英语四六级阅读理解训练题1-10

一 Informing the WorldEvery day, the news of the world is relayed to people by over 300 million copies of daily papers, over 400 million radio sets, and over 150 million television sets. Additional news is shown by motion pictures, in theatres and cinemas all over the world. As more people learn what the important events of the day are, fewer are still concerned exclusively with the events of their own household. As the English writer John Donne put it nearly four hundred years ago, "no man is an island. " This idea is more appropriate today than it was when Donne lived. In short, wherever he lives, a man belongs to some society; and we are becoming more and more aware that whatever happens in one particular society affects, somehow, the life and destiny of all humanity.Newspapers have been published in the modern world for about four hundred years. Most of the newspapers printed today are read in Europe and North America. However, soon they may be read in all parts of the world, thanks to the new inventions that are changing the techniques of newspaper publishing.Electronics and automation have made it possible to produce pictures and text far more quickly than before. Photographic reproduction eliminates the need for type and printing presses. And fewer specialists, such as type-setters, are needed to produce a paper or magazine by the photo-offset (照相平板胶印) method. Therefore, the publishing of newspapers and magazines becomes more economical. Furthermore, photo-copies can be sent over great distances now by means of television channels and satellites such as Telstar. Thus, pictures can be brought to the public more quickly than previously.Machines that prepare printed texts for photo-copies are being used a great deal today. Thousands of letters and figures of different sizes and thicknesses can now be arranged on a black glass disc that is only eight inches in diameter, to be printed in negative form(white on a black background). The disc on the machine turns constantly at the rate of ten revolutions a second. A beam of light from a slroboscopic (频闪的) lamp shines on the desired letters and figures for about I wo-millionths of a second. Then the image of the letters and figures that were illuminated is projected onto a film through lenses. The section of film is large enough to hold the equivalent of a page of text. There is a keyboard in front of the machine that is similar to the keyboard of a typewriter, and the machine operator has only to strike the proper keys for the image of the corresponding letters to be immediately transferred to the film. The negative image on the film can quickly be transferred onto paper. This method makes it as easy to reproduce photographs and illustrations as it is to reproduce the text itself.Film, being light and small, can be sent rapidly to other places and used to print copies of the text where they are needed. Film images can also be projected easily on a movie or television screen. Television broadcasts are limited to an area that is within sight of the sending station or its relay ( 中继 ). Although television relays are often placed on hills and mountains so that they can cover a wider region, they still can not cover more land than one could see from the same hilltop on a clear day. However, the rays also go out into the atmosphere, and if there is a relay station on a satellite that revolves around the earth, it can transmit the pictures to any point on the earth from which the satellite is visible. Three satellites permanently revolving over the equator transmit any television program to any part of the earth. This makes it possible for world editions of newspapers to give the news in all countries at the same time. Some day it may be possible for a subscriber to a televised newspaper to press a button and see a newspaper page on his television screen. He could also decide when he wants the page to turn, and, by dialling different numbers such as those on a telephone dial, he could choose the language or the edition of the paper he wants to read. It seems strange to think that, even today, methods of the past are not entirely useless. For example, sometimes press agencies that use radio and Telstar use carrier pigeons to send messages between offices in large cities because the pigeons are not bothered by traffic problems.It may be some time before television sets become common in the average homes in Africa and Asia. However, radio is already rapidly becoming accessible to thousands of people in these areas. And, now that good radios are being made with transistors, and their price is gradually dropping because of mass production, it may not be" too long before radios become commonplace in areas which have no newspapers. Transistors make it possible for people to carry small radios wherever they go, without need of electric current. Even television sets are now operating on transistors, and the pocket TV may soon be as widespreadas the pocket radio.Now that scientific progress is making it possible to send the news to all theinhabitants of the earth, it will be important to consider what news is going to be sent to them. No matter what criteria are used in making the decision, a decision must be made, since no one would' have time to read or listen to an account of everything there is going on in the world!People who have time to read several papers can already compare different reports of the same event. When an event has political significance, each paper reports it from the point of view of its own political beliefs or preferences. Ideally, of course, the expression of editorial opinion should be limited to the editorial page, and the news articles should be objectivetelling the facts as completely as possible, without trying to give them a particular interpretation, or without otherwise trying to influence the reader's opinion. However, reporters and editors are only human, and if they have strong