2009年7月全国自主考试英语阅读(一)真题及答案

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She dressed plainly because she could not dress well, but her unhappiness seemed to be deeper than one might expect. (63She seemed to feel that she had fallen from her proper station in life as a woman of wealth, beauty, grace, and charm.)She valued these above all else in life, yet she could not attain them. (64She cared nothing for caste or rank but only for a natural fineness, an instinct for what is elegant, and a suppleness of wit. )These would have made her the equal of the greatest ladies of the land. If only she could attain them...

    She suffered, feeling born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries. (65She suffered from the poverty of her dwelling, from the wretched look of the walls, from the worn-out chairs, from the ugliness of the curtains. )(66All those things, of which another woman of her rank would never even have been conscious, tortured her and made her angry.) (67The sight of the little Breton peasant who did her humble housework aroused in her despairing regrets and distracted dreams.) She thought of silent antechambers hung with Oriental tapestry, lit by tall bronze candelabra, and of two great footmen in knee breaches sleeping in big armchairs, made drowsy by the heavy warmth of the hot-air stove. She thought of long salons fitted up with ancient silk, of delicate furniture carrying priceless curiosities, and of coquettish perfumed boudoirs made for talks at five o’clock with intimate friends, with men famous and sought after, whom all women envy and whose attention they all desire.

                                                          (From The Necklace)

What is high tech?

When did the expression “state of the art” become popular in the US? Why?

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English is now the international language for airline pilots, scientists, medical experts, businessmen and many others. 51______, more and more people are learning it. The BBC's English teaching programmes are broadcast daily to four continents and supplied to radio stations in 120 countries. Films and video are on the air or used in institutions in over 100 countries. All this helps to add more speakers to the estimated 100 million who use English as a second language. The 52______ to learn English has reached even China. The main reason for the upsurge in interest is recent increase in China’s contacts with the outside world.

    Unlike many other widely used languages, English can be correctly used in a very simple form with less than one thousand words and very few grammatical rules. This was pointed out in the 1920's by two Cambridge scholars, Ogden and Richards, who 53______ a system called “Basic English”. Another reason for the popularity of English is that English-speaking countries are spread throughout the world. An 54______ 310 million people in Britain, the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, South Africa, etc. use English as their mother tongue. Also in former British colonial areas in Africa and Asia where many local languages are spoken, no 55______ language has been found which would make a suitable substitute for English.

    In Delhi, although nationalists would prefer to phase out the use of English, the man from South India finds English more 56______ than Hindi, while the northerner 57______ English to any of the southern languages. Tuming from India to Africa, a similar problem exists. However reluctant African nations are to use English and, as it were, subject themselves to a kind of “cultural imperialism”, there seems to be no alternative language which will do the job of 58______ effectively.

    The view 59______ spreading the use of English is entirely beneficial has its opponents. Some teachers who have returned from overseas consider it creates a wider gap between those who are educated and those who have little or no education. Nevertheless, in many parts of the world, the technical and scientific knowledgeneeded to develop a country’s resources and improve people’s living conditions, is just not available in the mother tongue. A second language opens the door to the worldwide sharing of skills and 60______ in science, engineering and medicine.

                            (From English World-Wide)

(confident) Nobody can answer that question with complete ______ at this stage.

(destroy) Those anticancer drugs are effective, but also ______ to white blood cells.

(hesitate) The employee has no slightest ______ in rejecting his employer's unreasonable demand.

(certain) Some economic experts are ______ whether the world economy in 2009 will become better or continue to decline.

(immense) The revival of the railroad service will be ______ beneficial for the speedy movement of passengers and cargo.

(accord) The mayor must make policies in ______ with the bill passed in the Congress.

(pursue) The whole magazine is produced and edited in the ______ of excellence.

(predict) With the development of science and technology, such natural disasters as earthquake and hurricane are not ______.

(confuse) The old man looked in ______ at his new surroundings, after he got off the bus.

(reject) He keeps applying for jobs but constant ______ have discouraged him.

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To avoid the various foolish opinions to which mankind are prone, no superhuman genius is required. 31______.

