大学英语读写译(2)期末测试题及答案.doc

大学英语读写译（二）期末测试题（2）Part I Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (10 points)Directions: For questions 1-7, mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage;N (for NO)if statement contradicts the information given in the passage;NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage. For question 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage. Will We Run Out of Water?Picture a “ghost ship” sinking into the sand, left to rot on dry land by a receding sea. Then imagine dust storms sweeping up toxic pesticides and chemical fertilizers from the dry seabed and spewing them across towns and villages.Seem like a scene from a movie about the end of the world? For people living near the Aral Sea in Central Asia, its all too real. Thirty years ago, government planners diverted the rivers that flow into the sea in order to irrigate（provide water for）farmland. As a result, the sea has shrunk to half its original size, stranding ships on dry land. The seawater has tripled in salt content and become polluted, killing all 24 native species of fish.Similar large scale efforts to redirect water in other parts of the world have also ended in ecological crisis, according to numerous environmental groups. But many countries continue to build massive dams and irrigation systems, even though such projects can create more problems than they fix. Why? People in many parts of the world are desperate for water, and more people will need more water in the next century.“Growing populations will worsen problems with water,” says Peter H. Gleick, an environmental scientist at the Pacific Institute for studies in Development, Environment, and Security, a research organization in California. He fears that by the year 2025, as many as onethird of the worlds projected 8.3 billion people will suffer from water shortages.Where Water GoesOnly 2.5 percent of all water on Earth is freshwater, water suitable for drinking and growing food, says Sandra Postel, director of the Global Water Policy Project in Amherst, Mass. Two thirds of this freshwater is locked in glaciers and ice caps. In fact, only a tiny percentage of freshwater is part of the water cycle, in which water evaporates and rises into the atmosphere, then condenses and falls back to Earth as precipitation（rain or snow）.Some precipitation runs off land to lakes and oceans, and some becomes groundwater, water that seeps into the earth. Much of this renewable freshwater ends up in remote places like the Amazon river basin in Brazil, where few people live. In fact, the worlds population has access to only 12,500 cubic kilometers of freshwaterabout the amount of water in Lake Superior. And people use half of this amount already. “If water demand continues to climb rapidly,” says Postel, “there will be severe shortages and damage to the aquatic environment.”Close to HomeWater woes may seem remote to people living in rich countries like the United States. But Americans could face serious water shortages, too especially in areas that rely on groundwater. Groundwater accumulates in aquifers, layers of sand and gravel that lie between soil and bedrock. （For every liter of surface water, more than 90 liters are hidden underground）.Although the United States has large aquifers, farmers, ranchers, and cities are tapping many of them for water faster than nature can replenish it. In northwest Texas, for example, over pumping has shrunk groundwater supplies by 25 percent, according to Postel.Americans may face even more urgent problems from pollution. Drinking water in the United States is generally safe and meets high standards. Nevertheless, one in five Americans every day unknowingly drinks tap water contaminated with bacteria and chemical wastes, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. In Milwaukee, 400,000 people fell ill in 1993 after drinking tap water tainted with cryptosporidium, a microbe that causes fever, diarrhea and vomiting.The SourceWhere so contaminants come from? In developing countries, people dump raw sewage into the same streams and rivers from which they draw water for drinking and cooking; about 250 million people a year get sick from water borne diseases.In developed countries, manufacturers use 100,000 chemical compounds to make a wide range of products. Toxic chemicals pollute water when released untreated into rivers and lakes. (Certain compounds, such as polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, have been banned in the United States.）But almost everyone contributes to water pollution. People often pour household cleaners, car antifreeze, and paint thinners down the drain; All of these contain hazardous chemicals. Scientists studying water in the San Francisco Bay reported in 1996 that 70 percent of the pollutants could be traced to household waste.Farmers have been criticized for overusing herbicides and pesticides, chemicals that kill weeds and insects but insects but that pollutes water as well. Farmers also use nitrates, nitrogenrich fertilizer that helps plants grow but that can wreak havoc on the environment. Nitrates are swept away by surface runoff to lakes and seas. Too many nitrates “over enrich” these bodies of water, encouraging the buildup of algae, or microscopic plants that live on the surface of the water. Algae deprive the water of oxygen that fish need to survive, at times choking off life in an entire body of water.Whats the Solution?Water expert Gleick advocates conservation and local solutions to water related problems; governments, for instance, would be better off building small scale dams rather than huge and disruptive projects like the one that ruined the Aral Sea.