Unit 12
Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
(35 minutes)
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 One
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:
A few common misconceptions. Beauty is only skin-deep. One's physical assets and liabilities don't count all that much in a managerial career. A woman should always try to look her best.
Over the last 30 years, social scientists have conducted more than 1,000 studies of how we react to beautiful and not-so-beautiful people. The virtually unanimous conclusion: Looks do matter, more than most of us realize. The data suggest, for example, that physically attractive individuals are more likely to be treated well by their parents, sought out as friends, and pursued romantically. With the possible exception of women seeking managerial jobs, they are also more likely to be hired, paid well, and promoted.
Un-American, you say, unfair and extremely unbelievable? Once again, the scientists have caught us mouthing pieties (虔誠) while acting just the contrary. Their typical experiment works
. They give each member of a group — college students, perhaps, or teachers or corporate personnel managers —a piece of paper relating an individual's accomplishments. Attached to the paper is a photograph. While the papers all say exactly the same thing the pictures are different. Some show a strikingly attractive person, some an average-looking character, and some an unusually unattractive human being. Group members are asked to rate the individual on certain attributes, anything from personal warmth to the likelihood that he or she will be promoted.
Almost invariably, the better looking the person in the picture, the higher the person is rated. In the phrase, borrowed from Sappho, that the social scientists use to sum up the common perception, what is beautiful is good.
In business, however, good looks cut both ways for women, and deeper than for men. A Utah State University professor, who is an authority on the subject, explains: In terms of their careers, the impact of physical attractiveness on males is only modest. But its potential impact on females can be tremendous, making it easier, for example, for the more attractive to get jobs where they are in the public eye. On another note, though, there is enough literature now for us to conclude that attractive women who aspire(追求) to managerial positions do not get on as well as women who may be less attractive.
21. According to the passage, people often wrongly believe that in pursuing a career as a manager .
A) a person's property or debts do not matter much
B) a person's outward appearance is not a critical qualification
C) women should always dress fashionably
D) women should not only be attractive but also high-minded
22. The result of research carried out by social scientists show that .
A) people do not realize the importance of looking one's best
B) women in pursuit of managerial jobs are not likely to be paid well
C) good-looking women aspire to managerial positions
D) attractive people generally have an advantage over those who are not
23. Experiments by scientists have shown that when people evaluate individuals on certain attuibrtes .
A) they observe the principle that beauty is only skin-deep
B) they do not usually act according to the views they support
C) they give ordinary-looking persons the lowest ratings
D) they tend to base their judgment on the individual's accomplishments
24. “Good looks cut both ways for women” (Line 1,Para. 5) means that . A) attractive women have tremendous potential impact on public jobs
B) good-looking women always get the best of everything
C) being attractive is not always an advantage for women.
D) attractive women do not do as well as unattractive women in managerial positions
25. It can be inferred from the passage that in the business world .
A) handsome men are not affected as much by their looks as attractive women are B) physically attractive women who are in the public eye usually do quite well
C) physically attractive men and women who are in the public eye usually get along quite well
D) good looks are important for women as they are for men
Question 26 to 30 are based on the following passage:
Not content with its doubtful claim to produce cheap food for our own population, the factory farming industry also argues that “hungry nations are benefiting from advances made by the poultry (家禽) industry”. In fact, rather than helping the fight against malnutrition (營養(yǎng)不良) in “hungry nations”, the spread of factory farming has, inevitably aggravated the problem.
Large-scale intensive meat and poultry production is a waste of food resources. This is because more protein has to be fed to animals in the form of vegetable matter than can ever be recovered in the form of meat. Much of the food value is lost in the animal's process of digestion and cell replacement. Neither, in the case of chicken, can one eat feathers, blood, feet or head. In all, only about 44% of the live animal fits to be eaten as meat.
