某银行笔试英语阅读真题

中国银行笔试英语阅读真题

阅读下面的短文。每篇短文的后面有五个问题，每个问题有四个备选答案。请根据短文的内容选择最佳答案。每个试题计3分,共计15分

A Tale of Scottish Rural Life

Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s Sunset Song (1932) was voted “the best Scottish novel of all time”by Scottish’s reading public in 20051 Once considered shocking for its frank description of aspects of the lives of Scotland’s poor rural farmers，it has been adapted for stage，film，TV and radio in recent decades.

The novel is set on the fictional estate of Kinraddie，in the farming country of the Scottish northwest in the years up to and beyond World War I.At its heart is the story of Chris，who is both part of the community and a little outside it.

Grassic Gibbon gives us the most detailed and intimate account of the life of his heroine.We watch her grow through a childhood dominated by her cruel but hard-working father；experience tragedy (her mother’s suicide and murder of her twin children)；and learn about her feelings as she grows into woman.We see her marry，lose her husband，then marry again.Chris has seemed so convincing a figure to some female readers that they cannot believe that she is the creation of a man2.

But it would be misleading to suggest that this book is just about Chris.It is truly a novel of a place and its people.Its opening section t ells of Kinraddie’s long history，in a language that imitates the place’s changing patterns of speech and writing.

The story itself is amazingly full of characters and incidents.It is told from Chris’ point of view but also from that of the gossiping com munity，a community where everybody knows everybody else’s business and nothing is ever forgotten.

Sunset Song has a social theme too.It is concerned with what Grassic Gibbon perceives as the destruction of traditional Scottish rural life first by modernization and then by World War 1.Gibbon tried hard to show how certain characters resist the war.Despite this，the war takes the young men away，a number of them to their deaths.In particular，it takes away Chris’ husband，Ewan T avendale.The war finally kills Ewan，but not in the way his widow is told.In fact，the Germans aren’t responsible for his death，but his own side.He is shot because he is said to have run away from a battle.

If the novel is about the end of one way of life it also looks ahead.It is a “Sun set

Song”but is concerned too with the new Kinraddie，indeed of the new European world.Grassic Gibbon went on to publish two other novels about the place that continue its story.

练习：

1.What is Sunset Song mainly about?

A)The First World War.

B)The beauty of the sunset.

C)The new European world.

D)The lives of rural Scottish farmers.

2.Which statement is NOT true of Chris?

A)She is the heroine of Sunset Song.

B)She had a miserable childhood.

C)She is the creation of a man.

D)She married only once.

3.What is the opening section of the novel mainly concerned with?

A)The climate of Kinraddie.

B)The history of Kinraddie.

C)The geography of Kinraddie.

D)The language spoken in Kinraddie.

4.Who are responsible for Evan’s death，according to Chris?

A)The Germans.

B)The French army.

C)The British troops.

D)The Russian soldiers.

5.The word sunset occurring in the title of the novel most probably means

A)the end of the heroine’s life.

B)the end of o ne’s life.

C)the end of traditional life.

D)the end of the day.

答案与题解：

1. D 问题问的是《日落歌》主要讲的是什么?选项A说的是：第一次世界大战。选项B说的是：日落之美。选项C说的是：新欧洲世界。选项D说的是：苏格兰农夫的生活。选项D是正确的，相关的信息可在第一段中找到。

2. D 问题问：哪个陈述对Chris是不符的?选项A说的是：她是《日落歌》中的女主人公。选项B 说的是：她的童年很苦。选项C说的是：她是由一个男人创作出来的。选项D说的是：她只结过一次婚。D不对。第三段有这么一句话：We see her malty，lose her husband，then marry again.我们看见

她结婚，失去丈夫，后来又结婚。

3. B 问题问的是：小说的开头部分主要说了些什么?选项A说的是：Kinraddie的气候。选项B说的是：Kinraddie的历史。选项C说的是：Kinraddie的地理。选项D说的是：Kinraddie说的语言。看看下面这句话：Its opening section tells of Kinraddie’s long history，in a language that imitates the place’s changing patterns of speech and writing.小说的开头部分讲述了Kinraddie的悠久历史，讲述时模仿了该地方变化着的口头语和书面语的表达方式。可以看出，B是对的。