political beliefs it is almost impossible for them to hide them. If editors believe their point of view is best for the readers of their paper, what's to stop them from using the paper to try to influence public opinion? And if, some day, a world newspaper becomes a reality, will it be the most powerful press agencies that will choose the news to be sent out to all countries?1. The expression "no man is an island" means that no man lives surrounded by water.2. According to the author, it may not be long before people all over the world have access to newspapers.3. The transferring of newspaper texts to film is time-consuming and costly.4. Transistors are particularly useful because they are used in small radio and TV sets.5. Television relays are often placed on a hilltop so that they can reach a satellite.6. People are capable of knowing all the events going on in every part of the world.7. If a world newspaper becomes a reality, it will take more responsibility for informing all the readers of the latest news in the world.8. Newspapers have been published for about_.9. Any television program could be transmitted to any part of the world by_.10. It is ideal that the news articles_.二Social customs and ways of behaving change. Things which were considered impolite many years ago are now 11 . Just a few years ago, it was 12 impolite behavior for a man to smoke on the street. No man who thought of himself as being a gentleman would make a 13 of himself by smoking when a lady was in a room.Customs also differ from country to country. Does a man walk on the left or the right of a woman in your country? Or doesn't it 14 ? What about table manners? Should you use both hands when you are eating? Should you leave one in your lap, or on the table?The Americans and the British not only speak the same language but also 15 a large number of social customs. For example, in both America and England people shake hands when they meet each other for the first time. Also, most Englishmen will open a door for a woman or offer their seat to a woman, and so will most Americans. 16 is important both in England and in America. That is, if a dinner invitation is for 7 o'clock, the dinner guest either arrives 17 to that time or calls up to explain his 18The important thing to remember about social customs is not to do anything that might make other people feel uncomfortable 19 if they are your guests. There is an old story about a man who gave a formal dinner party. When the food was served, one of the guests started to eat his peas with a knife. The other guests were amused or shocked, but the 20 calmly picked up his knifeand began eating in the same way.A. especially B. attainable C. close D. delayE. considered F. host G. delivery H. PreparationI. share J. fool K. specifically L. acceptableM. matter N. Promptness 0. care三To understand why someone becomes an optimist or a pessimist, it helps to understand what distinguishes them. Say you crash your car. Do you expect good things to happen after the accidentan easy recuperation (挽回损失) , a fat check from your insurer? Or do you worry that your neck will hurt forever?"Optimistic people tend to feel that bad things won't last long and won't affect other parts of life, ".Seligman says. Pessimists tend to believe one negative incident will last and undermine everything else in their lives.Also important, researchers say, is the story you construct about why things happenyour explanatory style. Optimists believe that bad events have temporary causes"The boss is in a bad mood. " Pessimists believe the cause is permanent"The boss is a jerk. "This sense of control distinguishes one type from the other. Positive thinkers feel powerful. Negative thinkers, Seligman says, feel helpless because they have learned to believe they're doomed, no matter what. A young wife who's told she's incapable of handling household finances might later become a divorce woman who can't balance a checkbook.Such learned helplessness causes much harm on health. Studies show that optimists are better at coping with the distress associated with everything from sore throat to heart surgery. Furthermore, scientists at U. C. L. A. discovered that optimists have more disease-fighting T cells.Pessimists also don't believe in preventive care. Visit a doctor and you might find out you're sick! My father was rushed to the emergency room for medical conditions that would have been easily treatable if he'd seen a doctor sooner.21. The word "undermine"(Para. 2) most probably meansA. go below    B. weaken     C. affect   D. destroy 22. "The boss is a jerk. " These words are used here to show_.A. how some bosses act displeasinglyB. how optimists explain some bad eventsC. how pessimists think about the unhappy things around themD. how the writer suggests people should do when facing something unpleasant23. The example given about a young wife shows that_.A. the dividing line between optimists and pessimistsB. young women today suffer a lot in doing houseworkC. most of young wives are pessimistsD. the pessimists are used to thinking of everything negatively24. Which of the following statements is TRUE of "my father"?A. My father was an optimist.B. My father didn't like to take any preventive measures.C. My father often visited doctors.D. My father was wise enough to mind his own health.25. It can be inferred from the passage that Seliman should be_.A. an optimist B. a pessimistC. a psychologist D. the writer of this passage四Nearly everyone agrees that money doesn't buy as much as it used to, no matter where you want to spend it. This is certainly true of the paper money that passes so quickly through one's hands. Inflation(通货膨胀) eats away at its buying power just as the steady appetite of waves chews at sand cliffs. But what about coins that seem to do very little except wear out your purses and pockets? Unlike notes, metal money becomes more valuable the longer it is held, especially if it