大学英语B阅读理解十四篇09真题

1、1 大学英语 b 阅读理解十四篇（09 真题）passage 1 a foreigners first impression of the u.s. is likely to be that everyone is in a rush-often under pressure. city people always appear to be hurrying to get where they are going restlessly, seeking attention in a store, and elbowing others as they try to complete their

2、 errands( 任务). racing through daytime meals is part of the pace of life in this country. working time is considered precious. others in public eating places are waiting for you to finish so that they too can be served and get back to work within the time allowed. each person hurries to make room for

3、 the next person. if you dont, waiters will hurry you.you also find drivers will be abrupt and people will push past you. you will miss smiles, brief conversations, and small courtesies with strangers. dont take it personally. this is because people value time highly, and they resent someone else wa

4、sting it beyond a certain courtesy point. the view of time affects the importance we attach to patience. in the american system of values, patience is not a high priority. many of us have what might be called a short fuse. we begin to move restlessly about if we feel time is slipping away without so

5、me returns in terms of pleasure, work value, or rest. those coming from lands where time is looked upon differently may find this matter of pace to be one of their most difficult adjustments in both business and daily life. many newcomers to the states will miss the opening courtesy of a business ca

6、ll, for example, they will miss the ritual interaction that goes with a welcoming cup of tea or coffee that may be a convention in their own country. they may miss leisurely business chats in a caf or coffee house. normally, americans do not assess their visitors in such relaxed surroundings over pr

7、olonged small talks. we seek out evidence of past performance rather than evaluate a business colleague through social courtesies. since we generally assess and probe professionally rather than socially, we start talking business very quickly. 一个外国人对于美国的第一印象很有可能是每个人都在压力下匆匆忙忙。城市里的人总是表现得匆匆忙忙不知疲倦的，为了尽快

8、做完一件事情， 他们会在店里拼命引起店员的注意或者用胳膊肘推搡别人。白天匆忙就餐也是这个国家生活节奏的一个部分。工作时间被认为是很珍贵的。在一些公共饮食场所，其他人会等在你旁边等你吃完，这样大家都可以得到服务， 并赶在规定的时间内回去工作。每个人都会尽快给下一个人腾出地方。如果你不这样，侍者会催促你的。你会发现司机也都很匆忙，人们从你身边匆匆走过。你会错过一些微笑，简短的交谈和一些与陌生人的小礼节。不要在意， 这是因为他们非常珍惜时间，而且他们认为一旦太注重这些社交礼节就是浪费时间。对时间的观念还会影响到我们对耐心的理解。在美国价值体系中，耐心并不是首要要考虑的。 我们中的很多人被称为 短保险

9、丝 。如果我们觉得时间在毫无意义的溜走， 既没有娱乐价值， 工作价值，也不在休息， 那就会开始不停地徘徊。那些来自时间观念不同的国家的人发现他们在商业和日常生活中最困难的就是对时间节奏的适应。许多刚到美国来的人都会想念他们在商业会谈中一些开场礼节。举个例子，他们会想念因欢迎你到来而泡的一杯茶或咖啡这样的社交礼仪，这在他们国家是常规礼仪。 他们会想念在咖啡屋悠闲的会谈。而通常，美国人不会与来访者在这么悠闲的环境中进行一些冗长的小会谈。对于同事，我们总是看他过去的表现而不是与他的社交礼仪。 因为我们一般都是更注重专业性的，而不是社交性的， 因此我们总是很快进入正题。1. which of the

10、following statements is wrong? _ 2 以下哪项陈述是错误的？a. americans seem to be always under pressure. b. americans attach less importance to patience. c. americans dont care much about ritual socializing.d. americans are impolite to their business colleagues. 美国人对他们的同事不礼貌。2. in the fourth paragraph, a high p

