deaths,the report said that the lives of 325 million people,primarily in poor countries,were being seriously affected by climate change.It projected that the number would double by 2030.
Roger Pielke Jr.,a political scientistat the University of Colorado,Boulder,who studies disaster trends,said the Forum’s reportwas“amethodological embarrassment”because there was no way to distinguish deaths or economic losses related to human-driven global warming amid themuch larger losses resulting from the growth in populations and economic development in vulnerable(易受傷害的)regions.Dr.Pielke said that“climate change is an important problem requiring our utmost attention”.But the report,he said,“will harm the cause for action on both climate change and disasters because it is so deeply flawed(有瑕疵的).”
However,Soren Andreasen,a social scientist at Dalberg Global Development Partners who supervised thewriting of the report,defended it,saying that itwas clear that the numbers were rough estimates.He said the report was aimed at world leaders,who will meet in Copenhagen in December to negotiate a new international climate treaty.
In a press release describing the report,Mr.Annan stressed the need for the negotiations to focus on increasing the flow of money from rich to poor regions to help reduce their vulnerability to climate hazards while still curbing the emissions of the heat-trapping gases.More than 90% of the human and economic losses from climate change are occurring in poor countries,according to the report.
6.What is the finding of the Global Humanitarian Forum?
A)Global temperatures affect the rate of economic development.
B)Rates of death from illnesses have risen due to globalwarming.
C)Malnutrition has caused serious health problems in poor countries.
D)Economic trends have to do with population and natural disasters.
7.What do we learn about the Forum’s report from the passage?
A)Itwas challenged by some climate and risk experts.
B)It aroused a lot of interest in the scientific circles.
C)Itwaswarmly received by environmentalists.
D)It caused a big stir in developing countries.
8.What does Dr.Pielke say about the Forum’s report?
A)Its statistics look embarrassing. B)It is invalid in terms ofmethodology.
C)It deserves our closest attention. D)Its conclusion is purposely exaggerated.
9.What is Soren Andreasen’s view of the report?
A)Its conclusions are based on carefully collected data.
B)It is vulnerable to criticism if the statistics are closely examined.
C)Itwill give rise to heated discussions at the Copenhagen conference.
D)Its rough estimates aremeant to draw the attention ofworld leaders.
10.What does Kofi Annan say should be the focus of the Copenhagen conference?
A)How rich and poor regions can share responsibility in curbing global warming.
B)How human and economic losses from climate change can be reduced.
C)How emissions of heat-trapping gases can be reduced on a global scale.
D)How rich countries can better help poor regions reduce climate hazards.
Translate the follow ing sentences into Chinese:
1.Roger,a political scientist at the University of Colorado,who studies disaster trends,said the Forum’s report was“a methodological embarrassment”because there was no way to distinguish deaths or economic losses related to human-driven globalwarming amid themuch larger losses resulting from the growth in populations and economic development in vulnerable regions.
_______________________
_______________________
2.In a press release describing the report,Mr.Annan stressed the need for the negotiations to focus on increasing the flow of money from rich to poor regions to help reduce their vulnerability to climate hazardswhile still curbing the emissions of the heat-trapping gases.
_______________________
_______________________
Exercise Seven
Passage One
Boys’schools are the perfect place to teach young men to express their emotions and involve them in activities such as art,dance and music.
Far from the traditional image of a culture of aggressive masculinity(陽剛),the absence of girls gives boys the chance to develop without pressure to conform to a stereotype,the US study says.
Boys at single-sex schools were said to be more likely to get involved in cultural and artistic activities that helped develop their emotional expressiveness,rather than feeling they had to conform to the“boy code”of hiding their emotions to be a“realman”.
The findings of the study go against received wisdom that boys do better when taught alongside girls.
Tony Little,headmaster of Eton,warned that boys were being failed by the British education system because it had become too focused on girls.He criticized teachers for failing to recognize that boys are actuallymore emotional than girls.
The research argued that boys often perform badly inmixed schools because they become discouraged when their female peers do better earlier in speaking and reading skills.
But in single-sex schools teachers can tailor lessons to boys’learning style,letting them move around the classroom and getting them to compete in teams to preventboredom,wrote the study’s author,Abigail James,of the University of Virginia.
Teachers could encourage boys to enjoy reading and writing with specifically“boyfocused”approaches such as themesand characters thatappeal to them.Because boys generally havemore acute vision,learn best through touch,and are physicallymore active,they need to be given“hands-on”lessonswhere they are allowed to walk around.“Boys in mixed schools view classicalmusic as feminine(女性的)and prefer the modern genre(類型)in which violence and sexism aremajor themes,”Jameswrote.
