全国月高等教育自学考试英语阅读二试题历年试卷

全国

2003

年

10

月高等教育自学考试

英语阅读（二）试题

课程代码：

00596

Ⅰ

.

Directions:

Match

the

words

in

Column

A

with

their

definitions

in

Column

B.

Write

the

letter

of

the

answer

to

each

word

in

Column

A on your ANSWER SHEET. (10 points, 1 point for each)

A B

1. accrue

2. intensive

3. erase

A. using force, threats of punishment

B. lasting for only a period of time

C. continuous, without break

D. to rub or scrape out

E. to pass, flow or spread into every part

4. constant

5. coercion

of

6. vulnerable

7. permeate

F. that is liable to be damaged

G. to speak or argue in support of

H. to become larger or more by addition

I. the quality of keeping secret

J.

growing

too

much

in

a

limited

piece

8. contemporary

9. plead

10. confidentiality

of land

Ⅱ

.

Directions:

Read

each

of

the

following

sentences

carefully,

and

choose

A,

B,

C

or

D

that

has

the

closest

meaning

to

the

underlined

word or phrase. Write the corresponding letter of the answer on

your ANSWER SHEET. (10 points, 1 point for each)

11. What breathtaking impertinence to advertise 1p OFF your soap

or washing powder or dog food or whatever.

A. transmission

C. distraction

B. rudeness

D. politeness

12. A few years ago, our group at Saclay, in collaboration with a

number of other European Laboratories, orbited a telescope.

A. along with

B. in the light of

D. regardless of

C. in agreement with

13. If they fall behind too far on these obligations, they run the

risk of having their houses, cars or other items taken over or

repossessed by the lenders.

A. homogeneity

B. appropriateness

D. probabilities

C. responsibilities

14. As a source of power, water is virtually inexhaustible.

A. inaccessible

C. abundant

B. insufficient

D. extinguishable

15. Astrid and I kept talking and the man continued to swing and

lurch over us, thanking us profusely.

A. increasingly

B. confidentially

C. attributably

D. repeatedly

16. If the greenhouse effect produces lasting climatic change,

national color preferences could radically reorientate.

A. change

C. renew

B. come to an end

D. start again

17. If you are animated, you are more likely to see animated

listeners.

A. dull and stupid

C. annoyed

B. active and lively

D. respected

18. These countries fear that their industries will not be able to

survive such drastic cuts and that their national economies will

suffer as a result.

A. sudden and severe

C. clear and simple

B. slow and continuous

D. far and wide

19. More people report they “feel”

on the verge of a nervous

breakdown.

A. on top of

B. instead of

D. on behalf of

C. on the point of

20. She was taken aback at the news that her brother had a car

accident.

A. overjoyed

B. happy

C. sad

D. greatly surprised

Ⅲ

.

Directions:

Scan

Passage

1

and

find

the

words

which

have

roughly

the meanings given below. Write the word you choose in the

corresponding

space

on

your

ANSWER

SHEET.

(10

points,

1

point

for

each)

Note: The numbers in the brackets refer to the numbers of

paragraphs in the passage.

21. exact; accurate (1)

22. statement explaining the meaning of a word or expression (1)

23. general (1)

24. to provide more details about something in order to make it

clearer (1)

25. to have or use something together with someone else (2)

26. being everywhere at the same time (2)

27. information, usually in the from of facts or statistics that

one can analyze (2)

28.

to

join

or

bring

something

or

people

together

so

that

they

become

one (3)

29. to plan, prepare, decide on all the details of something (3)

30. to change something into a different form (3)

Passage 1

1.

Communication

networks

are

arrangements

of

hardware

and

software

that

allow

users

to

exchange

information.

This

very

broad

definition

will

help

you

begin

learning

about

one

of

the

fastest-growing

areas

in

electrical

engineering

and

computer

science. Once we examine some common communication networks, we

will develop a more precise definition. We will elaborate on the

importance of this field.

