[英语四六级]英语四级考试.doc

Lesson1Baekeland and Hartmann report that the “short sleepers” had been more or less average in their sleep needs until the men were in their teens. But at about age 15 or so, the men voluntarily began cutting down their nightly sleep time because of pressures from school, work, and other activities. These men tended to view their nightly periods of unconsciousness as bothersome interruptions in their daily routines.In general, these “short sleeps” appeared ambitious, active, energetic, cheerful, conformist(不动摇) in their opinions, and very sure about their career choices. They often held several jobs at once, or workers full-or part-time while going to school. And many of them had a strong urge to appear “normal” or “acceptable” to their friends and associates.When asked to recall their dreams, the “short sleepers” did poorly. More than this, they seemed to prefer not remembering. In similar fashion, their usual way of dealing with psychological problems was to deny that the problem existed, and then to keep busy in the hope that the trouble would go away.The sleep patterns of the “short sleepers” were similar to, but less extreme than, sleep patterns shown by many mental patients categorized as manic(疯人).The “long sleepers” were quite different indeed. Baekeland and Hartmann report that these young men had been lengthy sleeps since childhood. They seemed to enjoy their sleep, protected it, and were quite concerned when they were occasionally deprived of their desired 9 hours of nightly bed rest. They tended to recall their dreams much better than did the “short sleepers.”Many of the “long sleepers” were shy, anxious, introverted (内向), inhibited (压抑), passive, mildly depressed, and unsure of themselves (particularly in social situations). Several openly states that sleep was an escape from their daily problems. 1. According to the report,_.A) many short sleepers need less sleep by natureB) many short sleepers are obliged to reduce their nightly sleep time because they are busy with their workC) long sleepers sleep a longer period of time during the dayD) many long sleepers preserve their sleeping habit formed during their childhood2. Many “short sleepers” are likely to hold the view that _.A) sleep is a withdrawal from the realityB) sleep interferes with their sound judgementC) sleep is the least expensive item on their routine programD) sleep is the best way to deal with psychological troubles3. It is stated in the third paragraph that short sleepers _.A) are ideally vigorous even under the pressures of lifeB) often neglect the consequences of inadequate sleepC) do not know how to relax properlyD) are more unlikely to run into mental problems4. When sometimes they cannot enjoy adequate sleep, the long sleepers might _.A) appear disturbedB) become energeticC) feel dissatisfiedD) be extremely depressed5. Which of the following is Not included in the passage?A) If one sleeps inadequately, his performance suffers and his memory is weakenedB) The sleep patterns of short sleepers are exactly the sane as those shown by many mental patientsC) Long and short sleepers differ in their attitudes towards sleepD) Short sleepers would be better off with more restLesson2Upon reaching an appropriate age (usually between 18 and 21 years), children are encouraged, but not forced, to “leave the nest” and begin an independent life. After children leave home they often find social relationship and financial support outside the family. Parents do not arrange marriages for their children, nor do children usually ask permission of their parents to get married, Romantic love is most often the basis for marriage in the United States; young adults meet their future spouses (配偶) through other friends, at jobs, and in organizations and religious institutions, Although children choose their own spouses, they still hope their parents will approve of their choices.In many families, parents feel that children should make major life decisions by themselves. A parent may try to influence a child to follow a particular profession but the child is free to choose another career. Sometimes children do precisely the opposite of what their parents wish in order to assert their independence. A son may deliberately decide not to go into his fathers business because of a fear that he will lose his autonomy in his fathers workplace. This independence from parents is not an indication that parents and children do not love each other. Strong love between parents and children is universal and this is no exception in the American family Coexisting with such love in the American family are cultural values of self reliance and independence.1. The writer discusses the marriage of young adults in order to show which of the following?A) They enjoy the freedom of choosing their spouses.B) They want to win the permission of their parents.C) They have a strong desire to become independent.D) They want to challenge the authority of their parents.2. Most young adults in the U.S. get married for the sake of _.A) loveB) financial concernC) their parentsD) family background3. Based on the passage, it can be assumed that _.A) American young adults are likely to follow the suit of their parentsB) most American people never make major decisions for their childrenC) American young adults possess cultural values of independenceD) once a young person steps into his twenties, he will leave his home permanently4. A son is unwilling to work in his fathers business mainly because _.A) he wishes to make full use of what he has learnt in schoolB) he wants to prove his independenceC) he wishes to do the opposite of what his parents approve ofD) he wants to