Part II Reading Comprehension

　　Directions: There are 4 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.

　　On average, American kids ages 3 to 12 spent 29 hours a week in school, eight hours more that they did in 1981. They also did more household work and participated in more of such organized activities as soccer and ballet (芭蕾舞). Involvement in sports, in particular, rose almost 50% from 1981 to 1997: boys now spend an average of four hours a week playing sports; girls log half that time. All in all, however, children's leisure time dropped from 40% of the day in 1981 to 25% .

　　"Children are affected by the same time crunch (危机) that affects their parents," says Sandra Hofferth, who headed the recent study of children's timetable. A chief reason, she says, is that more mothers are working outside the home. (Nevertheless, children in both double-income and "male breadwinner" households spent comparable amounts of time interacting with their parents, 19 hours and 22 hours respectively. In contrast, children spent only 9 hours with their single mothers.)

　　All work and no play could make for some very messed-up kids. "Play is the most powerful way a child explores the world and learns about himself," says T. Berry Brazelton, professor at Harvard Medical School.Unstructured play encourages independent thinking and allows the young to negotiate their relationships with their peers, but kids ages 3 to 12 spent only 12 hours a week engaged in it.

　　The children sampled spent a quarter of their rapidly decreasing "free time" watching television. But that, believe it or not, was one of the findings parents might regard as good news. If they're spending less time in front of the TV set, however, kids aren't replacing it with reading. Despite efforts to get kids more interested in books, the children spent just over an hour a week reading. Let's face it,

　　who's got the time?

　　21. By mentioning "the same time crunch" (Line 1, Para. 2) Sandra Hofferth means ________ .

　　A) children have little time to play with their parents

　　B) children are not taken good care of by their working parents

　　C) both parents and children suffer from lack of leisure time

　　D) both parents and children have trouble managing their time

　　22. According to the author, the reason given by Sandra Hofferth for the time crunch is ________.

　　A) quite convincing B) partially true

　　C) totally groundless D) rather confusing

　　23. According to the author a child develops better if________ .

　　A) he has plenty of time reading and studying

　　B) he is left to play with his peers in his own way

　　C) he has more time participating in school activities

　　D) he is free to interact with his working parents

　　24. The author is concerned about the fact that American kids________ .

　　A) are engaged in more and more structured activities

　　B) are increasingly neglected by their working mothers

　　C) are spending more and more time watching TV

　　D) are involved less and less in household work

　　25. We can infer from the passage that _________ .

　　A) extracurricular activities promote children's intelligence

　　B) most children will turn to reading with TV sets switched off

　　C) efforts to get kids interested in reading have been fruitful

　　D) most parents believe reading to be beneficial to children

　　Passage Two

　　Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

　　Henry Ford, the famous U.S. inventor and car manufacturer, once said, "The business of America is business." By this he meant that the U.S. way of life is based on the values of the business world.

　　Few would argue with Ford's statement. A brief glimpse at a daily newspaper vividly shows how much people in the United States think about business. For example, nearly every newspaper has a business section, in which the deals and projects, finances and management, stock prices and labor problems of corporations are reported daily. In addition, business news can appear in every other section. Most national news has an important financial aspect to it. Welfare, foreign aid, the federal budget, and the policies of the Federal Reserve Bank are all heavily affected by business. Moreover, business news appears in some of the unlikeliest places. The world of arts and entertainment is often referred to as "the entertainment industry" or" show business."

　　The positive side of Henry Ford's statement can be seen in the prosperity that business has brought to U.S. life. One of the most important reasons so many people from all over the world come to live in the United States is the dream of a better job. Jobs are produced in abundance (大量地) because the U.S. economic system is driven by competition. People believe that this system creates more wealth, more jobs, and a materially better way of life.

　　The negative side of Henry Ford's statement, however, can be seen when the word business is taken to mean big business. And the term big business-referring to the biggest companies, is seen in opposition to labor. Throughout U.S. history working people have had to fight hard for higher wages, better working conditions, and the fight to form unions. Today, many of the old labor disputes are over, but there is still some employee anxiety. Downsizing-the laying off of thousands of workers to keep expenses low and profits high-creates feelings of insecurity for many.

　　26. The United States is a typical country ________ .

　　A) which encourages free trade at home and abroad

　　B) where people's chief concern is how to make money

　　C) where all businesses are managed scientifically

　　D) which normally works according to the federal budget

　　27. The influence of business in the U.S. is evidenced by the fact that________ .

　　A) most newspapers are run by big businesses

　　B) even public organizations concentrate on working for profits

　　C) Americans of all professions know how to do business

　　D) even arts and entertainment are regarded as business

　　28. According to the passage, immigrants choose to settle in the U.S., dreaming hat________.

　　A) they can start profitable businesses there

　　B) they can be more competitive in business

　　C) they will make a fortune overnight there

　　D) they will find better chances of employment

　　29. Henry Ford's statement can be taken negatively because________ .

　　A) working people are discouraged to fight for their fights

　　B) there are many industries controlled by a few big capitalists

　　C) there is a conflicting relationship between big corporations and labor

　　D) public services are not run by the federal government

　　30. A company's efforts to keep expenses low and profits high may result in _________ .

　　A) reduction in the number of employees

　　B) improvement of working conditions

　　C) fewer disputes between labor and management

　　D) a rise in workers' wages

　　试题解析：

　　Passage One

　　语言注释

　　1. ...households spent comparable amounts of time interacting with their parents, 19 hours and 22 hours respectively. ... (Lines 7-10, Para.2)

　　comparable意为"类似的，相当的"；respectively意为"各自地"。全句可译为：不过，父母亲都在外工作的家庭和只有父亲在外工作的家庭相比，孩子与父母在一起互相交流的时间大致差不多，分别是每周19小时和22小时。与此形成鲜明对比的是，单亲母亲的家庭中，孩子与母亲一起互相交流的时间仅为每周9小时。

