科文学院2011级大学英语C
期末复习题集（艺术类）
Time and tide wait for no man.
大学英语教研室 2012年12月
Part I Reading comprehension
Passage 1
It is a matter of common observation that although incomes keep going up over the years, people never seem to become much better off! Prices are rising continuously. This condition is termed one of inflation; the money supply is becoming inflated so that each unit of it becomes less valuable.
People have grown accustomed in recent years to higher and higher rates of inflation. What could be bought ten years ago for one dollar now costs well over two dollars? Present indications are that this rate of inflation is tending to rise rather than to fall. If in the real world our money incomes go up at the same rate as prices one might think that inflation does not matter. But it does. When money is losing value it lacks one of the qualities of a good money - stability of value. It is no longer acceptable as a store of value; and it becomes an unsuitable standard of deferred(延迟) payments. Nobody wants to hold a wasting asset(资产), so people try to get rid of money as quickly as possible. Inflation therefore stimulates consumer spending, and prevents people from saving.
1. Inflation is a situation in which __________. A. we find our money increase in its value B. employment no longer becomes a problem C. people can always find better paying jobs D. money keeps losing its value
2. According to the author, inflation __________.
A. is very common at the present time B. seldom happens C. has become rare in recent years D. is just reasonable 3. According to the passage, if incomes and prices rise together __________.
A. money will hold its value B. inflation poses no problem C. inflation will remain to be a problem D. the business will prosper 4. When money loses its value __________.
A. it is no longer stable B. its rate against gold will be kept at the same level C. goods will lose their value D. incomes will keep rising 5. In a period of inflation, people are likely to __________. A. invest heavily on the stock market B. save money
C. hold on to money as a dependable asset D. spend money and not bother to save Passage 2
Sometimes you’ll hear people say that you can’t love others until you love yourself. Sometimes you’ll hear people say that you can’t expect someone else to love you until you love yourself. Either way, you’ve got to love yourself first and this can be tricky. Sure we all know that we’re the apple of our parents’ eyes, and that our Grandmas think we’re great talents and our Uncle Roberts think that we will go to the Olympics, but sometimes it’s a lot harder to think such nice thoughts about ourselves. If you find that believing in yourself is a challenge, it is time you built a positive self-image and learnt to love yourself.
Self-image is your own mind’s picture of yourself. This image includes the way you look, the way you act, the way you talk and the way you think. Interestingly, our self-images are often quite different from the images others hold about us. Unfortunately, most of these images are more negative than they should be. Thus changing the way you think about yourself is the key to changing your self-image and your whole world.
The best way to defeat a passive self-image is to step back and decide to stress your successes. That is, make a list if you need to, but write down all of the great things you do every day. Don’t allow doubts to occur in it.
It very well might be that you are experiencing a negative self-image because you can’t move past one flaw or weakness that you see about yourself. Well, roll up your sleeves and make a change of it as your primary task. If you think you’re silly because you aren’t good at math, find a tutor. If you think you’re weak because you can’t run a mile, get to the track and practice. If you think you’re dull because you don’t wear the latest trends, buy a
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few new clothes.
The best way to get rid of a negative self-image is to realize that your image is far from objective and to actively convince yourself of your positive qualities. Changing the way you think and working on those you need to improve will go a long way towards promoting a positive self-image. When you can pat yourself on the back, you’ll know you’re well on your way.
1. You need to build a positive self-image when you ______________.
A) dare to challenge yourself B) feel it hard to change yourself C) are unconfident about yourself D) have a high opinion of yourself 2. According to the passage, our self-images ________________.
A) have positive effects B) are probably untrue C) are often changeable D) have different functions 3. How should you change your self-image according to the passage?
A) Keep a different image of others. B) Make your life successful. C) Understand your own. D) Change the way you think. 4. What is the passage mainly about?
A) How to prepare for your success. B) How to face challenges in your life. C) How to build a positive self-image. D) How to develop your good qualities. 5. Who are the intended readers of the passage?
A) Parents. B) Adolescents. C) Educators. D) People in general. Passage 3
Women still have an uneasy relationship with power and the traits necessary to be a leader．There is this internalized fear that if we are really powerful，we are going to be considered heartless or unpleasantly aggressive or forceful．We are still working at trying to overcome the fear that power and womanliness are mutually exclusive．
In my case，I think I may have had an easier time dealing with this fear because my first taste of leadership came in a situation in which I was a blissfully (幸福地) ignorant outsider．It was in college，when I became president of the Cambridge Union debating society．Since I had grown up in Greece，I had never heard of the Cambridge Union or the Oxford Union and didn’t know about their place in English culture，so I wasn’t weighed down with the kinds of overwhelming notions that may have stopped British girls from even thinking about trying for such a position．
The same thing happened when my first book，The Female Woman，came out．I was 23 and my U.S. publisher, Random House，flew me from London to New York．They handed me my schedule，and my first interview was with Barbara Walters on the Today show．This didn’t confuse and shock me since I had no idea who Barbara Walters was, and had never heard of the Today show．So 1 was less nervous than if I had been on a local show in Athens that my family and classmates could have watched.
