III. Reading Comprehension
Section B ( 22%)
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.
(A)
Zelda Fitzgerald, as is revealed by numerous personal books and letters, wore many labels in her life. She was “the original flapper” girl and “the spirit of the Jazz Age.” Married to the celebrated writer F. Scott Fitzgerald (author of The Great Gatsby), she was by turns his muse and the woman who ruined his life. In her later years she was “Crazy Zelda.”
Accurate as all these descriptions may be, they do not tell the whole story. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, she was noted for her beauty and high spirits in dancing. In July 1918, at a country club dance, Fitzgerald was hooked immediately by the beautiful and charming 18-year-old Zelda who outshined other beauties with her distinguished ballet. A light affection evolved into a lengthy long-distance pursuit of weekly letters, with Fitzgerald aware of her uncommitted dating of other men. He courted her feverishly, reading her his stories and parts of his unfinished novel. He proposed after his discharge from the Army in February 1919, but Zelda had doubts. Her fiancé wasn’t rich and there was no guarantee he’d ever be famous. His short stories didn’t sell. His attempt was a dump. Zelda gave back the ring. Hoping to fix the “no money” part of his problem, Fitzgerald quit the job and started to rewrite novels for success and money so that he could win back his girl. Finally, he made it！On March 20, 1920, his novel This Side of Paradise got published and Zelda agreed to marry him.
However, their marriage was troubled by wild drinking, fighting, infidelity（不忠）and bitter recriminations(互相指责). Earnest Hemingway, whom Zelda disliked, blamed her for Scott’s declining literary output, though she has also been portrayed as the victim of an overbearing husband. Actually, Zelda was also creative, pursuing both dancing and writing. Some scholars have portrayed Zelda as a creative talent ignored by the patriarchal（男权的）society of the day. Her inspiration was even drawn by her husband in literary creation. Scott used their relationship as material in his novels, even borrowing episodes from Zelda’s diary and applying them into his fictional writings. She detested her husband’s practice: “Mr. Fitzgerald—I believe that is how he
spells his name—seems to believe that plagiarism begins at home.” To seek an artistic identity of her own, Zelda wrote independently to declare her own value, as she put it “I wish I could write a beautiful book to break those hearts that are soon to cease to exist.”
Nevertheless her unique personality was starting to seem more unbalanced than charming. The couple —like the rest of the nation—was living on borrowed time. In October 1929 the stock market crashed, triggering the Great Depression. Six months later, Zelda suffered her first nervous breakdown. After being diagnosed with schizophrenia（精神分裂）, she was increasingly confined to specialist clinics, and since then has departed with her husband. Zelda died later in a fire at her hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, putting an end to her flamboyant life.
56. Where will you most probably find this article?
A. In a newspaper.
B. In a literary magazine.
C. In a prepared speech.
D. In a research report.
57. Which phrase can best summarize the relationship between F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda?
A. Ideal partnership.
B. Unbalanced love relationship.
C. Love-hate relationship.
D. Mutually-jealous relationship.
58. Which of the following is TRUE according to the article?
A. Fitzgerald successfully won Zelda’s heart by reading her his novels and writing her weekly letters.
B. Hemingway disliked Zelda because of her female identity and talent that outshined her husband.
C. Zelda was glad to be her husband’s muse and provided him with literary materials.
D. The “Crazy Zelda” died without Fitzgerald’s companion after severe schizophrenia.
Keys: 56-58 BCD
III. Reading Comprehension
Section B ( 22%)
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.
(A)
I was a second-year medical student at the university, and was on my second day of rounds at
a nearby hospital. My university's philosophy was to get students seeing patients early in their education. Nice idea, but it overlooked one detail: second-year students know next to nothing about medicine.
Assigned to my team that day was an attending —a senior faculty member who was there mostly to make patients feel they weren't in the hands of amateurs. Many attendings were researchers who didn't have much recent hospital experience. Mine was actually an arthritis (关节炎) specialist. Also along was a resident (the real boss, with a staggering mastery of medicine, at least to a rookie like myself). In addition there were two interns(住院实习医生). These guys were just as green as I was, but in a scarier way: they had recently graduated from the medical school, so they were technically MDs.
