Still many people find it difficult to stop smoking.
Measures have been taken
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江西财经大学
06－07第一学期期末考试试卷
课程代号：34052B
课程名称：大学英语I(非涉外)
授课课时：39
适用对象：2006级本科非涉外班
Part I Reading Comprehension (2’ × 20 = 40’)
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.
Passage 1
Questions 1-5 are based on the following passage:
Many a young person tells me he wants to be a writer. I always encourage such people, but also explain that there's a big difference between \individuals are dreaming of wealth and fame, not the long hours alone at a typewriter. \to want to write,\
The reality is that writing is a lonely, private and poor paying affair. For every writer kissed by fortune there are thousands more whose longing is never rewarded. When I left a 20-year career in the U. S. Coast Guard to become a freelance writer, I had no prospects at all. What I did have was a friend who found me my room in a New York apartment building. It didn't even matter that it was cold and had no bathroom. I immediately bought a used manual typewriter and felt like a genuine writer.
After a year or so, however, I still hadn't gotten a break and began to doubt myself. It was so hard to sell a story that barely made enough to eat. But I knew I wanted to write. I had dreamed about it for years. I wasn't going to be one of those people who die wondering. What if? I would keep putting my dream to the test even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure. This is the Shadow land of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there.
1. The passage is meant to _______.
[A] warn young people of the hardships that a successful writer has to experience [B] advise young people to give up their idea of becoming a professional writer [C] show young people it's unrealistic for a writer to pursue wealth and fame [D] encourage young people to pursue a writing career 2. What can be concluded from the passage?
[A] Genuine writers often find their work interesting and rewarding
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[B] A writer's success depends on luck rather than on effort.
[C] Famous writers usually live in poverty and isolation. [D] The chances for a writer to become successful are small.
3. Why did the author begin to doubt himself after the first year of his writing career? [A] He wasn't able to produce a single book. [B] He hadn't seen a change at all.
[C] He wasn't able to have a rest for a whole year. [D] He found his dream would never come true.
4. \[A] who think too much of the dark side of life [B] who regret giving up their career halfway
[C] who think a lot without making a decision [D] who are full of imagination even upon death
5. \[A] the wonder land one often dreams about
[B] the bright future that one is looking forward to
[C] the state of uncertainty before one's final goal is reached [D] a world that exists only in one's imagination
Passage 2
Questions 6-10 are based on the following passage:
If we want to learn about other societies, it is not always necessary to travel. We can discover what happens in other parts of the world by watching TV. It is difficult to imagine an easier way of learning about other countries. These days television does not only tell stories, or record important historical happenings. It also records the actions and habits of ordinary people. Much of our present knowledge of living forms and of objects in distant space, too, is got from TV and photographs taken by cameras. Camera eyes are generally much more accurate than the eyes of men and women. When a man looks at the world, he sees only what he chooses to see. He often finds it more convenient not to notice certain things. But a camera shows every object completely and truthfully. Without this instrument, many scientific discoveries would be impossible and we would be less sure of many historical facts.
6. This passage mainly talks about _______. [A] the development of modern science [B] the great use of television and camera [C] the accuracy of camera eyes [D] learning about other countries
7. According to this passage, the easiest way to learn about what is going on all over the world is
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_______.
[A] going on voyages [B] living abroad [C] to watch TV
[D] to talk with many foreigners
8. Man should owe much of his present knowledge of living forms and of objects in distant space to _______.
[A] his teacher‘s hard work [B] living abroad
[C] televisions and cameras [D] modern science
9. According to the passage, human eyes are not reliable enough because _______. [A] it is natural for them not to see certain things [B] they always see what they don‘t like to
[C] it can show each object so completely and truthfully as a camera does [D] there may be something wrong with them now and then
10. Which of the following expressions can take the place of the phrase ?without this instrument‘, in the last sentence of this passage? [A] Having not this instrument [B] Not having this instrument
[C] If there were not this instrument [D] If there is not this instrument
Passage 3
Questions 11-15 are based on the following passage:
When your parents advise you to \only half the truth. What they really mean is to get just enough education to provide manpower for your society, but not so much that you prove an embarrassment to your society.
Get a high school diploma, at least. Without that, you will be occupationally dead unless your name happens to be George Bernard Shaw or Thomas Alva Edison, and you can successfully dropout (辍学学生) in grade school.
Get a college degree, if possible. With a B.A., you are on the launching pad (发射台). But now you have to start to put on the brakes. If you go for a master's degree, make sure it is an M.B.A., and is famous law of diminishing returns (回报逐渐缩减) begins to take effect.
Do you know, for instance, that long-haul truck drivers earn more per year than full professors? Yes, the average 1977 salary for those truckers was $24000. While the full professors managed to earn just $23030.
A Ph.D. is the highest degree you can get. Except for a few specialized fields such as physics or chemistry where the degree can quickly be turned to industrial or commercial purposes, if you
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pursue such a degree in any other field, you will face a dim future. There are more Ph.D.s unemployed or underemployed in this country than any other part of the world.
If you become a doctor of philosophy in English or history or anthropology (人类学) or political science or languages or-worst of all-in philosophy, you run the risk of becoming overeducated for our national demands. Not for our needs, mind you, but for our demands.
Thousands of Ph.D.s are selling shoes, driving cars, waiting on table, and endlessly filling out applications month after month. They may also take a job in some high school or backwater (停滞不前) college that pays much less than the janitor (看门人) earns.
You can equate the level of income with the level of education only so far. Far enough, that is, to make you useful to the gross national product, but not so far that nobody can turn much of a profit on you.
11. According to the writer, what the society expects of education is to turn out people who _____. [A] will not be a disgrace to society [B] will become loyal citizens [C] can take care of themselves
[D] can meet the nation's demands as a source of manpower 12. Many Ph.D.s are out of job because _____. [A] they are improperly educated
[B] they are of little commercial value to their society [C] there are fewer jobs in high schools
[D] they prefer easier jobs that make more money 13. The nation is only interested in people _____. [A] who are well-educated
[B] who specialize in physics and chemistry
[C] who are valuable to the gross national product [D] both A and C
14. Which of the following is NOT true?
[A] Bernard Shaw didn't finish high schools, nor did Edison. [B] One must think carefully before pursuing a master degree.
[C] The higher your education level, the more money you will earn.
[D] If you are too well-educated, you'll be overeducated for society's demands. 15. The writer sees education as _____.
[A] a means of providing job security and financial security and a means of meeting a country's demands for technical workers
[B] a way to broaden one's horizons [C] more important than finding a job
[D] an opportunity that everyone should have
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