大学英语六级阅读训练

大学英语六级阅读训练 Every day 25 milion U S children ride school buses The safety record for these buses is much 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 nation s school children are transported to and from school safely Even 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 done particularly whether seat belts should be mandatory 强制性的 Supporters of seat 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 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 Administration s NHTSA safety requirement set in 1977 They also believe that many children won t wear seat belts anyway and that they 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 four 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 loading zones are about A 10 B 40 C 30 D 50 2 Which of these words is nearest in meaning to the words are divided in Paragraph A disagree B separate C arrange D concern 3 According to the passage who has the greatest degree of control of the school buses safety A A New Research Council B The 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 Transportation B proposal of seat belts on school buses would be seriously considered C an alternate safety device raising seat backs four inches may be taken into consideration D The Department of Transportation may either take the idea of seat belts or other measures when it reviews the whole situation 5 The best title which expresses the idea of the passage is A Making School Buses Even Safer for Children B Seat Belts Needed on School Buses C Alternate Safety Devices and Procedures D Safety in and around School Buses 答案 1 B 2 A 3 D 4 D 5 A According to the latest research in the United States of America men and women talk such different languages that it is like people from two different cultures trying to communicate Professor Deborah Tannen of Georgetown University has noticed the difference in the style of boy s and girl s conversations from an early age She says that little girls conversation is less definite than boys and expresses more doubts Little boys use conversation to establish status with their listeners These differences continue into adult life she says In public conversations men talk most and interrupt other speakers more In private conversations men and women speak in equal amounts although they say things in a different style Professor Tannen believes that for woman private talking is a way to establish and test intimacy For men private talking is a way to explore the power structure of a relationship Teaching is one job where the differences between men s and women s ways of talking show When a man teaches a woman says Professor Tannen he wants to show that he has more knowledge and hence more power in conversation When a woman teaches another woman however she is more likely to take a sharing approach and to encourage her student to join in But Professor Tannen does not believe that women are naturally more helpful She says women feel they achieve power by being able to help others Although the research suggests men talk and interrupt people more than women Professor Tannen says women actually encourage this to happen because they believe it will lead to more intimacy and help to establish a relationship Some scientists who are studying speech think that the brain is pre programmed for language As we are usually taught to speak by women it seems likely that the brain must have a sexual bias 倾向性 in its programming otherwise male speech patterns would not arise at all 1 In the opinion of the writer women encourage men to talk because A it will lead to more intimacy and help to establish a relationship B it will help to establish status with their listeners C it will help to express more clearly D it will help to communicate better 2 There are in little girls conversation than in boys A fewer doubts B more demands C more doubts D fewer uncertainties 3 Some scientists believe that brain is pre programmed for language The word pre programmed means A programmed already B programmed before one is born C programmed early D programmed by women 4 In private conversation women speak A the same things as men B less than men C more than men D as much as men 5 The theme of this article is A women are naturally more helpful B men and women talk different languages C men talk most and interrupt other speakers more D little girls conversation is less definite 答案 1 A 2 C 3 B 4 D 5 B Every day the news of the world is relayed to people by over 300 million copies of daily papers over 400 million radio sets and over 150 million television sets Additional news is shown by motion pictures in theatres and cinemas all over the world As more people learn what the important events of the day are fewer are still concerned exclusively with the events of their own household As the English writer John Donne put it nearly four hundred years ago no man is an island This idea is more appropriate today than it was when Donne lived In short wherever he lives a man belongs to some society and we are becoming more and more aware that whatever happens in one particular society affects somehow the life and destiny of all humanity Newspapers have been published in the modern world for about four hundred years Most of the newspapers printed today are read in Europe and North America However soon they may be read in all parts of the world thanks to the new inventions that are changing the techniques of newspaper publishing Electronics and automation have made it possible to produce pictures and text far more quickly than before Photographic reproduction eliminates the need for type and printing presses And fewer specialists such as type setters are needed to produce a paper or magazine by the photo offset 照相平板胶印 method Therefore the publishing of newspapers and magazines becomes more economical Furthermore photo copies can be sent over great distances now by means of television channels and satellites such as Telstar Thus pictures can be brought to the public more quickly than previously Machines that prepare printed texts for photo copies are being used a great deal today Thousands of letters and figures of different sizes and thicknesses can now be arranged on a