四级快速阅读配套练习.doc

CET4快速阅读配套练习Passage 1Another Intelligence Emotional intelligence as a theory was first brought to public attention by the book Emotional Intelligence, Why It can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman, but the theory itself is, in fact, attributed to two Americans, John D Mayer and Peter Salovey. What is emotional intelligence exactly? According to Goleman, Emotional Intelligence consists of five key elements. The first is knowing ones own emotions: being able to recognize that one is in an emotional state and having the ability to identify which emotion is being experienced, even if it is not a particularly comfortable feeling to admit to, e.g. jealously or envy. Emotional awareness can then lead to managing ones emotions. This involves dealing with emotions, like jealousy, resentment, anger, etc, that one may have difficulty accepting by, perhaps, giving oneself comfort food, or doing nice things when one is feeling low. Many people do this instinctively by buying chocolate or treating themselves; others are able to wrap themselves in positive thoughts or mother themselves. There are, of course, many people who are incapable of doing this, and so need to be taught. The third area is self-motivation. Our emotions can simultaneously empower and hinder us, so it is important to develop the ability to control them. Strategies can be learnt whereby emotions are set aside to be dealt with at a later date. For example, when dealing with the success or good fortune of others, it is better not to suppress any negative emotion that arises. One just has to recognize it is there. And then one just needs to be extra careful when making decisions and not allow ones emotions to cloud the issue, by letting them dictate how one functions with that person. The separation of logic and emotion is not easy when dealing with people. As social beings, we need to be able to deal with other people, which brings us to the next item on Golemans list, namely: recognizing emotions in other people. This means, in effect, having or developing “social radar”, ie learning to read the weather systems around individual or groups of people. Obviously, leading on from this is the ability to handle relationships. If we can recognize, understand and then deal with other peoples emotions, we can function better both socially and professionally. Not being tangible, emotions are difficult to analyze and quantify, compounded by the fact that each area in the list above, does not operate in isolation. Each of us has misread a friends or a colleagues behavior to us and other people. The classic example is the shy person, categorized by some people as arrogant and distant and by others as lively and friendly and very personable. How can two different groups make a definitive analysis of someone that is so strikingly contradictory? And yet this happens on a daily basis in all our relationships even to the point of misreading the behavior of those close to us! In the work scenario, this can cost money. And so it makes economic sense for business to be aware of it and develop strategies for employing people and dealing with their employees. All common sense you might say. Goleman himself has even suggested that emotional intelligence is just a new way of describing competence; what some people might call savior faire or savoir vivre. Part of the problem here is that society or some parts of society have forgotten that these skills ever existed and have found the need to re-invent them. But the emergence of Emotional Intelligence as a theory suggests that the family situations and other social interactions where social skills were honed in the past are fast disappearing, so that people now sadly need to be re-skilled.1. Emotional Intelligence as a theory _.A was unheard of until the 1970sB is attributed to Daniel GolemanC consists of at least five key areasD is attributed to Mayer and Salovey2. Which is one way of controlling emotions?A To put them to the side to deal with later.B To use both logic and emotion.C To suppress the negative ones.D To hinder them.3. As well as being intangible, what is the problem with emotions?A They are difficult.B They are compounded.C They are difficult to qualify.D They do not operate in isolation.4. Misreading the behavior of others _.A is always expensiveB is a classic exampleC happens on a daily basisD is most common with those close to us5. Employers need to _.A save moneyB work scenarioC know about peoples emotionsD employ and deal with employees6. Goleman links Emotional Intelligence to _.A happiness B competenceC incompetenceD common sense7. The fact that the idea of Emotional Intelligence has emerged suggests that social interactivities_.A are honedB happen in the familyC need to be re-skilledD are becoming less frequent8. Knowing ones emotions involves both _.9. The ability to recognize emotions in other people is like _.10. Handling relationships is the key to _.Passage 2Education Study Finds U. S. Falling BehindTeachers in the United States earn less relative to national income than their counterparts in many industrialized countries, yet they spend far more hours in front of the classroom, according to a major new international study.The salary differentials are part of a pattern of relatively low public investment in education in the United States compared with other member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a group in Paris that compiled the report. Total government spending on educational institutions in the United States slipped to 4.8 percent of gross domestic product in 1998, falling under the international average 5 percent for the first time. “The whole economy has grown faster than the education system,” Andreas Schleicher, one of the reports authors, explained. “The economy has done very well, but teachers have not fully benefit.” The report, due out today, is the sixth on education published since 1991 by the organization of 30 nations, founded in 1960, and now covering much of Europe, North America, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.In addition to the teacher pay gap, the report shows the other countries have begun to catch up with the United States in higher education: college enrollment has grown by 20 percent since 1995 across the group, with one in four young people now earning degrees. For the first time, the United States college graduation rate, now at 33 percent, is not the worlds highest. Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Britain have surpassed it.The United States is also producing fewer mathematics and science graduates than most of the other member states. And, the report says, a college degree produces a greater boost in income here while the lack of a high school diploma imposes a bigger income penalty. “The number of graduates is increasing, but that stimulates even more of a demand there is no end in sight,” Mr. Schleicher said. “The demand for skill, clearly, is growing faster than the supply that is coming from schools and colleges.” The report lists the salary for a high school teacher in the United States with 15 years experience as $36,219, above the international average of $31,887 but behind seven other countries and less than 60 percent of Switzerlands $62,052. Because teachers in the Unites States have a heavier classroom load teaching almost a third more hours than their counterparts abroad their salary per hour of actual teaching is $35, less than the international average of $41 (Denmark, Spain and Germany pay more than $50 per teaching hour, South Korea $77). In 1994, such a veteran teacher in the United States earned 1.2 times the average per capita income whereas in 1999 the salary was just under the national average. Only the Czech Republic, Hungary, Iceland and Norway pay their teachers less relative to national income; in South Korea, teachers earn 2.5 times the national average. Teacher pay accounts for 56 percent of what the United States spends on education, well below the 67 percent average among the group of countries.The new data come as the United States faces a shortage of two million teachers over the next decade, with questions of training, professionalism and salaries being debated by politicians local and national. Joost Yff, an international expert at the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, said training for teachers is comparable among most of the nations in the study, and that they are all dealing with similar issues of raising standards and increasing professionalism.Though the United States lags behind in scores on standardized tests in science and mathematics, students here get more instruction in those subjects, the report shows. The average 14-year-old American spent 295 hours in math and science classes in 1999, far more than the 229 international average; only Austria (370 hours), Mexico (367) and New Zealand (320) have more instruction in those subjects.Middle-scholars here spend less time than their international counterparts studying foreign languages and technology, but far more hours working on physical education and vocational skills. High school students in the United States are far more likely to have part-time jobs: 64 percent of Americans ages 15 to 19 worked while in school, compared with an international average of 31 percent (only Canada and the Netherlands, with 69 percent, and Denmark, with 75 percent, were higher).One place the United States spends more money is on special services for the disabled and the poor. More than one in four children here are in programs based on income only five other countries serve even 1 in 10 and nearly 6 percent get additional resources based on physical or mental handicaps, twice or three times the rate in other countries.The report shows a continuing shift in which the United States is losing its status as the most highly educated among the nations. The United States has the highest level of high school graduates ages 55 to 64, but falls to fifth, behind Norway, Japan, South Korea, the Czech Republic and Switzerland, among ages 25 to 34. Among college graduates, it leads in the older generation but is third behind Canada and Japan in the younger cohort (一群). While the portion of Americans with high school diplomas remains at 88 percent across age groups, the average age among member countries is rising. It has gone from 58 percent of those ages 45 to 54, to 66 percent of those ages 35 to 44 and 72 percent of those ages 25 to 34. A higher percentage of young people in Norway, Japan, South Korea, the Czech Republic and Switzerland have degrees than in the United States. “The U.S. has led the development in college education and making education sort of accessible for everyone,” Mr. Schleicher said. “Its now becoming the norm.”1. Compared with their counterparts in many industrialized countries, the U.S. teachers _.A earn less B work longerC are younger D are smarter 2. The U.S. government spent _ of its GDP on education in 1998.A 4.8% B 5% C less than 4.8% D more than 5%3. What do we learn about Finland from the passage?A It enjoys the highest college graduation rate.B It surpasses the U.S. in college graduation rate.C It enjoys a 20-percent increase in college enrollment.D It has more young people earning degrees that British.4. When the number of graduates in the U.S. increases, _.A they have not enough jobs to doB they suffer a drop in initial salariesC the demand for them is risingD more college students drop their study5. The new