模拟试题16阅读理解

Passage One In addition to redistributing incomes, inflation may affect the total real income and production of the community. An increase in prices is usually associated with high employment. In moderate inflation, industries are operating efficiently and output is near capacity. There is a great deal of private investment and jobs are plentiful. Such has been the historical pattern. Thus many business persons and union leaders, in evaluating a little deflation and a little inflation, consider the latter to be the lesser of two evils. In mild inflation, the losses to fixed-income groups are usually less than gains to the rest of the community. Even workers with relatively fixed wages are often better off because of improved employment opportunities and greater take-home pay, a rise in interest rates on new securities may partly compensate for any losses to creditor, and increases in pension benefits may partly make up losses to retirees. In deflation, on the other hand, the growing unemployment of labor and capital causes the community's total well-being to be less; so in a sense, the gainers get less than the losers lose. As a matter of fact, in a depression, or a time of severe deflation, almost everyone suffers, including the creditor who is left with uncollectible debts. For these reasons as increase in consumption of investment spending is considered good in times of unemployment, even if this tends to increase prices slightly. When the economic system is suffering from severe depression, few people will criticize private or public spending on the ground that this might be inflationary. Actually, most of this increased spending will increase production and create jobs. Once, full employment and full plant capacity have been reached, however, any further increases in spending are likely to be completely wasted in price increase. 21. "Historical pattern" mentioned in the passage means that in mild inflation_. A. there will be more production and employment B. private investment will be moderate and people's income will be influenced C. the bad effects of the two evils will be associated with each other D. industrial revolution made men and women more equal 22. Which of the following happens if there is mild inflation? A. Everyone loses because of the increase of prices. B. Retired people do experience some influence. C. Creditors gain rather than lose with a rise in interest rates. D. Some people gain more while others lose. 23. In times of inflation_. A. people like private or public investment B. there is usually full plant capacity C. creditors suffer more than other people D. everyone suffers and no one gains ADA Passage Two Perhaps all criminals should be required to carry cards which read: Fragile; Handle with Care. It will never do, these days, to go around referring to criminals as violent thugs. You must refer to them politely as "social misfits". The professional killer who wouldn't think twice about using his club or knife to batter some harmless old lady to death in order to rob her of her meager life-savings must never be given a dose of his own medicine. He is in need of "hospital treatment". According to his misguided defenders, society is to blame. A wicked society breeds evil—or so the argument goes. When you listen to this kind of talk, it makes you wonder why we aren't all criminals. We have done away with the absurdly harsh laws of the nineteenth century and this is only right. But surely enough is enough. The most senseless piece of criminal legislation in Britain and a number of other countries has been the suspension of capital punishment. The violent criminal has become a kind of hero-figure in our time. He is glorified on the screen; he is pursued by the press and paid vast sums of money for his "memoirs". Newspapers which specialize in crime reporting enjoy enormous circulations and the publishers of trashy cops and robbers stories or "murder mysteries" have never had it so good. When you read about the achievements of the great train robbers, it makes you wonder whether you are reading about the some glorious resistance movement. The hardened criminal is cuddled and cosseted by the sociologists on the one hand and adored as a hero by the masses on the other. It's no wonder he is a privileged person who expects and receives VIP treatment wherever he goes. Capital punishment used to be a major deterrent. It made the violent robber think twice before pulling the trigger. It gave the cold-blooded poisoner something to ponder about while he was shaking up or serving his arsenic cocktail. It prevented unarmed policemen from being killed while pursuing their duty by killers armed with automatic weapons. Above all, it protected the most vulnerable members of society, young children, from brutal violence. It is horrifying to think that the criminal can literally get away with murder. We all know that "life sentence" does not mean what it says. After ten years or so of good conduct, the most desperate villain is free to return to society where he will live very comfortably, thank you, on the proceeds of his crime, or he will go on committing offences until he is caught again. People are always willing to hold liberal views at the expense of others. It's always fashionable to pose as the defender of under-dog, so long as you, personally, remain unaffected. Did the defenders of crime, one wonders, in their desire for fair-play, consult the victims before they suspended capital punishment? Hardly. You see, they couldn't, because all the victims were dead. 24. What is the main idea of the text? A. Society is to blame for the rising crime. B. All the criminals are to be sympathized. C. Crime defenders have done a lot for criminals. D. Severe punishment should be used to prevent crime. 