大学英语六级阅读题及详解

1、v1.0可编辑可修改 Exercise 1Passage 1Actually, though, America, the “land of immigrants ” , has always had people of many different nationalities and languages. The 1990 census （人口普查 ）indicates that almost 14% ofAmericans speak a non-English language at home. Yet only 3% re ported that they spoke English “

2、not well or not at all ” . That means that slightly more than one out of 10 Americans could be considered bilingual. Besides that, many high school and college students-and even some elementery school students-are required to take a foreign language as a part of their curriculum. In addition to old

3、standbys（受人喜爱的语种）like Spanish, German and Franch, more and more students are opting Eastern European and Asian languages. Of course, not all students keep up their foreign langua ge abilities. As the old saying goes, “If you don t use it . But still, a growing number of Americans are coming to appre

4、ciate the benefits of being multilingual.Ethnic enclaves（少数民族聚居地）,found particularly in major metropolitancenters,have preserved the language and culture of American immigrants. Somelocalresidentscan function quite well in their native language, without having to botherlearning English. Rogions such

5、 as southern Florida and the Southwest have numerous Spanish-speaking neighborhoods. In fact, Spanish speakers-numbering over 17 million-compose the largest non-English linguistic group in America. But Chinese, Vietnamese, Italian,Polish and many other ethnic group add to the linguistic flavor of Am

6、erica. Foreign languages are so commonly used in some ethnic neighborhoods that visitors might think they are in another country!Although some Americans welcome this linguistic and cultural diversity, other have begun to fear that the English language is being threatened. Since the 1980s, t he a Eng

7、lish Only movement has sought to promote legislation which wouldv1.0可编辑可修改 establish English as the “official language and restrictthe use of non-Englishlanguage. However, some groups, including TESOL, the organization for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other language, object to such alanguage r

8、estrictionism ”. Their view, known as aEnglish Plus” , suggests that Americans should have respect for people s native help them fit into the mainstream of society. But so far, 19 states have passed English Only legislation, and the topic is the focus of an ongoing debate.Whether or not Engliash is

9、the official language of the United States, it remains the alanguage of wider communication ” . Nearly everyone recognizes the need to develop proficiency in English in order to do well in America. To help those who want to brush up on their English skills, English as a Second Language (ESL) classes

10、 around. Cities with large numbers of recent immigrants often set up bilingual education programs to teach students content subjects in their native language while they improve their English. Language educators often have strong and divergent views as to which approach helps learners achieve better

11、results: a bilingual approach, an ESL approach- or even a pure immersion( sink or swim ) approach. However, all these teachers share a commoncommitment: to help students function well in English.American recognize that English is the international language, and people with good English skills can ge

12、t by in many international settings. On the other hand, in a world growing increasingly smaller, second language skills can be a great favor. They can build cross-cultural bridges and give people an edge in a variety of career field. Indeed, lack of foreign language proficiency can limit one s chanc

13、es foradvancement and keep one in a cultural dead-end street. As many people in America are discovering, being monolingual is no laughing matter. (598 words)The word“bilingual ” (Line 7,para,1) means.being able to speak two languagesbeing able to speak three languagesv1.0可编辑可修改 being able to speak f

14、our languagesbeing able to speak five languagesForeign languages are commonly used in some ethnic neighborhoods because.ethnic groups have preserved their native languagesethnic groups are not allowed to speak Englishethnic groups encourage their natives to learn foreign languagesethnic groups allow

15、 their natives to go to another countrycompose the largest linguistic group in America.Immigrants from ChinaImmigrants from SpainImmigrants from Italyfrom VietnamWhich of the following is TRUE abouta English Only movementIts purpose was to establish a legislation of restricting the use of English.TE

16、SOL was in favor of a English Only by objecting to a English plus .It was launched because English was being threatened.A large majority of states supported the movement.The general idea of this passage is.the importance of being bilingualthe need to speak the native languagesEnglish-a language wide

17、ly spoken around the worldthe English Only movementin prison for crimespub bombingPassage 2The Guidford Four, freed last week after spending 15 years they did not commit, would almost certainly have been executed for thev1.0可编辑可修改they were convicted of. They had the death penalty been in force at th

18、e time of their trial. They may now be a decent interval before the pro-hanging lobby, which has the support of the Prime Minister, makes another attempt to reintroduce the noose.Reflections along these lines were about the only kind of consolation to be derived from this gross miscarriage of justic

