大学英语补充阅读材料2级

1、成都理工大学外国语学院<大学英语精品课程 :二级阅读补充材料 >(CET-2 Reading Comprehension Supplementary Materials Directions: There are 30 reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the b

2、est answer to each question.Passage 1Many teachers believe that the responsibility for learning lies with students. If a long reading assignment is given, instructors expect students to be familiar with the information in the reading even if they do not discuss it in class or give an examination. (C

3、ourses are not designed merely for students to pass exams. The ideal student is considered to be one who is encouraged to learn for the purpose of learning, not the one interested only in getting high grades. Some students may be frustrated with teachers who do not believe it is necessary to grade e

4、very assignment. Sometimes homework is returned with short written comments but without a grade. Even if a grade is not given, students should learn the material assigned.When research is assigned, the professor expects students to begin and to complete the assignment with minimum instruction. It is

5、 the students responsibility to find books and articles in the library. Professors do not have the time to explain how a university library works; they expect students, especially graduate students, to be able to find what they need in the library.Professors will help students who need it, but prefe

6、r that their students not depend on them too much. This is different from teacher-student relationships in other countries. In the United States, professors have other duties in addition to teaching. Often they do some administrative work within their departments. In addition, they may be required t

7、o write articles and books. Therefore, the time that a professor can spend with a student outside of class is limited. If a student has problems with classroom work, the student should either ask a professor for help during office hours or make an appointment.1What does the author mean by saying tha

8、t Courses are not designed merely for students to pass exams?A. Students study hard only for exams.B. Teachers think it necessary for their students to fail exams.C. Teachers think that the only purpose of studying hard is to pass exams.D. The purpose of designing courses is not only for passing exa

9、ms.2According to the 2nd paragraph, students in the United States should_.A. depend more on themselves than on professorsB. plan their time and sequence their workC. always follow the professors adviceD. find a suitable place for studying3If students need the advice of their teachers, they should_.A

10、. put forward their questions in classB. go to their teachers officeC. find some excuses to see teachers at homeD. turn to their teachers during the break4Students who _ in the United States are considered good ones.A. pay more attention to good scoresB. have the desire to learn by themselvesC. are

11、good at learning words by heartD. know much about computers5American professors may be required to spend more of their time_.A. knowing what is on their students mindB. helping students finish their assignmentsC. writing articlesD. instructing students researchPassage 2A few years ago it was common

12、to speak of a generation gap between young people and their elders. Parents said that their children did not respect and listen to them, while children said that their parents did not understand them at all. What had gone wrong? Why had the generation gap suddenly appeared? Actually, the generation

13、gap has been around for a long time. Many people argue that it is built into every part of our society.One important cause of the generation gap is the opportunity that young people have to choose their own ways of life. In a more traditional society, when children grow up, they are expected to live

14、 in the same area as their parents, to marry people that their parents know and like, and often to continue the family jobs. In our society, young people often travel great distances for their education, move out of the family at an early age, marry or live with people whom their parents have never

15、met, and choose jobs different from those of their parents.In our society, parents often expect their children to do better than they did, to find better jobs, to make more money and to do all the things that they were unable to do. Often, that is another cause of the gap between them. Often, they d

16、iscover that they have very little in common with each other.Finally, the speed at which changes take place in our society is the third cause of the gap between the generations. In a traditional culture, senior people are valued for their knowledge, but in our society the knowledge of a lifetime may

17、 become out of date. The young and the old seem to live in two very different worlds, separated by different skills and abilities. No doubt, the generation gap will continue in American life for some time to come.6The first paragraph tells us that_.A. the problem of the generation gap draws much att

18、ention from peopleB. it is out of date to talk about generation gapC. children and parents are trying to understand each otherD. it is very important for people to frequently communicate with each other 7In a more traditional society, old people _.A. have their children respect and listen to themB.

19、do not care for their children at allC. expect their children to rebel against themD. do not live together with their children8In American society young people_.A. do not need to find jobsB. marry people younger than themC. have better education than their parentsD. leave home at an early age9Which

20、of the following is NOT the cause of the generation gap?A. Young people like to depend more on themselvesB. Parents do not love their children dearlyC. American society changes rapidlyD. Parents expect too much of their children.10The main idea of the passage is _.A. that the generation gap needs co

21、nsideringB. when the generation gap is necessary in American societyC. why the generation gap existsD. how we can reduce the generation gapPassage 3Valentines Day was the time my father chose to show his love for the special people in his life. Over the years I fondly thought of him as my Valentine

22、Man. At the age of six, on Valentines Day morning, I got a card signed Love, Dad for the first time and a gift of a ring with a small piece of red glass. As I grew older, the gifts gave way to heart-shaped boxes filled with my favorite chocolates and always included a special card signed Love, Dad.

