阅读理解1

College English Test

Reading Comprehension

Passage One

In

the

1960s,

medical

researchers

Thomas

Holmes

and

Richard

Rahe

developed

a

checklist of stressful events. They appreciated the tricky point that any major change can be

stressful. Negative even

ts like “serious illness of a family member” were high on the list, but

so were some positive life-changing events, like marriage. When you take the Holmes- Rahe

test,

you

must

remember

that

the

score

does

not

reflect

how

you

deal

with

stress--it

only

shows how much you have to deal with. And we now know that the way you handle these

events dramatically affects your chances of staying healthy.

By the early 1970s .hundreds of similar studies had followed Holmes and Rahe. And

millions of Americans who work and lie under stress worried over the reports. Somehow, the

research

got

boiled down

to

a

memorable

message.

Women’s

magazines

ran

headlines

like

“ Stress causes illness!” If you want to stay physically and mentally healthy, the articles said,

avoid stressful events.

But

such

simplistic

advice

is

impossible

to

follow.

Even

if

stressful

events

are

dangerous,

many--like

the

death

of

a

loved

one--are

impossible

to

avoid.

Moreover,

any

warning

to

avoid

all

stressful

events

is

a

prescription

(

处方

)

for

staying

away

from

opportunities as well as trouble. Since any change can be stressful, a person who wanted to be

completely free of stress would never marry, have a child, take a new job or move.

The notion that all stress makes

you sick also ignores a lot of what we know about

people. It assumes we're all vulnerable (

脆弱的

) and passive in the face of adversity(

逆境

).

But what about human initiative and creativity? Many

come through periods of stress with

more physical and mental vigor than they had before. We also know that a long time without

change or challenge can lead to boredom, and physical and mental strain.

1. The result of Hommes-

Rahe’s medical research tells us ______ .

A ) the way you handle major events may cause stress

B ) what should be done to avoid stress

C ) what kind of event would cause stress

D ) how to cope with sudden changes in life

2

. The studies on stress in the early 1970’s led to ______.

A ) widespread concern over its harmful effects

1

B ) great panic over the mental disorder it could cause

C ) an intensive research into stress- related illnesses

D ) popular avoidance of stressful jobs

3. The score of the Holmes-Rahe test shows ______.

A ) how much pressure you are under

B ) how positive events can change your life

C ) how stressful a major event can be

D ) how you can deal with life-changing events

4. Why is

A ) No one can stay on the same job for long.

B ) No prescription is effective in relieving stress.

C ) People have to get married someday.

D ) You could be missing opportunities as well.

5.

According

to

the

passage,

people

who

have

experienced

ups

and

downs

may

become

______.

A ) nervous when faced with difficulties

B) physically and mentally strained

C ) more capable of coping with adversity

D ) indifferent toward what happens to them

Passage Two

During times of great crisis, human beings typically turn to one of two strategies: fight

or

flight.

There

is,

however,

a

third

strategy:

learning

and

deep

change.

It

is

based

on

the

principle that all events, especially the most tragic, are ripe with opportunities for learning.

The

September

11

terrorists

demonstrated

expertise

(

专门技术

)

in

systems

theory.

They knew that complex systems always have two sides. One is creative and allows for great

speed and efficiency ( for example, civil aviation aircraft and high-rise office towers ) . The

other

is

potentially

destructive

and

can

generate

major

catastrophes

(

using

civil

aviation

against the high- rise target).

All of our current complex systems, including information systems, biotechnology, air

travel,

nuclear

power,

and

the

mail

system,

have

these

two

major

characteristics.

All

are

susceptible

(

易受影响的

)

to

organizational

error

(the

Challenger

tragedy)

,

human

error

(Chemobyl)

,

and

terrorism

(

Oklahoma

City

).

Yet

terrorism

is

the

darkest

and

most

dangerous side of our complexity.

In the case of the World Trade Center, terrorists deliberately exploited the

side

of

aircraft

and

highly

populated

office

towers.