    32______. Aristotle could have avoided the mistake of thinking that women have fewer teeth than men, by the simple device of asking Mrs. Aristotle to keep her mouth open while he counted. 33______. Thinking that you know when in fact you don’t is a fatal mistake, to which we are all prone. I believe myself that hedgehogs eat black beetles, because I have been told that they do; but if I were writing a book on the habits of hedgehogs, 34______. Aristotle, however, was less cautious. Ancient and medieval authors knew all about unicorns and salamanders; not one of them thought it necessary to avoid dogmatic statements about them because he had never seen one of them.                                                                                                                                                                                   

    Many matters, however, are less easily brought to the test of experience. If, like most of mankind, you have passionate convictions on many such matters, there are ways in which you can make yourself aware of your own bias. 35______. If some one maintains that two and two are five, or that Iceland is on the equator, you feel pity rather than anger, unless you know so little of arithmetic or geography that his opinion shakes your own contrary conviction. The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way. Persecution is used in theology, not in arithmetic, 36______. So whenever you find yourself getting angry about a difference of opinion, be on your guard; you will probably find, on examination, that your belief is going beyond what the evidence warrants.

37______. When I was young, I lived much outside my own country—in France, Germany, Italy, and the United States. I found this very profitable in diminishing the intensity of insular prejudice. If you cannot travel, seek out people with whom you disagree, and read a newspaper belonging to a party that is not yours. 38______, perverse, and wicked, remind yourself that you seem so to them. In this opinion both parties may be right, but they cannot both be wrong. This reflection should generate a certain caution.

    39______. This has one advantage, and only one, as compared with actual conversation with opponents; this one advantage is that the method is not subject to the same limitations of time or space. Mahatma Gandhi deplores railways and steamboats and machinery; he would like to undo the whole of the industrial revolution. 40______, because in Western countries most people take the advantage of modern technique for granted. But if you want to make sure that you are right in agreeing with the prevailing opinion, you will find it a good plan to test the arguments that occur to you by considering what Gandhi might say in refutation of them. I have sometimes been led actually to change my mind as a result of this kind of imaginary dialogue, and, short of this, I have frequently found myself growing less dogmatic and cocksure through realizing the possible reasonableness of a hypothetical opponent.

                                           (From How to Avoid the Foolish Opinions)

A.You may never have an opportunity of actually meeting any one who holds this opinion

B.Be very wary of opinions that flatter your self-esteem

C.If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry, that is a sign that you are subconsciously aware of having no good reason for thinking as you do

D.He did not do so because he thought he knew

E. For those who have enough psychological imagination, it is a good plan to imagine an argument with a person having a different bias

F. If you are a man, you can point out that most poets and men of science are male; if you are a woman, you can retort that so are most criminals

G. A few simple rules will keep you, not from all error, but from silly error

H. I should not commit myself until I had seen one enjoying this unappetizing diet

I. A good way of riding yourself of certain kinds of dogmatism is to become aware of opinions held in social circles different from your own

 J. because in arithmetic there is knowledge, but in theology there is only opinion

K. If the people and the newspaper seem mad

L. If the matter is one that can be settled by observation, make the observation yourself

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According to the passage, we should ______ in order to live a long life.

According to the writer, people in the Caucasus Mountains not only live a long life, but also ______.

It can be inferred from the passage that smoking heavily ______.

The three mountainous areas the writer mentioned in this passage are ______.

Passage Six

Questions 26-30 are based on the following passage.

     There are several places in the world that are famous for people who live a very long time. These places are usually in mountainous areas, far away from modern cities. Doctors, scientists and public health experts often travel to these regions to solve the mystery of a long, healthy life. The experts hope to bring to the modern world the secrets of longevity.

     Hunza is high in the Himalayan Mountains of Asia. There, many people over one hundred years of age are still in good physical health. Men of ninety are new fathers, and women of fifty still have babies.

     People in the Caucasus Mountains are also famous for their longevity. In this area, there are amazing examples of very long-lived people. Although birth records are not usually available, a woman called Tsurba probably lived until age 160; a man called Shirali may have lived until age 168.His widow was 120 years old. In general, the people not only live a long time, but they also live well. They are almost never sick, and when they die, they have not only their own teeth but also a full head of hair and good eyesight.

     Vilcabamba, Ecuador, is another area famous for the longevity of its people. This region—like Hunza and the Caucasus—is also in high mountains, far away from cities. In Vilcabamba, too, there is very little serious disease. One reason for the good health of the people might be the clean, beautiful environment. The temperature is about 70° Fahrenheit all year long; the wind always comes from the same direction; and the region is rich in flowers, fruit, vegetables and wildlife.

     In some ways, the diets of the people in the three regions are quite different. Hunzukuts eat mainly raw vegetables, fruit and chapattis—a kind of pancake; they eat meat only a few times a year. The Caucasian diet consists mainly of milk, cheese, vegetables, fruit and meat; most people there drink the local red wine daily. In Vilcabamba, people eat a small amount of meat each week, but the diet consists largely of grain, corn, beans, potatoes and fruit.

