六级阅读理解练习

六级阅读理解练习

Unit 1

Passage One

In order to produce commercial records, an original record must first be made. It is a flat disc, usually made of aluminum coated with a soft layer of lacquer. As the disc is rotated, a sapphire or ruby stylus cuts a continuous groove in the lacquer coating. The stylus travels around the disc, making an impression that corresponds to the amplitude and frequency of the sound being recorded. When completed, the original may be played back to re-create the original recorded sound.

If the sound produced by the original record is satisfactory, the original is coated with silver to conduct electricity, and then electroplated with nickel. When the original is stripped away, a negative of the original remains, with a raised spiral pattern corresponding to the grooves in the original. The negative is called a master matrix.

Next, the master matrix is electroplated with nickel to produce a positive of the original. The positive is called a mother matrix. By electroplating the mother matrix with nickel and stripping it away, stampers are produced. Stampers are negatives of the original record from which the final records may be pressed.

One stamper for each side of the record is placed on either side of a hydraulic press. A perform of shellac compound or plastic is placed between the stampers. The press is heated and closed. When an impression of the stampers has been made in the material, the press is quickly cooled and opened. The grooves in the finished record correspond to those in the original lacquer disc.

1. What is the purpose of silver in making commercial records?

A. It strips away the original record.

B. It cuts a groove in the original record.

C. It aids in electroplating the original record.

D. It makes an impression on the stamper

2. The mother matrix is a (an) __________.

A. negative of the original record

B. stamper

C. original record

D. record made from a master matrix

3. Why is lacquer used to coat the aluminum disc?

A. Because it conducts electricity.

B. Because it can be cut by a stylus.

C. Because it cools quickly.

D. Because it protects the impression in the aluminum.

4. Performs are made of ________.

A. nickel or silver

B. sapphire or ruby

C. shellac or plastic

D. aluminum or lacquer

5. Commercial records are made directly from a (an) __________.

A. original record

B. master matrix

C. mother matrix

D. stampers

Passage Two

Global reserves of fresh water add up to more than 37 million cubic kilometers, enough to fill the Mediterranean 10 times over. More than three-fourths of this water is bound up in glaciers and polar ice, however, where it is largely beyond the reach of present technology. Almost all the rest consists of water in underground aquifers, which are not yet exploited intensively. The main sources of supply --- the waters of lakes and rivers and the water vapor in the atmosphere --- make up less than 1 percent of the total.

The ultimate source of fresh water is the continuous distillation of the oceans by solar radiation. The annual evaporation of water (including transpiration by plants) is roughly 500,000 cubic kilometers, of which 430,000 comes from the oceans and the remaining 70,000 from wares on the continents. Because the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere is essentially constant the same amount of water must fall back to the surface as rain and snow. It is of vital importance to terrestrial life that a disproportionate share of this precipitation falls on land. Whereas the continents lose 70,000 cubic kilometers of water to evaporation, they receive 110,000 from precipitation, so that the net effect of the hydrologic cycle is to transfer some 40,000 cubic kilometers of fresh water each year from the oceans to the continents.

Although the net continental influx is 40,000 cubic kilometers per year, not all of it is available for man’s use. Much is lost through floods or is held in the soil or in swamps. The maximum that might reasonably be applied to human purposes is about 14,000 cubic kilometers per year, which is the base flow, or stable runoff excluding flood waters, of all the world’s rivers and streams and of those isolated underground aquifers that discharge directly through evaporation. Of this volume about 5,000 cubic kilometers flow in regions that are uninhabited and are likely to remain so because they are climatically unsuited to human settlement. Hence the effective world water resource, from which all needs will have to be met for some years to come, is about 9,000 cubic kilometers per year.

