《考研英语毕金献阅读理解》节选

　　Unit1

　　Part A

　　Directions:

　　Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)

　　Text 1

　　It’s plain common sense — the more happiness you feel, the less unhappiness you experience. It’s plain common sense, but it’s not true. Recent research reveals that happiness and unhappiness are not really two sides of the same emotion. They are two distinct feelings that, coexisting, rise and fall independently.

　　People might think that the higher a person’s level of unhappiness, the lower their level of happiness and vice versa. But when researchers measure people’s average levels of happiness and unhappiness, they often find little relationship between the two.

　　The recognition that feelings of happiness and unhappiness can co-exist much like love and hate in a close relationship may offer valuable clues on how to lead a happier life. It suggests, for example, that changing or avoiding things that make you miserable may well make you less miserable, but probably won’t make you any happier. That advice is backed up by an extraordinary series of studies which indicate that a genetic predisposition for unhappiness may run in certain families. On the other hand, researchers have found happiness doesn’t appear to be anyone’s heritage. The capacity for joy is a talent you develop largely for yourself.

　　Psychologists have settled on a working definition of the feeling — happiness is a sense of subjective well-being. They have also begun to find out who’s happy, who isn’t and why. To date, the research hasn’t found a simple formula for a happy life, but it has discovered some of the actions and attitudes that seem to bring people closer to that most desired of feelings.

　　Why is unhappiness less influenced by environment? When we are happy, we are more responsive to people and keep up connections better than when we are feeling sad. This doesn’t mean, however, that some people are born to be sad and that’s that. Genes may predispose one to unhappiness, but disposition can be influenced by personal choice. You can increase your happiness through your own actions.

　　1. According to the text, it is true that

　　［A］ unhappiness is more inherited than affected by environment.

　　［B］ happiness and unhappiness are mutually conditional.

　　［C］ unhappiness is subject to external more than internal factors.

　　［D］ happiness is an uncontrollable subjective feeling.

　　2. The author argues that one can achieve happiness by

　　［A］ maintaining it at an average level.

　　［B］ escaping miserable occurrences in life.

　　［C］ pursuing it with one’s painstaking effort.

　　［D］ realizing its coexistence with unhappiness.

　　3. The phrase “To date” (Par.4) can be best replaced by

　　［A］ As a result.［B］ In addition.［C］ At present.［D］ Until now.

　　4. What do you think the author believes about happiness and unhappiness?

　　［A］ One feels unhappy owing to his miserable origin.

　　［B］ They are independent but existing concurrently

　　［C］ One feels happy by participating in more activities.

　　［D］ They are actions and attitudes taken by human beings.

　　5. The sentence “That’s that” (Par. 5) probably means: Some people are born to be sad

　　［A］ and the situation cannot be altered.

　　［B］ and happiness remains inaccessible.

　　［C］ but they don’t think much about it.

　　［D］ but they remain unconscious of it.

　　Text 2

　　The legal limit for driving after drinking alcohol is 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, when tested. But there is no sure way of telling how much you can drink before you reach this limit. It varies with each person depending on your weight, your sex, if you’ve just eaten and what sort of drinks you’ve had. Some people might reach their limit after only about three standard drinks.

　　In fact, your driving ability can be affected by just one or two drinks. Even if you’re below the legal limit, you could still be taken to court if a police officer thinks your driving has been affected by alcohol.

　　It takes about an hour for the body to get rid of the alcohol in one standard drink. So, if you have a heavy drinking in the evening you might find that your driving ability is still affected the next morning, or you could even find that you’re still over the legal limit. In addition, if you’ve had a few drinks at lunchtime, another one or two drinks in the early evening may well put you over the legal limit.

　　In a test with professional drivers, the more alcoholic drinks they had had, the more certain they were that they could drive a test course through a set of movable posts... and the less able they were to do it!

　　So the only way to be sure you’re safe is not to drink at all.

　　Alcohol is a major cause of road traffic accidents. One in three of the drivers killed in road accidents have levels of alcohol which are over the legal limit, and road accidents after drinking are the biggest cause of death among young men. More than half of the people stopped by the police to take a breath test have a blood alcohol concentration of more than twice the legal limit.

　　It is important to remember that driving after you’ve been drinking doesn’t just affect you. If you’re involved in an accident it affects a lot of other people as well, not least the person you might kill or injure.

　　6. The amount of alcohol a driver can drink within the legal limit is

　　［A］ about 80mg of pure alcohol.

　　［B］ about three standard drinks.

　　［C］ in proportion to his weight.

　　［D］ varying with different people.

　　7. You might be accused of drunk driving when

　　［A］ you drive upon having some drinks.

　　［B］ you become a helpless alcohol addict.

　　［C］ your driving is found abnormal for drinking.

　　［D］ your alcohol percentage fails the test.

　　8. A test showed that drunken professional drivers could

　　［A］ have greater confidence than sober ones.

　　［B］ move away a set of posts on the test ground.

　　［C］ fail in the test despite their self-affirmation.

　　［D］ serve as alarming examples to potential drivers.

　　9. Alcohol is the major cause of traffic accidents because

　　［A］ more than 30% road casualties are drink drivers.

　　［B］ drinking affects people’s mind and emotion.

　　［C］ about one-third drivers are used to drinking.

　　［D］ young drivers are familiar among traffic victims.

　　10. About drink driving, the author warns you of the fact that you

　　［A］ may be taken to court by the police.

　　［B］ are putting yourself in danger.

　　［C］ may hurt or kill another driver.

　　［D］ are setting other people at risk.