2. The telephone network is the most familiar and ubiquitous

communication network. It is designed for voice transmission. An

office

computer

network

is

a

communication

network

used

by

organizations to connect personal computers and workstations so

they may share programs and data and to link those computers to

printers

and,

possibly,

to

some

other

peripherals(e.g.,

file

servers

that

provide

mass

storage

or

plotters).

Computer

networks

also are used in manufacturing plants to connect machine tools,

robots,

and

sensors.

The

Internet

is

a

network

of

computer

networks

that covers most of the world and allows millions of users to

exchange messages and computer files and some limited video and

audio signals.

gh all these systems are communication networks, they

are quite different in the information that they transmit and in

the

way

they

are

used.

Nevertheless,

they

operate

on

similar

principles. The unifying characteristics of all networks help us

develop

a

definition

of

communication

networks

that

describes

the

arrangements

of

hardware

and

software

that

we

study

in

this

text.

Each system described is designed to exchange information, which

may be voice, sounds, graphics, pictures, video, text, or data,

among users. Most often the users are humans, but they also can

be

computer

programs

or

devices.

Before

the

information

is

transmitted, it is converted into bits(zeros or ones). Then the

bits are

sent to

a receiver as electrical or optical

signals

(electromagnetic

waves,

to

be

more

precise).

Finally,

the

information

is

reconstructed

from

the

received

bits.

This

transmission method, called digital

transmission, reduced the

transmission errors.

SECTION 2 READING COMPREHENSION(40 points)

IV.

Directions:

Skim

Passage

2

and

read

the

statements

given

right

after

the

passage

and

judge

whether

they

are

True

or

False.

Write

the corresponding answer you choose on your ANSWER SHEET.(10

points, 1 point for each)

Passage 2

ody

feels

pain

sometimes:

the

pain

in

the

head

that

comes

after

eating

ice

cream

or

drinking

cold

water;

the

sudden

muscular

pain;

the

“

stitch

”

that

attacks

long-distance

runners

or

others

whose activities have put great demands on the oxygen supply of

the body. These transient pains are not cause for alarm; they

usually

disappear

quickly,

return

rarely

and

signify

very

little.

contrast

are

the

unusual,

chronic,

or

exceptionally

severe

pains that require attention from a doctor, who can determine

whether

or

not

they

require

special

care.

Angina

pectoris(pain

of

the chest) is a heart pain that lasts from two or three minutes

to

ten

or

fifteen.

Identification

is

extremely

important,

because

special

drugs

are

needed

for

relief

and

the

doctor’s

understanding

and advice may prevent recurrence of the condition.

a doctor can recognize what are called referred pains.

These

originate

at

one

point,

but

are

felt

at

another

to

which

they

have been carried by the nerves. A person with continuous pain

becomes

irritated,

tired

easily,

has

difficulty

in

sleeping,

loses

appetite, and may even become the victim of what has been called

an

anxiety

state

or

nervous

breakdown.

Few

diseases

develop

without

pain at some state, and many involve so characteristic a pain as

to

make

diagnosis

certain.

Whenever

a

pain

is

so

severe,

so

prolonged, and so unusual as to arouse alarm, a doctor should be

consulted.

ent pains should usually be investigated.

chronic pains require special care.

pectoris would probably be classified as unusual.

c

and

referred

pains

are

alike

in

that

both

last

for

a

long

time.

can be useful as a signal of the presence of disease.

ent pains are different from referred pains.

can serve as an aid in the diagnosis of disease.

38.A person with continuous pains is usually good-tempered.

c pains are felt some distance from their source.

chronic pains can be identified and treated.

V.

Directions:

Read

Passages

3

and

4

and

choose

the

correct

answer.

Write

the

corresponding

letter

of

the

answer

on

your

ANSWER

SHEET.(20 points, 1 point for each)

Passage 3

year a great number of babies and young children die or

are injured in fires. One out of every five fires is caused by

careless

smoking

or

by

children

playing

with

matches

and

lighters.