black glass disc that is only eight inches in diameter to be printed in negative form white on a black background The disc on the machine turns constantly at the rate of ten revolutions a second A beam of light from a slroboscopic 频闪的 lamp shines on the desired letters and figures for about I wo millionths of a second Then the image of the letters and figures that were illuminated is projected onto a film through lenses The section of film is large enough to hold the equivalent of a page of text There is a keyboard in front of the machine that is similar to the keyboard of a typewriter and the machine operator has only to strike the proper keys for the image of the corresponding letters to be immediately transferred to the film The negative image on the film can quickly be transferred onto paper This method makes it as easy to reproduce photographs and illustrations as it is to reproduce the text itself Film being light and small can be sent rapidly to other places and used to print copies of the text where they are needed Film images can also be projected easily on a movie or television screen Television broadcasts are limited to an area that is within sight of the sending station or its relay 中继 Although television relays are often placed on hills and mountains so that they can cover a wider region they still can not cover more land than one could see from the same hilltop on a clear day However the rays also go out into the atmosphere and if there is a relay station on a satellite that revolves around the earth it can transmit the pictures to any point on the earth from which the satellite is visible Three satellites permanently revolving over the equator transmit any television program to any part of the earth This makes it possible for world editions of newspapers to give the news in all countries at the same time Some day it may be possible for a subscriber to a televised newspaper to press a button and see a newspaper page on his television screen He could also decide when he wants the page to turn and by dialling different numbers such as those on a telephone dial he could choose the language or the edition of the paper he wants to read It seems strange to think that even today methods of the past are not entirely useless For example sometimes press agencies that use radio and Telstar use carrier pigeons to send messages between offices in large cities because the pigeons are not bothered by traffic problems It may be some time before television sets become common in the average homes in Africa and Asia However radio is already rapidly becoming accessible to thousands of people in these areas And now that good radios are being made with transistors and their price is gradually dropping because of mass production it may not be too long before radios become commonplace in areas which have no newspapers Transistors make it possible for people to carry small radios wherever they go without need of electric current Even television sets are now operating on transistors and the pocket TV may soon be as widespread as the pocket radio Now that scientific progress is making it possible to send the news to all the inhabitants of the earth it will be important to consider what news is going to be sent to them No matter what criteria are used in making the decision a decision must be made since no one would have time to read or listen to an account of everything there is going on in the world People who have time to read several papers can already compare different reports of the same event When an event has political significance each paper reports it from the point of view of its own political beliefs or preferences Ideally of course the expression of editorial opinion should be limited to the editorial page and the news articles should be objective telling the facts as completely as possible without trying to give them a particular interpretation or without otherwise trying to influence the reader s opinion However reporters and editors are only human and if they have strong political beliefs it is almost impossible for them to hide them If editors believe their point of view is best for the readers of their paper what s to stop them from using the paper to try to influence public opinion And if some day a world newspaper becomes a reality will it be the most powerful press agencies that will choose the news to be sent out to all countries 1 The expression no man is an island means that no man lives surrounded by water 2 According to the author it may not be long before people all over the world have access to newspapers 3 The transferring of newspaper texts to film is time consuming and costly 4 Transistors are particularly useful because they are used in small radio and TV sets 5 Television relays are often placed on a hilltop so that they can reach a satellite 6 People are capable of knowing all the events going on in every part of the world 7 If a world newspaper becomes a reality it will take more responsibility for informing all the readers of the latest news in the world 8 Newspapers have been published for about 9 Any television program could be transmitted to any part of the world by 10 It is ideal that the news articles 答案 1 N 2 Y 3 N 4 Y 5 N 6 N 7 NG 8 400 years 9 satellites 10 be objective In the last two hundred years there have been great changes in the method of production of goods This is now also true of the building industry for mechanization has been introduced System building can save both time and money The principle of system building is that the building is made from a set of standard units These are either made at the building site or at a factory Some designers in fact are standardizing the dimensions of rooms They are made in multiples of a single fixed length usually ten centimeters This is called a modular 标准件的 system and it means that manufactures can produce standardized fittings at a lower cost The most important fact about system building is its speed A ten storey flat for example can be completed in four months There are several new methods of system building One is the panel method In this case the construction company sometimes erects a factory on the site The walls and