英語閱讀練習4級

ThreeEnglishdictionariespublishedrecentlyalllayclaimtopossessinga“newnfeature.TheBBCEnglish

Dictionarycontainsbackgroundinformationon1,000peopleandplacesprominentinthenewssince1988;

theOxfordAdvancedLearner'sDictionary:EncyclopedicEditionistheOALDplusencyclopedicentries;the

LongmanDictionaryofEnglishLanguageandCultureistheLDOCEplusculturalinformation.

Thekeyfactisthatallthreedictionariescanbeseentohaveadistinctly“cultural"aswellaslanguage

learningcontent.Thatbeingsaid,thewayinwhichtheyapproachtheculturalelementisnotidentical,

makingdirectcomparisonsbetweenthethreedifficult.

Whilethereissomecommongroundbetweentheencyclopedic/culturalentriesfortheOxfordand

Longmandictionaries,thereisacleardifference.Oxfordlaysclaimtobeingencyclopediconcontent

whereasLongmandistinctlyconcentratesonthelanguageandcultureoftheEnglishspeakingworld.The

OxforddictionarycanthereforestandmorevigorousscrutinyforculturalbiasthantheLongmanpublication

becausethelatterdoesnothesitateaboutviewingtherestoftheworldfromtheculturalperspectivesofthe

Englishspeakingworld.TheculturalobjectivesoftheBBCdictionaryareinturnmoredistinctstill.Based

onananalysisofover70millionwordsrecordedfromtheBBCWorldServiceandNationalPublicRadioof

Washingtonoveraperiodoffouryears,their1,000briefencyclopedicentriesarebasedonpeopleand

placesthathavefeaturedinthenewsrecently.Theintendedusertheyhaveinmindisaregularlistenerto

theWorldServicewhowillhaveareasonablestandardofEnglishandadevelopedskillinlistening

comprehension.

Inreality,though,theBBCdictionarywillbepurchasedbyafarwiderrangeoflanguagelearners,as

willtheothertwodictionaries.Wewillbefacedwithasituationwheremanyoftheusersofthesedictionaries

willattheveryleasthavedistinctsocioculturalperspectivesandmayhaveworldviewswhicharetotally

opposedandevenhostiletothoseoftheWest.Advancedlearnersformthiskindofbackgroundwillnotonly

evaluateadictionaryonhowuserfriendlyitisbutwillalsohavedefiniteviewsaboutthescopeand

appropriatenessofthevarioussocioculturalentries.

1.Whatfeaturesetsapartthethreedictionariesdiscussedinthepassagefromtraditionalones?

A.Thecombinationoftwodictionariesintoone.

B.Thenewapproachtodefiningwords.

C.Theinclusionofculturalcontent.

D.Theincreaseinthenumberofentries.

2.TheLongmandictionaryismorelikelytobecriticizedforculturalprejudicebecause.

A.itsscopeofculturalentriesgoesbeyondthecultureoftheEnglishspeakingworld

B.itpayslittleattentiontotheculturalcontentofthenonEnglishspeakingcountries

C.itviewstheworldpurelyfromthestandpointoftheEnglishspeakingpeople

D.itfailstodistinguishlanguagefromcultureinitsencyclopedicentries

3.Itisimpliedinthelastparagraphthat,inapproachingsocioculturalcontentinadictionary,social

thoughtshouldbegivento.

A.thelanguagelevelsofitsusers

B.thenumberofitsprospectivepurchasers

C.thedifferenttastesofitsusers

D.thevariousculturalbackgroundsofitsusers

1.C）根據(jù)文章第一段可知新出版的這三本字典都有一個新的特征（既不同于以往的特

征）那就是，根據(jù)第二段第一句"Thekeyfactisthatallthreedictionariescanbeseentohavea

distinctly“cultural”aswellaslanguagelearningcontenf,除了語言學習的內(nèi)容外又增加了有關“文

化方面”的內(nèi)容，因此選項C為正確答案。選項A、B文章未涉及，選項D不符合題意。

2.C）根據(jù)文章第三段第四至六行'TheOxforddictionarycanthereforestandmorevigorous

scrutinyforculturalbiasthantheLongmanpublicationbecausethelatterdoesnothesitateaboutviewingthe