     Experts found one surprising fact in the mountains of Ecuador: most people there, even the very old, drink a lot of coffee, large amounts of alcohol, and smoke forty to sixty cigarettes daily!

     However, the diets are similar in two general ways: (1) the fruits and vegetables that the people of the three areas eat are all natural; that is, they contain no chemicals; and (2) the people take in fewer calories than people do in other parts of the world. A typical North American takes in an average of 3,300 calories every day; a typical inhabitant of these mountainous areas, between 1,700 and 2,000 calories.

     Inhabitants in the three regions have more in common than calories, natural food, their mountains and their distance from modern cities. Because these people live in the countryside and are mostly farmers, their lives are physically hard. Thus, they do not need to go to health clubs because they get a lot of exercises in their daily work. In addition, although their lives are hard, the people do not seem to have the worries of city people. Their lives are quiet. So, some experts believe that physical exercise and freedom from worry “might be the two most important secrets of longevity.

We can infer from the passage that the professor felt comfortable in Brazil after a period of time because he probably ______.

In the Brazilian class, ______ didn't leave the class at noon, but remained to discuss the class and ask more questions.

In Brazil, the students believe that ______.

In Brazil if they have a lunch appointment with a friend, the average Brazilian students will think of lateness as ______.

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

Passage Five

Questions 21-25 are based on the following passage.

      In the United States, it is important to be on time, or punctual, for an appointment, a class, a meeting, etc. This may not be true in all countries, however. An American professor discovered this difference while teaching a class in a Brazilian university. The two-hour class was scheduled to begin at 10 A.M.. On the first day, when the professor arrived on time, no one was in the classroom. Many students came after 10 A.M.. Several arrived after 10:30 A.M.. Two students came after 11 A.M.. Although all the students greeted the professor as they arrived, few apologized for their lateness. Were these students being rude? He decided to study the students' behavior.

      The professor talked to American and Brazilian students about lateness in both an informal and a formal situation: lunch with a friend, and a university class. He gave them an example and asked them how they would react. If they had a lunch appointment with a friend, the average American students thought of lateness as 19 minutes after the agreed time. On the other hand, the average Brazilian students felt the friend was late after 33 minutes.

      In an American university, students are expected to arrive at the appointed hour. However, in Brazil, neither the teacher nor the students always arrive at the appointed hour. Classes not only begin at the scheduled time in the United States, but they also end at the scheduled time. In the Brazilian class, only a few students left the class at noon; many remained past 12:30 to discuss the class and ask more questions. While arriving late may not be very important in Brazil, neither is

staying late.

     The explanation for these differences is complicated. People from Brazilian and North American cultures have different feelings about lateness. In Brazil, the students believe that a person who usually arrives late is probably more successful than a person who is always on time. If a Brazilian is late for an appointment with a North American, the American may misunderstand the reason for the lateness and become angry.

The best title for the passage is ______.

It can be inferred from the passage that ______.

All the following examples are high tech EXCEPT ______.

Passage Four

Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage.

    “High tech” and “state of the art” are two expressions that describe very modern technology. High tech is just a shorter way of saying high technology. And high technology describes any invention, system or device that uses the newest ideas or discoveries of science and engineering.

     What is high tech? A computer is high tech. So is a communications satellite. A moderm manufacturing system is surely high tech.

     High tech became a popular expression in the United States during the early 1980's. Because of improvements in technology, people could buy many new kinds of products in American stores, such as home computers, microwave ovens, etc.

     “State of the art” is something that is as modern as possible. It is a product that is based on the very latest methods and technology. Something that is “state of the art” is the newest possible design or product of a business or industry. A state-of-the-art television set, for example, uses the most modern electronic design and parts. It is the best that one can buy.

    “State of the art” is not a new expression. Engineers have used it for years to describe the best and most modern way of doing something.

    Millions of Americans began to use the expression in the late 1970's. The reason was the computer revolution.

    Every computer company claimed that its computers were “state of the art”.

    Computer technology changed so fast that a state-of-the-art computer today might be old tomorrow. The expression “state of the art” became as common and popular as computers themselves. Now all kinds of products are said to be “state of the art”.

The purpose of the passage is to ______.

The author implies that ______ is the type of scientific explanation most likely used by a molecular biologist.

According to the passage, ______ is important in explaining a muscle movement.

Passage Three

Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage.

