1989年大学英语四级考试阅读篇章

Passage Four Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage: The American baby boom after the war made unconvincing U.S. advice to poor countries that they restrain their births. However, there has hardly been a year since 1957 in which birth rates have not fallen in the United States and other rich countries, and in 1976 the fall was especially sharp. Both East Germany and West Germany have fewer births than they have deaths, and the United States is only temporarily able to avoid this condition because the children of the baby boom are now an exceptionally large group of married couples. It is true that Americans do not typically plan their births to set an example for developing nations. We are more affected by women’s liberation: once women see interesting and well-paid jobs and careers available, they are less willing to provide free labor for child raising. From costing nothing, children suddenly come to seem impossibly expensive. And to the high cost of children are added the uncertainties introduced by divorce; couples are increasingly unwilling to subject children to the terrible experience of marital (婚姻的) breakdown and themselves to the difficulty of raising a child alone. These circumstances — women working outside the home and the instability of marriage — tend to spread with industrial society and they will affect more and more countries during the remainder of this century. Along with them goes social mobility, ambition to rise in the urban world, a main factor in bringing down the births in Europe in the nineteenth century. Food shortage will happen again when the reserves resulting from the good harvests of 1976 and 1977 have been consumed. Urbanization is likely to continue, with the cities of the developing nations struggling under the weight of twice their present populations by the year 2000. The presently rich countries are approaching a stable population largely because of the changed place of women, and they incidentally are setting an example of restraint to the rest of the world. Industrial society will spread to the poor countries, and aspirations (渴望) will exceed resources. All this will lead to a population in the twenty-first century that is smaller than was feared a few years ago. For those anxious to see world population brought under control the news is encouraging. 36. During the years from 1957 to 1976, the birth rate of the United States . A) increased C) experienced both falls and rises B) was reduced D) remained stable 37. What influences the birth rate most in the United States is .考试⼤ A) highly paid jobs C) expenses of child raising B) women’s desire for independence D) high divorce rate 38. The sentence “From costing nothing, children suddenly come to seem impossibly expensive.” (Line 4, Para. 2) implies that . A) food and clothing for babies are becoming incredibly expensive B) prices are going up dramatically all the time C) to raise children women have to give up interesting and well-paid jobs D) social development has made child-raising inexpensive 39. A chief factor in bringing down the births in Europe in the 19th century is . A) birth control 考试⼤ C) the instability of marriage B) the desire to seek fortune in cities D) the changed place of women 40. The population in the 21st century, according to the writer, A) will be smaller than a few years ago B) will not be as small as people expect C) will prove to be a threat to the world D) will not constitute as serious a problem as expected。

英语专业四级考试阅读理解训练（二）Passage OneI lost my sight when I was four years old by falling off a box car in a freight yard in Atlantic City and landing on my head. Now I am thirty two. I can vaguely remember the brightness of sunshine and what color red is. It would be wonderful to see again, but a calamity can do strange things to people. It occurred to me the other day that I might not have come to love life as I do if I hadn't been blind. I believe in life now. I am not so sure that I would have believed in it so deeply, otherwise. I don't mean that I would prefer to go without my eyes. I simply mean that the loss of them made me appreciate the more what I had left.Life, I believe, asks a continuous series of adjustments to reality. The more readily a person is able to make these adjustments, the more meaningful his own private world becomes. The adjustment is never easy. I was bewildered and afraid. But I was lucky. My parents and my teachers saw something in me--a potential to live, you might call it--which I didn't see, and they made me want to fight it out with blindness.The hardest lesson I had to learn was to believe in myself. That was basic. If I hadn't been able to do that, I would have collapsed and become a chair rocker on the front porch for the rest of my life. When I say belief in myself I am not talking about simply the kind of self confidence that helps me down an unfamiliar staircase alone. That is part of it. But I mean something bigger than that: an assurance that I am, despite imperfections, a real, positive person; that somewhere in thesweeping, intricate pattern of people there is a special place where I can make myself fit.It took me years to discover and strengthen this assurance. It had to start with the most elementary things. Once a man gave me an indoor baseball. I thought he was mocking me and I was hurt. "I can't use this." I said. "Take it with you," he urged me, "and roll it around." The words stuck