四级阅读理解之二

四级阅读理解之二

Passsage 1

As the merchant class expanded in the eighteenth century North American Colonies, the silversmith and the coppersmith businesses rose to serve it. Only a few silversmiths were available in New York or Boston in the late seventeenth century, but in the eighteenth century they could be found in all major colonial cities. No other colonial artisans rivaled the silversmiths’prestige. They handled the most expensive materials and possessed direct connections to prosperous colonial merchants. Their products, primarily silver plates and bowls, reflected their exalted status and testified to their customers’prominence. Silver stood as one of the surest ways to store wealth at a time before neighborhood banks existed. Unlike the silver coins from which they were made, silver articles were readily identifiable. Often formed to individual specifications, they always carried the silversmith’s distinctive markings and consequently could be traced and retrieved. Customers generally secure the silver for the silver object they ordered. They saved coins, took them to smiths, and discussed the type of pieces they desired. Silversmiths complied with these requests by melting the money in a small furnace, adding a bit of copper to form a stronger alloy, and casting the alloy in rectangular blocks. They hammered these ingots to the appropriate thickness by hand, shaped them and pressed designs into them for adornment. Engraving was also done by hand. In addition to plates and bowls, some customers sought more intricate products, such as silver teapots. These were made by shaping or casting parts separately and then soldering them together. Colonial coppersmithing also come of age in the early eighteenth century and prospered in northern cities. Copper’s ability to conduct heat efficiently and to resist corrosion contributed to its attractiveness. But because it was expensive in colonial America, coppersmiths were never very numerous. Virtually all copper worked by Smiths was imported as sheets or obtained by recycling old copper goods. Copper was used for practical items, but it was not admired for its beauty. Coppersmiths employed it to fashion pots and kettles for the home. They shaped it in much the same manner as silver or melted it in a foundry with lead or

tin. They also mixed it with zinc to make brass for maritime and scientific instruments.

1.According to the passage, which of the following eighteenth century developments had

B. The

2.In colonial America, where did silversmiths usually obtain the material to make silver articles?

D. From customers.

3.The passage mentions all of the following as uses for copper in Colonial America EXCEPT

C. musical ins

D. maritime instruments

4.According to the passage, silversmiths and coppersmiths in colonial America were similar

D. The practicality of the goods they made.

Passage 2

Most of us are taught to pay attention to what is said—the 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 alone. 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 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’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 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 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 responses 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 “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 phrase 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.they 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 saying 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 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 last paragraph equals something done___.

A.without true intention.

B.light-heartedly.

C.in a way of ceremony.

D.with less emphasis.

Passage 3

I lost my sight when I was four years old by falling off a box car in a freight yard in Atlantic City and landing on my head. Now I am thirty two. I can vaguely remember the brightness of sunshine and what color red is. It would be wonderful to see again, but a calamity can do strange things to people. It occurred to me the other day that I might not have come to love life as I do if I hadn't been blind. I believe in life now. I am not so sure that I would have believed in it so deeply, otherwise. I don't mean that I would prefer to go without my eyes. I simply mean that the loss of them made me appreciate the more what I had left.

Life, I believe, asks a continuous series of adjustments to reality. The more readily a person is able to make these adjustments, the more meaningful his own private world becomes. The adjustment is never easy. I was bewildered and afraid. But I was lucky. My parents and my teachers saw something in me--a potential to live, you might call it--which I didn't see, and they made me want to fight it out with blindness.

The hardest lesson I had to learn was to believe in myself. That was basic. If I hadn't been able to do that, I would have collapsed and become a chair rocker on the front porch for the rest of my life. When I say belief in myself I am not talking about simply the kind of self confidence that helps me down an unfamiliar staircase alone. That is part of it. But I mean something bigger than that: an assurance that I am, despite imperfections, a real, positive person; that somewhere in the sweeping, intricate pattern of people there is a special place where I can make myself fit.

It took me years to discover and strengthen this assurance. It had to start with the most elementary things. Once a man gave me an indoor baseball. I thought he was mocking me and I was hurt. "I can't use this." I said. "Take it with you," he urged me, "and roll it around." The words stuck in my head. "Roll it around! "By rolling the ball I could hear where it went. This gave me an idea how to achieve a goal I had thought impossible: playing baseball. At Philadelphia's Overbrook School for the Blind I invented a successful variation of baseball. We called it ground ball.

