英语专业四级考试阅读理解训练(一)

英语专业四级考试阅读理解训练（一）

Passage One

Computers

monitor

everything

in

Singapore

from

soil

composition

to

location

of

manholes.

At

the

airport, it took just 15 seconds for the computerized immigration system to scan and approve my passport. It

takes only one minute to be checked into a public hospital.

By

1998,

almost

every

household will

be

wired for

interactive

cable

TV

and

the Internet,

the

global

computer network. Shoppers will be able to view and pay for products electronically. A

24-hour community

telecomputing

network

will

allow

users

to

communicate

with

elected

representatives

and

retrieve

information about government services. It is all part of the government

’

s plan to transform the nation into

what it calls the ―Intelligent Island‖

.

In so many ways, Singapore has elevated the concept of efficiency to a kind of national

ideology. For

the past ten years,

Singapore’s work force was rated the best in the world—

ahead of Japan and the U. S.

–

In

terms of productivity, skill and attitude by the Business Environment Risk Intelligence service.

Behind the ―Singapore miracle‖ is a man Richard Nixon described as one of ―the ablest leaders I have

met,

‖ one who

,

―in other times and other places

, might have attained the world stature of a Churchill.

‖ Lee

Kuan

Yew

led

Sing

apore’

s

struggle

for

independence

in

the

1950s,

serving

as

Prime

Minister

from

1959

until 1990. Today (1995), at 71, he has nominally retired to the office of Senior Minister, where he continues

to

influence

his

country’s

future

.

Lee

offered

companies

tax

breaks,

political

stability,

cheap

labor

and

strike- free environment.

Nearly 90 percent of Singaporean adults now own their own homes and thanks to strict adherence to the

principle of merit, personal opportunities abound.

―If you’

ve got talent and work hard, you can be anything

here,

‖ says a Malaysian

-born woman who holds a high-level civil-service position.

Lee

likes

to

boast

that

Singapore

has

avoided

the

―moral

breakdown‖

of

Western

countries

.

He

attributes his nation’s success to strong family ties

, a reliance on education as the engine of advancement and

social philosophy that he claims is superior to America

’

s.

In

an

interview

with

Reader’s

Digest

,

he

said

that

the

United

States

has

―lost

its

bearings‖

by

emphasizing individual rights at the expense of society.

―An ethical society

,

‖ he said

,

―is one which matches

human rights with responsibilities.

‖

1. What characterizes Singapore

’

s advancement is its___.

A. computer monitoring

B. work efficiency

C. high productivity

D. value on ethics

2. Fr

om Nixon’s perspective

, Lee is___.

A. almost as great as Churchill

B. not as great as Churchill

C. only second to Churchill in being a leader

D. just as great as Churchill

3. In the last paragraph,

―lost its bearings‖ may mean___

.

A. become impatient

B. failed to find the right position

C. lost its foundation

D. grown band-mannered

4.

―Y

ou can be anything here‖

（

Paragraph 5

）

may be paraphrased as___.

A. Y

ou can hope for a very bright prospect.

B. Y

ou may be able to do anything needed.

C. Y

ou can choose any job as you like.

D. Y

ou will become an outstanding worker.

5. In Singapore, the concept of efficiency___.

A. has been emphasized throughout the country.

B. has become an essential quality for citizens to aim at.

C. is brought forward by the government in order to compete with America.

D.

is known as the basis for building the ―Intelligent Island

.

‖

1

Passage

Two

What we know of prenatal development makes all this attempt made by a mother to mold the character

of her unborn child by studying poetry, art, or mathematics during pregnancy seem utterly impossible. How

could

such

extremely

complex

influences

pass

from

the

mother

to

the

child

？

There

is

no

connection

between

their

nervous

systems.

Even

the

blood

vessels

of

mother

and

child

do

not

join

directly.

An

emotional shock to the mother will affect her child, because it changes the activity of her glands and so the

chemistry her blood. Any chemical change in the mother

’

s blood will affect the child for better or worse. But

we

can

not

see

how

a

looking

for

mathematics

or

poetic

genius can

be

dissolved

in

blood

and

produce

a

similar liking or genius in the child.

In our discussion of instincts we saw that there was reason to believe that whatever we inherit must be

of some very simple sort rather than any complicated or very definite kind of behavior.

It is certain that no

one inherits a knowledge of mathematics. It may be, however, that children inherit more or less of a rather

general

ability

that

we

may

call

intelligence.

If

very

intelligent

children

become

deeply

interested

in

mathematics, they will probably make a success of that study.

As for musical ability, it may be that what is inherited is an especially sensitive ear, a peculiar structure

of the hands or the vocal organs connections between nerves and muscles that make it comparatively easy to

learn

the

movements

a

musician

must

execute,

and

particularly

vigorous

emotions. If

these

factors

are

all

organized around music, the child may become a musician. The same factors, in other circumstance might be

organized about some other center of interest. The rich emotional equipment might find expression in poetry.

The capable fingers might develop skill in surgery. It is not the knowledge of music that is inherited, then nor

even

the

love

of

it,

but

a

certain

bodily

structure

that

makes

it

comparatively

easy

to

acquire

musical

knowledge and skill.

Whether that ability shall be directed toward music or some other undertaking may be

decided entirely by forces in the environment in which a child grows up.

1. Which of the following statements is not true

？

A.

Some

mothers

try

to

influence

their

unborn children

by

studying

art

and

other

subjects

during

their

pregnancy.

B. It is utterly impossible for us to learn anything about prenatal development.

C. The blood vessels of mother and child do not join directly.

D.

There are no connection between mother’s nervous systems and her unborn child’

s.

2. A

mother will affect her unborn baby on the condition that ____.

A. she is emotionally shocked

B. she has a good knowledge of inheritance

C. she takes part in all kind of activities

D. she sticks to studying

3. According to the passage, a child may inherit____.

A. everything from his mother

B. a knowledge of mathematics

C. a rather general ability that we call intelligence

D. her

mother’s musical ability

4. If a child inherits something from his mother, such as an especially sensitive ear, a peculiar structure of the

hands or of the vocal organs, he will ____.

A. surely become musician

B. mostly become a poet

C. possibly become a teacher

D. become a musician on the condition that all these factors are organized around music

5. Which of the following is the best title for the passage

？

A. Role of Inheritance. B. An Unborn Child. C. Function of instincts.

D. Inherited Talents

Passage Three

The case for college has been accepted without question for more than a generation. All high school

graduates

ought

to

go, says conventional

wisdom

and

statistical

evidence,

because

college

will

help

them

2