考博英語閱讀理解習題

1、Passage OneThe HeroMy mothers parents came from Hungary, but my grandfather could trace his origin to Germany and also he was educated in Germany. Although he was able to hold a conversation in nine languages, he was most comfortable in German. Every morning, before going to his office, he read the

2、German language newspaper, which was American owned and published in New York.My grandfather was the only one in his family to come to the United States with his wife and children. He still had relatives living in Europe. When the first world war broke out, he lamented the fact that if my uncle, his

3、 only son had to go, it would be cousin fighting against cousin. In the early days of the war, my grandmother begged him to stop taking the German newspaper and to take an English language newspaper, instead. He scoffed at the idea, explaining that the fact it was in German did not make it a German

4、newspaper, but only an American newspaper, printed in German. But my grandmother insisted, for fear that the neighbors may see him read it and think he was German. So, he finally gave up the German newspaper.One day, the inevitable happened and my uncle Milton received notice to join the army. My gr

5、andparents were very upset, but my mother, his little sister, was excited. Now she could boast about her soldier brother going off to war. She was ten years old at the time, and my uncle, realizing how he was regarded by his little sister and her friends, went out and bought them all service pins, w

6、hich meant that they had a loved one in the service. All the little girls were delighted. When the day came for him to leave, his whole regiment, in their uniforms, left together from the same train station. There was a band playing and my mother and her friends came to see him off. Each one wore he

7、r service pin and waved a small American flag, cheering the boys, as they left.The moment came and the soldiers, all very young, none of whom had had any training, but who had never the less all been issued uniforms, boarded the train. The band played and the crowd cheered. The train groaned as if i

8、t knew the destiny to which it was taking its passengers, but it soon began to move. Still cheering and waving their flags, the band still playing, the train slowly departed the station.It had gone about a thousand yards when it suddenly ground to a halt. The band stopped playing, the crowd stopped

9、cheering. Everyone gazed in wonder as the train slowly backed up and returned to the station. It seemed an eternity until the doors opened and the men started to file out. Someone shouted, “Its the armistice. The war is over.” For a moment, nobody moved, but then the people heard someone bark orders

10、 at the soldiers. The men lined up and formed into two lines. They walked down the steps and, with the band playing behind, paraded down the street, as returning heroes, to be welcomed home by the assembled crowd. The next day my uncle returned to his job, and my grandfather resumed reading the Germ

11、an newspaper, which he read until the day he died.41. Where was the narrators family when this story took place?A. In Germany.B. In Hungary.C. In the United StatesD. In New York.42.His grandfather _.A. could not speak and read English well enoughB. knew nine languages equally wellC. knew a number of

12、 languages, but felt more kin to GermanD. loved German best because it made him think of home43. His grandmother did not want her husband to buy and read newspapers in German, because _.A. it was war time and Germans were their enemyB. the neighbors would mistake them as pro-GermanC. it was easier t

13、o get newspapers in English in AmericaD. nobody else read newspapers in German during the wartime44. The narrators mother wanted her brother to go to fight in the war, because_.A. like everybody else at the wartime, she was very patrioticB. she hated the war and the Germans very muchC. all her frien

14、ds had relatives in war and she wanted to be like themD. she liked to have a brother she could think of as a heroPassage Two Waking Up from the American Dreams There has been much talk recently about the phenomenon of “Wal-Martization” of America, which refers to the attempt of Americas giant Wal-Ma

15、rt chain store company to keep its cost at rock-bottom levels. For years, many American companies have embraced Wal-Mart-like stratagems to control labor costs, such as hiring temps (temporary workers) and part-timers, fighting unions, dismantling internal career ladders and outsourcing to lower pay

16、ing contractors at home and abroad.While these tactics have the admirable outcome of holding down consumer prices, theyre costly in other ways. More than a quarter of the labor force, about 34 million workers, is trapped in low-wage, often dead-end jobs. Many middle-income and high-skilled employees

17、 face fewer opportunities, too, as companies shift work to subcontract or sand temps agencies and move white-collar jobs to China and India. The result has been an erosion of one of Americas most cherished value: giving its people the ability to move up the economic ladder over their life times. His

18、torically, most Americans, even low-skilled ones, were able to find poorly paid janitorial or factory jobs, then gradually climbed into the middleclass as they gained experience and moved up the wage curve. But the number of workers progressing upward began to slip in 1970s. Upward mobility diminish

19、ed even more in the 1980s as globalization and technology slammed blue-collar wages.Restoring American mobility is less a question of knowing what to do than of making it happen. Experts have decried schools in adequacy for years, but fixing them is a long, arduous struggle. Similarly, there have be

20、en plenty of warnings about declining college access, but finding funds was difficult even in eras of large surpluses.45. The American dream in this passage mainly refers to_.A. there are always possibilities offered to people to develop themselves in the societyB. Americans can always move up the p

