EBBCNews(May11,2008)—Edinburgh-优题课

第三部分：阅读理解（共两节满分 40分）
第一节（共15小题每小题 2 分，满分 30 分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D 四个选项中选出最佳选项
While many modern forms of communication like phone calls, e-mails, and letters, are extremely convenient, in my opinion, nothing beats speaking to another person face to face.
The first and most obvious advantage that a face-to-face communication has over a letter and
e-mail is that there is the ability to interactively converse. If the sender of a letter or an email does not write clearly, then much time must be spent in clearing up the misunderstanding. In a face-to-face conversation, misunderstandings are easily dealt with because of the interactive nature of it.
I would still argue that the face-to-face conversation is better because you can see the other person. Not all communication is verbal; the meaning of much of what we say depends on our body language and the tone of voice. Joking and irony are particularly difficult to express and enjoy without seeing the expression on someone’s face, or watching the movements of their body.
Finally, if the goal of communication is to maintain or deepen the relationship with someone, the face-to-face communication offers the choice of communication by touch even if we could communicate by the video. Trust and respect between business partners can be established with a firm handshake. No amount of body language can convey the excitement of a high five between friends, and no number of words can communicate the comforting embrace of a loved one. Touch is the first basic method of our human relationship before spoken language, and it is only available when people communicate face to face.
56. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A. How to communicate more effectively.
B. The importance of using body language in communication
C. Face-to-face communication, the best way of communicating
D. Comparison of different communication forms
57.Which of the following is NOT true in the passage?
A. A letter or e-mail is always written unclearly.
B. Business partners can show trust through a firm handshake.
C. During a conversation, body language is also important.
D. The face-to-face conversation is a way of communication.
58.The author’s attitude towards forms of communication is .
A.Modern forms of communication like phone calls and e-mails are extremely convenient.
B. Traditional ways of communication are out of date and should fall into disuse.
C. Face-to-face communication can only be used among strangers.
D.Face-to-face communication has advantages over the other ways of communication.
59. What does the underlined word“maitain”in last paragraph mean?
A .keep B. stand C. destroy D. reduce

Some futurologists have assumed that the vast increase of women in the workforce may portend（预示）a rejection of marriage. Many women, according to this hypothesis, would rather work than marry. The opposite of this concern is that the outlook of becoming a multi-paycheck household could encourage marriage. In the past, only the earnings and financial prospects of the man counted in the marriage decision. Now, however, the earning ability of a woman can make her more attractive as a marriage partner. Data show that economic downturns tend to put off marriage because the parties cannot afford to establish a family or are concerned about rainy days ahead. As the economy comes to life, the number of marriages also rises.
The increase in divorce rates follows to the increase in women working outside the home. Yet, it may be wrong to jump to any simple cause-and-effect conclusions. The effect of a wife’s work on divorce is no less cloudy than its effect on marriage decisions. The realization that she can be a good provider may increase the chances that a working wife will choose divorce over an unsatisfactory marriage. But the reverse is equally plausible（似是而非的）. Tensions grounded in financial problems often play a key role in ending a marriage. By raising a family’s standard of living, a working wife may strengthen her family’s financial and emotional stability.
Psychological factors also should be considered. For example, a wife blocked from a career outside the home may feel caged in the house. She may view her only choice as seeking a divorce. On the other hand, if she can find fulfillment through work outside the home, work and marriage can go together to create a stronger and more stable union.
Also, a major part of women’s inequality in marriage has been due to the fact that, in most cases, men have remained the main breadwinners. A working wife may rob a husband of being the master of the house. Depending upon how the couple reacts to these new conditions, it could create a stronger equal partnership or it could create new insecurities.
71. It is said in the passage that when the economy moves to a worse situation, _________.
A. men would choose working women as their marriage partners
B. more women would get married to seek financial security
C. even working women would worry about their marriages
D. more people would prefer to remain single for the time being
72. The underlined word “rejection” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _________.
A. accepting B. refusing C. producing D. confusing
73. If women find fulfillment through work outside the home, _________.
A. they are more likely to control their marriage partners
B. their husbands are expected to do more housework
C. their marriage ties can be strengthened
D. they tend to put their career before marriage
74. One reason why women with no career may seek a divorce is that ________.
A. they feel that they have been robbed of their freedom
B. they are afraid of being bossed around by their husbands
C. they feel that their partners fail to live up to their expectations
D. they tend to suspect their husbands loyalty to their marriage
75. Which of the following statements can best summarize the authors view in the passage?
A. The stability of marriage and the divorce rate may reflect the economic situation of the country.
B. Even when economically independent, most women have to struggle for real equality in marriage.
C. In order to secure their marriage women should work outside the home and remain independent.
D. The effect of the growing female workforce on marriage varies from case to case.

