92-95真题

1995年Passage 1 Money spent on advertising is money spent as well as any I know of. It serves directly to assist a rapid distribution of goods at reasonable prices, thereby establishing a firm home market and so making it possible to provide for export at competitive prices. By drawing attention to new ideas it helps enormously to raise standards of living. By helping to increase demand it ensures an increased need for labor, and is therefore an effective way to fight unemployment. It lowers the costs of many services: without advertisements your daily newspaper would cost four times as much, the price of your television license would need to be doubled, and travel by bus or tube would cost 20 percent more. And perhaps most important of all, advertising provides a guarantee of reasonable value in the products and services you buy. Apart from the fact that twenty-seven Acts of Parliament govern the terms of advertising, no regular advertiser dare promote a product that fails to live up to the promise of his advertisements. He might fool some people for a little while through misleading advertising. He will not do so for long, for mercifully the public has the good sense not to buy the inferior article more than once. If you see an article consistently advertised, it is the surest proof I know that the article does what is claimed for it, and that it represents good value. Advertising does more for the material benefit of the community than any other force I can think of. There is one more point I feel I ought to touch on. Recently I heard a well-known television personality declare that he was against advertising because it persuades rather than informs. He was drawing excessively fine distinctions. Of course advertising seeks to persuade. If its message were confined merely to information—and that in itself would be difficult if not impossible to achieve, for even a detail such as the choice of the color of a shirt is subtly persuasive—advertising would be so boring that no one would pay any attention. But perhaps that is what the well-known television personality wants. 21. By the first sentence of the passage the author means that _____. ［A］he is fairly familiar with the cost of advertising ［B］everybody knows well that advertising is money consuming ［C］advertising costs money like everything else ［D］it is worthwhile to spend money on advertising 22. In the passage, which of the following is NOT included in the advantages of advertising? ［A］Securing greater fame. ［B］Providing more jobs. ［C］Enhancing living standards. ［D］Reducing newspaper cost. 23. The author deems that the well-known TV personality is ______. ［A］very precise in passing his judgment on advertising ［B］interested in nothing but the buyers' attention ［C］correct in telling the difference between persuasion and information ［D］obviously partial in his views on advertising 24. In the author's opinion, ______. ［A］advertising can seldom bring material benefit to man by providing information ［B］advertising informs people of new ideas rather than wins them over ［C］there is nothing wrong with advertising in persuading the buyer ［D］the buyer is not interested in getting information from an advertisement Passage 2 There are two basic ways to see growth: one as a product, the other as a process. People have generally viewed personal growth as an external result or product that can easily be identified and measured. The worker who gets a promotion, the student whose grades improve, the foreigner who learns a new language—these are examples of people who have measurable results to show for their efforts. By contrast, the process of personal growth is much more difficult to determine, since by definition it is a journey and not the specific signposts or landmarks along the way. The process is not the road itself, but rather the attitudes and feelings people have, their caution or courage, as they encounter new experiences and unexpected obstacles. In this process, the journey never really ends; there are always new ways to experience the world, new ideas to try, new challenges to accept. In order to grow, to travel new roads, people need to have a willingness to take risks, to confront the unknown, and to accept the possibility they may “fail” at first. How we see ourselves as we try a new way of being is essential to our ability to grow. Do we perceive ourselves as quick and curious? If so, then we tend to take more chances and to be more open to unfamiliar experiences. Do we think we’re shy and indecisive? Then our sense of timidity can cause us to hesitate, to move slowly, and not to take a step until we know the ground is safe. Do we think we’re slow to adapt to change or that we’re not smart enough to cope with a new challenge? Then we are likely to take a more passive role or not try at all. These feelings of insecurity and self-doubt are both unavoidable and necessary if we are to change and grow. If we do not confront and overcome these internal fears and doubts, if we protect ourselves too much, then we cease to grow. We become trapped inside a shell of our own making. 