1、职称英语综合类 B 级-阅读理解专项突破及答案解析(总分:100.00,做题时间:90 分钟)一、阅读理解(总题数:12,分数:100.00)A Debate on the English LanguageA measure declaring English the national language is under intense debate in the United States. The US Senate passed two declarations last week. One calls English the nations official language and
2、the other says it is the “common and unifying (统一的)“ tongue. But Americans found themselves divided on the issue.Since people worldwide know that most Americans speak only English, many cant understand why the issue is so controversial (有争议的).“The discussion is related to fears of immigration issues
3、,“ says Dick Tucker, a social scientist at Pittsburghs Carnegie Mellon University. “ Its related to a worry about the changing demography (人口统计) of the US. Its a worry about who will continue to have political and economic influence. “In fact, the notion of protecting the language has been kicked ar
4、ound almost since the nations founding. John Adams lobbied (游说) in 1780 for the creation of a national academy to correct and improve the English language. But his proposal died, since lawmakers saw it as a royalist (保皇主义者) attempt to define personal behavior.Since then, the country hasnt had a nati
5、onal language, but the idea of recognizing the special status of English lived on.The emotions surrounding language resurface (再次浮现) not because people feel comfortable with English. It is more about the discomfort many Americans feel with the new languages, says Walt Wolfram, a professor at North C
6、arolina State University.“Language is never about language,“ he says.According to the 2000 US Census Bureau report, of 209 million Americans over 18 years old, 172 million speak only English at home. About 37 million speak languages other than English. Among them, 6. 5 million speak poor English and
7、 3. 1 million dont speak English at all.(分数:10.00)(1).What are the two declarations concerned with?A. The status of the English language.B. The protection of new languages.C. The rights to speak ones mother tongue.D. The improvement of the English language.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.D.(2).Who suggested in the 1
8、8th century that English should be protected?A. Walt Wolfram. B. John Adams. C. Royalists. D. Dick Tucker.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.D.(3).Which of the following is the current debate NOT related to?A. The immigration issues.B. The changing demography.C. The worry about the new languages.D. The USs military str
9、ength.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.D.(4).Which statement is true according to the 2000 US Census Bureau report?A. 172 million Americans speak only English in their work places.B. 37 million Americans speak English.C. 209 million Americans are above the age of 18.D. 6. 5 million Americans speak good English.(分数:2.
10、00)A.B.C.D.(5).The phrase “kicked around“ ( paragraph 4) could be best replaced byA. “invented“. B. “formed“. C. “shaped“. D. “discussed“.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.D.Kobe BryantAfter 10 seasons wearing the No 8 on his back, Kobe Bryant will become No 24 next season. The reason for the surprising decision by th
11、e Los Angeles Lakers super guard last week has become a hot topic for debate.Bryant wore No 24 when he was in early high school, but he changed to No 33 in his senior year. He switched to No 8 when he was selected by the Lakers in 1996, and has not been changed since.Bryant has refused to explain th
12、e decision until the end of the play-offs (季后赛). So guessing Bryants motive has become a popular game among NBA fans and newspaper columnists (专栏作家).There are all kinds of speculations. Many say that Bryant wants to leave the past behind and have a fresh start. He has often been criticized for playi
13、ng to benefit himself and not the team as a whole. Others say that he may be trying to compare himself to Michael Jordan. Jordan was famous for his No 23 jersey (运动衫). Some, such as NBC Sport columnist Michael Ventre, argue that it is “all about money“. Bryant will make more money by selling new jer
14、seys to his fans.Some speculations are more about fun. For example, there is an opinion that Kobe is actually just a diehard (非常执着的) fan of the popular TV drama “24“.All this talk has turned the number change into a major issue. It seems that there is a lot of fuss (大惊小怪) over something that should
15、be pretty simple.Jersey numbers have their own special significance in American sports, especially basketball. Players choose their number when they join a team and they usually stick with that number for the rest of their career. When a great player retires, his team will honor him by retiring his
16、number.To some extent, the jersey is the player, and the player is the jersey. Thus, when you see the famous No 23 for the Chicago Bulls, you immediately think about Michael Jordan. A No 32 Miami Heats jersey recalls the image of Shaquille ONeal, and the Houston Rockets No 11 belongs only to Yao Min
17、g.Lots of stories are behind players jersey number selections. Jordan said that he chose No 23 because it was roughly half of 45. Jordans elder brother wore the No 45 in college. Yao Ming once revealed that the No 11 stands for two people in love-meaning him and his girlfriend Ye Li.(分数:10.00)(1).Wh
18、ich team has Bryant played for?A. The Los Angeles Lakers. B. The Houston Rockets.C. The Chicago Bulls. D. The Miami Heats.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.D.(2).How long has Bryant been wearing No 8?A. Since he started to play basketball. B. For ten seasons.C. Since he entered high school. D. Since he left the Lakers
19、.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.D.(3).Which of the following is NOT a speculation about Bryants motive to change his number, according to this passage?A. He wants to leave his past behind and have a fresh start.B. He wants to compare himself to Jordan.C. He wants to earn more money.D. He wants to show that he is a
20、man of great importance.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.D.(4).Why did Jordan choose No 23?A. Because that number would make him famous.B. Because that number would make his fans miss him.C. Because that number was related to the number his brother once wore.D. Because that number was easy to remember.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.
