自主学习阅读材料四级

1、Exchange a glance with someone1. every glance 2. to avoid 3. ceasing to 4. Uneasy 5. the role of .Geraldo Rivera 6. TV program 7. Five 8. all of the above 9. an organization in 10. Rivera never In the old days,11.usually witnessed 12.to learn 13.learning how 14.his desire 15.dying patients should Th

2、e oldest and simplest method16.personality 17. had a pleasant 18.people with 19.are often 20.different opinions Passage 5 Space is a dangerous place, not only because of meteors (流星) but also because of rays from the sun and other stars. The atmosphere again acts as our protective blanket on earth.

3、Light gets through, and this is essential for plants to make the food which we eat. Heat, too, makes our environment endurable. Various kinds of rays come through the air from outer space, but enormous quantities of radiation from the sun are screened off. As soon as men leave the atmosphere they ar

4、e exposed to this radiation but their spacesuits or the walls of their spacecraft, if they are inside, do prevent a lot of radiation damage. Radiation is the greatest known danger to explorers in space. The unit of radiation is called rem. Scientists have reason to think that a man can put up with f

5、ar more radiation than 0.1 rem without being damaged; the figure of 60 rems has been agreed on. The trouble is that it is extremely difficult to be sure about radiation damage - a person may feel perfectly well, but the cells of his or her sex organs may be damaged, and this will not be discovered u

6、ntil the birth of deformed (畸形的) children or even grandchildren.Missions of the Apollo flights have had to cross belts of high radiation and, during the outward and return journeys, the Apollo crew accumulated a large amount of rems. So far, no dangerous amounts of radiation have been reported, but

7、the Apollo missions have been quite short. We simply do not know yet how men are going to get on when they spend weeks and months outside the protection of the atmosphere, working in a space laboratory. Drugs might help to decrease the damage done by radiation, but no really effective ones have been

8、 found so far.21. According to the first paragraph, the atmosphere is essential to man in that_. A) it protects him against the harmful rays from space B) it provides sufficient light for plant growth C) it supplies the heat necessary for human survival D) it screens off the falling meteors22. We kn

9、ow from the passage that_. A) exposure to even tiny amounts of radiation is fatal B) the effect of exposure to radiation is slow in coming C) radiation is avoidable in space exploration D) astronauts in spacesuits neednt worry about radiation damage23. The harm radiation has done to the Apollo crew

10、members_. A) is insignificant B) seems overestimated C) is enormous D) remains unknown24. It can be inferred from the passage that_. A) the Apollo mission was very successful B) protection from space radiation is no easy job C) astronauts will have deformed children or grandchildren D) radiation is

11、not a threat to well-protected space explorers25. The best title for this passage would be_. A) The Atmosphere and Our Environment B) Research on Radiation C) Effects of Space Radiation D) Importance of Protection Against RadiationPassage 6 Although the United Kingdom covers only a small area of the

12、 earths surface, it represents people of many different origins and cultures. Yet all of them are British indeed, it would be difficult to find anyone in modern Britain who could say with certainty that his ancestors had not come to the British Isles from somewhere else. Who, then, are todays Britai

13、ns and what kind of people are they? The history of human settlement in Britain goes back to the Stone Age hunters and gatherers who arrived from the European continent about 10,000 years ago. The peoples who followed them were settled agriculturalists who kept domestic animals and knew how to make

14、simple pottery. Around 2000 BC these Stone Age people started to erect huge stone monuments, or henges, possibly for religious purposes. Work on the henges continued into the Bronze Age, until about 1500BC. The most imposing and mysterious of these ancient monuments is Stonehenge, on windswept Salis

15、bury plain in southwest England. Easy communication between the islands and the continental mainland must have existed and, from earliest times, this encouraged migration. By the end of the Bronze Age, around 700BC, Celtic people had arrived from north-western Europe bringing with them a revolutiona

16、ry new skill: ironworking. Celts continued to come and settle in Britain for about 500 years and, by the time the Romans first landed in 55BC, the Celtic culture was well established. The earliest written records of Britains inhabitants come from the Romans who eventually conquered the various Celti

17、c kingdoms then flourishing in England, Wales and the Scottish Low-lands. 26. In this passage the author intends to tell the origin of _.A. the BritishB. the CeltsC. the EnglishD. the Romans27. From the passage we know that_.A. everyone in Britain came from the British IslesB. almost everyone came t

18、o the British Isles from somewhere elseC. almost everyone in Britain had his or her family origin from the British IslesD. almost every British citizen had his or her family origin from somewhere else28. According to the passage, the earliest inhabitants in Britain were_.A. the earliest agricultural

19、ists B. CeltsC. Stone Age hunters and gatherersD. Romans29. Thanks to _ we can learn about the earliest inhabitants in Britain.A. Celts from north-western EuropeB. Stonehenge on Salisbury plainC. The well-established Celtic cultureD. The Romans occupying the Celtic Kingdoms in Britain30. According t

20、o the passage which of the following is NOT true?A. There were already religious activities in ancient Britain.B. Communication between the British islands and the continental mainland was convenient in the earliest times.C. There were many Celtic Kingdoms in Britain when the Romans came in 55 BC.D.

