英语六级阅读理解练习题六

1、生命中，不断地有人离开或进入。于是，看见的，看不见的；记住的，遗忘了。生命中，不断地有得到和失落。于是，看不见的，看见了；遗忘的，记住了。然而，看不见的，是不是就等于不存在？记住的，是不是永远不会消失？ 英语六级阅读理解练习题(六)Like most parents， geologist Brain Atwater worries about his daughters safety. But these days， he has an unusual concern; The public school she_1_ in Seattle has unreinforced brick wal

2、ls， a _2_being easy to collapse during earthquakes. The same_3_of walls crushed hundreds of thousands of people during the 1976 Tangshan quake in China.A decade ago， Atwater would have paid little notice to schoolroom walls. But over the last several years， he and other scientists have found _4_sign

3、s that the Pacific Northwest has experienced giant quakes in the distant past and that the area may be headed for a destructive shock in the near future.At a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in December， researchers discussed the_5_uncovered evidence of quake potential in the Pacific Northw

4、est. While some remain unconvinced that huge earthquakeswith magnitudes of 8 or higherdo indeed_6_this region， a growing number consider such shocks a serious possibility.Whats worrisome， they say， is that northwestern cities such as Portland， Seattle and Vancouver have not prepared for earthquakes

5、of this magnitude， which could shake the regions _7_centers with enough force to make the recent San Francisco area damage seem _8_ in comparison.“I think its quite true to say that nothing has really been designed with one of these earthquakes in mind，” says seismologist Paul Somerville of Woodward

6、. At the meeting， Somerville and his colleagues _9_estimates of the degree of shaking. Portland and Seattle would suffer during such a _10_earthquake.A. massive B. recently C. construction D. displayedE. relatively F. attends G. type H. strikeI. structure J. participates K. excessive L. mildM. distu

7、rbing N. population 0. presented答案：1. F 2. C 3. G 4. M 5. B 6. H 7. N 8. L 9. O 10. AYou are about to go to the hospital for a routine surgical procedure. Which attitude is healthier？A. “Id better find out everything I can about this operationyou can never know too much. ”B. “Dont tell me the detail

8、s. Its going to be fine. ”Answer B is supposed to be the wrong one. Its an example of what psychologists call “denial，” a defence mechanism that minimizes uncomfortable information. Denial， they have argued， is stupid， self-defeating and ultimately dangerous.But research is showing that answer B is

9、a faster route to recovery. Denialof a certain sort and at certain timescan be healthy. Of course， you do need to pay attention to some unpleasant facts. The trick is to know when its helpful to worry and when its counterproductive.Out-and-out denial may be the best approach to surgery， according to

10、 Richard S. Lazarus， professor of psychology at the University of California at Berkeley. With Frances Cohen， Lazarus studied 61 patients about to undergo operations （all relatively common operations）。 In general， patients followed one of two mental strategies; “avoidance” or “vigilance. ”Typically，

11、 avoiders had not discussed their surgery in detail with anyone， didnt want to know about it and didnt dwell upon its risks.In contrast， vigilant types were alert to every detail. Many sought out articles about their disorders. They wanted to know the risks of surgery， the risks if surgery was not p

12、erformed， the surgical procedures， the potential complications and the likelihood of recurrence.When Lazarus and Cohen compared the two groups after surgery， they found that avoiders got on much better. They had a lower incidence of postoperative complications such as nausea （恶心）， headache， fever an

13、d infection. The net result： they were discharged sooner.One reason may be that their denial make room for hope， or at least for a positive outlook， even under the grimmest of conditions. “Never deny the diagnosis， but do deny the negative opinion that may go with it，” advises Norman Cousins， author

14、 of Anatomy of an Illness and The Healing Heart. Why？ Because grim warnings about diseases come from statistics on the average case. Cousins believes that most patients， given hope and determination， have a good chance to transcend the averages.Adds Dr. Hackett： “Deniers see the machines theyre hook

15、ed up to as helping them to get well， not as a sign of a badly functioning heart. Those who feel most positive about their ability to get well tend to do better than those who fear and worry more. ”Of course， none of these researchers would conclude that denial is the best approach to all medical ma

16、tters. A diabetic must monitor blood sugar; a kidney patient must keep track of dialysis （透析） ; a woman who finds a lump in her breast must not delay in having it diagnosed.The question to ask yourself， Dr. Lazarus explains， is whether the information you gather will help you solve a problem， or whe

