英语阅读(二)2018年10月真题试题及答案解析（00596）

Paragraph Ten

There are 15 million of us who fly across multiple time zones every year, with 500,000 of us in the air at any given moment. And for those of us who fly more than a couple of time zones from home, jet lag can be a serious challenge.

Millions of people s___ from jet lag every year.

   Altogether, American consumers today owe about 1.3 trillion dollars.

      There is some danger in taking on debts, however. When the economy slackens and employers lay off workers, families that lose breadwinners often fail to make the payments on their debts. (46. If they fall behind too far on these responsibilities. they run the risk of having their houses, cars, or other items taken over or repossessed by the lenders).

      But in the U.S. economy, most people are lenders as well as borrowers. Normally a family has a saving account, money that is, in effect, loaned to a saving institution in return for interest. Most also have life insurance. The insurance company takes the premiums, guarantees a payment to be made when a policy-holder dies, and meanwhile invests some of the money.

      (47. Many experts recommend that families save no less than 5 percent of their disposable income for further needs.)

      Many countries depend much less than the U.S. does on the marketplace to decide who will sell goods and in what quantity. In communist and socialist countries, government agencies decide the amount, type and price of many of the goods to be produced. Many or all places of economic activity such as factories, farms, mines, utilities and transportation network are owned chiefly by the government.

      In the U.S., too, the role of government is growing. (48. Corporate leaders and economists are wondering how much regulation the market system can take before it loses its ability to respond to consumer needs.) But the system continues to function, and businesses continue to work for more profits and consumers for more income, knowing that they will be able to retain much of their wealth.

      (49. Most men and women learn early that society places a certain monetary value on various professions and skills, based again on the law of supply and demand.) Doctors, who must study long years to develop specialized skills and are therefore in short supply, earn more than labors who have little training and many competitions for the same job.

      That's not to say that good jobs and more wealth are guaranteed to Americans. The U.S. economy has been plagued periodically with two major problems: high unemployment and the rising cost of living—inflation.

      The two problems are closely linked. (50. When prices climb faster than people's incomes, families sooner or later are forced to cut back on buying in order to make each end meet.)

      (51. That limits what business can produce and how many people they can employ. It may even start a temporary decline in the country's economy—such as the one that ran from late 1973 to the spring of 1975, when millions of people were laid off from their jobs.)

      Still, despite all of the problems that exist, most Americans prefer the U.S. economic system to any other, as the result of poll after poll indicates.

Paragraph Seven

Many centuries of rain caused huge rivers to move violently through this area. Over time, these rivers cut deep into the new mountains. During the great Ice Age, millions of tons of ice cut and shaped the cooled granite to form giant rocks, known as Half Dome.

Various forms of water c____ the outlook of the area.

Paragraph Eight

New climate simulations from NASA show that under the warmer global temperatures of the 20th century, water vapor in the atmosphere took longer than normal to fall, out of the sky as rain, snow and other precipitation. Generally speaking, the amount decreased over land but increased over oceans.

Warmer weather p____ less rain on land but more at sea.

Paragraph Nine

To tell someone that they should lose a few 1bs — even if you are just trying to help — could actually cause them to gain weight instead, according to new research. The study showed that women who receive more “acceptance messages” are more successful at maintaining and even losing weight overall, compared to those who receive more negative messages.

Negative messages are not helpful for weight l____.

Paragraph Five

Dining out with little children can be frustrating. They are either running around the entire restaurant or refusing to eat their meal. But now a Maryland restaurant has created a menu that all parents will relate to because it translates phrases such as I don't know what I want and I'm not hungry into meals you can order for them.

A f____ menu for children.

Paragraph Six

Excessive pressure from schoolwork is probably the most common problem in urban areas affecting Chinese children's development. Giving children time to dabble' in many fields is vital for their physical and mental development. In the process, they will gradually show a liking for particular activities. Parents can help their kids make choices.

“Less work, more play" is g___ for the growth of children.

Paragraph Two

In the U.S. today, it is common to pay one fourth to one third of a family's income on the place to live. Big houses are more expensive than smaller ones. And houses closer to the center of big cities are more expensive than the ones in the suburbs or in small towns.

The high c___ of housing in the U.S. today.

Paragraph Four

Interview is always used to select candidates. The argument against it is that through interview, employers do not choose the best candidate, but the one who gives them a good first impression. The argument in favor of it is that an employer pays more attention to the suitability of candidates personality for the particular work situation.

Opposite o____ on interview.

Paragraph Three

Consumers of electricity usually accept the fact that power cuts frequently occur during thunderstorms. If outages occur on a sunny day, consumers will blame the power company. However, most outages occur due to circumstances beyond the power company's control. Animals with the ability to reach the top of power poles can knock out power of many houses.