25. A person is generally believed to achieve personal growth when _____. ［A］he has given up his smoking habit ［B］he has made great efforts in his work ［C］he is keen on learning anything new ［D］he has tried to determine where he is on his journey 26. In the author's eyes, one who views personal growth as a process would _____. ［A］succeed in climbing up the social ladder ［B］judge his ability to grow from his own achievements ［C］face difficulties and take up challenges ［D］aim high and reach his goal each time 27. When the author says “a new way of being” (line 2, Para. 3), he is referring to ____. ［A］a new approach to experiencing the world ［B］a new way of taking risks ［C］a new method of perceiving ourselves ［D］a new system of adapting to change 28. For personal growth, the author advocates all of the following except _____. ［A］curiosity about more chances ［B］promptness in self-adaptation ［C］open-mindedness to new experiences ［D］avoidance of internal fears and doubts Passage 3 In such a changing, complex society formerly simple solutions to informational needs become complicated. Many of life’s problems which were solved by asking family members, friends or colleagues are beyond the capability of the extended family to resolve. Where to turn for expert information and how to determine which expert advice to accept are questions facing many people today. In addition to this, there is the growing mobility of people since World War Ⅱ. As families move away from their stable community, their friends of many years, their extended family relationships, the informal flow of information is cut off, and with it the confidence that information will be available when needed and will be trustworthy and reliable. The almost unconscious flow of information about the simplest aspects of living can be cut off. Thus, things once learned subconsciously through the casual communications of the extended family must be consciously learned. Adding to social changes today is an enormous stockpile of information. The individual now has more information available than any generation, and the task of finding that one piece of information relevant to his or her specific problem is complicated, time-consuming and sometimes even overwhelming. Coupled with the growing quantity of information is the development of technologies which enable the storage and delivery of more information with greater speed to more locations than has ever been possible before. Computer technology makes it possible to store vast amounts of data in machine readable files, and to program computers to locate specific information. Telecommunications developments enable the sending of messages via television, radio, and very shortly electronic mail to bombard people with multitudes of messages. Satellites have extended the power of communications to report events at the instant of occurrence. Expertise can be shared worldwide through teleconferencing, and problems in dispute can be settled without the participants leaving their homes and/or jobs to travel to a distant conference site. Technology has facilitated the sharing of information and the storage and delivery of information, thus making more information available to more people. In this world of change and complexity, the need for information is of greatest importance. Those people who have accurate, reliable up-to-date information to solve the day-to-day problems, the critical problems of their business, social and family life, will survive and succeed. “Knowledge is power” may well be the truest saying and access to information may be the most critical requirement of all people. 29. The word “it” (line 3, Para. 2) most probably refers to _____. ［A］the lack of stable communities ［B］the breakdown of informal information channels ［C］the increased mobility of families ［D］the growing number of people moving from place to place 30. The main problem people may encounter today arises from the fact that _____. ［A］they have to learn new things consciously ［B］they lack the confidence of securing reliable and trustworthy information ［C］they have difficulty obtaining the needed information readily ［D］they can hardly carry out casual communications with an extended family. 