统考英语基础课程讲义
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Passage 1 234页passage1
The French Revolution broke out in 1789. At the time France was in a crisis. The government was badly run and people’s lives were miserable. King Louis XIV tried to control the national parliament and raise more taxes. But his effort failed. He ordered his troops to Versailles. The people thought that Louis intended to put down the Revolution by force. On July 14,1789, they stormed and took the Bastille, where political prisoners were kept. Ever since that day, July 14 has been the French National Day. Louis tried to flee the country in 1792 to get support from Austria and Prussia. However, he was caught and put in prison. In September 1792, the monarchy was abolished. In the same year, Louis was executed. A few months later his wife, Marie also had her head cut off. The Revolution of France had frightened the other kings of Europe. Armies from Austria and Prussia began to march against France. The French raised republican armies to defend the nation. The Revolution went through a period of terror. Thousands of people lost their lives. In the end, power passed to Napoleon Bonaparte. (190 words) 6. What’s this passage about?
A. France. B. King Louis. C. The French Revolution. D. Europe. 7. Which did not happen in 1789?
A. The French Revolution broke out. B. The national economy was developing rapidly. C. The government wasn’t well run. D. King Louis XIV was in power. 8. Where were the political prisoners kept?
A. In Versailles. B. In Austria. C. In Prussia. D.In Bastille. 9. What does the underlined word “abolished” mean?
A. Put off. B. Established. C. United. D. Ended. 10. What was NOT the effect of the Revolution?
A. July 14 has become the French National Day.
B. It brought some impact on the other European Kings. C. Louis’s wife, Marie was killed.
D. The king tried to control the national parliament. 11-15 CBDDD
Passage 2 223页passage2
A foreigner’s first impression of the U.S. is likely to be that everyone is in a rush-often under pressure. City people appear always to be hurrying to get where they are going restlessly, seeking attention in a store, and elbowing others as they try to complete their errands （任务）. Racing through daytime meals is part of the pace of life in this country.
Working time is considered precious. Others in public eating places are waiting for you to finish so that they too can be served and get back to work within the time allowed. Each person hurries to make room for the next person. If you don’t, waiters will hurry you.
You also find drivers will be abrupt and that people will push past you. You will miss smiles,
brief conversations, and small courtesies with strangers. Don’t take it personally. This is because people value time highly, and they resent someone else “wasting” it beyond a certain courtesy point.
The view of time affects the importance we attach to patience. In the American system of values, patience is not a high priority. Many of us have what might be called “a short fuse.” We begin to move restlessly about if we feel time is slipping away without some returnbe this in terms of pleasure, work value, or rest. Those coming from lands where time is looked upon differently may find this matter of pace to be one of their most difficult adjustments in both business and daily life.
Many newcomers to the States will miss the opening courtesy of a business call, for example, they will miss the ritual socializing that goes with a welcoming cup of tea or coffee they may be traditional in their own country. They may miss leisurely business chats in a café or coffeehouse. Normally, Americans do not assess their visitors in such relaxed surroundings over prolonged small talks. We seek out evidence of past performance rather than evaluate a business colleague through social courtesies. Since we generally assess and probe professionally rather than socially, we start talking business very quickly. (348 words) 11. Which of the following statements is wrong? __________
A. Americans seem to be always under pressure. B. Americans attach less importance to patience.
C. Americans don’t care much about ritual socializing. D. Americans are impolite to their business colleagues.
12. In the fourth paragraph, “a high priority” means __________.
A. a less important thing B. a first concern C. a good business D. an attractive gift 13. Americans evaluate a business colleague __________.
A. through social courtesy B. through prolonged business talks C. by establishing business relations D. by learning about their past performance 14. This passage mainly talks about __________.
A. how Americans treasure their time B. how busy Americans are every day C. how Americans do business with foreigners D. what American way of life is like 15. We can infer from the passage that the author’s tone in writing is ___________.
A. critical B. ironical C. appreciative D. objective 21-25 DBDAC
Passage 3 217页passage 2
Sixteen-year-old Maria was waiting in line at the airport in Santo Domingo. She was leaving her native country to join her sister in the United States. She spoke English very well. Though she was very happy she could go abroad, she was feeling sad at leaving her family and fiends. As she was thinking all about this, she suddenly heard the airline employee asking her to pick up her luggage and put it on the scales（称）. Maria pulled and pulled. The bag was too heavy and she just couldn’t lift it up. The man behind her got very impatient. He, too, was waiting to check in his luggage.
“What’s wrong with this girl?” He said, “Why doesn’t she hurry up?” He moved forward
and placed his bag on the counter, hoping to check in fist. He was in a hurry to get a good seat.
Maria was very angry, but she was very polite. And in her best English she said, “Why are you so upset? There are enough seats for everyone on the plane. If you are in such a hurry, why can’t you give me a hand with my luggage?”
The man was surprised to hear Maria speak English. He quickly picked up her luggage and stepped back. Everyone was looking at him with disapproval. (224 words)
6. Maria’s story happened ________.
A. when she was leaving America B. on her way back to Santo Domingo C. before she left the USA D. when she arrived at the airport
7. You believer that the work of the airline employee mentioned in the story is to _______ at the airport.
A. help carry people’s luggage B. ask people to pick up the luggage C. check people’s luggage D. take care of people’s luggage
8. “Why are you so upset?” Maria said to the man. She wanted to tell him that he should not be _______.
