英语阅读(一)试题_全国2009年4月自考试卷

英语阅读(一)试题_全国2009年4月自考试卷

I. CAREFUL READING
 Read the following passages carefully. Decide on the best answer and write the corresponding letter on the ANSWER SHEET. (40 points, 2 points each)
Passage 1
Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage.
Some people believe that international sport creates goodwill between nations and that, if countries play games together, they will learn to live together. Others say that the opposite is true: international contests encourage false national pride and lead to misunderstanding and hatred. There is probably some truth in both arguments, but in recent years the Olympic Games have done little to support the view that sport encourages international brotherhood. Apart from tragic incidents involving the murder of athletes, the Games were also ruined by lesser incidents caused principally by international contests.
One country received its second-place medals with visible indignation after a hockey final. There had been noisy scenes at the end of the hockey match, the losers objecting to the final decision. They were convinced that one of their goals should not have been disallowed and that their opponents’ victory was unfair. Their manager was in a rage when he said: “This wasn’t hockey. Hockey and the International Hockey Federation are finished.” The president of the Federation said later that such behavior could result in the suspension of the team for at least three years.
The American basketball team announced that they would not yield first place to Russia, after a disputable end to their contest. The game had ended in disturbance. It was thought at first that the United States had won by a single point, but it was announced that there were still three seconds to play. A Russian player then threw the ball from one end of the court to the other, and another player popped it into the basket. It was the first time the U.S.A had ever lost an Olympic basketball match. A judging panel debated the matter for four and a half hours without changing the original decision. The American players then voted not to receive the silver medals.
    Incidents of this kind will continue as long as sport is played competitively rather than for the love of the game. The suggestion that athletes should compete as individuals, or on non-national teams, might be too much to hope for, but in the present organization of the Olympics there is far too much that encourages aggressive patriotism.

1. The author cites two examples in the passage to show that _______.
 A. athletes should compete as individuals
 B. sports encourage aggressive patriotism
 C. athletes should compete on national teams
 D. sports encourage international brotherhood
2. The American basketball players eventually _______.
 A. had to agree with the judging panel
 B. had to yield the first place to Russia
 C. decided not to receive the silver medals
 D. decided to protest against the unfair decision
3. The word “indignation” (para. 2) is closest in meaning to _______.
 A. rage  B. pleasure
 C. misery  D. temper
4. It can be inferred from the passage that the suggestion mentioned in the last paragraph is ______.
 A. modest  B. realistic
 C. impractical  D. unreasonable
 5. The author’s attitude toward the present organization of the Olympics is _______.
 A. positive  B. negative
 C. impartial  D. satirical
Passage 2
Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage.
  Since the Second World War, there has been an obvious trend, especially among the growing group of college students, toward early marriage. Many youths begin dating in the first stages of adolescence, “go steady” through high school, and marry before their formal education has been completed. In some quarters, there is much shaking of graying heads over the ways of rebellious youth. However, emotional maturity does not grow with age; it does not arrive automatically at twenty-one or twenty-five. Some achieve it surprisingly early, while others never do, even in three-score years and ten.
  Many students are marrying as an escape, not only from an unsatisfying home life, but also from their own personal problems of isolation and loneliness. However, any marriage entered into as an escape cannot prove entirely successful. The sad fact is that marriage seldom solves one’s problems; more often, it merely worsens them. Furthermore, it is doubtful whether the home is capable of carrying all that the young are seeking to put into it; one might say that they are abandoning one idol only to worship another. Young people correctly understand that their parents are wrong in believing that success is the ultimate good, but they themselves are wrong in believing that they have found the true center of life’s meaning. Their expectations of marriage are essentially unrealistic and therefore incapable of fulfillment. They want too much, and tragic disillusionment is often bound to follow.
  Shall we, then, join the chorus of those against early marriages? One cannot generalize: all early marriages are not bad any more than all later ones are good. Satisfactory marriages are determined not by how old one is, but by the emotional maturity of the partners. Therefore, each case must be judged on its own merits. If the early marriage is not an escape, if it is entered into with relatively few illusions or false expectations, and if it is economically feasible, why not? Good marriages can be made from sixteen to sixty, and so can bad ones.
6. The phrase “go steady” (para. 1) can be replaced by _______.
 A. break up very often  B. keep changing partners
 C. maintain the relationship  D. believe in early marriages
7. The phrase “shaking of graying heads” (para. 1) refers to _______.
 A. the anger of parents
 B. the disapproval of old people
 C. the radical behaviors of the young
 D. the unruly manners of young lovers
8. Besides escaping from unsatisfying home life, young people also marry early _______.
 A. for personal development  B. for financial support
 C. to get rid of their loneliness  D. to stay away from their parents
9. According to the author, marriage more often than not _______.
 A. ends up in divorce  B. leads to tragedies
 C. proves to be successful  D. worsens one’s problems
10. The author argues that _______.
 A. older people suspect early marriages
 B. early marriages should not be encouraged
 C. early marriages are not always unsuccessful
 D. older people are wrong about early marriages
Passage 3
Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage.
  A guest at the Holiday Inn on Union Square in San Francisco is attempting to turn on the radio in his room. Not matter which button he pushes, the radio will not play. Finally, the guest reports a defective (有毛病的) radio. A hotel employee soon arrives at the guest’s room with a new radio, a box of chocolates, and flowers. As for the radio already in the room, the employee turns it on without difficulty and quickly reassures the guest that the radio is tricky to operate. The employee shows the guest how to work the radio and pleasantly exits the room, leaving the radios, the chocolates and the flowers.
  An elderly woman is in her favorite food store, Ukrop’s Super Market of Richmond, Virginia. She picks up a large pineapple from the display case, holds it for several moments, and then returns it with obvious reluctance. Ukrop’s president, James Ukrop, witnesses this scene and asks the customer if she would like to buy half of the pineapple, i