全国高等教育自学考试英语阅读二试题.docx

1、全国高等教育自学考试英语阅读二试题全国2007年10月高等教育自学考试英语阅读（二）试题课程代码：00596全部题目用英文作答(翻译题除外)，请将答案填在答题纸相应位置上I. Reading Comprehension. (50 points, 2 points for each)Directions: In this part of the test, there are five passages. Following each passage, there are five questions with four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose

2、the best answer and then write the corresponding, letter on your Answer Sheet.Passage OneElectronic computers are among the fastest and most useful instruments for sorting and comparing in use today. Computers provide means for greater speed and accuracy in working with ideas than had previously bee

3、n possible. With the development of these new tools, it is as if man has suddenly become a millionaire of the mind.Although man has been growing mentally richer ever since he started to think, the electronic computer allows and will continue to allow him to perform tremendous mental tasks in a relat

4、ively short time. Great scientists of the past produced ideas which were the basis for great advances, but their ideas sometimes had to wait for years before they were understood sufficiently well to be of practical use. With the computer, the ideas of todays scientists can be studied, tested, distr

5、ibuted, and used more rapidly than ever before.Old lines and methods of communication do not work easily or efficiently with as much information as we have now. The repeated actions of preparing, sorting, filling, distributing, and keeping track of records and publications can be as troublesome as c

6、alculating. Errors occur because men grow tired and can be distracted.The basic job of computers is the processing of information. For this reason computers can be defined as devices which accept information, perform mathematical or logical operations with the information, and then supply the result

7、s of these operations as new information.Although a sharp dividing line between types of computers is not always easy to see, computers are usually divided into two broad groups: digital and analog. Digital computers work by using specific information which is usually in the form of numbers. Analog

8、computers, on the other hand, usually process continuous information.To explain the differences, let us consider two devices which handle information in a manner similar to the two types of computers. A turnstile, which has a counter attached to it, can help to explain the way a digital computer wor

9、ks. Each time a person passes through the turnstile, the indicator quickly jumps from one number to another. Each number registered is separate and specific.The continuous change in the level of sand in an hourglass as time passes makes it an analog device. Perhaps the first analog computation was t

10、he use of graphs for the solution of surveying problems.Questions 1-5 are based on Passage One.1. Which of the following statements best summarizes the first paragraph?A. Computers have extended the range of our senses.B. Computers have extended the power of our mind.C. Computers have extended the s

11、cope of our activities.D. Computers have extended the speed of our reasoning.2. With the help of computers, scientists today are able to _.A. have their ideas questioned or shared quicklyB. have their new ideas accepted far more widelyC. produce their ideas more rapidlyD. understand new information

12、easily3. According to the passage, computers are mainly used to do the following EXCEPT _. A. performing math operationsB. processing informationC. supplying solutionsD. storing technical data4. The digital computers are different from analog computers because _.A. they process continuous informatio

13、nB. they process specific informationC. they record separate numbersD. they produce vivid pictures5. The tone the writer uses in this passage is _.A. criticalB. analyticalC. subjectiveD. objectivePassage TwoTime talks. It speaks more plainly than words. Time communicates in many ways. Consider the d

14、ifferent parts of the day, for example. The time of the day when something is done can give a special meaning to the event. Factory managers in the United States fully realize the importance of an announcement made during the middle of the morning or afternoon that takes everyone away from his work.