A. surprised B. sad C. unhappy D. sorry
9. “Everyone was looking at him with disapproval.” This sentence means that the people around felt _______.
A. worried about Maria B. worried about the man C. sorry for Maria’s manners D. sorry for the man’s manners
10. The author mentioned Maria’s age at the beginning of the story in order to show that _________.
A. she was young but behaved properly B. she would not have left home alone C. everyone around her was wrong D. it was not good that nobody offered to help her 6-10 DCCDA
Passage 4 205页passage 2
Britain and France are separated by the English Channel, a body of water that can be crossed in as few as 20 minutes. But the cultures of the two countries sometimes seem to be miles apart.
Last Thursday Britain and France celebrated the 100th anniversary（周年纪念）of the signing of a friendship agreement called the Entente Cordiality. The agreement marked a new beginning for the countries following centuries of wars and love-hate partnership.
But their relationship has been ups and downs over the past century. Just last year, there were fierce disagreements over the Iraq war-which British Prime Minister Tony Blair supported despite French President Jacques Chirac speaking out against it. This discomfort is expressed in Blair and Chirac’s body language at international meetings. While the French leader often greets German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder with a hug（拥抱）, Blair just receives a handshake. However, some political experts say the war in Iraq could in fact have helped ties.
The history of divisions may well be because of the very different ways in which the two sides see the world. But this doesn’t stop 12 million Britons taking holidays in France each year.
However, only 3 million French come in the opposite direction. Surveys（调查）show that most French people feel closer to the Germans than they do to the British. And the research carried out in Britain has found that only a third of the population believes the French can be trusted. Perhaps this bad feeling comes because the British dislike France’s close relationship with Germany, or because the French are not happy with Britain’s close links with the US.
Whatever the answer is, as both sides celebrate 100 years of “doubtful friendship”, they are at least able to make jokes about each other. Here’s one: What’s the best thing about Britain’s relationship with France? The English Channel. (320 words)
11. For centuries, the relationship between Britain and France is ____________.
A. friendly B. impolite C. brotherly D. a mixture of love and hate
12. The war in Iraq does ____________ to the relationship between France and Britain.
A. good B. harm C. neither good nor harm D. both good and harm
23. The British are not so friendly to ____________ and the French are not so friendly to ____________.
A. Germany; America B. America; Germany C. Germany; Germany D. America; America 14. ____________ are more interested in having holidays in ____________.
A. American people…Britain B. British people … Germany C. French people … Britain D. British people … France 15. What does the last sentence mean?
A. As long as the English Channel exists, no further disagreement will form between France and Britain.
B. The English Channel can prevent anything unfriendly happening in both France and Britain.
C. France and Britain are near neighbors, and this will help balance the relationship between them.
D. The English Channel is the largest enemy between France and Britain. 11-15 DDADC
Passage 5 199页passage 2
Community service is an important component of education here at our university. We encourage all students to volunteer for at least one community activity before they graduate. A new community program called “One On One” helps elementary students who’ve fallen behind. Your education majors might be especially interested in it because it offers the opportunity to do some teaching, that is, tutoring in math and English.
You’d have to volunteer two hours a week for one semester. You can choose to help a child with math, English, or both. Half-hour lessons are fine, so you could do a half hour of each subject two days a week.
Professor Dodge will act as a mentor to the tutors — he’ll be available to help you with lesson plans or to offer suggestions for activities. He has office hours every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. You can sign up for the program with him and begin the tutoring next week.
I’m sure you’ll enjoy this community service … and you’ll gain valuable experience at the same time. It looks good on your resume, too, showing that you’ve had experience with children and that you care about your community. If you’d like to sign up, or if you have any questions, stop by Professor Dodge’s office this week. (220 words) 6. What is the purpose of the talk? ____________
A. To explain a new requirement for graduation. B. To interest students in a new community program. C. To discuss the problems of elementary school students.
D. To recruit elementary school teachers for a special program.
7. What is the purpose of the program that the speaker describes? ____________
A. To find jobs for graduating students.
B. To help education majors prepare for final exams. C. To offer tutorials to elementary school students. D. To provide funding for a community service project. 8. What does Professor Dodge do? ____________
A. He advises students to participate in certain program. B. He teaches part-time in an elementary school.
C. He observes elementary school students in the classroom. D. He helps students prepare their resumes.
9. What should students who are interested in the tutorials do? ____________
A. Contact the elementary school. B. Sign up for a special class. C. Submit a resume to the dean. D. Talk to Professor Dodge.
10. Whom do you think the speaker addresses? ____________
A. Faculty. B. Students. C. Residents D. Graduated students. 6-10 BCADB
Passage 6 187页passage 2
Paper is one of the most important products ever invented by man. Wide spread use of written language would not have been possible without some cheap and practical material to write on. The invention of paper meant that more people could be educated because more books could be printed and distributed. Together with the printing press, paper provided an extremely important way to communicate knowledge.
How much paper do you use every year? Probably you cannot answer that question quickly. In 1990 the world’s use of paper was about one kilogram for each person a year. Now some countries use as much as 50 kilograms of paper for each person a year. Countries like the United States, England and Sweden use more paper than other countries.
Paper, like many other things that we use today, was first made in China. In Egypt and the West, paper was not very commonly used before the year 1400. The Egyptians wrote on a kind of material made of a water plant. Europeans used parchment for many hundreds of year. Parchment was very strong; it was made from the skin of certain young animals. We have learnt of the most important facts of European history from records that were kept on parchment. (208words)
统考英语基础课程讲义