Are some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experiences? Strangely enough，the answer to both these questions is yes. To some extent our intelligence is given to us at birth，and no amount of special education can make a genius out of a child born with low intelligence. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings. Thus the limits of a person’s intelligence are fixed at birth，but whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment。This view, now held by most experts can be supported in a number of ways.
It is easy to say that intelligence is to some extent something we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence. Thus if we take two unrelated people at random from the population, it is likely that their degrees of intelligence will be completely different. If on the other hand we take two identical twins, they will very likely be as intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters，parents and children，usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth.
Imagine that now we take two identical twins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring. We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this indicates that environment as well as birth plays a part. This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all, are likely to have similar degrees of intelligence.
67. By using the example that two people closer in blood relationship are closer in intelligence that writer wants to prove _ .
A. intelligence is given at birth
B. intelligence can be developed by environment
C. intelligence can be developed by experience
D. education plays an important part in the development of education
68. A child who lives in rich and varied surroundings turns out higher in intelligence because ________.
A. his family is rich and therefore can afford to develop his intelligence
B. he can break the limits of intelligence fixed at birth
C. his family is rich and provides him with various healthy food
D. these surroundings are likely to help him reach the limits of their intelligence
69. Writer of this article believes that _________.
A. the development of one’s intelligence is determined by many factors working together
B. environment plays the most important role in the development of intelligence
C. education plays the most important role in the development of intelligence
D. birth plays the most important role in the development of intelligence
70. The best title for this passage might be.
A. IntelligenceB. Birth and Environment
C. The Answer to a Question D. Intelligence and Education

What to expect in the cinema this winter?
The Golden Compass
Running Time: 1 hour 54 min. Release Date: December7, 2007
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue Richards, Directed by: Chris Weitz
12-year-old Lyra is a girl who lives in a world, where human souls take the form of animal companions. When her best friend disappears, Lyra promises to find him. One thing Lyra packs for the trip is a mysterious compass that many people are violently determined to get. What is awaiting her?
I AM Legend
Running Time: 1 hour 42min. Release Date: December14, 2007
Starring: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Dash Mihok,
Robert Neville, a brilliant scientist, isn’t quite brilliant enough to stop a man-made virus from escaping and killing everyone in sight. Somehow, Robert is Virus-free. As Robert realizes that his time may be up, he’s determined to find a way to save the human race—using his own virus-free blood.
This Christmas
Running Time: 1 hour 57 min. Release Date: November 29, 2007
Starring: Laz Alonso, Chris Brown,
It’s Christmas! Time for joy! Love! Gifts! And, oh family. For the first time in many years, the white fields are all coming home. It should be a happy time for all, but after years away, it’s clear that there are plenty of reasons they’ve grown apart. How can all these people and all their secrets survive under one roof? By the time the presents are opened, they are to find out what they have missed for these years—family.
Into the Wild
Running Time: 2hours 20min Release Date: December 22nd, 2007
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Marcia Harden
Freshly graduated from Harvard with a bright future, 22 year-old Christopher instead walked out of his “good” life and into the wild in search of adventure. What happened to him on the way changed this young wanderer into an enduring symbol for countless people. Was Christopher a heroic adventurer or another American loser?
64. The film with the longest running time is _ .
A. The Golden Compass B. I AM Legend
C. This Christmas D. Into the Wild
65. “This Christmas” probably _ .
A. reveals how to choose Christmas gifts for our relatives
B. reveals the secrets to a successful marriage
C. reveals the importance of money to any family
D. reveals the truth of a family and its real problems
66. In the movie “Into the Wild”, the “good” life is probably ___ .
A. adventurous and dangerous B. steady and promising
C. risky and exciting D. poor and depressing

The “Bystander Apathy Effect” was first studied by researchers in New York after neighbours ignored --- and in some cases turned up the volume on their TVs --- the cries of a woman as she was murdered (over a half-hour period). With regard to helping those in difficulty generally, they found that:
women are helped more than men;
men help more than women;
attractive women are helped more than unattractive women.
Other factors relate to the number of people in the area, whether the person is thought to be in trouble through their own fault, and whether a person sees himself as being able to help.
According to Adrian Furnham, Professor of University College, London, there are three reasons why we tend to stand by doing nothing:
“Shifting of responsibility” --- the more people there are, the less likely help is to be given. Each person excuses himself by thinking someone else will help, so that the more “other people” there are, the greater the total shifting of responsibility.
“Fear of making a mistake” --- situations are often not clear. People think that those involved in an incident may know each other or it may be a joke, so a fear of embarrassment makes them keep themselves to themselves.
“Fear of the consequences if attention is turned on you, and the person is violent.”
Laurie Taylor, Professor of Sociology at London University, says: “In the experiments I’ve seen on intervention（介入）, much depends on the neighborhood or setting. There is a silence on public transport which is hard to break. We are embarrassed to draw attention to something that is happening, while in a football match, people get involved , and a fight would easily follow.”
Psychotherapist Alan Dupuy identifies the importance of the individual: “the British as a whole have some difficulty intervention, but there are exceptional individuals in every group who are prepared to intervene, regardless of their own safety. These would be people with a strong moral code or religious ideals.”
60. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. Pretty women are more likely to be helped.
B. People on a bus are more likely to stop a crime.
C. Religious people are more likely to look on.
D. Criminals are more likely to harm women.
61. Which factor is NOT related with intervention according to the passage?
A. Sex. B. Nationality. C. Profession. D. Setting.
62. Which phenomenon can be described as the “Bystander Apathy Effect”?
A. A man is more likely to help than a woman.
B. In a football match, people get involved in a fight.
C. Seeing a murder, people feel sorry that it should have happened.
D. On hearing a cry for help, people keep themselves to themselves.
63. The author wrote this article _______.
A. to explain why bystanders behave as they do
B. to urge people to stand out when in need
C. to criticize the selfishness of bystanders
D. to analyze the weakness of human nature