in my head. "Roll it around! "By rolling the ball I could hear where it went. This gave me an idea how to achieve a goal I had thought impossible: playing baseball. At Philadelphia's Overbrook School for the Blind I invented a successful variation of baseball. We called it ground ball.All my life I have set ahead of me a series of goals and then tried to reach them, one at a time. I had to learn my limitations. It was no good to try for something I knew at the start was wildly out of reach because that only invited the bitterness of failure. I would fail sometimes anyway but on the average I made progress.1. We can learn from the beginning of the passage that _____.A. the author lost his sight because of a car crash.B. the author wouldn't love life if the disaster didn't happen.C. the disaster made the author appreciate what he had.D. the disaster strengthened the author's desire to see.2. What's the most difficult thing for the author?A. How to adjust himself to reality.B. Building up assurance that he can find his place in life.C. Learning to manage his life alone.D. To find a special work that suits the author.3. According to the context, "a chair rocker on the front porch" in paragraph 3 means that the author ____.A. would sit in a rocking chair and enjoy his lifeB. was paralyzed and stayed in a rocking chairC. would lose his will to struggle against difficultiesD. would sit in a chair and stay at home4. According to the passage, the baseball and encouragement offered by the man____.A. hurt the author's feelingB. gave the author a deep impression.C. directly led to the invention of ground ball.D. inspired the author.5. According to the passage, which of the following is CORRECT?A. The author set goals for himself but only invited failure most of the time.B. The author suggested not trying something beyond one's ability at the beginning.C. The bitterness of failure prevented the author from trying something out of reach.D. Because of his limitations, the author tried to reach one goal at a time.Passage TwoI have known very few writers, but those I have known, and whom I respected, confess at once that they have little idea where they are going when they first set pen to paper. They have a character, perhaps two; they are in that condition of eager discomfort which passes for inspiration; all admit radical changes of destination once the journey has begun; one, to my certain knowledge, spent nine months on a novel about Kashmir, then reset the whole thing in the Scottish Highlands. I never heard of anyone making a "skeleton", as we were taught at school. In the breaking and remaking, in the timing, interweaving, beginning afresh, the writer comes to discern things in his material which were not consciously in his mind when he began.This organic process, often leading to moments of extraordinary self-discovery, is of an indescribable fascination. A blurred image appears, he adds a brushstroke and another, and it is gone; but something was there, and he will not rest till he has captured it. Sometimes the’ yeast within a w riter outlives a book he has written. I have heard of writers who read nothing but their own books, like adolescents they stand before the mirror, and still cannot fathom the exact outline of the vision beforethem. For the same reason, writers talk interminably about their own books, winkling out hidden meanings, superimposing new ones, begging response from those around them.Of course a writer doing this is misunderstood: he might as well try to explain a crime or a love affair. He is also. Incidentally, an unforgivable bore. This temptation to cover the distance between himself and the reader, to study his image in the sight of those who do not know him, can be his undoing: he has begun to write to please.A young English writer made the pertinent observation a year or two back that the talent goes into the first draft, and the art into the drafts that follow. For this reason also the writer, like any other artist, has no resting place, no crowd or movement in which he may take comfort, no judgment from outside which can replace the judgment from within. A writer makes order out of the anarchy of his heart; he submits himself to a more ruthless discipline than any critic dreamed of, and when he flirts with fame, he is taking time off from living with himself, from the search for what his world contains at its inmost point.1. The writers that the author is familiar with confess that they would _____.A. work out the ending of a novel in advanceB. follow the writing methods learned at schoolC. remodel the main character in writingD. make changes to the stories they first construct2. According to the passage, the process of writingA. depends on skillful planning.B. is predictable and methodological.C. depends on the writers' experiences.D. is disorderly and unsystematic.3. The word "undoing" in the third paragraph probably suggests ___.A. successB. happinessC. failureD. sorrow4. According to the passage, the writer has no resting place becauseA. he is not clear about what he will write at the beginning.B. he should constantly edit his work to make it perfect.C. he has to face a lot of responses given by readers.D. he should add brushstrokes to the appearing blurred images.5. Which of the following statements about writers is TRUE according to the last paragraph?A. They have little ideas before they start writing.B. Their talent goes into all their drafts.C. It does harm to their writing when they flirt with fame.D. They try to increase communication with readers.。