11、riority means _ 第四段中的 a high priority是什么意思？a. a less important thing b. a first concern c. a good business d. an attractive gift 要首要考虑的。3. americans evaluate a business colleague _ 美国人评价他们的同事是根据a. through social courtesy b. through prolonged business talks c. by establishing business relations d. by

12、 learning about their past performance 他们过去的表现。24. this passage mainly talks about _ 本文主要讲了a. how americans treasure their time b. how busy americans are every dayc. how americans do business with foreignersd. what american way of life is like美国人是怎样珍惜时间的。5. we can infer from the passage that the aut

13、hors tone in writing is _ 从本文我们可以看出作者写作的口吻是a. critical b. ironical c. appreciatived. objective欣赏的。passage 2 when john and victoria falls arrived in new york city for one-year stay, they did not bring very many things with them. they had planned either to live in a furnished apartment or to buy used

14、furniture. but they soon learned about a new system that more and more people are using. the renting of home furnishings (bed, tables, dishes, and so on) has become one of america s fastest growing businesses. what kinds of people rent their home furnishings instead of buying them? people who are in

15、ternational business or government officials, foreign students, airline workers, young married couple people whose job or business may force them to move frequently from one city to another. they save a lot of trouble and the cost of moving their furniture each time. they simply rent new furniture w

16、hen they reach their new homes. young people with little money do not want to buy cheap furniture that they may soon dislike. they prefer to wait until they have enough money to buy furniture that they really like. meanwhile, they find they can rent better quality furniture than they could afford to

17、 buy. one family, who now have a large, beautiful home of their own, liked their rented furniture so much that they decided to keep renting it instead of buying new things. but usually people don t like to tell others about it. the idea of renting home furnishings is still quite new, and they are no

18、t sure what their neighbors might think. (248words) 3 6. which of the following has become one of america s fastest growing businesses? _ a. selling home furnishings. b. renting furnished apartments. c. selling used furniture. d. renting home furnishings.7. why do some people prefer to rent furnitur

19、e? _ a. because the furniture they get in this way is new. b. because it saves them a lot of money. c. because it saves them much trouble and money. d. because they can always get better quality furniture in this way. 8. what can you infer from the passage? _ a. the idea of renting furniture is not

20、acceptable. b. renting furniture is not popular in the couple s home town. c. only those who don t have enough money to rent furniture. d. people usually grow to like the furniture they have rented. 9. which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage? _ a. rent or buy? b. a new way

21、of getting home furnishings. c. furnished apartments. d. a new idea. 10. young people liked renting home furniture in that _. a. they have less money b. they don t want to buy old furniture c. the new furniture is of good quality d. they don t have much money and don t want to buy the cheap furnitur

22、e passage 3 a million tourists go to barcelona every year. they want to see antonio gaudes church. this unusual church has a strange history. gaude was born in spain in 1852. he had to work and study at the same time. he often missed classes because he had to work, but one day he designed a very unu

23、sual show-case for an exhibition in paris. people began to give him work. he designed houses, offices and gardens. they were all very unusual. he was soon rich and famous. then a rich bookseller said, will you build a church for the poor people of barcelona? i will pay. i will build schools and work

24、shops, too. they will help the people. i will do it, said gaudi. he worked for forty years, but he could not finish the church. it was too big. he needed $10,000,000. he gave all his money to the church. he was poor again when he died in 1926, and only the front of the church was finished. but archi

25、tects, engineers and tourists from all over the world come to see it. it is very strange, very modern and very revolutionary. 11、which of the following titles best fits the passage? a：barcelona- a famous city b：a strange history of an unusual church c：a poor architects unusual works d：antonio gaudis

26、 life4 答案： c 12、which of the following is not true? a：gaudi was a spanish architect b：gaudi devoted most of his life to the building of the church c：people all over the world admire the architect very much d：many tourists go to see gaudis unfinished church答案： b 13、gaudi sometimes missed classes beca