floors of the building called panels are cast in a horizontal or vertical position Conduits for electrical wires and sleeves for pipes are cast in the panels when they are being made The moulds for making these castings are situated all around the building After the concrete panels are cast they are allowed to set and harden for a week Next they are lifted by a tower crane on to any section of the building There the panels are cemented together at their joints and the floor covering is laid After the panels have been cemented together the crane lifts a case into the area It contains all the fittings to be installed such as wash basins radiators and pipes Finishing tradesmen such as plumbers plasterers painters and electricians follow behind to complete the work In some building developments in some countries whole flats with internal features like their bathrooms bedrooms and connecting stairs and weighing as much as twenty tons are carried to the building site ready made A giant overhead crane is used to lift them into position In the future this method may become more widespread 1 The main difference between panel method and the method discussed in the last paragraph is A the latter uses ready made internal features B panels are cast in a level position C the former is used to build walls and floors while the latter to construct bathrooms or bedrooms D the former is more expensive than the latter 2 Which of these statements is TRUE of system building A It employs more men B It is difficult and dangerous C It can save both time and money D It means less mechanization 3 According to the passage the principle of system building is that A construction methods are safer B buildings are made from a set of standardized units C similar buildings can be produced D all units are produced on the site 4 The usual fixed length in the modular system is A twenty centimeters B ten millimeters C fifty centimeters D ten centimeters 5 What lifts the concrete panels onto the building A Cranes B Man power C Pulleys D Hydraulic jacks 答案 1 A 2 C 3 B 4 D 5 A Etiquette 礼仪 The origins of etiquette the conventional rules of behavior and ceremonies observed in polite society are complex One of them is respect for authority From the most primitive times subjects 臣民 showed respect for their ruler by bowing prostrating themselves on the ground not speaking until spoken to and never turning their backs to the throne Some rulers developed rules to stress even further the respect due to them The emperors of Byzantium expected their subjects to kiss their feet When an ambassador from abroad was introduced he had to touch the ground before the throne with his forehead Meanwhile the throne itself was raised in the air so that on looking up the ambassador saw the ruler far above him haughty and remote Absolute rulers have as a rule made etiquette more complicated rather than simpler The purpose is not only to make the ruler seem almost godlike but also to protect him from familiarity for without some such protection his life lived inevitably in the public eye would be intolerable The court of Louis XIV of France provided an excellent example of a very highly developed system of etiquette Because the king and his family were considered to belong to France they were almost continually on show among their courtiers 朝臣 They woke prayed washed and dressed before crowds of courtiers Even large crowds watched them eat their meals and access to their palace was free to all their subjects Yet this public life was organized so carefully with such a refinement of ceremonial that the authority of the King and the respect in which he was held grew steadily throughout his lifetime A crowd watched him dress but only the Duke who was his first valet de chamber 贴身男仆 was allowed to hold out the right sleeve of his shirt only the Prince who was his Grand Chamberlain could relieve him of his dressing gown and only the Master of the Wardrobe might help him pull up his trousers These were not familiarities nor merely duties but highly desired privileges Napoleon recognized the value of ceremony to a ruler When he became Emperor he discarded the revolutionary custom of calling everyone citizen restored much of the Court ceremonial that the Revolution had destroyed and recalled members of the nobility to instruct his new court in the old formal manners Rules of etiquette may prevent embarrassment and even serious disputes The general rule of social precedence is that people of greater importance precede those of lesser importance Before the rules of diplomatic precedence were worked out in the early sixteenth century rival ambassadors often fought for the most honourable seating position at a ceremony Before the principle was established that ambassadors of various countries should sign treaties in order of seniority disputes arose as to who should sign first The establishment of rules for such matters prevented uncertainty and disagreement as to rules for less important occasions For example at an English wedding the mother of the bridegroom should sit in the first pew or bench on the right hand side of the church The result is dignity and order Outside palace circles the main concern of etiquette has been to make harmonious the behaviour of equals but sometimes social classes have used etiquette as a weapon against intruders refining their manners in order to mark themselves off from the lower classes In sixteenth century Italy and eighteenth century France decreasing prosperity and increasing social unrest led the ruling families to try to preserve their superiority by withdrawing from the lower and middle classes behind barriers of etiquette In a prosperous community on the other hand polite society soon absorbs the newly rich and in England there has never been any shortage of books on etiquette for teaching them the manners appropriate to their new way of life Every code of etiquette has contained three elements basic moral duties practical rules which promote efficiency and artificial optional graces such as formal compliments to say women on their beauty or superiors on their generosity and importance In the first category are consideration for the weak and