6. Of all the reserves of fresh water in the world, about three-fourths is __________.

A. consumed by glaciers and polar ice

B. in solid form

C. out of the reach of present technology

D. converted into sea water annually

7. Fresh water, as the passage states, originates from ________.

A. the water vapor in the atmosphere

B. lakes and rivers

C. sea water through distillation by solar radiation

D. both A and B

8. Based on context clues, we can know that “precipitation” means _________.

A. the evaporation of water from the land

B. the water reserves on land

C. the unevenly-distributed rain and snow falls

D. water falling in the form of rain and snow

9. Every year the continents get back _________.

A. the same amount of water as is lost to evaporation

B. less water than that which is lost to evaporation

C. more water than that which is lost to evaporation

D. different amounts of water based on weather conditions

10. The end of the passage implies that the water finally available for mankind to utilize each year

__________.

A. is enough to meet all human needs

B. is a little more than enough for all human needs

C. is not adequate for all human needs

D. is adequate now but will not be enough for some years to come

Passage Three

Finnish-born botanist William Nylander taught at the University of Helsinki for a number of years and later moved to Paris, where he lived until his death at the end of the nineteenth century. During the second half of the last century, he became a prominent figure in the field of lichen logy. Botanists from all over the world sent samples to his laboratory to be analyzed and classified. It can be said without exaggeration that four out of five lichens bear his name.

He was the first to realize the importance of using chemical reagents in the taxonomy of lichens. He selected the most common used by the chemists of his time. Lichenologists all over the world still use these reagents, including tincture of iodine and hypochlorite, in their laboratories. During the first half of the twentieth century, a Japanese named Arahina added only one chemical product--- P- Phenol diamines.

Nylander was also responsible for discovering that the atmosphere of big cities hindered the lichens’development and caused them to disappear. Now they are used to detect atmospheric pollution.

Nevertheless, he considered lichens to be simple plants and vehemently opposed the widely accepted modern theories that lichens are a compound species formed by two discordant elements: algae and fungi.

11. Internationally renowned scientists sent lichen samples to Nylander because ___________.

A. he considered them to be simple plants

B. he used reagents to determine their use

C. he analyzed and classified them

D. he collected and preserved them

12. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. Nylander accepted his colleagues’ theories on the composition of lichens.

B. Eighty percent of lichens bear Nylander’s name.

C. Today lichens are used to detect atmospheric pollution.

D. Most botanists consider lichens to be a compound species.

13. All of the following are true about Nylander EXCEPT ___________.

A. he was the first to use chemical reagents in the taxonomy of lichens

B. he believed that lichens were simple plants

C. he was an esteemed lichenologist

D. he taught botany at the University of Paris

14. According to accepted nineteenth- century theories, which two elements form the composition

of lichens?

A. Iodine and chemical reagents

B. Algae and fungi

C. Hypochlorite and iodine

D. Chemical reagents and atmospheric chemicals

15. How could William Nylander best be described?

A. Degenerate

B. Domineering

C. Ingenious

D. Anxious

Passage Four

Here in the United States, before agricultural activities destroyed the natural balance, there were great migrations of Rocky Mountain locusts (Melanoplus spretus). Great migrating hordes of these insects once darkened the skies on the plains east of the Rockies where crops were often destroyed; the worst years were those from 1874 to 1877. one of these migrating swarms was estimated to contain 124 billion locusts. During another migration in Nebraska it was estimated that the swarm of locusts averaged half a mile high and was 100 miles wide and 300 miles long. Usually, these swarms take off from the ground against the wind, but, once airborne, they turn and fly with it. Warm convection currents help to lift them, often to great heights. During the great locust plagues the situation in Nebraska became so serious that the original state constitution had to be rewritten to take care of the economic problems. The new document was known as “The grasshopper Constitution.” It is now believed that these locusts were a migratory form or phase of the lesser migratory locust, which is still common there. In this respect, the North American migratory locusts resemble their African relatives. In both regions the migratory forms arise as a result of crowding and climatic factors. Migratory forms are apparently natural adaptations which bring about dispersal when locust populations become too crowded. Fortunately for our farmers, the migratory form --- the so- called spretus species ---- no longer seems to occur regularly, although there was a serious outbreak as late as 1938 in Midwestern United States and Canada. Actually, there is no reason why the destructive migratory form might not again appear if circumstances should become favorable.

16. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. The Life Cycle of Locusts

B. Migratory Locusts in the United States

C. Locust Plagues in Nebraska

D. The Reproductive Capability of the Locust

17. According to the passage, the worst destruction by locusts in the plains area east of the

Rockies occurred during ________.

A. eighteenth century

B. early nineteenth century

C. late nineteenth century

D. twentieth century

18. It can be inferred from the passage that the state constitution of Nebraska was rewritten in

order to _________.

A. make the constitution more understandable to the public.

B. encourage farmers to leave the state

C. solve difficulties that resulted from loss of crops

D. provide for a regular census of the locust population

19. According to the passage, North American and African migratory locusts are similar in

that_________.

A. they always travel toward mountainous regions

B. climates affect their development

C. they destructive activities occur only in plains areas

D. they are both mentioned in state constitutions

20. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as influencing the migration of locusts?

A. Darkness

B. Agricultural activities

C. Warm air currents

D. Overcrowding

Unit 2

Passage One

Normally it takes years for the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve a drug for general use. But, as FDA Commissioner Frank Young put it, “the epidemic of AIDS is extraordinary, and it must be met with extraordinary measures.” Last week the FDA announced that it would allow wide distribution of a promising new drug that blocks the AIDS virus from multiplying --- at the same time that trials are being conducted to see whether the drug actually works. Dideoxyinosine (ddI) will be given experimentally to 2,600 people with AIDS or AIDS- related complex (ARC) in formal clinical trials, and it will be provided, free of charge, to the thousands of patients who are unable to tolerate AZT, the only FDA- approved anti- AIDS drug. AIDS activists hailed the agency’s decision, saying that it will get the drug to patients who might otherwise die before trials are completed. “This is a good start, one that we’ve been working toward for a very long time.” Said Mark Harrington of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power.

So far, in early tests with only a few patients, ddI appears to be as effective as AZT--- but with fewer side effects. For some, the drug causes painful nerve damage in the feet and, less often, swelling in the pancreas; the symptoms disappear when the patient stops taking the drug. There could be other unknown side effects, as well. But how powerful ddI will ultimately prove to be against the AIDS virus can only be determined through the upcoming larger trial.

U. S. health officials warned AIDS suffers not to overinterpret the FDA’s move as an endorsement of ddI. “We don’t know whether ddI is the same, better or worse than AZT, and it would be foolish for people to conclude we know the answer before we’ve done the studies,” said Dr. Samuel Broder, director of the National Cancer Institute and a co-developer of ddI. Others worry that the decision might make difficult in the future to recruit volunteers for clinical testing of ddI, since subjects of formal tests risk receiving a placebo. Those questions will, of course, be resolved in time--- a commodity that people with AIDS don’t have.

1. ddI is ________.

A. a new anti- AIDS drug that is better than AZT

B. a new drug that may prove to be effective in treating AIDS

C.the only FDA- approved anti- AIDS drug

D.one of the two anti- AIDS drugs approved by the FDA

2. the recent move by the FDA is extraordinary in that ______.

A.it allows wide distribution of a new drug before it is actually proved effective

B.it provides ddI, free of charge, to all AIDS patients

C.it has approved a new drug without doing the necessary studies

D.it has approved a new drug without considering its side effevts

3. The FDA’s decision is welcomed by AIDS activists because ___________.

A.ddI has no unknown side effects

B.ddI has fewer side effects than AZT

C.patients who might die without ddI now have access to the drug

D.it will no longer take long for the FDA to approve new drugs

4. The word “commodity” in this context means _______.

A. goods C. placebo

B. drug D. time

5. This passage is intended to ________________.

A.advertise a new drug

B.welcome the quick action of the FDA

C.report a piece of medical news

D.make a comparison between two anti- AIDS drugs

Passage Two

In his laboratory at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dr. John Darsee, 33, gathered his equipment to do a heart experiment. The “golden boy”of the Harvard research team sewed ultrasound crystals onto a dog, hooked it up to a machine to monitor its blood low and collected a few minutes of data. Then, as three colleagues looked on, Darsee marked “2 hours” on the chart paper recording the length of the experiment. He stopped the machine for a couple of minutes, ran more sets of measurements, and marked them “4 hours,”“24 hours,”“72 hours,”“one week.”Ultimately he compressed a two- week experiment into a few hours.