31. From the passage we can infer that _____. ［A］electronic mail will soon play a dominant role in transmitting messages ［B］it will become more difficult for people to keep secrets in an information era ［C］people will spend less time holding meetings or conferences ［D］events will be reported on the spot mainly through satellites 32. We can learn from the last paragraph that ______. ［A］it is necessary to obtain as much knowledge as possible ［B］people should make the best use of the information accessible ［C］we should realize the importance of accumulating information ［D］it is of vital importance to acquire needed information efficiently Passage 4 Personality is to a large extent inherent—A-type parents usually bring about A-type offspring. But the environment must also have a profound effect, since if competition is important to the parents; it is likely to become a major factor in the lives of their children. One place where children soak up A characteristics is school, which is, by its very nature, a highly competitive institution. Too many schools adopt the “win at all costs” moral standard and measure their success by sporting achievements. The current passion for making children compete against their classmates or against the clock produces a two-layer system, in which competitive A types seem in some way better than their B type fellows. Being too keen to win can have dangerous consequences: remember that Pheidippides, the first marathon runner, dropped dead seconds after saying: “Rejoice, we conquer!” By far the worst form of competition in schools is the disproportionate emphasis on examinations. It is a rare school that allows pupils to concentrate on those things they do well. The merits of competition by examination are somewhat questionable, but competition in the certain knowledge of failure is positively harmful. Obviously, it is neither practical nor desirable that all A youngsters change into Bs. The world needs types, and schools have an important duty to try to fit a child’s personality to his possible future employment. It is top management. If the preoccupation of schools with academic work was lessened, more time might be spent teaching children surer values. Perhaps selection for the caring professions, especially medicine, could be made less by good grades in chemistry and more by such considerations as sensitivity and sympathy. It is surely a mistake to choose our doctors exclusively from A type stock. B’s are important and should be encouraged. 33. According to the passage, A-type individuals are usually ____. ［A］impatient ［B］considerate ［C］aggressive ［D］agreeable 34. The author is strongly opposed to the practice of examinations at schools because ____. ［A］the pressure is too great on the students ［B］some students are bound to fail ［C］failure rates are too high ［D］the results of examinations are doubtful 35. The selection of medical professionals is currently based on _____. ［A］candidates' sensitivity ［B］academic achievements ［C］competitive spirit ［D］surer values 36. From the passage we can draw the conclusion that ______. ［A］the personality of a child is well established at birth ［B］family influence dominates the shaping of one's characteristics ［C］the development of one's personality is due to multiple factors ［D］B-type characteristics can find no place in a competitive society Passage 5 That experiences influence subsequent behavior is evidence of an obvious but nevertheless remarkable activity called remembering. Learning could not occur without the function popularly named memory. Constant practice has such an effect on memory as to lead to skillful performance on the piano, to recitation of a poem, and even to reading and understanding these words. So-called intelligent behavior demands memory, remembering being a primary requirement for reasoning. The ability to solve any problem or even to recognize that a problem exists depends on memory. Typically, the decision to cross a street is based on remembering many earlier experiences. Practice (or review) tends to build and maintain memory for a task or for any learned material. Over a period of no practice what has been learned tends to be forgotten; and the adaptive consequences may not seem obvious. Yet, dramatic instances of sudden forgetting can be seen to be adaptive. In this sense, the ability to forget can be interpreted to have survived through a process of natural selection in animals. Indeed, when one’s memory of an emotionally painful experience leads to serious anxiety, forgetting may produce relief. Nevertheless, an evolutionary interpretation might make it difficult to understand how the commonly gradual process of forgetting survived natural selection. In thinking about the evolution of memory together with all its possible aspects, it is helpful to consider what would happen if memories failed to fade. Forgetting clearly aids orientation in time, since old memories weaken and the new tend to stand out, providing clues for inferring duration. Without forgetting, adaptive ability would suffer, for example, learned behavior that might have been correct a decade ago may no longerbe. Cases are recorded of people who (by ordinary standards) forgot so little that their everyday activities were full of confusion. Thus forgetting seems to serve the survival of the individual and the species. Another line of thought assumes a memory storage system of limited capacity that provides adaptive flexibility specifically through forgetting. In this view, continual adjustments are made between learning or memory storage (input) and forgetting (output). Indeed, there is evidence that the rate at which individuals forget is directly related to how much they have learned. Such data offer gross support of contemporary models of memory that assume an input-output balance. 