4. A 问题问的是：根据Chris，谁杀死了Evan?选项A说的是：德国人。选项B说的是：法国军队。选项C说的是：英国部队。选项D说的是：俄罗斯士兵。B是正确的。倒数第二段有这么两句话：The war finally kills Ewan，but not in the way his widow is told.In fact，the Germans aren’t responsible for his death，but his own side.战争最后杀死了Ewan，但不是他的寡妇说的那样。事实上，德国人没有杀他，是他自己一边的人杀的。

5. C 问题问的是：小说题目中sunset这个词的意思很町能是哪一个意思?选项A说的是：女主人公生命的结束。选项B说的是：一个人生命的结束。选项C说的是：传统生活方式的结束。选项D说的是：一天的结束。正确答案是C。最后一段的第一句话是这么说的：If the novel is about the end of one way of life it also looks ahead.如果小说是关于一种生活方式的结束，那么它同时也是朝前看的。

阅读下面的短文。每篇短文的后面有五个问题，每个问题有四个备选答案。请根据短文的内容选择最佳答案。每个试题计3分,共计15分

Who Wants to Live Forever?

If your doctor could give you a drug that would let you live a healthy life for twice as long，would you take it?

The good news is that we may be drawing near to that date.Scientists have already extended the lives of flies，worms and mice in laboratories.Many now think that using genetic treatments we will soon be able to extend human life to at least 140 years.

This seems a great idea.Think of how much more time we could spend chasing our dreams，spending time with our loved ones，watching our families grow and have families of their own.

“Longer life would give us a chance to recover from our mistakes and promote long term thinking，”says Dr Gregory Stock of the University of California School of Public Health.“It would also raise productivity by adding to the year we can work.”

Longer lives don’t just affect the people who live them.They also affect society as a whole.“We have war，poverty，all sorts of issues around，and I don’t think any of them would be at all helped by having people live longer，”says US bioethicist Daniel Callahan.“The question is ’What will we get as a society?’ I suspect it won’t be a better society.”

It would certainly be a very different society.People are already finding it more difficult

to stay married.Divorce rates are rising.What would to marriage in a society where people lived for 140 years?And what would happen to family life if nine or 10 generations of the same family were all alive at the same time?

Research into ageing may enable women to remain fertile for longer.And that raises the prospect of having 100-year-old parents，or brothers and sisters bom 50 years apart~.We think of an eider sibling as someone who can protect us and offer help and advice.That would be hard to do if that sibling came from a completely different generation.

Working life would also be affected，especially if the retirement age was lifted.More people would stay in work for longer.That would give us the benefits of age-skill，wisdom and good judgement.

On the other hand，more people working for longer would create greater competition for jobs.It would make it more difficult for younger people to find a job.Top posts would be dominated by the same few individuals，making career progress more difficult.And how easily would a 25-year-old employee be able to communicate with a 125-year-old boss?

Young people would be a smaller part of a society in which people lived to 140.It may be that such a society would place less importance on guiding and educating young people，and more on making life comfortable for the old.

And society would feel very different if more of its members were older.There would be more wisdom，but less energy.Young people like to move about.Old people like to sit still.Young people tend to act without thinking.Old people tend to think without acting.Young people are curious and like to experience different things.Old people are less enthusiastic about change.In fact，they are less enthusiastic about everything.

The effect of anti-ageing technology is deeper than we might think.But as the science advances，we need to think about these changes now.

“If this could ever happen，then we’d better ask what kind of society we want to get，”says Daniel Callahan.“We had better not go anywhere near it2 until we have figure those problems out.”

练习：

1.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as one of the things that living longer might enable an individual to do?

A) Spending more time with his family.

B) Having more education.

C) Realizing more dreams.

D) Working longer.

2.Which of the following is implied in the sixth paragraph?

A) Marriages in the US today are quite unstable.