【导语】阅读经典美⽂可以丰富学⽣的知识,巩固学习成果。

下⾯是由带来的⼤学英语四级美⽂阅读，欢迎阅读!【篇⼀】⼤学英语四级美⽂阅读 不要降低⾃⼰的标准 Suppose a child comes home with a report card with five As and one B. Usually the first thinghis parents will say is "Why the B?" What do you think will go through the child’s mind? Did hetry for the B? Or should his parents congratulate the child for the B and accept a lowerstandard? Not at all. What the child is really looking for acknowledgement and encouragement for the effort ingetting the five As. A parent after acknowledging and praising the As, can make clear hisexpectations of seeing all six As and offer help if needed. If we lower our standards, thechances are pretty good that the performance next time would drop to those expectations. Similarly at work, an employee does 100 things right and one thing wrong. Guess what theboss picks on. Acknowledge the positive but don't lower your standards. 假如⼀个孩⼦带回家⼀张五个A，⼀个B的成绩单，他的⽗母亲⾸先通常会这样问：“为什么得了个B?”你认为孩⼦⼼⾥会怎么想?难道他是争取得个B吗?或者⽗母亲应该祝贺孩⼦得了个B，并接受这较低的标准吗?根本不是。

专业英语四级（作文）模拟试卷89(题后含答案及解析) 题型有： 6. WRITINGPART VI WRITING1．Is Change Always a Good Thing? Some people prefer to spend their lives doing the same things and avoiding change. Others, however, think that change is always a good thing. What’s your own opinion? Write a composition of about 200 words on the following topic: Is Change Always A Good Thing? You are to write in three parts. In the first part of your article you should clearly present your view. In the second part, you should support your opinion with appropriate details. In the last part, you should bring what you have written to a natural conclusion or summary.正确答案：Is Change Always a Good Thing? A friend of mine, Susan, moved from Hong Kong to Virginia and then to Pennsylvania at the tender age of 16. She was at first very upset about the change of “home”, but then she realized that life is more about moving on. She thinks that change is good. Unlike Susan, I do not think change is always a good thing. First of all, constant changes will deprive us of a sense of belonging. Take Susan as an example. When she was asked where she was from, she always hesitated and had a hard time figuring out a location she could call home. The sense of belonging is cultivated by years of commitment and elusive from those who change a lot. If you want to fit into a community, you have to be immersed in it for a lengthy period of time. Changes will not do the trick. Secondly, change is usually negatively associated with disloyalty, which means the more changes you make, the more disloyal you are. For instance, when a new graduate changes four jobs within two years, his future employer might think that he is not loyal to any organization and that he is not willing to commit to his employers. That is why we should be cautious when we hop from one job to another. In conclusion, change is not always a good thing. Frequent changes leave a bad impression on people around us and prevent us from feeling “included”.解析：本题属于“立场选择型”作文，涉及的题材是“健康生活”。

大学英语四级考试阅读讲义(二十九)Unit 8Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension(35 minutes)Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:Material culture refers to the touchable, material “things”— physical objects that can be seen, held, felt, used — that a culture produces. Examining a culture's tools and technology can tell us about the group's history and way of life. Similarly, research into the material culture of music can help us to understand the music-culture. The most vivid body of “things” in it, of course, are musical instruments. We cannot hear for ourselves the actual sound of any musical performance before the 1870s when the phonograph (留声机) wasinvented, so we rely on instruments for important information about music-cultures in the remote past and their development. Here we have two kinds of evidence: instruments well preserved and instruments pictured in art. Through the study of instruments, as well as paintings, written documents, and so on, we can explore the movement of music from the Near East to China over a thousand years ago, or we can outline the spread of Near Eastern influence to Europe that resulted in the development of most of the instruments on the symphony orchestra.Sheet music or printed music, too, is material culture. Scholars once defined folk music cultures as those in which people learn and sing music by ear rather than from print, but research shows mutual influence among oral and written sources during the past few centuries in Europe, Britain, and America. Printed versions limit variety because they tend to standardize any song, yet they stimulate people to create new and different songs. Besides, the ability to read music notation (乐谱) has a far-reaching effect on musicians and, when it becomes widespread, on the music-culture as a whole.One more important part of music's material culture should be singled out: the influence of the electronic media — radio,record player, tape recorder, television, and videocassette, with the future promising talking and singing computers and other developments. This is all part of the “information revolution,” a twentieth-century phenomenon as important as the industrial revolution was in the nineteenth. These electronic media are not just limited to modern nations; they have affected music-cultures all over the globe.21. Research into the