21、 There were blacksmiths in Britain before 700 BC. Passage 7 The concept of environment is certainly difficult and may even be misunderstood; but we have no handy substitute. It seems simple enough to distinguish between the organism and the surrounding environment and to separate forces acting on an

22、 organism into those that are internal and biological and those that are external and environmental. But in actual practice this system breaks down in many ways, because the organism and the environment are constantly interacting so that the environment is modified by the organism and vice versa (反之

23、亦然). In the case of men, the difficulties with the environmental concept are even more complicated because we have to deal with man as an animal and with men as a bearer (持有者) of culture. If we look at man as an animal and try to analyze the environmental forces that are acting on the organism, we f

24、ind that we have to deal with things like climate, soil, plants, and such-like factors common to all biological situations; but we also find, always, very important environmental influences that we can only class as cultural, whichmodify the physical and biological factors. But men, as we know him,

25、is always a bearer of culture; and if we study human culture, we find that it, in turn, is modified by the environmental factors of climate and geography. We thus easily get into great difficulties from the necessity of viewing culture, at one moment, as a part of the man and, at another moment, as

26、a part of the environment.31. Which of the following words can best describe the popular understanding of environment as the author sees it?A) Elaborate.B) Prejudiced.C) Faultless. D) Oversimplified.32. According to the author the concept of environment is difficult to explain because_. A) it doesnt

27、 distinguish between the organism and the environment B) it involves both internal and external forces C) the organism and the environment influence each other D) the relationship between the organism and the environment is unclear33. In analyzing the environmental forces acting on man the author su

28、ggests that_.A) biological factors are less important to the organism than cultural factors to manB) man and other animals are modified equally by the environmental forcesC) man is modified by the cultural environment as well as by the natural environment D) physical and biological factors exert mor

29、e influence on other organisms than on man34. As for culture, the author points out that_. A) it develops side by side with environmental factors B) it is also affected by environmental factors C) it is generally accepted to be part of the environment D) it is a product of mans biological instincts3

30、5. In this passage, the author is primarily concerned with_. A) the interpretation of the term environment B) the discussion on organisms and biological environment C) the comparison between internal and external factors influencing man D) the evaluation of mans influence on culturePassage 8 Togethe

31、r with earthquakes, volcanoes are phenomena which both delight and terrify the human mind at the same time. Some of the most beautiful mountains in the world, admired by all who see them, are volcanoes. On the other hand, volcanoes have throughout history caused great destruction. The term volcano i

32、s associated with the island of Vulcano just north of Sicily. In classical times, this was thought to be the home of the god Vulcanthe god of destruction. Volcanoes have always been objects of mystery, and this is true today even despite the advances of science.A volcano is a kind of chimney, or “ve

33、nt” which goes down to a liquid deep inside the earth, called “magma”. Three types of material come out of the vent: a hot liquid called lava, pieces of rock, and great quantities of gas. The lava and rock often collect round the vent and form what is known as the volcanos cone. Volcanic eruptions v

34、ary between two extremes. In one, the lava comes quietly to the surface and flows away as a river, causing little damage except to objects directly in its path. On the other extreme great explosions occur, frequently blowing away the cone and causing great damage. The great majority of the worlds vo

35、lcanoes are intermediate between these two extremes.There are several ways of classifying volcanoes. This is usually done according to the type of vent or the nature of the explosion. According to this latter classification, the most explosive type of volcano is the Pelean type, named after the erup

36、tion of Mount Pelee in the Lesser Antibes in 1902. The characteristic feature of this type is the so-called “glowing cloud”. This is a great cloud of red lava thrown from the volcano at high speed.36. Volcanoes_.A. delight people rather than terrify themB. either delight people or terrify themC. nei

37、ther delight people nor terrify themD. delight people and, on the other hand, terrify them37. The first paragraph implies that in classical times_. A. there were a lot of volcanic eruptions on the island of VulcanoB. Vulcan lived on the island of VulcanoC. the island of Vulcano lay, and still lies t

38、oday, just north of SicilyD. there were a lot of volcanic eruptions on the island of Sicily38. The word vent (Para. 2, Line 1)means_.A. something like a chimney in the volcanoB. magma deep inside the earthC. the volcanos coneD. lava, rock, and gas 39. According to this passage, most of the worlds vo