“More than 1 billion people worldwide dont have access to basic clean drinking water,” says Gleick. “There has to be a strong push on the part of everyone governments and ordinary people-to make sure we have a resource so fundamental to life.”1. That the huge water projects have diverted the rivers causes the Aral Sea to shrink.2. The construction of massive dams and irrigation projects does more good than harm.3. The chief causes of water shortage are population growth and water pollution.4. The problems Americans face concerning water are ground water shrinkage and tap water pollution.5. According to the passage all water pollutants come from household waste.6. The people living in the United States will not be faced with water shortages.7. Water expert Gleick has come up with the best solution to water related problems.8. According to Peter H. Gleick, by the year 2025, as many as _ of the worlds people will suffer from water shortages.9.Two thirds of the freshwater on Earth is locked in_.10.In developed countries, before toxic chemicals are released into rivers and lakes, they should be treated in order to avoid_.Part II Reading Comprehension (Reading in depth) (40 points)Section A (10 points)Direction: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. Choose one word for each blank from the following words in the blank. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once. （Passage A 和Passage B 二者选做其一。）Passage AIn numerous studies, happy people share four traits. First, happy people like themselves. On questionnaires designed to 47 self-esteem, they agree with 48 such as “Im a lot of fun to be with” and “I have good ideas.” They also see themselves as more ethical, more intelligent, healthier, and more likeable than other people.Secondly, happy people feel that they have control over their lives. They feel empowered instead of 49 , so they do better in school and work, and deal with stress better. Research in prisons, nursing homes, and totalitarian countries has shown the 50 effects of the lack of personal control. When people dont have control over their lives, they 51 from depression and poor health. This is also the case when 52 poverty takes away peoples feelings of control in their lives.The third 53 that happy people share is optimism. People who agreed with the statement, “When I 54 something new, I expect to succeed,” were 55 more successful, healthier, and happier.Fourth, 56 have found that happy people are extroverts.A. generally F. measure K. researchersB. unrelated G. suffer L. innerC. leading H. extreme M. statementsD. trait I. prompt N. depressingE. encouraged J. helpless O. undertakePassage B That 47 for change also represents deeply 48 ideas of freedom. Danish scholar Otto Jespersen wrote in 1905, “The English language would not have been what it is if the English had not been for centuries great 49 of the 50 of each individual and if everybody had not been free to strike out new paths for himself.” I like that idea. Consider that the same 51 soil producing the English language also 52 the great principles of freedom and rights of man in the modern world. The first shoots 53 in England, and they grew stronger in America. The English-speaking peoples have 54 all efforts to build fences around their language.Indeed, the English language is not the special 55 of grammarians, language police, teachers, writers or the intellectual elite. English is, and always has been, the 56 of the common man.A. preserve F. tolerance K. tongueB. ban G. cultural L. classicC. descend H. nourished M. rootedD. sprang up I. corrupt N. libertiesE. addition J. respecters O. defeatedSection B (30 points)Directions: There are 3 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 center.Passage OneQuestions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage.If you are like most people, your intelligence varies from season to season. You are probably a lot sharper in the spring than you are at any other time of year. A noted scientist, Ellsworth Huntington (1876-1947 ), concluded from other mens work and his own among peoples in different climates that climate and temperature have a definite effect on our mental abilities.He found that cool weather is much more favorable for creative thinking than is summer heat. This does not mean that all people are less intelligent in summer than they are during the rest of the year. It does mean, however, that the mental abilities of large numbers of people tend to be lowest in summer.Spring appears to be the best period of the year for thinking. One reason may be that in the spring mans mental abilities are affected by the same factors that bring about great changes in all nature.Fall is the next-best season, then winter. As for summer, it seems to be a good time to take a long vacation from thinking.11.According to the passage, mans intelligence_.A. stays the same throughout the year B. varies from day to day C. changes with the seasonsD. changes from year to year12.Ellsworth Hunting decided that climate and temperature have_.A. a great effect on everyones intelligence B. some effect on most peoples intelligenceC. some effect on a few peoples intelligenceD. no effect on most peoples intelligence13.Ellsworth Huntings conclusion was based on _.A. variations of his own mental abilities from season to seasonB. the results of research done by him and other scientists among peoples in different climates. C. detailed records of temperature changes in different