material culture of a nation is of great importance because .A) it helps produce new cultural tools and technologyB) it can reflect the development of the nationC) it helps understand the nation's past and presentD) it can demonstrate the nation's civilization22. It can be learned from this passage that .A) the existence of the symphony was attributed to the spread of Near Eastern and Chinese musicB) Near Eastern music had an influence on the development of the instruments in the symphony orchestraC) the development of the symphony shows the mutual influence of Eastern and Western musicD) the musical instruments in the symphony orchestra were developed on the basisof Near Eastern music23. According to the author, music notation is important because .A) it has a great effect on the music-culture as more and more people are able to read itB) it tends to standardize folk songs when it is used by folk musiciansC) it is the printed version of standardized folk musicD) it encourages people to popularize printed versions of songs24. It can be concluded from the passage that the introduction of electronic media into the world of music .A) has brought about an information revolutionB) has speeded up the arrival of a new generation of computersC) has given rise to new forms of music cultureD) has led to the transformation of traditional musical instruments25. Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of the passage?A) Musical instruments developed through the years will sooner or later be replaced by computers.B) Music cannot be passed on to future generations unlessit is recorded.C) Folk songs cannot be spread far unless they are printed on music sheets.D) The development of music culture is highly dependent on its material aspect.。

大学英语四级试练习卷一、阅读理解阅读理解（一）Courses with the numbers800or above are open only to graduate students.Certain courses,generally those devoted to introductory material,are numbered400for undergraduate students and600for graduate students.Courses designed for students seeking a professional degree carry a500number for undergraduate students and a700munber for graduate students.A full-time graduate student is expected to take courses which total ten to sixteen credit hours.Students holding assistantships are expected to enroll for proportionately fewer hours.A part-time graduate student must register for a minimun of five credit hours.1.In order to be eligible to enroll in Mechanical Engineering850,a student must be______.A.a graduate studentB.a part-time studentC.a full-time studentD.an undergraduate student2.If an undergraduate student uses the number520to register for an accounting course,what number would a graduate student probably use to register for the same course?A.accounting520B.accounting620C.accounting720D.accounting8203.A student who register for eight credit hours is a______.A.full-time studentB.graduate studentC.part-time studentD.non-degree student4.A graduate student may not_____A.enroll in a course numbered610B.register for only one three-hour courseC.register for courses if he has an assistantshipD.enroll in an introductory course阅读理解（二）The accuracy of cientific observations and calculations is always at the mercy of the scientist's timekeeping methods.For this reason,scientists are interested in devices that give promise of more precise timekeeping. In their search for precision,scientists have turned to atomic clocks that depend on various vibrating atoms or molecules to supply their "ticking".This is possible because each kind of atom or molecule has its own characteristic rate of vibration.The nitrogen atom in ammonia, for example,vibrates or"ticks"24billion times a seconD.One such atomic clock is so accurate that it will probaly lose no more than a second in3000years.It will be of great improtance in fields such as astronomical is a sesium atom that vibrates9.2billion times a second when heated to the temperature of boiling water.An atomic clock that operates with an ammonia molecue may be used to check the accuracy ofpredictions based on Einstein's relativity theories,according to which a clock in motion and a clock at rest should keep time differently.Placed in an orbiting satellite moving at a speed of18000miles an hour,the clock could broadcast its time readings to a ground station,where they would be compared with the readings on a similar model.Whatever differences develop would be checked against the differences predicteD.1.Scientists expect that the atomic clocks will be______.A.more preciseB.absolutely accurateC.more durableD.indestructible2.The heart of the atomichron is_______.A.acesium atomB.an ammonia moleculeC.a nitrogen atomD.a hydrogen3.From theselection,we may assume that temperature changes_______.A.affect only ammonia moleculesB.may affect the vibration rate of atomsC.affect the speed at which atoms travelD.do not affect atoms in any way4.Identical atomic clocks may be used to check______.A.the effect of outer space on an atomic clockB.the actual speed of an orbiting sateliteC.the accuacy of predictions based on theories of relativityD.all of Einstein's theories5.Implied but not stated:_______.A.Precise timekeeping is essential in scienceB.Scientists expect to disprove Einstein's relativity theoriesC.Atomic clocks will be important in space flightD.The rate of vibration of an atom never varies二、完型填空完型填空（一）Exercise is good for you,but most people really know very little about how to exercise properly.1when you try,you can