Don’t

tempt

children

by

leaving

matches

or

lighters

around

a

room.

leave a child alone in a house. In just a few seconds

they could start a fire. Or a fire could start and trap them. A

child will panic in a fire and will not know what to do. Unless

a parent is around to help, a child may try to hide under a bed

or in a closet. Home fire drills are a

sound

idea. The best way

to stop panic in case of fire is to know what to do before a fire

breaks out.

first thought in a fire should always be escape. Far too

many people become victims because they do not know the killing

power

and

speed

of

fire.

If

a

fire

is

very

small

and

has

just

started,

you can put it out yourself. Do this if you have the proper tools

on

hand.

In

any

case

always

send

the

children

outside

first.

Smoke,

not fire, is the real killer in a blaze. According to studies, as

many

as

eight

out

of

ten

deaths

in

fires

are

due

to

inhaling

fumes

long before the flames ever came near the person.

are another hazard to tots. Fireplaces, space heaters,

floor furnaces, and radiators have all caused horrible burns to

babies. Since you cannot watch your child all the time, you must

screen fireplaces. Put guards around heaters and radiators.

people use a vaporizer or portable heater in a child’s

room. If you do, be sure you place it out of reach. Be sure, too,

that it is not placed too close to blankets or bedclothes.

care

in

the

kitchen.

It

is

not

safe

to

let

an

infant

crawl

or a small child walk around the kitchen while you are preparing

meals.

There

is

danger

of

your

tripping

and

spilling

something

hot

on the

child.

There

is

even

danger

of

a

child

pulling in

a hot

pot

off

the

stove

on

to

herself.

Also,

do

not

use

tablecloths

that

hang

over

the

table

edge.

Children

can

easily

pull

the

cloth

and

whatever

is on the table down. Be aware of these dangers and protect your

child.

41. The best title of the passage can be ________.

A. Better Safe Than Sorry

C. Escape From Fire

B. How to Protect Children

D. Be Careful in the Kitchen

42.

Careless

smoking

or

children

playing

with

matches

and

lighters

causes ______.

A. most deaths of children

B. one out of five fires

C. eight out of ten deaths in fires

D. five out of ten fires

43.

A

child

will

probably

do

the

following

in

a

fire

EXCEPT

______.

A. panicking

B. not knowing what to do

C. trying to hide under a bed or in a closet

D. calling for help

44. In paragraph 2, the word “sound” is closest in meaning to

________.

A. healthy

C. sensible

B. safe

D. thorough

45.

The

best way

to

stop

panic

in

the

case

of

fire

is

to

________.

A. call a neighbor

C. call a policeman

B. be prepared

D. run away

46.

When

caught

in

a

fire,

a

person’s

first

thought

should

always

be ________.

A. panic

C. escape

B. prevention

D. putting out the fire

47. The real killer in a fire is _________.

A. smoke

C. fuel

B. flames

D. blaze

48. Burns can be caused by _______.

A. harmful toys

C. blankets

B. bedclothes

D. space heaters

49. Which statement is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A. Never leave a young child alone at home.

B. Burns can be very dangerous to children.

C. Place heaters out of the reach of children.

D. Do not work in a kitchen when a child is in it.

50. From the passage, we can infer that _______.

A. adults know how to handle fires

B. many children start fires in a house

C. some fire fighters are not well trained

D. adults are always very careful about fire.

Passage 4

1. When Jules Verne wrote

Journey to the Center of the Earth

in 1864,

there were

many

conflicting

theories about

the nature

of

the earth’s interior. Some geologists though that it contained

a

highly

compressed

ball

of

incandescent

gas,

while

others

suspected

that

it

consisted

of

separate

graphite

shells,

each

made

of a different material. Today well over a century later, there

is

still

little

direct

evidence

of

what

lies

beneath

our

feet.

Most

of our knowledge of the earth’s interior comes not from mines or

bore holes, but from the study of seismic waves

—

powerful pulses

of energy released by earthquakes.

2. The way that seismic waves travel shows that the earth’s

interior is far from uniform. The continents and the seabed are

formed

by

the

crust

—

a

thin

sphere

of

relatively

light,

solid

rock.

Beneath the crust lies the mantle, a very different layer that

ex

tends approximately halfway to the earth’s center.

There

the