2014经管类专升本入学考试题目阅读理解5(含答案)

阅读理解5

Passage One

On April 18th, 1960, it was a few minutes after 5o’clock in the morning. Most people in San Francisco were asleep. At that moment the land suddenly moved. The vibration was so strong that great buildings fell down. Cooking stoves overturned and electric wires flashed. The fires which started caused damage in large areas of the city.

Many buildings were destroyed by fire or by the earthquake itself and hundreds of people were killed. Many people also died from diseases which broke out in the dirty camps later occupied by homeless people. The loss of property was serious. The loss from fire alone amounted to four hundred million dollars which accounted for nine-tenths of the total damage.

The California earthquake is remembered because it was so sudden and because it occurred in a city where the damage and destruction were plainly visible and where many people were killed simultaneously. The effects of the earthquake were widespread. Rivers and streams began to run in new directions and their flow patterns were changed. Trees, six feet in diameter, were uprooted within half a mile of the central break. A road which crossed the fault burst apart and a gap of 21 feet remained between the broken ends.

Scientists and engineers have studied the effects of this San Francisco earthquake and that has provided them with valuable information. The city was rebuilt, and new features were introduced to strengthen buildings and maintain a constant water supply in the event of another earthquake.

Questions 1-5: Choose the best answer from A, B, C and D. Write your answer on the Answer Sheet. 从A，B，C，D选项中选择一个正确的答案写在答题卷上。1．All of the following were the cause of death EXCEPT _________________.

A. the earthquake

B. dirty water

C. diseases

D. the fires

2．The total loss of property was estimated to be __________________.

A.$360,000,000

B.$400,000,000

C.$440,000,000

D.$480,000,000

3．The California earthquake is hard to forget because ___________________.

A.it was sudden and caused huge damage to property and loss of life

B.rivers and streams have changed direction

C.trees six feet in diameter were uprooted

D. a gap of 21 feet could be seen on a road across the fault

4．To prepare for another earthquake, Californians have taken measures to __________________.

A.control diseases

B.broaden the city roads

C.strengthen buildings

D.shelter homeless people

5．It is implied in the passage that scientists ______________________.

A.have predicted the coming of earthquakes

B.have provided valuable information on earthquakes

C.have reported property losses in earthquakes

D.have advanced their knowledge about earthquakes

Passage Two

A growing body of credible research demonstrates that taking a good walk most days of the week can deliver many health benefits. But somewhere near 75 percent of the U.S. population fails to get 30 minutes of daily exercise, whether that’s walking or some more strenuous forms of sport or recreation. Approximately 35 percent live a life with little or no exercise. Sixty percent of Americans carry more weight than they should.

Why we’re not out there walki ng is a mystery. Could it be that we’ve filled our lives so full of work and other obligations that we have no energy left for the one thing most likely to keep us strong and healthy for the daily battle? (We don’t think so.) Can it be that nobody’s figured out how to make money from other people’s walking habits, so there’s no great commercial force urging us to walk, nothing comparable to the marketing efforts trying to get us to drink sodas, order pizzas and buy new cars? (We think so.)

For the vast majority of people who are not faced with a disability, walking is the best choice as a regular form of physical activity, says Mark Fenton, whose role, as host of the PBS series “America’s Walking,” makes him America’s guru of walking.

Particularly for the people carrying more weight than they should, walking is a safer choice than running, said Fenton. Besides, so many people already have problems with their hips, knees and ankles that they couldn’t run very far or very often if they tried. Fenton adds that walking is something you can do even when your life circumstances have been changed -- when you’re pregnant, injured or older. This makes it something people are likely to stick with.

Questions 6-10: Choose the best answer from A, B, C and D. Write your answer on the Answer Sheet. 从A，B，C，D选项中选择一个正确的答案写在答题卷上。

6. The percentage of the U.S. population that can take on 30-minute exercise

everyday is roughly .

A.25%

B.35%

C.60%

D.75%

7. The author probably suggests that people would like to take a walk

if .

A.the health benefits were confirmed by credible research

B.they understood that walking is the best form of exercise

C.more time were available for people to do the exercise

D.there were great commercial forces promoting walking

8. What does the underlined word “guru” mean in paragraph 3?

A.strong supporter

B.teaching expert

C.critical thinker

D.leading coach

9. As indicated in the passage, running ________________________.

A.is not a safe form of exercise

B.is not good for the knee problems

C.is especially good for the overweight

D.is good only for the young and healthy

10. The present American way of living makes the writer feel ___________________.

A.indifferent

B.embarrassed

C.puzzled

D.relieved

Passage Three

This summer, for the first time, Emory College let freshmen pick their own roommates in an online roommate-selection system. Students, using screen names to hide their identities, posted profiles of themselves detailing personality attributes, work habits, music and food preferences, and exchanged information using e-mail.

Housing officials at Emory say they expect that letting students pick their own roommates who are their closest matches will increase the likelihood of compatibility. And there's little risk of hurt feelings if the e-mail exchanges do not lead to a match, since the initial round of contacts is done under screen names.

Several studies have shown that roommates have an impact on the attitudes and social behavior of those they live with. And one recent study found that a roommate's academic performance has a small, but statistically significant, effect on the other roommate's grade-point average. Other studies, however, did not find that effect.

