重庆大学2013-硕士生英语B班期末考试阅读理解例题Reading-comprehension

1、成败： Passage 1In one way of thinking, failure is also part of life. In another way, failure may be a way towards success. The “spider-story” is often told. Robert Bruce, leader of the Scots in the 13th century, was hiding in a cave from the English. He watched a spider spinning a web. The spider trie

2、d to reach across a rough place in the rock. He tried six times to span the gap. On the seventh time, he made it and went on to spin his web. Bruce is said to have taken heart (become encouraged or more confident) and to have gone on to defeat the English. Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, mad

3、e hundreds of models that failed before he found the right way to make one. Once he was asked why he kept on trying to make a new type of battery when he had failed so often. He replied, “Failure? I have no failures. Now I know 50,000 ways it wont work.”So what (如此那又如何)? First, always think about yo

4、ur failure. What caused it? Were conditions right? Were you in top form yourself? What can you change so things will go right next time?Second, is the goal you are trying to reach the right one? Try to do some thinking about what your real goals may be. Think about this question, “If I do succeed in

5、 this, where will it get me?” This may help you prevent failure in things you shouldnt be doing anyway.The third thing to bear in mind about failure is that its part of life. Learn to “live with yourself” even though you may have failed. Remember, “You cant win them all.”1. This passage deals with _

6、 . A. failure and success B. two sides of failureC. the “spider-story” C. the invention of light bulb2. In the first paragraph, the author talks mainly about .A. the value of failure B. how people failC. famous failures D. how not to fail3. Robert Bruce was put in the passage to show that .A. failur

7、e must come before success B. failure isnt all badC. nature will help us if we let it D. people who fail have plenty of company4. One thing the writer doesnt tell you to do to cope with failure is to .A. check out your goals to see if they are right for youB. think about failure as part of lifeC. th

8、ink about failure to find out what went wrongD. avoid things that are beyond you5. Even if we have failed, we should _ . A. not think about it any more B. take it easyC. learn to live with others in the same house D. learn to accept it babdd通识教育： Passage Two“The more you learn, the more you earn,” s

9、aid the pop singer Cindy Lauper as she accepted her high school diplomaat the age of 35! Although Cindy made it without a high school degree, most people dont. In the U.S.A. today, about 75% of jobs require some education or technical training beyond high school. The lowest wage earners in the U.S.A

10、. are those without high school degrees; college graduates outearn those without college education; people with masters degrees outearn those with only a bachelors; and the highest incomes of all are earned by people with advanced professional or academic degrees. These generalizations explain why t

11、he majority of young Americans go to college. However, despite the averages, more diplomas dont always mean more money. Many skilled blue-collar workers, salespeople, and business executives outearn college professors and scientific researchers. And great athletes and entertainers outearn everyone e

12、lse! But a college education is not only preparation for a career; it is also (or should be) preparation for life. In addition to courses in their major field of study, most students have time to take elective courses. They may take classes that help them understand more about human nature, governme

13、nt, the arts, sciences, or whatever else interests them. Going to college is becoming the automatic next step after high school. Today, more than half of American high school graduates enroll in college. But recent high school graduates no longer dominate the college campuses. Today, it is quite com

14、mon for adults of all ages to come back to college either for career advancement or personal growth. By 2000, about half of all American college students were older than 25 and 20% of them were over 35.6. We can learn from Cindys story that _ . A. people cannot be successful without a high school di

15、ploma B. Cindy was not successful until she got her high school diplomaC. Cindy would surely continue her higher education D. Cindy dropped out of high school when she was young.7. The main idea of this passage is that _ .A. it is never too old to go to college B. why Americans go to collegeC. more

16、diplomas dont always mean more money D. most jobs require some education beyond high school8. On average, the highest income earners are _ .A. master and Ph. D holders B. blue-collars and salespeopleC. professors and scientific researchers D. sports and music stars9. All of the following is mentione

17、d as the functions of college education except that .A. It is preparation for a successful lifeB. it is preparation for a careerC. it can make peoples life more colorfulD. it can help people understand more about human nature10. More adult Americans are going back to college in order to _ . A. get p

18、romotion B. raise their social status dbdccC. have a better job or better life D. meet the demands of their employers人类需求理论： Passage ThreeMost conceptions of the process of motivation begin with the assumption that behavior is, at least in part, directed towards the attainment of goals or towards th