25. In the author's opinion, all the following are to blame for crime EXCEPT _____. A. society B. the criminals themselves C. the suspension of life sentence D. the defender's role 26. The word "deterrent" (Line 1, Para. 3) most probably means "_". A. threat B. delay C. determination D. hindrance 27. What is the tone of the text? A. Critical. B. Cynical. C. Ironic. D. Humorous. 28. What is the author's attitude toward capital punishment? A. Negative. B. Sympathetic C. Supportive. D. Neutral. DAACC Passage Three The gravitational pull of the Earth and the Moon is important to us as we attempt to conquer more and more of outer-space. Here's why. As a rocket leaves the Earth, the pull of the Earth on it becomes less and less as the rocket roars out into space. If you imagine a line between the Earth and the Moon, there is a point somewhere along that line, nearer to the Moon than to the Earth, at which the gravitation pull of both the Earth and the Moon on an object is just about equal. An object placed on the Moon side of that point would be drawn to the Moon. An object placed on the Earth side of that point would be drawn to the Earth. Therefore, a rocket need be sent only to this "point of no return" in order to get it to the Moon. The Moon's gravity will pull it the rest of the way. The return trip of the rocket to the Earth is, in some ways, less of a problem. The Earth's gravitational field reaches far closer to the Moon than does the Moon's to the Earth. Thus it will be necessary to fire an Earthbound rocket only a few thousand miles away from the Moon to reach a point where the rocket will drift to the Earth under the Earth's gravitational pull. The problem of rocket travel is not so much concerned with getting the rocket into space as it is with guiding the rocket after it leaves the Earth's surface. Remember that the Moon is constantly circling the Earth. A rocket fired at the Moon and continuing in the direction in which it was fired would miss the Moon by a wide margin and perhaps continue to drift out into space until "captured" in another planet's gravitational field. To reach the Moon, a rocket must be fired toward the point where the Moon will be when the rocket has traveled the required distance. This requires precise calculations of the speed and direction of the rocket and of the speed and direction of the Moon. For a rocket to arrive at a point where the Moon's gravity will pull it the rest of the way, it must reach a speed called velocity of escape. This speed is about 25,000 miles per hour. At a speed less than this, a rocket will merely circle the Earth in an orbit and eventually fall back to the Earth. 29. This passage deals mainly with_. A. the gravitational pull of the Earth and the Moon B. the factors involved in firing a rocket into the outer-space C. the gravitational fields of the Earth and the Moon D. the speed and direction of a rocket traveling in the outer-space 30. It can be seen that if a rocket misses its target, it keeps on traveling through space until_. A. it burns up B. it is caught in the gravitational field of another planet C. it is brought back to the Earth by scientists D. it runs out of fuel 31. A rocket might miss its target by a "wide margin". This means the rocket missed the target_. A. because of mechanical failure B. by a great deal C. by a small distance D. because the target moved 32. According to the passage, the most difficult task of firing a rocket is_. A. to get the rocket into the space B. to calculate the rocket's velocity of escape C. to guide the rocket after it leaves the Earth's surface D. to identify the gravitational fields of the Earth and the Moon 33. The word "precise" in precise calculations means_. A. good guesses B. simple problems C. big errors D. exact 34. This passage intends to_. A. tell us why the gravitational pull is important B. research on the problem of rocket travel C. tell us how to conquer more of outer-space D. discuss something between the Earth and the Moon ABBCDA Passage Four A hundred years ago it was assumed and scientifically "proved" by economists that the laws of society make it necessary to have a vast army of poor and jobless people in order to keep the economy going. Today, hardly anybody would dare to voice the principle. It is generally accepted that nobody should be excluded from the wealth of the nation, either by the law of nature or by those of society. The opinions are outdated, which were current a hundred years ago, that the poor owed their conditions to their ignorance, lack of responsibility. In all western industrialized countries, a system of insurance has been introduced which guarantees everyone a minimum of subsistence in case of unemployment, sickness and old age. I would go one step further and argue that, even if these conditions are not present, in other words, one can claim this subsistence minimum without having to have any "reason". I would suggest, however, that it should be limited to a definite period of time, let's say two years, so as to avoid the encouragement of an abnormal attitude which refuses any kind of social obligation. This may sound like a fantastic proposal, but so, I think, our insurance system would have sounded to people a hundred years ago. The main objection to such a scheme would be that if each