学位英语考试模拟试题.doc

试题3Part IV READING COMPREHENSION (45 minutes, 30 points, 1 point each)Directions: In this part of the test, there are five short passages. Read each passage carefully, and then do the questions that follow. Choose the best answer A, B, C, or D and mark the corresponding letter with a single bar across the square brackets on your Answer Sheet.Passage One Of all the accessories and adornments to clothes one perhaps pays least of all attention to buttons. Functional and often unexciting, replaced by zip fasteners or hooks and eyes, there is, one would think, nothing much to he said about the humble button.Yet it is very probable that buttons started life as ornaments; certainly it is not known that they had any practical function until the 13th century. By the 14th century buttons were once again ornamental, often wastefully so, to such an extent that it was by no means uncommon for a person of wealth and consequence to have as many as 300 buttons on a single article of dress. Unimaginable as it seems today, sewing superfluous buttons on clothes became a crazenot one that seems harmful to us though some Italians took a different view and a law against buttons was enforced in Florence. No buttons were to be worn on the upper arms penalty for disobediencea sound whipping. (How often this had to be carried out. history does not relate!)Most of the buttons on modern clothes which could lie called decorative once did in fact serve a useful purpose. Buttons on boots are one good example. Sleeve buttons on mens coats are a reminder of the days when the fashion was for wearing shirts with frilly lace cuffs.On the tails of a modern tail coat there are indeed buttons which are purely ornamental but in earlier days horsemen used these buttons to keep the tails out of harms way.With regard lo the side on which clothes are buttoned, originally both male and female dress was buttoned on the left hand side. Change came when men had to have access to their swords.So perhaps it is worth taking a look at buttons.51. Which of the following statements is true regarding buttons?A. They have little function.B. They are the only useful accessory.C. They receive the least attention among accessories.D. They are one of the best adornments to any clothes.52. According to the author, _. .A. buttons are used as ornaments only in modern timesB. buttons have been used as ornaments since the 14th centuryC. buttons were used as ornaments before the 13lh centuryD. buttons have been used as ornaments on and off throughout the history53. It is implied that in the 14th century buttons _.A. were a symbol of wealth B. were occasionally put on clothes C. began to have practical functions D. represented the wearers artistic taste54. In Florence, a city in Italy, buttons were once_. A. loved by every citizen B. banned because they were a craze C. considered harmful and nobody wore them D. forbidden on the upper arms55. It seems to the author that buttons A. are worth a second look B. have never served any function C. should not he sewed on coatsD. play an important role in our lives 56. Male and female dress is now buttonedA. on the right sideB. on the left sideC. on different sidesD. on the same sidePassage Two Behind most of the bad things we do to our bodies as adults, eating more than we should is the idea we carry with us from childhood. On the one hand, we assume that we arc indestructible. On the other, we think that any damage we impose on ourselves can be undone when we finally clean up our act.If the evidence for how wrong the first idea is isnt apparent when you stand naked in front of the mirror, just wait. But what if you cat right and drop all your bad habits? Is there still time to repair the damage?To a surprising degree- the answer is yes. Over the past five years, scientists have accumulated a wealth of data about what happens when aging people with had habits decide to turn their lives around. The heartening conclusion: the body has an amazing ability to heal itself, provided the damage is not too great.The effects of some bad habits smoking, in particularcan haunt you for decades. But the damage from other habits can be largely healed.Any time you improve your behavior and make lifestyle changes, they make a difference from that point on. says Dr. Jeffrey Koplan. Maybe not right away. Its like slamming on the brakes. You do need a certain distance. But the distance can be remarkably short. Consider the recent announcements from the front lines of medical research:A study concluded that women who consume as little as two servings of fish a week cut their risk of suffering a stroke to half that of women who eat less than one serving of fish a month.The day you quit smoking, the carbon monoxide levels in your body drop dramatically. Within weeks, your blood becomes less sticky and your risk of dying from a heart attack starts to declineAdopting healthy habits wont cure all that bothers you, of course. But doctors believe that many chronic diseasesfrom high blood pressure to heart disease and even some cancers can be warded off with a few sensible changes in lifestyle.Not sure where to start? Surprisingly, it doesnt matter, since one positive change usually leads to another. Make enough changes, and youll discover youve adopted a new way of life.57. Most people with bad habits of eating more than they should believe that_.A. they can never change the habits that have haunted them for decadesB. their bodies cannot be damaged by the bad habitsC. their bodies can heal all the damage without the help from outside D. they can force themselves to clean up the had habits later58. The evidence to disapprove the assumption that we are indestructible_.A. is seldom apparentB. is clearly shown in the