Unit 4
Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
(35 minutes)
Directions: There are 4 reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:
“There is a senseless notion that children grow up and leave home when they're 18, and the truth is far from that,” says sociologist Larry Bumpass of the University of Wisconsin. Today, unexpected numbers of young adults are living with their parents.“There is a major shift in the middle class,”declares sociologist Allan Schnaiberg of Northwestern University, whose son, 19, moved back in after an absence of eight months.
Analysts cite a variety of reasons for this return to the nest. The marriage age is rising, a condition that makes home and its pleasantness particularly attractive to young people. A high divorce rate and a declining remarriage rate are sending economically pressed and emotionally hurt survivors back to parental shelters. For some, the expense of an away-from-home college education has become so excessively great that many
attend local schools. Even after graduation, young people find their wings clipped by skyrocketing housing costs.
Living at home, says Knighton, a school teacher, continues to give her security and moral support. Her mother agreed,“It's ridiculous for the kids to pay all that money for rent. It makes sense for kids to stay at home.” But sharing the family home requires adjustments for all. There are the hassles over bathrooms, telephones and privacy. Some families, however, manage the delicate balancing act. But for others, it proves too difficult. Michelle Del Turco, 24, has been home three times — and left three times. “What I considered a social drink, my dad considered an alcohol problem,” she explains. “He never liked anyone I dated, so I either had to hide away or meet them at friends' houses.”
Just how long should adult children live with their parents before moving on? Most psychologists feel lengthy homecomings are a mistake. Children struggling to establish separate identities, can end up with “a sense of inadequacy, defeat and failure.” And aging parents, who should be enjoying some financial and personal freedom, find themselves stuck with responsibilities. Many agree that brief visits, however, can work beneficially.
21. According to the author, there was once a trend in the U.S. .
A) for middle class young adults to stay with their parents
B) for young adults to leave their parents and live independently
C) for married young adults to move back home after a lengthy absence
D) for young adults to get jobs nearby in order to live with their parents
22. Which of the following does not account for young adults returning to the nest?
A) Young adults find housing costs too high.
B) Quite a number of young adults attend local schools.
C) Young adults seek parental comfort and moral support.
D) Young adults are psychologically and intellectually immature.
23. One of the disadvantages of young adults returning to stay with their parents is that .
A) the young adults tend to be overprotected by their parents
B) most parents find it difficult to keep a bigger family going
C) there will inevitably be inconveniences in everyday life
D) public opinion is against young adults staying with their parents
24. The word “hassles” in the passage (Para. 3, Line 4) probably means .
A) quarrels C) disadvantages
B) worries D) agreements
25. According to the passage what is the best for both parents and children?
A) They should adjust themselves to sharing the family expenses.
B) Children should leave their parents when they are grown up.
C) Adult children should visit their parents from time to time.
D) Parents should support their adult children when they are in trouble.
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage:
The word conservation has a thrifty (节俭) meaning. To conserve is to save and protect, to leave what we ourselves enjoy in such good condition that others may also share the enjoyment. Our forefathers had no idea that human population would increase faster than the supplies of raw materials; most of them, even until very recently, had the foolish idea that the treasures were “limitless” and “inexhaustible”. Most of the citizens of earlier generations knew little or nothing about the complicated and delicate system that runs all through nature, and which means that, as in a living body, an unhealthy condition of one part will sooner or later be harmful to all the others.
Fifty years ago nature study was not part of the school work; scientific forestry was a new idea; timber was still cheap because it could be brought in any quantity from distant woodlands; soil destruction and river floods were not national problems; nobody had yet studied long-term climatic cycles in relation to proper land use; even the word “conservation” had nothing of the meaning that it has for us today.
For the sake of ourselves and those who will come after us, we must now set about repairing the mistakes of our forefathers. Conservation should, therefore, be made a part of everyone's daily life. To know about the water table (水位) in the ground is just as important to us as a knowledge of the basic arithmetic formulas. We need to know why all watersheds (上游源头森林地带集水区) need the protection of plant life and why the running current of streams and rivers must be made to yield their full benefit to the soil before they finally escape to the sea. We need to betaught the duty of planting trees as well as of cutting them. We need to know the importance of big, mature trees, because living space for most of man's fellow creatures on this planet is figured not only in square measure of surface but also in cubic volume above the earth. In brief, it should be our goal to restore as much of the original beauty of nature as we can.
26. The author's attitude towards the current situation in the exploitation of natural resources is .
A) critical C) positive
B) neutral D) suspicious
27. According to the author, the greatest mistake of our forefathers was that .
A) they had no idea about scientific forestry
B) they were not aware of the significance of nature study
C) they had little or no sense of environmental protection
D) they had no idea of how to make good use of raw materials
28. It can be inferred from the third paragraph that earlier generations didn't realize .
A) the importance of the proper use of land
B) the value of the beauty of nature
C) the harmfulness of soil destruction and river floods
D) the interdependence of water, soil, and living things
29. To avoid the mistakes of our forefathers, the author suggests that .
A) we plant more trees
B) we return to nature
C) natural sciences be taught to everybody
D) environmental education be directed toward everyone
30. What does the author imply by saying “living space...is figured...also in cubic volume above the earth” (Para. 3, Lines 8-10)?