37. From the evolutionary point of view, ______. ［A］forgetting for lack of practice tends to be obviously in adaptive ［B］if a person gets very forgetful all of a sudden he must be very adaptive ［C］the gradual process of forgetting is an indication of an individual's adaptability ［D］sudden forgetting may bring about adaptive consequences 38. According to the passage, if a person never forgot, ______. ［A］he would survive best ［B］he would have a lot of trouble ［C］his ability to learn would be enhanced ［D］the evolution of memory would stop 39. From the last paragraph we know that _____. ［A］forgetfulness is a response to learning ［B］the memory storage system is an exactly balanced input-output system ［C］memory is a compensation for forgetting ［D］the capacity of a memory storage system is limited because forgetting occurs 40. In this article, the author tries to interpret the function of ______. ［A］remembering ［B］forgetting ［C］adapting ［D］experiencing Passage 1 难句精解 ①Money spent on advertising is money spent as well as any I know of. ▲本句的主干非常简单，就是Money is money。重点在于要看清修饰两个money的定语，特别是后面一个修饰语中的as well as。 △理解本句的关键在于了解as well as不是“也”的意思，其中的well就是一个副词示“好”，修饰过去分词spent，而后面的any指代的是any money。 ②It serves directly to assist a rapid distribution of goods at reasonable price, thereby establishing a firm home market and so making it possible to provide for export at competitive prices. ▲本句的主干是It serves... to assist... distribution...，而thereby后面是两个由and连接起来的分词短语作补语，里面又有一个make + it+ adj. +to do sth.的结构。 △本句的阅读重点在于理解这几个动词之间的逻辑关系。 ③Apart from the fact that twenty-seven acts of Parliament govern the terms of advertising, no regular advertiser dare promote a product that fails to live up to the promise of his advertisements. ▲本句的主干是no regular advertiser dare promote a product，前面是一个apart from引导的介词结构，介词宾语the fact后面又有一个同位语从句。在主句中，a product后面是一个定语从句hat fails to live up to the promise of his advertisements。 △注意文中acts指的是“法案”，而live up to表示“实现，兑现”的意思。apart from的意思是“除了...之外”。 ④If you see an article consistently advertised, it is the surest proof I know that the article does what is claimed for it, and that it represents good value. ▲本句是一个条件句，主句的结构比较复杂，注意I know是一个非常短的定语从句，修饰proof，而后面的两个that引导的是两个同位语从句，修饰the surest proof，前面的那个同位语从句中又有一个宾语从句。 △看清本句的基本结构是阅读的重点。同时注意作者对广告抱完全肯定的态度。 ⑤If its message were confined merely to information — and that in itself would be difficult if not impossible to achieve, for even a detail such as the choice of the color of a shirt is subtly persuasive — advertising would be so boring that no one would pay any attention. ▲本句的主句是一个if引导的虚拟语气If its message were confined merely to information, advertising would be so boring that no one would pay any attention。两个破折号中间的部分是一个补充说明成分。 △看清本句的基本结构是阅读的重点。注意作者使用了虚拟语气，显示了作者认为广告中只出现告知性信息的不可能性。 精解 21. [D] 这句话可直译为：将钱花在广告上是我所知道的好的花钱方式之一。意为：将钱花在广告上好或很值(worthwhile)。 该句的非比较级形式为：Money spent on advertising is money spent well.在该句中，any指任何一种好的花钱方式(any money spent well)；know of意为：知道，所了解到的。其实，该句所陈述的内容不仅是第一段的主题思想，也是全文旨在说明的问题。在第一段的其他部分，作者就列举了合理的广告带来的诸多方面的益处。 [A] 意为：他对广告的价格了如指掌。这显然不对。 [B]意思是：众人皆知做广告很费钱(money consuming)，即：做广告很贵。 [C]意思为：像做其他事一样，做广告要花钱。 22. [A] secure在此意为：取得，获得。A意为：获得更大知名度。这是所未提到的。 原文第一段历数了广告所带来的诸多益处。它直接有助于产品以合理价格迅速销出(distribution)，在稳定国内市场(home market)的同时，使产品能以有竞争力(competitive)的价格出口进入国际市场；它给人以新的消费观，从而大大地提高人们的生活；它增 加了市场需求(demand)，扩大了劳动力(labor)市场，有效地扩大了就业。它使许多公共事业的服务价格低廉，因为，这些服务都可以利用登广告所 嫌的钱补贴其经营费用，这使得它们可以降低价格。 [B]与原文内容相符。 [C]为：提高生活标准。与原文内容相符。 [D]原文内容相符。 23. [D] 在这一题的提问部分，deem意为：认为。选择项D中partial意为：片面的，不公平的。 文章第四段和第五段讨论了一个反对广告的著名电视工作者(television personality)的看法。他反对广告的理由是：广告是劝诱性的(persuade)，而不是客观地提供信息(inform)，但是，作者认为：作这种区别有些过于细微了(excessively fine)，广告当然要劝诱人们。即使在很小的方面，也很难做到只局限于(confine... to)客观地提供信息，而且，那样的话，广告就失去了吸引力，没人会注意它。由此可见，在作者看来，广告的这两方面很难严格地区别开来，二者是有机地结合在一起的，不能顾此失彼。 [A]为：准确地表达了他对广告的。这里，pass意为：表述，表达，提出。 [B]为：只关心消费者的注意力。这里，nothing but意为：只有，除„„之外都不。 [C]为：区分劝诱与信息提供是有道理的。这里，tell the difference意为：区分，区别。 24. [C] 意为：广告劝诱消费者无可指责。 作者认为，毫无疑问，广告会劝诱消费者。它不仅是这样，而且应该是这样，否则，广告便失去了吸引力而没人看了。参阅第53题题解。 [A]不对的。正如第三段所指出的，广告给社会(community)带来的物质利益(material benefit)比其他形式都大。 [B]为：广告应给人以新的（消费）观念，而不在于说服人。这里，win over意为：说服，争取；rather than意为：而不是。可见，所表达的内容与原文中作者表达的观点相反。 [D]为：消费者不关心广告所提供的信息。这与作者的观点也不同，作者仅是说：广告不能仅局限于提供客观信息，否则，就无法吸引消费者。参阅第53题题解。 全文译文 花在广告上的钱和我所知花在任何别处的钱一样值得。它直接有助于商品以合理的价格销售，由此建立稳固的国内市场，并使商品能以富有竞争力的价格出口。它吸 引人们对新观念的注意，极大地提高生活标准。广告有助于增加市场需求，从而确保对劳动力