Darsee’s brazen fraud gave credence to what fellow cardiologists at Harvard Medical School had for months suspected about Darsee: that he habitually faked his data. “He got results that you just couldn’t come close to yourself, even using the same technique,”said one. Those charges, made credible by the faked experiment, set off one of the most intensive investigations of science fraud ever conducted at Harvard. The investigation ended when an hoc committee issued a twelve- page report detailing the history of the Darsee case. The eight- person committee, including three medical authorities from outside the Harvard community, also found “serious questions of credibility”in two other studies Darsee participated in. the reputation od the brilliant young researcher is in shambles, his associates at Harvard feel betrayed by his fraud and the incident has once again raised questions about the extent of cheating in science and what can be done about it. Falsifying data “is antithetical to the whole idea of scientific investigation, ” says Jerome Green of the National Institutes of Health. “How can you be false in the pursuit of truth?”

6. The last sentence in para. 1 means ____.

A.Darsee simplified the research procedure and shortened the length of the experiment

B.Darsee claimed that his data was the result of a two- week experiment while actually he had

only spent a few hours

C.Darsee was able to finish a two- week experiment in a few hours

D. Darsee used the data from a two- week experiment for an experiment which only took him a few hours

7. What probably started the investigation into the Darsee case?

A.The report of those who watched him through the experiment with the dog

B.His colleagues’ suspicion of fraud

C.The charge that he stole data from his colleagues

D.The two other studies Darsee participated in

8. Which of the following is NOT true?

A.Darsee used to be considered a promising researcher

B.Darsee’s reputation is now ruined

C.Darsee used other researchers’ data

D.Darsee invented his data

9. The word “antithetical” toward the end of the passage probably means_____.

A. opposite

B. unethical

C. heretical

D. erroneous

10. The word “faked” means ________.

A. intended to deceive

B. faithless

C. true

D. imaginary

Passage Three

More attention was paid to the quality of production in France at the time of Rene Coty. Charles Deschanel was then the financial minister. He stressed that workmanship and quality were more important than quantity for industrial production. It would be necessary to produce quality goods for the international market to compete with those produced in other countries. The French economy needed a larger share of the international market to balance its import and export trade.

French industrial and agricultural production was still inadequate to meet the immediate needs of the people, let alone long-ranged developments. Essential imports had stretched the national credit to the breaking point. Rents were tightly controlled, but the extreme inflation affected general population most severely through the cost of food. Food costs took as much as 80 percent of the workers' income. Wages, it is true, had risen, extensive family allowances and benefits were paid by the state, and there was full-time and overtime employment. Taken together, these factors enabled the working class to exist but allowed them no sense of security. In this precarious and discouraging situation, workmen were willing to work overseas for higher wages.

The government was reluctant to let workers leave the country. It was feared this migration of workers would deplete the labor force. The lack of qualified workers might hinder the improvement in the quality of industrial products produced. Qualified workers employed abroad would only increase the quantity of quality goods produced in foreign countries. Also the quantity of quality goods produced in France would not be able to increase as part of its qualified labor force moved to other countries.

11. According to the passage, the French workers were________.

A. better paid than the workers in any other European country

B. able to save more money with the increase in his wages

C. anxious to work abroad

D. often unable to find work in France

12. Rene Coty and Charles Deschaned were both interested in______.

A.better quality in production

B.increasing quantity in production

C.having the government raise tariffs on foreign imports

D.eliminating unions in France

13. Which was NOT true in France?

A. Food costs were low.

B. Wages had increased.

C. The state paid family allowances.

D. There was overtime employment.

14. According to the passage, French production_________.

A. was inadequate to meet the needs of the French people

B. was flooding the international market with inferior products

C. emphasized industrial production at the expense of agricultural production

D. was enough for the local market

15. According to the passage, the French government__________.

A. prohibited French to work abroad

B. reduced taxes to fight inflation

C. paid family allowances and benefits

D. prohibited the French workers to join labor unions

Passage Four

Parks and similar recreation areas act as a kind of barrier between residential and industrial areas. The government is making efforts to preserve this "Green Belt" to halt the spread of industrial growth and excessive suburban "sprawl" into the surrounding countryside. Planning permission to build a new factory complex or housing estate is often refused for this reason.