　　2. Play is the most powerful way a child explores the world and learns about himself. (Lines 2-4, Para.3)

　　句中"a child explores the world and learns about himself"为定语从句，修饰名词way。该定语从句前省略了"in which"。本句可译为：玩耍是儿童认识世界和自己的最有效的方式。

　　试题分析

　　本文主要是讲美国儿童闲暇玩耍时间越来越少的问题。作者认为，玩耍是儿童认识世界和自己的最有效的方式。死读书会使一些孩子变成书呆子。文章最后一段讲，儿童己经十分有限的"自由"时间的四分之一又被电视占去，不能不使人更加担心。

　　21.C)。根据文章第一段最后一句"All in all, however, children's leisure time dropped from 40% of the day in 1981 to 25%.(不过，总的来说，儿童闲暇时间从1981年时的每天的40%下降到现在的25%。)"以及第二段第一句"Children are affected by the same time crunch that affects their parents.(孩子们和他们的父母一样都存在着(闲暇)时间(短缺)危机)"可知，正确答案为选项C)。

　　22.B)。根据第二段后两句"Nevertheless, children in both double-income ... 9 hours with their single mothers."可知，母亲外出工作是导致孩子玩耍时间减少的部分原因，但不是主要原因。因此，正确答案为选项B)。

　　23.B)。根据文章第三段第二句"Play is the most powerful way a child explores the world and learns about himself."可知，正确答案为选项B)。

　　24.A)。根据第三段最后半句"...but kids ages 3 to 12 spent only 12 hours a week engaged in it."可知，作者认为美国儿童花在"unstructured play"上的时间太少(这里的it即指代unstructured play)，换言之，作者对美国儿童参加越来越多的"structured activities"这种情况感到担心。因此，正确答案为选项A)。

　　25.D)。根据文章最后一句前半句"Despite efforts to get kids more interested in books, ... "可以推论，父母亲之所以要努力使孩子们对看书感兴趣，是因为他们大都认为开卷有益。因此，正确答案为选项D。

　　Passage Two

　　语言注释

　　1. ... "The business of America is business." ... (Line 2, Para. 1)

　　句中两个"business"含义不同。前者指"关心的事；主要事务"，后者指"商业，贸易"。这部分可译为：美国的事务即商务。

　　2. By this he meant that the U. S. way of life is based on the values of the business world. (Lines 3, Para. 1)

　　本句中的"this"是指前一句中的"The business of America is business."全句句意为：他这句话的意思是美国的生活方式是以商界的价值观为基础的。

　　3. The world of arts and entertainment is often referred to as"the entertainment industry" or "show business." (最后一句, Para. 2)

　　句中"the entertainment industry"和"show business"均指"娱乐界、娱乐行业"。这个句子的含义是：连艺术、娱乐也蒙上了商业色彩。

　　4. And the term big business - referring to the biggest companies, is seen in opposition to labor. ( Lines 3-5, Para. 4)

　　本句中"business"意为"公司"(这可以从破折号后的解释中看出)。该词一词多义，要注意根据不同的上下文确定其在具体语境中的词义。"in opposition to"意为"对立，意见相反"。例如：find oneself in opposition to sb. on a question发现自己在某问题上与某人意见相反。这个句子的含义是：大公司就意味着劳资双方的对立和矛盾。

　　试题分析

　　本文主要讲商业在美国社会中的主导地位。文章一开始就引用福特的名言："美国的事务即商务。"意思是说美国的生活方式是以商界的价值观为基础的。第二段以美国的报纸为例来说明作者在文章开头提出的观点：各种各样的报纸都以大量的篇幅刊登商业广告、信息等，就连艺术和娱乐也被蒙上商业色彩，可见美国是一个商业气氛非常浓厚的国家。第三、四段分别讲了商业的积极作用和负面影响：商业带来了繁荣和富裕，但追求商业利润也导致工人失业。

　　26.B)。根据第一段第二句"By this he meant that the U. S. way of life is based on the values of the business world."可知，美国的生活方式是以商界的价值观为基础的。而商界的价值观就是最大限度地追求利润。此外，根据第二段第二句"A brief glimpse...about business."可以推断，这么多带有浓厚商业色彩的报纸之所以有市场，就是因为美国人对商业有兴趣，或者说大家都非常想挣钱。因此，正确答案为选项B)。

　　27.D)。第二段最后一句讲：The world of arts and entertainment is often referred to as "the entertainment industry" or"show business."。这个句子的含义是：连艺术、娱乐也蒙上了商业色彩。这是一个非常典型的例证，足以说明商业在美国的影响之大。因此，正确答案为选项D)。

　　28.D)。根据第三段第二句"One of the most important reasons so many people from all over the world come to live in the United States is the dream of a better job."可知，正确答案为选项D)。

　　29.C)。第四段第二句"And the term big business - referring to the biggest companies, is seen in opposition to labor."的含义是：大公司就意味着劳资双方的对立和矛盾。因此，正确答案为选项C)。

　　30.A)。根据本文最后一句"Downsizing - ...insecurity for many.(精简人员-为低成本高利润而解雇成千上万的工人-给许多人带来不安全感。)"可知，正确答案为选项A)。

　　(文/张国荣;英语通大学英语四级考试版2004年第1期;版权归英语辅导报社所有，独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育，未经许可，不得以任何形式进行转载。)