restoftheworldfromtheculturalperspectivesoftheEnglishspeakingworld.”可知，作者對牛津和

朗曼字典進行了比較。作者認為相對于朗曼字典，牛津字典更能經(jīng)得起文化偏見方面的推

敲，這是因為朗曼字典只是從英語國家的文化觀點去審視其他國家的文化，這正好符合選

項C的內(nèi)容。選項A、B、D都不符合題意。

3.D）根據(jù)文章最后一段可知，這三本字典會有各種各樣的讀者來購買，這些讀者的社

會文化背景也會是各種各樣的，他們中一定有些人生活在世界觀與之相反甚至敵視的文化

背景下。這些高級學習者不僅可以根據(jù)這本字典是否合用來評價它，而且對各種社會文化

詞條的內(nèi)容和準確性都有自己的看法，也就是說字典的編纂者要考慮到這些。選項D符合

以上分析的內(nèi)容。

About5,000yearsago,theEgyptiansandotherpeopleintheNearEastbegantousepicturesaskindof

writing.Theydrewsimplepicturesorsignstorepresentthingsandideas,andalsotorepresentthesounds

oftheirlanguage.Thesignsthesepeopleusedbecameakindofalphabet.

TheEgyptiansusedtorecordinformationandtotellstoriesbyputtingpicturewritingandpictures

together.Whenanimportantpersondied,scenesandstoriesfromhislifewerepaintedandcarvedonthe

wallsoftheplacewherehewasburied.Someofthesepicturesarelikemoderncomicstripstories.Ithas

beensaidthatEgyptisthehomeofthecomicstrip.But,fortheEgyptians,picturesstillhadmagicpower.So

theydidnottrytomaketheirwayofwritingsimple.Theordinarypeoplecouldnotunderstandit.

Bytheyear1,000BC,peoplewholivedintheareaaroundtheMediterraneanSeahaddevelopeda

simplersystemofwriting.Thesignstheyusedwereveryeasytowrite,andtherewerefewerofthemthanin

theEgyptiansystem.Thiswasbecauseeachsign,orletter,representedonlyonesoundintheirlanguage.

TheGreeksdevelopedthissystemandformedthelettersoftheGreekalphabet.TheRomanscopiedthe

idea,andtheRomanalphabetisnowusedallovertheworld.

Thesedays,wecanwritedownastory,orrecordinformation,withoutusingpictures.Butwestillneed

picturesofallkinds:drawing,photographs,signsanddiagrams.Wefindthemeverywhere:inbooksand

newspapers,inthestreet,andonthewallsoftheplaceswhereweliveandwork.Pictureshelpusto

understandandrememberthingsmoreeasily,andtheycanmakeastorymuchmoreinteresting.

1.PicturesofanimalswerepaintedonthewallsofcavesinFranceandSpainbecause.

A.thehunterswantedtoseethepictures

B.thepainterswereanimallovers

C.thepainterswantedtoshowimagination

D.thepictureswerethoughttobehelpful

2.TheGreekalphabetwassimplerthantheEgyptiansystemforallthefollowingreasonsEXCEPT

that.

A.theformerwaseasytowrite

B.therewerefewersignsintheformer

C.theformerwaseasytopronounce

D.eachsignstoodforonlyonesound

3.WhichofthefollowingstatementsisTRUE?

A.TheEgyptiansignslaterbecameaparticularalphabet.

B.TheEgyptianslikedtowritecomicstripstories.

C.TheRomanalphabetwasdevelopedfromtheEgyptianone.

D.TheGreekscopiedtheirwritingsystemfromtheEgyptians.

4.Inthelastparagraph,theauthorthinksthatpictures.

A.shouldbemadecomprehensible

B.shouldbemadeinteresting

C.areofmuchuseinourlife

D.havedisappearedfromourlife

參考答案

1.D）根據(jù)文章第一段第五行“Perhapsthepaintersthoughtthattheirpictureswouldhelpthemto

catchtheseanimals.”可知古代人以為在墻上畫畫會對他們有所幫助，故選項D為正確答案。

2.C）在做此類題時要注意題干的要求。通過閱讀文章第四段很清楚就知道選項C“前者

容易發(fā)音”在文中沒有提及，故為正確答案。

3.A）可用排除法來做本題。通過閱讀文章很清楚選項B和D為錯誤陳述。選項C“羅馬

字母是從埃及字母發(fā)展而來的”根據(jù)文章第四段第四，五句可知為錯誤論述，因此只有選項A

為正確答案。

4.C）文章最后一段講述了圖畫在今天的用途，故選項C為正確答案。

PARTHTREECLOSE

Decidewhichofthechoicesgivenbelowwouldbestcompletethepassageifinsertedinthe

correspondingblanks.Markthebestchoice.foreachblankonAnswerSheetTwo.