19、e which is now to be the subject of a judicia l（司法的）inquiry. In the meantime, defense lawyers are demanding compensation and have in mind about half a million pounds for each of their clients.The first three to be released-Mr. Gerald Conlon, Mr. Paddy Armstrong and Ms.Carole Richardson-left prison w

20、ith the 34 pounds which is given to all departing inmates. The fourth, Mr. Paul Hill, was not released immediately but taken to Belfast, where he lodged an appeal against his conviction for the murder of a former British soldier. Since this conviction, too, was based on the now discredited statement

21、s allegedly made to the Survey police, he was immediately let out on bail（ 保释）. But he left empty-handed.The immediate reaction to the scandal was renewed demandfor the re-examination of the case against the Birmingham Six, who are serving life sentences for pub bombings in that city. Thus far the H

22、ome secretary, Mr. Douglas Hurd, is insisting that the two cases are not comparable; that what is now known about the Guilford investigation has no relevance to what happened in Birmingham.Mr. Hurd is right to the extent that there was a small-though flimsy and hotly-contested-amount of crime eviden

23、ce in the Birmingham case. The disturbing similarity is that the Birmingham Six, like the Guilford Four, claim that police officers lied and fabricated evidence to secure a conviction.Making scapegoats（替罪羊）of a few rogue police officers will not be sufficient to eliminate the Guilford miscarriage of

24、 justice. These are already demands that the law should be changed; first to make it impossible to convict on aconfessions ” alone; and secondly to require that statements from accused persons should only be 44taken in the presence of an independent third patty to ensure they are not made under puni

25、shment.It was also being noted this week that the Guilford Four owe their release more to be persistence of investigative reporters than to the diligence of either the judiciary or the police. Yet investigative reports-particularly on television-have recently been a particular target for the condemn

26、ation of Mrs. Thatcher and some of her ministers who seem to think that TV should be muzzled(钳制言论的手段)in the public interest and left to get on with soap operas and quiz shows. (495words)The word“noose” (Line 7, Para. 1) has the closest meaning to.A. death penalty B. hangingC. trialTo compensate the

27、miscarriage of justice, the defense lawyers may.demand 500,000 pounds for the Guilford Fourdemand 500,000 pounds for each of the Guilford Fourdemand 1,000,000 pounds for each of the Guilford Fourdemand a re-examination of the Birmingham pub bombingsWhy was there a renewed demand for the re-examinati

28、on of the case against the Birmingham SixThe Birmingham Six were believed to have criminal connections with the Guilford Four.The two cases were similar in that both were about pub bombings.The bombings in Birmingham happened at the same time.The Birmingham Six also claimed that there were police ma

29、lpractice s in their case.The existing law states that.convictions can be made on confessions and statements taken by police officers from accused persons are valid legal evidence 55convictions can t be made on confessions alone and there should be a third party when taking statements from accused p

30、ersonsconvictions can be made on confessions and a third party should be present when taking statements from accused personsconvictions can t be made on confessions alone and the statements taken by police officers from accused persons are valid legal evidenceAccording to the article, which of the f

31、ollowing parties contributed most to the release of the Guilford FourA. ReportersB. Lawyers C. The policeD. The judiciaryPassage 3Proxemics（空间关系学）is the study of what governs how closely one person stands to another. People who feel close will be close, though the actual distances will vary between

32、cultures. For Amreicans we can discern four main categories of distance: intimate, personal, social and public. Intimate ranges from direct contact to about 45 centimeters. This is for the closest relationships such as those between husband and wife. Beyond this comes personal distance. This stands

33、at between 45 and 80 centimeters. It is the most usual distance maintained for conversations between friends and relatives. Social distance covers people who work together or are meeting at social gatherings. Distances here tend to be kept between to 2 meters. Beyond this comes public distance, such

34、 as that between a lecturer and his audience.All cultures draw lines between what is an appropriate and what is an inappropriate social distance for different types of relationship. They differ, however, in where they draw these lines. Look at an international reception withrepresentatives from the

35、US and Arabic countries conversing and you will see the Americans pirouetting（快速旋转）backwards around the hall pursued by their Arabpartners. The Americans will be trying to keep the distance between themselves and their partners which they have grown used to regarding as “normal” . They probably 66v1