39、lcanic eruptions_.A. are extremely destructiveB. cause little damageC. are neither extremely destructive nor extremely nondestructiveD. are either extremely destructive or extremely nondestructive 40. According to _, the Pelean type is the most explosive type of Volcano.A. the type of ventB. the nat

40、ure of the explosionC. the colour of lavaD. the “glowing cloud”Passage 9 If you want to stay young, sit down and have a good think. This is the research finding of a team of Japanese doctors, who say that most of our brains are not getting enough exercise-and as a result, we are ageing unnecessarily

41、 soon. Professor Taiju Matsuzawa wanted to find out why otherwise healthy farmers in northern Japan appeared to be losing their ability to think and reason at a relatively early age, and how the process of ageing could be slowed down. With a team of colleagues at Tokyo National University, he set ab

42、out measuring brain volumes of a thousand people of different ages and varying occupations. Computer technology enabled the researchers to obtain precise measurements of the volume of the front and side sections of the brain, which relate to intellect (智能) and emotion, and determine the human charac

43、ter. (The rear section of the brain, which controls functions like eating and breathing, does not contract with age, and one can continue without intellectual or emotional faculties.) Contraction of front and side parts-as cells die off-was observed in some subjects in their thirties, but it was sti

44、ll not evident in some sixty-and seventy-year olds. Matsuzawa concluded from his tests that there is simple remedy to the contraction normally associated with age-using the head. The findings show in general terms that contraction of the brain begins sooner in people in the country than in the towns

45、. Those least at risk, says Matsuzawa, are lawyers, followed by university professors and doctors. White collar workers doing routine work in government offices are, however, as likely to have shrinking brains as the farm worker, bus driver and shop assistant. Matsuzawas findings show that thinking

46、can prevent the brain from shrinking. Blood must circulate properly in the head to supply the fresh oxygen the brain cells need. The best way to maintain good blood circulation is through using the brain, he says, Think hard and engage in conversation. Dont rely on pocket calculators.41. The team of

47、 doctors wanted to find out_. A) why certain people age sooner than others B) how to make people live longer C) the size of certain peoples brains D) which people are more intelligent42. On what are their research findings based? A) A survey of farmers in northern Japan. B) Tests performed on a thou

48、sand old people. C) The study of brain volumes of different people. D) The latest development of computer technology.43. The doctors tests show that_.A) our brains shrink as we grow olderB) the front section of the brain does not shrinkC) sixty-year-olds have better brains than thirty-year-oldsD) so

49、me peoples brains have contracted more than other44. The word subjects in Paragraph 5 means_. A) something to be considered B) branches of knowledge studied C) persons chosen to be studied in an experiment D) any member of a state except the supreme ruler45. According to the passage, which people se

50、em to age slower than the others? A) Lawyers B) Farmers C) Clerks D) Shop assistantsPassage 10 It is difficult to imagine what life would be like without memory. The meanings of thousands of everyday perceptions, the bases for the decisions we make, and the roots of our habits and skills are to be f

51、ound in our past experiences, which are brought into the present by memory. Memory can be defined as the capacity to keep information available for later use. It includes not only “remembering” things like arithmetic or historical facts, but also involves any change in the way an animal typically be

52、haves. Memory is involved when a rat gives up eating grain because he has sniffed something suspicious in the grain pile. Memory is also involved when a six-year-old child learns to swing a baseball bat. Memory exists not only in humans and animals but also in some physical objects and machines. Com

53、puters, for example, contain devices for storing data for later use. It is interesting to compare the memory-storage capacity of a computer with that of a human being. The instant-access memory of a large computer may hold up to 100,000 ”words”-ready for instant use. An average U.S. teenager probabl

54、y recognizes the meaning of about 100,000 words of English. However, this is but a fraction of the total amount of information which the teenager has stored. Consider, for example, the number of faces and places that the teenager can recognize on sight.The use of words is the basis of the advanced p

55、roblem-solving intelligence of human beings. A large part of a persons memory is in terms of words and combinations of words.46. According to the passage, memory is considered to be _.A. the basis for decision making and problem solvingB. an ability to store experiences for future useC. an intellige

56、nce typically possessed by human beingsD. the data mainly consisting of words and combinations of words47. The comparison made between the memory capacity of a large computer and that of human being shows that_.A. the computers memory has a little bigger capacity than a teenagersB. the computers mem

57、ory capacity is much smaller than an adult human beingsC. the computers memory capacity is much smaller even than a teenagersD. both A and B48. The whole passage implies that_.A. only human beings have problem-solving intelligenceB. a persons memory is different from a computers in every respectC. animals are able to solve only very simple problemsD. animals solve problems by instincts rather than by intelligence49. The phrase “in terms of” in the last sentence can best be replaced by_.A. in connection withB. expressed byC. cons