Mostworthwhilecareersrequiresomekindofspecializedtraining.Ideally,therefore,thechoiceofa(n)

(31)_shouldbemadeevenbeforethechoiceofacurriculuminhighschool.Actually,(32)_most

personsmakeseveraljobchoicesduringtheirworkinglive,partly(33)_economicandindustrial

changesandpartlytoimprovetheirpositions.The"oneperfectjob"doesnotexist.Youngpeopleshould

therefore(34)_intoabroadflexibletrainingprogramthatwill(35)____themforafieldof(36)_rather

thanforasinglejob.

Unfortunatelymanyyoungpeople,knowing(37)_abouttheoccupationalworldorthemselvesforthat

matter,choosetheirlifework(38)_ahit-or-missbasis.Some(39)____fromjobtojob.Others(40)____to

workinwhichtheyareunhappyand(41)_theyarenotfitted.

Onecommonmistakeischoosinganoccupationfor(42)_realorimaginedprestige.Toomany

high-schoolstudents-ortheirparentsforthem_choosetheprofessionalfield,(43)___boththerelatively

smallproportionofworkvacanciesintheprofessionsandtheextremelyhigheducationalandpersonal(44)

____.Theimaginedorrealprestigeofaprofessionora"white-collar"jobis(45)_goodreasonfor

choosingitasalife'swore(46)theseoccupationsarenotalwayswellpaid.Sincealargeproportionof

jobsareinmechanicalandmanualwork,themajorityofyoungpeopleshouldgiveserious(47)____tothese

fields.

Beforemakingan"occupationalchoice,apersonshouldhaveageneralideaofwhathewants(48)_

lifeandhowhardheiswillingtoworktogetit.Somepeopledesiresocialprestige,othersintellectual

satisfaction.Somewantsecurity;othersarewillingtotake(49)_forfinancialgain.Eachoccupational

choicehasitsdemandsaswellasits(50)_.

31.A.academy

B.occupation

C.guidance

D.identification

32.A.therefore

B.so

C.though

D.however

33.A.incaseof

B.for

C.becauseof

D.to

34.A.enter

B.participate

C.involve

D.join

35.A.leave

B.fit

C.require

D.fix

36.A.careers

B.professions

C.prospects

D.work

37.A.few

B.little

C.much

D.less

38.A.with

B.by

C.on

D.at

39.A.flow

B.wander

C.jump

D.drift

40.A.stick

B.turn

C.adhere

D.subscribe

41.A.towhich

B.that

C.forwhich

D.what

42.A.its

B.their

C./

D.the

43.A.tohavedisregarded

B.todisregard

C.disregarding

D.disregard

44.A.preparations

B.requirements

C.specifications

D.preferences

45.A.such

B.no

C.very

D.so

46.A.Moreover

B.Otherwise

C.Nevertheless

D.Still

47.A.priority

B.regulation

C.assessment

D.consideration

48.A.outof

B.towards

C.for

D.fromover

49.A.advantage

B.patience

C.risks

D.turns

50.A.awards

B.rewards

C.prizes

D.bonuses

31.⑻【解析】首句指出“大多數(shù)重要的職業(yè)都需要一定的專業(yè)培訓”，故此空應指對“職業(yè)”