36、.0可编辑可修改 will not even notice themselves trying to adjust the distance between themselves and their partners, though they may have vague feeling that their Arab neighborsare being a bit “pushy” . The Arab, on the other hand, coming from a culture where much closer distance is the norm, may be feelin

37、g that the Americans are being“stand - offish ” . Finding themselves happier standing close to and even touchingthose they are in conversation with they will persistently pursue the Americans round the room trying to close the distance between them.The appropriateness of physical contact varies betw

38、een different cultures too. One study of the number of times people conversing in coffee shops over a one hour period showed the following interesting variations: London, 0; Florida, 2; Paris, 10; and Puerto Rico 180. Not only dose it vary between societies, however, it also varies between different

39、 subcultures within one society. Young people in Britain, for example, are more likely to touch and hug friends than are the older generation. This may be partly a matter of growing older, but it also reflects the fact that the older generation grew up at a time when touching was less common for all

40、 age groups. Forty years ago, for example, footballers would never hug and kiss one another on the field after a goal as they do today. (458 words)proxemics,governs the standing space between two persons.A. distanceB. cultureC. conversationD. relationshipword “stand - offish ” (Line 14, Para. 2) cou

41、ld best be replaced by.cold and distant in behaviourungentlemanlike in behaviourinhuman in behaviourpolite in behaviourIn conversation with an American partner at an international reception, an Arab deems that close distant is.v1.0可编辑可修改 A. appropriate B. inappropriateC. rash D. impetuousWe can infe

42、r from the third paragragh that the appropriateness of physical contact also varies with.A. timeB. cityC. country D. peopleThe best title for the passage would be.ProxemicsAppropriateness of Social DistanceAppropriateness Relationships Between Two PersonsAppropriateness Physical Contact Between Two

43、PersonsPassage 4In the past century Irish painting has changes from a British-influencedlyricaltradition to an art that evokes the ruggedness and roots of an Irish Celtic past.At the turn of the twentieth century Irish painters, including notables WalterFrederick Osborne and Sir William Orpen, looke

44、d elsewhere for influence.Osborne sexposure to “plein air p ainting deeply impacted his stylistic development; andOrpen allied himself with a group of English artists, while at the same time participated in the French avant-garde experiment, both as painter and teacher.However, nationalist energies

45、were beginning to coalesce （接合）,revivingof fifteenth-centurys Celtic past, linkinginterest in Irish culture- including Irish visual arts. Beatrice Elvery s （1907）, a landmark achievement, merged the devotional simplicityItalian painting with the iconography （肖像画法）of IrelandAnd, although also captiva

46、tedthe history of Irish Catholicism with the still-nasce t （初生的）Irish republic.by the French plein air school, Sir John Lavery invoked the mythology of his native land for a 1928 commission to paint the central figure v1.0可编辑可修改 for the bank note of the new Irish Free State. Lavery chose as this fig

47、ure, withher arm on a Celtic harp (竖琴),the national symbol of independent Ireland.I ,Lavery with a distancedIn Irish painting from about 1910, memories of Edwardian romanticism coexisted with a new sense of realism,exemplified by the paintings of Paul Henry and Se Keating, a student of Orpen s. real

48、ism also crept into the work of Edwardians Lavery andOrpen, both of whom made paintings depicting World WarVictorian nobility, Orpen closer to the front, revealing a more sinister and realistic vision. Meanwhile, counterpoint to the Edwardians and realists came Jack B. Yeats, whose travels throughou

49、t the rugged and more authentically Irish West led him to depict subjects ranging from street scenes in Dublin to boxing matches and funerals. Fusing close observations of Irish life and icons with an Irish identity in a new way, Yeats changed the face of Irish painting and became the most important

50、 Irishartist of his century. (353 words)Which of the following art most probably exerted the greatest influence on Irish painting in the 19th centuryBritish lyrical traditionFrench avant-garde experimentnotionalist energiesItalian paintingIt is implied was least influenced by the contemporary art of

51、 Frence.A. Sir John Lavery B. Sir William OrpenC. Beatrice ElveryD. Se KeatingWhich of the followingbest explains the author s use of the worda counterpoint in referring to YeatsYeats paintings differedsignifica ntly in subject matter from those of hiscontemporaries in Ireland.Yeats reacted to the realism of his contemporary artists by invoking v1.0可编辑可修改 nineteenth-century naturalism in his own painting style.Yeats avoided religious and mythological themes in favor of mundane portrayals of Irish life.Yeats built upon the realism painting tradition, eleva