runsintostrouble.Many people2that when specific muscles are exercised,the fat in the neighbouring area is“3up”.Yet the4is that exercise burns fat from all over5.Studies show muscles which are not6lose their strength very quickly.To regain it needs48to72hours and exercise every other day will7a normal level of physical strength.To8weight you should always “work up a good sweat”when exercising.9sweating only10body temperature to prevent over heating.This is11water loss.12You replace the liquid,you replace the13.Walking is the best and easy-to-do exercise.It helps the circulation of blood14the body,and has a direct 15on your overall feeling of health.Experience says that20minutes’1617is minimun amount.18your breathing doesn’t return to normal state within minutes after you finish19,you’ve done20.1.A.While B.When C.As D.So2.A.understand B.believe C.hope D.know3.A.built B.burned C.piled D.grown4.A.reply B.possiblility C.truth D.reason5.A.arm B.leg C.stomach D.body6.A.exercised B.examined C.protected D.cured7.A.lose B.raise C.burn D.keep8.A.lose B.gain C.keep D.burn9.A.Certainly B.No C.Fortunately D.Probably10.A.raises B.reduces C.destroys D.keeps up11.A.how B.why C.nothing but D.more than12.A.While B.Once C.As D.Whenever13.A.weight B.muscle C.sweat D.strength14.A.over B.around C.throughout D.with15.A.effect e age D.affectcation B.sleep C.exercise D.rest17.A.one day B.a day C.everyday D.someday18.A.But if B.But C.If D.And if19.A.working B.walking C.exercising D.breathing20.A.enough B.much C.too much D.much too完型填空（二）Have you ever wondered what our future is like?Practically all people _1_a desire to predict their future_2_.Most people seem inclined to_3_ this task using causal reasoning.First we_4_recognize that futurecircumstances are_5_caused or conditioned by present ones.We learn that getting an education will_6_how much money we earn later and that swimming beyond the reef may bring an unhappy_7_with ashark.Second,people also learn that such_8_of cause and effect are probabilistic(可能的)in nature.Thatis,the effects occur more often when the causes occur than when the causes are_9_,butnotalways.Thus,students learn that studying hard_10_good grades in most instances,but not everytime.Science makes these concepts of causality and probability more_11_and provides techniques fordealing _12_then more accurately than does causal human inquiry.In looking at ordinary humaninquiry,we need to_13_between prediction and understanding.Often,even if we don't understandwhy,we are willing to act _14_the basis of a demonstrated predictive ability.Whatever the primitivedrives_15_motivate human beings,satisfying them depends heavily on the ability to_16_futurecircumstances.The attempt to predict is often played in a_17_of knowledge and understanding.If youcan understand why certain regular patterns_18_,you can predict better than if you simply observe thosepatterns.Thus,human inquiry aims_19_ answering both"what"and"why"question,and we pursue these_20_by observing and figuring out.1.[A]exhibit[B]exaggerate[C]examine[D]exceed2.[A]contexts[B]circumstances[C]inspections[D]intuitions3.[A]underestimate[B]undermine[C]undertake[D]undergo4.[A]specially[B]particularly[C]always[D]generally5.[A]somehow[B]somebody[C]someone[D]something6.[A]enact[B]affect[C]reflect[D]inflect7.[A]meeting[B]occurrence[C]encounter[D]contact8.[A]patterns[B]designs[C]arrangements[D]pictures9.[A]disappointde[B]absent[C]inadequate[D]absolute10.[A]creates[B]produces[C]loses[D]protects11.[A]obscure[B]indistinct[C]explicit[D]explosive12.[A]for[B]at[C]in[D]with13.[A]distinguish[B]distinct[C]distort[D]distract14.[A]at[B]on[C]to[D]under15.[A]why[B]how[C]that[D]where16.[A]predict[B]produce[C]pretend[D]precede17.[A]content[B]contact[C]contest[D]context18.[A]happen[B]occur[C]occupy[D]incur19.[A]at[B]on[C]to[D]beyond20.[A]purposes[B]ambitions[C]drives[D]goals三、翻译1、他用所有的积蓄为儿子买了一辆自行车。

1989年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试题阅读Section II R eading ComprehensionEach of the two passages below is followed by five questions. For each question there are four answers. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each of the questions. Put your choice in the brackets on the left. (10 points)Text 1A scientist once said: “I have concluded that the earth is being visited by intelligently controlled vehicles from outer space.”If we take this as a reasonable explanation for UFOs (unidentified flying objects), questions immediately come up.“Why don’t they get in touch with us, then? Why don’t they land right on the White House lawn and declare themselves?” people asked.In reply, scientists say that, while this may be what we want, it may not necessarily be what they want.“The most likely explanation, it seems to me,” said Dr. Mead, “is that they are simply watching what we are up to -- that responsible society outside our solar system is keeping an eye on us to see that we don’t set in motion a c hain reaction that might have unexpected effects for outside our solar system.”Opinions from other scientists might go like this: “Why should they want to get in touch with us? We may feel we’re more important than we really are! They may want to observe us only and not interfere with the development of our civilization. They may not care if we see them but they also may not care to say ‘hello’.”①Some scientists have also suggested that Earth is a kind of zoo or wildlife reserve. ②Just as we set aside wilderness areas and wildlife reserves to allow animals and growing things to develop naturally while we observe them, so perhaps Earth was set aside ages ago for the same purpose.