21、D.(5).What does the number Yao Ming chose stand for?A. Two long legs. B. Two strong arms.C. Two people in love. D. Two big countries.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.D.Trying to Find a PartnerOne of the most striking findings of a recent poll in the UK is that of the people interviewed, one in two believes that it is
22、 becoming more difficult to meet someone to start a family with.Why are many finding it increasingly difficult to start and sustain intimate relationships? Does modern life really make it harder to fall in love? Or are we making it harder for ourselves?It is certainly the case today that contemporar
23、y couples benefit in different ways from relationships. Women no longer rely upon partners for economic security or status. A man doesnt expect his spouse to be in sole charge of running his household and raising his children.But perhaps the knowledge that we can live perfectly well without a partne
24、rship means that it takes much more to persuade people to abandon their independence.In theory, finding a partner should be much simpler these days. Only a few generations ago, your choice of soulmate (心上人) was constrained (限制) by geography, social convention and family tradition. Although it was ne
25、ver explicit, many marriages were essentially arranged.Now those barriers have been broken down. You can approach a builder or a brain surgeon in any bar in any city on any given evening. When the world is your oyster (牡蛎), you surely have a better chance of finding a pearl.But it seems that the old
26、 conventions have been replaced by an even tighter constraint: the tyranny of choice.The expectations of partners are inflated (提高) to an unmanageable degree: good looks, impressive salary, kind to grandmother, and right socks. There is no room for error in the first impression.We think that a relat
27、ionship can be perfect. If it isnt, it is disposable. We work to protect ourselves against future heartache and dont put in the hard emotional labor needed to build a strong relationship. Of course, this is complicated by realities. The cost of housing and child-rearing creates pressure to have a st
28、able income and career before a life partnership.(分数:10.00)(1).What does the recent poll show?A. It is getting more difficult for a woman to find her husband.B. It is getting increasingly difficult to start a family.C. It is getting more difficult for a man to find his wife.D. It is getting increasi
29、ngly difficult to develop an intimate relationship with your spouse.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.D.(2).Which of the following is NOT true about a contemporary married couple?A. The wife doesnt have to raise the children all by herself.B. The husband doesnt have to support the family all by himself.C. The wife is
30、no longer the only person to manage the household.D. They will receive a large sum of money from the government.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.D.(3).Which of the following was NOT a constraint on ones choice of soulmate in the old days?A. The health condition of his or her grandmother.B. The geographical environmen
31、t.C. The social convention.D. The family tradition.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.D.(4).Which of the following is NOT expected of a partner according to this passage?A. Good looks. B. An impressive career.C. A high salary. D. A fine sense of humor.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.D.(5).The word “sustain“ (paragraph 2) could be best
32、replaced byA. “reduce“. B. “shake“. C. “maintain“. D. “weaken“.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.D.Sleep Necessary for MemoriesBurning the midnight oil before an exam or interview does harm to the performance according to a recent research which found that sleep is necessary for memories to be taken back into the brai
33、n. A good nights sleep within 30 hours of trying to remember a new task is a required condition of having good recall in the weeks ahead, scientists have found.The research, published in the December issue of Nature Neuroscience, showed that it was the act of sleep, rather than the simple passage of
34、 time, that was critical for long-term memory formation.“We think that getting that first nights sleep starts the process of memory consolidation (巩固).“ said Robert Stickgold, a sleep researcher at Harvard Medical School who conducted the latest study.“It seems that memories normally wash out of the
35、 brain unless some process nails them down. My suspicion is that sleep is one of those things that does the nailing down. “ Professor Stickgold said.With about one in five people claiming that they are so chronically short of sleep that it affects their daily activities, the latest work emphasizes t