study shows that the actual teaching salary per hour in the U.S. is _.A $35 B $41 C $50 D $776. What does the report say about the U.S. students study of science and mathematics?A They score higher on tests in those subjects than other subjects.B They are not smart in those subjects.C They get most instruction in those subjects in the OECD.D They spend more time in those subjects than international average.7. Compared with those in other OECD countries, high school students in the U.S. spend more time in _.A doing part-time jobsB foreign languages and technologyC in physical education and vocational skillsD in science and mathematics8. It is for the special services for _ that the United States pays more money than other OECD countries.9. Those who have high school diplomas in the U. S. account for _ of the Americans of all ages.10. According to Mr. Schleicher, the U.S. is becoming the norm in making education accessible for everyone and _.Passage 3What do we mean by being talented or gifted? The most obvious way is to look at the work someone does and if they are capable of significant success, label them as talented. The purely quantitative route percentage definition looks not at individuals, but at simple percentages, such as the top five percent of the population, and labels them by definition as gifted. This definition has fallen from favor, eclipsed by the advent of IQ tests, favored by luminaries such as Professor Hans Eysenck, where a series of written or verbal tests of general intelligence leads to a score of intelligence.The IQ test has been eclipsed in turn. Most people studying intelligence and creativity in the new millennium now prefer a broader definition, using a multifaceted approach where talents in many areas are recognized rather than purely concentrating on academic achievement. If we are therefore assuming that talented, creative or gifted individuals may need to be assessed across a range of abilities, does this mean intelligence can run in families as genetic or inherited tendency? Mental dysfunction such as schizophrenia can, so is an efficient mental capacity passed on from parent to child?Animal experiments throw some light on this question, and on the whole area of whether it is genetics, the environment or a combination of the two that allows for intelligence and creative ability. Different strains of rats show great differences in intelligence or rat reasoning. If these are brought up in normal conditions and then run through a maze to reach a food goal, the bright-strain make far fewer wrong turns that the dull-ones. But if the environment is made dull and boring the number of errors becomes equal. Return the rats to an exciting maze and the discrepancy returns as before but is much smaller. In other words, a dull rat in a stimulating environment will almost do as well as bright rat who is bored in a normal one. This principle applies to humans too someone may be born with innate intelligence, but their environment probably has the final say over whether they become creative or even a genius.Evidence now exists that most young children, if given enough opportunities and encouragement, are able to achieve significant and sustainable levels of academic or sporting prowess. Bright or creative children are often physically very active at the same time, and so many receive more parental attention as a result almost by default in order to ensure their safety. They may also talk earlier, and this, in turn, breeds parental interest. This can sometimes cause problems with other siblings who may feel jealous even though they themselves may be bright. Their creative talents may be undervalued and so never come to fruition. Two themes seem to run through famously creative families as a result. The first is that the parents were able to identify the talents of each child, and nurture and encourage these accordingly but in an even handed manner. Individual differences were encouraged, and friendly sibling rivalry was not seen as particular problem. If the father is, say, a famous actor, there is no undue pressure for his children to follow him onto the boards, but instead their chosen interests are encouraged. There need not even by any obvious talent in such a family since there always needs to be someone who sets the family career in motion, as in the case of the Sheen acting dynasty.Martin Sheen was the seventh of ten children born to a Spanish immigrant father and an Irish mother. Despite intense parental disapproval he turned his back on entrance exams to university and borrowed cash from a local priest to start a fledgling acting career. His acting successes in films such as Badlands and Apocalypse Now made him one of the most highly-regarded actors of the 1970s. Three sons Emilio Estevez, Ramon Estevez and Charlie Sheen have followed him into the profession as a consequence of being inspired by his motivation and enthusiasm.A stream seems to run through creative families. Such children are not necessarily smothered with love by their parents. They feel loved and wanted, and are secure in their home, but are often more surrounded by an atmosphere of work and where following a calling appears to be important. They may see from their parents that it takes time and dedication to be master of a craft, and so are in less of a hurry to achieve for themselves once they start to work.The generation of creativity is complex: it is a mixture of genetics, the environment, parental teaching and luck that determines how successful or talented family members are. This last point luck is often not mentioned where talent is concerned but plays an undoubted part. Mozart, considered by many to be the finest composer of all time, was lucky to be living in an age that encou