Single-sex education alsomade it less likely thatboyswould feel they had to conform to a stereotype thatmen should be“masterful and in charge”in relationships.“In mixed schools,boys feel compelled to act like men before they understand themselves well enough to know what thatmeans,”the study reported.
1.The author believes that a single-sex schoolwould____.
A)force boys to hide their emotions to be“realman”
B)help to cultivatemasculine aggressiveness in boys
C)encourage boys to express their emotionsmore freely
D)naturally reinforce in boys that traditional image of aman
2.It is commonly believed that in amixed schools boys____.
A)perform relatively better B)grow upmore healthily
C)behavemore responsibly D)receive a better education
3.What does Tony Little say about the British education system?
A)It failsmore boys than girls academically.
B)It focusesmore onmixed school education.
C)It fails to give boys the attention they need.
D)It placesmore pressure on boys than on girls.
4.According to Abigail James,one of the advantages of single-sex schools is____.
A)teaching can be tailored to suit the characteristics of boys
B)boys can focus on their lessonswithout being distracted
C)boys can choose to learn whatever they are interested in
D)teaching can be designed to promote boys’team spirit
5.Which of the following is characteristic of boys according to Abigail James’report?
A)They enjoy being in charge. B)They conform to stereotypes.
C)They have sharper vision. D)They are violent and sexist.
Passage Two
It’s an annual argument.Do we or do we not go on holiday?My partner says no because the boiler could go,or the roof fall off,and we have no savings to save us.Isay that you only live once and we work hard and what’s the point if you can’t go on holiday.The joy of a recessionmeans no argument next year—we justwon’t go.
Sincemoney is known to be one of the things most likely to bring a relationship to its knees,we should be grateful.Formany families the recession meansmore than not booking a holiday.A YouGov poll of 2,000 people found 22% said they were arguing more with their partners because of concerns aboutmoney.What’s less clear iswhether divorce and separation rates rise in a recession—financial pressuresmean couples arguemore butmake splitting up less affordable.A recent research shows arguments aboutmoney were especially damaging to couples.Disputeswere characterized by intense verbal(言語上的)aggression,tended to be repeated and not resolved,and mademen,more than women,extremely angry.
Kim Stephenson,an occupational psychologist,believesmoney is such a big deal because ofwhat it symbolizes,whichmay be different things tomen and women.“People can say the same things aboutmoney but have different conceptions ofwhat it is for,”he explains.“They will say it’s to save,to spend,for security,for freedom,to show someone you love them.”He saysmen are more likely to see money as a way of buying status and of showing their parents that they’ve achieved something.
“The biggest problem is that couples assume each other knowswhat is going on with their finances,but they don’t.There seems to bemore ofa taboo(禁忌)about talking aboutmoney than talking about death.But you both need to know what you are doing,who is paying what into the joint account and how much you keep separately.In a healthy relationship you don’t have to agree aboutmoney,but you have to talk about it.”
6.What does the author say about vacationing?
A)People enjoy it all themore during a recession.
B)Few people can afford itwithoutworking hard.
C)Itmakes all the hard work worthwhile.
D)It is the chief cause of family disputes.
7.What does the author mean by saying“money is known…to bring a relationship to its
knees”(Line1,Para.2)?
A)Money is considered to be the root of all evils.
B)Some people sacrifice their dignity formoney.
C)Few people can resist the temptation ofmoney.
D)Disputes overmoneymay ruin a relationship.
8.The YouGov poll of 2,000people indicates that in a recession_____.
A)conflicts between couples tend to rise
B)it ismore expensive for couples to split up
C)couples show more concern for each other
D)divorce and separation rates increase
9.What does Kim Stephenson believe?
A)Money is often a symbol of a person’s status.
B)Moneymeans a great deal to bothmen and women.
C)Men and women spend money on different things.
D)Men and women view money in differentways.
10.The author suggests at the end of the passage that couples should_____.
A)put theirmoney together instead of keeping it separately
B)make efforts to reach agreement on their family budgets
C)discussmoneymatters tomaintain a healthy relationship
D)avoid arguing aboutmoneymatters to remain romantic
Translate the follow ing sentences into Chinese:
1.Boys at single sex schoolswere said to bemore likely to get involved in cultural and artistic activities that helped develop their emotional expressiveness,rather than feeling they had to conform to the“boy code”of hiding their emotions to be a“realman”.
_______________________
_______________________
2.Single-sex education alsomade it less likely that boys would feel they had to conform to a stereotype thatmen should be“masterful and in charge”in relationships.
_______________________
_______________________
3.Kim Stephenson,an occupational psychologist,believesmoney is such a big dealbecause of what it symbolizes,whichmay be different things tomen and women.
_______________________
_______________________
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