21、ay ladderC. American young people can have access to college, even they are poorD. the labor force is not trapped in low-wage and dead-end jobs46. Wal-Mart strategy, according to this passage, is to_.A. hire temps and part-timers to reduce its costB. outsource its contracts to lower price agencies a

22、t home and abroadC. hold down its consumer price by controlling its labor costsD. dismantle the career ladder and stop peoples mobility upward47. Which of the following statements is NOTTRUE?A. Wal-Martization has been successful in keeping costs at rock-bottom levels.B. Upward mobility for low-skil

23、led workers has become impossible in the U.S.C. More business opportunities are given to low-cost agencies in China and India.D. Although people know how to restore American mobility, its difficult to change the present situation.Passage Three Seniors and the CityTens of thousands of retirees are pu

24、lling up stakes in suburban areas and fashioning their own retirement communities in the heart of the bustling city. They are looking for what most older people want: a home with no stairs and low crime rates. And they are willing to exchange regular weekly golf time for rich cultural offerings, you

25、ng neighbors and plenty of good restaurants. Spying an opportunity, major real-estate developer shave broken ground on urban sites they intended to market to suburban retirees. These seniors are already changing the face of big cities. One developer, Fran Mc Carthy asks: “Who ever thought that subur

26、ban flight would be roundtrip?” The trickle of older folks returning to the city has grown into a steady stream. While some cities, especially those with few cultural offerings, have seen an exodus of seniors, urban planners say others have become retirees magnets. Between 1999 and 2000, the populat

27、ion of 64-to-75-year-olds in downtown Chicago rose 17 percent. Austin, New Orleans, and Los Angeles have seen double-digit increases as well. There may be hidden health benefits to city living. A study reveals that moving from suburbs to the city can ward off the byproduct of aging- social isolation

28、. In the next six years, downtowns are expected to grow even grayer. For affluent retirees, city life is an increasingly popular option.48. Retired seniors are moving back into the city because_.A. they find there are too many crimes in the suburbsB. unlike the flats in the city, their country house

29、 have stairs to climbC. they are no longer interested in playing golfD. in the city, they have more social and cultural life against loneliness49. From the passage we can infer that_.A. the real-estate developers have broken their original contracts of construction with senior retireesB. a life in t

30、he downtown city is expensive, and most of those retirees who moved back into the city are very well-offC. with more older people living in the city, the city will become gray and less beautifulD. very soon the American suburban areas will face their low population crisis50. Fran Mc Carthys question

31、 means: nobody ever thought that_.A. people who moved out of the city decades ago now would move backB. suburban dwellers when moving back into the city must take roundtripC. suburban flight years ago would go in circlesD. senior peoples moving back into the city would take place all over the United

32、 States41-45CCBDA46-50CBDBA考博英語閱讀理解習題Most of us are taught to pay attention to what is saidthe words. Words do provide us with some information， but meanings are derived from so many other sources that it would hinder our effectiveness as a partner to a relationship to rely too heavily on words alon

33、e. Words are used to describe only a small part of the many ideas we associate with any given message. Sometimes we can gain insight into some of those associations if we listen for more than words. We don't always say what we mean or mean what we say. Sometimes our words don't mean anything

34、 except “ I'm letting off some steam. I don't really want you to pay close attention to what I'm saying. Just pay attention to what I'm feeling.” Mostly we mean several things at once. A person wanting to purchase a house says to the current owner， “This step has to be fixed before I

35、'll buy.” The owner says， “ It's been like that for years.” Actually， the step hasn't been like that for years， but the unspoken message is： “ I don't want to fix it. We put up with it. Why can't you？” The search for a more expansive view of meaning can be developed of examining

36、a message in terms of who said it， when it occurred， the related conditions or situation， and how it was said.When a message occurs can also reveal associated meaning. Let us assume two couples do exactly the same amount of kissing and arguing. But one couple always kisses after an argument and the

37、other couple always argues after a kiss. The ordering of the behaviors may mean a great deal more than the frequency of the behavior. A friend's unusually docile behavior may only be understood by noting that it was preceded by situations that required an abnormal amount of assertiveness. Some r

38、esponses may be directly linked to a developing pattern of responses and defy logic. For example， a person who says “No！” to a serials of charges like “You're dumb，” “You're lazy，” and “You're dishonest，” may also say “No！” and try to justify his or her response if the next statement is

39、“And you're good looking.”We would do well to listen for how messages are presented. The words， “If sure has been nice to have you over，” can be said with emphasis and excitement or ritualistically. The phrase can be said once or repeated several times. And the meanings we associate with the phr

40、ase will change accordingly. Sometimes if we say something infrequently it assumes more importance； sometimes the more we say something the less importance it assumes.1.Effective communication is rendered possible between two conversing partners， if _.A.they use proper words to carry their ideas.B.t