①Are we being observed by intelligent beings from other civilizations in the universe? ②Are they watching our progress in space travel? ③Do we live in a gigantic “zoo” observed by our “keepers,” but having no communication with them?①Never before in our history have we had to confront ideas like these. ②The simple fact is that we, who have always regarded ourselves as supreme in the universe, may not be so. ③Now we have to recognize that, among the stars in the heavens, there may very well be worlds inhabited by beings who are to us as we are to ants.一、词汇1.conclude v. 作结论，推断2.vehicle n. 交通工具3.be up to sth= be doing sth正在做4.keep an eye on sb监视某人5.set in motion使某物运转6.reserve n. 贮存，预备舍7.set aside 保留8.supreme a. 最高的9.inhabit v. 居住于，占据二、长难句1. The most likely explanation, it seems to me,” said Dr. Mead, “is that they are simpl y watching what we are up to -- that responsible society outside our solar system is keeping an eye on us to see that we don’t set in motion a chain reaction that might have unexpected effects for outside our solar system.该句的宾语由直接引语构成。

大学英语四级考试阅读讲义(七)Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage: Ours has become a society of employees. A hundred years or so ago only one out of every five Americans at work was employed, i.e., worked for somebody else. Today only one out of five is not employed but working for himself. And when fifty years ago “being employed” meant working as a factory labourer or as a farmhand, the employee of today is increasingly a middle-class person with a substantial formal education, holding a professional or management job requiring intellectual and technical skills. Indeed, two things have characterized American society during these last fifty years: middle-class and upper-class employees have been the fastest-growing groups in our working population — growing so fast that the industrial worker, that oldest child of the Industrial Revolution, has been losing in numerical importance despite the expansion of industrial production.Yet you will find little if anything written on what it is to be an employee. You can find a great deal of very dubious advice on how to get a job or how to get a promotion. You canalso find a good deal of work in a chosen field, whether it be the mechanist’s trade or bookkeeping (簿记). Every one of these trades requires different skills, sets different standards, and requires a different preparation. Yet they all have employeeship in common. And increasingly, especially in the large business or in government, employeeship is more important to success than the special professional knowledge or skill. Certainly more people fail because they do not know the requirements of being an employee than because they do not adequately possess the skills of their trade; the higher you climb the ladder, the more you get into administrative or executive work, the greater the emphasis on ability to work within the organization rather than on technical abilities or professional knowledge.31. It is implied that fifty years ago .A) eighty per cent of American working people were employed in factoriesB) twenty per cent of American intellectuals were employeesC) the percentage of intellectuals in the total work force was almost the same as that of industrial workersD) the percentage of intellectuals working as employees was not so large as that of industrial workers32. According to the passage, with the development of modern industry,A) factory labourers will overtake intellectual employees in numberB) there are as many middle-class employees as factory labourersC) employers have attached great importance to factory labourersD) the proportion of factory labourers in the total employee population has decreased33. The word “dubious” (Para. 2, Line 2) most probably means .A) valuableC) doubtfulB) usefulD) helpful34. According to the writer, professional knowledge or skill is .A) less important than awareness of being a good employeeB) as important as the ability to deal with public relationsC) more important than employer-employee relationsD) as important as the ability to co-operate with othersin the organization35. From the passage it can be seen that employeeship helps one .A) to be more successful in his careerB) to be more specialized in his fieldC) to solve technical problemsD) to develop his professional skill。

大学英语四级实考阅读理解精选2Passage 1(U3P3)Just seven years ago, the Jarvik-7 artificial heart was being cheered as the model of human creativeness. The sight of Barney Clark -- alive and conscious after trading his diseased heart for a metal-and-plastic pump -- convinced the press, the public and many doctors that the future had arrived. It hadn't. After monitoring production of the Jarvik-7, and reviewing its effects on the 150 or so patients (most of whom got the device as a temporary measure) the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concluded that the machine was doing more to endanger lives than to save them. Last week the agency cancelled its earlier approval, effectively banning (禁止) the device.The recall may hurt Symbion Inc., maker of the Jarvik-7, but it won't end the request for an artificial heart. One problem with the banned model is that the tubes connecting it to an external power source created a passage for infection. Inventors are now working on new devices