2008年职称英语真题：综合C类真题阅读理解

　　第4部分：阅读理解(第31～45题，每题3分，共45分)

　　下面有3篇短文，每篇短文后有5道题。请根据短文内容，为每题确定1个最佳选项。

　　第一篇

　　Stop Eating Too Much

　　Clean your plate! and Be a member of the clean-plate club! Just about every kid in the US has hear this from a parent or grandparent. Often, its accompanied by an appeal: Just think about those starving orphans(孤儿)in Africa! Sure, we should be grateful for every bite of food. Unfortunately, many people in the US take too many bites. Instead of staying clean the plate perhaps we should save some food for tomorrow.

　　According to news reports, US restaurants are partly to blame for the growing bellies (肚子). A waiter puts a plate of food in front of each customer, with two to four times the amount recommended by the government, according to a USA Today story. Americans traditionally associate quantity with value and most restaurants try to give them that. They prefer to have customers complain about too much food rather than too little.

　　Barbara Rolls, a nutrition(营养)professor at Pennsylvania State University, told USA Today that restaurant portion sizes began to grow in the l970s.the same time that the American waistline(腰围)began to expand.

　　Health experts have tried to get many restaurants to serve smaller portions. Now, apparently, some customers are calling for this too. The restaurant industry trade magazine QSR reported last month that 57 percent of more than 4.000 people surveyed believed restaurants served portions that were too large;23 percent had no opinion;20 percent disagreed. But a closer look at the survey indicates that many Americans who cant afford fine dining still prefer large portions. Seventy percent of those earning at least $150, 000 per year prefer smaller portions; but only 45 percent of those earning less than $25, 000 want smaller.

　　Its not that working class Americans dont want to eat healthy. Its just that, after long hours at low-paying jobs, getting less on their plate hardly seems like a good deal. They live from paycheck(薪金支票)to paycheck, happy to save a little money for next years Christmas presents.

　　31　Parents in the United States tend to ask their children？

　　A　to save food for tomorrow.

　　B　to wash the dishes.

　　C　not to waste food.

　　D　not to eat too much.

　　32　Why do American restaurants serve large portions?

　　A　Because Americans associate quantity with value.

　　B　Because Americans have big bellies.

　　C　Because Americans are good eaters.

　　D　Because Americans are too weak.

　　33　What happened in the l970s?

　　A　The US government called on its people to reduce their weight.

　　B　Health experts persuaded restaurants to serve smaller portions.

　　C　The United States produced more grain than needed.

　　D　The American waistline started to expand.

　　34　What does the survey indicate?

　　A Many low-income Americans want large portions.

　　B Twenty percent of Americans want smaller portions.

　　C Fifty-seven percent of Americans want large portions.

　　D Forty-five percent of Americans want smaller portions.

　　35　Which of the following is NOT true of working class Americans?

　　A　They work long hours.

　　B　They live from paycheck to paycheck.

　　C　They dont want to be healthy eaters.

　　D　They want to save money for presents.

　　第二篇

　　A New Immigration Bill

　　The US Senate is considering a new immigration bill. It will value the economic promise of immigrants over family ties when considering US residency and citizenship. The legislation, which was proposed by President Bush and a group of senators, contains a point system. The proposal aims to increase the number of immigrants with graduate degrees, earnings or job skills.

　　The proposed point system would use a l00-point scale. According to a draft of the law, merit applicants could earn up to 47 points for things like occupation, or year of work for a US firm. They could earn up to 28 points for their education, 15 points for English and US civics(公民学), and l0 points for family ties. The system has stirred up debate. Critics on the left say it opposes family unity and American values. Critics on the right complain that it does not reflect the needs of high-tech employers.

　　The current kinship(血缘关系)-based system puts pressure on the US, as it attracts low-skill workers who consume more public services than they pay back in taxes. It allows a variety of uneducated people in from Mexico and Central America.

　　The immigration bill would allow eight years to clear the current backlog(积压)of application for a permanent resident card, or green card. After that, only the children and spouses(配偶)of legal immigrants would be able to apply for family visas. Adult children, siblings(兄弟姐妹), parents, and other relatives would have to apply in the general queue (排队). Under the proposal, immigrants from Asian, countries would likely fare well(很有利). For instance, over half of recent immigrants from China and India have a bachelors(学士的)or higher degree. Immigrants from Latin American countries would likely face more difficulties.