I began the day at 6:30 am. An intern and I did a quick check of our eight patients; later, we were to present our findings to the resident and then to the attending. I had three patients and the intern had the other five - piece of cake.
But when I arrived in the room of 71-year-old Mr. Adams, he was sitting up in bed, sweating heavily and panting (喘粗气). He'd just had a hip operation and looked terrible. I listened to his lungs with my stethoscope, but they sounded clear. Next I checked the log of his vital signs and saw that his respiration and heart rate had been climbing, but his temperature was steady. It didn't seem like heart failure, nor did it appear to be pneumonia（肺炎）. So I asked Mr. Adams what he thought was going on.
"It's really hot in here, Doc," he replied.
So I attributed his condition to the stuffy room and told him the rest of the team would return in a few hours. He smiled and feebly waved goodbye.
At 8:40 a.m., during our team meeting, "Code Blue Room 307!" blared from the loudspeaker.
I froze.
That was Mr. Adams's room.
When we arrived, he was motionless.
The autopsy (尸体解剖) later found Mr. Adams had suffered a massive pulmonary embolism (肺部栓塞). A blood clot had formed in his leg, worked its way to his lungs, and cut his breathing capacity in half. His symptoms had been textbook: heavy perspiration and shortness of breath
despite clear lungs. The only thing was: I hadn't read that chapter in the textbook yet. And I was too scared, insecure, and proud to ask a real doctor for help.
This mistake has haunted me for nearly 30 years, but what's particularly frustrating is that the same medical education system persists. Who knows how many people have died or suffered harm at the hands of students as naive as I, and how many more will?
56. Why was the author doing rounds in a hospital?
A. He himself wanted to have practice.
B. Students of all majors had to do so.
C. It was part of his medical training.
D. He was on a research team.
57. While the author was examining Mr. Adams, all the following symptoms caught his attention EXCEPT_________.
A. moving difficulty
B. steady temperature
C. faster heart rate
D. breathing problem
58. “His symptoms had been textbook” means that his symptoms were_________.
A. part of the textbook
B. no longer in the textbook
C. recently included in the textbook
D. explained in the textbook
59. At the end of the passage, the author expresses _________ about the medical education system.
A. optimism
B. hesitation
C. concern
D. support
Keys: 56-59 CADC
III. Reading Comprehension
Section B ( 22%)
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.
(A)
Mrs. Bridge said that she judged people by their shoes and by their manners at the table. If someone wore shoes with run-over heels, or shoes that had not been shined for a long time, or
shoes with broken laces, you could be pretty sure this person would be careless in other things as well. And there was no better way to judge a persons background than by watching him or her at the table.
The children learned it was impolite to talk while eating, or to chew with the mouth open, and as they grew older they learned the more subtle manners not to butter an entire slice of bread, not to take more than one biscuit at a time, unless, of course, the hostess should insist. They were taught to keep their elbows close to their sides while cutting meat, and to hold the utensils in the tips of their fingers. They resisted the temptation to sup up the gravy with a piece of bread, and they made sure to leave a little of everything-not enough to be called wasteful, but just a little to indicate the meal had been suit And ally, they learned that a lady or a gentleman does not fold up a napkin after eating in a public place.
The girls absorbed these matters with greater facility than Douglas, who tended to ask the son for everything, sometimes observing that he thought it was all pretty silly. He seemed particularly unable to eat with his left hand lying in his lap; he wanted to leave it on the table, to prop himself up, us it were, and claimed be got a backache with one arm in his lap. Mrs, Bridge told him this was absurd, and when he wanted to know why he could not put his elbow on the table she replied, " Do you want to be different from everyone else?”
Douglas was doubtful, but after a long silence, and under the weight of his mother’s tranquil gaze, he at last concluded he didn’t.
The American habit of switching implement, however, continued to give him trouble and make him rebellious. With elaborate care he would put down the knife, reach high across his plate and descend on the left side to pick up the fork, raising it high over the plate again as he returned to the starting position.