placesD. detailed records of different ways of thinking among peoples in different climates14.Why does the author say summer is a good time to take a long vacation from thinking?A. Because a long vacation in summer helps to improve peoples mental power.B. Because people tend to be less creative during summer.C. Because summer is a good time for outdoor activities.D. Because mental exertion in the summer heat taxes too much of peoples energy.15.The certain idea of this passage is _.A. mans mental abilities change from season to seasonB. mans intelligence varies from place to placeC. man should take a long vacation in summerD. if you want to do creative thinking, go to a cool placePassage TwoQuestions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage.You dont need every word to understand the meaning of what you read. In fact, too much emphasis on individual words both slows your speed and reduces your comprehension. You will be given the chance to prove this to yourself, but meanwhile, let us look at the implication.First, any habit which slows down you silent reading to the speed at which you speak, or read aloud, is inefficient. If you point to each word as you read, or more your head or form the words with your lips, you read poorly. Less obvious habits also hold back reading efficiency. ONE is “saying” each word silently by moving your tongue or throat or vocal cords; another is “hearing” each word as you read.These are habits which should have been outgrown long ago. The beginning reader is learning how letters can make words, how written words are pronounced, and how sentences are put together. Your reading purpose is quite different; it is to understand meaning.It has been estimated that up to 75%of the words in English sentences are not really necessary for conveying the meaning .The secret of silent reading is to seek out those key words and phrases which carry the thought, and to pay less attention to words which exist only for the sake of grammatical completeness.An efficient reader can grasp the meaning from a page at least twice as fast as he can read the passage aloud. Unconsciously perhaps, he takes in a whole phrase or thought unit at a time. If he “says” or “hears” words to himself. They are selected ones, said for emphasis.16. This passage is mainly about _.A. improving eye movements B. reading more widely C. eliminating poor reading habits D. concentrating while reading17. Saying each word to yourself as you read _.A. improves comprehension B. increases reading speedC. prevent regression D. hinders reading efficiency18. You reading purpose should be _.A. to understand all the words B. to make fewer eye movementsC. to understand meaning D. to understand the grammatical structure19. It has been estimated that up to 75% of words in English sentences are _.A. grammatically unnecessaryB. essential to the meaningC. not absolutely essential to grasp of meaningD. regressed more than once by poor readers 20. Efficient readers usually _.A. move their heads quickly B. take in whole phrases C. point at key words D. miss some important points for speedPassage ThreeQuestions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.The comprehension passages on this course are designed to help you increase your speed. A higher reading rate, with no loss of comprehension, will help you in other subjects as well as English, and the general principles apply to any language. Naturally, you will read every book at the same speed. You would expect to read a newspaper, for example, much more rapidly than a physics or economics textbook but you can raise your average reading speed over the whole range of materials you wish to cover so that the percentage gain will be the same whatever kind of reading you are concerned with.The reading passages which follow are all of an average level of difficulty for your stage of instruction.If you get to the point where you can read books of average difficulty at between 40 and 50 w.p.m. with 70% or more comprehension, you will be doing quite well, though of course any further improvement of speed with comprehension will be a good thing.When you practice reading with passages shorter than book length, do not try to take in each word separately, one after the other. It is much more difficult to grasp the broad theme of the passage this way, and you will also get stuck in individual words which may not be absolutely essential to a general understanding of the passage. It is a good idea to skim through the passage very quickly First (say 500 words in a minute or so) to get the general idea of each paragraph. Titles, paragraph headings and emphasized words (underlined or in italics) can be a great help in getting this skeleton outline of the passage.21.Provided there is no loss of understanding, a higher reading speed will help in_.A. physics B. EnglishC. other subjects as well as EnglishD. economics22.You would expect to read a physics textbook _A. at the same speed as you read a funny storyB. much more rapidly than a newspaperC. as slowly as you read Austins novel Pride and PrejudiceD. much more slowly than a newspaper23.To do the most effective reading, you should _A. try every possible means to increase your reading speedB. above all improve your comprehension of the textC. hunt for whatever is implied in the reading materialD. increase your reading speed and improve your understanding24.The author suggests that you should not read passages word by word becauseA. it is not necessary to do soB. it might simply slow down your reading speedC. it might be difficult to c