This means one has to feed approximately 9_10 times as much food value to the animal than one can consume from the carcass. As a system for feeding the hungry, the effects can prove disastrous. At times of crisis, grain is the food of life .Nevertheless, the huge increase in poultry production throughout Asia and Africa continues. Normally British or US firms are involved. For instance, an American based multinational company has this year announced its involvement in projects in several African countries. Britain's largest suppliers of chickens, Ross Breeders, are also involved in projects all over the world.
Because such trade is good for exports, Western governments encourage it. In 1979, a firm in Bangladesh called Phoenix Poultry received a grant to set up a unit of 6,000 chickens and 18,000 laying hens. This almost doubled the number of poultry kept in the country all at once.
But Bangladesh lacks capital, energy and food and has large numbers of unemployed. Such chicken-raising demands capital for building and machinery, extensive use of energy resources for automation, and involves feeding chickens with potential famine-relief protein food. At present, one of Bangladesh's main imports is food grains, because the country is unable to grow enough food to feed its population. On what then can they possibly feed the chicken?
26. In this passage the author argues that .
A) efficiency must be raised in the poultry industry
B) raising poultry can provide more protein than growing grain
C) factory farming will do more harm than good to developing countries
D) hungry nations may benefit from the development of the poultry industry
27. According to the author, in factory farming, vegetable food .
A) is easy for chickens to digest
B) is insufficient for the needs of poultry
C) is fully utilized in meat and egg production
D) is inefficiently converted into meat and eggs
28. Western governments encourage the poultry industry in Asia because they regard it as an effective way to .
A) boost their own exports
B) alleviate malnutrition in Asian countries
C) create job opportunities in Asian countries
D) promote the exports of Asian countries
29. The word “carcass” (Line 2, Para. 3) most probably means “ ”.
A) vegetables preserved for future use
B) the dead body of an animal ready to be cut into meat
C) expensive food that consumers can hardly afford
D) meat canned for future consumption
30. What the last paragraph tells us is the author's .
A) detailed analysis of the ways of raising poultry in Bangladesh
B) great appreciation of the development of poultry industry in Bangladesh
C) critical view on the development of the poultry industry in Bangladesh
D) practical suggestion for the improvement of the poultry industry in Bangladesh
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage:
We all have offensive breath at one time or another. In most cases, offensive breath emanates from bacteria in the mouth, although there are other, more surprising causes.
Until a few years ago, the most doctors could do was to counsel patients with bad breath about oral cleanliness. Now they are finding new ways to treat the usually curable condition.
Bad breath can happen whenever the normal flow of saliva (唾液) slows. Our mouths are full of bacteria feeding on protein in bits of food and shed tissue. The bacteria emit evil-smelling gases, the worst of which is hydrogen sulfide(硫化物).Mouth bacteria thrive in airless conditions. Oxygen-rich saliva keeps their numbers down. When we sleep, for example, the saliva stream slows, and sulfur-producing bacteria gain the upper hand, producing classic “morning breath”.Alcohol, hunger, too much talking, breathing through the mouth during exercise — anything that dries the mouth produces bad breath. So can stress, though it's not understood why. Some people's breath turns sour every time they go on a job interview.
Saliva flow gradually slows with age, which explains why the elderly have more bad-breath trouble than younger people do. Babies, however, who make plenty of saliva and whose mouths contain relatively few bacteria have characteristically sweet breath.
For most of us, the simple, dry-mouth variety of bad breath is easily cured. Eating or drinking starts saliva and sweeps away many of the bacteria. Breakfast often stops morning breath.
Those with chronic dry mouth find that it helps to keep gum, hard candy, or a bottle of water or juice around. Brushing the teeth wipes out dry-mouth bad breath because it clears away many of the offending bacteria.
Surprisingly, one thing that rarely works is mouthwash. The liquid can mask bad-breath odor with its own smell, but the effect lasts no more than an hour. Some mouthwashes claim to kill the bacteria responsible for bad breath. The trouble is, they don't necessarily reach all offending germs. Most bacteria are well protected from mouthwash under thick layers of mucus (粘液). If the mouthwash contains alcohol — as most do — it can intensify the problem by drying out the mouth.