All my life I have set ahead of me a series of goals and then tried to reach them, one at a time. I had to learn my limitations. It was no good to try for something I knew at the start was wildly out of reach because that only invited the bitterness of failure. I would fail sometimes anyway but on the average I made progress

1. We can learn from the beginning of the passage that

A. the author lost his sight because of a car crash.

B. the author wouldn't love life if the disaster didn't happen.

C. the disaster made the author appreciate what he had.

D. the disaster strengthened the author's desire to see.

2. What's the most difficult thing for the author?

A. How to adjust himself to reality.

B. Building up assurance that he can find his place in life.

C. Learning to manage his life alone.

D. To find a special work that suits the author.

3. According to the context, "a chair rocker on the front porch" in paragraph 3 means that the author

A. would sit in a rocking chair and enjoy his life.

B. was paralyzed and stayed in a rocking chair.

C. would lose his will to struggle against difficulties.

D. would sit in a chair and stay at home.

4. According to the passage, the baseball and encouragement offered by the man

A. hurt the author's feeling.

B. gave the author a deep impression.

C. directly led to the invention of ground ball.

D. inspired the author.

5. According to the passage, which of the following is CORRECT?

A. The author set goals for himself but only invited failure most of the time.

B. The author suggested not trying something beyond one's ability at the beginning.

C. The bitterness of failure prevented the author from trying something out of reach.

D. Because of his limitations, the author tried to reach one goal at a time.

Passage 4

O n day one of my self-proclaimed Month of Gratitude，my five-year-old son woke up "bored" at 5:15 a.m.，I spied a speeding ticket in my wife's purse，and our water heater spluttered to its death as I was getting into the shower. Ordinarily，I would have started complaining and the day would've been off to an ugly start. But this day was different. How cute my child's dimples (酒窝) are. How fetching my wife's taste for adventure. Only 29 days to go.

Just a week earlier，as I struggled with the feeling that I'd been put on this earth to load and unload the dishwasher，I'd decided it was time to end my reflexive complaining. But it wasn't simply the little things that were annoying me. All of a sudden，my friends were dealing with bad news--cancer diagnoses，divorce，job loss. Shouldn't I be celebrating my relative good fortune?

I'd heard about the feel-good benefits of a gratitude attitude. Hoping for tips,I called professor Emmons，who pioneered research on the benefits of positive thinking. Emmons quoted new studies that indicated that even pretending to be thankful raises levels of the chemicals associated with pleasure and contentment. He recommended keeping a log of everything I'm grateful for in a given week or month.

I followed his suggestions，but my first attempts at keeping a gratitude list were pretty weak: coffee，naps，caffeine in general. As my list grew，I found more uplift: freshly picked blueberries；the Beatles' White Album；that I'm not bald.

By day three，I was on a tear，thanking every grocery bagger and parent on the playground like I'd just won an Oscar and hanging Post-it notes to remind myself of the next day's thank-you targets: the mailman，my son's math teacher. But soon，the full-on approach started to bum me out. Researchers call it the Pledge of Allegiance effect. "If you overdo gratitude，it loses its meaning or，worse，becomes a chore," professor Emmons told me when I mentioned my slump. Be selective，he advised，and focus on thanking the unsung heroes in your life.

Then professor Emmons suggested a "gratitude visit." Think of a person who has made a major difference in your life and whom you've never properly thanked. Compose a detailed letter to him or her that expresses your appreciation in concrete terms，then read it aloud，face-to-face.

I immediately flashed on Miss Riggi，my eighth-grade English teacher. She was the first one to open my eyes to Hemingway，Faulkner，and other literary giants. To this day，I am guided by her advice ("Never be boring"). I booked plane tickets to my hometown，Scranton，Pennsylvania.

Miss Riggi was shorter than I remember，though unmistakable with her still long，black hair and bright，intelligent eyes. After a slightly awkward hug and small talk，we settled in. I took a deep breath and read.

"I want to thank you in person for the impact you've had on my life," I began. "Nearly 30 years ago，you introduced my eighth-grade class to the wonders of the written word. Your passion for stories and characters and your enthusiasm for words made me realize there was a world out there that made sense to me." And whether it was Miss Riggi's enormous smile when I finished the letter，or the way she held it close as we said goodbye，my feeling of peace and joy remained long after I returned home.

Since then，I have written several more gratitude letters，and my wife and I both summon our "training" when we feel saddled by life. The unpleasant matters are still there，but appreciation，I've learned，has an echo--and it's loud enough to drown out the grumbling of one man emptying the dishwasher.

1. The author didn't start complaining when he met with unpleasant experiences because

A. he thought the day was different from before.

B. it was one of his self-proclaimed day of Gratitude.

C. his son became more cute and his wife more adventurous.

D. he could manage these little unhappy things in life.

2. According to the passage，what did professor Emmons propose to have a gratitude attitude?

A. Making oneself appear to be grateful.

B. Keeping an elaborate dairy.

C. Thinking positively in a given time.

D. Recording everything appreciated for a certain time.

3. According to the context，"gratitude visit" in Paragraph Six refers to

A. visit someone with a detailed letter.

B. call on someone with an appreciated letter.

C. see someone you are indebted to.

D. see someone personally.

4. The author's reunion with his English teacher，Miss Riggi，shows that

A. the author was desperate to see his teacher.

B. his teacher had great impact on him.

C. his teacher still had a deep impression of the author.

D. the author wanted to testify the professor's proposal.

5. The last paragraph shows that

A. professor Emmons' suggestions were effective to the author.

B. professor Emmons' suggestions were unpractical to the author.

C. the author and his wife learn how to show gratitude to others.

D. professor Emmons' suggestions were considered as unacceptable.

6. Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?

