英语精读习题带答案

1、英语精读习题带答案（六级适用）1、The Dvelopment of Civilization1 The first two stages in the development of civilized man wereprobably the inventionof primitiveweapons and the discovery offire, although no body knows exactly whe n he acquired the use of the latter2 The orig in of lan guage is also obscure. No doubt

2、 it bega n verygradually Animals have a few cries that serve as signals, but even the highest apes have not been found able to pronounce words, even with the most intensive professional instruction. The superiorbrain of manis apparently a necessity for the mastering of speech. Whe n man became suffi

3、vie ntly in tellige nt, we must suppose that he fradually in creased the nu mber of cries for differe ntpurposes.It was a great day whe n he discovered hat speech could be used for narrative. There are those who think in this respect picture lan guage preceded oral lan guage. A man could draw a pict

4、ure on the wall of his cave to show in which directi on he had gone, or what prey he hoped to catch. Probably picture lan guage and oral lan guage developed side by side. I am in cli ned to think thatlanguage has been the most importantsingle factor in the developme nt of man.3 Two important stages

5、came not so long before the dawn of written history. The first was the domesticati on of ani mals; the sec ondwas agriculture. Agriculture wasa step in humanprogress to which subseque ntly there was no thi ng comparable un til our own machi ne age. Agriculture made possible an imme nse in crease in

6、the nu mber of the humanspecies in the regions where it could be successfully practiced. These were, at first, only those in which nature fertilized the soil after each harvest. Agriculture met with viole nt resista nee from the pastoral no mads, but the agricultural way of life prevailed in the end

7、 because of the physical comforts it provided.4 Ano ther fun dame ntal tech ni caladva nee was writ ing,which, likespoken language, developed out of pictures, but as soon as it had reached a certa in stage, it was possible to keep records andtran smit in formatio n to people who were not prese nt wh

8、e n the in formatio n was give n.5 These inventionsand discoveries fire, speech, weapons,domestic ani mals, agriculture, and writi ngmade the existe neeof civilized com mun ities possible. From about 3000 B. C. un tilthe begi nning of the In dustrial Revoluti on less tha n two hun dred years ago the

9、re was no tech ni cal adva nee comparable to these.During this long period man had time to become accustomed to histechnique, and to deveop the beliefs and politicalorganizationsappropriate to it There was, of course, an immense extension in the area of civilized life. At first it had been confined

10、to theNile, the Euphrates, the Tigris and the In dus, but at the end of the period in question it covered much the greater part of the in habitable globe. I do not mean to suggest that there was no technical progress during this long time; there was progress there were eve n two inven ti ons of very

11、 great importa nee, n amely gun powder and the mariner ' s compassbut n either of these can be compared in their power to such things as speech and writi ng and agriculture.Notes1 ape: any mon key2 narrative: a story or description of actual or fictionalevents;to n arrate is to give an acco unt

12、or comme ntary3 prey: an ani mal hun ted or caught for food4 pastoral: of or perta ining to shepherds, herdsme n, etc.5 no mad: one of a group of people who have no perma nent home and move about from place to place6 the Nile: the lon gest river in the world flow ing through EastAfrica,尼罗河7 the Tigr

13、is: river of Southwest Asia, joining the Euphrates inSouth Iraq8 the Euphrates: river of Southwest Asia,幼发拉底河9 the Indus: river of South Central Asia, rising from SouthwestTibet, flowing through Pakistan to the Arabian SeaRead ing Comprehe nsionwhich one of the follow ing, accord ing to the author,

14、was first discovered or inven ted in huma n civilizati on?a. writte n lan guage b. oral lan guage c. fire d. domesticati on2 The author does not state clearly but implies that in the developme nt of mana. huma n speech developed along with other huma n facultiesb. picture lan guage and writte nlan g

15、uage developed side by sidec. oral lan guage preceded the use of fired. the ape might be taught to master speech3 According to the passage picture language was found most usefulwhena. people did n ' t want to use speech in com muni cati onb. oral lan guage was not fully developedc. people went h

16、un ti ng or traveli ng somewhered. people were in habit ing in caves4 It is the author ' s view that in human civilizationagriculture.a. is the most importa nt step man has ever madeb. is only less importa nt tha n the domesticati on of ani malsc. had long been practiced as stated in written his