31. The phrase “emanate from” in Paragraph 1 most probably means “ ”.
A) thrive on B) account for C) originate from D) descend from
32. Which of the following is mentioned as one of the causes of bad breath?
A) Tooth trouble. C) Too much exercise.
B) Sulfur-rich food. D) Mental strain.
33. According to the passage, alcohol has something to do with bad breath mainly because .
A) it keeps offending bacteria from reproducing
B) its smell adds to bad breath
C) it kills some helpful bacteria
D) it affects the noumal flow of saliva
34. Mouthwashes are not an effective cure for bad breath mainly because . A) they can't mask the bad odor long enough
B) they can't get to all the offending bacteria
C) their strong smell mixes with bad breath and makes it worse
D) they can't cover the thick layers of mucus
35. We can infer from this passage that .
A) offensive breath can't easily be cured
B) elderly people are less offended by bad breath
C) heavy drinkers are less affected by bad breath
D) offensive breath is less affected by alcohol
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage:
“Welcome to the U.S.A.! Major Credit cards accepted!”
By the millions they are coming no longer the tired, the poor, the wretched masses longing for a better living. These are the wealthy. “We don't have a budget，” says a biologist from Brazil, as she walks with two companions through New York City's South Street. “We just use our credit cards.”
The U.S. has long been one of the world's most popular tourist destinations, but this year has been exceptional. First there was the World Cup, which drew thousands from every corner of the globe; then came the weakening of the U.S. dollar against major currencies. Now the U.S., still the world's superpower, can also claim to be the world's bargain basement (廉價(jià)商品部). Nobody undersells America these days on just about everything, from consumer electronics to fashion clothes to tennis rackets. Bottom retail prices — anywhere from 30% to 70% lower than those in Europe and Asia — have attracted some 47 million visitors, who are expected to leave behind $79 billion in 1994. That's up from $74 billion the year before.
True, not everyone comes just for bargains. There remains an undeniable fascination in the rest of the world with all things American, nourished by Hollywood films and U.S. television series. But shopping the U.S.A. is proving irresistible. Every week thousands arrive with empty suitcases ready to be filled; some even rent an additional hotel room to hold their purchases. The buying binge (無節(jié)制) has become as important as watching Old Faithful fountains erupt in Yellowstone Park or sunbathing on a beach in Florida.
The U.S. has come at last to appreciate what other countries learned long ago: the pouring in of foreign tourists may not always be convenient, but it does put money in the bank. And with a trade deficit at about $ 130 billion and growing for the past 12 months, the U.S. needs all the deposits it can get. Compared with American tourists abroad, visitors to the U.S. stay longer and spend more money at each stop; an average of 12.2 night and $1624 a traveller versus the Americans' four nights and $298.
36. From what the Brazilian biologist says, we know that tourists like her .
A) are reluctant to carry cash with them
B) simply don't care how much they spend
C) are not good at planning their expenditure
D) often spend more money than they can afford
37. The reason why 1994 was exceptional is that .
A) it saw an unusually large number of tourists to the U.S.
B) it witnessed a drop in the number of tourists to the U.S.
C) tourism was hardly affected by the weakening of the U.S. dollar that year
D) tourists came to the U.S. for sightseeing rather than for bargains that year
38. By saying “nobody undersells America”(Line 4, Para. 3), the author means that .
A) no other country underestimates the competitiveness of American products
B) nobody expects the Americans to cut the prices of their commodities
C) nobody restrains the selling of American goods
D) no other country sells at a lower price than America
39. Why does the author assert that all things American are fascinating to foreigners?
A) Because they have gained much publicity through the American media.
B) Because they represent the world's latest fashions.
C) Because they embody the most sophisticated technology.
D) Because they are available at all tourist destinations.
40. From the passage we can conclude that the U.S. has come to realize .
A) the weakening if the U.S. dollar can result in trade deficits
B) the lower the retail prices, the greater the profits
C) tourism can make great contributions to its economy
D) visitors to the U.S. are wealthier than U.S. tourists abroad
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