that would be fully placed, along with a tiny power pack, in the patient's chest. The first sample products aren't expected for another 10 or 20 years. But some people are already worrying that they'll work -- and that America's overextended health-care programs will lose a precious $2.5 billion to $5 billion a year providing them for a relatively few dying patients. If such expenditures (开支) cut into funding for more basic care, the net effect could actually be a decline in the nation's health.1. According to the passage the Jarvik-7 artificial heart proved to be ______.A) a technical failure B) a technical wonderC) a good life-saver D) an effective means to treat heart disease2. From the passage we know that Symbion Inc. ______.A) has been banned by the government from producing artificial heartsB) will review the effects of artificial hearts before designing new modelsC) may continue to work on new models of reliable artificial heartsD) can make new models of artificial hearts available on the market in 10 to 20 years3. The new models of artificial hearts are expected ______.A) to have a working life of 10 or 20 years B) to be set fully in the patient's chestC) to be equipped with an external power source D) to create a new passage for infection4. The word "them" in Line 7, Para. 2 refers to ______.A) doctors who treat heart diseases B) makers of artificial heartsC) America's health-care programs D) new models of artificial hearts5. Some people feel that ______.A) artificial hearts are seldom effectiveB) the country should not spend so much money on artificial heartsC) the country is not spending enough money on artificial heartsD) America's health-care programs are not doing enough for the nation's healthPassage 2 (U3P4)A rapid means of long-distance transportation became a necessity for the United States as settlement (新拓居地) spread ever farther westward. The early trains were impractical curiosities, and for a long time the railroad companies met with troublesome mechanical problems. The most serious ones were the construction of rails able to bear the load, and the development of a safe, effective stopping system. Once these were solved, the railroad was established as the best means of land transportation. By 1860 there were thousands of miles of railroads crossing the eastern mountain ranges and reaching westward to the Mississippi. There were also regional southern and western lines.The high point in railroad building came with the construction of the first transcontinental system. In 1862 Congress authorized two western railroad companies to build lines from Nebraska westward and from California eastward to a meeting point, so as to complete a transcontinental crossing linking the Atlantic seaboard with the Pacific. The Government helped the railroads generously with money and land. Actual work on this project began four years later. The Central Pacific Company, starting from California, used Chinese labor, while the Union Pacific employed crews of Irish laborers. The two groups worked at remarkable speed, each trying to cover a greater distance than the other. In 1869 they met at a place called Promontory in what is now the state of Utah. Many visitors came there for the great occasion. There were joyous celebrations all over the country, with parades and the ringing of church bells to honor the great achievement.The railroad was very important in encouraging westward movement. It also helped build up industry and farming by moving raw materials and by distributing products rapidly to distant markets. In linking towns and people to one another it helped unify the United States.6. The major problems with America's railroad system in the mid 19th century lay in ______.A) poor quality rails and unreliable stopping systems B) lack of financial support for developmentC) limited railroad lines D) lack of a transcontinental railroad7. The building of the first transcontinental system ______.A) brought about a rapid growth of industry and farming in the westB) attracted many visitors to the construction sitesC) attracted laborers from EuropeD) encouraged people to travel all over the country8. The best title for this passage would be ______.A) Settlements Spread Westward B) The Coast-to-Coast Railroad: A Vital LinkC) American Railroad History D) The Importance of Trains in the American Economy9. The construction of the transcontinental railroad took ______.A) 9 years B) 7 years C) 4 years D) 3 years10. What most likely made people think about a transcontinental railroad?A) The possibility of government support for such a task.B) The need to explore Utah.C) The need to connect the east coast with the west.D) The need to develop the railroad industry in the west.Passage 3 (U4P1)Nursing at Beth Israel Hospital produces the best patient care possible. If we are to solve the nursing shortage, hospital administration and doctors everywhere would do well to follow Beth Israel's example.At Beth Israel each patient is assigned to a primary nurse who visits at length with the patient and constructs a full-scale health account that covers everything from his medical history to his emotional state. Then she writes a care plan centered on the patient's illness but which also includes everything else that is necessary.The primary nurse stays with the patient through his hospitalization, keeping track with his progress and seeking further advice from his doctor. If a patient at Beth Israel is