"Now sop acting ridiculous, " she told him one day at lunch.
Well, I sure bet the Egyptians don’t have to eat this way,” he muttered, giving “Egyptians” a vengeful emphasis.
“I doubt if they do, she replied calmly, expertly cutting a triangle of pineapple from her salad, "but you' re not an Egyptinn, So you eat the way Americans eat, and that’s final.”
56. Which of the following was considered acceptable table manners by Mrs. Bridge
A. Fold up a napkin after having a meal in a public place
B. Take more than one biscuits if the hostess insists
C. Put the elbow on the table while eating
D. Butter an entire slice of bread
57. Douglas claimed that he got a backache with one arm in his lap, because______.
A.he didn’t want to be different from others
B. he was worried that his back might ache soon
C. no one answered his question about the table manners
D. he had to find an excuse for not obeying the rules
58. What did Douglas mean by saying "I sure bet the Egyptians don’t have to eat this way"?
A. He thought it ridiculous to have the strange old table manners
B. He didn’t think Americans should learn from the Egyptians.
C. He thought Egyptians used to have strict rules about eating
D. He hoped that his mothers could give in to him if he insisted.
59. what's the probable reason why Mrs Bridge put much emphasis on table manners?
A. She believed that good table manners is a reflection of her family's social position
B. She didn't want her family to be considered wasteful
C. She thought it necessary to cultivate her children’s good eating habits
D. She found it embarrassing to obey her sons wishes
Keys: 56-59: BDAA
III. Reading Comprehension
Section B ( 22%)
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.
(A)
Shoppers in the UK are spending less money on toilet paper to save money,research has shown.
Penny pinching UK consumers choose cheaper products from discounters such as Aldi and Lidi rather than luxury alternatives.
This has wiped 6% off the value of the soft tissue paper market in the UK.It has shrunk from ￡1.19 billion in 2011 to ￡1.12 billion in 2015,according to a new report from market research company Mintel.Furthermore,the future of the market looks far from rosy,with sales expected to fall future of the market looks far from rosy,with sales expected to fall further to ￡1.11 billion in 2016.
In the last year alone,despite an increase in the UK population and a subsequent rise in the number of households,sales of toilet paper fell by 2%,with the average household reducing their toilet roll spending from ￡43 in 2014 to ￡41 in 2015.
Overall,almost three in five people say they try to limit their usage of paper-including facial tissue and kitchen roll—to save money."Strength,softness and thickness remain the leading indicators ODM toilet paper quality,with just a small proportion of consumers preferring more luxurious alternatives,such as those with flower patterns or perfume,"said Mintel analyst Jack Duckett."These extra features are deemed unnecessary by the majority of shoppers,which probably reflects how these types of products are typically more expensive than regular toilet paper, even when on special offer."
While consumers are spending less on toilet paper,they remain fussy-in theory at least-when it comes to paper quality.Top of Britons' toilet paper wish list is softness(57%)followed by strength(45%)and thickness(36%).
One in 10 buyers rank toilet rolls made from recycled paper among their top considerations,highlighting how overall the environment is much less of a consideration for shoppers than product quality.In a challenge for manufactures,81% of paper product users said they would consider buying recycled toilet tissue if it were comparable in quality to standard paper.
56. The market sales of toilet paper have decreased because .
A Britons have cut their spending on it
B .its prices have gone up over the year
C. its quality has seen marked improvement
D. Britons have developed the habit of saving
57. What does the author think of the future of the tissue paper market in the UK?
A. It will expand in time.
B. It will remain gloomy.
C. It will experience ups and downs.
D. It will recover as population grows.
58. What do we learn about Britons concerning toilet paper?
A. They are particular about the quality of toilet paper.
B. They emphasize the strength of toilet paper the most.
C. They prefer cheap toilet paper to recycled toilet paper.
D. They reject using toilet paper with unnecessary features.
59. What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A. More and more Britons buy recycled toilet paper to protect the environment.
B. Toilet paper manufacturers are facing a great challenge in promoting its sales.
C. Toilet paper manufacturers compete with one another to improve.
D. Environmental protection is not much of a concern when Britons buy toilet paper.
Keys: 56-59 ABAD
III. Reading Comprehension
Section B ( 22%)
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.