　　Text 3

　　There are various ways in which individual economic units can interact with one another. Three basic ways may be described as the market system, the administered system, and the traditional system.

　　In a market system individual economic units are free to interact among each other in the marketplace. It is possible to buy commodities from other economic units or sell commodities to them. In a market, transaction may take place via barter or money exchange. In a barter economy, real goods such as automobiles, shoes and pizzas are traded against each other. Obviously, finding somebody who wants to trade my old car in exchange for a sailboat may not always be an easy task. Hence, the introduction of money as a medium of exchange eases transactions considerably. In the modern market economy, goods and services are bought or sold for money.

　　An alternative for the market system is administrative control by some agency over all transactions. This agency will issue edicts (orders) or commands as to how much of each good and service should be produced, exchanged, and consumed by each economic unit. Central planning may be one way of administering such an economy. The central plan, drawn up by the government, shows the amounts of each commodity produced by the various firms and allocated to different households for consumption. This is an example of complete planning of production, consumption, and exchange for the whole economy.

　　In a traditional society, production and consumption patterns are governed by tradition; every person’s place within the economic system is fixed by parentage(origin), religion, and custom. Transactions take place on the basis of tradition, too. People belonging to a certain group or caste(social class) may have an obligation to care for other persons, provide them with food and shelter, care for their health, and provide for their education. Clearly, in a system where every decision is made on the basis of tradition alone, progress may be difficult to achieve. A stagnant (unchanging) society may result.

　　11. The main purpose of the text is to

　　［A］ interpret the essence of general economics.

　　［B］ compare barter and cash-exchange markets.

　　［C］ outline contrasting types of economic systems.

　　［D］ argue for the superiority of a certain economy.

　　12. The word “real” in “real goods”(Par.2) could best be replaced by

　　［A］ genuine.［B］ concrete.［C］ durable.［D］ practical.

　　13. According to the text, a barter economy may lead to

　　［A］ unfair transaction.［B］ direct conflicts.

　　［C］ gradual deflation.［D］ trading troubles.

　　14. In an administered system, business activities are under the direction of

　　［A］ major economic organizations.［B］ general public advisory body.

　　［C］ large commercial companies.［D］ certain official departments.

　　15. All of the following are mentioned as factors determining one’s place in a traditional society EXCEPT

　　［A］ family background.［B］ age and education.

　　［C］ religious beliefs.［D］ established experience.

　　Text 4

　　It’s possible that while you are at work, you may dream about a month of Sundays, but your boss wishes for a week of Tuesday. That’s because she/he probably knows that productivity is one of the main factors bolstering (supporting) a company’s growth. And a recent poll shows that workers are most productive on Tuesdays! Accountemps, an employment agency, conducted a national survey of office managers, which shows that by the middle of the week, they see a dramatic productivity decrease. While Monday is considered second in “productivity value,” only nine percent of office managers think Wednesday is the peak productivity day. Five percent believe it is Thursday. And Friday, well, you can just imagine! However, forty-eight percent of the managers polled said that Tuesday is, by far, the most productive day of the week.

　　A close analysis of workweek rhythms would turn up some obvious reasons for those survey results. First of all, Monday is overloaded with meetings, designed to “get things moving,” and everybody knows meetings aren’t very productive. Wednesday is “hump day”(驼峰日) — get over it as painlessly as possible, a worker thinks, and the week is more than halfway over. On Thursday, people are running out of steam; and Friday, everybody’s thinking about the weekend. There are reasons why the other days aren’t productive, but what makes Tuesday special? Tuesdays, employees hit peak performance because they are very focused on day-to-day activities. Also, it’s usually the first day of the week when they’re focused on their own task. They’re not in meetings that take them away from their primary responsibilities. Actually, Tuesdays can be quite hectic (full of excitement and without rest). Workers are arriving at work fairly frantic (wildly excited). And so, in 10 hours, they’re doing 20-hour work. That’s productive, but it’s also tough.

　　This does not mean that nothing happens on the last three days of the workweek. Things do not get so lax that people are sitting with their feet on desks, sipping coffee and talking on the phone all day, but there’s a definite lack of focus. The pace softens and the rhythm slows down. And this is not healthy: it produces fatigue and lowers productivity. To prevent this midweek slowdown, some management consultants suggest that employers avoid jamming so many meetings into Mondays. Work deadlines can be rescheduled to stretch out the workflow. Variations in productivity are only natural, but both workers and bosses win when the peaks and valleys are less dramatic than they are now.

　　16. According to the poll, which of the following days is most productive?

　　［A］ Thursday.［B］ Friday.［C］ Monday.［D］ Wednesday.

　　17. The peak productivity day of the week is marked by

　　［A］ violent excitement and activity.

　　［B］ due enthusiasm and creativity.

　　［C］ hurried and disordered movement.

　　［D］ full concentration and efficiency.

　　18. The word “lax” in the last paragraph means

　　［A］ usually negligible.［B］ lacking in control.

　　［C］ totally distractive.［D］ worthy of relaxing.

　　19. With respect to the changes in productivity, the text suggests that

　　［A］ work deadlines can be readjusted.

　　［B］ they are reasonable and expectable.

　　［C］ Monday meetings may be called off.

　　［D］ their differences are to be minimized.

　　20. The author has explained all of the following EXCEPT

　　［A］ the steps taken to alter workweek rhythms.

　　［B］ the productivity on the 6th day of the week.

　　［C］ the reason why midweek slowdown takes place.

　　［D］ the concern bosses have about low productivity.

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