的選擇，選B。

32.[D]【解析】根據(jù)上下文出現(xiàn)的兩個對應副詞Ideally（理想地），ActuaHy（實際上）可知兩句

存在對立關系.含有轉(zhuǎn)折意義，故選Do

33.[C]【解析】前半句陳述現(xiàn)象，后半句分析原因，故選C。

34.[A]【解析】根據(jù)句意“因此，年輕人應該……廣泛靈活的培訓計劃”,可知enterinto”加入,

參加”符合句意。

35.[B]【解析】由后文的“一個領域的工作”和“某項工作”，可知年輕人參加培訓的目的是

為了“適應”工作.因此B為答案。fitsb.for意為“使適合”。

36.⑼【解析】所填的詞應與job對等呼應，故選D。

37.[B]【解析】由Unfortunately可知空格處應填表否定意義的詞，knowlittleabout表示"對……

知之甚少”，

38.[C]【解析】OHabasis"在……的基礎上”。

39.Q］【解析】Some…Others…描述了兩種現(xiàn)象，根據(jù)上下文和一般常識推測此處應表示“不

斷跳槽”的意思。driftfromjobtojob表示“從一個工作跳到另一個工作”。

4O.［A］【解析】others…則為另一種現(xiàn)象，應與drift相反，即死抱著不喜歡的工作，故選A。

41.［C］【解析】and提示空格處要填的詞應與inwhich對等.befittedfor為固定搭配，which

引導從句，介詞提前.故選C。

42.［A］【解析】空格處須填入的代詞指代的是anoccupation故用its。

43.［C］【解析】本空要填disregard的某種形式.空格前半句話已有主語和謂語，又由于該

句主語是動詞disregard的邏輯主語.表主動.故用現(xiàn)在分詞.選C?

44.回【解析】專業(yè)性職業(yè)領域?qū)逃蛡€人能力要求相對較高，requirements"要求”符合

旬意。

45.⑻【解析】前兩句講選擇職業(yè)時的常見錯誤，此處句意順承上文，應填入否定詞，

表示有聲譽的職業(yè)和白領職業(yè)并不能成為擇業(yè)的原因，故8正確。

46JA］【解析】空格后面一句話繼續(xù)對這樣的選擇予以否定.表達的是一種遞進關系，有

逗號隔開，選A。

47.［D］【解析】空格所在的句子與前面的句子構成因果關系(since).故空格處填入的詞大意

思應為“考慮，思考”，選D。

48.［A］【解析】由hewants與life可知，是“從生活中想得到的”之義.故選A。

能不能表達“從生活中想得到”的意思，D沒有這個說法

49.［C］【解析】由?些人希望有安全感和另一些人想得到金錢上的回報，可推知填入的

詞應與security“安全"相反，故選C。takerisks"冒風險"。

50.［B］【解析】這里講到的是“職業(yè)選擇”的兩個方面，填入的詞應與

demands對等.故選B。

四、

InthedaysimmediatelyfollowinghurricaneAndrew"sdeadlyvisittoSouth

Florida,AllstateInsurancehastilydispatchedmorethan2,000extraclaim

adjusterstothedevastatedareatoassistthe200stationedthere.Manyofthe

reservesarrivedinconvoysofmotorhomes.Othersflewinfromasfarawayas

AlaskaandCalifornia.Sincethestormhadknockedouttelephonelines,Allstate

rushedtosetupitsowncommunicationssystem.Allatateexpectstopayout

1.2billiontocovermorethan121,000damageclaimsasaresultofAndrew.

Alltold,U.S.propertyandcasualtyinsurershavebeenhitwithmorethan8

billioninAndrew-relatedclaims,makingthehurricanethemostcostlysingle

calamitytostriketheindustrysincetheSanFranciscoearthquakeandfirein

1906(cost:6billion,afterinflation).Withclaimscontinuingtopourin,Andrew

threatenstotakeapainfultollonthealreadybatteredproperty-casualty

insuranceindustryandits100millionpolicy-holders.Thefinalbill,analysts

predict,islikelytotop10billion.Whilemostwell-capitalizedinsurersare

expectedtoweatherthestorm,lessanchoredfirmsareindangerofbeing

blownaway,leavingU.S.consumersstuckwiththetab.SaysSeanMooney,

seniorresearcherattheInsuranceInformationInstitute:H"ltwilltakeyears

beforetheindustrydigsitselfoutfromthewreckageleftbyAndrew.Some

[companies]willbeburiedbyit."”

HurricaneAndrewisthelatestinastringofmishapstoplaguetheAmerican

insuranceindustrythisyear.InAprilanoverflowingChicagoRiverfloodedthe

city*'sdowntowndistrict,costinginsurers300millioninclaims.Amonthlater,

LosAngeleswasrockedbytheworstcivilianriotintheU.S.sincetheCivilWar.