Various c____ of power failure.

   Animals perform many useful and entertaining jobs. Dogs are particularly valuable in guiding the blind, protecting property, finding lost people, and hunting down criminals. Horses are used in guarding herds; carrying men in lands where there are no roads, and helping farmers work their land. Pigeons have long been used to carry messages. Wild animals from the jungles, forests and seas are very popular performers in circuses and movies. People realize that, although animals may not have the same intelligence as human beings, they are smart enough to learn certain things.

      Dogs are extremely useful as companions for blind people. When a dog has been properly trained, he will always lead his blind master in the right direction and keep him out of danger. For example, seeing-eye dogs learn never to cross a busy road when cars are coming, even if their masters command them to do so.

      Horses are also able to learn many things too. Horses that are used for guard or police duty must learn never to be frightened of noises, traffic, and other disturbance. Racing horses are able to run much faster than other horses, but they are also quite high strung. Therefore, it is necessary for people who train them to be very patient and understanding.

      Pigeons have a natural instinct to return home, even if they are very far away and the trip is hard or dangerous. Men utilize this homing instinct to send messages on small pieces of paper that are fastened to the pigeon's back or legs. In wartime, pigeons have been known to fly as fast as 75 miles an hour and to cover distances of 500 to 600 miles. These homing pigeons begin their training when they are about four weeks old. After a few weeks they can begin flying and carrying messages. If all goes well, their flying career lasts about four years.

      Animals can learn to do many things that, while not necessarily useful, are very amusing to watch. In circuses, animals are taught to do the tricks that are most compatible with their physical and temperamental make-up. Lions and tigers can be taught to leap and spring gracefully when told to do so, or to stay in place on command. Elephants learn to walk in line, to stand on their hind legs, to lie on their sides, and to stand on their head. They can also learn to dance.

21. complete an activity (Para. 1)

22. things that belong to someone (Para. 1)

23. protecting (Para. 1)

24. pieces of written information (Para. 1)

25. the ability to learn and understand (Para. 1)

26. persons or animals accompanying someone (Para. 2)

27. order (Para.2)

28. something that interrupts (Para. 3)

29. an innate behavior in response to certain stimuli (Para. 4)

30. make use of (Para.4)31. travel a certain distance (Para. 4)

32. continues for a particular length of time (Para. 4)

33. entertaining (Para. 5)

34. suitable (Para. 5)

35. relating to the emotional part of the character (of an animal) (Para. 5)

Paragraph One

Children who are older by a wider gap tend to teach their younger siblings social and manual skills, almost like a third parent, while rivalry is usually greatest when the age difference is small. It is especially so when siblings are under four -they are easily displeased when gratification of their needs is postponed.

The role that age difference p____ in sibling rivalry.

The administration" in the last paragraph refers to____.

The author argues that.

The senators decided to draft legislation in order to ____.

Which of the following is true about the U.S. government and the Defense Department?

In this passage, the author _____ .

Passage Four

   We were pleased to see the Defense Department finally recognize the power of the Supreme Court over prisoners of the military and order the armed forces to follow the Geneva Conventions requirement of decent treatment for all prisoners, even terrorism suspects. It was a real step forward for an administration that tossed aside the Geneva rules years ago and then tried to place itself beyond the reach of the courts.

      However, the Pentagon memo released yesterday, claimed, falsely, that its prisoner policies already generally complied with the Geneva Conventions—the sole exception being the military commissions created by President Bush and struck down by the high court. That disingenuousness may have simply been an attempt to save face. If so, it was distressing but ultimately not all that significant. What really matters is that Congress bring the military prisons back under the rule of law, and create military tribunals for terrorism suspects that will meet the requirements of the Constitution and the Geneva Conventions.

      The other thing that really matters is that the White House actually agrees to obey the law this time. Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held the first of three hearings scheduled this week on this issue, and the early results were mixed. Most of the senators, including key Republicans, said they were committed to drafting legislation that did more than merely rubber-stamp the way Mr. Bush decided to set up Guantánamo Bay.

      The government's witnesses, including top lawyers from the Justice and Defense Departments, seemed most interested in arguing that the military commissions were legal. They argued for what would be the worst possible outcome: that Congress just approve what Mr. Bush did and enact exceptions to the Geneva Conventions.

      But Lt Cmdr. Charles Swift of the Navy, who represented Salim Ahmed Hamdan, the prisoner whose case was before the Supreme Court, provided damning evidence about how utterly flawed those commissions were—from military prosecutors. He quoted one, Capt. John Carr of the Air Force (since promoted to major), who condemned “a halfhearted and disorganized effort by a skeleton group of relatively inexperienced attorneys to prosecute fairly the low-level accused in a process that appears to be rigged.”

