12-英语四级考试真题试卷(第三套)阅读

GrowingUpColored

[A]Youwouldn'tknowPiedmontanymore—myPiedmont,Imean—thetowninWestVirginiawhereIlearnedtobeacoloredboy.

[B]The1950sinPiedmontwasatimetoremember,oratleasttome.PeoplewerealwaysproudtobefromPiedmont—lyingatthefootofamountain,onthebanksofthemightyPotomac.WeknewGodgaveAmericanomorebeautifullocation.Ineverknewcoloredpeopleanywherewhowerecrazieraboutmountainsandwater,flowersandtrees,fishingandhunting.Foraslongasanyonecouldremember,wecouldouthunt,outshoot,andoutswimthewhiteboysinthevalley.

[C]ThesocialstructureofPiedmontwassomethingweknewlikethebackofourhands.Itwasanimmigranttown;whitePiedmontwasItalianandIrish,withahandfulofwealthyWASPs(盎格鲁撒克逊裔的白人新教徒)onEastHampshireStreet,and"ethnic"neighborhoodsofworking-classpeopleeverywhereelse,coloredandwhite.

[D]Foraslongasanyonecanremember,Piedmont'scharacterhasbeencompletelyboundupwiththeWestvacopapermill:itsprosperouspastanddoubtfulfuture.Atfirstglance,thetownisatypicaldyingmillcenter.Manyoncebeautifulbuildingsstandempty,evidencingabygonetimeofspiritandpride.ThebighousesonEastHampshireStreetarenolongerproud,astheywerewhenI

[E]LiketheItaliansandtheIrish,mostofthecoloredpeoplemigratedtoPiedmontattheturnofthe20thcenturytoworkatthepapermill,whichopenedin1888.Allthecoloredmenatthepapermillworkedon"theplatform"—loadingpaperintotrucksuntilthecraftunionswerefinallyintegratedin1968.LoadingiswhatDaddydideveryworkingdayofhislife.That'swhatalmosteverycoloredgrown-upIknewdid.

[F]Coloredpeoplelivedinthreeneighborhoodsthatwereclearlyseparated.WelcometotheColoredZone,alargestretchedbannercouldhavesaid.Anditfeltgoodinthere,likewalkingaroundyourhouseinbarefeetandunderwear,orsnoringrightoutloudonthecouchinfrontoftheTV—envelopedbythecomfortsofhome,thewarmthofthoseyoulove.

[G]Ofcourse,thecoloredworldwasnotsomuchaneighborhoodasaconditionofexistence.Andthoughourownworldwasseeminglyself-contained,itimpactedonthewhiteworldofPiedmontinalmosteverydirection.Certainly,thebordersofourworldseemedtobeimpactedonwhensomewhitemanorwomanshowedupwhereheorshedidnotbelong,suchasattheblackLegionHall.Ourspacewasviolatedwhenoneofthemshowedupatadanceoraparty.Therhythmswouldbeoff.Themusicwouldsoundnotquiteright:attemptstopatthebeatoffjustso.Everybodywouldleaveearly.

[H]Before1955,mostwhitepeoplewerejustshadowypresencesinourworld,vaguefiguresofpowerlikeremotebossesatthemillortellersatthebank.Therewereexceptions,ofcourse,thewhitepeoplewhowouldcomeintoourworldinritualized,everydaywaysweallunderstood.Mr.MailMan,Mr.InsuranceMan,Mr.White-and-ChocolateMilkMan,Mr.LandlordMan,Mr.PoliceMan:wecalledwhitepeoplebytheirtrade,likecharactersinamysteryplay.Mr.InsuranceManwouldcomebyeveryotherweektocollectpremiumsoncollegeordeathpolicies,sometimes50centsorless.

[I]"It'snodisgracetobecolored,"theblackentertainerBertWilliamsfamouslyobservedearlyinthecentury,"butitisawfullyinconvenient."Formostofmychildhood,wecouldn'tcatinrestaurantsorsleepinhotels,wecouldn'tusecertainbathroomsortryonclothesinstores.Mamainsistedthatwedressupwhenwewenttoshop.Shewascarefullydressedwhenshewenttoclothingstores,andworewhitepadscalledshieldsunderherarmssoherdressorblousewouldshownosweat."We'dliketotrythison,"she'dsaycarefully,utteringherwordspreciselyandproperly."Wedon'tbuyclotheswecan'ttryon,"she'dsaywhentheydeclined,andwe'dwalkoutinMama'sdignified(有尊严的)manner.Shepreferredtoshopwherewehadanaccountandwhereeveryoneknewwhoshewas.

[J]AttheCut-RateDrugStore,noonecoloredwasallowedtositdownatthecounterortables,withoneexception:myfather.Idon'tknowforcertainwhyCarlDadisman,theowner,wouldn'tstopDaddyfromsittingdown.ButIbelieveitwasinpartbecauseDaddywassolight-colored,andinpartbecause,duringhisshiftatthephonecompany,hepickedupordersforfoodandcoffeefortheoperators.Coloredpeopleweresupposedtostandatthecounter,gettheirfoodtogo,andleave.EvenwhenYoungDocBesswouldsetupthebasketballteamwithfreeCokesafteroneofmanyvictories,thecoloredplayershadtostandaroundanddrinkoutofpapercupswhilethewhiteplayersandcheerleaderssatdownincomfortablechairsanddrankoutofglasses.

[K]Icouldn'thavebeenmucholderthanfiveorsixasIsatwithmyfatherattheCut-Rateoneafternoon,enjoyingtwoscoopsofcaramelicecream.Mr.Wilson,astony-faced,broodingIrishman,walkedby.

"Hello,Mr.Wilson,"myfathersaid.

"Hello,George."

