2011年7月英语阅读(一)自考试题

全国2011年7月自考
英语阅读(一)试题
课程代码：00595

全部题目用英文作答（翻译题除外），请将答案填在答题纸相应位置上

I. Careful Reading. (40 points, 2 points for each)
Directions: Read the following passages carefully. Decide on the best answers antl then write the corresponding letters on your Answer Sheet.
Passage One
Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage.
The old fashioned general store is fast disappearing. This is, perhaps, a pity, because shopping today seems to lack that personal element which existed when the shopkeeper knew all his regular customers personally. He could, for instance, remember which brand of tea Mrs. Smith usually bought or what sort of washing powder Mrs. Jones preferred. Not only was the shop a center of buying and selling, but a social meeting place.
A prosperous general store might have employed four or five assistants, and so there were very few problems in management as far as the staff was concerned. But now that the supermarket has replaced the general store, the job of the manager has changed completely. The moderm supermarket manager has to cope with a staff of as many as a hundred, apart from all the other everyday problems of running a large business.
Every morning the manager must, like the commander of an army division, carry out an inspection of his store to make sure that everything is ready for the business of the day  He must see that everything is running smoothly. He will have to give advice and make decisions as problems arise; and he must know how to get his huge staff to work efficiently with their respective responsibilities. No matter what he has to do throughout the day, however, the supermarket manager must be ready for any emergency that may arise. They say in the trade that you are not really an experienced supermarket manager until you have dealt with a flood, a fire, a birth and a death in your store.
1. The main purpose of the passage is to show ______.
A. how the supermarket replaces the old general store
B. how the old fashioned general store is fast disappearing
C. how supermarket managers deal with problems every morning
D. how the role of the shop manager undergoes an overall change
2. It is a pity that there are fewer old general stores now because _______.
A. there is less trading business
B. there used to be more social activities in the old days
C. supermarket managers have more problems
D. there is less personal contact between manager and customer
3. Who are Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Jones mentioned in the first paragraph?
A. People representing any of the regular customers of the old general store.
B. Shop assistants.
C. Friends of the shop manager’s.
D. Two regular customers of the store.
4. How has the job of the store manager changed?
A. He doesn’t sell tea or washing powder any more.
B. He has a much larger staff to take care of, to say nothing of all the other daily problems of running the store.
C. He must try hard to remember the names of the regular customers.
D. He has to give advice and make decisions every day.
5. The author compared the supermarket manager to ______.
A. a military leader B. a school inspector
C. a traffic supervisor D. an orchestra conductor
Passage Two
Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage.
By the Treaty of Paris of 1763, which ended the war with the French and the Indians, England gained possession of Canada and all the territory east of the Mississippi River. French influence on this continent thus came to an end; England now controlled most of North America. But the war had been long and expensive. England had many debts. George III, king of England, after consulting with his advisers, decided that the American colonists should help pay some of the expenses of this war. A standing English army of 10,000 men had been left in the colonies for protection against the Indians. The English government also felt that the colonists should share in the expenses of maintaining this army. The result was a Series of measures, the Grenville Program, passed by Parliament and designed to raise money in the colonies. Some of these measures were accepted by the colonists, but one in particular, the Stamp Act, was met with great protest. The Stamp Act required that stamps, ranging in price from a few cents to almost a dollar, be placed on all newspapers, advertisements, bills of sale, wills, legal papers, etc. The Stamp Act was one of the causes of the American Revolution. It affected everyone, rich and poor alike. Some businessmen felt that the act would surely ruin their businesses.
Of all the voices raised in protest to the Stamp Act, none had greater effect than that of a young lawyer from Virginia-Patrick Henry. Henry had only recently been elected to the Virginia Assembly. Yet when the Stamp Act came up for discussion, he opposed it almost single-handedly. He also expressed, for the first time, certain ideas that were held by many Americans of the time but that never before had been stated so openly. “Is life so dear or peace so sweet, as to be bought at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!”
6. From the passage we learn that ______.
A. Britain took over Canada from the Indians in 1 763
B. there had been a war between the French and the Indians which ended in 1763
C. France used to have control of Canada and some areas east of the Mississippi River
D. the French still kept some influence in North America through the Treaty of Paris
7. The Grenville Program refers to ______.
A. King George III’s plan to gather money in North America
B. the British government’s desire to raise money in North America
C. a plan to share the expenses of maintaining an army in the American colonies
D. a decision of the British Parliament to collect money in the American colonies
8. The Stamp Act ______.
A. was an act about selling stamps at prices from a few cents to almost a dollar
B. was one of the causes of the American Revolution
C. required that all commercial and legal documents in America have stamps on them
D. chiefly affected business people who felt it would ruin their businesses
9. From the passage we learn that Patrick Henry ______.
A. had been a member of the Virginia Assembly for a long time
B. didn’t know what courses to take to complete his studies as a lawyer
C. was almost the only one who openly protested against the Stamp Act
D. didn’t value life or peace as much as other people did
10. This passage is mainly about ______.
A.  one of the events leading to the American Revolution
B. the Treaty of Paris between Britain and France
C. the Grenville Program to raise money in the American colonies
D. Patrick Henry, a hero who opposed the Stamp Act
Passage Three
Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage.
In the past, American families tended to be quite large. Parents raising five or more children were common.  Over the years, the size of the family has decreased. One reason for this is an increase in the cost of living.  On the average, children attend schools for more years than they used to, making them financially dependent on their families. Moreover, children nowadays are better dressed and have more money to spend on entertainment. The parents usually take the responsibility for all the expenses. Meanwhile, families are less close than they used to be. More and more American mothers work away from home.
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