People nowadays have become very conscious of the threat which modern living poses to our natural environment. They are becoming concerned about the quality of present-day life and are giving vigorous support to conservation policies which aim to safeguard the countryside that is still untouched, and to clean and restore what has already been spoiled. This involves clearing town centres of all motor traffic With its polluting fumes and gases, preventing agricultural land from being sold to unscrupulous property developers, and launching a powerful campaign against the serious chemical pollution of many of our rivers, lakes and coastal waters. There is even some talk about making our elaborate canal system viable again for the transportation of goods such as coal, which would then lessen the amount of heavy traffic on our already overloaded roads.

Neither is it all empty talk, for the first time in decades fish are being caught in the lower reaches of the Thames. For the conservationists this represents a real victory and gives them well-deserved satisfaction.

16. By describing “modern living” as a threat, the author means that_____________.

A. civilised life is totally destroyed

B. the waste products of modern life spoil the environment

C. natural life is a thing of the past thanks to urban growth

D. modern city-dwellers are not interested in conservation

17. According to this passage, why are cars being banned from many town centres?

A. Because there is too much traffic already.

B. Because they contaminate the air with exhaust fumes.

C. Because of the smell of their exhaust fumes.

D. Because they are noisy and dangerous.

18. For what reason is planning permission sometimes refused?

A. To safeguard existing developed land.

B. To prevent excessive profits being made.

C. To stop the spread of substandard housing.

D. To prevent industrial complications.

19. The “Green Belt” could best be described as_________.

A. parks in the suburban areas

B. agricultural land used for housing

C. a ribbon of undeveloped land preventing further city expansion

D. a narrow strip of land barred to urban traffic

20. How might the existing canal network be used?

A. For leisure purposes such as boating

B. To give new life to the coal mining industry.

C. To prevent goods being transported by road.

D. To relieve the roads of some of their goods traffic.

Unit 3

Passage One

A long-range health study in Framingham, Massachusetts, which began in 1948 and continues to this day, involves checking the survivors among the same 5,200 men and women every two years and carefully determining the causes of any deaths occurring in the group. A rather surprising conclusion that emerged in 1980 was that the lightest men had the shortest life expectancy, while the only others for whom weight seemed to have a significant negative on life expectancy were those who weighed more than 25% above the national average. Much the same was true of women, with those in the lightest and heaviest groups dying earliest. These results certainly cast considerable doubts on the validity of the "Ideal Weights" tables in use since the forties which recommend weight to height ratios well below the national average. Indeed, they suggest that if any such ideal exists, it is slightly above the average, whatever fashion may dictate.

1. Which of the following would be the most suitable title for the passage?

A. The Framingham Health Study

B. 5,200 Men and Women Can't Be Wrong

C. Fashion Is Wrong about Weight

D. Weight and Life Expectancy: Unexpected Evidence

2. The Framingham study________.

A. still examines 5,200 men and women every two years

B. was completed in 1980

C. has been going for more than 30 years

D. focused exclusively on life-expectancy of the heaviest and lightest groups

3. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

A. The study and the use of “Ideal Weights” tables began in the-same decade.

B. More deaths have occurred in recent two-year periods than before.

C. The study was designed to invalidate the "Ideal Weights" tables.

D. The same number of men and women in the study has died.

4. According to the study, men and women in the medium weight ranges_________.

A. are in a majority

B. have weight to height ratios below the national average

C. have the best life expectancy

D. have the shortest life expectancy

5. Which of the following does the author of the passage suggest?

A. Most people should put on more weight.

B. The “Ideal Weights” tables may not be very accurate.

C. Most people should lose weight.

D. The Framingham study is of doubtful validity.

Passage Two

As a fellow at Cambridge, Stephen Hawking calculated that the Big Bang, which gave birth to the universe, must have created tiny blackholes, each about the size of a proton but with the mass of a mountain. Then upsetting the universal belief that nothing, not even light, can escape from a black hole, he used the quantum theory to demonstrate that these miniholes emit radiation.