A) We need to take some measures to protect space.
B) Our living space should be measured in cubic volume.
C) Our living space on the earth is getting smaller and smaller.
D) We must preserve good living conditions for both birds and animals.
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage:
Judging from recent surveys, most experts in sleep behavior agree that there is virtually an epidemic (流行病) of sleepiness in the nation. “I can't think of a single study that hasn't found Americans getting less sleep than they ought to,”says Dr. David. Even people who think they are sleeping enough would probably be better off with more rest.
The beginning of our sleep-deficit (睡眠不足) crisis can be traced to the invention of the light bulb a century ago. From diary entries and other personal accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries, sleep scientists have reached the conclusion that the average person used to sleep about 9.5 hours a night. “The best sleep habits once were forced on us, when we had nothing to do in the evening down on the farm, and it was dark.” By the 1950s and 1960s, that sleep schedule had been reduced dramatically, to between 7.5 and eight hours, and most people had to wake to an alarm clock. “People cheat on their sleep, and they don't even realize they're doing it,” says Dr. David. “They think they're okey because they can get by on 6.5 hours, when they really need 7.5, eight or even more to feel ideally vigorous.”
Perhaps the most merciless robber of sleep, researchers say, is the complexity of the day. Whenever pressures from work, family, friends and community mount, many people consider sleep the least expensive item on his programme. “In our society, you're considered dynamic if you say you only need 5.5 hours' sleep. If you've got to get 8.5 hours, people think you lack drive and ambition.”
To determine the consequences of sleep deficit, researchers have put subjects through a set of psychological and performance tests requiring them, for instance, to add columns of numbers or recall a passage read to them only minutes earlier. “We've found that if you're in sleep deficit, performance suffers,” says Dr.David. “Short-term memory is weakened, as are abilities to make decisions and to concentrate.”
31. People in the 18th and 19th centuries used to sleep about 9.5 hours a night because they had .
A) no electric lighting C) the best sleep habits
B) no drive and ambition D) nothing to do in the evening
32. According to Dr. David, Americans .
A) are ideally vigorous even under the pressure of life
B) can get by on 6.5 hours of sleep
C) do not know how to relax themselves properly
D) often neglect the consequences of sleep deficit
33. Many Americans believe that .
A) they need more sleep to cope with the complexities of everyday life
B) sleep is the first thing that can be sacrificed when one is busy
C) to sleep is something one can do at any time of the day
D) enough sleep promotes people's drive and ambition
34. The word “subjects”(Para. 4, Line 1) refers to .
A) the psychological consequences of sleep deficit
B) special branches of knowledge that are being studied
C) people whose behavior or reactions are being studied;
D) the psychological consequences of sleep definit
35. It can be concluded from the passage that one should sleep as many hours as is necessary to .
A) maintain one's daily schedule C) feel energetic and perform adequately
B) improve one's memory dramatically D) be considered dynamic by other people
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage:
The concept of personal choice in relation to health behaviors is an important one. An estimated 90 percent of all illnesses may be preventable if individuals would make sound personal health choices based upon current medical knowledge. We all enjoy our freedom of choice and do not like to see it restricted when it is within the legal and moral boundaries of society. The structure of American society allows us to make almost all our own personal decisions that may concern our health. If we so desire, we can smoke, drink excessively, refuse to wear seat belts, eat whatever foods we want, and live a completely sedentary life-style without any exercise. The freedom to make such personal decisions is a fundamental aspect of our society, although the wisdom of these decisions can be questioned. Personal choices relative to health often cause a difficulty. As one example, a teenager may know the facts relative to smoking cigarettes and health but may be pressured by friends into believing it is the socially accepted thing to do.
A multitude of factors, both inherited and environmental, influence the development of health-related behaviors, and it is beyond the scope of this text to discuss all these factors as they may affect any given individual. However, the decision to adopt a particular health-related behavior is usually one of personal choice. There are healthy choices and there are unhealthy choices. In discussing the morals of personal choice, Fries and Crapo drew a comparison. They suggest that to knowingly give oneself over to a behavior that has a statistical probability of shortening life is similar to attempting suicide. Thus, for those individuals who are interested in preserving both the quality and quantity of life, personal health choices should reflect those behaviors that are associated with a statistical probability of increased vitality and longevity.
36. The concept of personal choice concerning health is important because .
A) wrong decisions could lead to poor health
B) it helps raise the level of our medical knowledge
C) it is essential to personal freedom in American society
D) personal health choices help cure most illnesses
37. To “live a completely sedentary life-style”(Para.1, Line 7-8) in the passage means .
A) to “live a decent life” C) to “live a life of vice”
B) to “live an inactive life” D) to “live a life with complete freedom”
38. Sound personal health choice is often difficult to make because .
A) few people are willing to trade the quality of life for the quantity of life B) people are usually influenced by the behavior of their friends
C) current medical knowledge is still insufficient
D) there are many factors influencing our decisions
39. To knowingly allow oneself to pursue unhealthy habits is compared by Fries and Crapo to .
A) deliberately ending one's life C) limiting one's personal health choice
B) improving the quality of one's life D) breaking the rules of social behavior
40. According to Fries and Crapo sound health choices should be based on .
A) personal decisions C) friends' opinions
B) statistical evidence D) society's laws