is put away where it won't get scratched or worn. Why is this? One reason is that coins, being more durable, fall more readily into a category for collectors. Naturally, the rarer gold pieces must become more valuable as the price of this metal goes up.But, curiously, one of the rarest coins in the world is not made of gold, but of the relatively cheaper silver. In 1804, the United States mint(造币厂) struck 19,570 silver dollars. That is what its records show. Today only six of this original number remain and these are unlikely ever to reach the auction market. So what happened to some 19,564 large silver coins, not the easiest sort of things to lose? One of the more romantic theories is that they were part of the payment to Napoleon for the American territory then known as Louisiana. But they never reached France. Somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, the ship transporting them was sunk, either by a storm or by pirates (#&). The probable answer to the mystery is that they were melted downsince the silver value was greater than the actual value of the coin. What really happened to the rest will probably always remain a mystery. What is known is that whoever can come up with one will find himself instantly rich.26. It can be inferred from passage that_.A. money buys as much as it did beforeB. money does not buy as much as it did beforeC. paper money buys more than metal moneyD. metal money buys more than paper money27. Which of the following is TRUE of a coin?A. The longer it is held, the less valuable it becomes.B. The more it wears out, the more valuable it becomes.C. The less it gets scratched, the less it values.D. The longer it lasts, the more it values.28. According to this passage, one of the rarest coins in the world is made of A. silver   B. gold    C. copper D. paper29. Coins become more valuable because_.A. they wear out your purses and pocketsB. the price of metal goes upC. they fall more readily into a category for collectors due to their durationD. both B and C30. What really happened to some 19,564 large silver coins?A. They were melted down. B. They were sunk in the Gulf of Mexico.C. It is still a mystery. D. They were stolen by pirates五Etiquette (礼仪)The origins of etiquettethe conventional rules of behavior and ceremonies observed in polite societyare complex. One of them is respect for authority. From the most primitive times, subjects(臣民) showed respect for their ruler by bowing, prostrating themselves on the ground, not speaking until spoken to, and never turning their backs to the throne. Some rulers developed rules to stress even further the respect due to them. The emperors of Byzantium expected their subjects to kiss their feet. When an ambassador from abroad was introduced, he had to touch the ground before the throne with his forehead. Meanwhile the throne itself was raised in the air so that, on looking up, the ambassador saw the ruler far above him, haughty and remote.Absolute rulers have, as a rule, made etiquette more complicated rather than simpler. The purpose is not only to make the ruler seem almost godlike, but also to protect him from familiarity, for without some such protection his life, lived inevitably in the public eye, would be intolerable. The court of Louis XIV of France provided an excellent example of a very highly developed system of etiquette. Because the king and his family were considered to belong to France, they were almost continually on show among their courtiers (朝臣). They woke, prayed, washed and dressed before crowds of courtiers. Even large crowds watched them eat their meals, and access to their palace was free to all their subjects.Yet this public life was organized so carefully, with such a refinement of ceremonial, that the authority of the King and the respect in which he was held grew steadily throughout his lifetime. A crowd watched him dress, but only the Duke who was his first valet de chamber (贴身男仆) was allowed to hold out the right sleeve of his shirt, only the Prince who was his Grand Chamberlain could relieve him of his dressing gown, and only the Master of the Wardrobe might help him pull up his trousers. These were not familiarities, nor merely duties, but highly desired privileges. Napoleon recognized the value of ceremony to a ruler. When he became Emperor, he discarded the revolutionary custom of calling everyone "citizen", restored much of the Court ceremonial that the Revolution had destroyed, and recalled members of the nobility to instruct his new court in the old formal manners.Rules of etiquette may prevent embarrassment and even serious disputes. The general rule of social precedence is that people of greater importance precede those of lesser importance. Before the rules of diplomatic precedence were worked out in the early sixteenth century, rival ambassadors often fought for the most honourable seating position at a ceremony. Before the principle was established that ambassadors of various countries should sign treaties in order of seniority, disputes arose as to who should sign first. The establishment of rules for such matters prevented uncertainty and disagreement, as to rules for less important occasions. For example, at an English wedding, the mother of the bridegroom should sit in the first pew or bench on the right-hand side of the church. The result is dignity and order.Outside palace circles, the main concern of etiquette has been to make harmonious the behaviour of equals, but sometimes social classes have used etiquette as a weapon against intruders, refining their manners in order to mark themselves off from the lower classes.In sixteenth-century Italy and eighteenth-century France, decreasing prosperity and increasing social unrest led the ruling families to try to preserve their superiority by withdrawing from the lower and middle classes behind barriers of etiquette. In a prosperous community, on the other hand, polite society soon absorbs the newly