17、toryd. can be ran ked in importa ncewith the inven ti on of mach ines5 In the 3rd paragraph, ”in the regions where it could bepracticed ” ,here, “it ” refers toa. in crease b. nu mber c. agriculture d. species6 The pastoral no mads would not have yielded to the agriculturalway of lifea. if it had no

18、t bee n for the ben efits brought about by agricultureb. unlessagriculture could provide them with sufficientdomesticated an imalsc. if agriculturehad taken up too large a number of their pasturesd. if they had not found setbacks in their pastoral way of life7 WrittenIanguage in its initial stage wa

19、s found more adva ntageous in that _a. it could com muni cate more accurately tha n the oral Ian guageb. it had developed from picture lan guagec. i nformatio n could be recorded and tran smittedd. it was easier to lear n tha n picture lan guagefor8 The followingconditionsexcept one made it possible

20、civilized com mun ities to exist. The excepti on isa. writi ng b. agriculture c. fire d. caves9 The word ” it ” in “to develop the beliefs and politicalorganizations appropriate to it. ” (paragraph 5) stands for_a. tech nique b. time c. l ong period d. In dustrial Revoluti on10 The author means to s

21、ay that human civilized life originatedfroma. South Europe b. North Africa c. East Asia d. river areas1 c 2 a 3 b 4 d 5 c 6 a 7 c 8 d 9 a 10 d2、You Call This a Good Economy（ 这能称之为上佳经验）You have to have lived in the 1950s and 1960s to have experieneed a good economy. In the period betwee n 1950 and 19

22、70 it was the rule rather than the exception that an ordinary family, without higher educati on, could susta in itself dece ntly on the in come of a si ngle breadwi nner （养家糊口的人）.In 1955, whe n I was 19 and liv ing in Brookl yn, N. Y., my father, whohad a sixth-gradeeducati on, maintained our family

23、 of five on a wage of $82 a week as a bookb in der.My mother taught us fair ness and compassi on;myfather, discipline and enterprise.The U. S. economy in those years was good. Then where did this good economy go? It was in flated away. The price of gold, which I take as proxy for the prices of all g

24、oods, was $35 an ounce in those years. It is at roughly ten times that price today.There is another answer, though: inflationcaused the entire workforce to be moved into higher tax groups, thus reducing after-tax purchasing power. That is, my father ' s bindery job in 1954 paid $82 a week, with

25、$80 after deducti ons; today, at $ 820 per week the net would be $662.To ordinary people, the economy doesn ' t look very good at all. After-tax in comes continue to decrease in purchas ing power. The jobs offered in the employme nt ads pay on ly a little more tha nthe minimum wage, maybe $5 an

26、hour, which, after payroll deductions, yields $4 an hour. Comparethat with minimum-wagejobs of the early 1950s, when 75 cents was worth today ' s $ before and after taxes.Notes1 Brookl yn: a district of New York city2 in flate:通货膨胀3 proxy: the authority to act for ano ther4 payroll: a list of em

27、ployees and the wages due to eachRead ing Comprehe nsionIn the author ' s opinion, a good economy, to ordinary people can be expressed in terms ofthe amount of wageafter-tax in comethe actual purchas ing powerthe minimum wage per hourIn the period between 1950 and 1970,there was not much differe

28、nee in the living standards between people of higher and lower educati onan ordinary family of five without exception could live on onepers on in comethe in come of an ordinary family was more tha n eno ugh for buyingfoodfor an average family the in come was sufficie nt to support allthe membersToda

29、y a bookbinder ' s wage is ten times that of the 1950' s butits in come tax rate has in creasedtimes c. 70 times d. 80 times4 The worsening of a bookbinder ' s livelihood results from a. his low educati on and the amount of wageb. the high-taxati on and the in come deducti onsc. the high

30、 taxati on and cost of liv ingd. thelow wage and higher prices5 The passage implies that while the cost of liv ing is gett inghighera. the value of labor actually is shri nkingb. the minimum wage level is increasing likewisec. the in come tax rate is rising alongd. the employme nt ads n aturally off

