历年英语四级考试的阅读理解部分8

　　Direction: There are 4 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B) C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.

　　Passage One

　　Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage:

　　Statuses are marvelous human inventions that enable us to get along with one another and to determine where we fit in society. As we go about our everyday lives, we mentally attempt to place people in terms of their statuses. For example, we must judge whether the person in the library is a reader or a librarian, whether the telephone caller is a friend or a salesman, whether the unfamiliar person on our property is thief or a meter reader, and so on.

　　The statuses we assume often vary with the people we encounter, and change throughout life. Most of us can, at very high speed, assume the statuses that various situations require. Much of social interaction consists of identifying and selecting among appropriate statuses and allowing other people to assume their statuses in relation to us. This means that we fit our actions to those of other people based on a constant mental process of appraisal and interpretation. Although some of us find the task more difficult than others, most of us perform it rather effortlessly.

　　A status has been compared to ready-made clothes. Within certain limits, the buyer can choose style and fabric. But an American is not free to choose the costumeof a Chinese peasant or that of a Hindu prince. We must choose from among the clothing presented by our society. Furthermore, our choice is limited to a size that will fit, as well as by our pocketbook. Having made a choice within these limits we can have certain alterations made, but apart from minor adjustments, we tend to be limited to what the stores have on their racks. Statuses too come ready made, and the range of choice among them is limited.

　　51. In the first paragraph, the writer tells us that statuses can help us ________.

　　A) determine whether a person is fit for a certain job

　　B) behave appropriately in relation to other people

　　C) protect ourselves in unfamiliar situations

　　D) make friends with other people

　　52. According to the writer, people often assume different statuses ________.

　　A) in order to identify themselves with others

　　B) in order to better identify others

　　C) as their mental processes change

　　D) as the situation changes

　　53. The word appraisal most probably means __________.

　　A) involvement

　　B) appreciation

　　C) assessment

　　D) presentation

　　54. In the last sentence of the second paragraph, the pronoun it refers to ________.

　　A) fitting our actions to those of other people appropriately

　　B) identification of other peoples statuses

　　C) selecting ones own statuses

　　D) constant mental process

　　55. By saying that an American is not free to choose the costume of a Chinese peasant or that of a Hindu prince , the writer means ________.

　　A) different people have different styles of clothes

　　B) ready-made clothes may need alterations

　　C) statuses come ready made just like clothes

　　D) our choice of statuses is limited

　　Passage Two

　　Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage:

　　Many a young person tells me he wants to be a writer. I always encourage such people, but I also explain that theres big difference between being a writer and writing. In most cases these individuals are dreaming of wealth and fame, not the long hours alone at a typewriter. Youve got to want to write, I say to them, not want to be a writer.

　　The reality is that writing is a lonely, private and poor-paying affair. For every writer kissed by fortune there are thousands more whose longing is never rewarded. When I left a 20-year career in the U.S. Coast Guard to become a freelance writer, I had no prospects at all. What I did have was a friend who found me my room in a New York apartment building. It didnt even matter that it was cold and had no bathroom. I immediately bought a used manual type writer and felt like a genuine writer.

　　After a year or so, however, I still hadnt gotten a break and began to doubt myself. It was so hard to sell a story that barely made enough to eat. But I knew I wanted to write. I had dreamed about it for years. I wasnt going to be one of those people who die wondering, What if? I would keep putting my dream to the test-even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure. This is the Shadowland of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there.

　　56. The passage is meant to _________.

　　A) warn young people of the hardships that a successful writer has to experience

　　B) advise young people to give up their idea of becoming a professional writer

　　C) show young people its unrealistic for a writer to pursue wealth and fame

　　D) encourage young people to pursue a writing career

　　57. What can be concluded from the passage?

　　A) Genuine writers often find their work interesting and rewarding.

　　B) A writers success depends on luck rather than on effort.

　　C) Famous writers usually live in poverty and isolation.

　　D) The chances for a writer to become successful are small.

　　58. Why did the author begin to doubt himself after the first year of his writing career?

　　A) He wasnt able to produce a single book.

　　B) He hadnt seen a change for the better.

　　C) He wasnt able to have a rest for a whole years.

　　D) He found his dream would never come true.

　　59. People who die wondering, What if? refers to those __________.

　　A) who think too much of the dark side of life

　　B) who regret giving up their career halfway

　　C) who think a lot without making a decision

　　D) who are full of imagination even upon death

　　60. Shadowland in the last sentence refers to _______.

　　A) the wonderland one often dreams about

　　B) the bright future that one is looking forward to

　　C) the state of uncertainty before ones final goal is reached

　　D) a world that exists only in ones imagination

　　Passage Three

　　Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage:

　　It is everyone agrees, a huge task that the child performs when he learns to speak, and the fact that he does so in so short a period of time challenges explanation.