If

one

simply

joins

hijacking

with

car

bombing , and magnifies their effects, then September 11 is the result.

A ) some strategies of risk and crisis management

The lesson we must learn from September 11 is that our management practices, private

B ) the global impact of terrorism

and

public,

are

one-dimensional.

Whether

it

is

with

regard

to

civil

aviation

safety

or

real

C ) the measurement of organizational efficiency

estate,

our

world

is

dominated

by

concerns

about

profitability.

These

constrain

us

from

D ) the development of nonfinancial organizations

implementing

needed

and proven

safety

procedures

in

aviation

and

high-rise

office

design.

Passage Three

The

focus

on

profitability

also

pushes

our

systems

to

grow

unreasonably

large,

rendering

Researchers in London and Bristol have found that men are particularly likely to yield to

them more vulnerable to terrorist attacks.

depression if their partners are also depressed.

Approximately

76%

of

the

criteria

used

to

measure

organizational

efficiency

are

The

finding highlights

the

importance

of

paying

attention

to

the

partners

of depressed

financial.

Only

24%

consider

nonfinancial

indicators

such

as

health,

safety,

or

the

global

mothers, as young children themselves are vulnerable to social problems if both parents are

impact that organizations have on communities and the world in general. Devoting more of

depressed.

our

attention

to

nonfinancial

indicators

can

help

us

develop

new

strategies

to

match

the

Researchers

in

London

and

at

the

University

of

Bristol

launched

their

study

to

complexity of fighting terrorism. The fields of risk and crisis management already use some

investigate

whether

family

structure

affects

the

likelihood

of

depression

in

men

around

the

of these strategies.

time their child is born. They looked at men from traditional families, men with children from

1. What is the main idea of the passage?

a previous relationship, men whose parents had children by a former partner, and men who

A ) All events are full of opportunities for learning.

were not living with their partner.

B)

We can enhance our future security by learning more about our society’s complexities.

All

7,018

participants

filled

out

a

questionnaire

on

depression,

and

answered

the

C ) The September 11 terrorist attack is the most destructive disaster of all.

questions about their age, education level and employment status. Details about the quality of

D ) Terrorism poses a formidable threat to international security.

their relationships with their partners, networks of friends and previous life events were also

2. The September 11 terrorist attack is an example of______.

recorded.

A ) the creative side of systems theory

About 3.5 percent of the men and 13 percent of their partners suffered depression around

B ) the destructive side of systems theory

the

time

their

child

was

born.

In

comparison,

men

in

step-families

or

who

were

not

living

C ) the organizational side of systems theory

with their partners were twice as likely to get depressed as those in traditional families. This

D ) the sensational side of systems theory

could be explained by other factors that are more common in non-traditional families, such as

3. The failure to implement safety procedures needed in aviation and high-rise office design

poor education and relationship conflicts.

results from ______.

Even allowing for all these factors, however, the partners of women who were suffering

A ) the great speed and efficiency of modern society

from

perinatal

(

围产期的

)

depression

were

significantly

more

likely

to

become

depressed

B ) the complexity of various organizations

themselves, the researchers report in an American Journal. Ten percent of women who were

C ) the management style

depressed had depressed partners.

For the healthy women, the figure was only 2.6

percent.

D ) the predominance of concerns about profitability

Previous

research

suggests

that

families

with

two

depressed

partners

may

need

special

4. Which of the following statements will the author most probably agree with?

attention. A researcher in Atlanta has found that primary school children with two troubled

A ) Financial considerations are more important than nonfinancial ones.

parents have difficulty relating to their peers.

“It’s extremely important to look at the whole

B) Nonfinancial considerations are more important than financial ones.

family,” she says.

C) Nonfinancial considerations are as important as financial ones.

1. What can we conclude from Paragraph I and Paragraph 2?

D)We have devoted more of our attention to nonfinancial considerations than is necessary.

A) Men often mistreat their children.

5. The passage will most probably be followed by a discussion of ______.

B) Depressed women often have depressed partners.