What does a scientist do when he or she “explains”something? Scientific explanation comes in two forms: generalization and reduction. Most psychologists deal with generalization. They explain particular instances of behavior. as examples of general laws. For instance, most psychologists would explain a pathologically (病态的;病理的) strong fear of dogs as an example of classical conditioning. Presumably, the person was frightened earlier in life by a dog. An unpleasant stimulus was paired with the sight of the animal (perhaps the person was knocked down by an irritated dog) and the subsequent sight of dogs evokes the earlier response—fear.

Most physiologists deal with reduction. Phenomena are explained in terms of simpler phenomena. For example, the movement of a muscle is explained in terms of changes in the membrane (膜) of muscle cells, entry of particular chemicals, and interactions between protein molecules (分子) within these cells. A molecular biologist would “explain”these events in terms of forces that bind various molecules together and cause various parts of these molecules to be attracted to one another.

The task of physiological psychology is to “explain”behavior. in physiological terms. Like other scientists, physiological psychologists believe that all natural phenomena—including human behavior—are subject to the laws of physics. Thus, the laws of behavior. can be reduced to descriptions of physiological processes.

How does one study the physiology of behavior? Physiological psychologists cannot simply be reductionists. It is not enough to observe behaviors and correlate them with physiological events that occur at the same time. Identical behaviors, under different conditions, may occur for different reasons and thus be initiated by different physiological mechanisms. This means that we must understand “psychologically” why a particular behavior. occurs before we can understand

what physiological events made it occur.

The passage mainly discusses __

The word “deal” in the first paragraph could best be replaced by ______.

Which of the following is most clearly analogous to the example in the passage of the person who fears dogs?

It can be inferred that the “rectangular parcel”mentioned in the third paragraph is ______.

It can be inferred from the passage that today's landscape architects praise Olmsted for his ______.

According to the passage, before Olmsted and Vaux began their work, the area now occupied by Central Park was ______.

The author seems to ______.

Passage Two

Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage.

     Central Park, emerging from a period of abuse and neglect, remains one of the most popular attractions in New York City, with half a million out-of-towners among the more than 3 million people who visit the park yearly. About 15 million individual visits are made each year.

     Summer is the season for softball, concerts and Shakespeare; fall is sunning; winter is wonderful for sledding, skating and skiing; and springtime is the loveliest of all. It was all planned that way.

     About 130 years ago Frederic Olmsted and his collaborator Calvert Vaux submitted their landscaping plan for a rectangular parcel two miles north of the town's center. The barren swamp was reported as “a spot where miasmic (瘴气的) odors pollute every breath of air." It took 16 years for workers with pickaxe and shovels to move 5 million cubic feet of earth and rock, and to plant half a million trees and shrubs, making a tribute to nature—a romantic 19th-century perception of nature.

     What exists today is essentially Olmsted and Vaux's plan, with more trees, buildings and roads. Landscape architects still speak reverently of Olmsted's genius and foresight, and the sensitive visitor can see the effects he sought.

The passage is mainly concerned with ______.

According to the passage, ______ is the prettiest time of a year in Central Park.

Studies have shown that ______.

Some people are afraid that Project Tiger ______.

According to the passage, a tiger's territory ______.

Passage One

Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage.

     By 1970, according to a World Wildlife Fund report, only about 4,500 tigers survived throughout the world—half of them in India. Mr. Foresters, who followed and counted tiger footprints, estimated that in May 1972 only about 1,800 tigers existed in India. Project Tiger supported by W. W. F. was immediately launched. Nine tiger reserves were created, with armed guards protecting them.

     The project provided opportunities for researchers from India and abroad to study tigers in the reserves and gather previously unavailable information about their habits. Studies show that a male tiger may control a hunting territory of between 10 and 20 sq. kilometers, depending on its age, size and strength. The territory of a male includes the smaller territories of three or four tigresses. A tiger marks the boundaries of its territory by spraying urine and other bodily liquids on bushes. But it tries to avoid territorial fights, being guided by the distinctive body smell of other tigers. Tigers fight to death only when a tigress is defending her young baby, or when a tiger is guarding a tigress from the attention of other males.

     The popular image of the tiger is that of a merciless and unconquerable hunter.But studies show that it catches only one of 20 victims it tries to attack.

    Fears have recently developed that Project Tiger has been too successful. It has enabled the tiger population to double (by mid-80s) but India's human population has also grown out of control. Currently it is 750 million and likely to be 900 million by the end of the century. Land problem is becoming serious and many rural people feel bitter about the fact that some rich forests are reserved for tigers. A growing number of attacks by tigers on man have added to the hostility.

The ultimate aim of Project Tiger is to ______.