19、e satisfaction of needs or motives. Accordingly, it is appropriate to begin our consideration of motivation in the work place by examining the motives for working. Simon points out that an organization should be able to secure the participation of a person by offering him inducements (引诱; 诱因; 刺激) wh

20、ich contribute in some way to at least one of his goals. The kinds of inducements offered by an organization are varied, and if they are effective in maintaining participation they must necessarily be based on the needs of the individuals.Maslow examines in detail what these needs are. He points out

21、 not only that there are many needs ranging from basic physiological drives such as hunger to a more abstract desire for self-realization, but also that they are arranged in a hierarchy（等级制度）whereby (by which) the lower-order needs must to a large degree be satisfied before the higher-order ones com

22、e into play (begin to be active or have an influence).One of the most obvious ways in which work organizations attract and retain members is through the realization that economic factors are not the only inducement for working as indicated by Morse and Weiss. In line with (in accordance with) the so

23、cial respect and self-realization needs discussed by Maslow, factors such as associations with others, self-respect gained through the work, and a high interest value of the work can serve effectively to induce people to work.11. Simon points out that _. A. the needs of individuals range from hunger

24、 to self-realizationB. effective inducements must be based on what individuals wantC. economic factors are not the only inducement for working D. inducements must not be too varied12. According to Maslow, a work organization is able to motivate people to work by _.A. satisfying their physiological n

25、eeds   B. satisfying their self-realization needsC. satisfying hierarchy of their higher-order need D. first satisfying their lower-order needs13. Lower-order needs concern a person's _.A. essential physical needs        C. self-realization  B. s

26、elf-respect                 D. working relationships with others 14. Which of the following is NOT a higher need that attracts people to work?A. Association with others.       

27、0;              C. Interest value of the work.B. Possibility of earning a good salary       D. Cultivation of self-respect. 15. Which of the following statements may be supported by Morse and Weiss?A.

28、 Physiological needs are the most basic.B. There is a hierarchy of needs that must be met.C. Economic factors are the greatest inducement.D. Personal esteem and the gaining of power is the most important factor. bdabc不平等问题： Passage FourThese days we hear a lot of nonsense about the great classl

29、ess society. The idea that the twentieth century is the age of the common man has become one of the great clichés (陈词滥调) of our time. The same old arguments are put forward in evidence. Here are some of them: monarchy as a system of government has been completely discredited (声名狼藉). The monarch

30、ies that survive have been deprived of all political power. Inherited wealth has been savagely reduced by taxation and, in time, the great fortunes will disappear altogether. In a number of countries the victory has been complete. The people rule; the great millennium has become a political reality.

31、 But has it? Close examination doesnt bear out (support) the claim.It is a fallacy (谬见) to suppose that all men are equal and that society will be leveled out if you provide everybody with the same educational opportunities. (It is debatable whether you can ever provide everyone with the same educat

32、ional opportunities, but that is another question.) The fact is that nature distributes brains and ability with a total disregard for the principle of equality. The old rules of the jungle, survival of the fittest, and might is right are still with us. The spread of education has destroyed the old c

33、lass system and created a new one. Rewards are based on merit. For aristocracy (贵族统治) read meritocracy (精英统治); in other respects, society remains unaltered: the class system is rigidly maintained.Genuine ability, animal cunning (狡诈), skill, the knack (技巧;诀窍) of seizing opportunities, all bring mater

34、ial rewards. And what is the first thing people do when they become rich? They use their wealth to secure the best possible opportunities for their children, to give them a good start in life. For all the lip service we pay (口头支持) to the idea of equality, we do not consider this wrong in the western

35、 world. Private schools which offer unfair advantages over state schools are not banned because one of the principles in a democracy is that people should be free to choose how they will educate their children. In this way, the new meritocracy can perpetuate (永久存在) itself to a certain extent: an abl

36、e child from a wealthy home can succeed far more rapidly than his poorer counterpart. Wealth is also used indiscriminately (不加鉴别地) to further political ends (aims or purposes). It would be almost impossible to become the leader of a democracy without massive financial backing. Money is as powerful a

37、 weapon as ever it was. In societies wholly dedicated to the principle of social equality, privileged private education is forbidden. But even here people are rewarded according to their abilities. In fact, so great is the need for skilled workers that the least able may be neglected. Bright childre

38、n are carefully and expensively trained to become future rulers. In the end, all political ideologies boil down (归结为) to the same thing: class divisions persist whether you are ruled by a feudal king or an educated peasant.16. What is the main idea of this passage?A. Equality of opportunity in the t