mirrorC. will appear obvious sooner or laterD. is still a question59. According to the passage the human body can heal the damage caused by bad habits_.A. when the damage is not very seriousB. no matter how serious the damage isC. after we have dropped our bad habitsD. much more slowly than we think60. According to the recent announcements_.A. women should eat as much fish as possibleB. women arc at a higher risk of suffering a stroke than menC. eating a little more fish can improve womens healthD. men dont have to eat as much fish as women61. It is implied in the passage that_.A. smokers have lower levels of carbon monoxide than non-smokersB. the blood of smokers is more sticky than that of non-smokersC. smokers will be unlikely to die from heart attack if they quit smokingD. chronic diseases can be cured if we drop our habit of smoking62. In the last paragraph the author tells us_.A. when we should start quitting our bad habitsB. it doesnt matter how we start quitting our bad habitsC. that making enough changes will make doctors unnecessary to usD. its never too late to start making sensible changes in our lifestylePassage Three Our true challenge today is not debts and deficits or global competition but the need to find a way to live rich, fulfilling lives without destroying the planets biosphere, which supports all life. Humanity has never before faced such a threat: the collapse of the very elements that keep us alive.An apple is an easy thing to take for granted. If you live where apples grow in abundance, you might assume that they arc readily available and. better yet, that you may pick from a wide variety. But do you know that there arc far fewer types to choose from today than there were 100 years ago?Between the years 1804 and 1905, there were 7,098 varieties of apples grown in the United States. Today 6,121 of those are extinct. But does diversity really matter?In the 1840s. Irelands population exceeded eight million, making it the most densely populated country in Europe. Potatoes were its dietary mainstay, and a single variety called lumpers was the most widely grown.In 1845 the farmers planted their lumpers as usual, but a plant disease known as blight struck and wiped out almost the entire crop. Most of Ireland survived that difficult year, wrote Paul Raeburn in his book The Last Harvest The Genetic Gamble That Threatens to Destroy American Agriculture. The devastation came the next year. Farmers had no choice but to plant the same potatoes again. They had no other varieties. The blight struck again, this lime with overwhelming force. The suffering was indescribable. Historians estimate that up to 1 million people died of starvation, while another 1. 5 million emigrated, most to the United States. Those remaining suffered from crushing poverty.In the Andes of South America, farmers grew many varieties of potatoes, and only a few were affected by blight. Hence, there was no epidemic. Clearly, diversity of species and diversity within species provide protection. The growing of just one uniform crop runs counter to this basic survival strategy and leaves plants exposed to disease or pests, which can destroy an entire regions harvest. That is why many farmers depend so heavily on the frequent use of pesticides, even though such chemicals are often environmentally hazardous.Why do farmers replace their many folk varieties with one uniform crop? Usually in response to economic pressures. Planting uniform crops promises ease of harvesting, attractiveness of the product, resistance to go bad, and high productivity. But these trends may be destroying mans own food supply.63. The main idea of the passage is_. A. it is important to protect the earths bio-diversityB. man is destroying his own food supplyC. we now have fewer bio-species than beforeD. numerous strains of plants can resist plagues64. With regard to the variety of apples in the United Slates_.A. it is the fewest in variety in terms of plant familyB. over 80% of its varieties have been destroyedC. we have done our best to protect itD. it is as wide as it was 100 years ago65. The author tells the story in Ireland in the 1840s to show that_.A. farmers should grow as many varieties of potatoes as in South AmericaB. potatoes should not be grown as a dietary mainstayC. lumpers were not a choice variety of potatoesD. bio-diversity is essential to life on earth66. The uniform crop of lumpers in Ireland in the 1840s_.A. caused blight to strike Ireland repeatedlyB. caused Irelands population to decline by half C. destroyed the whole Irish agricultural tradition D. seriously devastated Ireland s economy67. Diversity of species and diversity within species can help plants _.A. ward off some disastrous diseases and pestsB. resist natural disasters such as droughtsC. withstand the harmful effect of pesticidesD. yield bumper harvests68. Which of the following is NOT the reason that farmers replace their folk varietieswith one uniform crop?A. They want to make more money.B. They want to have a higher output.C. They want to prevent the destruction of human food.D. They want to make their products more attractive.Passage Four It is a well-documented fact that women still live longer than men. A 1998 study by Harvard Medical School geriatrician Thomas Perls offers two reasons: one is the evolutionary drive to pass on her genes; the other is the need to stay healthy enough to rear as many children as possible. A mans purpose is simply to carry genes that ensure longevity and pass them on to his children.Okay, so thats the legacy of our cave-dweller past. But what is it about a mans lifestyle that reduces his longevity? As action moviemakers know all too well, men arc supercharged with testosterone. Aside from forcing us to watch frenzied