show his love for his parents5. The subject matter of this selection is _.A) family valuesB) marriage arrangementsC) the pursuit of a careerD) decision makingLesson3Now let us look at how we read. When we read a printed text, our eyes move across a page in short, jerky movement. We recognize words usually when our eyes are still when they fixate. Each time they fixate, we see a group of words. This is known as the recognition span or the visual span. The length of time ofr which the eyes stop -the duration of the fixation -varies considerably from person to person. It also vaies within any one person according to his purpose in reading and his familiarity with the text. Furthermore, it can be affected by such factors as lighting and tiredness.Unfortunately, in the past, many reading improvement courses have concentrated too much on how our eyes move across the printed page. As a result of this misleading emphasis on the purely visual aspects of reading, numerous exercises have been devised to train the eyes to see more words at one fixation. For instance, in some exercises, words are flashed on to a screen for, say, a tenth or a twentieth of a second. One of the exercises has required students to fix their eyes on some central point, taking in the words on either side. Such word patterns are often constructed in the shape of rather steep pyramids so the reader takes in more and more words at each successive fixation. All these exercises are very clever, but its one thing to improve a persons ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently. Reading requires the ability to understand the relationship between words. Consequently, for these reasons, many experts have now begun to question the usefulness of eye training, especially since any approach which trains a person to read isolated words and phrases would seem unlikely to help him in reading a continuous text.Q:1. The time of the recognition span can be affected by the following facts except _ .A. ones familiarity with the textB. ones purpose in readingC. the length of a group of wordsD. lighting and tiredness2. The author may believe that reading _.A. requires a reader to take in more words at each fixationB. requires a reader to see words more quicklyC. demands an deeply-participating mindD. demands more mind than eyes3 What does the author mean by saying “but its one thing to improve a persons ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently.” in the second parapraph?A. The ability to see words is not needed when an efficient reading is conducted.B. The reading exercises mentioned cant help to improve both the ability to see and to comprehend words.C. The reading exercises mentioned cant help to improve an efficient reading.D. The reading exercises mentioned has done a great job to improve ones ability to see words.4. Which of the following is NOT true?A. The visual span is a word or a group of words we see each time.B. Many experts began to question the efficiency of eye training.C. The emphasis on the purely visual aspects is misleading.D.The eye training will help readers in reading a continuous text.5. The tune of the author in writing this article is _A criticalB neutralC prssimisticD optimisticLesson4Our quarrel with efficiency is not that it gets things done, but that it is a thief of time when it leaves us no leisure to enjoy ourselves, and that it strains our nerves when we try to get things done perfectly. In building bridges, American engineers calculate so finely and exactly as to make the two ends come together within one-tenth of an inch. But when two Chinese begin to dig a tunnel from both sides of a mountain both come out on the other side. -The Chineses firm belief is that it doesnt matter so long as a tunnel is dug through, and if we have two instead of one, why, we have a double track to boot.The pace of modern industrial life forbids this kind of glorious and magnificent idling. But, worse than that, it imposes upon us a different conception of time as measured by the clock and eventually turns the human being into a clock himself. (This sort of thing is bound to come to China, as is evident, for instance, in the case of a factory of twenty thousand worker. The luxurious prospect of twenty thousand workers coming in at their own sweet pleasure at all hours is, of course, somewhat terrifying.)Nevertheless, such efficiency is what makes life so hard and full of excitement. A man who has to be punctually at a certain place at five oclock has the whole afternoon from one to five ruined for him already. Every American adult is arranging his time on the pattern of the schoolboy - three oclock for this, five oclock for that, six-thirty for change of dress, six-fifty for entering the taxi, and seven oclock for arriving at the destination. It just makes life not worth living.1. The writer objects to efficiency mainly on the grounds that it _.A) entitles us to too much leisure timeB) urges us to get things done punctuallyC) deprives us of leisure timeD) imposes on us a perfect concept of time2. In the eyes of the author, the introduction of industrial life gives rise to _.A) the excitement of lifeB) magnificent idling of timeC) more emphasis on efficiencyD) terrifying schoolboy3. The passage tells us _.A) Chinese workers come to work when it is convenientB) all Americans are forced to be efficient against their willC) Chinese engineers are on better terms with the managementD) Americans ought not to work so hard for efficiency4. The author believes that relaxing the rule of punctuality in factories would lead to _.A) great confusionB) increased productionC) a hard and exciting lifeD) successful completion of a