大学英语三期末试卷阅读理解

III. Reading Comprehension (40%)Direction： There are 4 reading 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 OneHave you ever been afraid to talk back when you were treated unfairly? Have you ever bought something just because the salesman talked you into it? Are you afraid to ask someone for a date?Many people are afraid to assert themselves(坚持己见). Dr. Alberti, author of Stand Up, Speak Out, and Talk Back, thinks its because their self-esteem(自尊) is low. “Our whole set up (体制) is designed to make people distrust themselves,” says Alberti. “Theres always superior around a parent, a teacher, a boss who knows better. These superiors(上级，长官) often gain when they chip (削弱) away at your self-image.”But Alberti and other scientists are doing something to help people assert themselves. They offer “assertiveness training” courses AT for short. In the AT courses people learn that they have a right to be themselves. They learn to speak out and feel good about doing so. They learn to be more aggressive (敢闯, 闯劲儿) without hurting other people.In one way, learning to speak out is to overcome fear. A group taking an AT course will help the timid person to lose his fear. But AT uses an even stronger motive the need to share. The timid person speaks out in the group because he wants to tell how he feels.Whether or not you speak up for yourself depends on your self-image. If someone you face is more “important” than you, you may feel less of a person. You start to doubt your own good sense.You go by the other persons demand. But, why should you? AT says you can get to feel good about yourself. And once you do, you can learn to speak out.51. As used in the first line, the phrase “talk back” means _.A. to persuade somebody to change his mindB. to answer showing disagreementC. to talk and go backD. to fight bravely52. The passage mainly discusses the problem that _.A. people are easily cheated when they buy something.B. some people are afraid of superiors.C. somepeoplearetooeasy-going. D. somepeopledarenotstickupfortheirownrights.53. We may infer from the passage that the authors attitude towards the whole set up is _.A. positive B. negativeC. hostile (敌对的)D. appreciative54. One thing that “Assertiveness Training” does not do is _.A. helping people overcome fearB. showing people they have a right to be themselvesC. helping people to assert themselves even if others sufferD. helping people to feel good about themselves55. What is the passage mainly about?A. The training in helping people assert themselves.B. Development of self-respect.C. The importance of self-image.D. How to feel good about yourself.Passage Two Real policemen hardly recognize any resemblance between their lives and what they see on TV if they ever get home in time. There are similarities, of course, but the policemen dont think much of them.The first difference is that a policemens real life centers around the law. Most of his training is in criminal law. He has to know exactly what actions are crimes and what evidence can be used to prove them in court. He has to know nearly as much law as a professional lawyer, and what is more, he has to apply it on his feet, in the dark and rain, running down a narrow street after someone he wants to talk to. Little of his time is spent in chatting to pretty girls or in dramatic confrontations (对峙) with desperate(绝望的) criminals. He will spend most of his working life typing millions of words on thousands of forms about hundreds of sad, unimportant people who are guilty or not of stupid, minor crimes.Most television crime drama is about finding the criminal: as soon as hes arrested, the story is over, in real life, finding criminals is seldom much of a problem. Except in very serious cases like murders and terrorist attacks where failure to produce results reflects on the fame of the police little effort is spent on searching.Having made an arrest, a detective (侦探) really starts to work. He has to prove his case in court and, to do that, he often has to gather a lot of different evidence. So, as well as being overworked, a detective has to be out at all hours of the day and night interviewing his witness（证人） and persuading them, usually against their own interests, to help him.56. What does the first paragraph tell us about policemen? A. They often watch TV.B. They like watching TV.C. They are too busy to watch TV.D. They hate seeing themselves on TV.57. Why does the writer mention a lawyer in the second paragraph？A. To compare a lawyers with policemens.B. To emphasize that policemen are physically strong.C. To show that a lawyers job is more comfortable.D. To indicate that a lawyers job is less important than a policemans.58. What do real policemen do at work?A. They often deal with robbers and thieves.B. They talk with a lot of victims and visitors.C. The usually stay in their office studying cases.D. They dont deal with serious crimes very often.59. What does the passage say about a detective?A. His job is to make arrests.B. He is good at finding criminals.C. He visits and helps his witnesses.D. He has to prove his case in court. 