B) More and more people in the US today want to get married.

C) Living longer would make it easier for people to maintain their marital ties.

D) If people live longer，they would stay in marriage longer.

3.All of the following are possible effects living longer might have on working life EXCEPT

A) Communication between employers and employees would be more difficult.

B) More money would be used by employees in payment of their employees.

C) The job market would be more competitive.

D) It would be more difficult for young people to be promoted to top positions.

4.An important feature of a society in which people live a long life is that

A) it places more emphasis on educating the young.

B) it is both wise and energetic.

C) it lacks the curiosity to experiment what is new.

D) it welcmes changes.

5.Which of the following best describes Callaha n’s attitude to anti-ageing technology?

A) Optimistic.

B) Pessimistic.

C) Reserved.

D) Negative.

答案与题解：

1. B 长寿使个人能做的事主要在第3、4段里讲到，作者没有提到长寿可以让人更多地接受教育

2. A 本题答案以下面的这两句话为依据：Psople are already finding it more difficult to stay married.Divorce rates are rising.暗示美国人目前的婚姻关系已经十分脆弱。

3. B 文章的第9段讲了寿命延长、退休推迟可能带来的种种问题，但作者没有提到雇佣者需要更多的钱来支付员工的工资。

4. C 答案可以在10、11这两段里找到。

5. C 本题的答案依据可以在最后一段里找到。Callahan认为在搞清楚长寿社会会给我们带来哪些问题之前，最好不要急着搞抗衰老的技术。可见他对抗衰老技术的发展是有保留的。

阅读下面的短文。每篇短文的后面有五个问题，每个问题有四个备选答案。请根据短文的内容选择最佳答案。每个试题计3分,共计15分

The Best Way to Reduce Your Weight

You hear this：“No wonder you are fat.All you ever do is eat.”You feel sad：“I skip my breakfast and supper.I run every morning and evening.What else can I do?”Basically you can do nothing.Your genes，not your life habits，determine your weight and your body constantly

tries to maintain it.

Albert Stunkard of the University of Pennsylvania found from experiments that，“80 percent of the children of two obese parents become obese，as compared with no more than 14 percent of the offspring of two parents of normal weight.”

How can obese people become normal or even thin through dieting?Well，dieting can be effective，but the health costs are tremendous.Jules Hirsch，a research physician at Rockefeller University，did a study of eight fat people.They were given a liquid formula providing 600 calories a day1.After more than 10 weeks，the subjects lost 45kg on average.But after leaving the hospital，they all regained.The results were surprising：by metabolic measurement，fat people who lost large amounts of weight seemed like they were starving.They had psychiatric problems.They dreamed of food or breaking their diet2.They were anxious and depressed；some were suicidal.They hid food in their rooms.Researchers w arn that it is possible that weight reduction doesn’t result in normal weight，but in an abnormal state resembling that of starved non-obese people.

Thin people，however，suffer from the opposite：They have to make a great effort to gain weight.Ethan Sims，of the University of Vermont，got prisoners to volunteer to gain weight.In four to six months，they ate as much as they could.They succeeded in increasing their weight by 20 to 25 percent.But months after the study ended，they were back to normal weight and stayed there.

This did not mean that people are completely without hope in controlling their weight.It means that those who tend to be fat will have to constantly battle their genetic inheritance if they want to significantly lower their weight.

The findings also provide evidence for something scientists thought was true-each person has a comfortable weight range3.The range might be as much as 9kg.Someone might weigh 60-69kg without too much effort.But going above or below the natural weight range is difficult.The body resists by feeling hungry or full and changing the metabolism to push the weight back to the range it seeks.

练习：

1.What determines your weight?

A)Your working manner.

B)Your eating habit.

C)Your life style.

D)Your genes.

2.What did Jules Hirsch do in his study?

A)He let the eight fat people skip supper.

B)He let the eight fat people skip breakfast.

C) He let the eight fat people run every morning and evening.

D)He gave the eight fat people a liquid formula providing 600 calories a day.