In this way，it was a blessing that I started my career outside my home environment．It had its own problems in that I was laughed at for my accent and was demeaned (贬低) as someone who spoke in a funny way．But it also taught me that it is easier to overcome people’s judgments than to overcome our own self-judgment，the fear we internalize．
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said, ―If you want to change the world，who do you begin with，yourself or others?”I believe if we begin with ourselves and do the things that we need to do and become the best person we can be，we have a much better chance of changing the world for the better． ．
1. According to the first paragraph，women leaders fear that they may be regarded as ． A) inconsiderate B) lacking in womanliness C) incompetent D) lacking in leadership 2. What was the author's attitude towards“the kinds of overwhelming notions”?
A) She was ignorant． B) She was unhappy． C) She wasn’t stressed． D)She wasn’t satisfied．
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3. What is said about Barbara Walters?
A) She was the interviewer on the Today show． B) She was a famous women leader in the U.S.
C) She was a clerk working for Random House． D) She was the most faithful fan of the author.
4. In what situation did the author find it easier to deal with fear?
A) When she had her first book published． B) When she was in an unfamiliar culture． C) When she was with friends and family． D) When she got used to facing the public 5. The author suggests that it is more difficult to overcome ．
A) prejudice against women leaders B) fear for the unpredictable future C) others’ judgments on us D) our own internalized fear Passage 4
The sea has always interested man. From it he can get food, minerals, and treasure. For thousands of years, he could sail on it. But he could not go far beneath its surface.
Man wants to explore deep into the sea. However, he is not a fish. Because he must breathe air, he can not stay under the water’s surface for any length of time. To explore deep water, man faces even more dangers and problems.
A diver who wants to stay under water for more than a few minutes must breathe air or a special mixture of gases. He can wear a diving suit and have air pumped to him from above. He can carry a tank of air on its back and breathe through a hose and a mouthpiece.
Water weighs 800 times as much as air. Tons of water pushes against a diver deep in the sea. His body is under great pressure. When a diver is under great pressure, his blood takes in some of the gases he breathes. As he rises to the surface, the water pressure becomes less. If the diver rises too quickly, the gases in his blood form bubbles. The diver is then suffering from the bends (潜水员病). The bends can cause a diver to double up in pain. They can even kill him.
1. The passage is mainly concerned with ________.
A) problems in deep-sea exploration B) breathing difficulty under the water surface C) diving D) exploration of the sea 2. Which of the following is NOT true of the passage? A) Man can get a lot from the sea. B) Man can swim like fish.
C) Man cannot stay under the water surface for long. D) The pressure in deep sea can be dangerous. 3. How can a diver breathe air?
A) He can breathe specially mixed gases. B) He can breathe from a tank on his back.
C) He can depend on the air pumped to him from above. D) All of the above.
4. Where does a diver get the bends? A) When he dives down too fast.
B) When he is at a great depth of the sea. C) When he rises too fast to the surface. D) When he is in poor health.
5. What could be the result of bends?
A) The diver will die. B) The diver can’t stand upright. C) Both A and B. D) Neither A nor B.
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Passage 5
Day after day we hear about how anthropogenic（人为的）development is causing global warming. According to an increasingly vocal minority, however, we should be ourselves how much of this media hype（大肆宣传） is based on real evidence. It seems, as so often is the case, that it depends on which experts you listen to, or which statistics you study.
Yes, it is true that there is a mass of evidence to indicate that the world is getting warmer, with one of the world’s leading weather predictors stating that air temperatures have shown an increase of just under half a degree Celsius since the beginning of the twentieth century. And while this may not sound like anything worth losing sleep over, the international press would have us believe that the consequences would be devastating. Other experts, however, are of the opinion that what we are seeing is just part of a natural upward and downward swing that has always been part of the cycle of global weather. An analysis of the views of major meteorologists(气象学家) in the United States showed that less than 20% of them believed that any change in temperature over the last hundred years was our own fault-the rest attributed it to natural cyclical changes.
There is, of course, no denying that we are still at a very early stage in understanding weather. The effects of such variables as rainfall, cloud formation, the seas and oceans, gases such as methane and ozone, or even solar energy are still not really understood, and therefore the predictions that we make using them cannot always be relied on. Dr. James Hansen, in 1988, was predicting that the likely effects of global warming would be a rising of world temperature which would have disastrous consequences for mankind: ―a strong cause and effect relationship between the current climate and human alteration of the atmosphere‖. He has now gone on record as stating that using artificial models of climate as a way of predicting change is all but impossible. In fact, he now believes that, rather than getting hotter, our planet is getting greener as a result of the carbon dioxide increase, with the prospect of increasing vegetation in areas which in recent history have been frozen wasteland. 1. Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?
A) The author believes that man is causing global warming. B) The author is sure what the causes of global warming are. C) The author believes that global warming is natural process.
D) The author does not say what he believes the causes of global warming are. 2. As to the causes of global warming, the author holds that ______.
A) you should not speak to any experts
B) often the facts depend on which expert you listen to C) the facts always depend on whom you are talking to
D) occasionally the facts depend on whom you are talking to
3. What is the opinion of more than 80% of the top meteorologists in the United States?
A) Global warming is not the result of natural cyclical changes, but man-made. B) Global warming is not man-made, but the result of natural cyclical change. C) Global warming should make us lose sleep.
D) The consequences of global warming will be devastating. 4. According to the author, our understanding of weather _______.
A) is variable
B) is not very developed yet C) leads to reliable predictions D) cannot be denied
5. Which fact is included in Dr. James Hansen’s present beliefs?
A) Earth is getting colder and greener.
B) The consequences of global warming would be disastrous for mankind. C) It is nearly impossible to predict weather change using artificial models.
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