大学英语四级考试阅读材料每日一练.doc

Passage 1Oceanography has been defined as “The application of all sciences to the study of the sea”.Before the nineteenth century ,scientists with an interest in the sea were few and far between.Certainly Newton considered some theoretical aspects of it in his writings ,but he was reluctant to go to sea to further his work.For most people the sea was remote, and with the exception of early intercontinental travelers or others who earned a living from the sea ,there was little reason to ask many questions about it ,let alone to ask what lay beneath the surface. The first time that the question ”what is at the bottom of the oceans? ”had to be answered with any commercial consequence was when the laying of a telegraph cable from Europe to America was proposed. The engineers had to know the depth profile of the route to estimate the length of cable that had to be manufactured.It was to Maury of the US Navy that the Atlantic Telegraph Company turned, in 1853, for information on this matter. In the 1840s, Maury had been responsible for encouraging voyages during which soundings were taken to investigate the depths of the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Later, some of his findings aroused much popular interest in his book The Physical Geography of the Sea.The cable was laid, but not until 1866 was the connection made permanent and reliable. At the early attempts, the cable failed and when it was taken out for repairs it was found to be covered in living growths, a fact which defied contemporary scientific opinion that there was no life in the deeper parts of the sea.Within a few years oceanography was under way. In 1872 Thomson led a scientific expedition, which lasted four years and brought home thousands of samples from the sea. Their classification and analysis occupied scientists for years and led to a five-volume report, the last volume being published in 1895. 1、 The proposal to lay a telegraph cable from Europe to America made oceanographic studies take on _.A) an academic aspect B) a military aspect C) a business aspect D) an international aspect2、 It was _that asked Maury for help in oceanographic studies.A) the American Navy B) some early intercontinental travelers C) those who earned a living from the sea D) the company which proposed to lay an undersea cable3、 The aim of the voyages Maury was responsible for in the 1840 was_A) to make some sounding experiments in the oceans B) to collect sample of sea plants and animalsC) to estimate the length of cable that was neededD) to measure the depths of the two oceans4、”Defied” in the 5th paragraph probably means “_”A) doubted B) gave proof to C) challenged D) agreed to 5、 This passage is mainly about_A) the beginnings of oceanography B) the laying of the first undersea cableB) the investigation of ocean depths D) the early intercontinental communications Passage 2 Normally a student must attend a certain number of courses in order to graduate, and each course which he attends gives him a credit which he may count towards a degree, In many American universities the total work for a degree consists of thirty-six courses each lasting for one semester. A typical course consists of three classes per week for fifteen weeks; while attending a university a student will probably attend four or five courses during each semester. Normally a student. Would expect to take four years attending two semesters each year. It is possible to spread the period of work for the degree over a longer period. It is also possible for a student to move between one university and another during his degree course, though this is not in fact done as a regular practice.For very course that the follows a student is given a grade, which is recorded, and the record is available for the student to show to prospective employers. All this imposes a constant pressure and strain of work , but in spite of this some students still find time for great activity in student affairs. Elections to positions in student organizations arouse much enthusiasm. The effective work of maintaining discipline is usually performed by students who advise the academic authorities. Any student who is thought to have broken the rules, for example, by cheating his to appear before a student court. With the enormous numbers of students, the operation of the system does involve a certain amount of activity. A student who has held one of these positions of authority is much respected and it will be of benefit to him later in his career. 6、Normally a student would at least attend _classes each week.A） 36 B） 12 C） 20 D） 157、According to the first paragraph an American student is allowed_A） to live in a different universityB） to take a particular course in a different universityC） to live a home and drive to classesD） to get two degrees from two different universities8、America university students are usually under pressure of work because_A） their academic performance will affect their future careersB） they are heavily involved in student affairsC） they have to observe university disciplineD） they want to run for positions of authority9、Some students are enthusiastic for positions in student organizations probably because_A） they hate the constant pressure and strain of their study B） they will then be able to stay longer in the universityC） such positions help them get better jobsD） such positions are usually well paid10、The student organizations seem to be effective in _A） dealing with the academic affairs of the universityB） ensuring that the students observe university regulationsC） evaluating students performance by bringing them before a courtD） keeping up the students enthusiasm for social activities Passage 3Do you find getting up in the morning so difficult that its painful? This might be called laziness, but Dr.Kleitman has a new explanation. He has proved that everyone has a daily energy cycle.During the hours when you labour through your work you may say that youre “hot”. Thats true. The time of day when you feel most energetic is when your cycle of body temperature is at its peak. For some people the peak comes during the forenoon. For others it comes in the afternoon or evening. No one has discovered why this is so, but it leads to such familiar monologues as: “Get up, John! Youll be late for work again!” The possible explanation to the trouble is that John is at his temperature-and-energy peak in the evening. Much family quarrelling ends when husbands and wives realize what these energy cycles mean, and which cycle each member of the family has.You cant change your energy cycle, but you can learn to make you life fit it better. Habit can help, Dr.Kleitman believes. Maybe youre sleepy in the evening but feel you must stay up late anyway. Counteract your cycle to some extent by habitually staying up later than you want to. If your energy is low in the morning, but you have an important job to do early in the day, rise before your usual hour. This wont change your cycle, but youll get up steam and work better at your low point.Get off to a slow start which saves your energy. Get up with a leisurely yawn and stretch. Sit on the edge of the bed a minute before putting your feet on the floor. A void the troublesome search for clean clothes by laying them out the night before. Whenever possible, do routine work in the afternoon and save tasks requiring more energy or concentration for your sharper hours. 