3.What happened to the eight fat people after they left the hospital?

A)They went mad.

B)They killed themselves.

C) They were back to normal weight.

D)They attempted suicide.

4.What did Ethan Sims make his subj ects do?

A)Battle their genetic inheritance.

B)Increase their weight.

C)Stay at home.

D)Lower their weight.

5.What did scientists think was true?

A)Each person has a fixed weight range.

B)Each person has a weight range of 9 kg.

C)Each person wants to control his weight.

D)Each person wants to eat to his heart’s content.

答案与题解：

1. D 问题问的是：什么决定了你的体重?A说的是：你的工作方式。B说的是：你的吃饭习惯。C说的是：你的生活风格。D说的是：你的基因。正确答案是D。第一段中有这么一句话：Your genes，not your life habits，determine your weight and your body constantly tries to maintain it.你的基因而不是你的生活习惯决定了你的体重，因此你的身体总是试图保持它。

2. D 问题问的是：Jules Hirsch在他的研究中做了什么?A说的是：他让八个胖子不吃晚饭。B说的是：他让八个胖子不吃早饭。C说的是：他让八个胖子早晚都跑步。D说的是：他给八个胖子一种每天提供600热卡的流食配方。D是正确的。第三段有这么一句话：They were given a liquid formula providing 600 calories a day.他们被给予一种流食配方，每天提供600热卡。

3. C 问题问的是：八个胖子出院后怎么啦? A说的是：他们发疯了。B说的是：他们自杀了。C说的是：他们又回到了原来的体重。D说的是：他们试图自杀。C是正确的。第四段的最后一句话是这样的：But months after the study ended，they were back to normal weight and stayed there.研究结束几个月后，他们的体重又回到了原来的样子并保持不变。

4. B 问题问的是：Ethan Sims让他的调查对象干什么? A说的是：跟他们的基因遗传物做斗争。B说的是：增加他们的重量。C说的是：呆在家里。D说的是：减少体重。第四段有

一个句子是这么说的：Ethan Sims，of the University of Vermont，got prisoners to volunteer to gain weight.Vermont大学的Ethan Sims让犯人自愿增加体重。可见B是正确的答案。

5. A 问题问的是：科学家认为什么是对的? A说的是：每个人的体重都有一个适当的幅度。B说的是：每个人的体重幅度是9公斤。C说的是：每个人都想控制自己的体重。D说的是：每个人都想吃得高兴。正确答案是A。最后一段的第一句话是这么说的：The findings also provide evidence for something scientists thought was true-each person has acomfortable weight range.结论还证实了科学家认为是正确的一点，即每个人的体重有一个适当的幅度。

Proponents of different jazz styles have always argued that their predecessor''s musical style did not include essential characteristics that define jazz as jazz. Thus, 1940''s swing was belittled by beboppers of the 1950''s who were themselves attacked by free jazzes of the 1960''s. The neoboppers of the 1980''s and 1990''s attacked almost everybody else. The titanic figure of Black saxophonist John Coltrane has complicated the arguments made by proponents of styles from bebop through neobop because in his own musical journey he drew from all those styles. His influence on all types of jazz was immeasurable. At the height of his popularity, Coltrane largely abandoned playing bebop, the style that had brought him fame, to explore the outer reaches of jazz.

Coltrane himself probably believed that the only essential characteristic of jazz was improvisation, the one constant in his journey from bebop to open-ended improvisations on modal, Indian, and African melodies. On the other hand, this dogged student and prodigious technician — who insisted on spending hours each day practicing scales from theory books — was never able to jettison completely the influence of bebop, with its fast and elaborate chains of notes and ornaments on melody.

Two stylistic characteristics shaped the way Coltrane played the tenor saxophone: he favored playing fast runs of notes built on a melody and depended on heavy, regularly accented beats. The first led Coltrane to sheets of sound” where he raced faster and faster, pile-driving notes into each other to suggest stacked harmonies. The second meant that his sense of rhythm was almost as close to rock as to bebop.