31、er a higher minimum wage6 The author ' s tone in writing the article isa. iro ni cal b. subjective c. high-so unding d. convincing7 the article aims to.a. help con trol the rapidly in creas ing pricesb. give some advice to the policy-makersthe youn ger gen erati on with some basic factsupon the

32、societys atte nti on aga inst in flati on1 c 2 b 3 d 4 c 5 a 6 d 7 c3、Are Experts Always Right （专家总是对的吗）The world has become so complicated that we ' ve lost con fide neein our ability to un dersta nd and deal with it. But com mon senseis useful now as it ever was. No amount of expertise substit

33、utesfor an in timate kno wledge of a pers on or a situati on. At timesyou just have to trust your own judgeme nt.It almost cost me my life to learn that. I was reading a book one day, idly scratch ing the back of my head, whe n I no ticed that,in one particular spot, the scratch ing echoed in side m

34、y head like fingern ails on an empty cardboard cart on, I rushed off to mydoctor.“Got a hole in your head, have you?” he teased. “It ' s nothing just one of those little scalp n erves sounding off.”Two years and four doctors later, I was still being told it was nothing. To the fifth doctor. I sa

35、id, almost in desperati on,”But I live in tis body. I know something' s different.”“ If you won' t take my word for it,I ' ll take an X-ray and prove it to you, ” he said.Well, there it was, of course, the tumor that had made a hole asbig as an eye socket in the back of myskull. After th

36、e operation, a young reside nt paused by my bed. ” It ' s a good thing you ' re so smart, ” he said. ” Most patient die of these tumors because we don' t know they ' re there until it is too late.”I 'mreally not so smart. And I 'mtoo docile in the face of authority.I should h

37、ave been more aggressive with those first four doctors. It ' s hard to question opinions delivered with absolute certainty. Experts always sound so sure. Nevile Chamberlain, the British prime minister, was positive, just before the start of World War II, that there would be“peace for our time. ”

38、 Producer Irvingno Civil War pictureThalberg did not hesitate to advise Louis B. Mayer against buying the rights to Gone With the Wind becauseever madea nickel.Even AbrahamLincoln surely believed it whenhe said in his Gettysburg Address: ” The world will littlenote,nor long remember, what we say her

39、e ”We should not, therefore, be in timidated by experts. Whe n it's an area we really know about our bodies, our families, our houses let ' s listen to what the experts say, then make up our own min ds.Notescardboard cart on:a box or container made of a stiff pasteboard of paperscalp: the sk

40、in coveri ng the headtumor:肿瘤eye socket: the ope ning or cavity in which the eye fitsdocile: easily man aged or taughtreadi ng comprehe nsion“ It ” in “deal with it ” refers toa. con fide nee b. the world c. ability d. complicati on2. “ Expertise ” in meansa. com mon sense b. expert skill or kno wle

41、dge c. unu sual abilityto appreciate d. pers onal experie nee3. We have to trust our own judgeme nt sincea. not all of us have acquired reliable expertiseb. experts ofte n lose their com mon sensec. experts may sometimes fail to give good adviced. in timate kno wledge of a pers on is not to be subst

42、ituted forby expertise4 “That ” in “ it almost cost me my life to learn that” (para.2) refers toa. I can lear n to trust my judgeme ntb. I can acquire an in timate kno wledge of myselfc. com mon sense is not as useful as kno wedged. expertise may not be reliable5 While readi ng one day, the authora.

43、 fo und a hole at the back of his headb. heard a scratchi ng sound from a cart onc. no ticed some echo from his head where he was scratch ingd. no ticed a sound coming out from his head6 “tease ” in paragraph 3 meansa. to make fun of b. to comfort c. to reply d. to disbelieve7 “if you won' t tak

44、e myword for it ” in may be paraphraseda. if youdon't think my word is worth anythingb. if youdon't listen to my advicec. if youdon't believe my judgementd. if youpreferacti ons to words8 “Skull ” in most probably meansa. the bony framework of the headb. the surface skin of the headc. th

45、e n erve system in side the headd. the top part of the head9 The author didn ' t think he was smartbecausea. he had already suffered for two yearsb. he had not bee n able to put up with the painc. he had believed too much in expertised. he had formed too stro ng an opinion of himself10 It happe