　　Language learning begins with listening. Individual children vary greatly in the amount of listening they do before they start speaking, and late starters are often long listeners. Most children will obey spoken instructions some time before they can speak, though the word obey is hardly accurate as a description of the eager and delighted cooperation usually shown by the child. Before they can speak, many children will also ask questions by gesture and by making questioning noises.

　　Any attempt to trace the development from the noises babies make to their first spoken words leads to considerable difficulties. It is agreed that they enjoy making noises, and that during the first few months one or two noises sort themselves out as particularly indicative of delight, distress, sociability, and so on. But since these cannot be said to show the babys intention to communicate, they can hardly be regarded as early forms of language. It is agreed, too, that from about three months they play with sounds for enjoyments, and that by six months they are able to add new sounds to their repertoire. This self-imitation leads on to deliberateimitation of sounds made or words spoken to them by other people. The problem then arises as to the point at which one can say that these imitations can be considered as speech.

　　61. By challenges explanation the author means that ________.

　　A) no explanation is necessary for such an obvious phenomenon

　　B) no explanation has been made up to now

　　C) its no easy job to provide an adequate explanation

　　D) its high time that an explanation was provided

　　62. The third paragraph is mainly about ______.

　　A) the development of babies early forms of language

　　B) the difficulties of babies in learning to speak

　　C) babies strong desire to communicate

　　D) babies intention to communicate

　　63. The authors purpose in writing the second paragraph is to show that children ______.

　　A) usually obey without asking questions

　　B) are passive in the process of learning to speak

　　C) are born cooperative

　　D) learn to speak by listening

　　64. From the passage we learn that _______.

　　A) early starters can learn to speak within only six months

　　B) children show a strong desire to communicate by making noises

　　C) imitation plays an important role in learning to speak

　　D) children have various difficulties in learning to speak

　　65. The best for this passage would be ______.

　　A) How Babies Learn to Speak

　　B) Early Forms of Language

　　C) A Huge Task for Children

　　D) Noise Making and Language Learning

　　Passage Four

　　Questions 66 to 70 are based on the following passage:

　　Psychologists take opposing views of how external rewards, from warm praise to cold cash, affect motivation and creativity. Behaviorists, who study the relation between actions and their consequences, argue that rewards can improve performance at work and school. Cognitiveresearchers, who study various aspects of mental life, maintain that rewards often destroy creativity by encouraging dependence on approval and gifts from others.

　　The latter view has gained many supporters, especially among educators. But the careful use of small monetaryrewards sparks creativity in grade-school children, suggesting that properly presented inducementsindeed aid inventiveness, according to a study in the June Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

　　If kids know theyre working for a reward and can focus on a relatively challenging task, they show the most creativity, says Robert Eisenberger of the University of Delaware in Newark. But its easy to kill creativity by giving rewards for poor performance or creating too much anticipation for rewards.

　　A teacher who continually draws attention to rewards or who hands out high grades for ordinary achievement ends up with uninspired students, Eisenberger holds. As an example of the latter point, he notes growing efforts at major universities to tighten grading standards and restore failing grades.

　　In earlier grades, the use of so-called token economies, in which students handle challenging problems and receive performance-based points toward valued rewards, shows promise in raising effort and creativity, the Delaware psychologist claims.

　　66. Psychologists are divided with regard to their attitudes toward ______.

　　A) the choice between spiritual encouragement and monetary rewards

　　B) the amount of monetary rewards for student creativity

　　C) the study of relationship between actions and their consequences

　　D) the effects of external rewards on students performance

　　67. What is the response of many educators to external rewards for their students?

　　A) They have no doubts about them.

　　B) They have doubts about them.

　　C) They approve of them.

　　D) They avoid talking about them.

　　68. Which of the following can best raise students creativity according to Robert Eisenberger?

　　A) Assigning them tasks they have not dealt with before.

　　B) Assigning them tasks which require inventiveness.

　　C) Giving them rewards they really deserve.

　　D) Giving them rewards they anticipate.

　　69. It can be inferred from the passage that major universities are trying to tighten their grading standards because they believe ______.

　　A) rewarding poor performance may kill the creativity of students

　　B) punishment is more effective than rewarding

　　C) failing uninspired students helps improve their overall academic standards

　　D) discouraging the students anticipation for easy rewards is a matter of urgency

　　70. The phrase token economies probably refers to ________.

　　A) ways to develop economy

　　B) systems of rewarding students

　　C) approaches to solving problems

　　D) methods of improving performance