Other scientists eventually conceded that he was correct, and the black-hole emissions are now known as Hawking radiation.

Engrossed as Hawking is with his work, ALS is simply not that important to him. He certainly does not dwell on his handicap. His comments are often laced with humor; he enjoys socializing with his students and colleagues, attends rock concerts and sometimes takes to the dance floor at discos. But he can be stubborn, abrasive and quick to anger, terminating a conversation by spinning around and rolling off, sometimes running one of his wheels over the toes of an offender.

Hawking can also be wrong. In 1985, for example, he brashly proclaimed that when and if the universe stopped expanding and began to contract, time would reverse and everything that had ever happened would be rerun in reverse. Eighteen months later, he sheepishly admitted his mistake. Earlier after trashing another scientist's notion that the 19th century theory of thermodynamics could be applied to blackhole theory, he recanted and began applying it himself. Without his wife Jane, Hawking has always emphasized, his career might never have soared. She married him shortly after he was diagnosed with ALS, fully aware of the dreadful, progressive nature of the disease, giving him hope and the will to carry on with his studies. They had three children in the early stages of their marriage, and later, as he became increasingly incapacitated, she devoted herself to catering to his every need.

After years of apparently harmonious marriage, however, rifts began appearing. As awards poured in for Stephen, Jane--competent and intelligent herself-- began to resent living in his shadow. Deeply religious, she was also offended by his apparent atheism. Particularly galling to her was his concept, enunciated first before the Pope at a scientific meeting at the Vatican, that the universe might be completely self-contained, having no boundary or edge, no beginning or end. If that were true, he asked provocatively, “What place, then, for a creator?” Still, friends were shocked in 1990 when. Hawking abruptly ended their 25-year marriage, moving in with one of his nurses.

6. The word "trash" in Line 5, para. 3 means________.

A. discard as worthless

B. refute as wrong

C. develop further

D. modify a little bit

7. Which of the following is a cause leading to Hawking’s divorce?

A. His affair with one of his nurses

B. His progressively worsening illness

C. His rejection of God

D. His bad temper

8. The phrase “living in his shadow” in Line 3, para. 5 means____________.

A. being protected by him

B. being dependent on him

C. being isolated by him

D. being obscured by his fame

9. The w ord “atheism” in Line 5, para. 5 means_______.

A. belief in God

B. rejection of God

C. respect for the Pope

D. contempt for the Pope

10. What is Hawking's chief contribution to science according to this passage?

A. His singularity theory

B. His blackhole theory

C. His application of thermodynamics to blackholes

D. His prediction that the universe would contract and time would run in reverse

Passage Three

The economic conditions that necessitate the construction of very high building on narrow lots first emerged as a decisive factor in New York City. Intensive land use, with the resulting speculative traffic in real estate, was itself a consequence of more powerful and pervasive forces. Industrial expansion was the primary factor. And in the period following the American Civil War much of that expansion continued to be concentrated in New England and the Middle Atlantic states. Financial institutions had long been located mainly in Boston, but the center was rapidly shifting to New York around the time of the War. A new pattern of close interdependence among industries demanded centralization of business administration. The leadership of New York City as an ocean port, along with its proximity to major arteries of land transportation, was a local factor that helped to make the city an irresistible magnet. Its power to attract, once established, has never waned; even today it is a primary administrative and banking center. The financial resources for the high buildings were there; the development of safe elevator transportation and the organization of construction facilities soon made them a reality.

11. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. New Patterns of Transportation in the Middle Atlantic States

B. Buying Real Estate for Speculation in New England

C. The Building Construction Industry During the American Civil War

D. The Development of New York City as a Business Center

12. According to the passage, prior to the Civil War, Boston had been a center of_______.

A. business education

B. architectural planning

C. communication and trade

D. finance and investment

13. According to the passage, business interests came to New York City because

A. the real estate business was highly developed there

B. nearby mineral resources facilitated industrial development

C. land and sea transportation routes converged there

D. most manufacturing cities were located close by

14. The author compares New York City to a magnet because it__________.

A. attracts many businesses

B. has very attractive buildings

C. has a great number of structures

D. supports many skyscrapers

15. Which of the following did NOT contribute to the rapid construction of high-rise buildings in New York City?

A. The expansion of industry

B. The increased availability of land

C. Sufficient monetary backing

D. Improved elevator systems

Passage Four

The more genius a writer has, the more conclusive and precise is his answer. Swift arrives at complete pessimism, considering men to be wretched, unfortunate, ugly, odious and absurd. Adison, on the o ther hand, maintains himself in a temperate optimism. “All we have to do,” he says, “is be easy here, and happy hereafter.”Carlyle gives the answer of the Puritan, while Macaulay gives that of the liberal, both with striking and multiplied illustrations.

What Fielding saw in man were the spontaneous and primitive forces, the irresistible impulses of temperament and of the heart, the violence of egoistic, or generous instincts unrestrained by the proprieties of life or by precepts, and which impetuously and unawares leap over all barriers. Richardson saw man’s inte llectual and moral culture, the sway of religion, the ascendency of principles and that domination of the conscience, which, developed in us by daily self-questioning, by arguing with ourselves, by habit and scruples, installs in our soul, not merely a witness, an overseer, an ever-living judge, but, again, an armed auxiliary, an almost invincible combatant which reanimates us in our weaknesses.

Even when the writer is a dramatic poet, and says nothing in his own name, even when he purposely effaces himself behind his characters, his master thought remains apparent. Three or four times Shakespeare expressed his thought in passing as if he were not aware of it, through some phrase put in the mouth of Hamlet or of Macbeth, of Jacques or of Prospero; but, to divine it. There is no need of seeking it there; it everywhere and spontaneously declares itself in the selection of his figures and characters.

Various as these opinions may be, they indicate that we all belong to the same family, good or bad, rich or poor, young or old.

16. Concerning the human race and its potential, Swift and Addison_______.

A. had exactly the same views

B. were diametrically opposed

C. varied slightly in their opinions

D. expressed no opinions

17. Fielding believed that man_________.

A. concerned himself too much with the proprieties of life

B. lived in an irresistible way

C. obeyed the impulses of his heart

D. used too much force

18. Ridhardson’s idea was that man was__________.

A. part of an armed auxiliary

B. guided by his conscience

C. always just

D. very religious

19. Most dramatists___________.

A. say what they have to say m so many words

B. are not aware of what they are really saying

C. use their characters as spokesmen

D. have profound thoughts to express

20. A dramatic poet’s greatest responsibility is to_________.

A. entertain

B. efface himself

C. be spontaneous

D. choose carefully the characters that will represent him

Unit 4

Passage One

There are many reasons why the whole character of the twentieth century should be very different from that of the nineteenth. The great wave of vitality and national expansions, which, during the Victorian period, swept both England and America to a high water mare of national prosperity, left in its ebb a highly developed industrial civilization and a clear path for all the currents of scientific and mechanistic thought which were to flood the new century. But literature, which had been nourished by the general vigor of the time, and not at all by the practical interests of the period, declined as the spirit itself dispersed.

The great age of groups and “movements” began. The eighteenth century poets did not call themselves classicists, nor the nineteenth century poets call themselves romanticists; their poetic coloring was simply the quality of their whole response to the whole of life. But the literary history of the late nineteenth and early centuries is full of theories and “isms” which provided artistic creeds for artist groups, and set the individual artist apart from the community in the popular opinion.

