2004年4月全国高等教育自学考试英语阅读（一）试题

　　I.TEXT COMPREHENSION

　　The following comprehension questions are based on the texts you have learned， and each of them is provided with 4 choices marked A，B，C and D. Choose the best answer to each question and write the corresponding letter on the ANSWER SHEET.（20 points， 1 point each）

　　1.In Gifts of the Magi， the two possessions Mr. and Mrs. Young took great pride in are （）

　　A.Jim‘s watch and Della’s hair

　　B.Jim‘s watch and Dell’s combs

　　C.Della‘s combs and Jim’s watch-chain

　　D.Della‘s hair and Jim’s watch-chain

　　2.In No Marriage， No Apologies， Mrs. Frishberg said，“I‘m not against the institution of marriage. We just never get around to it.”The underlined sentence means

　　A.we never have the courage to face the problem directly

　　B.we never go so far as to consider the matter

　　C.we never overcome the obstacles of marriage

　　D.we never finish discussing the problem with each other

　　3.Lisabetta‘s brothers decided to put an end to her secret love affair by killing Lorenzo because they

　　A.thought that he would snatch their beautiful sister away from them

　　B.considered the secret love affair a shame to the family

　　C.worried that Lorenzo would inherit the family fortune

　　D.looked upon Lorenzo as inferior to them in social rank

　　4.The Wife of Bath intends to show with her tale that

　　A.men should be obedient to their wives

　　B.knights should be loyal to the King and the Queen

　　C.women should be obedient to their husbands

　　D.husbands should be young and loving

　　5.In Mark Twain‘s The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County， Simon Wheeler is

　　A.a good-natured and extremely talkative old man

　　B.fond of making fun of people with his long tales

　　C.most curious about betting and dog fight

　　D.a well-trained frog and the best jumper in Calaveras County

　　6.According to The value of Education， our purpose of educating children is to

　　A.choose a proper system of education

　　B.educate them only for the aim of educating them

　　C.accustom them to varied life

　　D.make them intelligent citizens

　　7.The child in A Day‘s Wait kept tight control over himself throughout the day because he

　　A.was afraid that he would die if he lost control over himself

　　B.thought he was going to die and he must show courage in the face of death

　　C.wanted to recover quickly so that he could go hunting with his father

　　D.did not want to be a bother to and a burden on others

　　8.Rip Van Winkle is taken from The Sketch Book， a collection of essays， sketches， and tales written by

　　A.Benjamin Franklin B.Thomas Paine

　　C.Washington Irving D.O.Henry

　　9.According to the passage English World-wide， many Third World people oppose the use of English in their countries because

　　A.they consider it a form of cultural imperialism

　　B.the English language has produced racism

　　C.other languages are easier to learn

　　D.they are against modernization in general

　　10.Aristotle， the Greek philosopher， summed up the four chief qualities of money some 2，000 years ago as being durable， distinct，and portable.

　　A.divisible B.definite

　　C.deficient D.decisive

　　11.In New Applications， the illegal plan first came to Miriam when she discovered by accident that

　　A.Al Cropin‘s grand scheme was not practical

　　B.the home-type computer improved the market conditions

　　C.the latest version of home-type computers was actually compatible with the one in her office

　　D.everyone could use the terms to refer to the computer and its application software

　　12.According to The Story of the Bible， Noah‘s drunkenness and behavior most probably reflect that

　　A.people easily forgot their past mistakes

　　B.people tended to enjoy a peaceful life

　　C.Noah wanted to escape from his loneliness

　　D.Noah lacked the companionship of his children

　　13.The Statue of Liberty reminds people of all the following EXCEPT

　　A.American democracy

　　B.friendship between America and France

　　C.the support of France

　　D.the journey of pilgrims

　　14.According to the information in Gateway to the USA， New York City was a bitter disillusionment to some immigrants in that

　　A.it turned out to be a wretched place

　　B.there was no gold in the city

　　C.the competition was severe in the city

　　D.there was the language problem

　　15.It can be concluded from the story The Perfect Match that

　　A.computers can be used to make every decision in people‘s lives

　　B.natural interactions are essential for human beings

　　C.marriage brings unexpected changes in people‘s lives

　　D.people tend to hide their true feeling before marriage

　　16.From about the 5th century through the 15th century， Latin was regarded as all of the following EXCEPT

　　A.the most suitable language in the world

　　B.the second language of educated people in Europe

　　C.a subject taught in schools and in colleges

　　D.the language of the church

　　17.In style， the story True Love is

　　A.a real love story B.an autobiography

　　C.a journalistic report D.a satirical fantasy

　　18.In Bricks from the Tower of the Babel， the writer Jessica Davidson provides a detailed explanation for

　　A.the construction of the tower

　　B.the structure and sound system of Esperanto

　　C.internationalization of some natural languages

　　D.the Indo-European language family

　　19.According to The Merchant of Venice， all the following words can be used to describe Portia EXCEPT

　　A.wise B.courageous

　　C.merciful D.cautious

　　20.Hollywood became an ideal site for shooting motion pictures chiefly because

　　A.most of the glamorous movie stars lived there

　　B.famous film corporations operated there

　　C.the climate there was sunny and mild

　　D.the studio chiefs liked it very much

　　II.READING COMPREHENSION

　　In this part there are 4 reading passages followed by 20 questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A，B，C and D. You should decide on the best answer or the best choice to complete the statement and write the corresponding letter on the ANSWER SHEET.（40 points， 2 points each）

　　Passage 1

　　When you‘re negotiating with someone， listen for the messages that he or she might be sending to you. For example， the word “difficult” does not mean the same as impossible. Imagine you’re staying in a hotel， and you want to change your room. The manager‘s answer of，“That would be very difficult， sir”，does not mean that he is saying “no.” It just means that he wants to know what you are prepared to offer him in return for the change of room.

　　If you are buying a new car， and want to pay less than the price being asked， then the salesman‘s comment， “I’m sorry， but we never negotiate on the price”， means that they do negotiate on other things， like the delivery time， or the “extra” that might be available as part of the purchase. In the same car showroom， if the salesman says， “Sorry， I can‘t negotiate prices”， then your response should be to ask who can. The message the salesman is sending suggests that his b