23、Year by year, the cards seemed less important, and I thought the valentine would always be there. I had placed my hopes and dreams in receiving cards and gifts from important others, and Love, Dad just didnt seem quite enough.If my father knew then that he had been replaced, he never let it show. If

24、 he sensed any disappointment over valentines that didnt arrive from me, he just tried that much harder to create a positive atmosphere, giving me an extra hug and doing what he could to make my day a little brighter.On Valentines Day eight years ago I received a card addressed to me in my mothers h

25、andwriting. On the inside, my mother had printed Happy Valentines Day and my father had signed Love, Dad. It was the kind of card that put tears in my eyes because I knew this would be the last I would receive from him.His final card remains on my desk today. Its a reminder of how special fathers ca

26、n be and how important it has been to me over the years to know that I had a father who continued a tradition of love with simple acts of understanding and had the ability to express happiness to the people in his life.11Why did the writer think of her father as her Valentine Man over the years?A. H

27、er father had given her a valentine on Valentines Day to show his love, understanding and happiness.B. She had placed her hopes and dreams in receiving cards and gifts from her father on Valentines Day.C. Her father created a positive atmosphere and made her day brighter on Valentines DayD. She miss

28、ed her father very much on Valentines Day after he died.12When the writer grew older, her fathers card seemed less important because_.A. she was no longer interested in Valentines DayB. she thought her fathers valentine wasnt enough and hoped to get more from othersC. her boyfriend took the place of

29、 her fatherD. she did not like the design of the cards her father sent her13When the writer was disappointed about the valentines she did not receive, her father_.A. gave her another heart-shaped box filled with her favorite chocolatesB. tried to talk with her about something elseC. told her to plac

30、e her hopes and dreams away from othersD. comforted her by doing what he could to make her happy14Why was the writers last valentine written in her mothers writing?A. Her mother wanted to show her love, tooB. Her father was so busy that he had no time to mail the cardC. Her father was too ill to mai

31、l a cardD. Her father wanted to give her a surprise15The writer put her fathers final card on her desk in order to _.A. remember her father and his loveB. show it to her colleaguesC. think of the past life of her fatherD. get encouragement from her fatherPassage 4Pronouncing a language is a skill. E

32、very normal person is an expert in the skill of pronouncing his own language; but few people are even fairly proficient at pronouncing foreign languages. Now there are many reasons for this, some obvious, some perhaps not so obvious. But I suggest that the basic reason why people in general do not s

33、peak foreign languages very much better than they do native language is that they fail to understand the true nature of the problem of learning to pronounce. Far too many people fail to realize that pronouncing a foreign language is a skill-one that needs careful training of a special kind, and one

34、that cannot be gained by just leaving it to take care of itself. I think even teachers of language, while realizing the importance of a good accent, often neglect, in their practical teaching, the branch of study concerned with speaking the language. So the first point I want to make is that English

35、 pronunciation must be taught; the teacher should be prepared to devote some of the lesson time to this, and get the student to feel that here is a matter worthy of receiving his close attention. So, there should be occasions when other aspects of English, such as grammar or spelling, are allowed fo

36、r the moment to take second place.Besides this question of the time given to pronunciation, there are two other requirements for the teacher: the first, knowledge; the second, technique.It is also possible to get a clear mental picture of the relationship between the sounds of different languages, b

37、etween the speech habits of English people and those, say, of your students. Unless the teacher has such a picture, any comments he may make on his students pronunciation are unlikely to be of much use, and lesson time spent on pronunciation may well be time wasted.16What does the author say about p

38、ronouncing foreign languages?A. Every normal person is an expert in the skill of pronouncing foreign languagesB. It is difficult for people to pronounce foreign languagesC. No one is really an expert in the skill of pronouncing foreign languagesD. There are not many people who are even fairly good a

39、t it17The writer argues that going about the problem of pronunciation in the wrong way is _A. an obvious cause of not understanding the problem correctlyB. a result of not speaking wellC. a result of not understanding the problem correctlyD. not an obvious cause of speaking poorly18According to the

