专四阅读模拟题1打印

Text one What comes to mind when you hear the word--diversity? Issues of race or gender may spring to mind. Equal rights? Or minority issues? I encourage people to look at a much wider definition of the word.1 would tend to say diversity is “differentness” in any form. A good example of this kind of diversity has been experienced by every person who ever left behind the comforts of home and moved into uncharted territory. Issues of diversity are informed not only by your cultural background and context,but also by your religion,age,field of work,family situation, personality,and countless other factors that make us unique. Diversity affects everyone. It’s for this reason that diversity has become such a buzz word.The buzz happens because it’s all about how you handle it. It’s very much like the job a composer has when creating a great musical composition.If the composer understands what each unique note and dynamic mark is capable of in combination with the other parts,the result achieved is extraordinary. If, however,none of the parts is communicating with the others,we’re left with a cacophony(刺耳的声音). On a personal level, it’s this understanding and acceptance of “the other” which rests at the core of diversity. Whether we’re talking about navigating through a multicultural urban environment or uprooting and moving to a new foreign social context,it is necessary to set aside rigid assumptions about “the other” and put oneself in the other’s shoes. So how do we make this leap? It’s often as simple as a sking questions and being careful not to assume that what you see is necessarily what the other side sees. Often in my workshops I give a magic lesson to the audience to illustrate this principle. I first present the magic and accomplish the "impossible". The participants receive the same props but simply can’t manage. We look more carefully at the situation and realize that the assumptions they made about it actually blocked them from achieving this feat; a feat they suddenly are empowered to do which, moments ago, was impossible. The goal in being sensitive to diversity is to cultivate a culture of respect for people’s differences and understand that such an environment is beneficial to everyone involved. Diversity awareness is an evolution. We can’t get there by snapping our fingers, and it isn’t a matter of training people to have textbook politically correct attitudes. Instead it’s a case of looking at the big picture of how we see the world, understanding why we see it that way, and then making sure we do our part to genuinely value difference and benefit from it. 1. According to the author, diversity is A. confusing. B. extraordinary. C. quite common. D. universal. 2. "It" in Paragraph Three refers to A. diversity. B. the buzz. C. how to handle diversity. D. the formation of diversity. 3. The author believes that A. to han dle diversity one should put himself in others’ shoes. B. when you are in a foreign environment, do as the Romans do. C. diversity can hardly be defined. D. diversity derives from cultural difference. 4. The example of a magic lesson is to show A. everyone can do magic. B. magic is nothing but a feat. C. what blocks people from handling diversity. D. it is possible to achieve anything. 5. How to raise diversity awareness according to the author? A. By living in an unfamiliar environment. B. By having politically correct attitudes. C. By being sensitive to everything one experiences. D. By understanding people’s differences. Parents are often upset when their children praise the homes of their friends and regard it as a slur (诋毁) on their own cooking, or cleaning, or furniture, and often are foolish enough to let the adolescents see that they are annoyed. They may even accuse them of disloyalty, or make some spiteful remark about the friends’ parents. Such a loss of dignity and descent into childish behavior on the part of the adults deeply shocks the adolescents, and makes them resolve that in future they will not talk to their parents about the place or people they visit. Before very long the parents will be complaining that the child is so secretive and never tells them anything, but they seldom realize that they have brought this on themselves. Disillusionment with the parents, however good and adequate they may be both as parents and as individuals, is to some degree inevitable. Most children have such a high ideal of their parents, unless the parents themselves have been unsatisfactory, that it can, hardly hope to stand up to a realistic evaluation. Parents would be greatly surprised and deeply touched if they realized how much belief their children usually have in their character and infallibility, and how much this faith means to a child. If parents were prepared for this adolescent reaction, and realized that it was a sign that the child was growing up and developing valuable powers of observation and independent judgment they would not be so hurt, and therefore would not drive the child into opposition by resenting and resisting it. The adolescent, with his passion for sincerity, always respects a parent who admits that he is wrong, or ignorant, or even that he has been unfair or unjust. What the child cannot forgive is the parent’s refusa l to admit these charges if the child knows them to be true. Victorian parents believed that they kept their dignity by retreating behind an unreasoning authoritarian attitude; in fact they did nothing of the kind, but children were then too cowed to let them know how they really felt. Today we tend to go to the other extreme, but on the whole this is a healthier attitude both for the child and the parent. It is always wiser and safer to face up to reality, however painful it may be at the moment. 6. Acco rding to the passage, children would arouse parents’ disappointment for A. admiring their friends’ homes. B. talking back to their parents. C. complaining home-made dishes. D. making some spiteful remark. 7. When adolescents feel disillusion with their parents, it means that they A. feel disappointed with their parents. B. are developing into maturity. C. just want to hurt their parents. D. are expressing their discontentment. 8. Adolescents in Victorian times A. had shown more respect for parents than today. B. always answered back to deal with the problem. C. admired the authoritarian attitude of their parents. D. were too afraid to tell what they really thought. 9. What is the tone of the passage? A. Critical. B. Humorous. C. Serious. D. Ambiguous. 