Three recordings illustrate Coltrane''s energizing explorations. Recording Kind of Blue with Miles Davis, Coltrane found himself outside bop, exploring modal melodies. Here he played surging, lengthy solos built largely around repeated motifs — an organizing principle unlike that of free jazz saxophone player OrnetteColeman, who modulated or altered melodies in his solos. On Giant Steps, Coltrane debuted as leader, introducing his own compositions. Here the sheets of sound, downbeat accents, repetitions, and great speed are part of each solo, and the variety of the shapes of his phrases is unique. Coltrane''s

searching explorations produced solid achievement. My Favorite Things was another kind of watershed. Here Coltrane played the soprano saxophone, an instrument seldom used by jazz musicians. Musically, the results were astounding. With the soprano''s piping sound, ideas that had sounded dark and brooding acquired a feeling of giddy fantasy.

When Coltrane began recording for the Impulse！Label, he was still searching. His music became raucous, physical. His influence on rockers was enormous, including Jimi Hendrix, the rock guitarist, who, following Coltrane, raised the extended guitar solo using repeated motifs to a kind of rock art form.

The primary purpose of the text is to

[A] discuss the place of Coltrane in the world of jazz and describe his musical explorations.

[B] examine the nature of bebop and contrast it with improvisational jazz.

[C] analyze the musical sources of Coltrane''s style and their influence on his work.

[D] acknowledge the influence of Coltrane''s music on rock music and rock musicians.

Which of the following best describes the organization of the fourth paragraph？

[A] A thesis referred to earlier in the text is mentioned and illustrated with three specific examples.

[B] A thesis is stated and three examples are given each suggesting that a correction needs to be made to a thesis referred to earlier in the text.

[C] A thesis referred to earlier in the text is mentioned, and three examples are presented and ranked in order of their support of the thesis.

[D] A thesis is stated, three seemingly opposing examples are presented, and their underlying correspondence is explained.

According to the text, John Coltrane didall of the following during his career EXCEPT

[A] improvise on melodies from a number of different cultures.

[B] perform as leader as well as soloist.

[C] spend time improving his technical skills.

[D] eliminate the influence of bebop on his own music.

According to the text a major difference between Coltrane and other jazz musicians was the

[A] degree to which Coltrane''s music encompassed all of jazz.

[B] repetition of motifs that Coltrane used in his solos.

[C] number of his own compositions that Coltrane recorded.

[D] indifference Coltrane maintained to musical technique.

In terms of its tone and form, the text can best be characterized as

[A] dogmatic explanation.

[B] indignant denial.

[C] enthusiastic praise.

[D] speculative study.

[答案与考点解析]

「答案」A

「考点解析」本题是一道中心主旨题。第一段的倒数第一、二句是全文的中心主旨句，全文就是根据这两句话展开论述的。抓住这两句话就可以找出本题的正确选项 A.考生在解题时，尤其是破解中心主旨题时，一定要先找出全文的中心主旨句。

「答案」C

「考点解析」这是一道例（举）证与细节理解题。第四段第一句明确指出“三张唱片为科尔特兰尼富有活力的探索提供了证明”。这说明第四段将讲述三个例子用来说明在前一段即第三段所提出的论点。另外这三个例子是按着先后顺序给出的，因此本题的正确选项是C.考生在解题时要注意段落之间的相互关系，更要注意句子之间的相互关系。

「答案」D

「考点解析」这是一道细节理解题型。本题属于比较难的题型，因为本题的涉及面比较广。本题A、B、C选项的内容分别在第二段第一句、第四段第三四句和第二段第二句提到过。故本题的正确选项应该是D.其实这道题表面上非常难，但是对于善于捕捉全文中心主旨句的同学来讲确比较容易，因为从第一段第四句的原因状语从句中就可以推导出本题的正确答案D.考生在解题时应时时牢记全文的中心主旨句。

「答案」A

「考点解析」本题是一道审题定位题型。根据本题题干中的“other jazz musicians”可将本题的答案信息来源定位在第一段的第一至四句，因为在这四句话中提到了其它的爵士音乐家。第一段第四句的状语从句明确指出了“Coltrane”与其它音乐家的不同在于他吸收了各种风格的爵士音乐。故本题的正确答案应该是A.考生在解题时应重视审题定位。