15、 Whenever they want to make an important announcement, they ask, “When shall we let them know?”In social life, time plays a very important part. In the United States, guests tend to feel they are not highly regarded if the invitation to a dinner party is extended only three or four days before the p

16、arty date. But this is perhaps not true in some other countries. There it may be considered foolish to make an appointment too far in advance because plans which are made for a date more than a week away tend to be forgotten.The meanings of time differ in different parts of the world. Thus, misunder

17、standings arise between people from cultures that treat time differently. Promptness is valued highly in American life. For example, no one would think of keeping a business associate waiting for an hour. It would be too impolite. When equals meet, a person who is five minutes late is expected to ma

18、ke a short apology. If he is less than five minutes late, he will say a few words of explanation, though perhaps he will not complete the sentence.In the western world, particularly in the United States, people tend to think of time as something fixed in nature, something from which one cannot escap

19、e. As a rule, Americans think of time as a road stretching into the future, along which one progresses. The road has many sections which are to be kept separate “one thing at a time”. People who cannot plan events are not highly regarded. The American idea of the future is limited, however. It is th

20、e foreseeable future, not the future of the South Asian, which may involve centuries. Someone has said of the South Asian idea of time. “Time is like a museum with endless halls and rooms. You, the viewer, are walking through the museum in the dark, holding a light to each scene as you pass it. God

21、is in charge of the museum, and only He knows all that is in it. One lifetime represents one room.”Since time has such different meanings in different cultures, communication is often difficult. We will understand each other a little better if we can keep this fact in mind.Questions 6-10 are based o

22、n Passage Two.6. Which of the following statements is true about the social life in America?A. It is considered foolish that you plan an appointment one week earlier.B. It is impolite that one is informed of an appointment three days earlier.C. The ideas about keeping time in America and in China ar

23、e not different.D. The fact that who announces an appointment usually matters much.7. Factory managers in America _.A. usually avoid giving announcements in working hoursB. think the time for an announcement barely makes special meaningC. consult their colleagues before giving very important announc

24、ementsD. often consider what is the best time to give important announcements8. According to the passage, in the United States, when you are _.A. one minute late, you are considered punctualB. two minutes earlier, you are regarded as trustworthyC. ten minutes late, you should give a long explanation

25、D. five minutes late, you should make a short apology9. The American philosophical idea of time is that one should _.A. do one thing at a timeB. avoid delaying his workC. plan for the distant futureD. constantly evaluate his plans10. The Asian philosophical idea of time is that time is _.A. like a d

26、ark museum where one sees littleB. like a candle light shining in a dark museumC. like a scaring trip on the road to the unknown futureD. like a tour into a mysterious and supernatural worldPassage ThreeSpelunking has been called “mountain climbing upside down in the dark”. However, this description

27、 is not entirely accurate. The mountain climber knows where he is going. He climbs a mountain because it is there. A spelunker, on the other hand, doesnt know what is there. All he sees when he enters a wild cave is a hole in the surface of the earth a very dark hole. Once he gets inside he may find

28、 it runs only a few hundred feet or, like one cave in Switzerland, more than 35 miles. He may find big hall, subway like tunnels, rivers or strange and beautiful limestone formations.Some spelunkers have become famous for their discoveries. Several years ago Norbert Castreet, a Frenchman, was explor

29、ing a cave that had a rapidly flowing underground river. He followed the river until it went under a cave wall and disappeared. Wearing a bathing suit and a rubber cap, he dived into the river. He surfaced on the other side of the cave wall and found a huge hall untouched and undisturbed for tens of

30、 thousands of years.My wife and I became spelunkers almost by accident. We were driving down the Pan-American Highway to Mexico City when I noticed several black openings up in the mountains near the road. I stopped and asked what they were, and learned that they were a network of large caves. Follo

31、wing a guide, we were climbing slowly up the mountain. When we reached the top, a large opening appeared under an overhanging cliff. Inside was a smaller hole covered by a wooden door. Taking a gasoline lamp in one hand, the guide opened the door. We followed him down the smooth cement steps. Strang

32、e shapes moved on the walls as his lamp swung back and forth at each step.This was a limestone cave, formed hundreds of thousands of years ago by the slow dripping of water through the cracks of the rock. The guide pointed out formations that looked like horses, tigers, hands and plants.When we left the cave about an hour later, we saw a sign mentioning the National Speleological Society. Our interest awakened, we noted the address and wrote for further information. The reply informed that there were