[L]Iwasgenuinelypuzzled.Mr.Wilsonmusthaveconfusedmyfatherwithsomebodyelse,butwho?Thereweren'tanyGeorgesamongthecoloredpeopleinPiedmont."Whydon'tyoutellhimyourname,Daddy?"Iaskedloudly."Yournameisn'tGeorge."

"Heknowsmyname,boy,"myfathersaidafteralongpause."HecallsallcoloredpeopleGeorge."

[M]Iknewwewouldn'ttalkaboutitagain;evenatthatage,1wasgiventounderstandthatthereweresomesubjectsitdidn'tdotoworrytodeathabout.NowthatIhavechildren,Irealizethatwhatdistressedmyfatherwasn'tsomuchtheMr.Wilsonsoftheworldasthepainfulobligationtoexplaintheracialfactsoflifetosomeonewhohadn'tquitelearnedthemyet.MaybeMr.Wilsoncouldn'thurtmyfatherbycallinghimGeorge;butIhurthimbyaskingtoknowwhy.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

hireoneteacherforeverythreeinfants,thepriceofcareaveragedmorethan$16,000peryear.InMississippi,wherecentersmusthireoneteacherforeveryfiveinfants,thepriceofcareaveragedlessthan$5,000.

Unfortunately,Idon'thaveallthedaycare-centerregulationshandy.ButIwouldn'tbesurprisedifastheruleshavebecomemoreelaborate,priceshaverisen.Thetradeoff(交换)mightbeworthitinsomecases;afterall,thehealthandsafetyofchildrenshouldprobablycomebeforecheapservice.Butcertainly,itdoesn'tseemtobeanaccidentthatsomeofthecheapestdaycareavailableisintheleast.

56.Whatproblemdoparentsofsmallkidshavetoface?

A)Theever-risingchildcareprices.

B)Thebudgetingoffamilyexpenses.

C)Thebalancebetweenworkandfamily.

D)Theselectionofagooddaycarecenter.

57.Whatdoestheauthorfeelpuzzledabout?

A)Whythepricesofchildcarevarygreatlyfromstatetostate.

B)Whyincreasedchildcarepriceshavenotledtobetterservice.

C)Whychildcareworkers'payhasnotincreasedwiththerisingchildcarecosts.

D)Whythereisasevereshortageofchildcareprofessionalinanumberofstates.

58.Whatpreventchildcarecentersfromsavingmoney?

A)Steadyincreaseinlaborcosts.

B)Strictgovernmentregulations.

C)Lackofsupportfromthestate.

D)Highadministrativeexpenses.

59.WhyistheaveragecostofchildcareinMississippimuchlowerthaninMassachusetts?

A)Theoverallqualityofserviceisnotasgood.

B)Paymentsforcaregiverstherearenotashigh.

C)Livingexpensestherearecomparativelylow.

D)Eachteacherisallowedtocareformorekids.

60.Whatistheauthor'sviewondaycareservice?

A)Caregiversshouldreceiveregularprofessionaltraining.

B)Lesselaboraterulesaboutchildcaremightlowercosts.

C)Itiscrucialtostrikeabalancebetweenqualityandcosts.

D)Itisbetterfordifferentstatestolearnfromeachother.

PassageTwo

Questions61to65arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

AlexPang'samusingnewbookTheDistractionAddictionaddressesthoseofuswhofeelpanicwithoutacellphoneorcomputer.Andthat,heclaims,isprettymuchallofus.Whenwe'renotonline,wherewespendfourmonthsannually,we'reengagedinthestressfulworkoftryingtogetonline.

TheDistractionAddictionisnotframedasaself-helpbook.It'sathoughtfulexaminationofthedangerofourcomputingoverdoseandahistoricaloverviewofhowtechnologicaladvanceschangeconsciousness.A"professionalfuturist",Pangurgesanapproachwhichhecalls"contemplative(沉思的)computing."Heasksthatyoupayfullattentionto"howyourmindandbodyinteractwithcomputersandhowyourattentionandcreativityareinfluencedbytechnology."

Pang'sfirstjobistofreeyoufromcommonmisconceptionthatdoingtwothingsatonceallowsyoutogetmoredone.Whatiscommonlycalledmultitaskingis,infact,switch-tasking,anditsharmfuleffectsonproductivityarewelldocumented.Pangdoesn'tadvocatereturningtoapreinternetworld.Instead,heasksyouto"takeamoreecological(生态的)viewofyourrelationshipswithtechnologiesandlookforwaysdevicesormediamaybemakingspecifictaskseasierorfasterbutatthesametimemakingyourworkandlifeharder."

TheDistractionAddictionisparticularlyfascinatingonhowtechnologieshavechangedcertainfieldoflabor—oftenfortheworse.Forarchitects,computer-aideddesignhasbecomeessentialbutinsomewayshascheapenedthedesignprocess.Asonearchitectputsit,"Architectureisfirstandforemostaboutthinking...anddrawingisamoreproductivewayofthinking"thancomputer-aideddesign.SomewhatlessamusingarePang'ssolutionsforkickingtheInternethabit.Herecommendstheusualbehavior-modificationapproaches,familiartoanyonewhohascompletedaquit-smokingprogram.Keeplogstostudyyouronlineprofileanddecidewhatyoucanknockout,downloadaprogramlikeFreedomthatlocksyououtofyourbrowser,ortakea"digitalSabbath(安息日)";"Unlessyou'reareporteroremergency-departmentdoctor,you'lldiscoverthatyourworlddoesn'tfallapartwhenyougooffline."

61.AlexPang'snewbookisaimedforreaderswho________.

A)findtheirworkonlinetoostressful

B)goonlinemainlyforentertainment

C)arefearful