1. What is the character of the literary history of the 19th and 20th centuries?

A. It is full of literary personnel.

B. It is full of theories and “isms.”

C. It is full o f “isms” only.

D. It has neither theories nor “isms.”

2. What was the poetic coloring of the poets of the 19th and the 20th centuries?

A. It was only the reflecting quality to life.

B. It was nothing but the reaction to life.

C. It was only the responsive quality to the whole life.

D. It was only the undefinable quality to life

3. The title below that best expresses the ideas of this article is _________.

A. Effects of Industralism

B. Literature of the Victorian Period

C. "Isms" of the Present Century

D. Literature in the 19th and 20th Centuries

4. In England and America the Victorian period as a whole was an age of national_________.

A. warfare

B. depression

C. literary corruption

D. growth

5. At the close of the Victorian period, English and American literature was________.

A. prosperous

B. homogeneous

C. on the wane

D. vitally energetic

Passage Two

Arizona has been attracting health seekers for decades. It has many Climes, which vary from the low, hot dry desert country of Yuma County in the Southwest to the high, cold, heavily timbered region of the Kaibab Forests, a difference of ten thousand feet or so in elevation. In the first, the temperature goes as high as 125 in the summer and in the second, as low as 25 below in winter. In one, the rainfall is as little as two to five inches and in the other, as high as thirty inches.

But sunshine covers the whole state, 90 percent in the sunniest places to 72 percent in the cloudiest, and nearly everywhere humidity is low. While people sunbathe in the south, other are skiing over terrain in the north which in some years gets snowfalls as heavy as seventy inches. In the south, the growing season is constant. While in the north, it may be as little as three months, and generally with every 1000-foot rise in elevation the growing season is reduced by three weeks. One can find almost any type of climate between the snowcapped San Francisco Peaks and the saguaro-covered and cactus-studded deserts along the Mexican border. Somewhere, someplace, will suit anybody. The number of people who come to Arizona "to die," and are still living, is legion.

6. According to this passage what has been attracting people to Arizona?

A. The skiing terrain

B. The low humidity

C. The hot temperature

D. The various climes

7. In Arizona where is the hottest place?

A. The Yuma County

B. The Mexico border

C. The Kaibab Forest region

D. The San Francisco Peaks

8. In the passage the author implies that Arizona is characterized as________.

A. of hot temperature

B. of various climes

C. of heavy snowfalls

D. of heavy rainfalls

9. In this passage the author implies that in Arizona the place with the least rainfalls is______.

A. in the southwest

B. on the San Francisco Peaks

C. along the Mexican border

D. in the Kaibab Forest region

10. In this passage we may understand that_______ is the place with the least rainfalls.

A. the Kaibab Forest

B. the San Francisco Peaks

C. Yuma County

D. the Mexican border

Passage Three

Most of al l, America is inescapable. It is the world’s 900-pound gorilla: basically amiable and well-meaning, crushing through the underbrush, dominating the landscape, altering the scenery, impossible either to shoo away or ignore. Its fads, fashions, folkways and fast food sweep around the globe, its brandishing of missiles scares even its allies. It is a standard for world’s successes and a scapegoat for the world’s failures.

There has always been ambivalence about the United States. Throughout the country’s me teoric history, people have admired its energy, riches and opportunity-- and envied and resented its power and success. Since World War II, however, that ambivalence has become even more pronounced, and today the world sees America as a curious paradox: a country whose military, diplomatic and economic prestige has been waning in a period when its cultural influence has never been stronger. The jarring discordance in feelings about American politics and culture takes some odd and comic forms: on Nicaragua’s state-run television network for instance, American

programs like “Barnaby Jones”are interspersed with “commercials” demonstrating how to throw grenades in the event of Yankee invasion.

The key distinction is simply between the American people-- who are seen as warm, friendly and ingenuous-- and the U. S. government. That was underlined in a poll conducted for Newsweek International in six Countries around the world. In the countries surveyed—France, Japan, Great Britain, West Germany, Brazil and Mexico-- most respondents expressed approval for the American people, but a plurality said they disapproved of U. S. government policy. Moreover, the poll found people inclined to think that a strong American military presence increases the chances for war instead of safeguarding peace. That finding represents a significant change from the early postwar years: a similar survey taken by the U. S. Information Agency in the early