not responding to treatment, it is not uncommon for his nurse to propose another approach to his doctor. What the doctor at Beth Israel has in the primary nurse is a true colleague.Nursing at Beth Israel also involves a decentralized (分散的) nursing administration; every floor, every unit is a self-contained organization. There are nurse-managers instead of head nurses; in addition to their medical duties they do all their own hiring and dismissing, employee advising, and they make salary recommendations. Each unit's nurses decide among themselves who will work what shifts and when.Beth Israel's nurse-in-chief ranks as an equal with other vice presidents of the hospital. She also is a member of the Medical Executive Committee, which in most hospitals includes only doctors.11. Which of the following best characterizes the main feature of the nursing system at Beth Israel Hospital?A) The doctor gets more active professional support from the primary nurse.B) Each patient is taken care of by a primary nurse day and night.C) The primary nurse writes care plans for every patient.D) The primary nurse keeps records of the patient's health conditions every day.12. It can be inferred from the passage that ______.A) compared with other hospitals nurses at Beth Israel Hospital are more patient ______.B) in most hospitals patient care is inadequate from the professional point of viewC) in most hospitals nurses get low salariesD) compared with other hospitals nurses have to work longer hours at Beth Israel Hospital13. A primary nurse can propose a different approach of treatment when ______.A) the present one is refused by the patient B) the patient complains about the present oneC) the present one proves to be ineffective D) the patient is found unwilling to cooperate14. The main difference between a nurse-manager and a head nurse is that the former ______.A) is a member of the Medical Executive Committee of the hospitalB) has to arrange the work shifts of the unit's nursesC) can make decisions concerning the medical treatment of a patientD) has full responsibility in the administration of the unit's nurses15. The author's attitude towards the nursing system at Beth Israel Hospital is ______.A) negative B) neutral C) critical D) positivePassage 4 (U4P2)For some time past it has been widely accepted that babies - and other creatures - learn to dothings because certain acts lead to "rewards"; and there is no reason to doubt that this is true. But it used also to be widely believed that effective rewards, at least in the early stages, had to be directly related to such basic physiological (生理的) "drives" as thirst or hunger. In other words, a baby would learn if he got food or drink or some sort of physical comfort, not otherwise.It is now clear that this is not so. Babies will learn to behave in ways that produce results in the world with no reward except the successful outcome.Papousek began his studies by using milk in the normal way to "reward" the babies and so teach them to carry out some simple movements, such as turning the head to one side or the other. Then he noticed that a baby who had had enough to drink would refuse the milk but would still go on making the learned response with clear signs of pleasure. So he began to study the children's responses in situations where no milk was provided. He quickly found that children as young as four months would learn to turn their heads to right or left if the movement "switched on" a display of lights -- and indeed that they were capable of learning quite complex turns to bring about this result, for instance, two left or two right, or even to make as many as three turns to one side.Papousek's light display was placed directly in front of the babies and he made the interesting observation that sometimes they would not turn back to watch the lights closely although they would "smile and bubble" when the display came on. Papousek concluded that it was not primarily the sight of the lights which pleased them, it was the success they were achieving in solving the problem, in mastering the skill, and that there exists a fundamental human urge to make sense of the world and bring it under intentional control.16. According to the author, babies learn to do things which ______.A) are directly related to pleasure B) will meet their physical needsC) will bring them a feeling of success D) will satisfy their curiosity17. Papousek noticed in his studies that a baby ______.A) would make learned responses when it saw the milkB) would carry out learned movements when it had enough to drinkC) would continue the simple movements without being given milkD) would turn its head to right or left when it had enough to drink18. In Papousek's experiment babies make learned movements of the head in order to ______.A) have the lights turned on B) be rewarded with milkC) please their parents D) be praised19. The babies would "smile and bubble" at the lights because ______.A) the lights were directly related to some basic "drives" B) the sight of the lights was interestingC) they need not turn back to watch the lights D) they succeeded in "switching on" the lights20. According to Papousek, the pleasure babies get in achieving something is a reflection of _____.A) a basic human desire to understand and control the worldB) the satisfaction of certain physiological needsC) their strong desire to solve complex problemsD) a fundamental human urge to display their learned skills。