36、he less well-understood side effect-serious memory impairment (损害).Volunteers in an experiment found it easier to remember a memory task if they were allowed to sleep that night. But for those kept awake, no amount of subsequent sleep made up for the initial loss.Professor Stickgolds team trained 24
37、 people to identify the direction of three diagonal (斜线形的) bars flashed for a sixtieth of a second on a computer screen full of horizontal (水平的) stripes.Half of the subjects were kept awake that night, while the others slept. Both groups were allowed to sleep for the second and third nights to make
38、up for any differences in tiredness between the volunteers.Those who slept the first night were significantly and consistently better at remembering the task while the second group showed no improvement despite enjoying two nights of catch-up sleep.(分数:10.00)(1).The research published in Nature Neur
39、oscience showed that what was essential to the formation of long-term memory wasA. intelligence. B. time. C. food. D. sleep.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.D.(2).Which of the following statements about the research is NOT true?A. It was done within 30 hours.B. It was headed by Professor Stickgold.C. It focused on lo
40、ng-term memory formation.D. There were altogether 24 subjects in the experiment.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.D.(3).Stickgolds research focused on the side effect produced byA. memory impairment. B. lack of sleep.C. low work efficiency. D. memory recall.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.D.(4).In Stickgolds experiment, those who were
41、 kept awake on the first nightA. could very well remember the direction of the diagonal bars.B. didnt do any better after two nights sleep.C. were as tired as those who were not.D. could recall the direction of more bars than those who were not.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.D.(5).Those who slept the first nightA.
42、couldnt remember the task.B. could not sleep the second and third nights.C. performed slightly better than those who did not.D. did much better than those who did not.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.D.The Cherokee NationLong before the white man came to America, the land belonged to the American Indian nations. The
43、nation of the Cherokees lived in what is now the southeastern part of the United States.After the white man came, the Cherokees copied many of their ways. One Cherokee named Sequoyah saw how important reading and writing were to the white man. He decided to invent a way to write down the spoken Cher
44、okee language. He began by making word pictures. For each word he drew a picture. But that proved impossible-there were just too many words. Then he took the 85 sounds that made up the language. Using his own imagination and an English spelling book, Sequoyah invented a sign for each sound. His alph
45、abet proved amazingly easy to learn. Before long, many Cherokees knew how to read and write in their own language. By 1828, they were even printing their own newspaper.In 1830, the U.S. Congress passed a law. It allowed the government to remove Indians from their lands. The Cherokees refused to go.
46、They had lived on their lands for centuries. It belonged to them. Why should they go to a strange land far beyond the Mississippi River?The army was sent to drive the Cherokees out. Soldiers surrounded their villages and marched them at gunpoint (在枪口的威胁下) into the western territory. The sick, the ol
47、d and the small children went in carts, along with their belongings. The rest of the people marched on foot or rode on horseback. It was November, yet many of them still wore their summer clothes. Cold and hungry, the Cherokees were quickly exhausted by the hardships of the journey. Many dropped dea
48、d and were buried by the roadside. When the last group arrived in their new home in March 1839, more than 4, 000 had died. It was indeed a march of death.(分数:10.00)(1).The Cherokees used to liveA. by the roadside.B. in the southeastern part of the U. S.C. beyond the Mississippi River.D. in the weste
49、rn territory.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.D.(2).Which of the following statements about Sequoyah is NOT true?A. He was imaginative.B. He was an Indian.C. He was a white man.D. He wrote down the spoken Cherokee language.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.D.(3).A law was passed in 1830 toA. allow the Cherokees to stay where they were.B. stop the Cherokees using their own language.C. force the Cherokees to move westward.D. forbid the Cherokees to print their own newspaper.(分数:2.00)A.B.C.D.(4).The Cherokees went to their new landsA. in carts. B. on horseback. C. on foot. D. all of the above.(分数:2.00)A