「答案」C

「考点解析」本题是一道归纳推导题型。细心的同学可从本文作者在论述时使用的词语中推导出本题的正确答案 C.例如作者在第一段第四句的主语上使用了“titanic figure”；在第五句使用了“his influence…was immeasurable”；在最后一段的第三句使用了“his influence… was enormous”，这都反映了作者的“enthusiastic praise”。考生在解题时要重视原文作者在表达观点时的遣词造句。

[参考译文]

不同的爵士乐风格的支持者一贯认为他们前辈的音乐风格没有包括那些使爵士乐之所以成为爵士乐的本质特征。这样，二十世纪五十年代的比波普派轻视二十世纪四十年代的摇摆音乐派，而他们自己又受到二十世纪六十年代的自由爵士派的抨击。二十世纪八十至九十年代的新比波普派几乎对任何其他人都进行抨击。而黑人萨克斯管巨匠约翰？科尔特兰尼使这些从比波普派到新比波普派的支持者所提出的主张更加复杂化，因为在他自己的音乐例程中，他经历了所有这些风格。他对所有爵士音乐的风格的影响是不可估量的。在他最受欢迎的时期，科尔特兰尼基本上放弃了比波普风格的演奏以便探索爵士乐更深的处延，然而正是比波普风格的演奏使得他成名。

科尔特兰尼自己可能认为爵士乐的唯一本质特征就是即兴创作，这是他从比波普风格到对形式音乐、印度音乐、非洲音乐的自由即兴演奏的历程中一直没有改变的。另一方面，这个顽强的学生和异常的技巧家每天花几个小时用以练习理论书籍上的曲谱，从未能完全抛弃比波普的影响，在他的旋律中可以找到带有比波普特点的快速和精细的音符以及修饰效果。

有两种风格特征影响了科尔特兰尼演奏男高音萨克斯管的方式：他喜欢对建立于一种旋律上的音符进行快速的演奏，同时也依赖于强有力的、有规律的重音节奏。前者引导科尔特兰尼走向“片状声响”的境界，在那里科尔特兰尼的演奏越来越快，将音符成堆互相累放起来以表达一种堆叠起来的和谐感。而后者意味着，他的节奏感之接近于摇滚乐几乎就像其接近于比波普风格一样。

三张唱片为科尔特兰尼富有活力的探索提供了证明。和马尔斯？戴维斯合作录制《有几分忧伤》时，科尔特兰尼发现他已离开了波普风格，对形式音乐进行探索。在这中间，他演奏那些跌宕起伏的冗长的独奏，而这些独奏基本上是围绕着一个重复主题展开的。该种主题是用以组织其音乐的原则，它和自由派爵

士乐萨克斯管演奏家奥尼迪？科尔曼采用的组织方式不同。后面这位音乐家在他的独奏中会对其旋律进行调节改变。在《大踏步》中，科尔特兰尼初次以领导者角色出现，对他自己的作品进行了介绍。在这中间，“片状声响”、强拍重音、重复回旋和极快的速度组成了每一段独奏的各个部分，各乐章的形式的多样性是独一无二的。科尔特兰尼深刻的探索获得了稳固的成就。《我的钟爱之物》是另一种意义上的分水岭。在这里，科尔特兰尼演奏了爵士乐演奏家很少使用的女高音萨克斯管，所产生的音乐上的效果是惊人的。伴随着女高音萨克斯管的尖音，那些显得昏暗及带有沉思意味的主题获得了一种令人眼花缭乱的梦幻感觉。

当科尔特兰尼开始为冲动唱片公司进行音乐录制时，他仍然在探索。他的音乐变得沙哑而感性。摇滚乐手受到他的巨大影响，其中包括吉米？亨德瑞克斯这位吉它手。后者仿效科尔特兰尼，使基于重复主题的大段吉他独奏上升成为一种摇滚艺术形式