27、use _. a：he didnt like it b：he had to work at the same time c：they were too difficult d：he had to build a church答案： b 14、the church is unusual because _. a：its unfinished b：its strange c：its modern d：all of the above答案： d 15、according to the passage, gaude _. a：suffered a lot in his life b：was full

28、of sympathy to the poor c：always created unusual works d：both b and c答案： d passage 4 it has been reported that in colleges across the united states, the daytime serial drama known as the soap opera has suddenly become in . between the hours of 11 a.m. and 4:30p.m., college television lounges are fil

29、led with soap opera fans who can t wait to see the next episode in the lives of their favorite characters. actually, soaps are more than a college favorite; they are a youth favorite. when school is out, high-school students are in front of their tv sets. one young working woman admitted that she tu

30、rned down a higher paying job rather than give up watching her favorite serials. during t he 1960 s, it was uncommon for young people to watch soap operas. the moon of the sixties was very different from now. it was a time of seriousness, and talk was about social issues of great importance. now, se

31、riousness has been replaced by fun. young people want to be happy. it may seem strange that they should turn to soap opera, which is known for showing trouble in people lives. but soap opera is enjoyment. young people can identify with the soap opera character, who like college-age viewer, is lookin

32、g for happy love, and probably not finding it. and soap opera gives young people a chance to feel close to people without having to bear any responsibility for their problems. 16.what is soap opera? 5 a. plays based on science fiction stories. b. plays based on non-fiction stories. c. the daytime se

33、rial dramas on tv . d. popular documentary films on tv . 正确答案： c 17.what can be the best titles of the passage? a. college student viewers b. favorite tv serials c. soap opera fansd. college-age viewers 正确答案： c 18.which are not the reason why the soap opera suddenly becomes in according to the passa

34、ge? a. because the viewers want to be happy and to enjoy themselves. b. because the soap opera makes young people feel close to their people. c. because the viewers can find themselves in the soap opera characters. d. because the young people have to bear the responsibilities for their troubles. 正确答

35、案： d 19.what can we learn from the passage? a. college students like soap operas more than any other social groups. b. young people of sixties liked soap operas more than people today. c. young viewers have turned themselves from the seriousness of sixties to enjoyment now. d. the young as a whole a

36、re trying to look for happy love bur in vain. 正确答案： c 20.what message does the author want to convey to us? a. the peoples favorites to drama works have been changed for a long time. b. the peoples favorites to drama works change along with the times. c. the peoples favorites to drama works is chang

37、ed by the soap opera. d. the peoples favorites have changed the drama works. 正确答案： b passage 5 if you do not use your arm or your legs for some time, they become weak; when you start using them again, they slowly become strong again. everybody knows that. yet many people do not seem to know that mem

38、ory( 记忆力 ) works in the same way. when someone says that he has a good memory, he really means that he keeps his memory in practice by using it. when someone else says that his memory is poor, he really means that he does not give it enough chance( 机会 ) to become strong. if a friend says that his ar

39、ms and legs are weak, we know that it is his own fault(过错). but if he tells us that he has a poor memory, many of us think that his parents are to blame(受责备 ), and few of us know that it is just his own fault. have you ever found that some people cant read or write but usually they have better memor

40、ies? this is because they cannot read or write and they have to remember things; they cannot write down in a little notebook. they have to 6 remember days, names, songs and stories; so their memory is the whole time being exercised. so if you want to have a good memory, learn from the people ：practi

41、ce remembering. 21the main reason(主要原因 )for one is poor memory is that_. ahis father or mother may have a poor memory. bhe does not use his name or legs for some time. chis memory is not often used dhe cant read or write 22if you do not use your arms or legs for some time_. ayou cant use them any mo

42、re bthey will become stronger cthey become weak and wont become strong until you use them again. 23which of the following is not true? ayour memory works in the same way as your arms or legs. byour memory becomes weak if you dont give it enough chance for practice.cdont learn how to read and write i