17、ther there is little you can do to change things. In the first case， pay attention and act. In the second case， dont become preoccupied with the risks; anxiety can worsen your health.Dr. Herbert Benson， associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School， points out that the overly vigilant pa

18、tients central nervous system becomes aroused into the fight-or-flight response. But since all the patient can do is lie there， his body suffers the classic damages of stress.While studying peoples reactions to medical stress， Temple University psychologist Suzanne Miller and University of Pennsylva

19、nia gynecologic oncologist （妇科肿瘤学 ） Charles E. Mangan placed 40 women about to undergo colposcopy （阴道镜检查） in two different groups， according to their coping style.Millers main interest was to see whether any of these women would cope better if they had extra information. She gave half of each group

20、voluminous details about what would happen and how they would feel; she gave the rest only the basic facts. Overall， the results reinforced the benefits of avoidance. The women given minimal information felt more relaxed throughout the procedure than the women who knew more. （Oddly enough， the group

21、 desiring information complained that they would have liked even more. The very act of gathering details seemed to make them less anxious. ）Millers research shows that different people react to news about their situations in very different ways. That means， she suggests， that people should seek as m

22、uch or as little information as their individual coping style dictates.Does the research on denial mean we should regress （倒退） to the days when physicians used to say， “Dont tell patients anything， because they dont really want to know？” Hardly. People have a right to know what is going to happen to

23、 them， and to take part in decisions about their treatment. But patients can get necessary information without learning a lot of nerve-racking details they dont need.For example， a physician can say： “You have a suspicious Pap test. The next procedure is called colposcopy; it will take fifteen minut

24、es. ” The doctor doesnt need to describe everything a colposcope does， feels like or might find. Similarly， a woman should seek all the options if she has a suspicious Pap test， but once she makes a decision， she should not be obsessed about it.You could summarize the research in a set of guidelines

25、： In general， it is best to block out medical threats and worries when there is nothing you can do about themsay， after youve decided to undergo surgery. Dont dwell on all that could go wrong or visualize every fearful detail; concentrate instead on what is likely to go right. Be vigilant about matt

26、ers that you can control， such as paying attention to signs of illness. Find out your personal disposition to avoid details or to acquire all information possible， and let your own inclination be your guidebut only up to a point. “Many of those who gather any and all facts are putting themselves thr

27、ough more stress than they need to，” Miller says. She advises them to learn when their approach will only increase their anxiety. In those cases， theyd do better to turn off their radar. On the other hand， avoiders should recognize when it is valuable to gather more facts than they might like to.The

28、 basic advice is clear： dont feel guilty if you decide to take the rosy view. Concentrating on the positive turns out to be medically sound.1. It is suggested in the passage that if you were a vigilant patient， you should learn to adopt a new strategy of avoidance because it brings you less stress.2

29、. The doctors are discovering that the best medicine is often simply to deny the worst and expect the best.3. Miller divided the women patients into two groups at will and provided each group with either detailed or basic information in order to find out who would get on better.4. Based on the findi

30、ngs of the researches， doctors find it hard to decide whether they should tell patients anything about their illness.5. Psychologists have changed their opinion that it is stupid and dangerous for people to deny uncomfortable information.6. A tip for both deniers and vigilant patients is： avoid deta

31、ils or acquire much information following your own coping style， but only to a certain point.7. It is unnecessary for patients to get information about their disorders because there is nothing they can do about their illness.8. Patients generally fall into two groups： _and_.9. “A diabetic must monit

32、or blood sugar;” helps explain that_to all cases.10. All patients should pay attention to_.答案：I. N 2. Y 3. N 4. N 5. NG 6. Y 7. N8. avoiders， deniers 9. denial is not the best approach 10. signs of illnessEvery day 25 million U. S. children ride school buses. The safety record for these buses is muc

33、h better than for passenger cars; but nevertheless， about 10 children are killed each year riding on large school buses， and nearly four times that number are killed outside buses in the loading zones. By and large， however， the nations school children are transported to and from school safely.Even

34、though the number of school bus casualties（死亡人数） is not large， the safety of children is always of intense public concern. While everyone wants to see children transported safely， people are divided about what needs to be doneparticularly whether seat belts should be mandatory （强制性的）Supporters of se