      The administration has professed its allegiance to the humane treatment of prisoners and to the rule of law before. But repairing the constitutional balance of powers and America's profoundly damaged global image demands more than lip service.

Questions 16-20 are based on Passage Four.

Which adjective best describes the author's attude towards the Supreme Court's decision?

The author disagrees with Dr. Burton because.

It is implied in the last paragraph that____.

The word fatigued in paragraph 1 means____.

Passage Three

   There must be few questions on which responsible opinion is so utterly divided as on that of how much sleep we ought to have. There are some who think we can leave the body to regulate these matters for itself. “The answer is easy,” says Dr. A. Burton. “With the right amount of sleep, you should wake up fresh and alert five minutes before the alarm rings.” If he is right, many people must be under sleeping, including myself. But we must remember that some people have a greater inertia than others. This is not meant rudely. They switch on slowly, and they are reluctant to switch off. They are alert at bedtime and sleepy when it is time to get up, and this may have nothing to do with how [fatigued] their bodies are, or how much sleep they must take to lose their fatigue.

      Other people feel sure that the present trend is towards too little sleep. To quote one medical opinion, thousands of people drift through life suffering from the effects of too little sleep; the reason is not that they can't sleep. Like advancing colonists, we do seem to be grasping ever more of the land of sleep for our waking needs, pushing the boundary back and reaching, apparently, for a point in our evolution where we will sleep no more. This in itself, of course, need not be a bad thing. What could be disastrous, however, is that we should press too quickly towards this goal, sacrificing sleep only to gain more time in which to jeopardize our civilization by actions and decisions made weak by fatigue. Then, to complete the picture, there are those who believe that most people are persuaded to sleep too much. Dr H. Roberts, writing in Every Man in Health, asserts: “It may safely be stated that, just as the majority eat too much, so the majority sleep too much.” One can see the point of this also. It would be a pity to retard our development by holding back those people who. are gifted enough to work and play well with less than the average amount of sleep, if indeed it does them no harm. If one of the trends of evolution is that more of the life span is to be spent in gainful waking activity, then surely these people are in the van of this advance.

Questions 11-15 are based on Passage Three.

The author seems to indicate that_____.

What is a possible negative effect of olestra according to some critics?

Nutritionists are concerned about adding vitamins to olestra for fear that.

Olestra is different from ordinary fats in that___.

Passage Two

   Imagine eating everything delicious you want — with none of the fat. That would be great, wouldn't it?

      New “fake fat” products appeared on store shelves in the United States recently, but not everyone is happy about it. Makers of the products, which contain a compound called olestra, say food manufacturers can now eliminate fat from certain foods. Critics, however, say the new compound can rob the body of essential vitamins and nutrients and can also cause unpleasant side effects in some people. So it's up to consumers to decide whether the new fat-free products taste good enough to keep eating.

      Chemists discovered olestra in the late 1960s, when they were searching for a fat that could be digested by infants more easily. Instead of finding the desired fat, the researchers created a fat that can't be digested at all.

      Normally, special chemicals in the intestines “grab” molecules of regular fat and break them down so they can be used by the body. A molecule of regular fat is made up of three molecules of substances called fatty acids.

      The fatty acids are absorbed by the intestines and bring with them the essential vitamins A, D, E, and K. When fat molecules are present in the intestines; with any of those vitamins, the vitamins attach to the molecules and are carried into the bloodstream.

      Olestra, which is made from six to eight molecules of fatty acids, is too large for the intestines to absorb. It just slides through the intestines without being broken down. Manufacturers say it's that ability to slide unchanged through the intestines that makes olestra so valuable as a fat substitute. It provides consumers with the taste of regular fat without any bad effects on the body. But critics say olestra can prevent vitamins A, D, E, and K from being absorbed. It can also prevent the absorption of carotenoids, compounds that may reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, etc.

      Manufacturers are adding vitamins A, D, E, and K as well as carotenoids to their products now. Even so, some nutritionists are still concerned that people might eat unlimited amounts of food made with the fat substitute without worrying about how many calories they are consuming.

Questions 6-10 are based on Passage Two.

We learn from the passage that olestra is a substance that___.

The result of the search for an easily digestible fat turned out to be ___.

The tone the writer uses in this passage is____.

Digital computers are different from analog computers in that___.

Basically computers are used to _____.

Passage One

   Electronic computers are among the fastest and most useful instruments for sorting and comparing in use today. Computers provide the means for greater speed and accuracy in working with ideas than had previously been possible. With the development of these new tools, it is as if man has suddenly become a millionaire of the mind.

The word distracted in paragraph 3 means__.