40、writer, teachers are likely to ignore_.A. the practical techniques of teachingB. the importance of a good accentC. the teaching of spelling and grammarD. the teaching of pronunciation19What are the three important requirements for teachers in teaching?A. Attention, information, techniqueB. Time, kno

41、wledge, attentionC. Time, knowledge, techniqueD. Information, technique, a clear mental picture20Whether a student masters correct speech habits depends on_.A. the teachers proper teaching techniqueB. the learning of grammarC. the knowledge of spellingD. the teachers teaching method for pronunciatio

42、nPassage 5In ancient times wealth was measured and exchanged in things that could be touched: food, tools, and precious metals and stones. Then the barter system was replaced by coins, which still had real value since they were pieces of rare metal. Coins were followed by fiat money, paper notes tha

43、t have value only because everyone agrees to accept them.Today electronic monetary systems are gradually being introduced that will transform money into even less tang ible forms, reducing it to a series of bits and bytes, or units of computerized information, going between machines at the speed of

44、light. Already, electronic fund transfer allows money to be instantly sent and received by different banks, companies, and countries through computers and telecommunications devices.21. Which of the following would be the most appropriate title for the passage?A. International Banking PoliciesB. The

45、 History of Monetary ExchangeC. The Development of Paper CurrenciesD. Current Problems in the Economy22. According to the passage, which of the following was the earliest kind of exchange of wealth?A. Bartered foods B. Fiat moneyC. Coin currency D.Intangible forms23. The author mentions food, tools

46、and precious metals and stones together because they are all _.A. useful items B.articles of valueC.difficult things to obtain D. material objects24. According to the passage, coins once had real value as currency because they _.A. represented a great improvement over barterB. permitted easy transpo

47、rtation of wealthC. were made of precious metalsD. could become collectors items25. Which of the following statements about computerized monetary systems is NOT supported by the passage?A. They promote international trade.B. They allow very rapid money transfers.C. They are still limited to small tr

48、ansactions (交易 .D. They are dependent on good telecommunications systems.Passage 6At the University of Kansas art museum, scientists tested the effect of different colored walls on two groups of visitors to an exhibit of paintings. For the first group the room was painted white; for the second, dark

49、 brown. Movement of each group was followed by an electrical equipment under the carpet. The experiment showed that those who entered the dark brown walked more quickly, covered more area, and spent less time in the room than people in the white one. Dark brown made people more active, but the activ

50、ity ended sooner. Not only the choice of colors but also the general appearance of a room affects those inside. Another experiment presented people with photographs of faces whose energy was to be commented. Three groups of people were used; each was shown the same photos, but each group was in an o

51、rdinary room a nice office. The third was in a tastefully designed living room with carpeting. Results showed that the people in the beautiful room tend to give higher marks to the faces than those in the ugly room did. Other studies that students do better on tests taken in comfortable room than in

52、 ordinary-looking or ugly rooms. 26. Which of the following is the best expression of the main idea of this passage? A. People in beautiful rooms tend to give higher marks to photos of faces than people in ugly roomsB. The color and general appearance of a room have a deeper effect on the behavior o

53、f the people in itC. The University of Kansas has studied the effects of the color of room on peoples behaviorD. Beautifully furnished, light-coloured rooms make people more comfortable than ugly, dark rooms27. According to the passage, we may conclude that the whiter a room is _. A. the longer peop

54、le like to stay in it B. the sooner people in it will leaveC. the more active people in it will become D. the more excited people 28. What is referred to as the general appearance in this passage is _.A. how many broad windows a room has, through which sunlight might come inB. the size of a roomC. w

55、hether there are beautiful walls in a roomD. what the room looks like29. This passage provides us with _.A. a piece of scientific information B. a normal lessonC. an interesting test D. a piece of news30. At least how many tests were carried out by the scientists referred to in this passage?A. Three

56、 B. Two C. Only one D. No one knowsPassage 7The water we drink and use is running short in the world. We all have to learn how to stop wasting our limited water. One of the steps we should take is to find ways of reusing it. Experiments have already been done in this field.Today in most large cities

57、, fresh water is used only once, then it runs into waste system. But it is possible to pipe the used water to a purifying factory. There it can be filtered and treated with chemicals so that it can be used again, just as it were fresh from a spring.But even if every large city purified and reused it

58、s water, we still would not have enough. Then we could turn to the oceans. All wed have to do to make use of the seawater on earth is to get rid of the salt. This process is called desalinization, and it is already in use in many parts of the world.31. The way to stop wasting our limited water is to _.A. do experiments with water B. purify the u