movies like The Matrix Reloaded, the testes-produced hormone also triggers riskier behavior and aggression, and increases levels of harmful cholesterol, raising the risk of heart disease or stroke. Meanwhile, the female hormone chops harmful cholesterol and raises good cholesterol.As Perlss study points out: Between ages 15 and 24, men are four to five limes more likely to die than women. This time frame coincides with the onset of puberty and an increase in reckless and violent behavior in males. Researchers refer to it as a tea -tosterone storm. Most deaths in this male group come from motor vehicle accidents，followed by homicide, suicide. .and drownings . While all this jumping from tall buildings may result in some accidental death, it still doesnt account for the onset of fatal illnesses at an earlier age. Statistically, men are crippled more quickly by illnesses like heart disease, stroke and cancer. A Singapore study found that while men were diagnosed with chronic illness two years earlier than women, women were also disabled by their illnesses four years later. Men more often engage in riskier habits like drinking alcohol and using recreational drugs, as well as eating to excess. And the stereotype about men being adverse to seeing a doctor on a regular basis? Studies have shown its true.If your goal is to become the first 100-year-old man on your family tree, there an* some things you can do to boost your odds. One is to examine what centenarians are doing right. According to the ongoing New England Centenarian Study, the largest comprehensive study of centenarians in the world, they can fend off or even escape age associated diseases like heart attack, stroke, cancer, diabetes and Alzheimers. Ninety percent of those studied were functionally independent for the vast majority of their lives up until the age of 92. and 75% were just as autonomous at an average age of 95. Centenarians disprove the perception that the older you get, the sicker you get. Centenarians teach us that the older you get. the healthier youve been. 69. This passage mainly discusses_.A. why women lead a healthier life than menB. how women can live longer and slay healthyC. what keeps men from enjoying a longer life spanD. whether mens life style leads to their early death70. According lo Thomas Perls, which of the following is a major factor contributing to the relative longevity of women over men?A. Their natural urge to remain healthy.B. Their greater natural drive to pass on genes.C. Their need to bear healthy offspring.D. Their desire lo have more children.71. The author mentions the legacy of our cave-dweller past to_.A. support the argument about womens role in rearing childrenB. summarize a possible cause of different life expectanciesC. challenge the theory about our ancestors behavior patternsD. illustrate the history of human evolution process72. According to the passage, testosterone is a hormone that_.A. increases as men grow olderB. reduces risk factors in male behaviorC. leads to aggressive behavior and heart diseaseD. accounts for womens dislike for violent films73. Compared with women, men as a whole_ .A. suffer from depression more oftenB. suffer from diseases later than womenC. are reluctant to have physical checkupsD. arc not affected by violent movies74. Centenarians refer to people who_.A. live longer than femalesB. live at the turn of the centuryC. are extremely independentD. arc a hundred years or olderPassage FiveLast year. Curt Dunnam bought a Chevrolet Blazer with one of the most popular new features in high-end cars: the OnStar personal security system.The heavily advertised communications and tracking feature is used nationwide by more than two million drivers, who simply push a button to connect, via a built-in cellphone, to a member of the OnStar staff. A Global Positioning System, or G. P. S., helps the employee give verbal directions to the driver or locate the car after an accident. The company can even send a signal to unlock car doors for locked-out owners, or honk the horn to help people find their cars in an endless plain of parking spaces. The biggest selling point for the system is its use in frustrating car thieves. Once an owner reports to the police that a car has been stolen, the company can track it to help am st the thieves, a service it performs about 400 times each month.But for Mr. Dunnam. the more he learned about his cars security features, the less secure he felt. He has enough technical knowledge to worry that someone elselaw enforcement officers, or hackerscould listen in on his phone calls, or gain control over his automotive systems without his knowledge or consent. While I dont believe G. M. intentionally designed this system to facilitate such activities, they sure have made it easy. he said.Mr. Dunnam said he had become even more concerned because of a federal appeals court case involving a criminal investigation, in which federal authorities had demanded that a company attach a wiretap to tracking services like those installed in his car. The suit did not reveal which company was involved. A three-judge panel in San Francisco rejected the request, but not on privacy grounds; the panel said the wiretap would interfere with the operation of the safety services. OnStar has said that its equipment was not involved in that case. An OnStar spokeswoman. Geri Lama. suggested that Mr. Dunnams worries were overblown. The signals that the company sends to unlock car doors or track location-based information can be triggered only with a secure exchange of specific identifying data, which ought to hinder all but the most determined hackers, she said.75. The most important feature of OnStar advertised by the company is that it can _.A. help people find