　　Immigration point systems have been in use in Canada, Australia and New Zealand for years. The UK adopted a similar approach in 2001. One thing that Canada and other nations have discovered is that their system needs to fit the needs of their economy. Too often they find that they attract highly-educated people who end up finding work that doesnt use their skills. Some end up driving a taxi.

　　36　One of the reasons for proposing the point system is

　　A　to give priority to immigrants from China.

　　B　to protect the US from terrorist attacks.

　　C　to attract skilled immigrants.

　　D　to increase population.

　　37　What do critics on the right say about the proposed point system?

　　A　It opposes family unity.

　　B　It is very difficult to apply.

　　C　It opposes American values.

　　D　It does not meet the needs of hightech employers.

　　38　Which statement is NOT true of the current system?

　　A　It is kinship-based.

　　B　It puts pressure on the US.

　　C　It draws　low-skilled workers.

　　D　It attracts highly-educated people.

　　39　Who can apply for family visas in future?

　　A　The uncles and aunts of legal immigrants.

　　B　The brothers and sisters of legal immigrants.

　　C　The spouses and young children of legal immigrants.

　　D　The parents and grandparents of legal immigrants.

　　40　Which country adopted the point system in 2001 ?

　　A　The UK.

　　B　The US.

　　C　Canada.

　　D　Australia

　　第三篇

　　Political Spins

　　Last week, US White House spokesman Tony Snow sent journalists digging for their dictionaries. He called recent criticism by the former President Bill Clinton chutzpah(大胆放肆). With just one sentence, Snow managed to make headlines, a joke and a defense of President George W. Bush. Interestingly, this is how battles are fought and won in US politics - with carefully-worded one-liners(一行字幕资讯)made for TV which often lack substance and clarity(清晰度).

　　The amount of information that candidates attempt to communicate to people is actually getting smaller and smaller, said Mark Smith, a political science professor at Cedarville University. This has been accompanied by a changing media environment, Smith said. In l968, the average TV or radio soundbite(演讲中的句子或短语)was 48 seconds, according to Smith. In l996, the average soundbite had shrunk(缩短)to 8 seconds. Thus, politicians wanting publicity try to make their public communication as quotable as possible.

　　Campaigning politicians also use 30-second TV ads and clever campaign slogans(口号)to boost their messages. Republican presidential candidate John McCain rides to campaign stops in a bus named the Straight-Talk Express. McCain hopes the name will convince voters he plans to tell people the truth - whether its in fashion or not. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, has chosen the campaign slogan Let the conversation begin. She hopes it will help her appear open-minded and friendly.

　　But one-liners, TV ads and campaign slogans all have a single key ingredient: something commonly called political-spin. Brooks Jackson, a former journalist and the current director of the non-partisan(无党派的)website FactCheck.org, calls spin just a polite word for deception(欺骗).

　　I do believe that very often politicians believe their own spin. said Jackson.

　　Strong partisans suffer from a universal human tendency：They ignore the evidence that would force them into the uncomfortable position of having to change their minds and admit that they were wrong.

　　41　Which statement is NOT true of one-1iners?

　　A　They are unclear.

　　B　They contain a lot of information.

　　C　They lack substance.

　　D　They are carefully constructed.

　　42　What changed from l968 to 1996?

　　A　Publicity.

　　B　Information.

　　C　Communication.

　　D　The average soundbite.

　　43　The campaign slogan Straight-Talk Express aims at convincing voters that the presidential candidate is

　　A　honest.

　　B　friendly.

　　C　open-minded.

　　D　warm-hearted.

　　44　According to Brooks Jackson, all campaign slogans are

　　A　attractive.

　　B　impressive.

　　C　deceptive.

　　D　informative.

　　45　Which statement best describes strong partisans?

　　A　They are very funny.

　　B　They are very healthy.

　　C　They are very aggressive.

　　D　They are very stubborn(顽固的)