大学英语二级词汇2

1

Cathy and Wayne are in their late 20’s, have been married five years, and are childless. The

last time a member of Cathy’s family asked, “When are you going to start a family?”

her answer

was, “We’re a family!”

Cathy and Wayne belong to a growing number of young married couples who are deciding

not to have children. A recent survey showed that in the last five years the percentage of wives

aged 25 to 29 who did not want children had almost doubled. What lies behind this decision which

seems

to

fly in the face of biology and society?

Perhaps

the

most

publicly

outspoken

childless

couple

are

Ellen

Peck

and

her

husband

William.

They

are

not

against

parenthood

but

against

the

social

pressures

that

push

people

into

parenthood whether it is what they really want or not.

“It’s a life

-

style choice,” Ellen says. “We chose freedom and spontaneity (

自发性

), privacy

(

清静

) and leisure. It’s also a question of where you want to give your efforts

?

within your own family

or in the larger community. This generation faces serious questions about the continuity of life on

earth as well as its quality. Our grandchildren may have to buy tickets to see the last redwoods (

红

杉

)

or

line

up

to

get

their

oxygen

ration

(

氧气量

).

There

are

men

who

complain

about

being

caught

in

a

traffic

jam

for

hours

on

their

way

home

to

their

five

kids

but

can’t

make

the

association

between

the

children

and

the

traffic

jam.

In

a

world

seriously

threatened

by

the

consequences

of

overpopulation

we’re

concerned

with

making

life

without

children

acceptable

and respectable. Too many children are born as a result of cultural pressure. And the results show

up in the statistics on divorce and child-

abuse.”

1

.

What

does

the

member

of

Cathy’s

family

mean

by

saying

“When

are

you

going

to

start

a

family?”

A. When are you going to have children?

B. When are you going to get married?

C. When are you going to buy a house?

D. When are you going to move to a new house?

2. The number of childless young couples _____.

A. is decreasing

B. is increasing

C. has more than doubled

D. remains unchanged

3

. “To fly in the face of” in the s

econd paragraph means _____.

A. to run into

B. to come across

C. to follow

D. to go against

4. Which of the following statements is true of the Pecks?

A. They propose that young couples have no children.

B. They urge that family planning be made obligatory.

C. They think that no pressure should be put on young couples who do not want children.

D. They think that there would be no divorce or child-abuse if young couples are not pressured

into parenthood.

5. Which of the following is NOT a consequence of overpopulation mentioned in this passage?

A. Traffic jam.

B. The using up of precious natural resources.

C. The lowering of the quality of life.

D. War.

Passage 2. ABDCD

2

“

I ask you to drink to his health as a young man full of the sprit of adventure who has lit up the

world with a flash of courage.

”

With these words the British Minister of Air turned and raised his

glass

to

the

young

man

who

sat

before

him

–

a

young

man

who,

only

a

month

before,

was

completely unknown. Yet on that summer day in 1927 his name was on the world

’

s lips

–

Charles

Lindbergh, the first man to fly the Atlantic alone.

He had been an air mail pilot, flying back and forth between Chicago and the city of St. Louis.

Determined to win the $$25,000 prize offered by a fellow-American for the first flight from New

York to Paris, Lindbergh had persuaded a group of St. Louis businessmen to finance the building

of a special plane for them.

The news that Lindbergh intended to fly the Atlantic alone was received with disbelief.

“

The

plane would never fly,

”

people said. It would run out of fuel. It had only a single engine. Lloyd

’

s

of London refused to insure the flight. Men called Lindbergh the

“

flying fool.

”

But on May 20th, 1927, just after ten to eight in the morning, Lindbergh

’

s

“

spirit of St. Louis,

”

heavily laden with fuel, struggled into air from a New York airfield. For several hours the weight

to the petrol prevented the young pilot from flying more than a few feet above the wave- top. Night

came, and thick fog covered up the stars. Lindbergh flew steadily on, hoping that his course was

the right one. He struggled to keep awake, checking the fuel all the time to keep his mind active.

Throughout the next day the

“

Spirit of St. Louis

”

flew on over the seeming limitless sea. Then a

fishing boat appeared, and an hour later, land. It was Ireland. Lindbergh set a compass course for

Paris.

By

ten

o

’

clock

the

light

of

France

’

s

capital

were

shining

beneath

him.

Tired,

unshaven,

suddenly hungry, the

“

flying fool

”

came on to Le Bourget Airport, and landed in front of a huge

crowd of wildly cheering people. After 34 hours of continuous piloting, the flight of 3600miles

was over.

(70%)

31. The British Minister Of Air _________.

A) Praised Lindbergh for his intelligence

B) encouraged Lindbergh to be adventurous

C) congratulated Lindbergh for his bravery

D) warned Lindbergh to be sensible

32.

“

His name was on the world

’

s lips

”

means _________.

A) everybody was drinking his health

B) everybody was jumping about because of him

C) he became suddenly unpopular

D) everybody was talking about him

33. A group of St. Louis businessmen had been persuaded to _______ the building of a special

plane.

A) arrange for

B) organize with

C) stop to

D) pay for

34. Which of the following statements is true?

A)

Nobody heard the news that Lindbergh was going to fly the Atlantic.

B)

Everybody believed that it was foolish for anybody to try to fly the Atlantic at all.

C)

Everybody knew that Lindbergh was very adventurous.

D)

People didn

’

t believe that Lindbergh really meant to fly the Atlantic alone.

35. The

“

spirit of St. Louis

”

here refers to _______.