10. What does this passage mainly discuss? A. Children will become more and more mature when growing up. B. Parents have to change their ways in educating their children. C. The conflicts between parents and their children are inevitable. D. Parents have made mistakes in communication with children. Racket, din clamor, noise, whatever you want to call it, unwanted sound is America’s most widespread nuisance. But noise is more than just a nuisance. It constitutes a real and present danger to people’s health. Day and night, at home, at work, and at play, noise can produce serious physical and psychological stress. No one is immune to this stress. Though we seem to adjust to noise by ignoring it, the ear, in fact, never closes and the body still responds—sometimes with extreme tension, as to a strange sound in the night. The annoyance we feel when faced with noise is the most common outward symptom of the stress building up inside us. Indeed, because irritability is so apparent, legislators have made public annoyance the basis of many noise abatement programs. The more subtle and more serious health hazards associated with stress caused by noise traditionally have been given much less attention. Nevertheless, when we are annoyed or made irritable by noise, we should consider these symptoms fair warning that other thing may be happening to us, some of which may be damaging to our health. Of many health hazards to noise, hearing loss is the most clearly observable and measurable by health professionals. The other hazards are harder to pin down. For many of us, there may be a risk that exposure to the stress of noise increases susceptibility to disease and infection. The more susceptible among us may experience noise as a complicating factor in heart problems and other diseases. Noise that causes annoyance and irritability in health persons may have serious consequences for these already ill in mind or body. Noise affects us throughout our lives. For example, there are indications of effects on the unborn child when mothers are exposed to industrial and environmental noise. During infancy and childhood, youngsters exposed to high noise levels may have trouble falling asleep and obtaining necessary amounts of rest. Why, then, is there not greater alarm about these dangers? Perhaps it is because the link between noise and many disabilities or diseases has not yet been conclusively demonstrated. Perhaps it is because we tend to dismiss annoyance as a price to pay for living in the modern world. It may also be because we still think of hearing loss as only an occupational hazard. 11. In Paragraph 1, the phrase “immune to” are used to mean ___. A. unaffected by B. hurt by C. unlikely to be seen by D. unknown by 12. The author’s attitude toward noise would best be described as ___. A. unrealistic B. traditional C. concerned D. hysterical 13. Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage? A. Noise is a major problem; most people recognize its importance. B. Although noise can be annoying, it is not a major problem. C. Noise is a major problem and has not yet been recognized as such. D. Noise is a major problem about which nothing can be done. 14. The author condemns noise essentially because it ___. A. is against the law B. can make some people irritable C. is a nuisance D. in a gan ger to people’s health 15. The author would probably consider research about the effects noise has on people to be ___. A. unimportant B. impossible. C. a waste of money D. essential Most of us are taught to pay attention to what is said—the words. Words do provide us with some information, but meanings are derived from so many other sources that it would hinder our effectiveness as a partner to a relationship to rely too heavily on words alone. Words are used to describe only a small part of the many ideas we associate with any given message. Sometimes we can gain insight into some of those associations if we listen for more than words. We don’t always say what we mean or mean what we say. Sometimes our words don’t mean anything except “ I’m letting off some steam. I don’t really want you to pay close attention to what I’m saying. Just pay attention to what I’m feeling.” Mostly we mean several things at once. A person wanting to purchase a house says to the current owner, “This step has to be fixed before I’ll buy.” The owner says, “ It’s been like that for years.” Actually, the step hasn’t been like that for years, but the unspoken message is: “ I don’t want to fix it. We put up with it. Why can’t you?” The search for a more expansive view of me aning can be developed of examining a message in terms of who said it, when it occurred, the related conditions or situation, and how it was said. When a message occurs can also reveal associated meaning. Let us assume two couples do exactly the same amount of kissing and arguing. But one couple always kisses after an argument and the other couple always argues after a kiss. The ordering of the behaviors may mean a great deal more than the frequency of the behavior. A friend’s unusually docile behavior ma y only be understood by noting that it was preceded by situations that required an abnormal amount of assertiveness. Some responses may be directly linked to a developing pattern of responses and defy logic. For example, a person who says “No!” to a serials of charges like “You’re dumb,” “You’re lazy,” and “You’re dishonest,” may also say “No!” and try to justify his or her response if the next statement is “And you’re good looking.” We would do well to listen for how messages are presented. The words, “I f sure has been nice to have you over,” can be said with emphasis and excitement or ritualistically. The phrase can be said once or repeated several times. And the meanings we associate with the phrase will change accordingly. Sometimes if we say something infrequently it assumes more importance; sometimes the more we say something the less importance it assumes. 16. Effective communication is rendered possible between two conversing partners, if ___. A. they use proper words to carry their ideas. B. they both speak truly of their own feelings. C. they try to understand each other’s ideas beyond words. D. they are capable of associating meaning with their words. 17. “I’m letting off some steam” in paragraph 1 means___. A. I’m just calling your attention. B. I’m just kidding. C. I’m just saying the opposite. D .I’m just giving off some sound. 18. The house-owner’s example shows that he actually means___. A. the step has been like that for years. B. he doesn’t think it necessary to fix the step. C. the condition of the step is only a minor fault. D. the cost involved in the fixing should be shared. 19. Some responses and behaviors may appear very illogical, but are justifiable if___. A. linked to an abnormal amount of assertiveness. B. seen as one’s habitual pattern of behavior. C. taken as part of an ordering sequence. D. expressed to a series of charges. 20. The word “ritualistically” in the last paragraph equals something done___. A. without true intention. B. light-heartedly. C. in a way of ceremony.