(A)
The teacher who did the most to encourage me was, as it happens, my aunt.She was Myrtle C.Manigault, the wife of my mother's brother Bill. She taught me in second grade at all-black Summer School in Camden, New Jersey.
During my childhood and youth, Aunt Myrtle encouraged me to develop every aspect of my potential, without regard for what was considered practical or possible for black females.I liked to sing; she listened to my voice and pronounced it good.I couldn't dance; she taught me the basic dancing steps.She took me to the theatre-not just children's theatre but adult comedies and dramas-and her faith that I could appreciate adult plays was not disappointed.
My aunt also took down books from her extensive library and shared them with me.I had books at home, but they were all serious classics.Even as a child I had a strong liking for humour, and I'll never forget the joy of discovering Don Marquis's Archy & Mehitabel through her.
Most important, perhaps, Aunt Myrtle provided my first opportunity to write for publication.A writer herself for one of the black newspapers, she suggested my name to the editor as a "youth columnist". My column, begun when I was fourteen,was supposed to cover teenage social activities-and it did-but it also gave me the freedom to write on many other subjects as well as the habit of gathering material, the discipline of meeting deadlines, and, after graduation from college six years later, a solid collection of published material that carried my name and was my passport to a series of writing jobs.
Today Aunt Myrtle is still an enthusiastic supporter of her "favourite niece". Like a diamond, she has reflected a bright, multifaceted (多面的) image of possibilities to every pupil who has crossed her path.
56. Which of the following did Aunt Myrtle do to the author during her childhood and youth?
A. She lent her some serious classics.
B. She cultivated her taste for music.
C. She discovered her talent for dancing.
D. She introduced her to adult plays.
57. What does Archy & Mehitabel in Paragraph 3 probably refer to?
A. A book of great fun.
B. A writer of high fame.
C. A serious masterpiece.
D. A heartbreaking play.
58. Aunt Myrtle recommended the author to a newspaper editor mainly to ________.
A. develop her capabilities for writing
B. give her a chance to collect material
C. involve her in teenage social activities
D. offer her a series of writing jobs
59. We can conclude from the passage that Aunt Myrtle was a teacher who________.
A. trained pupils to be diligent and well-disciplined
B. gave pupils confidence in exploiting their potential
C. emphasized what was practical or possible for pupils
D. helped pupils overcome difficulties in learning
Keys: 56-59 DAAB[来
III. Reading Comprehension
Section B ( 22%)
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.
(A)
Not too many decades ago it seemed “obvious” both to the general public and to sociologists that modern society has changed people’s natural relations, loosened their responsibilities to relatives and neighbors, and substituted in their place loose relationships with passing acquaintances(相识之人). However, in recent years a growing body of research has revealed that the “obvious” is not true. It seems that if you are a city resident, you typically know a smaller proportion of your neighbors than you do if you are a resident of a smaller community. But, for the most part, this fact has few significant consequences. It does not necessarily follow that if you know few of your neighbors you will know no one else.
Even in very large cities, people maintain close social ties within small, private social worlds. Indeed, the number and quality of meaningful relationships do not differ between more and less urban people. Small-town residents are more involved with relatives than are big-city residents are. Yet city residents make up for it by developing friendships with people who share similar interests and activities. Urbanism may produce a different style of life, but the quality of life does not differ between town and city. Nor are residents of large communities more likely to display psychological symptoms of stress or alienation, a feeling of not belonging, than are residents of smaller communities are. However, city residents do worry more about crime, and this leads them to a distrust of strangers.
These findings do not imply that urbanism makes little or no difference. If neighbors are strangers to one another, they are less likely to sweep the sidewalk of an elderly couple living next door or keep an eye out for young trouble makers. Moreover, as Wirth suggested, there may be a link between a community’s population size and its social heterogeneity(多样性). For instance, sociologists have found much evidence that the size of a community is associated with bad behavior including gambling, drugs, etc. Large-city residents are also more likely than their