35、at belts on school buses argue that seat belts are necessary not only to reduce death and injury， but also to teach children lessons about the importance of using them routinely in any moving vehicle. A side benefit， they point out， is that seat belts help keep children in their seats， away from the

36、 bus driver.Opponents of seat belt installation suggest that children are already well protected by the school buses that follow the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations （NHTSA） safety requirement set in 1977. They also believe that many children wont wear seat belts anyway， and that they

37、 may damage the belts or use them as weapons to hurt other children.A new Research Council report on school bus safety suggests that there are alternate safety devices and procedures that may be more effective and less expensive. For example， the study committee suggested that raising seat backs fou

38、r inches may have the same safety effectiveness as seat belts.The report sponsored by the Department of Transportation at the request of Congress， reviews seat belts extensively while taking a broader look at safety in and around school buses.1. Each year， children killed outside buses in the loadin

39、g zones are about_.A. 10 B. 40C. 30 D. 502. Which of these words is nearest in meaning to the words “are divided” in ParagraphA. disagree B. separateC. arrange D. concern3. According to the passage， who has the greatest degree of control of the school buses “safety”？A. A New Research Council.B. The

40、Department of Transportation.C. The Medical Organizations.D. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.4. It may be inferred from this passage that_.A. many of the opponents of seat belt installation are parents and officials of the Department of TransportationB. proposal of seat belts on schoo

41、l buses would be seriously consideredC. an alternate safety device （raising seat backs four inches） may be taken intoconsiderationD. The Department of Transportation may either take the idea of seat belts or other measures when it reviews the whole situation5. The best title which expresses the idea

42、 of the passage is_.A. Making School Buses Even Safer for ChildrenB. Seat Belts Needed on School BusesC. Alternate Safety Devices and ProceduresD. Safety in and around School Buses答案：1. B 2. A 3. D 4. D 5. AFor as long as humans have raised crops as a source of food and other products， insects have

43、damaged them. Between 1870 and 1880， locusts ate millions of dollars worth of crops in the Mississippi Valley. Today in the United States the cotton boll weevil damages about 300 million dollars worth of crops each year. Additional millions are lost each year to the appetites of other plant-eating i

44、nsects. Some of these are corn borers， gypsy moths， potato beetles， and Japanese beetles.In modern times， many powerful insecticides（杀虫剂） have been used in an attempt to destroy insects that damage crops and trees. Some kinds of insecticides， when carefully used， have worked well. Yet the same insec

45、ticides have caused some unexpected problems. In one large area， an insecticide was used against Japanese beetles， which eat almost any kind of flower or leaf. Shortly afterward， the number of corn borers almost doubled. As intended， the insecticide had killed many Japanese beetles. But it had kille

46、d many of the insect enemies of the corn borer as well.In another case， an insecticide was used in Louisiana to kill the troublesome fire ant. The insecticide did not kill many fire ants. It did kill several small animals. It also killed some insect enemies of the sugarcane borer， a much more destru

47、ctive pest than the fire ants. As a result， the number of sugarcane borers increased and severely damaged the sugarcane crop.To be sure that one insect pest will not be traded for another when an insecticide is used， scientists must perform careful experiments and do wide research. The experiments a

48、nd research provide knowledge of the possible hazards an insecticide may bring to plant and animal communities. Without such knowledge， we have found that nature sometimes responds to insecticides in unexpected ways.1. An insecticide was used in Louisiana to kill the troublesome_.A. corn borer B. Ja

49、panese beetleB. gypsy moth D. fire ant2. While it is not directly stated， the article suggests that_.A. insecticides are not dangerous to any small animalsB. insecticides do not always accomplish their purposesC. insecticides are no longer being used to kill insectsD. insecticides do no harm to peop

50、le3. On the whole， the article tells about_.A. the appetites of plant-eating insects B. the best way to kill boll weevils C. the dangers in using insecticides D. the best way to grow crops4. Which statement does this article lead you to believe？A. All changes are predictable. B. Nothing ever changes

51、 in nature.C. Nature is not always predictable. D. Nature always serves man well.5. Scientists perform careful experiments and do wide research because_.A. they must learn to destroy all the insects that we needB. they must be sure one insect pest is not traded for anotherC. research keeps them from inventing new insecticide for the cropsD. research helps them find a way to kill all insects答案：1. D 2. B 3. C 4. C 5. BGrowth of tra