46、ns that the examples give n by the authora. all concern with warsb. are take n from moder n America n historyc. have become popular themes in moviesd. have America n Civil War as the backgro und11 In the last paragraph, the work” intimidate ” may mean,a. deceive b. frighte n c. make timid d. en cour

47、age1 b 2 b 3 c 4 d 5 c 6 a 7 c 8 a 9 c 10 a 11 c4、Just Call Me Mister1 On cold days people in Manhattan like to take their childrento PlaySpace, an in door playgro und full of won derful climb ing sliding contraptions. There ' s just one irritating detail: when you pay your mon ey, the cashier p

48、ulls out a felt-trip marker and an adhesive lapel tag and asks you your n ame.“ Frum,” I say.“ No, your first n ame.”“ What do you n eed my first n ame for? ”“To write on the tag, so all the children and the staff will what to call you. ”andknow“ In that case, write Mr. Frum.' ”2 At which I am s

49、hot a look as if I had asked to be called to Duke of Plaza Toro.3 In encouraging five-year-olds to address grownups by their firstnames, PlaySpace is only slightly ahead of the times. As a journ alist, I faithfully report that the custom of address ingstrangers formally is as dead as the practice of

50、 leaving a visiting card.4 There ' s hardly a secretary left who does not reply, when I givea message fro her boss, “I ' ll tell him you called, David. ” Or a public relati ons age nt, whether in Ban gor or Ban gkok, who does not begi n his telepho nic spiel with a cheerful“ Hello, David! ”5

51、 You don' t have to be a journalist to collect amazing first-name stories. Place a collect call, and the operator first-names you. The tee nager behi nd the coun ter at a fast-food restaura nt asksa 70-year-old customer for his firstnamebefore taking his order.6 Habitual first-names claim they a

52、re motivated by nothing worse than uncontrollably high-spirited friendliness. I don' t believeit. I f I asked the fast-food order-takers to lend me $50, theirfrie ndli ness would vanish in a whoosh. The PR man drops all his cheerfulnessthe momenthe hears I won' t go along with his storyidea.

53、 No, it ' s not friendliness that drives first-namers; it's aggression. The PRagents who call meDavid uninvited would never,if they could somehow get him on the phone, address press baro nRupert Murdoch that way. The womanat the bank whocalled meDavid would never first-name the bank' s c

54、hairman. Like the mock-cheery staff at PlaySpace, they are en gaged in a smiley-faced act of belittlement, an assertion of power disguised as good cheer.Notes1 con traptio ns:(i nformal)mecha nical devices;gadgets2 felt-tip marker:软笔尖的颜色笔3 adhesive lapel tag:不干胶标牌4 Duke of Plaza Toro: Duke is a nobl

55、eman with the highest hereditary rank, especially in Brita in. Plaza Tora is Spa ni sh,something like“ Bull Fighting Ring ” in English5 Ban gor:City of South cen tral Maine6 Ban gkok:Captical of Thaila nd, 曼谷7 spiel(sla ng)a len gthy, usually extravaga nt, speech or argume ntinten ded to be persuasi

56、ve8 collect call:a teleph one call with payme nt to be made by the receiver9 press baron:Baron is the lowest male rank of nobility, but here it sta nds for a man with great power in press10 mock: simulated11 cheery：cheerfulRead ing comprehe nsionThe author appare ntly regretshav ing to take his chil

57、dre n to PlaySpacebeing first- namedbeing approached so freque ntly by PR age ntshav ing to put on an adhesive lapel tag“ PF” in paragraph6 stands fora. pers onal request b. pers onal respectc. public relati ons d. public review3 Whe n the author, as a journ alist, speaks on the phonea. he is usuall

58、y very formal and faithfulb. he does not know whether a grow nup or a child is speak ing at the other endc. he finds people address each other formallyd. he finds the secretary is ofte n willi ng to pass a message4 He ofte n finds secretariesa. irresp on sible in an sweri ng pho ne callsb. trustworthy in pass ing messagesc. not only frie ndly but also carefuld. calli ng him Da