39、wentieth century has not destroyed the class system.B. Equality means money.C. There is no such society as classless society.D. Nature cant give you a classless society.17. According to the author, the same educational opportunities cant get rid of inequality because _.A. the principle survival of t

40、he fittest exists.B. nature ignores equality in dispensing brains and ability.C. material rewards are for genuine ability.D. people have the freedom how to educate their children.18. Who can obtain more rapid success?A. Those with the best opportunities.B. Those with the best brains.C. Those with we

41、alth.D. Those who have the ability to catch at opportunities.19. Why does the author say the new meritocracy can perpetuate itself to a certain extent? Because _.A. money decides everything.B. private schools offer advantages over state schools.C. people are free to choose the way of educating their

42、 children.D. wealth is used for political ends.20. According to the author, class divisions refers to _. A. genius and stupidity. B. different opportunities for people.C. oppressor and the oppressed. D. the rich and the poor. abcad博弈论： Passage FiveEconomics has often been criticized as a science con

43、cerned only with the short term, to the exclusion of consideration of how short term goals affect long-term consequences. While it is true that economics is generally focused on achieving short-term maximization of resources, it must be kept in mind that the long term is never neglected. One of the

44、most intrinsic concepts in the field of economics is game theory, which examines how the choices immediately facing an individual will affect his subsequent breadth of choices that emerge afterward.For example, consider the case of a manager of a business who must decide whether to create a shoddy p

45、roduct, aware of the fact that ignorant buyers will buy an equal amount of the item regardless of its quality, since they know nothing about it yet. Assume that creating a shoddy product is less expensive than creating merchandise of higher quality. Short-term economics would argue that it is the be

46、st course of action for the manager to create the low-quality item, since the same reward would be achieved for a lower price.More properly applied economics, however, would demand further consideration, taking into account the long-term. While creating a shoddy product in the long term would boost

47、short-term profits, it would also cause buyers not to purchase from the managers company in the future, resulting in a significant loss in long-term profits. Consequently, the boost in short term profit would have to be weighed against the loss in long-term profits, providing a more realistic and ap

48、plicable aspect to the decision making process. When game theory comes into play, economics becomes a more useful tool in real world situations.Have examined the way in which game theory is applied, its name now makes sense. Game theory is similar to a chess game, in which the effects of ones choice

49、s on the other players in the “game” must be considered prior to action. In that sense, the application of economics to practical decision-making becomes at once more complicated yet more sensible. One must always be thinking ahead and anticipating future scenarios based on current situations, for a

50、lthough economics is concerned with maximization, maximization is a long-term, not a short-term, goal.21. According to the passage, which of the following is not necessarily true?A. Excluding game theory, economics is a short-sighted science.B. Game theory is only properly applied when future decisi

51、ons are considered.C. Maximization is a goal that can only be achieved in the long-term.D. Game theory leads managers to make correct decisions with the application of economics.22. In Para. 3, “the boost in short term profit would have to be weighed against the loss in long-term profits” indicates

52、that _. A. long-term profits are more important than short-term profits B. both the long-term and the short-term effects must be considered when making decisions C. boosts in short-term profits are most often less than loss in long-term profits D. if decreases in long-term profits exceed increases i

53、n short-term profits, the action is not advisable23. The passage shows that the author views economics as _. A. a science useful for decision-making in both the long and the short term, as demonstrated by the example of game theory B. an entirely applicable science, despite common criticisms of shor

54、t-sightedness C. a short sighted science, except for the concept of game theory D. the most practical and useful method by which to determine the proper solutions to long and short term questions24. The main purpose of Para. 4 is to _. A. reiterate the argument that economics is not a short-sighted

55、science B. summarize the preceding argument presented in the text C. state the concept of game theorys application to economics in a condensed version D. lead the reader to a conclusion supported by the author25. From the passage we learn that _. A. game theory is arguably the most important aspect

56、of applied economics B. most people are unaware of the existence of game theory in economics, thus spurring criticism C. without game theory, economics is of very little use to practical decision-making D. game theory makes applied economics more practical and useful cbacd择业： Passage SixThere are a

57、great many careers in which the increasing emphasis is on specialization. You find these careers in engineering, in production, in statistical work, and in teaching. But there is an increasing demand for people who are able to take in a great area at a glance, people who perhaps do not know too much about any one field. There is, in other words, a demand for people who are capable of seeing the forest rather than the trees, of making general judgments. We can call these people “generalists”. And these “generalists” are particularly needed for positions in administration, where it i