41、hey both speak truly of their own feelings.C.they try to understand each other's ideas beyond words.D.they are capable of associating meaning with their words.2.“I'm letting off some steam” in paragraph 1 means_.A.I'm just calling your attention.B.I'm just kidding.C.I'm just sayi

42、ng the opposite.D.I'm just giving off some sound.3.The house-owner's example shows that he actually means_.A.the step has been like that for years.B.he doesn't think it necessary to fix the step.C.the condition of the step is only a minor fault.D.the cost involved in the fixing should be

43、 shared.4.Some responses and behaviors may appear very illogical， but are justifiable if_.A.linked to an abnormal amount of assertiveness.B.seen as one's habitual pattern of behavior.C.taken as part of an ordering sequence.D.expressed to a series of charges.5.The word “ritualistically” in the la

44、st paragraph equals something done_.A.without true intention.B.light-heartedly.C.in a way of ceremony.D.with less emphasis.答案：Which is safer-staying at home，traveling to work on public transport，or working in the office？ Surprisingly， each of these carries the same risk，which is very low. However，wh

45、at about flying compared to working in the chemical industry？Unfortunately，the former is 65 times riskier than the latter！In fact，the accident rate of workers in the chemical industry is less than that of almost any of human activity，and almost as safe as staying at home. examdaThe trouble with the

46、chemical industry is that when things go wrong they often cause death to those living nearby. It is this which makes chemical accidents so newsworthy. Fortunately， they are extremely rare. The most famous ones happened at Texas City （1947），F(xiàn)lixborough （1974）， Seveso （1976）， Pemex （1984） and Bhopal （

47、1984）。Some of these are always in the minds of the people even though the loss of life was small. No one died at Seveso， and only 28 workers at Flixborough. The worst accident of all was Bhopal， where up to 3，000 were killed. The Texas City explosion of fertilizer killed 552. The Pemex fire at a sto

48、rage plant for natural gas in the suburbs of Mexico City took 542 lives， just a month before the unfortunate event at Bhopal.Some experts have discussed these accidents and used each accident to illustrate a particular danger. Thus the Texas City explosion was caused by tons of ammonium nitrate（硝酸銨）

49、，which is safe unless stored in great quantity. The Flixborough fireball was the fault of management， which took risks to keep production going during essential repairs. The Seveso accident shows what happens if the local authorities lack knowledge of the danger on their doorstep. When the poisonous

50、 gas drifted over the town， local leaders were incapable of taking effective action. The Pemex fire was made worse by an overloaded site in an overcrowded suburb. The fire set off a chain reaction os exploding storage tanks. Yet， by a miracle， the two largest tanks did not explode. Had these caught

51、fire， then 3，000 strong rescue team and fire fighters would all have died.examda1.Which of the following statements is true？A.Working at the office is safer than staying at home.B.Traverlling to work on public transport is safer than working at the office.C.Staying at home is safer than working in t

52、he chemical industry.D.Working in the chemical industry is safer than traveling by air.2.Chemical accidents are usually important enough to be reported as news because _.A.they are very rareB.they often cause loss of lifeC.they always occur in big citiesD.they arouse the interest of all the readers3

53、.According to passage， the chemical accident that caused by the fault of management happened at _.A.Texas cityB.FlixboroughC.SevesoD.Mexico City4.From the passage we know that ammonium nitrate is a kind of _.A.natural gas， which can easily catch fireB.fertilizer， which can't be stored in a great

54、 quantityC.poisonous substance， which can't be used in overcrowded areasD.fuel， which is stored in large tanks5.From the discussion among some experts we may coclude that _.A.to avoid any accidents we should not repair the facilities in chemical industryB.the local authorities should not be conc

55、erned with the production of the chemical industryC.all these accidents could have been avoided or controlled if effective measure had been takenD.natural gas stored in very large tanks is always safe答案：A controversy erupted in the scientific community in early 1998 over the use of DNA （deoxyribonuc

56、leic acid ） fingerprinting in criminal investigations. DNA fingerprinting was introduced in 1987 as a method to identify individuals based on a pattern seen in their DNA， the molecule of which genes are made. DNA is present in every cell of the body except red blood cells. DNA fingerprinting has bee

57、n used successfully in various ways， such as to determine paternity where it is not clear who the father of a particular child is. However， it is in the area of criminal investigations that DNA fingerprinting has potentially powerful and controversial uses.DNA fingerprinting and other DNA analysis t

58、echniques have revolutionized criminal investigations by giving investigators powerful new tools in the attempt to trove guilt， not just establish innocence. When used in criminal investigations， a DNA fingerprint pattern from a suspect is compared with a DNA fingerprint pattern obtained from such material as hairs or blood found at the scene of a crime. A match between the two DNA samples can be used as evidence to convict a suspect.The controversy in 1998 stemmed form a report published in December 1991 by population geneticists Richard C. Lew