A. How to pay a gratitude visit.

B. How to make matters differently.

C. How to be thankful and improve your life.

D. How to become an appreciated man.

1. C) 根据文章第一句“As the merchant class expanded in the eighteenth century North American Colonies,...”可知，随着在十八世纪的北美殖民地商人阶级膨胀起来，也就是说那时的商人财富有了很大的发展，银匠铜匠们有机会发挥他们的专长了，这与选项C

2. D) 根据文章第十四、五行“Customers generally secures …object they ordered. They saved coins, took them to smiths, and...”可知顾客要做银器，首先要积攒银币，然后拿到银匠处加工成他们想要的形状。选项D“来自客户”与之相符。

3. C)

4. B) 根据文章倒数第四行“They shaped it in much the same manner as silver or melted it in a foundry with lead or tin.”可知银匠和铜匠在银器和铜器的塑型方式上是一样的，故选项B为正确答案。

答案：DBABC

【文章概要】

本文讲述一位盲人因一次意外事故失明后如何克服困难，重新定位自己，取得人生价值的故事。第1段叙述作者因一次意外事故失明，但失明没有使他丧失对生活的信心，反而让他更懂得珍惜他所拥有的东西；第2—4段讲述他如何走出阴影，最终找到了自己的位置，并发明了滚球 (ground ball)；最后一段总结他的成功经验，即在生活中不断给自己设立目标并为之而奋斗。

【答案解析】

1．[C]细节判断题。第l段最后一句指出“所失去的让我更懂得珍惜现在拥有的”，故选C。作者失明是因为他从一辆货车(box car)A摔下来，而不是因为汽车事故，故排除A；B的推断没有原文依据；文中提到他渴望重见光明。D的表述与原文有出入。

2．[B]细节判断题。the most difficult thin9是The hardest lesson的同义改写，故可定位到第3段。该段首句指出最困难的事情是“相信自己”，But所在的句子做了更具体的解释即“对自己的一种坚信，我还是我，尽管不是完美的……坚信自己可以找到一个适合自己的位置”，故选B。A太笼统；由第2段可知他的生活并不是孤单的，他还有父母、老师等的支持，故C错误；D文中没有提到。

3．[C]句意理解题。本题可用排除法。第3段第3句提到，“如果我不坚信自己，我会崩溃，变成一个坐在轮椅里的废人了，在门廊前度此余生”，由此可知C正确。

4．[D]细节判断题。根据baseball定位到倒数第2段。从该段最后两句可知棒球和那个男人的鼓励给作者以启示和鼓舞．从而发明了一种叫“滚球”的运动，故选D。该段提到作者以为那个男人是在嘲讽他，但后来在他的激励下有所启发，故A错误；B“给作者留下了深刻印象”在文中没有提及；C中的directly错误，男人的话只是给了作者启发。

5．[B]细节判断题。最后一段第2、3句表明我们要意识到自己的局限性，在开始时尝试那些遥不可及的东西只会徒劳无益，故B正确；由该段第1句和最后一句可知作者为自己不断设立目标并实现了大部分的目标，故A错误：最后一句的anyway but可知C错误；文中并没有指出他每次尝试一个目标是因为他自己的局限，故D属干随意捏造

答案解析：

1．[B]因果细节题。定位到第l段。根据第1段第2句可知，在以前如果碰到一些不开心的事情，作者会开始抱怨，但是今天是不同的。因为今天是他自己规定的感恩月中的一天。他看到的是孩子可爱的酒窝，妻子对冒险活动的独到见解等等。故选B。A没有说到不同的原因；C只是具体的现象；D也不是原因，他一直都有能力处理日常生活的不快，但如果不是他的感恩日子，他也许还是会抱怨，故排除。

2．[B]细节判断题。定位到第3段，根据第3段最后一句可知，D正确。教授提到新研究结果表明，就算是假装感恩也能让人觉得开心和满足。但他建议的是，让作者在给定的一周或一月内把每件值得感激的事情全都记下来，因此不选A。

3．[C]短语含义理解题。根据第6段的第2句可知，感恩拜访指的就是对你的人生有重大影响而你却未曾表达谢意的人登门造访。所以选项C正确。

4．[B]细节推断题。从第6段第2句对拜访对象的解释及第7段首句可知他的英语老师是对他人生影响最深的人，从第9段信件内容也可知道这一点，故选B。

5．[A]段落细节题。最后一段讲述感恩月过后作者及其妻子的改变：生活中不愉快的事情时有发生，但是保持一颗感恩的心将会让你忘掉一切不开心。这表明Emmons教授的建议是非常奏效的。故选项A符合题意。

6．[C]全文主旨题。文章主要描述了作者在感恩月中的体验及感恩月之后的改变。选项A(怎样进行感恩拜谢)、B(怎样使事情变得有所不同)以及D(怎样成为一个感恩的人)。