60. What is the main idea of the passage?A. It is hard for policemen to do their job well.B. Real policemens life is different from what is shown on TV.C. Policemen are people that we admire and respect.D. Policemen keep in touch with a lot of people.Passage ThreeIt is predicted that more and more businesses will be turning to pre-employment tests to try to match workers to jobs. This is good news for the testing business. To capture（占领） the new market, testing companies are designing foolproof tests for employers who dont want to regret hiring the wrong person.Lori Miller, director of Boeing Aircrafts Childcare Center, remembers coping with one of the biggest challenges of her career. She had to hire forty childcare workers in four weeks. This enormous task meant testing and interviewing 200 candidates. Miller says, “The test was meant to provide me with greater insight into the candidates. Using the test results, I didnt have to worry that I might forget to ask certain questions during the interview. On top of that, because the test provided me with such complete information, I didnt have to remember to question every detail about the applicants background.”However, critics fear that this pre-employment testing trend could violate（侵犯） workers privacy rights（隐私权）. Rebecca Locketz, legal director of the ACLU Workplace Privacy Rights Project, is trying to make these tests illegal. Locketz says, “Employers must stop administering these tests willy-nilly (随意地). Its outrageous（无礼的）. The test designers dont think twice about including highly personal and inappropriate questions in the test.” Locketz issues a strong warning to job seekers: “Quit taking the test as soon as the questions become inappropriate or make you feel uncomfortable. If you dont, I guarantee you will regret revealing personal information that your employer can use against you. The tests are an invasion of privacy!”61. What does the word “foolproof” (Paragraph 1) probably mean?A. Effective and successful.B. Easy to administer.C. Suitable for large-scale testing.D. Including personal questions.62. What is the advantage of having a pre-employment test in the case of Boeing Aircraft?A. The business was able to interview a larger number of job seekers.B. The business was able to hire better employees at a lower wage.C. The business could ask more personal questions about the interviewees.D. The business could get detailed information about the interviewees in advance.63. Which of the following is against pre-employment testing?A. Lori Miller.B. Rebecca Locketz.C. The government.D. Some test designers.64. On the job seekers side, what is the potential danger of taking pre-employment tests?A. They might be found being dishonest in answering the questions.B. They might not be able to quit taking the test even if they want to.C. The information they provide may be misused by their employers.D. Their answers to the test questions might invade others privacy.65. What can we say of pre-employment testing?A. Its illegal.B. Its a common practice nowadays.C. Its controversial.D. Its a way of protecting human rights.Passage FourThe advantages and disadvantages of a large population have long been a subject of discussion among economists. It has been argued that the supply of good land is limited. To feed a large population, inferior (劣等的)land must be cultivated（开垦） and the good land worked intensively. Thus, each person produces less and this means a lower average income than could be obtained with a smaller population. Other economists have argued that a large population gives more scope（余地） for specialization and the development of facilities（设施） such as ports, roads and railways, which are not likely to be built unless there is a big demand to justify(证明正当) them.One of the difficulties in carrying out a worldwide birth control program lies in the fact that official attitudes to population growth vary (变化) from country to country depending on the level of industrial development and the availability of food and raw materials（原材料）. In a developing country where a vastly expanded（扩大的） population is pressing hard upon the limits of food, space and natural resources, it will be the first concern of government to place a limit on the birthrate, whatever the consequences（结果） may be. In a highly industrialized society the problem may be more complex. A decreasing birthrate may lead to unemployment because it results in a declining（下降的） market for manufactured goods. When the pressure of population on housing declines, prices also decline and the building industry is weakened. Faced with considerations such as these, the government of a developed country may well prefer to see a slowly increasing population, rather than one which is stable(稳定的) or