Theinsurancetoll:1billion.ThencameaseriesofmajorhailstormsinTexas,

FloridaanKansas.Theycostinsurersacombined700million.Andtwoweeks

afterAndrew,anotherlethalhurricane,Iniki,smashedintoHawaii,causing1.4

billionindamages.Inall,propertyandcasualtyinsurershavepaidoutarecord

13billioninclaimssofarthisyear,farsurpassingtheprevioushighof7.6billion

in1989,theyearofHurricaneHugoandCalifornia"sBayAreaearthquake.Just

asinthatyear,whenthosecatastropheswerefollowedbysubstantialincreases

ininsurancepremiums,insurersarealreadylobbyingforraterelief.

16.Accordingtothepassage,""AllstateInsurance""mostlikelyrefersto

A.oneofthepropertyandcasualtyinsurersintheU.S.

B.theonlyinsurancecompanyresponsibleforthedamageclaimsby

Andrew

C.theinsuranceindustryasawhole

D.thebiggestinsurancecompanyintheU.S.

17.Asisstatedinthesecondparagraph,theresultofHurricaneAndrewis

likelyto.

A.leadtoinflationthroughouttheU.S.

B.makethelargestinsurerssufferthemost

C.puttheindustryinSoughFloridaoutofaction

D.causeinsurerswithinsufficientfundstogobankrupt

18.Usingcontextclues,wemayinferthatstuckwiththetab""most

probablymeans____.

A.”"caughtinthehurricane"'1

B.”"exposedtonaturaldisasters""

C.""trappedinfinancialdifficulties"”

D.''"extremelyvulnerabletofurtherdamages"

19.Theendofthepassageimpliesthat,tocompensatefortheirhugeloss,

theinsurerswill____.

A.resorttoaverybigincreaseininsurancepremiums

B.askforsubsidiesfromthefederalgovernment

C.reducetheirinsurancecoveragethereafter

D.requireahigherinterestratefromthebank

20.Themainpurposeofthepassageisto.

A.showtheseveredamagesandheavylossescausedbyHurricaneAndrew

B.suggestthatU.S.insurersarevirtuallyunabletocoverthedamage

claimsanymore

C.tellaboutthedifficultsituationfacedbytheinsurersthroughouttheU.S.

D.provethatdisasterstendtocauseeverworseningdevastationastime

goeson

答案：ADCAC

五、

Theconceptof"environment"iscertainlydifficultandmayevenbe

misunderstood;butwehavenohandysubstitute.Itseemssimpleenoughto

distinguishbetweentheorganismandthesurroundingenvironmentandto

separateforcesactingonanorganismintothosethatareinternalandbiological

andthosethatareexternalandenvironmental.Butinactualpracticethis

systembreaksdowninmanyways,becausetheorganismandtheenvironment

areconstantlyinteractingsothattheenvironmentismodifiedbytheorganism

andviceversa（反之亦然）.

Inthecaseofman,thedifficultieswiththeenvironmentalconceptareeven

morecomplicatedbecausewehavetodealwithmanasananimalandwithman

asabearer（持有者）ofculture.Ifwelookatmanasananimalandtrytoanalyze

theenvironmentalforcesthatareactingontheorganism,wefindthatwehave

todealwiththingslikeclimate,soil,plants,andsuch-likefactorscommontoall

biologicalsituations;butwealsofind,always,veryimportantenvironmental

influencesthatwecanonlyclassas"cultural",whichmodifythephysicaland

biologicalfactors.butman,asweknowhim,isalwaysabearerofculture;and

ifwestudyhumanculture,wefindthatit,inturn,ismodifiedbythe

environmentalfactorsofclimateandgeography.Wethuseasilygetintogreat

difficultiesfromthenecessityofviewingculture,atonemoment,asapartofthe

manand,atanothermoment,asapartoftheenvironment.

11.Whichofthefollowingwordscanbestdescribethepopular

understandingof"environment"astheauthorseesit?

[A]Elaborate.

[B]Prejudiced.

[C]Faultless.

[D]Oversimplifid.

12.Accordingtotheauthortheconceptof"environment"isdifficultto

explainbecause.