The business of assigning roommates varies widely across the country. At Davidson College, the housing staff sort every freshman with careful hand-selection. The Davidson philosophy is that roommates should be as similar as possible, while halls should be as diverse as possible.

"We had a match that seemed perfect, until we discovered that one was a cattle rancher's son and the other was a vegan (绝对素食者)," said Ms. Kromm. "They should definitely meet, on the same hall. But we didn't want to put them in the same room." Occasionally, an incoming student asks to be paired with an Asian, or says she might not be able to get along with a Republican. In such cases, Ms. Kromm will remind them that Davidson does not accept roommate preferences based on race, ethnicity, and religion.

Davidson's care in matching pays off. By Christmas last year, only four requested roommate changes out of 480 students. No one knows whether computer-matching works as well. But at Emory, so far, student reaction seems to be overwhelmingly positive.

Questions 11-15: Choose the best answer from A, B, C and D. Write your answers on the Answer Sheet. 从A，B，C，D选项中选择一个正确的答案写在答题卷上。

11. In computer matchmaking, initially students do not reveal their ______________.

A.personalities

B.identities

C.habits

D.hobbies

12. If e-mail exchanges between students fail to lead to a match, the students

involved .

A.will end up with hurt feelings

B.will stop using their screen names

C.won’t feel embarrassed or discouraged

D.won’t have another chance to contact others

13. As mentioned in the passage, only one study found that roommates have an

impact on the of the other roommates.

A.academic grades

B.social behavior

C. sleeping patterns

D. personal attitudes

14. It can be inferred from the passage that computer matching .

A.is unlikely to be a great success

B.is a novelty with no final results

C.will not be as good as expected

D.will soon replace hand selection

15. Both computer matching and hand selection follow the principle

of .

A. putting students with similarities together

B. meeting all legitimate demands of students

C. letting students pick their own roommates

D. seeking diversity in roommate matching

Passage Four

Why is Valentine's Day, a holiday dedicated to the sweet bloom of love, celebrated in a cold month more suited to hats and gloves than to thoughts of love? "It's very mysterious," Kelly allows. "Why hold a feast day of love on February 14th?"

Kelly theorizes lovers everywhere can thank two guys from the 14th century for this day of hearts and flowers: renowned poet Geoffrey Chaucer and a not-so-famous saint who went by the name of Valentine.

In 1381, Chaucer was busy composing a poem in honor of the arranged marriage between England's Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. This was a very big deal indeed, and Chaucer was looking for just the right saint to honor on May 3, the day Richard II

signed the papers of engagement to his Bohemian beauty.

His search ended, when Chaucer learned that a Saint Valentine of Genoa had an honorary feast day on May 3. Perfect!Chaucer may have chosen to incorporate a feast in honor of St. Valentine into the wedding celebration of Richard II and Anne. So he wrote the poem "The Parliament of Fowls" in the couple's honor. "The Parliament of Fowls" literally means "the meeting of birds," says Kelly. “Chaucer dreamed up the idea that all birds chose their mates on May 3rd.”

After Chaucer's death in 1400, Valentine's Day celebrations got pushed back to February. The date may have changed because the first song birds make after a winter tend to debut in mid-February, Kelly says.

But the holiday that honors lovebirds everywhere has not always been so popular. "The very celebration of Valentine's Day has gone in and out of vogue," says Kelly. "In the 16th century in Genoa you have it, but not much notice is taken of it in other countries." The sweet-toothed holiday experienced renewed vigor in England just prior to 1800, and publishing companies came to the aid of tongue-tied lovers by distributing booklets of passages lovers could use to stir hearts. The celebration then suffered a popularity plunge in the 19th century, but by the next century, Americans had rescued Valentine's Day from the trash heap, turning it into a commercial bonanza.

Questions 16-20: Choose the best answer from A, B, C and D. Write your answer on the Answer Sheet. 从A，B，C，D选项中选择一个正确的答案写在答题卷上。

16. May 3 was set for Chaucer as a special date because it was the day when

___________ ?

A. Richard II became engaged to Anne of Bohemia

B. Richard II married Anne of Bohemia

C. Saint Valentine of Genoa was honored

D. all birds chose their mates

17. The celebration of Valentine’s Day on February 14.

A. started in the 14th century and has continued to the present day

B. was a choice made by Chaucer and Saint Valentine

C. remains unexplained in terms of its origin

D. is based on solid scientific knowledge

18. The celebration of Valentine’s Day became unfashionable in the century.

A. 14th .

B. 15th

C. 17th

D. 19th

19. What does the underlined word “bonanza” mean in the last paragraph?

A. myth

B. challenge

C. celebration

D. success

20. The passage is mainly about ___________________.

A. how people celebrate Valentine’s Day

B. how Valentine’s Day originated and evolved

C. what is the be st way to promote Valentine’s Day

D. why people have different attitudes toward Valentine’s Day

阅读理解5

1. B 6. A 11. B 16. A

2. C 7. D 12. C 17. C

3. A 8. B 13. A 18. D

4. C 9. B 14. B 19. D

5. D 10. C 15. A 20. B