11.If a person finds getting up early a problem, most probably_A) he is a lazy person B) he refuses to follow his own energy cycleC) he is not sure when his energy is low D) he is at his peak in the afternoon or evening12.Which of the following may lead to family quarrels according to the passage?A) Unawareness of energy cycles. B) Familiar monologuesC) A change in a family members energy cycle D) Attempts to control the energy cycle of other family members13.If one wants to work more efficiently at his how point in the morning, he should_A) change his energy cycle B) overcome his lazinessC) get up earlier than usual D) go to bed earlier14.You are advised to rise with a yawn and stretch because it will_A) help to keep your energy for the days workB) help you to control your temper early in the dayC) enable you to concentrate on your routine workD) keep your energy cycle under control all day15.Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?A) Getting off to work with a minimum effort helps save ones energyB) Dr.Kletman explains why people reach their peaks at different hours of day.C) Habit helps a person adapt to his own energy cycleD) Children have energy cycles, too. Passage 4We find that bright children are rarely held back by mixed-ability teaching. On the contrary, both their knowledge and experience are enriched. We feel that there are many disadvantages in streaming pupils. It does not take into account the fact that children develop at different rates. It can have a bad effect on both the bright and the not-so-bright child. After all, it can be quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade!Besides, it is rather unreal to grade people just according to their intellectual ability. This is only one aspect of their total personality. We are concerned to develop the abilities of all our pupils to the full, not just their academic ability. We also value personal qualities and social skills, and we find that mixed-ability teaching contributes to all these aspects of learning.In our classrooms, we work in various ways. The pupils often work in groups: this gives them the opportunity to learn to co-operate, to share, and to develop leadership skills. They also learn how to cope with personal problem as well as learning how to think, to make decisions, to analyse and evaluate, and to communicate effectively. The pupils learn from each other as well as from the teacher.Sometimes the pupils work in pairs; sometimes they work on individual tasks and assignments, and they can do this at their own speed. They also have some formal class teaching when this is appropriate. We encourage our pupils to use the library, and we teach them the skills they need in order to do this efficiently. An advanced pupil can do advanced work: it does not matter what age the child is. We expect our pupils to do their best, not their least, and we give them every encouragement to attain this goal.16. In the passage the authors attitude towards “mixed-ability teaching” is_A) critical B) questioning C) approving D) objective17. By “held back”(Line 1) the author means “_”A) made to remain in the same classes B) forced to study in the lower classesC) drawn吸引 to their studies D) prevented from advancing18. The author argues that a teachers chief concern should be the development of the students_A) personal qualities and social skills B) total personality C) learning ability and communicative skills D) intellectual ability19. Which of the following is NOT MENTIONED in the third paragraph?A) Group work gives pupils the opportunity to learn to work together with othersB) Pupils also learn to develop their reasoning abilitiesC) Group work provides pupils with the opportunity to learn to be capable organizers.D) Pupils also learn how to participate in teaching activities.20. The authors purpose in writing this passage is to _A) argue for teaching bright and not so0bright pupils in the same classB) recommend pair work and group work for classroom activitiesC) offer advice on the proper use of the libraryD) emphasize the importance of appropriate formal classroom teaching  Passage 5Nursing at Beth Israel Hospital produces the best patient care possible. If we are to solve the nursing shortage, hospital administration and doctors everywhere would do well to follow Beth Israels example.At Beth Israel each patient is assigned to a primary nurse who visits at length with the patient and constructs a full-scale health account that covers everything from his medical history to his emotional state. Then she writes a care plan centered on the patients illness but which also includes everything else that is necessary.The primary nurse stays with the patient through his hospitalization, keeping track with his progress and seeking further advice from his doctor. If a patient at Beth Israel is not responding to treatment, it is not uncommon for his nurse to propose another approach to his doctor. What the doctor at Beth Israel has in the primary nurse is a true colleague.Nursing at Beth Israel also involves a decentralized（分散的）nursing administration; every floor, every unit is a self-contained organization. There are nurse-managers instead of head nurses; in addition to their medical duties they do all their own hiring and dismissing, employee advising, and they make salary recommendations. Each units nurses decide among themselves who will work what shifts and when.Beth Israels nurse-in-chief ranks as an equal with other vice presidents of the hospital. She also is a member of the Medical Executive Committee, which in most hospitals includes only doctors. 21. Which of the following best characterized the main feature of the nursing system at Beth Israel Hospital?）The doctor gets more active professional support from the primary nurse）Each patient is taken care of by a primary nurse day and night）The primary nurse writes care plans for every patient）The primary nurse keeps records of the patients health conditions every day.22. It can inferred from the passage that_）compared with other hospitals nurses at Beth Israel Hospital are more patient）in most hospitals patient care is inadequate from the professional point of view）in most hospitals nurses get low salaries.）compared with other hospitals nurses have to work longer hours at Beth Israel Hospital23. A primary nurse can propose a different approach of treatment when_）the present one is refused by the patient）the patient complains about the present one ）the present one proves to be ineffective）the patient is found unwilling to cooperate24. The main difference between a nurse-manager and a head nurse is that the former_）is a member of the Medical Executive Committee of the hospital）has to arrange the work shifts of the units nurses）can make decisions concerning the medical treatment of a patient）hasfull responsibility in the administration of the units nurses.25. The authors attitude towards the nursing system at Beth Israel Hospital is _） negative ）neutral ）critical ）positivePassage