[A]itdoesn'tdistinguishbetweentheorganismandtheenvironment

[B]itinvolvesbothinternalandexternalforces

[C]theorganismandtheenvironmentinfluenceeachother

[D]therelationshipbetweentheorganismandtheenvironmentisunclear

13.Inanalyzingtheenvironmentalforcesactingonmantheauthor

suggeststhat.

[A]biologicalfactorsarelessimportanttotheorganismthancultural

factorstoman

[B]manandotheranimalsaremodifiedequallybytheenvironmental

forces

[C]manismodifiedbytheculturalenvironmentaswellasbythenatural

environment

[D]physicalandbiologicalfactorsexertmoreinfluenceonotherorganisms

thanonman

14.Asforculture,theauthorpointsoutthat.

[A]itdevelopssidebysidewithenvironmentalfactors

[B]itisalsoaffectedbyenvironmentalfactors

[C]itisgenerallyacceptedtobepartoftheenvironment

[D]itisaproductofman'sbiologicalinstincts

15.Inthispassage,theauthorisprimarilyconcernedwith.

[A]theinterpretationoftheterm“environment”

[B]thediscussiononorganismsandbiologicalenvironment

[C]thecomparisonbetweeninternalandexternalfactorsinfluencingman

[D]theevaluationofman'sinfluenceonculture

六、

PartIIReadingComprehension

(35minutes)

Directions:Thereare4passagesinthispart.Eachpassageisfollowedbysomequestionsorunfinished

statements.ForeachofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Youshoulddecideonthebest

choiceandmarkthecorrespondingletterontheAnswerSheetwithasinglelinethroughthecenter.

PassageOne

Questions21to25arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

Dogsaresocialanimalsandwithoutpropertraining,theywillbehavelikewildanimals.Theywillsoilyour

house,destroyyourbelongings,barkexcessively,fightotherdogsandevenbiteyou.Nearlyallbehavior

problemsareperfectlynormaldogactivitiesthatoccuratthewrongtimeorplaceoraredirectedatthe

wrongthing.Thekeytopreventingortreatingbehaviorproblemsislearningtoteachthedogtoredirectits

normalbehaviortooutletsthatareacceptableinthedomesticsetting.

Oneofthebestthingsyoucandoforyourdogandyourselfistoobediencetrainit.Obediencetraining

doesnlsolveallbehaviorproblems,butitisthefoundationforsolvingjustaboutanyproblem.Trainingpens

upalineofcommunicationbetweenyouandyourdog.Effectivecommunicationisnecessarytoinstructyour

dogaboutwhatyouwantittodo.

Trainingisalsoaneasywaytoestablishthesocialrankorder.Whenyourdogobeysasimplerequestof

"comehere,sit,nitisshowingobedienceandrespectforyou.Itisnotnecessarytoestablishyourselfastop

dogorleaderofthepack(群)byusingextrememeasure.Youcanteachyourdogitssubordinate(從屬的)

rolebyteachingittoshowsubmissiontoyou.Mostdogsloveperformingtricksforyoutopleasantlyaccept

thatyouareincharge.

Trainingshouldbefunandrewardingforyouandyourdog.Itcanenrichyourrelationshipandmakeliving

togethermoreenjoyable.Awell-traineddogismoreconfidentandcanmoresafelybeallowedagreater

amountoffreedomthananuntrainedanimal.

21.Behaviorproblemsofdogsarebelieveto.

A)bejustpartoftheirnature

B)worseninmodernsociety

C)occurwhentheygowild

D)presentathreattothecommunity

22.Theprimarypurposeofobediencetrainingisto.

A)teachthedogtoperformclevertricks

B)makethedogawareofitsowner'sauthority

C)providethedogwithoutletsforitswildbehavior

D)enablethedogtoregainitsnormalbehavior

23.Effectivecommunicationbetweenadoganditsowneris.

A)essentialtosolvingthedog!sbehaviorproblems

B)thefoundationfordogstoperformtasks

C)agoodwaytoteachthedognewtricks

D)anextrememeasureinobediencetraining

24.Whydopetdogsloveperformingtricksfortheirmasters?

A)Toavoidbeingpunished.

B)Toshowtheiraffectionfortheirmasters.