2

C) All young children are vulnerable to social problems.

D) Women with children often have depressed partners.

2. Researchers in London and Bristol carry out such an investigation in order to ______.

A) see what kind of family environment is ideal for children to grow up in

B) investigate why so many men get depressed when a child is born

C) study whether family structure affects depression in men when child is born

D) see whether it is true that behind every depressed man there is a depressed woman

3. What kind of man is least likely to get depressed when their child is born?

A) Men-in step-families.

B) Men in traditional families.

C) Men not living with their partners.

D) Men in non- traditional families.

4. Which of the following is NOT true?

A) Ten percent of women who were depressed had depressed partners.

B) Special attention should be paid to families with depressed parents.

C) 2.6 percent of healthy women were depressed.

D) Their conclusion was supported by researches carried out in the USA.

5. Which of the following has the same meaning as

A) Mates.

B) Studies.

C) Habits.

D) Teachers.

Passage Four

You’re busy filling out the application form for a position you really need; let’s assume

you once actually completed a couple of years of college work or even that you completed

your

degree.

Isn’t

it

t

empting

to

lie

just

a

little,

to

claim

on

the

form

that

your

diploma

represents

a

Harvard

degree?

Or

that

you

finish

an

extra

couple

of

years

back

at

State

University?

More

and

more

people

are

resorting

to

deception

like

this

to

land

their

first

job

or

to

move ahead in their careers, for personnel officers, like most Americans, value degrees from

prestige schools. A job applicant may have a good education anyway, but he or she assumes

that chances of being hired are better with a diploma from a well-known university. Registrars

(

注册人

) at most well-known colleges say they deal with fraudulent claims like these at the

rate of about one per week.

Personnel officers do check up on degrees listed on' application forms. If it turns out that

an applicant is lying, most colleges are reluctant to accuse the applicant directly. One noted

school

calls

them

“impostors”;

another

refers

to

them

as

“special

cases”.

One

well

-known

West Coast school, in perhaps the most delicate phrase of all, says that these claims are made

by “no such people”.

To avoid transparent lies, some job-

seekers claim that they “attend” or “were associated

3

with” a college or university. After carefully checking, a personnel officer may discover that

“attending” means dropping out after one semester. It may be that “being associated with” a

college

means

that

the

job-seeker

visited

his

younger

brother

for

a

football

weekend.

One

school that keeps records of false claims says that the practice dates back at least to the turn of

the century

—

that is when they began keep records, anyhow.

If you don’t want to lie or even stretch the truth there are companies that will sell you

a

diploma. One company, with offices in New York and on the West Coast, will put your name

on

a

diploma

from

any

number

of

nonexistent

colleges.

The

price

begins

at

around

twenty

dollars for a diploma from “Smoot State University”. The prices increase rapidly for a degree

from the

“University of Purdue”. As there is no Smoot State and the real school in Indiana is

properly called Purdue University, the prices seem rather high for one sheet of paper.

1. The main idea of this passage is that ______.

A) employers are checking more closely on applicants now

B) lying about college certificates has become a problem

C) unreal college degrees have become widespread

D) employers are no longer impressed by college degrees

2. According to the passage,

A) who never attended a school listed on their application

B) who attended a school only part-time

C) who attended a famous school only for a short time

D) who purchases unreal degrees from commercial firms

3. We can conclude from the passage that ______.

A) performance is a better judge of ability than is a college degree

B) a college degree is more essential than experience in job applications

C) a degree from a leading school gives applicants an advantage in job competition

D) past work histories influence personnel officers as much as degrees do

4. The passage suggests that ______.

A) buying an unreal degree is immoral

B) personnel officers only consider applicants from well-known schools

C) most people lie on applications because they failed out of college

D) society is largely responsible for the practice of lying on applications

5. As used in this passage, the word

“fraudulent” ( Para. 2 ) means ______.

A) careless

B) false

C) actual

D) ridiculous

Passage Five

We have admitted the fact that verbal (

言语的

) and mathematical thinking are given a