person were entitled to receive minimum support, people would not work. This assumption rests on the fallacy of the inherent laziness. In human nature, actually, aside from abnormally lazy people, there would be very few who would not want to earn more than the minimum, and who would prefer to do nothing rather than work. However, the suspicions against a system of guaranteed subsistence minimum are not groundless from the standpoint of those who want to use ownership capital for the purpose of forcing others to accept the work conditions they offer. If nobody were forced to accept work in order not to starve, work would be sufficiently interesting and attractive in order to induce one to accept it. Freedom of contract is possible only if both parties are free to accept and reject it; in the present capitalist system this is not the case. But such a system would not only be the beginning of real freedom of contract between employers and employees; its principal advantage would be the improvement of freedom in interpersonal relationships in every sphere of daily life. 35. People used to think that poverty and unemployment were due to_. A. the slow development of the economy B. the poor and jobless people's own faults C. the lack of responsibility on the part of society D. the large number of people who were not well-educated 36. Now it is widely accepted that_. A. the present system of social insurance should be improved B. everybody should be granted a minimum subsistence without any "reason" C. everybody has the right to share the wealth of the country D. people have to change their attitude towards the poor 37. The author argues that the social insurance system should____. A. provide benefits for the old, sick and unemployed B.encourage people to take on more social obligations C. guarantee everybody the right to be employed D. provide everyone the right to a minimum subsistence for a certain period 38. The word "fallacy" means_. A. doubt B. fact C. strong argument D. wrong belief 39. According to the author, a system of guaranteed subsistence minimum_. A. demands too much from society B. makes freedom of contract impossible C. helps people take interest in their work D. helps bring about changes in the relationship among people 40. In the fourth sentence of Paragraph 1, the word "outdated" can be best replaced by______. A. unacceptable B. banned C. old-fashioned D. rejected BCDDDC Section B Directions: I n this section, you are required to read five short paragraphs and decide which o f the five titles marked A, B, C, D and E is the best suited to each o f them. Choose the best answer and mark your answer on the ANSWER SHEET. A.You can schedule an automatic payment. B. Trying to get out of the late fee sometimes. C.You'd better plan to pay ahead. D.Change your payment due date in order to avoid late fee. E. You could also set for yourself a reminder to pay in time. Some Tips to Avoid a Credit Card Late Fee If you're even a minute late with a payment, your credit card company can hit you hard in the wallet—as much as $ 39 each time, according to a July 2008 survey. However, some simple steps can help keep your exposure to these extra costs to a minimum. 41_ A few card issuers, including Chase and HSBC, charge extra fees for online payments that you need to post the same day, so even if you pay electronically, do it three to four days ahead so your credit card company will process the payment by the due date. If you're snail-mailing checks, allow even more time—about 10 days—to allow for mail snafus. And unless you're desperate, forget about phone payments—a number of banks charge a fee for them, no matter when you call. 42_ A few card issuers allow you to choose a due date to coincide with your payday schedule, so a cash shortfall won't make you late. You can even choose a due date that's easier to remember. Your birthday's on Feb. 17? Make your credit card payment due on the 17th of each month. 43_ Some banks offer an autopay program that links your credit card to a checking or saving account; you decide whether to automatically pay the new balance, the current minimum payment or a fixed dollar amount. If you bank online, you can also arrange a do-it-yourself autopay. Just estimate your usual monthly minimum, schedule a monthly payment date and have the amount deducted from your account automatically. Just make sure you have enough in checking to cover it or the overdraft fees will eat up your saving on late fees. 44_ Some credit card companies, including Chase, will alert you of upcoming due dates by e-mail or voice mail. You can also schedule a monthly e-mail reminder through a Web site, such as MemoToMe.com or RememberthMilk.com. 45_ Even conscientious consumers will probably get hit with a late fee at some point. However, if you have a good record of on-time payments, call and politely ask a customer service representative to waive the charge. No dice? Ask to talk to a supervisor, or try again on a different day. You might even threaten to close your accounts with the company—a tactic that worked for Jeff Roth of Molalla, Ore, after his wife's Chase credit card was hit with a $ 39 late fee when the Fourth of July delayed processing of a payment. "My advice to those who feel they have unjustly been assessed late fees is to be assertive about getting the charges removed." Says Roth, who posted about his plight at GetRichSlowly.org. "It won't always work, but most credit card companies will least give you one freebie." Next time, though, you may be on your own. CDAEB