C)Towinleadershipofthedogpack.

D)Toshowtheirwillingnesstoobey.

25.Whenadoghasreceivedeffectiveobediencetraining,itsowner.

A)cangivethedogmorerewards

B)willenjoyabetterfamilylife

C)cangivethedogmorefreedom

D)willhavemoreconfidenceinhimself

PassageTwo

Questions26to30arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

Engineeringstudentsaresupposedtobeexamplesofpracticalityandrationality,butwhenitcomestomy

collegeeducationIamanidealistandafool.InhighschoolIwantedtobeanelectricalengineerand,of

course,anysensiblestudentwithmyaimswouldhavechosenacollegewithalargeengineeringdepartment,

famousreputationandlotsofgoodlabsandresearchequipment.ButthafsnotwhatIdid.

Ichosetostudyengineeringatasmallliberal-arts(文科)universitythatdoesn'tevenofferamajorin

electricalengineering.Obviously,thiswasnotapracticalchoice;Icamehereformorenoblereasons.I

wantedabroadeducationthatwouldprovidemewithflexibilityandavaluesystemtoguidemeinmycareer.

Iwantedtoopenmyeyesandexpandmyvisionbyinteractingwithpeoplewhowerenlstudyingscienceor

engineering.Myparents,teachersandotheradultspraisedmeforsuchasensiblechoice.TheytoldmeI

waswiseandmaturebeyondmy18years,andIbelievedthem.

IheadedofftocollegesureIwasgoingtohaveanadvantageoverthosestudentswhowenttobig

engineering'factories”wheretheydidn'tcareifyouhavevaluesorwereflexible.Iwasgoingtobea

completeengineer:technicalgeniusandsensitivehumanist(人文學者)allinone.

NowPmnotsosure.Somewherealongthewaymynobleidealscrashedintoreality,asallnobleideals

eventuallydo.Afterthreeyearsofstrugglingtobalancemath,physicsandengineeringcourseswith

liberal-artscourses,Ihavelearnedtherearereasonswhyfewengineeringstudentstrytoreconcile(協(xié)調(diào))

engineeringwithliberal-artscoursesincollege.

Therealitythathasblockedmypathtobecomethetypicalsuccessfulstudentisthatengineeringandthe

liberalartssimplydonTmixaseasilyasIassumedinhighschool.Individuallytheysh叩eapersoninvery

differentways;togethertheythreatentoconfuse.Thestruggletoreconcilethetwofieldsofstudyisdifficult.

26.Theauthorchosetostudyengineeringatasmallliberal-artsuniversitybecausehe.

A)wantedtobeanexampleofpracticalityandrationality

B)intendedtobeacombinationofengineerandhumanist

C)wantedtocoordinateengineeringwithliberal-artscoursesincollege

D)intendedtobeasensiblestudentwithnobleideals

27.Accordingtotheauthor,byinteractingwithpeoplewhostudyliberalarts,engineeringstudentscan

A)balanceengineeringandtheliberalarts

B)receiveguidanceintheircareers

C)becomenobleidealists

D)broadentheirhorizons

28.Intheeyesoftheauthor,asuccessfulengineeringstudentisexpected.

A)tohaveanexcellentacademicrecord

B)tobewiseandmature

C)tobeimaginativewithavaluesystemtoguidehim

D)tobeatechnicalgeniuswithawidevision

29.Theauthor'sexperienceshowsthathewas.

A)creative

B)ambitious

C)unrealistic

D)irrational

30.Theword,ltheynintogethertheythreatentoconfuse.n(Line3,Para.5)refersto.

A)engineeringandtheliberalarts

B)realityandnobleideals

C)flexibilityandavaluesystem

D)practicalityandrationality

PassageThree

Questions31to35arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

PriscillaOuchida's“energy-efficient"houseturnedouttobeahorribledream.Whensheandherengineer

husbandmarriedafewyearsago,theybuilta$100,000,three-bedroomhomeinCalifornia.Tightlysealedto

preventairleaks,thehousewasequippedwithsmalldouble-paned(雙層玻璃的)windowsandseveral

otherenergy-savingfeatures.Problemsbeganassoonasthecouplemovedin,however.Priscilla'seyes

burned.Herthroatwasconstantlydry.Shesufferedfrom