tunnel5. What is implied but NOT stated by the author is that _.A) every American is arranging his time in the pattern of a schoolboyB) every American is reluctant to be efficientC) every one should have some time to spend as he pleasesD) being punctual is an undesirable habit which should not be formed Lesson5Now let us look at how we read. When we read a printed text, our eyes move across a page in short, jerky movement. We recognize words usually when our eyes are still when they fixate. Each time they fixate, we see a group of words. This is known as the recognition span or the visual span. The length of time ofr which the eyes stop -the duration of the fixation -varies considerably from person to person. It also vaies within any one person according to his purpose in reading and his familiarity with the text. Furthermore, it can be affected by such factors as lighting and tiredness.Unfortunately, in the past, many reading improvement courses have concentrated too much on how our eyes move across the printed page. As a result of this misleading emphasis on the purely visual aspects of reading, numerous exercises have been devised to train the eyes to see more words at one fixation. For instance, in some exercises, words are flashed on to a screen for, say, a tenth or a twentieth of a second. One of the exercises has required students to fix their eyes on some central point, taking in the words on either side. Such word patterns are often constructed in the shape of rather steep pyramids so the reader takes in more and more words at each successive fixation. All these exercises are very clever, but its one thing to improve a persons ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently. Reading requires the ability to understand the relationship between words. Consequently, for these reasons, many experts have now begun to question the usefulness of eye training, especially since any approach which trains a person to read isolated words and phrases would seem unlikely to help him in reading a continuous text.Q:1. The time of the recognition span can be affected by the following facts except _ .A. ones familiarity with the textB. ones purpose in readingC. the length of a group of wordsD. lighting and tiredness2. The author may believe that reading _.A. requires a reader to take in more words at each fixationB. requires a reader to see words more quicklyC. demands an deeply-participating mindD. demands more mind than eyes3 What does the author mean by saying “but its one thing to improve a persons ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently.” in the second parapraph?A. The ability to see words is not needed when an efficient reading is conducted.B. The reading exercises mentioned cant help to improve both the ability to see and to comprehend words.C. The reading exercises mentioned cant help to improve an efficient reading.D. The reading exercises mentioned has done a great job to improve ones ability to see words. 4. Which of the following is NOT true?A. The visual span is a word or a group of words we see each time.B. Many experts began to question the efficiency of eye training.C. The emphasis on the purely visual aspects is misleading.D.The eye training will help readers in reading a continuous text.5. The tune of the author in writing this article is _A criticalB neutralC prssimisticD optimisticLesson6The greatest contribution to civilization in the century may well be the air-conditioning- and American leads just as amazing is the speed with which this situation came to be. Air-conditioning began to spread in industries as a production aid during World War . Today most Americans need to take air-conditioning for granted to homes, offices, factories, theatres, shops, studios, schools, hotels, and restaurants.But not everybody is aware that high cost and easy comfort are merely two of the effects of the vast cooling of American. In fact, air conditioning has substantially altered the countrys character and customs.Many of the byproducts are so conspicuous that they are scarcely noticed. To begin with, air-conditioning transformed the face of America by making possible those glassy, boxy, sealed-in skyscrapers. It has been indispensable, no less, to the functioning of sensitive advanced computers, whose high operating temperatures require that they be constantly cooled. . .It has, at will, forced families into retreating into families with closed doors and shut windows, reducing the interactions of neighborhood life. It is really surprising that the publics often noted withdrawal into self-pursuit and privacy has coincided with the historic spread of air-conditioning. Though science has little studied how habitual air-conditioning affects mind and body, some medical experts suggest that, like other technical avoidance of natural variations in climate, air-conditioning may damage the human capacity to adapt to stress. If so, air-conditioning is only like many other greatly useful technical developments that liberate man from nature by increasing his productivity and power in some way - while indirectly weakening him in others.1. According to this selection, which of the following constitutes the unique character of U.S.?A)Its excessive use of air-conditioning.B)Its advanced computerized civilization.C)Its publics retreating into self-pursuit.D)Its greatest contribution to human civilization.2. According to the author, the chief consequence brought about by the wide application of air-conditioning is _.A)the loss of human capacity to adapt to changes in climateB)the reduction of social communications of neighborhood lifeC)the active life style of all its usersD)the decreased human p