43、f you want to have a better memory. da good memory comes from more practice. 24 some people cant read or write, but they usually have better memories, because _. athey have saved much trouble bthey have saved much time to remember things cthey have to use their memories all the time dthey cant write

44、 everything in a little notebook 25give a best title for this passage. adont stop using your arms or legs bhow to have a good memory cstrong arms and good memories dlearn from the people passage 6 how men first learnt to invent words is unknown; in other words, the origin of language is a mystery. a

45、ll we really known is that men, unlike animals, somehow invented certain sounds to express thoughts and feelings, actions, and things, so that they could communicate with each other; and that later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters, which could be combined to represent those sounds, and

46、 which could be written down, these sounds, whether spoken, or written in letters we call words. the power of words, then, lies in their associations - the things they bring up before our minds, words become filled with meaning for us by experience; and the longer we live, the more certain words rec

47、all to us the glad and sad events of our past; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something to us increases.great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughtsin words which appeal powerfully to our minds and emotions. this cha

48、rming and tellinguse of words is what we call literary style(文体 ). above all, the real poet is a master ofwords. he can convey his meaning in words which sing like music, and which by their position and association can move men to tears. we should therefore learn to choose our 7 words carefully and

49、use them accurately, or they will make our speech silly and vulgar( 粗俗的 ). 26. which is true about origin of language? a. men, as well as animals, invented certain sounds to express thoughts. b. the origin of language is a complicated question. c. words did not have written form, at first. d. words

50、were invented to represent meanings. 27. the power of words lies in _. a. the fact that it can associate the things in the world with the ideas in our mind b. the fact that one word is connected with another c. the fact that it can associate one person with another d. the fact that it can recall to

51、us the events of our past 28. in order not to make our speech silly and vulgar, we should _. a. use words that can move men to tears b. choose words with care and accuracy c. become a master of words d. use words which sing like music 29. which of the following statements is not true? a. the more we

52、 read and learn, the larger our vocabulary will be. b. the longer we live, the number of words that mean something to us increases. c. words can be used to represent various meanings. d. literary style a usually very charming. 30. the best title for this passage would be _. a. the meaning of words b

53、. the characteristics of words c. the origin of words d. the power of words passage 7 the dark smoke that comes out of stacks or from a burning dump contains tiny bits of solid or liquid matter. the smoke also contains many gases, most of which cannot be seen. altogether, they make up the serious pr

54、oblems of air pollution. in so many places it keeps us from seeing the sun, irritate our eyes, causes us to cough, and makes us ill. air pollution can spread from city to city. it even spreads from one country to another. some northern european countries have had black snow from pollutants that have

55、 traveled through the air from other countries and have fallen with the snow. so air pollution is a global problem. it can kill babies, older people and those who have respiratory （呼吸道的） disease. in 1952, four thousand people died in one week as a result of a serious air pollution breakout in london

56、. in 1948 in a small town of pennsylvania, 20 people died in a four-day period of air pollution. as often found in cities, air pollution increases the risks of lung diseases, such as bronchitis and asthma. of course, smoking and other factors help to cause these illnesses, too, but these cases 8 hav

57、e increased greatly during recent years as air pollution has become worse. air pollution can cause both airplane and auto accidents because it cuts down visibility. there are other possible health dangers from air pollution that we don t know much about. for example, scientists are trying to find ou

58、t whether chemicals that reach us from the air may cause changes in our cells. these changes might cause babies to be born with serious birth defects. scientists are trying to learn how all the many chemicals we are apt to take into our bodies from air, food, and even medicines act together to affec

59、t our health and the way our bodies work. that is another reason why it is so important to begin to control pollution now instead of waiting until we learn all the answers. air pollution costs us a lot of money. it soils and corrodes our buildings. it damages farm crops and forests. it has a destruc

60、tive effect on our works of art. the cost of all this damage to our government is astronomical. it would be much more worthwhile, both for us and for the environment, to spend our tax dollars on air pollution control.31. which of the following is not true about the black snow incident？b. it happened